“Where is he?” I pressed.
“In the orchard,” she said.
I turned to go, but she leaned in close, tugging on my arm.
“Do you think the new rule is because of me? My deal with the overseer? Maybe someone found out.” She’d braided her hair and tucked the tail into the neck of her tunic, hiding it. “If the matchmakers found out, it would hurt my chances of finding a good mate,” her voice dropped. “They’d wonder about my questionable morals.”
She wasn’t thinking about Mae or any of the elders. All she cared about was finding a mate. “This has nothing to do with you,” I told her.
“Are you sure?”
If she noticed my thin-lipped nod of annoyance, she didn’t say anything. I wished Sari had a second-degree ancestor. Maybe then she’d understand the tenderness I felt for Mae and how scary the new energy-sharing rule was to me. But I wasn’t in the mood to explain it to her. Without saying a proper goodbye to her, I left the kitchen. Let her worry about her hair and being matched if those were the things that mattered to her. Mae was what mattered to me, and no one was going to take her away from me without a fight.
Between the garden and the field lay the orchard. Rows of trees hung heavy with blossoms or fruit depending on the time of year. A figure sat underneath an orange tree, his head resting against the trunk, legs splayed in front of him. Lev heard me approach and looked over, his face relaxed when he saw it was me. “I thought you hadn’t got my message,” he said.
I almost told him about my pulse point, and then stopped. Not because I didn’t trust him; I did. But if I told him and then it was discovered he’d kept it a secret…I cringed at the punishment that would be given to him. Anyway, a broken pulse point was trivial compared to helping Mae. I’d deal with one problem at a time.
“I got away as soon as I could,” I said, pacing. I couldn’t sit down, I was too worked up. It didn’t help that I kept hoping my pulse point was going to suddenly start working.
“Kaia,” he said and stood up. He didn’t have to say anything else. He put his hands on my shoulders to still me. “It’ll be okay.”
I gave him a look of disbelief. “No, it won’t.”
He frowned and was about to say something, but instead dropped his hands. Someone was on the path walking towards us. I darted out of sight behind the tree. It wasn’t technically a punishable offence to be together, but we both knew it put us in a tricky situation. The Council made it clear that emotion couldn’t be allowed to dictate matches, and it was why every Citizen’s hormones were regulated through their pulse points. But neither of those things had stopped us from meeting before.
As soon as the Citizen was gone, I sank to the ground. Lev sat down beside me. My skin tingled where we touched. As usual, having Lev so close made me forget the warnings about romantic entanglements. What had begun as a childhood friendship between Lev and me had developed into something more. We met like this often, escaping to private corners of the City. I got a bittersweet tumble in my stomach being so close to him, every minute cherished because it would all come to an end when he was matched.
Today was different though.
“Lev, the energy-sharing rule,” I broke off and looked at him helplessly. “Why are they doing this?”
His expression turned grim. “It’s a culling. They’ve done it before, ridding the City of the weak,” he said, his voice low.
“Mae will be one of the first to go, won’t she?” Panic rose in me and my voice trembled. “Can you help? You’re one of them now. You have power.”
“Kaia—” he started, shaking his head. “I can’t argue with a Council order.”
“Tar brought it forward, didn’t she?”
“I don’t know,” he said, but I knew I was right. I could read it on his face.
“I thought overseers and the Council were supposed to protect us,” I fumed. “But instead they attack the weak. It’s not fair.” I looked at Lev, hoping to incite a reaction.
“Nothing about the City is fair.” His voice was hopeless as he stared off at the Mountain. “I balanced someone yesterday.”
My chest ached for what that must have been like for him. Anyone but Tar could see he wasn’t meant to be an overseer. “Was it horrible?”
“He fought. I didn’t think he’d be so strong.” Lev turned his unmarked cheek to me. A purplish bruise coloured it.
“Oh, Lev,” I reached for his hand and held it in mine. He closed his eyes and his chin quivered. For the hundredth time since he’d been assigned overseer, I wished he could stand up to Tar and tell her overseeing wasn’t for him.
“I would have let him go, Kaia,” he said. “We didn’t have to end his life. Not like that.”
I thought of the female at the clinic, the one with the non-viable embryo. I’d let her go, making a choice that had nothing to do with the good of the City. “Go to the Council. Tell them you want to be reassigned.”
Clutching his arm, I felt his muscles tense. He shook his head. “Do you know how hard Tar worked to get me assigned as an overseer? She had the career analyst rewrite my placement report.”
I stared at him in shock. I hadn’t known that.
“I thought after yesterday she’d see, I’m not like her, or Kellan. But it didn’t make a difference. She thinks one day I’ll take over the City,” he said with a mirthless laugh. “That I’ll be a leader.” Lev shook his head. “She has no idea who I really am. I can’t spend the rest of my life balancing elders.” He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. Without energy sharing, there’d be more balancings, many more.
A lump grew in my throat thinking about Mae spending her last moments in a dark room with an overseer and a balancer. If she was taken when I was at work, I wouldn’t even have a chance to say goodbye.
“I wish we could leave,” he blurted. “How could outside be worse than it is in here?” He looked back towards the Mountain. “We could go together.” He squeezed my hand and met my eyes with a melancholy smile. “To the Mountain and beg the Prims to take us in.”
“What about the beasts?” I asked.
“We’d tame them, or run fast.” He gave me a wry smile, then shifted so his body was facing me.
“And then we’d live there, free from everything and make a life together.”
“Yes,” His word was a whisper, his breath licking my earlobes. I was powerless against him as his hand snaked its way up my arm, cradling the back of my head.
“Lev,” I moaned. His lips brushed mine and my heart beat wildly. What we were doing was wrong, every nerve screamed it, but how could I make him stop when I didn’t want him to?
But he did. He always did because we both knew the consequences. Forcing ourselves apart, I adjusted my tunic and lay back down beside him, nestled in his arms.
“I could never leave Mae,” I whispered.
He nodded. “She could come with us.”
I tilted my head and saw him smile.
“I’ll ask her,” I said, playing along. It was an impossible dream, we both knew that. No one could survive outside the City.
Lev grew serious. “I’ll talk to Tar tomorrow. Maybe she can make an exception for Mae? After today, she’s the only Original left. That has to count for something.”
“If it doesn’t, will you tell me when it’s going to happen? Give me some warning, so I can—” I broke off, my voice cracking at the thought of having to say goodbye to Mae.
Lev hugged me to his chest, his breath warm against my cheek. “I’ll send you a message the second I know anything,” he promised. I nodded against him, the fabric of his tunic rubbing my cheek. I pressed myself harder against him, reassured that he’d do whatever he could to help me.
It wasn’t until later, as I walked back to my dwelling that I realized even if Lev was able to send a message about Mae, I’d never get it. Not with a broken pulse poin
t.
Lev
A noticeable gloom hung over the gymnasium. No one chatted or exchanged pleasantries. Citizens ran without their usual vigor, still reeling from the news about energy sharing. A few elders had made an appearance, intent on proving they could still produce joules. Their stiff-kneed steps and pained expressions only reinforced the Council’s decision.
At the far end of the gymnasium, a young boy celebrated his First Mat Day. Usually a day to celebrate, the people around him gave half-hearted cheers as he completed his first run. It wasn’t him I was watching though. It was his second-degree elder. She stood outside of the circle, watching, tears welling in her eyes. It would be the last first run she saw.
I’d spent the morning working up the courage to speak to Tar. It would be a delicate discussion. I couldn’t sound too desperate to save Mae, or she’d call me weak. And, if I didn’t show enough interest, she’d ignore me. My stomach twisted in knots as I approached the stairs to the underland chambers. These were hidden in the labyrinth of corridors and few Citizens ever made their way down here. Dank and cool, the air smelled different. Rows of small holes cut in the ceiling let light from above shine through, but there were no windows, no connection with the outside at all.
The Scientists had built the underland first as an underground bunker. I didn’t know how far the chambers extended under the surface, no Citizen did.
Tar sat at her station, a hologram projected in front of her. With access to innumerable applications other Citizens never knew about, she and the other Council members could have run the City without ever leaving the underland. “Lev,” she said, “I wasn’t expecting you.” I listened for annoyance, but there was none. She sounded happy to see me. I wondered what I could have done right to get that reaction.
I took a deep breath. “I came to talk to you about something. I need a favour.”
She gave a disgruntled sigh. “Overseers don’t ask for favours. Especially from a Councillor.”
My rehearsed speech froze in my throat.
She gave a harsh laugh. “I can see from the look on your face that wasn’t the answer you wanted.”
I gritted my teeth. With a curt nod of my head, I turned on my heel, ready to leave.
“Don’t run off so fast,” she said, her tone conciliatory. “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.” I hesitated. I’d come to save Mae, and if I left, I had no chance of success. I knew how Tar worked, I’d seen the bargains she made. So, I took a deep breath and faced her.
Her eyebrows rose slightly, expectantly. “I put your name in for a match.”
“What?” I stared at her in disbelief. “You can’t do that!”
“I can and did. You were dragging your feet, probably waiting for that female, Kaia, to put her name in. Which is ridiculous because you’d never match with her.”
My cheeks flushed red.
She sat back with a satisfied grin and with a few swishes of her finger, a row of female Citizens’ profiles floated in front of me.
The third from the left was Sari. I widened my eyes in surprise. Match with Sari? Kaia’s best friend? Tar saw my eyes linger on her and pounced. “Good genetics, not as high on intelligence as I would have liked, but she has overseers on both sides and one Council Member from the first generation.”
“You can’t force me to make a match.”
“Can’t I?”
My face flushed and I fought to stay calm. This was typical Tar, a manipulation game to get what she wanted. There had to be a way to use this to my advantage. My mind clicked through possibilities. “The female has to agree to the match.”
“Yes, and why wouldn’t she? Your genetics are excellent.”
“She wouldn’t want me if I was unfit to be an overseer.”
Tar narrowed her eyes at me. It was a dangerous bargaining chip, but it was all I had.
“Females might think the whispers about the mark on my face are true. Maybe there are more genetic defects than you’ll admit. Especially if I became an embarrassment to you. A failure as an overseer.”
Tar glared. “You’re self-destructive. I’m trying to help you, give you a future in the City.”
“You’re not helping me,” I snorted. “You’re controlling me.”
Tar hooted with laughter. “You think I’ll stand by and let you match with Kaia? Is that what the two of you were plotting last night in the orchard?” Colour drained from my face. Tar stood up and took a step toward me, intimidating even though I was a head taller. “You think I don’t know?” I shut my eyes, turning away from her. When she spoke, a fine spray of spit hit my cheek. “If you saw Kaia’s profile you’d realize, she’ll never match.”
I curled my fingers into fists as anger boiled through me. “You’re just saying that because she matters more to me than you do.” Even as the words left my lips, I knew they would incite her. Maybe I was self-destructive.
Her hand came up fast and the slap caught me off guard. I reeled, dizzy.
“How dare you,” she hissed at me. “After all I’ve done for you!”
Her loss of composure gave me a small victory. I’d touched a nerve. “What you’ve done has been for you. You’ve never asked me what I want.” I put my finger to the corner of my mouth, wiping away a trickle of blood.
“And what do you want?” Her voice dripped with derision.
“Reinstate energy sharing. Do that and I’ll agree to match.”
“Energy sharing?” she repeated. “Why? So the female can save her elder for what? A few more weeks? A month?”
Determined not to let her distract me or talk me out of it, I stood my ground, meeting her dark, flinty eyes. My promise to Kaia within reach.
She stared at me as if I was a stranger. “You’re willing to bargain for her?”
Again, I nodded.
Clamping my lips shut against her taunts, I didn’t flinch. For once, I had the upper hand.
“My choice for your match,” she whispered, slowly, “is Sari.” Her face lit up as mine paled.
A row of potential matches and she’d picked the one that would most wound Kaia. Anger burned in my chest and I threw her a hateful look. Never had I despised Tar more than this moment.
She gave me a slippery, triumphant smile. “You agree?” she asked and waited for me to give her a stiff nod. “I’ll have the energy-sharing rule reversed and the elders can rest easy.”
I’d done it. Whatever else I’d agreed to, at least Mae had been saved. As I turned to go, Tar’s voice punctured the air. “One more thing, Lev.”
I looked at Tar. A smug expression slithered across her face. “The next time you try to bargain with me, check your facts. The order to take Kaia’s elder was given this morning.”
A strangled scream of frustration lodged itself in my throat. I tore down the corridor and up the stairs desperate to find Kaia. When I got to the walkway, I barrelled into Citizens, too panicked to stop and send her a message.
“Lev!” Across the stream someone called my name. I turned and caught a flash of Sari’s golden hair, her arm raised in a wave. “Send Kaia a message,” I shouted. “They’re coming for Mae!” Or had they already?
Sari shouted something after me, but I was running too fast to hear her. Please, don’t let it be too late. The words repeated in my head until I was at Kaia’s dwelling. My breath rasped in my throat as I lifted my fist to hammer on her door. Please, don’t let it be too late.
Kaia
“Mae?” I called when I came home from work. Sy sat on the balcony, staring at the Mountain. In one of his moods, I thought, with a resigned sigh.
He turned around and looked at me with red-rimmed eyes. “She’s gone, Kaia. They took her this morning.”
I stared at him, numb with disbelief. “No,” I muttered and shook my head. “No.”
Sy stood up and took a few steps to
wards me. Frown lines were etched deep into his cheeks.
I never got to say goodbye. I always thought we’d know when her time was up. That we’d be warned.
Lev had promised to tell me.
Had he tried? I stared at my finger: 125 glowed, peaceful, ever present.
I felt it then, a collapse in my chest, like the ground was giving way. My knees buckled and Sy swooped in and scooped me up like I was a child.
“Mae!” I cried, rocking against him. “Mae!” My sobs echoed in the dwelling and my throat ached.
Mae was gone.
I wept, soaking Sy’s tunic with my tears. “You need to sleep,” Sy said, leading me to my capsule. But that wasn’t what I needed. I needed Mae.
I refused to leave my capsule the next day and the one after that. Grief made me ache. It hurt to breathe, a throbbing hollowness made every muscle sore.
Sy tried talking to me, telling me that Lev had come, bringing food and apologies. He wanted to see me, but I kept the door on my capsule locked. I didn’t want to see anyone. Not Lev, not Sari and not Sy.
I lay in my capsule for days, but still my pulse point glowed 125.
I stared at the number like it was a cruel joke. The malfunctioning pulse point that allowed me to retreat from life had also kept me from Mae when she needed me the most.
My need for the toilet was the only thing that pulled me from the capsule. Sy ambushed me on one of my trips back to the safety of my dark cocoon. “Kaia, you have to eat,” Sy begged.
“No.” After not talking for so long, the words came out in a croak.
“At least come to the balcony. There’s a harvest moon tonight. It’s rare. Something to see.”
I ignored him and crawled back inside, pulling the capsule door shut behind me. I held up my finger, the hologram projecting against the white wall of the capsule and opened the first memory I’d ever saved. It was Mae, younger, her hair still dark, skin smoother on her cheeks, eyes bright. She was on a bridge, the orchard in the background, giving me my first lesson in saving a memory. “That’s right, now close your eyes and relive it. Your memory chip will capture it and store it for you.” Darkness followed and then the loop repeated.
Pulse Point Page 4
