Prophet of ConFree (The Prophet of ConFree) Read Free Page B

these silly charges will go away. But think hard about it. Your enlistment must be completely voluntary. The ConFree Legion only takes volunteers."
    Volunteers? The ConFree Legion? My God, I had never even imagined this. I was a lover, not a fighter. What was I going to do in the ConFree Legion? I had always tiptoed around the Legion Gate downtown, hoping nobody paid any attention to me.
    "Well, what do you say?" Yes, that was the question. Volunteer? Or banishment. I had no choice!
    "Sir. Yes sir. I'll volunteer."
    "Good. Good. Sign here." He held out a little d-screen displaying a document. I was stunned. Decisive action – no more words, no more crap. Sign here. Action! I took a deep breath. I touched the little DNA box at the bottom with the tip of my index finger. I didn't even read it.
    "I'll be back tomorrow. You stay here until then. Congratulations, Volunteer. The people of ConFree respect your decision and will honor your service." And he walked out the door, taking the little chair with him.
    It was nice to hear that the people of ConFree respected my decision. They sure hadn't been giving me much respect so far.
    Δ
    And that's how I came to be standing before the Legion Gate, in downtown Windwood, a few days later. Three of my friends had finally shown up. I had said goodbye to my parents earlier and asked them not to come to the Gate. My mom had cried and my dad said he was proud of me.
    Jailbait was there, and Kittykat. Mark was there, too. The girls had faked excuses to get out of school to say goodbye to me. They brought little notes from the rest of the girls – DeeAnn, Sweetcakes and Judy Dare. Mark had actually crawled out of a bathroom window to make his escape. I felt so touched by that. Just to say goodbye to me! It gave me a lump in my throat. I knew I'd never meet people like these again. Mark was blindly, deliriously in love with Kittykat, and she ignored him as if he didn't even exist. Jailbait was getting all weepy and even Kittykat seemed subdued and uncharacteristically quiet. I kissed both girls and Mark looked like he was getting set to cry.
    "Don't open this until you're in," he said, huskily, pressing a little folded envelope into my palm. Poor old Mark was a little slow and many of the kids laughed at him, but I never did. I had grown to like him. He was kind of an outcast. He had no girl, Bob and I were his only friends, and Bob had left already and I was about to.
    The Legion Gate loomed before me, right across the street. I had half expected my Legion recruiter to show up there, just to make sure I didn't back out, but he didn't. They wanted volunteers, you see. I had to walk in there on my own.
    "All right, I'm going in," I said. "I'm going to miss you all." I couldn't say any more. We did a group hug, and Jailbait was crying and Mark was crying and Kittykat was all pale and blurry-eyed. Will I ever see these kids again? I broke away abruptly and walked through the Legion Gate, gritting my teeth.
    Δ
    I walked down an entry hall lit only by glowing holo shots lining both walls. They showed astounding views of alien worlds, beautiful, mysterious landscapes, glowing under milky, starry skies. Some of them showed Legion soldiers in A-suits, marching into horrific horizons erupting in flames. I tried not to look at these scenes – I guess I wasn't quite ready.
    The entry hall led to a large, bright, open circular area built around a vertical metallic structure that looked like some kind of monument. A black slab was set in the center, set under a Legion cross, and silvery letters rippled slowly over the slab. I knew what that was. I spotted an open office area on the other side of the monument, and walked over there. There were two young men, clad in black Legion uniforms, evidently engaged in conversation. One of them sat behind a large gleaming desk bedecked with d-screens and commo gear. He was pale, dark-haired and had a thin pencil mustache. The ConFree and Legion flags flanked his