Aftermath Of The Election

A skyscraper of apartments looms over Hugo, much larger than any structure from the old world. The footpath outside turns into a ramp, continuing up and into the building. It’s a wide entrance, many feet across, allowing for strips of nature to run along the sides.

Hugo walks up the incline, bowing his head slightly in acknowledgement of an elderly couple walking down.

This is one of four entrances on each side of the building, each serving as independent steel structures. They come together that makes them look like the roots of a tree.

Once Hugo’s a couple of floors above ground, the ramp levels out. He enters a large space filled with shops. The shops curve around the windows of the building like a circular shopping mall. Small businesses of all varieties sell foods, arts and crafts, tailor and dressmaker services, and technological goods.

Hugo – not interested in shopping at all – heads straight for a glass elevator to the side of the building. Right before the doors close, a middle aged woman enters after him.

“Hugo!” she says.

Great, a conversation.

Hugo purses his lips and tries his best to sound pleased. “Hi, Mrs. Enomoto.”

The glass doors close and the elevator shoots up smoothly towards the sky.

Despite the sheer size of the building, almost everyone living inside knows each other. This is thanks to the consistent effort of the building representatives, who organize a continuous stream of events and activities.

Every apartment building is like this, so it’s not like Hugo can escape this by moving.

“I haven’t seen you or Eugene at practice for the past few weeks. Is everything okay?”

It’s true – Mrs. Enomoto attends the same martial arts class with Hugo, Eugene, and their mother. It’s strictly performed for health benefits, of course. But ever since Eugene joined the military, he’s had less time to join. Hugo’s found himself less and less willing to attend.

“Yes, everything’s okay,” Hugo replies. “Just busy. You know how it is.”

“Ah, yes. Of course.”

The elevator slows and the doors open.

“Well, I hope to see you again soon.” Mrs. Enomoto walks out, glancing back at Hugo. “ And best of luck to your mother for the election. I’ll certainly be voting for her. We can’t have that jerk Simon winning.”

Hugo twitches his mouth into a smile. “Thanks, Mrs. Enomoto.”

When the elevator reaches Hugo’s floor, he steps out and is hit by a light breeze. Even though he’s completely inside, the building’s most exterior walls are not waterproof nor airproof. It’s like the skyscraper is wrapped in a skin, absorbing energy and protecting the interior from strong wind.

The bushes and flowers lining the hallways grow comfortably, thriving from the building’s architectural design.

The door to Hugo’s apartment is unlocked, so he walks right in. A large living room connects to bedrooms for Hugo, Eugene, and their mother. The living room’s stylized with furniture of wood and sustainable white and silver metals.

Plants line the walls and hang from the ceiling amongst the lights. They grow from the light of a long glass window, embedded across the length of an entire wall.

Hugo enters his room. He kicks off his shoes by the door, takes off his outer jacket, and throws it over his bed.

His room’s a lot more stripped back than the living room. A singular plant sits on his desk, wilted despite the sun shining in from a glass wall of his own.

All Hugo’s plants end up like this. Even though he ensures they get the right amount of sun and water, they wither under his control.

Already frustrated from being abducted, the thought pushes Hugo over the edge. He marches up to the pot and shoves it off his desk in one action. It shatters on the floor in a mess of dirt, roots, and pieces of clay.

“Hugo?” His mother’s concerned voice echoes down the hallway.

Hugo stares at the broken pot, trying to calm his breathing. It takes a second for him to reply. “Yeah.”

His mother’s head pops around his doorway, her dark hair hanging towards the wooden floor. Her eyes find Hugo first, then the plant. She looks at Hugo, concerned, for an explanation.

“An accident.” He takes a few steps back and sits on his hard bed. “Don’t worry – I’ll clean it up.”

Hugo’s mother, Lily, doesn’t seem convinced. But she takes a few steps into the room and changes the topic. She’s elegant in her gray underclothes, with a fierce gaze even if she doesn’t intend it.

“Did you have fun with Eugene and Noah today?”

She seems like she’s genuinely interested, so Hugo isn’t going to shrug her off. “Yeah,” he replies. “Eugene taught us some stuff that he’s learnt so far.”

“Oh, really? I hope it wasn’t anything that might get him in trouble.” Lily holds her arms behind her back. “I never should’ve let him join in the first place. You know how he is – once he gets something in his mind, he won’t stop until he’s done it.”

She lingers in the doorway, carefully observing Hugo. More than she usually does.

Hugo sighs and cuts to the chase. “You’re loitering again. What do you want?”

Lily takes a step back and her face muscles relax; she knows she’s been busted. “I know where you and Eugene went today.”

Hugo tenses. Another person has found out. “What do you mean?”

She purses her lips, disappointed, and raises a sleeveless arm to reveal a white, metal wristwatch.

Of course.

“You think I don’t check where you both are? I tried calling you, but you obviously kept your phone here.” She glances at Hugo’s glass phone, switched off on his desk.

Hugo’s not quite sure what to say next, so Lily keeps speaking. “You’re lucky the watches aren’t trackable by anyone else.”

Hugo takes a second to reply. “Are you angry?”

Lily’s eyes widen slightly. Perhaps she’s a bit shocked by his question. “No. No, not really.” She composes herself and takes a few steps forward, lowering her volume. “But I want you to be honest with me.”

Hugo knows what she’s going to ask before she can utter a word:

“Why would you need to go to the old world?”

He stifles a chuckle – she’s really asking about his involvement with a certain group of criminals.

“Eugene taught us a version of a military exercise,” he replies. “Why don’t you ask him when he gets back?”

Eugene has to return the military’s earpieces and drone. Noah, however, went home straight away after he and Hugo left.

“With just the three of you?”

“Yes, just the three of us.”

There’s a moment of silence. The tension in the air begins to get on Hugo’s nerves.

Lily speaks, approaching the topic delicately. “Are you sure there isn’t another reason–”

“No.” Hugo stands, speaking firmly. “There wasn’t another reason for us to be there.”

Lily folds her arms slowly. “I’m just asking.” But the concerned look is back on her face. “You know I’m running for Council, and the election is in the next–”

“So what?” Hugo continues. “It’s bad for your image, is it?”

Lily winces at the accusation. She opens her mouth to reply, but doesn’t get the opportunity.

“You’re just worried you’ll look bad if your son’s found being best buds with cyborgs. Is that it?”

“Hugo, you know nominees come under a lot of scrutiny before the election,” Lily replies. “And no, I’m not worried about looking bad.”

“Then what?” Hugo demands.

“If it’s found out that you’ve been mucking around in the old world, then it might be soon before they find out… other things.”

“Then don’t run for Council,” Hugo retorts. “If you really cared about me, you shouldn’t have chosen to accept the nomination in the first place.”

“Hugo, you know I’ve got a good chance–”

“I don’t wanna hear about your ‘vision’ for the Capital. Maybe I am hanging out with those cyborgs. Maybe I’m part of their ‘dangerous activities’ everyone’s so scared about. Just know that if it comes out, it’ll be all on you.” He gives Lily a death stare. “So get out of my room.”

Lily tries to reason with him, but he’s not having any of it. “Hugo, I really hope you’re not–”

“Get out!”

As Lily unfolds her arms and retreats out of his room, she looks back at him with some form of pity in her eyes.

Hugo delivers the final blow:

“You can’t blame me for wanting to be part of that kind of group when what happened back then is all your fault.”

Lily sighs and disappears from view, leaving Hugo standing by himself in the middle of his room. He hears agitated footsteps and a door close down the hallway.

Then, his eyes drift to the side, resting on the shattered pot and exposed plant. He walks over to it, raises his foot, and presses down hard on the plant.

Its roots tear away from the stem and its leaves disintegrate into the dirt.

* * *

Almost a week later, Hugo sits with his back propped up on his bed. It’s about 8 o’clock at night, and bright lights illuminate the metal buildings of the metropolis outside. Small flashing red and white dots – on skybuses and the wings of hovercrafts – zoom between the buildings, carefully navigating in the night.

Hugo will close the blinds when he’s had enough. For now, though, he gazes out his window, deep in thought.

“Hugo!” From the hallway, Eugene’s voice catches his attention. “Mom and I are watching the results on the TV. They think they’ll have all the votes counted in a few minutes.”

He can imagine Eugene and Lily sitting in the living room, the election results for their electorate projected on a wall-mounted glass pane.

“Okay.” Hugo replies, after a moment’s hesitation. He doesn’t want to join them.

“I think Mom would appreciate it if you come out and watch.” Despite knowing about how Hugo feels about Lily running in the election, Eugene’s trying to lure him out.

“Let me know as soon as they call it and I’ll be right out.”

Hugo hears Eugene walk away from his door. He lowers his gaze to his smartphone, gripped tightly in his hand.

It’s a sturdy pane of glass with similar projection tech as their living rooms television, displaying full color with crystal-clear definition.

He watches a set of election results, displayed by a horizontal bar chart.

At the top, Simon boasts the largest number of votes. Just underneath – and this worries Hugo – Lily has only a fraction less.

Hugo watches the number of votes rise slowly, and the length of the bars change. One of the nominees overtakes another down below, their pictures swapping places.

He looks out over the city again with a furrowed brow, looking back at the results occasionally, increasingly apprehensive each time.

A couple of minutes pass by and the numbers stop growing. All of a sudden, the nominee at the bottom disappears. The disappearance of her bar causes her votes to boost the numbers of the higher nominees. Another nominee overtakes another in the process.

The unpredictability of preferential voting in action.

Within the next minute, all but three candidates are knocked out of the election. Hugo’s hand tightens on his phone and his heart pumps a little bit harder.

Lily replaces Simon at the top of the chart.

It’s just by a little bit, but it’s enough to cause Hugo panic. He never thought it would get this close. After all, his mother’s an architect and she’s running against the director of one of the largest tech corporations in New Kansai.

Hugo hears the muffled, excited shouts of Eugene and Lily in the living room. They were always close, but now perhaps more than ever – hence, the reason why Eugene didn’t get in much trouble for their visits to the old world.

Suddenly, the third nominee’s picture vanishes from the chart. His votes are distributed among Lily and Simon.

And Lily remains at the top of the screen.

Hugo feels his body sink deeper and deeper into his bed. He casts his eyes to the roof and shuts them tight.

Simon’s lost.

Hugo wishes he could be happy for Lily, but he’s worried more than anything. After all, Simon knows his secret. And it won’t be too long until the remainder of the newly-elected Council knows too.

He can only imagine the tension in Noah’s household right now. How would Simon react to this defeat?

* * *

The induction ceremony is held a couple of days later. Important officials and family members of the new Council members aggregate in the metropolis’ outdoor civic center. Streams of water traipse through the grass and the metal shelters of the city square.

Just before the ceremony begins, Eugene and Hugo arrive without Lily. On the way to their seats, Eugene runs into a military official he recognises, leaving Hugo to find them by himself.

Hugo walks up the aisle between the portable chairs, searching for their designated row. Two people walk briskly towards him.

One of them is Noah – he gives Hugo a tentative smile. They haven’t spoken since the day Simon brought them to his office, only messaged each other briefly.

Noah follows Simon, who marches right past Hugo without a word. Simon doesn’t even acknowledge Hugo’s presence, nor anyone’s for that matter.

It seems he has something on his mind.

As Noah passes, he gives Hugo a nod and follows after his father. They slot in, several rows behind Hugo.

Hugo finds his seat and sits, Eugene joining him right before the ceremony commences a minute later.

A group of twelve people in sleeveless, burnt sienna robes walk out of the Council building at the front of the civic center. Lily’s among them, her hair tied back tightly behind her head and large, golden earrings curving up her ears like crescent moons.

The Council members – including Lily – take their seats in a row of seats behind the podium, and the event begins.

One by one, the newly-elected Council members give speeches about their vision for their electorate and for New Kansai in its entirety. Lily, being a transport engineer and architect, promises an improved public transport system.

Hugo notices drones hovering around the civic center, getting all sorts of angles on the podium. He’s seen the event televised several times before.

A Council member’s speech is abruptly cut short by a woman wearing dark camouflage – the uniform of the New Kansai military. She pulls the Council member away, talking emphatically in his ear. Several other military personnel rush to the other Council members, gesturing and whispering for them to rise.

Hugo glances around, looking for any signs of danger. There are none. His spirits rise – perhaps there’s been a mistake in the election results.

The military woman steps up to the podium, talking quickly and keeping her voice as steady as she can. “Citizens of New Kansai, please report to your nearest air raid shelter as quickly as possible. We’ve received information–”

Several dark shapes zoom past to the left of the civic center, barely above the roofs of the skyscrapers. There’s a second of panic as people jump from their chairs and scramble in all directions.

In the next second, loud bangs erupt from behind the Council building. More dark shapes fly overhead. This time Hugo can identify them – black, tailless aircrafts that look like gliding bats soar ahead at speeds almost too fast to witness.

A bright dot of light shoots out of an aircraft, leaving a smoke trail behind it. The aircraft rolls away to the side, and the light collides with a building on the edge of the city square. The glass windows shatter and the building implodes in a fiery blast.

The rumble of the explosion makes Hugo grab Eugene in terror. He looks at Eugene for guidance, but Eugene’s rooted on the spot, observing the chaos happening around them in confusion. Like a deer stuck in headlights.

Hugo looks for his mother. The military personnel usher Council members into the Council building. There must be an air raid shelter beneath it. He catches a glimpse of Lily among them. She looks directly at Hugo, screaming something. But the explosions and the ringing in his ears make her inaudible.

Then, she vanishes behind a barrier of camouflage fabric.

Hugo tugs Eugene in the direction of the building, snapping him out of his trance. They take a few steps before a black aircraft zooms overhead, tossing out five white lights in front of them.

The lights fall slower than the single one from before – it’s enough time for Hugo and Eugene to realize what they’re running towards. They scramble in the opposite direction.

The lights land around a metal shelter close to the Council building. The blast vaporizes the metal instantly. The shockwave sends Hugo and Eugene flying off their feet.

Smoke fills the air, obscuring Hugo’s vision. He tries to get up, but his arms fail him.

Fifty meters away, lights pierce the smoke and a hovercraft descends from the sky. It hovers just above the ground, the rushing air from its blades dispersing the smoke around it. This hovercraft is black and noticeably more grungy than the hovercrafts of New Kansai.

The cargo hold opens to reveal a man in his 30s with sleek, dark hair. He wears black, metal armor and holds a bulky pistol with neon orange detailings. Hugo’s not certain, but it looks like his neck and arms are fused with the suit. He’s accompanied by several humanoid robots made of similar metal, holding identical weapons.

The cyborg man takes an enthusiastic jump out of the cargo hold. He looks around, taking in his surroundings. The hovercraft touches the ground and the robots emerge.

Hugo spots two people in green and gray, rushing towards the cyborg. His eyes widen in shock as he realizes who it is – Simon tugs Noah along aggressively by the arm.

Noah seems to panic when he sees the cyborg and robots. He glances around, as if looking for an escape. His eyes lock with Hugo’s.

Hugo sees the recognition on Noah’s face. Once Eugene helps him up, he immediately stumbles towards Noah.

Across the grass, Noah similarly takes a step towards Hugo. But the second he does, Simon grabs Noah by his hair, yanking him backwards.

Eugene likewise grabs Hugo’s arm to prevent them from getting any closer. He tries dragging Hugo in the opposite direction, but Hugo resists.

Noah’s pulled by Simon towards the robots. The cyborg waves his gun towards the cargo hold, and the robots surround the three of them.

Hugo watches the cargo hold close, catching one last glimpse of Noah’s bleached hair before the mechanical door seals and the hovercraft takes flight.

Realizing all hope is lost, Hugo allows himself to be pulled away by Eugene. He glances back as he runs for cover, watching the hovercraft disappear behind the skyscrapers.

Another bat-like fixed wing aircraft flies overhead. It’s suddenly struck by a beam of light and explodes mid-air, barreling through the air right above Hugo and Eugene. They cower as it travels over their heads, slamming into the building towering above them.

Eugene grabs Hugo in both arms, just before the shockwave hits them. He’s pushed to the ground on top of Hugo, sheltering Hugo’s head in his chest as metal debris rains down.

Once the debris stops falling and Hugo’s mind registers what just happened, he pushes Eugene off him. Eugene’s arms fall loosely to the side and his torso falls over backwards.

Hugo cries out in horror and his heart violently twists – a crimson liquid pools at Eugene’s head, his eyes staring vacantly in both shock and fear.

Among the metal debris and gasoline fires, Hugo refuses to move. Even as the dust settles, Hugo stays by Eugene’s side, cradling his body and praying he’ll blink even once.