by E S Richards
“I don’t know bud,” she replied edging along the bench to be closer to her brother, “it seems…” She trailed off, unable to come up with a word or phrase to describe where they were or what had happened.
If this was indeed what was known as the safe haven then it was as far from what she had imagined as possible. In her mind the safe haven had always been a lot like her old camp, except a lot bigger and more protected. She’d imagined tall walls and maybe a forest nearby, several huts gathered together as sleeping quarters and then other buildings to mark an eating area, meeting hall or other important buildings.
Zahyra was only beginning to realise that there was much more to the world than the little huts she’d grown up in, her life being very sheltered until recent events. Even walking through the city with Cain on their way to find Asher she had experienced buildings a thousand times grander than anything she had imagined. And now they seemed to be somewhere even more incredible. The automatic door and red and green lights showing Zahyra things she had only dreamed about or read about in old books. In desperation she looked to Cain, hoping and praying that he could give her some explanation and that this wasn’t all part of some horrible plan he’d concocted.
“I’m sorry Zahyra,” he started and her heart instantly fell, “I had no idea it would be like this.”
“What do you mean?” She instantly rebuffed, “What is this place? What’s going on Cain?”
“As far as I was aware this is the safe haven,” he replied slowly. Zahyra noticed sincerity in his eyes and voice but still wasn’t completely back to trusting him.
“But…?”
“I don’t know,” he continued, “I didn’t expect it to be like this. As I’m sure you didn’t either. I’m not really sure what’s happening but I know the safe haven was here a few years ago so it makes sense that it still is. Maybe they’ve just stepped up the safety precautions or something?” Cain paused, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you it was here before, I wanted to surprise you. You’ve got to know I would never have done that if I knew it was going to be like this.”
Zahyra contemplated Cain for a second. What he was saying did make sense to her, but she still felt uneasy that she had been kept in the dark about the location of the so-called safe haven. Nothing about the people who had brought them in had appeared safe. They were more like soldiers than anything else and Zahyra knew that where there were soldiers there was likely a war of some sort – or at least something to be afraid of.
“It’s okay,” she said to Cain eventually, “I just wish you’d told me. I don’t like this place, it certainly doesn’t seem safe.”
“Are we in danger?”
Zahyra turned to her brother who had clearly been listening to her conversation with Cain. His question came out as little more than a whisper and she could see the fear in his eyes as he sat shrunken back into the wall behind him.
“You’re safe bud, I promise.”
Zahyra replied in little more than a whisper herself, unable to speak the words she sincerely doubted to be true any louder. She knew she would try her best to keep Asher safe, but after losing him once already the doubt of how well she could look after him was digging a deep hole in her heart.
Instead she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close for a hug. His breathing was rapid and his heartbeat raced against her chest, so Zahyra simply held him tight until it slowed and she felt her brother relax in her arms.
Whatever this place was she would do whatever she could to keep Asher by her side and out of harms way. She longed to do the same for Cain as well but now they were inside all her hopes of them being together were beginning to fade away quickly. The people who had captured them – was captured even the right word – had to be coming to find out their mutations soon. For all Zahyra knew they could already know. With the technology she had already witnessed she wasn’t going to dismiss any idea about the capabilities of these people, no matter how wild it seemed.
As if reading her mind – another thought Zahyra believed to be crazy but refused to dismiss as impossible – the door the four people had exited from earlier opened and two more strode into the room.
There was a man and a woman, both looking about thirty years old and wearing matching grey uniforms with knee high black boots. Zahyra’s grip on her brother tightened as they drew nearer to the bench where the three of them sat. Cain had leaned forward slightly and looked like he was ready to pounce if the need presented itself.
“Good afternoon,” the woman said politely as the two came to a stop a few feet in front of Zahyra, Cain and her brother. “My name is Heather and I am one of the leaders here at the safe haven.”
Zahyra’s eyes widened as she heard confirmation they were in the safe haven but she kept her mouth shut eager to hear what else the woman was going to say.
“I’m sorry for the rude introduction earlier,” she shot a side glare to the man accompanying her at this statement who appeared to shrink back slightly into his uniform. “But we’ve had a bit of trouble recently with a few rogue mutants and therefore we’ve decided we can never be too careful.
“This room you’re in now is simply the waiting room of this facility. You may or may not have realised that you are inside the mountain and the entirety of the safe haven resides underneath the rock. At this point I am unable to disclose any further information to you but I can tell you that as a result of the time of day you have arrived you will have to spend the night in this room. Tomorrow morning you will all be scanned, categorised and dealt with accordingly. Food will be brought to this room later today but aside from that you are not to see anyone else other than your two companions. You are not to attempt to leave this room or find a way deeper into the facility. Any variation from the rules I have just told you will result in you being treated as hostiles and again, dealt with accordingly.
“Now, unless you have any questions I will see you again tomorrow morning for your scanning.”
The woman lingered in front of the three of them for a moment before swiftly turning on her heel and walking back towards the door. The man followed behind her and Zahyra wondered what his purpose had been during this interaction. He seemed to have been in trouble for the way they had been brought in but very little of what the woman – Heather – had said had succeeded in putting Zahyra’s mind at ease. She shuddered as she heard the words dealt with accordingly echo around in her head and sank back against the wall letting out a deep breath when the door finally slid closed.
“I don’t like her,” Asher whispered after a moment and Zahyra shook her head silently in agreement.
“What’re we going to do?” She asked in the direction of Cain, although entirely aware he was unlikely to have any ideas better than her own – which at that moment in time amounted to nothing.
“There’s nothing we can do,” he replied cautiously. “You heard what she said, if we try to leave this room we’ll be… dealt with accordingly… I for one don’t want to discover what that means.”
Zahyra again shook her head silently and let out another deep breath. Whatever was going to happen they were going to have to wait until the morning when their ‘scanning’ would occur. Zahyra could only assume that meant that their generation numbers would be revealed and the truth about each of them would come out. She wasn’t sure whether she regretted keeping her Zero status from Cain and her brother but decided it was pointless revealing it now – from seeing the technology the safe haven had she suspected the truth would become apparent in a matter of hours.
The remainder of the day passed slowly. A basic meal of bread and stew was delivered to them by a young boy Zahyra thought could be no more than twelve or thirteen years old. The same boy returned an hour later to remove the empty bowls.
The three of them remained mostly silent. Asher tried to ask questions a couple of times but neither Zahyra nor Cain provided him with the answers he wanted so he gave up very soon. Zahyra had thousands of things she wanted to say to the both
of them before the ominous scanning occurred in the morning but even as she rehearsed what she would say over and over in her head she remained unable to physically open her mouth and talk.
The white room left very little to the imagination and it didn’t take long for Zahyra to lay on the ground with her eyes closed, her mind running over each and every one of her thoughts.
She must have fallen asleep at some point in the evening as the sound of the door opening caused her to stir, her back stiff from sleeping on the ground. As her eyes focused in on Heather, this time accompanied by two different men on either side she leapt to her feet and moved to the bench to sit between Asher and Cain, both of whom were already wide awake and staring at Heather and her companions.
“Good morning,” Heather smiled through pearly white teeth that still looked unnaturally bright in the white room. “If you could all follow me please, we’d like to begin the scanning and identification procedure.”
Chapter 28
Zahyra swallowed and remained perfectly still. Cain was the first to move beside her, sliding his hands off his lap and onto the bench either side of him, which he then used to push himself up into a standing position. He turned his head to look at her as he stood. His eyes were almost pleading with her to stand and proceed with the scanning. Zahyra wanted to do nothing less, but sensed their fate would be much worse if any one of them refused.
“Come on then bud,” she smiled looking at her little brother. He was shaking slightly where he sat, undoubtedly the memories of what had happened at the scanning on his early Turning Age Ceremony flooding back to him.
“Oh my god!” Zahyra suddenly exclaimed.
“What?” Cain twisted back around from where he’d begun walking towards Heather and her two men.
“I can’t believe I forgot,” Zahyra continued. “I’m so sorry bud, happy birthday!”
The fearful look in Asher’s eyes was replaced momentarily by a smile and a flash of remembrance but then quickly faded back to nervousness.
“Thanks Zar,” he said quietly rising from the bench and taking her hand. “I think I kind of forgot too don’t worry.”
Zahyra pulled him close for a hug and whispered something in his ear, causing a stern look to appear on Asher’s face. He pulled away from her slightly and nodded before looking forward to where Heather and her men were still waiting.
“Let’s go then,” Zahyra remarked plainly and moved closer to where Cain still stood.
“Happy birthday little man,” Cain smiled when Asher reached him and bent down to shake his hand. Asher let go of Zahyra for just a brief moment to return the handshake and then reached back around himself to hold onto his older sister. With his other hand he found Cain’s and looked up at him with a determined spark in his eyes. Cain smiled again and started to lead the three of them out of the room.
Heather and her companions had remained quiet for the menial birthday celebrations but once she accepted the three of them were ready to follow her she spun lightly on her heel and started walking back towards the door. Her two male companions waited until Zahyra and the others had passed them, forcing each of them to drop the hand of whomever they were holding and then followed dutifully behind.
Walking through the door on the other side from where they had entered previously Zahyra was amazed at the building that greeted her. The door opened up into a long corridor with a white floor and glass walls, behind the walls she could see different rooms containing flashing screens, electrical devices and vials of different coloured liquids.
The rooms were filled with men and women all wearing matching grey uniforms but with different coloured strips of fabric around their arms. Zahyra noticed these strips of fabric were where their generation numbers should be visible and wondered whether the coloured fabric was another way of defining mutation rankings.
She hadn’t noticed it immediately but she now spotted the fabric Heather was wearing as she walked in front of Zahyra, Cain and her brother. It was a faint purple colour; similar to a few others she could see in the glass rooms. Zahyra wondered what generation number it correlated to and felt a wave of panic shoot through her as she realised that without knowing what the colours stood for she had no way of determining which of these people were dangerous.
She both admired and feared the people working behind the glass as she was led down the corridor. Many of them were staring at screens and scribbling things down while others transferred liquids from one container to another. In the corner of one room an old man was sat in a chair with his head between his hands. He wore a black strip of fabric around his right arm that looked like it had silver dots on it. Before Zahyra could get a closer look however she was steered around a corner and brought to a halt in front of another large door.
Her brother was standing next to her, and Cain remained on the other side of him. Asher was shaking slightly again and Zahyra slowly edged out her left hand to touch him on the back. She heard one of the men behind them begin to step forward to stop her but the other one must have allowed it as Zahyra comforted her brother as best she could for a situation she knew nothing about.
When the door in front of them beeped and parted in the middle, each half slid back into the wall either side of it to reveal a dimly lit room. As Heather walked purposely into the centre of the room lights flashed on automatically in the ceiling above her head. Zahyra heard her brother gasp at how the lights worked as she too cast her eyes over the ceiling, admiring the technological display.
The door slid closed silently behind Zahyra and without her noticing four more men came into the room behind her, accompanying the initial two and Heather. She noticed then that each of the six men wore fabrics coloured a different shade of red. Some were almost pinkish like the sky during sunset while others wore a deep shade of crimson, which reminded her of blood.
“Right,” Heather suddenly started speaking from the other side of the room. She was stood between a pair of cabinets housing various devices. In the one to her left Zahyra could distinctly see an Identifer similar to ones she was used to. She grew curious at its presence.
Normally they were only used on ten year olds, so it would be the obvious choice for identifying Asher’s mutation, but how was it going to work on Cain and herself. She wondered whether the technology had been advanced somehow, this whole facility already showing her things she’d only ever dreamed possible.
“Oldest first?”
On her command two of the six men who were waiting by the walls of the room stepped forward and grabbed hold of Cain. He struggled against them but the grip they held on his arms and torso restricted any movement. Zahyra could see him instead decide not to fight and concentrate on what must be his ability to control his mutation. She knew it manifested itself in stressful situations so Cain had to be struggling to control himself right now.
While two men held him the other four moved into a side room and carried out a large chair between them. It was primarily made out of wood but Zahyra could see metal cuffs on the legs and the armrests. They had to be for holding someone in place she thought, her musing quickly confirmed as Cain was pushed into the chair and his wrists and ankles tightly secured.
The six men moved away from him at this point and Heather turned to the cabinet holding the Identifier Zahyra had noticed earlier in one hand. In the other she held a strange looking metal helmet with straps dangling from each side.
“Zahyra?” Cain’s voice swiftly cut through her thoughts and she moved her eyes over to where he was being restrained. He didn’t look like he was hurt in any way and could have almost seemed relaxed if the cuffs holding him weren’t visible.
“It’s going to be okay you know,” he continued, making eye contact with her across the room. “You and Asher will be safe here, and I’ll be fine too.” He paused, not wanting to reveal any unnecessary information to Heather and her men, although Zahyra still suspected they already knew more than they were letting on.
“Promise me you’ll st
ay safe, okay? Promise me Zahyra.”
Cain said these last words almost more as a threat than as a question, but Zahyra knew what his intentions were. She silently nodded and tried to give him a smile as Heather leant over his body, obstructing her view of him.
The metal helmet was attached to Cain’s head, the thin straps winding underneath his chin and attaching amongst his wild beard hairs – days of roaming around in the forest leaving it unkempt and out of control. Heather stepped back once the helmet was properly fixed in place and Zahyra noticed she pressed a button on the Identifier she held in her hand. Normally they worked by themselves, so she assumed this must be the adaption needed to make them work on those over the age of ten.
A whirring sound began to fill the room that became so loud Zahyra had to cover her ears with her hands. After a minute the noise stopped and Cain let out a loud breath, sagging slightly in the chair.
Heather stared down at the Identifier in her hand waiting for the result. Another difference in the Identifier’s Zahyra thought, normally the generation number was shown immediately on the device itself. She gritted her teeth and waited for Heather to announce the news she already knew was coming, praying that by some stroke of luck Cain would still be allowed to remain in the facility, or at least Zahyra would be allowed to accompany him wherever he went.
Heather’s Identifier beeped three times and then she slowly lifted her head.
“Rank: Generation 4. Unsuitable for housing. Begin removal procedure.”
“No!” Zahyra suddenly exclaimed jumping forward towards Cain. “He’s not a mutant! He can control it, please, let me stay with him.”
“Zahyra,” Cain spoke softly from the chair. “I’ll be fine. I told you this. You have your brother now, you need to stay here and be strong for him.”
