Apocalypse Before Finals by Julie Steimle (electric book reader txt) 📕

(whom he had seen in the past but never really encountered firsthand) as someone who would not step down from an argument once his mind was set. And to be honest with himself, Jafarr could sense a savage possessiveness coming from Salvar towards Zormna, almost an ownership. He wondered if Zormna also sensed it, or was just so used to it that she didn't notice it. She usually described Salvar as a 'best friend' and 'like a brother'. Though the dynamic Jafarr was watching was more imbalanced. She was talking to this redhead as she would a 'brother' while Salvar was talking to a girl he felt belonged to him, even had feelings for.

"I don't care! All right?" Alea Salvar glared at them both, though more at Jafarr - like he would an intruder. "My father is locked up somewhere, forcing the whole Surface Patrol to lock down. All I want is to get him out before some PM kills him and Alea Arden becomes the next Kevin."

Zormna glowered at him, opening her mouth to berate her friend for his selfish apathy.

"I doubt they'll do that," Jafarr murmured, not so much to be heard but for it to be said. "I don't think the People's Military would want Alea Arden to be the next Kevin."

Like a whip, Salvar turned upon him. "What did you say?"

Actually being addressed by Alea Salvar made Jafarr pause a moment before speaking. He then replied, "I was just saying that if Alea Arden became Kevin right now, it would not help the PM cause. The PMs wouldn't want a rebel sympathizer heading the Surface Patrol."

Many of the soldiers listening shared looks and nods, knowing Jafarr was right.

Salvar's eyes narrowed on Jafarr as if he would bite his throat out.

"So they wouldn't kill the Kevin," Zormna said out loud, nodding to herself. "That makes total sense."

"I doubt they would," Jafarr replied, peeking at Alea Salvar who inched into Jafarr's personal space to push him away from Zormna by sheer will and presence. The oppressive closeness sent in the notion that Alea Salvar thought Jafarr was standing too close to Zormna. Yet Jafarr refused to step back. Zormna needed him.

"We can break him out then," Zormna continued, not watching the almost pushing match between young men. The officers of the Surface Patrol and the rebels, however, watched with concern. Jafarr was taller. And with his dark eyes and scars he looked a great deal more dangerous. Yet, Alea Salvar was one of the more skilled Aleas in the Surface Patrol, a 'force to be reckoned with'.

"Good idea," Jafarr said, struggling to ignore how close Salvar was standing.

That moment some considerable shoving and grunting erupted from the doorway, enough that the three young leaders turned to look at the crowd.

"What are you all gathered here for?" Alea Salvar snapped at the throng. "Don't you have things to do?"

His soldiers cringed, knowing they ought to go, yet they wanted to be part of what was taking place. The rebels barely moved. But the shoving and grunting persisted until a slick dark head of hair like that of Agent Sicamore's emerged. Then soon the whole body of this Zeta district Anzer thrust himself through the group, tumbling into the room. Immediately the young man with slick dark hair looked up and stared at the three. "Jafarr!"

All three blinked at the man in recognition. Two of them smiled.

Alea Salvar groaned and stepped back from the pair.

"Jafarr!" The young man excitedly jumped toward them, his face wide in such a happy, hopeful grin. "You're really here!"

"Hi, Dzhon," Jafarr greeted him with an American style wave.

Anzer Dzhon Niizek stepped over to him and clasped Jafarr in a brotherly greeting, almost hopping on his feet, his eyes whipping repeatedly to Zormna who watched with pleased amusement.

But Alea Salvar grew more peevish.

"I can't believe it. Please tell me you aren't captive," Dzhon said to Jafarr. Then he turned to Zormna. "Please tell me he's not captive."

Zormna laughed now and nodded. "He's not captive. We came together."

With a leap, Dzhon fully embraced his friend, squeezing tight. Jafarr stared back at Zormna, almost breathless. But he did not fight it.

"Ah! It is so good to see you! Does this mean we're not enemies anymore?" He then looked at Zormna again, grabbing her hand. "You're not enemies?"

Zormna was still smiling, especially amused at the giddy joy coming from Anzer Dzhon. He was usually so serious and careful. But then, he had to be, considering whom was connected to and how he was just an inch from getting arrested by the PMs due to guilt by association.

Salvar turned away, toward the wall.

"No, Anzer Dzhon. We are not enemies. Jafarr and I have made up," she said. "We're friends now."

Those words had a transforming effect on the room. And word rippled quickly out of it, going throughout the compound like a gust of warm air. It confirmed the other rumor that had brought Anzer Dzhon to the communications room in the first place. Indeed, as it was now being spread throughout the compound that Alea Zormna Clendar had returned with the famous criminal Jafarr Zeldar, and they were friends - an impossibility in what anybody ever knew about the famous Zormna Clendar and the infamous criminal Jafarr Zeldar. After all, hadn't the criminal Zeldar kicked Alea Zormna in the face once? Hadn't he attempted to steal a number of her ships on several occasions? And hadn't she caught him over and over and over again. Hadn't she even once personally delivered the criminal Zeldar to ISIC where he had been tortured to the edge of his life once? They had to be mortal enemies. This had to be a lie. And more people swarmed in to find out if these new rumors were true.

"About my father...." Alea Salvar brought the conversation back to point, shooting Anzer Dzhon a dirty look.  

"We'll get him out of PM custody." Zormna nodded, gently urging Anzer Dzhon to step aside and suppress his excitement. "What they did was unlawful imprisonment. Jafarr, I hear, has broken many out of ISIC. His people even have plans of that place. I've seen them."

Alea Salvar face her and shook his head. "No, Zormna. He is not in ISIC."

She blinked at him, then stared hard. "What do you mean he's not? Where else would they put him?"

Grimly shrugging, Salvar said, "If I had known, I would have broken him out already. I don't need some rebellion to save my father. We are the Zeta district."

But Zormna blinked again, going pale. "But...they must have said something. They can't just take him you know. He has to have a trial at least."

"For what?" Salvar chuckled dismally, as if only she were there. "What he did wasn't illegal. It's not illegal to hide a Tarrn."

The listening crowd went silent. That was another rumor confirmed.

"Strangely, no..." Jafarr nodded at this one. "But did they say anything at all?"

Provoked by Jafarr's voice, Salvar snapped, "No. They just cracked a joke. They said they were going to put him where they keep the rest of the old fossils. I tell you, they said nothing."

Zormna quickly glanced at Jafarr. He met her gaze, lifting his eyebrows.

Alea Salvar watched the exchange with resentment. He clenched his teeth. "What? Have I missed something?"

"Uh," Jafarr ducked his head a little, as it was his turn to sound like the expert but he knew Alea Salvar would not take it well. "PMs never do anything without gloating. They're stupid that way."

Many of the rebels nodded in the doorway.

"It's their pride. But they told you, all right," Jafarr said. "Have you checked the morgues?"

Alea Salvar nodded, but like he wished Jafarr would just shut up and vanish.

"The name walls of the dead?" Jafarr continued, ignoring the increasing loathing in Salvar's stares.

"Yes," Salvar snapped. "He's still alive. The PMs give me reports on how he's doing, just so I know he's alive so we won't choose another Kevin."

Jafarr nodded, mostly to himself as he checked off a mental list. "How about the museum?"

Alea Salvar froze. His eyes stared off into space. His face softened. As he looked inward, pensive suddenly, he slowly shook his head. 

"The museum?" Anzer Dzhon inquired, trying to keep up. Though he was a brilliant young man in his right, as long as he could remember Jafarr was always five steps ahead of him and he always had the feeling of catching up.  

Jafarr nodded, not removing his eye from Salvar with whom this mattered the most. "Yes. In the uppercity there is a vast museum. They could keep him in any number of locked rooms there."

Zormna nodded slowly in agreement. She glanced at Salvar. He was actually looking thoughtful, muttering the word 'fossils' to himself.

Salvar lifted up his head. "Ok, we'll go fetch him." The Surface Patrol Alea turned immediately to begin the rescue.

But Jafarr reached out to stop him.

This was a bad move.

Like whip, Alea Salvar seized Jafarr's wrist to twist it painfully out of his way. He could have even broken it had Zormna not grabbed the pair of them, pinched a nerve on Salvar's hand and wrenched them apart. She shot Salvar an astonished look of disgust as head Alea massaged his wrist. Then she shot one at Jafarr that told him not to be stupid.

Jafarr nodded, backing away.

Salvar had been her oldest friend. Zormna knew him very well. And she knew he was not feeling so much hate toward Jafarr as jealousy. She had not missed one of his looks, but had been ignoring them, hoping her old friend would behave civilly. Unfortunately, Alea Salvar did not seem inclined to play nice with anyone at the moment. But there was no time to address this issue, and dealing with petty squabbles between such distinctly different friends would have to be put off for another time.

"We can't storm ahead, Salvar," she said, pushing Jafarr behind her.

Jafarr rubbed his sore wrist, realizing now what had almost happened. Unlike Zormna, Alea Salvar would not care whom he hurt.

"It's my father!" Alea Salvar blustered, stepping away from her. "He was a father to you for pity's sake!"

"And you're not thinking straight." She shook her head darkly. "We need a plan. Barging into the museum could get him and a lot of other people killed. You know this."

He averted his glare to the floor, clenching his hands into fists like a furious two-year-old. However, after a few minutes of fuming, he regained his composure and nodded. "Alright... I concede that we need a plan. But I want him out of there. So, do you have a plan?"  He lifted his sharp blue eyes, trying not to look at the black-haired rebel boy behind Zormna.  

Zormna shook her head then involuntarily yawned. "Not yet, which is why we need to make one. We need to..." She yawned again, shaking her head to knock it off. 

Jafarr stepped to her. "Zormna, did you sleep at all last night?"

She glowered at him. "You know I can't sleep in strange places, Jafarr. I tried, but I couldn't. Besides, that prison cot was nasty."

Both Jafarr and Salvar looked appalled, but for different reasons. "You were in a prison?" "You need to get to bed right now."

Alea Salvar raised his fist, looking likely to punch Jafarr. "It was your fault!"

Jafarr shook his head back at the Alea. "Shut up. You have no idea what she's gone through this past year."

"Would you two knock it off?" Zormna snapped back, making sure she was between them. "I'm fine." She was getting weary of playing referee.

"You are not fine," Jeff retorted immediately. It was a very protective 'Jeff' sort of remark, one she had heard many times on Earth. In a way, the reminder pained her - showing her that life was now gone. "You cannot function on no sleep. I've seen you try it."

She glared hard at him.

"Zormna," Alea Salvar said, trying to budge Jafarr out, "I'd hate to agree with this rat, but he is right. When