Skin Nation

by Joni Bing

Briggs and Taurus went on for another hour or so just talking about what the capturings meant and should mean to us along with the predictions of the next set. I asked Briggs what he thought about potheads who got captured and he looked surprised by my question.

  “Lary, I like this girl. She makes me think!”

  Lary smiled at him then at me. Another proud face from Lary I didn't care too much to see. Still, I played it off as a few others looked over.

  Take that, I thought with a toothless grin as Z stared my way.

  Briggs's answer was simple, but blew my mind and made me so much more than my personal theory. Capturing potheads were the Gov's way of confusing those who were catching on to their patterns. Briggs also informed us that those who agreed to cooperate were remade into Norm spies to walk the streets as “one of us” while observing the society for escapes and people who performed activities that were “unnationalistic”, a word CD created a while back when he became dictator.

  After the meeting, we stayed a few minutes more to help clean up with a few other volunteers and every time I looked up from sweeping with a broom that hardly could be called one, Lary, Briggs, and Taurus were looking over at me. Then again, Mar was sitting behind me at a table with Z so maybe they were looking over at them as they planned their deaths. At the time, I would've been okay with that. Their staring did kind of annoy me though. I felt that they could've been doing better things with their time like helping me clean up the place. There wasn't much to clean, but I felt it was only right for someone other than Reno and I to perform all the dirty work.

  As usual, Reno was the only valuable person in the group, and as usual, he seemed to be enjoying what he was doing. I've never seen someone smile while they wiped tables.

  We exited SNR's building and followed Lary out the door. I noted that each of them had a special goodbye handshake with Taurus who held the door open with his back again and wondered how each one came to be routine. I wondered if I could ever live that kind of life again, a routinely life.

  “Sleep well, Bleu,” Taurus said as I exited last and he kissed my hand. I smiled and turned to walk away then froze. I did not.

  “That's not-”

  “I know. Don't worry. No other soul will know, I promise. Just be careful next time, okay? Giving out your name is extremely dangerous around here. Anyone could be a sellout.”

  I nodded, glad to have a friend in Taurus, even if it was one in pursuit of my V-card. I caught up with the boys and overheard Mar complaining about “tonight being another info night instead of war planning like Lary had promised”.

  “What was that all about?” Reno whispered to me as he jerked his head back toward Taurus's direction.

  My first instinct was to snap at him and say Don't worry about it, but Reno was nice and I didn't need more in-house enemies. I started to wonder if my first instinct had always been that cruel and I just let whatever pop out of my mouth without a thought about how it would affect the other person.

  I sighed to clear my thoughts. “Promise not to tell them?”

  “Tell who what?” he smirked.

  I laughed low so the others didn't hear. “When we first came, I told Taurus my real name.”

  “Ooh, do not do that again with anybody.”

  “Yeah, I know. He told me.”

  “The people around here are more than sketchy. You can't trust anyone around here.”

  “He told me that, too. I guess we can't be friends then, huh?”

  “No-”

  Before I knew it, I was wondering why he said no then realizing he wasn't beside me anymore. I turned and saw Reno clenching his hands to the side corner of two buildings that created a narrow dark alley. The boys ran to Reno as soon as I heard a splash hit the ground and before he almost fell forward into it, Mar and Z caught him by the arms. Lary asked him if he was okay.

  “I'm fine, guys. I'm good.”

  “You didn't drink anything tonight, did you, Reno? You know you shouldn't trust public drinks.”

  “No, I'm good. I've just been feeling weird lately, but just every now and then,” he reassured Lary.

  The boys released him and he walked on his own, still staggering to get back to the pace he was walking before. I started to worry gravely about Reno not being okay.

  “Of course, I think a kiss from Lady here could cure it.”

  He held me to him with a crook arm around my neck and I freed myself in the same moment he puckered his lips, almost gagging myself.

  Everyone laughed, even Reno. Yep, Reno was fine. For now.