“Remington has completed the necessary training for District Runner. As you know, he now also holds the title of District Sovereign. He will be present at all Committee meetings starting today. Let’s get started.” Crane sits in his usual seat, our new member, Remington, sits next to Adam. During this meeting I notice that Crane asks specific questions of all of us. There are no moments of open communication where the entire Sovereign committee discusses the best options for the residents, as we did in the previous meetings. Crane asks about specifics: supplies, food, clothes, gasoline, and medical supplies. He asks Adam about equipment stock, guns, bullets, non-lethal methods, and uniforms. He asks me nothing.
Crane calls the meeting to an end. A page appears on our screens to sign in agreement. This time it is not a list of guidelines for managing the District. Instead it’s a simple list of supplies for the Runner to retrieve. It includes food, yards of specifically colored fabrics, simple medical supplies and 300 gallons of gasoline. We all sign electronically and leave. Crane, Adam and Remington stay behind. I try my best to hide my disappointment for not getting to reunite with him.
I return to the lab. Ms. Black and the children resume class in the atrium. I sit in front of my computer, staring at the empty spreadsheet in front of me. Thinking about Adam, what he saw, why he was gone so long. Finally Ms. Black brings Lina into the lab and tells us both goodnight. I head to the loft with Lina, but not before I watch Ms. Black leave, holding the hands of Lina’s classmates, talking and smiling with them.
Lina and I cook dinner and get ready for bed. After she is asleep I sit on the couch and try to read. Mostly I stare out the large window at the dark lake. My eyes drift to the phone on the wall. I want to call Adam but I know I can’t. I have to wait for him to come to me. Eventually I fall asleep and the dreams start just as they usually do, with Ian standing in front of me. Looking angry, yelling my name, throwing his wedding ring. Except this time I’m shaking, it starts in my shoulders, and then I feel something brush my cheek.
“Andie… Andie…” It doesn’t stop. The dream continues, getting worse, but I can’t wake myself up. I feel a sharp pinch on my upper arm and then another, strong enough to wake me. Adam sits next to me on the couch where I fell asleep, he’s watching me, as I look around and try to orient myself.
I rub my arm, noticing there is a slight red mark. “Did you pinch me?” I ask Adam. He’s trying to contain a smile and doing a poor job at it.
“Sorry. But you wouldn’t wake up. You just kept mumbling something about how awesome I am.” I reach out and smack him on his arm. I can’t wait any longer to change the subject.
“What did you see?” I ask.
He takes a deep breath in and leans back on the couch, away from me, rubbing his face with both hands. “Well, we started heading north, where the cement wall isn’t completed yet. The recruits were out of shape, they needed a lot of reminding on basic survival skills. We got to the train station, there’s one train and the Runner is the only person, besides Crane, who knows the code to run the train, and the code to open the fence on the outskirts of the District.”
“Did you go beyond the fence?” I ask, eager to hear what has changed out in the real world.
Adam shakes his head no and continues. He gives me a detailed explanation of where they traveled to. How they had to build shelters at night and find their own food. All the main roads have been closed off. Trees have been pulled out into the road to prevent anyone from driving down them. The small single lane back roads, which pass through the forest, are still operational, mostly because the trees surrounding them provide heavy cover for any travel. Adam and the recruits saw at least three farms with fields of crops, and cattle grazing. Crane wanted them to follow the entire length of the fence, to ensure its intactness.
“You’ll never guess this one Andie,” Adam leans forward, placing his elbows on his knees, “the fence is electrified. We found that out the hard way. Three days into the trial run the younger recruit, Chad, decided he was going to try and get out, flee the District. We woke up in the morning and he was gone. When we were inspecting the fence we found his charred body a few hundred yards from where we were camped for the night.” Adam looks back at me and I understand the seriousness of his words. If we plan to escape from the Phoenix District, from under Crane’s thumb, it will not be easy.
The electrified fence worries me, but it also brings another question to mind. “So now that Remington is trained and ready to go, what’s to prevent him from just leaving and never coming back once he programs the train?”
Adam smiles slyly at me. “Crane fixed that good. The transmitter gives Crane the ability to monitor the Runner from inside the District, it includes a black button. All Crane has to do is press the button and the Runner receives a lethal dose of potassium from the transmitter. The Runner drops where they are and ta-da-”
I finish his words for him, “instant heart attack.” We sit in silence for a moment, absorbing.
Finally Adam breaks the silence. “Did you miss me while I was gone?”
“I think I missed you a little tiny bit.” I hold my index finger and thumb less than an inch apart to show him. Then I change the tone of my voice, looking down to the floor, embarrassed after our last night together. “I didn’t think you were coming back.” He reaches for me, dragging me onto his lap. I wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his neck, breathing in his scent, thankful that he is safe.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Life falls into a steady hum drum of sleeping, eating, and working. Once a week, or so, Crane beckons us for a Committee meeting. Remington makes a successful trip as the Runner. It takes him almost a week, but the train shows up with the necessary supplies to sustain the residents for half the winter. Crane never discusses what information the Funding Entities received.
Cool fall air blows into town. Lina and I spend most of our evenings outside enjoying the nice weather, letting Stevie run on the open grass in front of our building, while the Volker watch us. I continue to analyze the residents’ genes and Adam continues to work as the Volker Director, there is an influx of residents who have been cleared to train for the Volker faction. Crane runs Adam ragged, he works late, training the new recruits and assigning them to positions. I barely see him, except for at the Committee meetings, and even then he seems distant and distracted.
Now, it is late September, most of the lab workers have been sent back to Japan, their work here complete. Kira is the only one remaining; she merely visits the lab a few days a week. Crane has assigned her to help out in the school, teaching chemistry and biology. Most days I work in the lab alone, calling Kira only when I need something or have questions. Today I have been on a roll and I’m almost done separating the residents into familial groups when I hear the hushed whoosh of the lab door opening. I hope to see Adam stopping by to fill me in on some District secret, but when I turn around and stand up, I see Crane walking towards me.
“Ah, Andromeda,” Crane raises his hands to the sky as he enters the room, as though he is praising his own existence. “I hope I’m not interrupting you.” He smiles as he walks towards me.
“What do you want?” I ask, trying not to sound too rude, but I don’t want him in the lab. It is bad enough he keeps me locked up here.
“I was nearby and decided to stop in for an update on your work. Kira tells me that you’ve been going at it nonstop.” He takes one of the stools from a nearby workbench and sits on it, rolling it up to my desk. “Come, sit, show me what you’ve been working on.” He pats the seat of my office chair.
I wait for a moment, eyeing him suspiciously. He never stops here alone, never without a Volker tailing behind him. He must be up to something. Against my better judgment I sit down next to him, breathing shallow, so I don’t have to smell his sickeningly sweet musk. I explain the data on the computer screens. He’s engrossed, asking only a few questions about the analysis, but mostly nodding his head in agreement. I know he has a strong sc
ience background, from whatever he did, before he took over our town. The conversation is easy and I don’t have to repeat myself or go into depth with scientific explanations. When I’m done talking I notice that he’s staring at me. I push my chair back and stand up. Trying to distance myself, he makes me uncomfortable being so close.
“This is good Andromeda, very good.” He stands, pushing the stool back to where it was. “I want you to know that the Funding Entities will be pleased with your work.” Crane walks closer to me, much to close. I try to back up further but I’m stopped by the hard edge of the lab bench, jabbing me in the back. The smell of his cologne wafts up to my nostrils. I swallow hard at the saliva backing up in my throat. "When you begin the genetic pairing of the Residents, you must include yourself.” He stops for a moment. Giving me time to process what he is telling me.
“What are you trying to say?” He has stopped inching towards me, and stands silently, watching me. “Are you saying I will be expected to… to have a baby?” My heart sinks. I want to run, to flee the room, to get away from him. How can he expect this from me? He’s already taken everything from me, he’s ruined my family, and now he wants me to bring another child into this world.
“Yes, Andromeda, you must include all of our District Sovereign. It only makes sense to incorporate our best and brightest when planning the propagation of the District.” He pauses and looks around the room. "Have I ever told you how much I…" We are alone. My heart starts drumming in my chest. “How much I respect you, your ideas, your intellect? You were the perfect choice for this. I can see it now. All the time I spent searching, it was you. This, you, it all makes me so happy."
He’s right in front of my face, leaning towards me. I arch myself back over the bench, trying to put distance between us. Suddenly, he is pulling at my shoulders to bring me closer to him, and pressing his pale pink lips to mine. I push against his soft chest trying to get him off of me. Trying to get away from him. My heartbeat is pounding in my ears, panicked.
"Stop! Crane…" I push him hard, with all the energy I have in me, “Stop!”
He stumbles back, looking me in the eyes. His face is no longer soft and arrogant, but sharp and angry. And then, just as I least expect it, he slaps me hard across the face. I can count on my hand the number of times I’ve been hit in the face on purpose, in my entire life, and they’ve all occurred since I’ve come to this place. It stings, less than when Baillie hit me, but it still hurts.
“Soon, Andromeda, you will have to stop making me wait for you, denying me what is mine. I will not sit back and wait much longer. After all I have given you, and each time I gave you more, this lab, your loft, your daughter. You remember this day, especially when you’re pairing the residents.” He steps back, looking around the room, again. “Lucky for you, no one was here to see this."
I stare in disbelief and shock as he pulls a tissue out of his pocket and holds it to my bottom lip, almost comfortingly. When he pulls it back I see there is blood. He sets the tissue down on the lab bench. “Perhaps Colonel Baillie was correct to use a bit of force to encourage you.” He turns and walks quietly out of the room, just the way he came.
At first I’m not sure what to do, or who to tell. I can barely believe what just happened. The last thing I would have expected was that he would want me to have a baby, with him, that he expects us to be paired. I’m sure the one thing Crane doesn’t know about me is that I can’t have more children. Ian and I tried for years to give Lina a sibling, the doctors had no explanation for why I wasn’t getting pregnant. Eventually I stopped hoping that each month it would happen and we just accepted that Lina would be our only child, we put all our energy into giving her the best life we could.
I run to the door and see Ms. Black still teaching the children. Lina sits at one of the desks, working. Crane is gone. I pull an ice pack out of the lab freezer and hold it to my face. Now I know why there was no Volker following him into the lab. They would have been responsible for protecting me if they saw what Crane did. He would be putting his control over the District in jeopardy. I can’t let anyone know what he expects of me, I could never do it, not in a million years.
--
It takes almost a week for the split in my lip to heal. I tell Ms. Black and Lina that it cracked from the dry air in the building. But Adam eyes me suspiciously at the Committee meeting that week. I hide in the lab, analyzing data for weeks. Almost happy that I don’t see Adam, so I don’t have to explain to him what happened.
Soon the cool, fall weather has brought the changing of the leaves, they start to turn bright colors and fall off the trees. October is here and Lina’s birthday is just a few days away. Each week I’ve searched the grocery store for a gift for her. For cake mix, frosting, anything I could do to make her day special. And now it’s the day before and I have nothing for her. I feel like the worst mother, unable to provide my daughter with a birthday party or gift.
As I sit in front of my computer, sipping at a cup of coffee, trying to think of what I could do for her, the phone rings. When I answer there is a message from Crane. “Dearest District Sovereign, tomorrow we will celebrate the birth of a very special little girl, our very own Catalina will turn 6. Please be ready, promptly, at nine AM for the festivities.” The message ends, making my blood boil. How dare Crane take it upon himself to plan a party for my child, without consulting me, he knows nothing about her.
--
I wake Lina with the happiest birthday face I can muster. We get ready for the day and when she asks where we are going I tell her it is a surprise. I don’t let her know that I have no clue what Crane has planned.
A waiting Volker SUV brings us to the cement wall at the edge of town. A row of SUV’s are waiting as our driver pulls up, most likely with the remaining Sovereign. I see Crane in his unmistakable black suit get out and pull a brick out of the wall, behind it there is a touchpad, he enters a code and a portion of the wall slides open. After we drive through I turn around and see the wall slide closed. We are now in the forest and farmlands, outside of town, we drive for about ten minutes before we come to a farm. The vehicles park near a large red barn and everyone gets out. All of the Sovereign are there, Crane, Morris, Alexander, Ms. Black and the two boys in Lina’s class, ahead of everyone I see Adam get out of the first SUV, which drove Crane. Crane heads off around the side of the barn. Adam turns and starts walking towards us.
“Adam!” Lina runs to him with her arms open. “You came to my birthday.”
“Yes, Happy Birthday, Lina.” He picks her up and hugs her. “Now how old are you, ten or eleven?”
Lina giggles. “I’m six silly.”
He puts her down and we walk together, following the same direction as Crane.
“Hi,” Adam tells me.
“Hi,” is all I have time to respond to him, because as we make the short walk around the side of the barn, I hear Lina squeal with excitement.
“Look, Mommy, look. Did you ever see anything so great?”
My reaction is a mixture of awe and frustration, Crane really outdid himself. There are picnic tables all assembled under a large white tent, too many picnic tables for just us, decorated with pink and purple tablecloths. Balloons and streamers dangle from the large tent supports and overhangs. It continues with pink plates, cups, napkins and silverware which are all set out.
“It’s beautiful, Lina.” I lean down to hug and kiss her. She runs off with Cashel and the older boy, Marcus. I follow them to a large inflated tent that they jump in, bouncing higher and higher. I turn at the sound of air brakes squealing. When I look back towards the barn I see there are two buses unloading streams of children. Crane must have pulled them out of their classes and brought them here to celebrate Lina’s birthday, the first day of celebration in the District, my daughter’s birthday.
The day is chaotic and I follow Lina closely. The children take turns jumping in the inflatable tent and then the farm animals are brought out. There’s a petting zoo with g
oats and rabbits, pony rides, horse rides, cotton candy, and ice cream, everything a kid could want at their birthday party. A buffet table is set up with hot dogs, hamburgers, and the usual picnic fare. When everyone is finished eating, a large cake is brought out in the shape of the number six. It’s frosted beautifully with pinks and purples to match the decorations and six large sparkler candles. Everyone sings Happy Birthday to Lina, she scrunches her face up as she thinks about her wish before she blows out all six candles with one large breath. We all clap and cheer for her.
When I look around the tent I see Adam off to the side watching us. I want to talk to him, badly, but there are too many people here. We’ve barely spoken since he got back from the trial run, and that was almost two months ago. I’m not sure if he’s been avoiding me intentionally or if he has actually been busy.
After we eat cake we are escorted out to one of the fields and everyone is allowed to pick a pumpkin to bring home. The children run excitedly through the field, trying to choose the best one. After everyone has a pumpkin the teachers pack the school children back onto the buses and get ready to leave, but not before each one stops to say goodbye to Lina on their way out. After they leave only the District Sovereign are left. Crane walks towards us, smiling.
“Happy Birthday, Catalina, I hope you have enjoyed your party.” He holds his hand out for her to shake. She tries to hide behind me. I remember Crane’s warning from the lab, and I have to do what I can to make him think he might actually have a chance at getting paired with me. I don’t want to pull Lina into his twisted game, but right now our safety depends on it.
I bend down and whisper in her ear, “Lina, Mr. Crane is the one who organized this party for you. I think it would be nice if you could tell him thank you. Do you think you could do that for me?” She nods her head yes.
“Thank you, Mr. Crane.” For the first time she shakes his hand. From the beaming smile on his face I can tell that she has made his day. “Mommy, I have to go potty,” Lina whispers to me.
The Phoenix Project Page 18
