Life Unnormal

by Jill Caplin

  “Your apartment is furnished standard issued rental items complete with initial toiletries and your first set of basic cleaning supplies. Do you have any questions?”

  “Where do we buy food?” Tessa asked.

  “First check your balances after you have agreed to the above standard items. If you have a remaining positive balance, you can go to the Grocery Attainment Center. Otherwise, you’ll have to eat at your Center until you have enough money to purchase food. Are you ready to make your required rentals and purchases?”

  “Yes, we are.”

  The man scanned their eyes with the double scanner. He checked their balances and then glanced up at them. Tessa read no emotion on his face as if he had done this task a hundred times.

  “I need both of you to place your thumbs on this form together.”

  Tessa and Aden pressed their thumbs on the screen placed in front of them.

  “The items you have just rented and purchased will be available outside in a short time. You’ll be taken by car to your new apartment. A delivery van and driver will meet you there. Please wait here while I process your documents. I will be back in a short while.”

  Left alone for the first time alone together in the office, Tessa and Aden stared at each other after listening to all the chatter they heard in the last hour.

  The man returned to the room after a few minutes

  “Go outside, and there will be a car waiting for you. You have the rest of the evening to sort out your items. At the end of the next day, you must return the boxes, or you’ll be fined. Tomorrow will be your last day off for quite a long time, so do return the boxes.”

  Escorted to the back door of the office, Tessa observed a white van parked next to an electric car. Getting inside with Aden, a Center worker drove them towards their new apartment. The driver stopped in front of a building with the numbers “3000” written on the side.

  Tessa and Aden left the car and followed the van which backed up into a loading dock. The driver pointed upstairs. They walked down a short hallway and up to the first flight of stairs.

  Finally, they were able to locate the numbers “3135,” Two single eye scanners were outside the apartment. Each scanning their eyes, the door opened automatically. Tessa gasped at how both their balances dropped with the purchases for the apartment. She seemed relieved to see a small amount left over for their groceries.

  They went inside to a small, empty single room. Tessa noticed two closed doors. One led to the bathroom — the other to a bedroom.

  Moments later, two Center workers showed up with furniture on dollies and their items in boxes. Tessa noticed their trunks of clothing on the floor as well. The same men placed everything in the center of the main room and left. The door shut behind them.

  Tessa and Aden just stared at each other for a moment and smiled.

  “What do you think of this Union thing now?” Aden asked.

  “How about if we set up our new place?” Tessa asked, not knowing what to say.

  “Sounds good to me,” he said.

  Tessa glanced at a small kitchen table with two chairs. She located the pots and pans in a cabinet above the hot plate. The plates, cups, and silverware were above the small empty fridge.

  Peering inside a tiny bathroom, Tessa felt confined with little room to move around in. She and Aden laughed bumping into each other in the small room. A cabinet filled with toiletries above the sink. A small closet held necessary cleaning supplies.

  Tessa placed trunk at the foot of the bed. She noticed Aden as he put his next to a wall. The bedding had a standard blanket and a quilt.

  “You okay just sharing this bed? I can sleep on the floor.” Aden said.

  “We can take turns. I can sleep under the covers. You can sleep on top under that quilt.”

  “That will do.”

  “Okay. Let’s go return the boxes and go buy some food, okay?”

  Before they entered their apartment after shopping at the Grocery Attainment Center, they scanned their eyes and sat down at the table together after putting our groceries away.

  “We should be more careful what we buy, especially food,” Tessa said.

  “Okay, we will figure this out. One day at a time.”

  “Just like any other day in The Annex.” She said, smiling at him. Tessa wondered how long she would be stuck in The Glenside Annex. Tessa knew that Aden wanted to return to Thorndale so hopefully she heard news from him sooner than later.

  26

  Plans

  The first few days seemed to go by quickly. It took Tessa a bit getting used to living with Aden. The sleeping arrangement seemed to be okay for both of them.

  They decided whoever came home first would fix dinner. One night, after her shift, Aden sat waiting for her. She seemed surprised to see his smile.

  “Hi, how was the Center?” she asked him.

  “Fine. They always discover other things to recycle. Yours?”

  “Oh, you know. The vegetables never change like the seasons around here.”

  “Guess what I heard today?

  “What?” Tessa asked, always interested in hearing anything outside of her job.

  Aden liked to share stories with her of how people were trying to get into a New City by cracking the code of the force field or catching Security off guard. All attempts failed, but they were great stories. Tessa gazed at him in disbelief with a tilted head, wondering why he felt people failing at their efforts would be funny to him.

  “Heard someone talking today about this guy who tried to break the code at the field. He blew up instantly. It’s a horrible, pain-free death,” Aden snarled with bitterness in his voice.

  “That is awful news. Anyone know why he blew up?”

  “You remember those chips put inside you at processing?”

  “I remember we had to get two chips. One in our lungs to track us. One in our eyes to use the scanners.”

  “That’s right. Turns out the chip in the lung causes instant death within inches of the field.”

  “That’s awful. Seems to me if you’re going to mess with the field, then you might as well bring the whole thing down,” Tessa said.

  Tessa smiled as Aden stared at her for a minute before he said a word.

  “I didn’t think that kind of idea would even cross your mind.”

  “Why not? The only way into New City is Exchange Day,” Tessa said. “It’s not fair the New Leaders don’t trust people enough with their goods, that they have to divide the cities by a stupid field.”

  “And you think it can change just like that…all at once. Bring all the fields down, and the New Leaders would permit the two cities to coexist.”

  “Maybe not all at once, but I think it should happen just to make a point. Then other people in all Annexes might try the same thing.”

  “You know, we were just talking after our shift at the Center how we might know someone who can just be able to do just that,” Aden said.

  “Awesome…Who? How could that even work?”

  “Well, turns out a guy from the Security team from New City is now living in The Annex.”

  “How would he manage to do that?”

  “He went out gambling one night and…”

  “Ended up in The Annex like us.” She said, ending his sentence.

  “We are going to work out a deal with him. A few of us were going to see him later tonight.”

  “Of course, I’m going with you to the meeting, right?”

  “Yeah, you are. We have to eat quickly, and then go,” Aden said.

  Tessa and Aden fixed a quick meal and walked to an apartment a few buildings down. Tessa wondered what she didn’t know about Aden.

  Tessa shook her head during the walk. She knew they would only have a few hours to visit there before curfew.

  27

  Change

  Tessa and Aden walked to the apartment of two people they met after first moving into their apartment. Daniel had a job in the recycling departmen
t with Aden. Maya, Daniel’s Union partner, worked in the cafeteria for people who lived in apartments. They told them they formed a Union a little over a year ago. Tessa guessed they were about a year older than her or Aden.

  Sitting at a chair at their kitchen table, she noticed the two young men. Although they shared the same eye color, they had different colored hair cuts.

  “We would like you to meet Joe and Axel,” Daniel said.

  “Nice to meet both of you,” Tessa said. Axel smiled. Joe nodded.

  “We’re just waiting for the others to arrive.”

  A few minutes later, one more couple walked in. The door left open for another moment. Tessa gasped as her father walked into the room.

  Shocked to see him at the meeting, she walked up to him and hugged him. Her father then winked at her. Tessa went back to stand by Aden.

  She wondered how he figured in their plans, but had no time to talk with him. Everyone appeared out of place to her. After everyone had arrived, introductions were made.

  “I am Dr. Abraham. This is Karan. I was a doctor in New City, and then, one day, they sent me to The Annex. I heard about Axel coming here from Daniel. I wanted to do my part.”

  “I am Oscar,” Tessa’s father said, “I am also Tessa’s father.”

  It didn’t surprise Tessa to see a doctor as young as Dr. Abraham. Tessa guessed him to be around twenty and probably started his training at a very young age. She heard about a handful of teens lucky enough to have the mindset, the brains, and the money to become doctors.

  “I’m Axel. Used to work Security in New City. Made the mistake of wasting my money going out with friends before my Union. I want to help bring down the force field.”

  “How can you?” Daniel asked.

  “My eye contains a chip with a code that can disengage the field. If the doctor removes it soon, we can preserve the data.”

  “But you would lose your eye?” Tessa gasped.

  “Of course, but it would be well worth it. The girl I want a Union with is still in New City.”.

  “Once the removed, it becomes deactivated, right?” Daniel asked.

  “Not if it’s immediately attached to another eye,” Axel said with no emotion.

  “Wouldn’t the person who receives the chip reject it?”

  “Not immediately,” Axel said, “If the chip is ever used for an illegal purpose, it explodes inside of the person wearing it after a few hours.”

  “Who would be willing to do that?”

  “I would,” Joe said. “He’s my cousin.”

  No one said a word for a moment.

  “My partner never made it out of New City with me,” Joe said, “She tried to lose her money, but her employer would not release her. I worked in the Center for Electricity in New City. I can cause a disruption of the field for a minute. Then bring it down with Axel’s chip.”

  “Joe is also going to reset the code, so it looks like you guys have only worked in one Annex,” Daniel said, “That way you can escape to another Annex since you can’t live here after this.”

  “We only have so much time to do this,” Axel said, “The code I carry will change soon.”

  “Let’s go,” Dr. Abraham said, “I set up an area in our apartment for such delicate matters.”

  “You run the local clinic?” Tessa asked.

  “Yes, for minor injuries only. I pay extra in rent. It’s all negotiated with the Center for Work Ethics. No one ever retires in any Annex.”

  Tessa followed Aden and the others to the doctor’s apartment. They still had time before curfew to get what they needed to be done.

  “What are we going to do?” Tessa asked Aden on the way there.

  “We are going to be a distraction.” Aden grinned.

  Wrinkling her nose, Tessa smiled, realizing how badly she wanted to help with the plan. Inside the apartment, she watched Joe and Axel walk to the small clinic inside Dr. Abraham’s apartment. Waiting in the living room, she walked over to where Aden stood alone and glared at him for answers.

  “Why is my father here?”

  “He heard some of us talking about the plan and asked to join us. Next question?” He said, cutting her off.

  “What happens next?” Tessa asked, reeling how Aden lied about her father’s reasons. She would ask him the truth at a later time, a better time.

  “Dr. Abraham removes Axel’s eye and replaces it with a bionic one. He then attaches the metal scan to Joe’s eye. We go with Joe to the field’s Control Center. While we distract the Security, Joe disrupts then disengages the field’s generator.”

  “Is there a risk distracting the guards?”

  “Some risks are worth taking; you know that.”

  “Yeah, this one is. Letting it come down for as long as it can,” Tessa said, “So how do we distract the guards?”

  “They wear Tasers. We set them to stun them.”

  “How do we get them off the guards?”

  “Leave that to me. Just remember set the color to blue, not green. We’re not trying to kill them.”

  “Got it. Pray, we don’t get caught.”

  “Trust me,” Aden said.

  “I have to.”

  “This is our way of going back to Thorndale.”

  “What will you do?”

  “My second job was the cleaning crew of the Power Center. I know the place inside.”

  “That’s where you were working?” Tessa said, not surprised with him keeping his job a secret.

  “Don’t be upset; I didn’t tell you.”

  “I get that. There’s just this word called trust.”

  “I will meet you in the tunnels.”

  “Okay, who’s going to open the door of the tunnel for me?”

  “Your father,” Aden said.

  Tessa glanced over at her father. He just winked. She walked over to him, and Aden followed.

  “So, you’re going with us?” Tessa asked.

  “I am helping you to the exit to the tunnels. Axel gave me a code. We will have a few minutes time to talk.”

  “Oh, we will.”

  “What’s wrong?” her father asked.

  “Who asked you to do this?”

  “Aden arranged this whole thing weeks ago. He invited me.”

  Tessa glared at Aden who smiled. She felt so pissed off at Aden first lying to her and then asking her father to be part of the whole plan. Tessa realized she could never change her father’s mind.

  The door to the room of the clinic opened. Out walked Axel with Joe and Dr. Abraham.

  Tessa couldn’t tell the difference between Axel’s eyes. Tessa noticed Joe squinting with his new eye as if something bothered him.

  “Time to go,” Daniel said. “We were glad we could do what we can, but we’re staying here. Maya and I are expecting a baby.”

  Smiling at Maya, Tessa walked up and hugged her. Maya said a quiet “thank you” in her ear. Tessa watched the men congratulate Daniel. Maya hugged Joe and Axel as well as her father.

  “Once it is done, I will tell people in The Annex what happened,” Dr. Abraham said. “We have a way of getting messages around.”

  Aden pulled on Tessa’s arm, signaling they needed to get going.

  Leaving with Aden and Joe, they headed to the Control Center. It felt like a long walk to the outskirts of The Annex to the location of the Control Center.

  “The first building we will see is the Power Center,” Aden whispered, as they walked. “The Control Center for the field is in a small building adjacent to it. It’s a separate building and has its own Security detail inside.”

  Tessa sneered, wondering how Aden managed to get a job inside such a protected building. Her maintenance jobs gave certain people only access to the inside of essential places.

  Finally, they were standing in front of the Control Center. Tessa saw Aden scan his eye to the panel outside of the door.

  Joe handed Aden a Taser. Tessa and Aden rushed inside first.

  She followed Aden, watc
hing him as he snuck up behind a Security guard, and pressed a Taser into his back.

  After the guard dropped to the ground, Tessa grabbed the Taser from his belt. As she reached for the Taser, she watched Aden drop the second guard to the ground with another jolt to his back.

  Tessa set the Taser to stun, to the blue color just like Aden said.

  “Time for you to go,” Joe said. “There is one more door for Aden to open.”

  “Must be my turn,” Aden grinned.

  “Thanks, Joe,” Tessa whispered and hugged Joe.

  “See you…in the tunnels,” Aden said.

  Running outside and away from the building, Tessa then walked closer to the apartments. She kept waiting for the alarm to go off as she approached the apartment. Inside, she hugged her father waiting for her. Looking at him, she saw the worried look on his face.

  Tessa accepted a quick hug and then watched him hand her a small backpack filled with food, supplies and a few pieces of warm clothing for the tunnels.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. You know. I had to do something in this place, or I would go crazy. Helping you seemed like a great idea.”

  “But the danger…”

  “Wasn’t thinking about that. Only wanted to see you safe.” He said with a smile.

  Her father wrapped his arms around her and hugged her for a short time.

  An explosion broke their few moments of silence. First, Tessa felt tears coming down her face, happy for what they accomplished but also saddened by the loss of Joe.

  The electrical field came down. The people of The Glenside Annex would have a brief chance to go in and experience the New City’s shops and Entertainment Center.

  How fun would that be, Tessa smiled to herself, but how long would it last? She felt great to be part of it.

  Tessa and her father waited as long as they could before starting a long walk behind the Containment Centers while avoiding any Security in the area. Finally, they reached the last Center. Tessa heard an announcement over the loudspeakers:

  “The shops in New City are closing early due to running out of stock. All Annex residents should report back home due to imminent curfew.”