The Fourth Ceremony: The Sacrifice Trilogy (27 page)

“
Khi
,”
Alessa said weakly
,“
can I do this
?
”

“
Less, yo
u’
ve always been just stubborn enough to do anything you decide to do. You just have to make the decision. So the question is, wha
t’
s your decision
?”
Khilyn drew close to her as he spoke softly. Alessa was out of words. She did
n’
t know what to say. She launched herself into Khily
n’
s arms. He caught her easily and held her close to his chest as she reeled from everything. She could escape, but it was going to have to be under her own power.

After a few minutes, Alessa heard her door open again. She raised her head from Khily
n’
s chest to see her parents walk into the room and stop at the threshold. Khilyn pulled her back to him quickly.

“
I wo
n’
t see you again, Less
,”
he said, his voice rough
,“
you can do this, I know it. I love you
.”
Aless
a’
s throat swelled.

“
I love you too, Khi
,”
was all she replied before he got up from the couch and walked out of the room, stopping to nod at her parents as he left.

Once the door shut behind Khi, Aless
a’
s mother ran to her and wrapped her in a hug. Her father was
n’
t far behind. For several minutes, they sat there together simply holding each other.

“
Lessie, baby
,”
her father spoke first
,“I’
m sorry that things have turned out this way. We never dreamed that yo
u’
d have to spend your last few days cooped up in your room, but security comes first
.”
Alessa blinked up at him before remembering that they did
n’
t know anything.

“
I-
,“
Alessa started
,“
I struggled at first, but really,
I’
ve had a lot of freedom my entire life and it was nice to spend some time thinking by myself here these last few days
,”
Alessa detested the lie, but did
n’
t want to upset her parents further. There was nothing to be gained from that.

“
Tha
t’
s my girl
,”
Aless
a’
s father said proudly. Aless
a’
s chest hurt.

“
What have you guys been up to
?”
She tried to make casual conversation. She hated herself for wishing that her parent
s’
time would pass so that she could be left alone to think.

“
Nothing really, much the same as you
,”
Aless
a’
s father replied. She wondered if they had been locked in their room as well. A knock sounded three times on the door.

“
Tha
t’
s it, Lessie, tha
t’
s all we get
,”
her father said, his voice shaking
,“
yo
u’
re so wonderful, baby. Be strong, I love you
.”
He wrapped her in a strong hug and her resolved broke. The tears she was saving for later leaked down her cheeks. Her father pulled away to leave space for her mother, tears in his own eyes. Aless
a’
s mother grabbed her in a fierce hug.

“
Whatever it is, Alessa
,”
her mother whispered closely in her ear
,“
you do it. I know i
t’
s not ruined, they ca
n’
t stop the SDL. Do
n’
t be afraid, just go with it. I love you
.”
She said the last part out loudly as she pulled away and walked quickly out of the room, arm in arm with Aless
a’
s father.

The closing door seemed to echo in the room behind them. Alessa had a lot of information to sift through in a very short amount of time. The Ceremony was scheduled to take place at 8:00am. That meant that she had ten hours to make several decisions and to get a good nigh
t’
s sleep if she planned to swim for three miles in the morning. She stumbled to her closet and dressed for bed. What would the citizens think? Would they just think that she was afraid and ran away? It would be quite the magic trick to sneak out of the Box after it was in the water. Alessa let a smirk sneak onto her face at the thought of the Ministe
r’
s anger when an empty Box was found. Then, she thought of Camden. He would wait for her at the Pier. How long would he wait? Would he get caught? Was he waiting because it was his mission, or because he cared about her? She still had so many questions to ask and things to say to him.

Alessa lowered herself into her bed, her decision made. She had to try. She was
n’
t going to be some puppet for the Empire, a meal ticket for the Minister, and a religious scapegoat for the Citizens. She was going to be her own person and follow her own path. And right now, her path was leading her back to Camden.

Alessa had
n’
t slept as soundly in weeks. With her mind made up, dreams no longer haunted her. She was startled awake by the door banging open the next morning. Alessa saw that the sky was the bright gray of the moments right before sunrise just as her stylist team bustled into the room.

“
I
t’
s your big day
!”
Lai said cheerily
,“
le
t’
s glam you up, doll
.”
Alessa had always liked Lai, but could
n’
t stand the way that he was talking about the Ceremony like it was a beauty pageant. She bit her tongue and sat herself in the chair where they always worked.

After what felt like an eternity, but was actually only about an hour, Lai stepped back and pulled her towards her full-length mirror. Her hair hung in loose curls around her shoulders. She was dressed in a terribly embarrassing pearl colored wetsuit with a sheer overlay, the typical color of the Sacrifice. Her makeup was immaculately done to enunciate her features but contribute to her youthfulness. After all, people needed reminding that they were sacrificing a virgin.

“
The makeup and hair products are water proof! Yo
u’
ll be gorgeous going in and coming out
!”
Lai said proudly, clapping his hands. Alessa could
n’
t stop her eye roll. He talked like she was running a marathon and needed extra products instead of being drowned and her body put on display in seventeen hour
s’
time.

One hour
she thought
one hour is all
I’
ve got. I can do this, I can.
Alessa spoke soothing words to herself, trying to keep her composure. Finally, the stylists cleared out and Alessa was left alone in her room. At first she was relieved to be free of them, but as she sat the daunting reality of her situation began to confront her. She was either going to die in the Sacred Ocean or she was going to swim the longest distance she ever had. What if she only made it halfway? What if she were caught? What would the Government, the Minister, do to her if she got caught? The thought of it made her want to scream. Just as panic was overtaking her, the door to her room suddenly opened.

“
Good morning, Sacrifice, dear
,”
the Ministe
r’
s voice was chipper and loud
,“
I do hope you slept well, i
t’
s a beautiful day
.”
He walked into the room and took Aless
a’
s arm.

“
Good morning, Minister
,”
Alessa managed to force herself to say, hatred bubbling inside of her.

“
Le
t’
s go, i
t’
s time for me to escort you to your Ceremony
,”
the Minister said sweetly. Alessa fought the urge to pull her arm away. He needed to think that she was on board and ready to die.

The Minister walked Alessa to the Great Cliffs. A makeshift set of seats had been constructed that overlooked the Ocean and a staircase had been assembled in the face of the cliff that led down to a ledge. The Minister walked Alessa to the top of the stairs and nudged her forward, indicating that she would go the rest of the way alone.

On the ledge, a strange man stood in a black suit. The seats were filled with people whom Alessa could guess paid a lot of money to be sitting on the front row of the action. There were only seats for about twenty people. Upwards of fifty more people stood beside and behind the seats. Aless
a’
s parents and Khilyn were nowhere to be seen. Alessa supposed they could
n’
t afford a ticket. The thought fueled anger in her. Everyone was somber and quiet. The Minister took his seat right in the middle and looked pointedly at Alessa as if to tell her to move on.

Alessa descended the stairs. They wobbled under her feet. The silence of the people was deafening. Alessa wished someone would speak. She expected the Minister to make some sort of speech. She thought she would have some time to process everything. It was happening too fast and her heart was squeezing. Once on the ledge, the man in the suit motioned to the Box. It was a pearly white color that Alessa realized almost matched her unsightly outfit that she was wearing. It attached to a set of ropes and pulleys that allowed the man in the suit to slowly lower the Box into the Ocean.

The Sacrificial Box was a glorified coffin. It was coffin sized with hundreds of tiny holes that allowed the water to slowly enter the Box until the Sacrifice was covered and drowned. The lid of the Box was to be lowered over her and padlocked by the man in the suit.

Even though Alessa knew that the Box was supposed to open for her, she could
n’
t allow herself to climb in. What if it did
n’
t work? What if they found it and fixed it? Alessa was
n’
t ready to die. Especially not for what she had finally found out was nothing. Alessa took a deep stabilizing breath. What choice did she have? She had the choice of going with dignity or fighting, crying, and losing her pride. She stepped into the open Box sitting on the ledge of the Cliffs. Alessa was finding it hard to breathe. She tried to gain her composure. She would need as much breath as she could manage after she was lowered into the Ocean. She needed to stay underwater until she could be sure that the people watching from the Cliffs could
n’
t see her. She was
n’
t even sure how long that would take. Alessa tried to suck in a few breaths and stay calm despite her hands shaking violently.

“
Remember
,”
the man in the suit said, so quietly that Alessa was
n’
t even sure he spoke
,“
reach above your head with your right hand and the button is right in the corner. I
t’
s been checked, everything is in order
.
”

Alessa started slightly and looked at the man in the suit. She was sure that she did
n’
t recognize him. Alessa was shocked to find that someone with the SDL had gotten this close to the Ceremony. The man shook his head slightly and Alessa realized that he was not supposed to have talked to her. She turned to look back into the Box.

With one last deep breath, she sat down and lowered herself to a lying position in the Box. The man in the suit leaned over to close the lid, winking at her conspiratorially in the process.

Alessa tried to stifle her panic as the lid was lowered over her. She needed to wait until she was deep in the water to search for the button. If she accidentally pushed it before she got deep enough, the whole plan would be ruined. She heard the padlock secure the lid of the Box. She refused to allow herself to push on it.

She made herself repeat Khily
n’
s instructions to her.
Push the button in the right corner, swim underwater as much as possible, travel along the coastline three miles, Camden will be at Pier 394.

Over and over she repeated the instructions in her head as she felt the Box lift into the air. Once she guessed she was clear of the ledge, she felt herself begin to lower slowly. Panic made her start to move. She wanted to beat on the lid, wanted to find the button, wanted to do anything to stop this slow torture. Then, she felt the Box begin to sway slightly and stopped herself. The spectators, both on the Cliffs and at home watching television, would see the box moving. She refused to let them watch her fear. She made herself perfectly still and waited for the inevitable.