The Other Earth

by Amber LaShell

  "I'm so sorry. I will do what I can to make sure she doesn't tell anyone about me. I will sit her down and have a talk with her, and let her know that if she so much as tells her teddy bears that I will have to leave, just like the guy before me" I said.

  She nodded, "Do whatever is necessary to get her to stay quiet. I am going to bed, good night dear."

  I smiled as she turned and walked down the dark hallway to where her bedroom was located.

  Chapter Nineteen

  I walked into work slowly, scared that Vanessa had once again trusted the wrong person. We had only been on this planet for a few days and I didn't want to get caught and have to abort the mission that quickly.

  "Good Morning" the lady at the front desk said with a smile. I waved to her as I brought the cup of coffee I had stopped to get this morning. Now that I knew you only had to prove to them that you were following your government order and they would give you anything you wanted I knew I had to start getting good coffee, not the slop that was in the break room here.

  I took a sip and sighed, it was no Starbucks, but it was better than the alternative. I used my card to open the door and walked down the hallway, looking around to see if anyone was watching for me.

  "Excuse me?" I heard a man's voice behind her.

  I turned around slowly, my heart pounding as I pictured myself hanging from a dungeon wall. As I turned around I saw that it was a teen-aged boy standing there, probably lost.

  I took a deep breath, "Yes can I help you?" I asked him.

  He nodded, "Yes, I'm supposed to be here to get tested but I don't know where to go" he said.

  I smiled at him, "You are in the right place. Just head over to the second door on the right and someone will be right there" I told him.

  He let out a breath, "Oh good. I don't like this place, I was scared of walking into some part of the building I wasn't supposed to be in. Thanks." He said, walking to the exam room.

  I turned left and walked into Vanessa's office. I looked around and saw that she wasn't there yet. I walked around her desk and saw a note taped to her computer screen. I picked it up and unfolded it.

  "Randi. I have an errand to run and will not be back until lunch time. There is a young man named Andrew coming in to be tested. Can you please have him give you a sample and put it in the storage area? After that you will just need to send him in to Alberta. See you soon."

  I looked around the room frantically, hoping that Vanessa would pop out of a corner. I had only worked there for less than a week. I wasn't ready to collect samples from patients. I sat down in Vanessa's chair for a few moments trying to slow my heart rate down. I couldn't let Vanessa down, she needed me to step up and make sure things were handled properly. I thought back to the first patient that we had and remembered a large refrigerator in the file room that stored hundreds of cups that contained lids.

  I stood up and walked down the hall, peeking into the exam room as I did and saw Andrew sitting in the chair, flipping through a magazine. I held my breath as I continued down the hall and into the file room. I looked and saw the large silver door that housed the samples. I walked over and opened it up quickly and was happy to see that it had only empty cups on a few of the shelves. I noticed that the cups already had names written on them and as I looked through I saw one that said Andrew Davis with today's date on it. I figured this was probably the cup that I was looking for and grabbed it, closing the door behind me and walking back to the exam room.

  As I walked in Andrew looked up from his magazine at me. "Oh, hello again" he said.

  "Hello Andrew. My name is Randi. I am going to need a sample in this cup" I said, handing him the cup.

  He looked down at the cup and then back up to me, "A sample of what exactly?" he asked.

  I felt my cheeks slightly burn and hoped they used the same technical terms for it as we did back home. "A sample of your sperm" I said.

  He tilted his head slightly, seeming confused, "How do I get a sample of that?" he asked.

  I felt my cheeks flush even more and knew that they were already beet red, "Well you masturbate and finish into the cup." I said.

  He still had a confused look on his face and I wondered for a second just how sheltered his life had been to this point. I figured I would explain further, "You know. You rub it until white stuff comes out and you make the white stuff go into the cup" I explained wanting to bolt out of the room and hiding somewhere in a closet.

  Andrew's eyes went wide and his cheeks flamed red as he looked from the cup and then back over the magazine he was looking at, "Oh" he said.

  "Do you think you can handle that?" I asked, afraid he would say no.

  He nodded, "Yes I think so" he answered quietly.

  I cleared my throat, "Okay great. I will give you some privacy. Flip the red switch over by the door once you are all done and cleaned up okay?" I asked.

  He simply nodded and stood there as still as a statue as I walked out of the door, making sure the switch was pointed up before closing the door behind me.

  I ran to Vanessa's office and sat at her desk, covering my face with my hands, hoping I would never have to explain something like that to a teenager ever again.

  I pulled out my notebook, writing down the experience I had just had, noting how some of the patients came in to be tested at such a young age that I had just basically humiliated a young teenager who had probably never even so much as thought about masturbating before.

  I could feel my cheeks burning as I wrote about the experience, realizing how unprofessional I had to sound telling him to rub his thing until white stuff came out of it. I was still writing when I heard the dinging noise that meant that he was all done in the exam room. I looked down at my watched and was surprised to see that only about ten minutes had gone by. That had to be some kind of a record.

  I put my notebook back into my purse and walked slowly to the room, hoping he was really completely finished and clothed when I opened the door.

  I took a deep breath as I pushed the door open slowly. "It's okay, I'm all done" I heard Andrew say.

  I pushed the door the rest of the way open, "Great, all you need to do now is speak to the therapist. She is in the office right next to this one on the left. She is expecting you." I said, waiting for him to leave.

  He didn't even want to look me in the eyes as he lowered his head and hurried out of the office, eager to get away from the person that knew he had just rubbed one out. I looked down at the cup that was left in the little window where it was supposed to be. I closed the door and walked out of the room, heading back into the file room. I went over to the small window that was there and waiting for the sample to be frozen until it could be tested. Once the little green light came on I opened the window and putting on a pair of rubber gloves from the box next to the window, picked up the sample and quickly put it into the silver fridge.

  I sighed as I closed the large door behind me, hoping Vanessa would come back soon and not make me ever do anything like that all by myself.

  ***

  I looked up as Vanessa came rushing into the room. She looked around and quickly closed the door behind her.

  "Hey" I said.

  "Randi. I'm so sorry I left you alone" she said, walking over to her desk and sitting down. "Did you get Andrew's sample?" she asked.

  I nodded, "Yes, and I was never more embarrassed in my life. I had to explain to him how to jerk off" I told her, sitting in the chair across from her.

  She shook off her jacket and laughed, "Oh he knows what it is. I know his family, he just doesn't know the technical terms for it. His parent have preached to him that it was evil to touch yourself down there, but they never told him what it was and what it was for or anything like that. He has been caught doing it a few times though." She said.

  I shook my head, "Oh well, I'm just glad that it's over with. He is in with Alberta now." I told her, pushing his papers toward her.

  She didn't even look down at them and pushed them
to the side. "Listen Randi. There is so much I need to talk to you about. I wish I would have known you were underground before, things would not have been so awkward. Listen, do you think that anyone can go underground?" she asked me.

  My heart starting racing, hoping that I would give her the right answers and not make her even more suspicious of me, "I'm sure they can. I never really paid attention, I didn't know we were underground until I was a teenager" I told her, figuring that this would be true.

  She nodded, "Yes, I could see that. You see the thing is I am actually thinking about going underground. The only problem is, I'm not just some random citizen that they won't notice is gone" she said.

  I bit my lip slightly, "Why do you want to go underground? I thought you chose this job because you didn't want to get matched?" I said, remembering our previous conversation.

  "Well, I don't want to be matched, but I would like to live a life that is not so controlled by the government. There are many different underground cities, which one are you from?" she asked, looking at me in awe.

  I bit my lip harder, knowing I couldn't fake past this one, "Well, you see I am under strict orders not to reveal that to anyone" I said, holding my breath and waiting for her answer.

  She smiled, "I understand. Your mission is your first priority, and I would not dream of jeopardizing that. Well, there is an underground city called Europa, have you heard of it?" she asked.

  I simply nodded, hoping she didn't ask me for any type of specific details about this city.

  "Well, Europa would be the best place for someone like me. You see, most of the underground cities are for the mission. They have soldiers like yourself that are trained to come above ground and collect information. Europa is different. There are families that live there with houses and lives. I want to finally live" she said.

  I sighed, "But you are worried about what will happen since you are an important part of the government system here" I said, running my fingers through my hair.

  She nodded, "Yes exactly. Also, I have been trying to convince my parents to go too, so that they can live out in the open the way that they deserve to" she said.

  "They don't want to go?" I asked her.

  She shook her head, "No, they say that they enjoy their lives the way it is. My mother and father share a house with separate bedrooms and the other couples share a house with their own bedrooms. They say they enjoy going to their separate houses, that it keeps the relationships fresh" she said, blowing her long black bangs out of her eyes in frustration.

  "Well, forbidden love is exciting" I said, thinking of Brandon and wondering if he was home already.

  She sighed, "Yes I understand that, but it's not just infatuations. They are truly in love with them and it's an opportunity to love each other openly, without fear of being caught" she argued.

  "I understand what you are saying, but you have to think of it from their point of view" I said.

  "What do you mean?" she asked, pulling her long hair up into a messy bun, making her already tight shirt stretch against her large chest.

  I quickly looked back up to her face, hoping she didn't catch me staring at her breasts, "Well, they are happy. They have the deli here, and they have an arrangement that has worked for them for many years" I said.

  She sat back in her chair and closed her eyes, "Oh, you are right. Dammit Randi, why do you have to be so right? I'm never going to get them to come with me am I?" she asked, her voice quivering as though she was close to tears.

  I shrugged my shoulders, "Who knows, there may come a time when they will see a need to go underground. But as long as things stay the way they are, they are happy and see no reason to go into hiding, even if it is with their daughter."

  Vanessa put her head down onto her desk and sat there for a few seconds. "I think your right Randi" she mumbled.

  "I'm sorry V" I said, reaching over and touching her arm for support.

  She looked up and I saw that she had tears streaming down her cheeks, "I'm scared" she said.

  I stood up and walked around the desk and pulled her up and wrapped my arms around her. She put her head on my shoulder and I could feel her start to cry even harder.

  "What are you scared of Vanessa?" I asked her.

  She lifted her head and looked at me for a few seconds, "I don't think I can do it without them" she said, tears now freely flowing down her cheeks.

  "You are a strong woman, you can do anything if you put your mind to it" I said.

  She smiled slightly through the tears and continued to stare into my eyes. I tried to look as positive as I could, but as I looked into her eyes the atmosphere in the room changed. It felt as though there were sparks flying out of her chocolate eyes as she stared into my own.

  I quickly pushed her away, "Vanessa. What are you doing?" I asked slowly, surprised by that she had so abruptly kissed me.

  She blushed, "I'm so sorry. It's just been such a long time since anyone comforted me that way, I guess I just lost my head for a second" she said, wiping away the tears that were still streaming down her face.

  I sighed, "I'm sorry Vanessa, but I don't have romantic feelings for you. My feelings for you are purely platonic. I'm sorry if I led you on somehow."

  Suddenly a knock on the door pulled us out of our own little soap opera and we jerked apart, and without thinking twice, I ran back around the desk to the chair in front of Vanessa as she quickly sat back down.

  "Come in" she said.

  I turned to look as the door opened and saw Andrew coming in shyly, "Hello Miss Wilson. Alberta is finished with me and told me to bring you this file" he said, looking over and seeing me in the chair.

  "Um. Hello Randi" he said, his cheeks flushing red.

  I smiled at him and nodded, trying to seem nonchalant about the fact that I had to explain to him something so embarrassing just a couple of hours ago.

  "Andrew, thank you so much. How did your session go?" Vanessa asked, never missing a beat or seeming awkward in any way.

  "It was okay I guess. Are you okay Miss Wilson? You look like you have been crying." Andrew said, looking at Vanessa with a look of concern on his face.

  Vanessa smiled, "Its okay Andrew. Just some family issues, nothing to worry yourself over. I should have your results by tomorrow. You are scheduled to come back in the morning correct?" she asked.

  He nodded, "Yes Alberta told me that I was the last one to be tested in my group and that everyone will be assigned tomorrow" he said.

  Vanessa nodded, "Right she is. Are you staying in one of the apartments upstairs for the night?" she asked.

  Andrew nodded, "Yes. Since I have to be back tomorrow, they didn't want to send me back to sector two for just the night." He said.

  Vanessa nodded at him, "Good. I'll see you first thing in the morning." She said to him.

  He smiled at her and turned to leave the room. "Hey Andrew" Vanessa said to him.

  He turned back around, "Yes Miss Wilson?" He asked.

  "If you are staying upstairs be sure to ask for a burger for dinner. They are the best around" she said, giving him a small wink.

  He smiled a big toothy smile for the first time since I had met him, his face lighting up in the process.

  I turned and looked back at Vanessa, "What was that about?" I asked her.

  She shook her head, "Oh nothing, just giving a tip" she said.

  I nodded, "Okay. Look I really need to get home" I said, hoping to avoid any awkwardness.

  Stacey smiled, "Randi. I'm really sorry about before. I shouldn't have done that. You were just being so sweet and you felt so good hugging me, I just couldn't help myself." She said.

  I smiled, "That's okay V. Don't worry about it, I understand completely. Still friends?" I asked.

  Vanessa smiled and nodded, looking sad and unsure of herself for the first time since I had known her. I turned and practically ran out of the room, anxious to get home and see if Brandon was back.

  Chapter Twenty

  I
took a deep breath as I opened the front door of my house on this new planet and held it as I entered, looking around for signs of Brandon.

  I looked over and saw Flora in the living room, reading a book. She looked up as I walked into the house and smiled at me. I looked around and she nodded and pointed to the ceiling before going back to her book.

  I felt my stomach flop as I realized she had just told me without a word that he was home and he was upstairs. I turned and ran up the stairs, taking some two at a time in my hurry to get to the top.

  I burst in his room and saw his bag lying open on his bed, but not a sight of Brandon. I stopped in the middle of the room and turned in a slow circle, trying to figure out where he could be. It was then I finally heard over the beating of my own heart that the water was running in the shower. I walked over to the bathroom door and tried to slowly turn the handle, cursing when it was locked.

  I ran out into the hallway and tried the door there, and nearly screamed when it was also locked. I then ran into the last place I could get to him, my own bedroom. I took a deep breath as I shut and locked my door behind me and walked up to the last door to the bathroom. I slowly turned the knob and almost cried out when it opened.

  I walked into the shower and quietly shut the door behind me, making sure to lock it. "Randi, is that you?" Brandon said from the shower. I nearly laughed as I realized even though I had tried very hard to be as quiet as I could, he still noticed my presence in the room.

  "Yes" I said, as I pulled the curtain back slightly and stepped into the shower.

  "What are you doing? Your clothes are getting all wet" Brandon said, turning toward me in the shower, completely naked and wet.

  I felt my heart pounding as I pulled him toward me, my hands sliding over his slick skin, "I had to see you" I said.

  "What are you doing? We aren't supposed to be doing this remember?" he asked.