Under My Skin

by Shawntelle Madison

  Even if we were leaving our families behind, at least they’d get the money we earned.

  The brown-haired girl introduced herself as Eva. Based on the conversation from the two guys, I gathered their names were Albert and Casper. They discussed the current season of Gladiator Ball. Dad watched it on the communications console, but I didn’t care for it. Just a bunch of men with guns and other weapons, trying to get a single ball across a vast field into the opposing team’s goal. My dad spent more time grumbling at the screen than watching it.

  Eva left her seat to move to the free chair to my left. “Do you know anything about the training?” Eva asked Zoe.

  “Not much. Just rumors about how much they have to work,” Zoe said. “We have an Administrator living outside of town. He’s supposed to be in control and everything, but we never see him or his Water Bearers.”

  Eva nodded. “We don’t see ours either. My dad’s been trying for years to get their attention, since he’s a merchant, but they’re exclusive about who they work with.” Eva smoothed over her dark blue dress. A pretty one. “I guess I’ve succeeded where he failed, since I get a chance to work with the Guild now. I can’t wait to get hired.”

  The children of merchants, like Eva, fared far better than most. A part of their wealth showed in the faint scent that wafted from her. Nutmeg. With all their connections, the merchants purchased such spices and the expensive candies made from them. Danny and I enjoyed the candy once or twice a year.

  Before Eva spoke again, the door opened. The dark-haired girl who had greeted us at the door and handed out packets strolled in with her assistant. From the way she carried herself, she had to be a few years older than us. She wore the light blue coat of the Water Bearers. Up close, the fine details in her coat were much clearer: the silver stitches along the sleeves and the golden buttons down the front. The severity of her pinned-back hair, the straight line of her lips, and lowered eyebrows added a knife-like edge to her demeanor.

  “Far less than last year,” she said. “Not good.”

  Her assistant nodded and jotted some notes on her compu-tablet. The girl had the same creamy complexion and light blue coat as the dark-haired girl, but she didn’t assess us with the same cold stare. “Perhaps there’ll be more Aspirants in Yardley?”

  The greeter rolled her eyes then addressed us. “I’m Astrid. I’ll be escorting you to the Training Facility in Easton.”

  Eva’s entire face blossomed into a smile. “The Training Facility’s there? I’ve always wanted clearance.”

  Albert and Casper, who’d ignored us until that point, were also excited.

  “I also want to know when the stipend begins.” Eva smirked at Astrid.

  Not long after Astrid and her assistant entered the room, the discussion had turned to money. I was also interested in the answer, but I hoped I didn’t look as desperate as Eva.

  Astrid crossed her arms. “Your stipends will begin when you complete your initiation as a Water Bearer.”

  “How long until that happens?” Eva asked.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but Eva wasn’t done yet. “‘Cause my family expects me to start pulling my weight as soon as possible.”

  “Pick up your belongings,” Astrid said, ignoring her question. “It’s time to take the transport to Easton.”

  Everyone, other than Zoe and I, picked up their suitcases. “Will we get a chance to say goodbye to our families?” I finally asked.

  “Didn’t you read the packet?” Astrid continued to usher us out of the room. I was the last to leave, so I followed Zoe. “You’re now Aspirants of the Water Bearers. You won’t ever see your family again. No one is allowed to pollute you.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Cloud cover only partially hid the view of the lands below, but it was still nothing like I’d ever seen. It was my first flight, and the transport ship was nothing like the occasional drives in the solar-car to Grandma’s house.

  “Isn’t it breathtaking?” Zoe asked from the seat beside mine.

  “It is, but it’s not home.”

  Zoe wrapped her arm around my shoulder and squeezed. “We’ve lived in our hometown forever. A change like this might be good for us.” She appeared thoughtful for a moment. “With four family members crammed into a two-bedroom house, I rarely got a chance to be by myself.”

  “That’s true.” Danny and I had to share a room. “I’ve always wanted to live someplace else—but becoming a Water Bearer wasn’t exactly a part of the plan.”

  “But sometimes, it’s the most unexpected plans that lead to the most fascinating places.”

  Her wide grin was infectious, spreading across her face to reveal perfect dimples. What I wouldn’t give to have a smile like that.

  “What about Paul?” I added.

  “He’s just one boy. Many more will ask you out in the future. I know you don’t believe me, but it’s true. You’ll get asked again.”

  Three endless hours later, we reached Easton. The city’s lights beyond our windows shined into the cabin. Compared to the skyline in North City, Easton was far more beautiful. Surrounded by snow-capped mountains on all sides, the city’s towers extended into the sky like shards of grey ice crystals. From the vids I’d seen on a compu-tablet, one skyscraper appeared the same as any other, except here.

  Other transport ships crossed the sky, blinking out of sight as they passed in front of massive advertisement screens. A beautiful model selling facial cream presented her tube next to another video swirling with vibrant colors. The others around me buzzed with excitement. “Everything looks so amazing,” Zoe said.

  “It makes me want to see the capitol and the Prime Minister’s palace even more,” Eva replied.

  Zoe laughed softly. “One step at a time. We’re lucky to be in Easton right now.”

  Across from the girls, Casper and Albert checked out Eva. Albert gestured twice, cupping his chest while Casper hooted with laughter.

  “You ever seen them that big before?” Albert asked Casper with a chuckle.

  “Not where I’m from.” Casper’s eyebrows danced.

  Before I turned away, Albert caught me staring. Casper’s head whipped in my direction to see where Albert was looking. Ugh, here it comes. Heat filled my cheeks as I tried to remember what my mom told me. There are countless reasons why people stare, Tate. Choose one of three responses I taught you, and you’ll be fine.

  So I settled for response number one: When you stare back at others with kindness, instead of malicious intent, you might find out they were just curious. So I smiled at them.

  They didn’t smile back.

  Instead, Casper touched his lip, and then whispered to Albert, who laughed in response. From past experience, I didn’t need to hear what they had to say. Plenty of strangers passing through my village had said the words out loud: “Scarface, Scar Lip, Lip Dip…”

  “Hey, Eva,” Casper called. “You ever hear about what happens to the Aspirants who don’t pass the training?” He flashed a grin to Albert. “The ones who pass but are too defective to become a Water Bearer?”

  Eva twisted in her seat and rolled her eyes. “Of course.” She pursed her glossy lips at them. “What’s your damage? Are both of you scared your lack of intel will mark you as defective before we get there?”

  “I was just wondering if anyone’s seen any defectives leave the building. You know, the cripples.” He leaned forward and stole a glance in my direction. “The scarred.”

  Eva didn’t seem as amused. “I don’t think people like that would qualify to test in the first place. From what my dad told me, the Guild picked us based on how well we’ll be able to work for them. That’s why they check out our profile on the network before the test. Based on our medical background, our family gets a network message for us to go in for testing.”

  “Yeah. My older sister Kirsten didn’t get an invitation to test two years ago,” Albert said. “She’d lost her arm in an accident when we were little.”

  Cas
per laughed. “I guess someone with one arm isn’t as good as someone who’s scarred.”

  Albert gave Casper a dirty look and a shoulder punch. In my opinion, he deserved it.

  Zoe simmered beside me. “You have no room to talk, Casper. The way I see it, you barely passed the test in the first place. Why don’t you tell us about your little talk with the Guild?”

  Casper squirmed in his seat. “Er… what talk?”

  “I believe I heard somebody who sounded like you in booth five make monetary promises to pass.”

  “What does that have to do with anything?” Albert said.

  A voice from outside our circle chimed in. “Because you’ll never receive a true bid from the Guild.” Our heads turned to see Astrid staring at us. The blank expression on her face darkened. “In the end, it doesn’t matter how much money you offer them.”

  Silence folded over us like a heavy cowl. From the way Astrid’s empty eyes peered at us from across the cabin, I wondered if we should be excited. Fear clenched my belly and Astrid’s words echoed through my skull. We were Aspirants now. And, as such, all Eva’s talk of glamorous living may mean nothing.

  It was Casper who ended the silence. “Then what makes us so valuable? Why pay us?”

  Astrid gestured to everything around us. “Someone has to pay for the testing centers. The transport ships for the Water Bearers. The Guild are very particular about who they invite into their inner circle to work for them.”

  Ten minutes later, our transport ship landed at one of the many buildings on the edge of the city. Our chipper guide reappeared. “Welcome to the Training Facility.”

  No one looked our way or attempted to talk to us.

  “Keep moving, Aspirants. We have a schedule to maintain.” The ushers, who took our bags, kept their eyes downcast. There was nothing special about them, simply men and women in the same lime green uniform I wore.

  I tapped Astrid on the arm. “Can I send a network message to my parents? I want to know if they made it back home.”

  “Don’t worry. Once you become a Water Bearer, your family will receive your stipend and any problems they have will be a memory.” From the way she plastered a smile on her face, I suspected she’d said this thing to everyone with the same glassy eyes. Maybe she meant to shut me up, but I couldn’t ignore my growing suspicions.

  After a few twists and turns, the boys followed Astrid’s assistant while we followed her. The hallways had fine carpets and sleek walls of metal. But, as we ventured deeper into the bowels of the building, everything darkened. Walls were in need of fresh paint, there were stains on worn carpets, and, worst of all, an underlying musty odor of mold permeated everything.

  Eventually, we reached a wide room with a seemingly endless ceiling. But we weren’t the only ones inside. Other girls peered at us from behind rows of bunk beds. The bunks ran from the center of the room to the barren gray walls.

  “This place has welcome written all over it,” I whispered.

  Astrid pointed to the bunks as the usher handed Eva her bag. “Find a bunk. Beside each bed’s a locker. Good luck finding one that locks, though.”

  Then Astrid left without a backward glance. Eva went to search for a bed.

  “Might as well get comfortable. You see anything free?” I asked Zoe.

  “We won’t know unless we look.” Zoe and I wove through the crowd of girls, who stared down the newcomer Aspirants. The girls came in every shape and shade, most likely, from all over Myria. Getting through the crowd who blocked a narrow path between bunks got harder.

  “Excuse me,” I announced. When no one moved, Zoe shouldered her way through with me trailing behind.

  One girl behind us snorted while another one giggled. “If the competition’s got a face like that, I’ll be sure to get a job with the Guild.”

  “Ha! Which one are you talking about?” another replied.

  “You got a problem?” Before I could say more, Zoe pulled me away, hissing, “Don’t bother with those scamps.”

  There went using response number two: When nice fails, you stand up for yourself. Just don’t hit them over the head with a rock.

  As we searched for a bunk, I checked for windows—any means to get out of here. There weren’t any.

  By the time we reached the back of the room, we spotted two empty bunks. Neither one was in good shape. The bunk used the wall for support due to a missing leg. A strange stench came from the tattered mattresses. It was most likely the government-issued antibiotic spray to kill germs.

  We weren’t the only unlucky souls to get the poorest accommodations. The lockers around us appeared dilapidated with missing locks and doors hanging on hinges.

  “I have nothing worth locking anyway,” I muttered. With a sigh, I settled on the bottom bunk while Zoe fumbled around with her locker.

  “Don’t bother,” I told her. “The front panel isn’t lit.” In our village, we had lockers like these for the kids who lived at school.

  Zoe slammed the door shut for good measure. “Whatever. It’s practically growing more prehistoric by the second.”

  She found a spot to sit next to me. “This place is depressing but livable.”

  Something must’ve caught Zoe’s eye. She leaned forward with a frown. “Looks like Eva’s pitching a tent in Scampsville.”

  I shrugged. She had the same clothing like the girls we’d passed. Thicker clothes with ribbons and lace. Handmade boots made from real leather instead of the faux-leather shoes we had. A few girls had bracelets with built-in vidphones. Any of them could contact friends or family as often as they pleased.

  On nights when the power was on, Zoe and I watched girls who looked like Eva on the communications console. They had their holo-video shows and interactive vid-games. A world completely different from ours.

  A loud voice filled the air through an intercom system. “Aspirants have ten minutes to report to the assembly hall for the initiation.” Following the announcement, a swarm of older girls in light blue uniforms burst down the aisles holding bundles. One girl tossed us two bundles with a terse, “Put them on!”

  Zoe tore through her plastic-wrapped bundle much faster than I did. Others around us flipped open light blue robes and squealed with delight. Not a uniform, but one step closer to acceptance.

  I tossed the soft garment over my head. As the material fell to the floor, I stared at the other girls who put on theirs. Did they appreciate it as much as I did?

  Zoe had already dressed. From her pocket, she pulled out a few things: hair bands and a palm-sized book. Uncle Nathan’s prayer book was the only thing the muggers had left on him after they’d killed him. After he’d died, she always carried his book around with her. My fingers itched to touch the tiny leatherback, but I paused. She shouldn’t have brought that kind of thing in here. If one of the enforcers found it, our family could get into big trouble.

  The book was quickly stowed away back into her pocket.

  None of the Water Bearers at the entrance moved our way so I relaxed a bit. “I wonder what will happen to us.”

  Zoe did a half-shrug. “For all we know, they give us some dumb certificate and then put us to work, scrubbing floors for the Guild.”

  She’d said that far too loud. One of the other girls in a nearby bunk cast a wary eye in our direction. In Myria, everyone paid attention to their words. No one wanted an enforcer suddenly knocking on their door.

  “I don’t think it’ll be that simple,” I mumbled.

  “With rich people, it’s always that simple.” She touched the delicate material of her robe. “Who needs all this primping to be a handmaid to some Guild lady?”

  Whether we were destined to be floor scrubbers or attendants, the current class of Water Bearer Aspirants made their way from the dormitory into a part of the building that dazzled. The scratched wooden floor turned into marble. Instead of plastic plants, the planters along the wall boasted vibrant greenery. Ahead of us, one Water Bearer attempted to corral the wayward rat
tails from a frail and gangly Aspirant while yet another wiped the girl’s face.

  “On what street corner do they find them?” one of the Water Bearers asked the other.

  “Oh, be quiet.” Her cohort nervously glanced over her shoulder.

  “We should leave this poor girl alone. If she knew what they planned to do to her, she wouldn’t want our help.”

  “Not today. If they’re not looking their best, we lose a full day’s ration.”

  What were they saying? I opened my mouth to speak, but another girl behind us elbowed her way past Zoe and me. She shoved Zoe in the shoulder and pushed me aside. Like Eva, she was olive-skinned and her jewelry exuded wealth.

  “Hey!” I blurted.

  Zoe snapped, “The words are ‘Excuse me.’”

  The girl brushed off our remarks with a smirk and addressed the Water Bearer. “Why doesn’t my vid-phone work anymore?”

  The two Water Bearers exchanged a quick glance. They slowed and the other girls kept going. Before they went out of earshot, one of them replied, “Aspirants aren’t allowed—”

  So even the rich girls followed the same rules.

  Once we entered the assembly room, I could barely make out the people standing in front of me. But above us was a different story. The vast space above us formed a wide circle with multiple tiered floors. Floating lights cast a starry glow to illuminate them.

  As I ambled forward, the patter of the Aspirants’ footsteps on the stone floor echoed along the walls. Shadows filled the room, but I could make out the robed figures of the Aspirants. We resembled droplets of water surrounding the single well. An older man, clad in the same robe, stood next to the well with his hands raised. Around his neck, he wore many silver and gold necklaces.

  “Quiet everyone. The ceremony will begin soon.” His voice carried and rose into the far reaches of the room. I peered around me. How many of us were there? Why had Astrid been worried? There had to be more than enough Aspirants here to fill the needs of the Guild.

  The man spoke again, ending our chatter. “Welcome Aspirants! I am Valentin, the headmaster of the Water Bearers.”