Naturally, the gravity is too much and I have to risk looking away. My eyes immediately slide to the bag –realizing it lies a few feet to my right– then bringing my eyes back to my captor. She looks at it again, then back at me. I see a wave of fear run across her face as her whole body begins to tremble. I don't understand why she's afraid; she's the one who with one scream could get me killed in a second. But she looks just as shocked and scared as I am.
Although this girl holds my life in her delicate hands right this minute, I can’t lie to myself. I can't hold the thought back, I can't shake it away, and it won't fade. I instantly feel guilty and ridiculous for thinking it, but I refuse to deny it once it’s implanted in my skull. Her face; blushing red cheeks, her trembling pink lips and her fearful wise eyes, I have no doubt that this is the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.
Chapter Six
Willamina
It’s very early in the morning but I’m wide awake. The sun has barely made its way over the horizon, not enough to really call it day yet. I had a hard night, drifting off only a few times and waking up again quickly. Mia’s words were still weighing heavily on my mind. Whatever I’m feeling, it’s obviously a problem, and if I truly want to fix it, I have to decide if I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make it better. It could mean serious change for me and there’s no way of knowing. The worries and the fears tormented me all night.
I need to move or I’m going to go insane! I jump out of bed and rush out the door, not bothering to put on a robe. I descend the stairs more quietly and when I don’t hear anyone stir, I go through the French doors at the back of the house.
Now out in the solitary garden, I feel better. I breathe the scent of flowers deeply. Everything’s okay. I realize. There aren’t any decisions that need to be made right now! I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.
I walk slowly around the garden, not really thinking of anything except how gorgeous all the flowers are. Suddenly, I find myself walking through the gate at the side of the house, for no reason other than because I can. I’m standing on the sidewalk to the left of the house now, but I hear something. Is it… footsteps? Yes, it is, someone’s running, hard, in my direction. This is very strange; no one is ever out this early in the morning. Before I can really think about getting out of the way, the stranger has rounded the corner and run straight into me.
I fall to the ground and feel the delicate fabric of my nightgown tear at the knee. I hear shuffling and heavy breathing from the intruder upon my peace and I roll over to see what’s going on.
On the ground in front of me is a boy, probably my age, maybe a little older. I’ve never seen anyone like him before. Every boy I’ve ever seen is delicate and pampered with light skin and empty eyes, but not him. There’s something about him that makes him look not quite tame. He has chiseled features and a strong well-muscled body. His hair is dark and thick, not quite brown, not quite black and his eyes are the same color. But, my goodness, his eyes! I’ve never seen eyes like this, not with Mia or even me. They’re knowing, like they’ve seen things that you would never want to see in a million years. They show that he is responsible and contemplative, but there are little shimmers of other emotions that would take me years to work out. His skin is tanned and rough, like he works in the sun all day. And it hits me, I know what he is. He’s a Worker.
Now I’m very afraid. These people aren’t like us, they’re dangerous. We’re warned about mixing with the ones who aren’t trained to serve us; they will hurt us. So here I am, lying on the cold, rough sidewalk, next to a Worker. How on earth did he even get in here? It occurs to me that he broke in, he had to. He’s a criminal.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see something brown and lumpy on the sidewalk next to him. I risk breaking eye contact with him for a split second to look at it. It’s a sack, and it’s full of something. I look back at him immediately. I realize that he’s stealing from us and it strikes me how much danger I’m in. I see his eyes start to waver and then he looks down at his bag too, then slowly, almost reluctantly back to me.
I’m terrified now. I know if I scream, help would come, but he could strangle me the second the scream was out. I figure that the best solution might be to wait for him to make the first move. I do not want to startle him into hurting me.
Slowly, his mouth opens, and he’s whispering something. I don’t know what he’s saying at first because he’s talking so quietly and he’s very out of breath. But then he’s forming words that make sense and they hit me hard.
“Please… you have to let me go… I’m all my family has… they’ll die without me…” Then the panic starts to come out in his voice. “I have three little sisters! There’s no one else to take care of them! They’ll starve without me, or be taken as slaves! You have to let me go, please!”
For the first time, I see myself in his position, the position of a Worker. I try to imagine if I had to work all day to keep my family alive. I try to picture Georgie crying because she’s hungry. I try to understand the pain I’d feel if Georgie was taken from me to become a slave. It occurs to me that this is the first time I’ve used the word slave, even if it was only in my head. We make it sound nicer by saying servant, but they are slaves.
I get to my feet gradually. He mimics me, watching me apprehensively. But then, something very bright is shining in my eyes and I see that the sun is coming up. If he doesn’t get out of sight, there won’t be anything I can do for him or his family. I make the decision in a split second, knowing that I can’t think about it anymore or I might let the fear get to me.
“Come with me, I have some questions to ask you.” I say in a voice that sounds a lot braver then I’m feeling. I start walking backwards so I don’t have to take my eyes off of him and move towards the gate to the garden.
He narrows his eyes at me, “Why should I go with you?”
“You don’t have much of a choice if you want to get out of here. You’re going to have to trust me.” I reply, still amazed at how even my voice sounds.
He still looks suspicious but he takes a hesitant step in my direction and then another. Soon he’s followed me through the gate and his curiosity gets the better of him. He stops looking at me and lets his eyes wander around the garden. All at once, I can appreciate the beauty of our garden from the point of view of someone who’s never seen it before. It’s definitely spectacular. I lead him to the very back, as far from the house as possible, to the shed where we keep all of the tools that the gardeners use to keep it immaculate. I open the door and motion for him to step inside. For a second, he looks like he’s going to refuse, then he remembers the situation he’s in, and with chin held high, he walks through the door.
It’s pretty spacious inside so we’re not uncomfortably close together, but still, I’m very aware of him and I can tell he’s very aware of me. I lean against a wall, trying to get my thoughts in order.
“So, you’re obviously a Worker,” We both already know that, but it feels like it needs saying.
“And you’re obviously a Teck.” He states simply. His voice is deep and cold, not like before when he was panicking.
I let out a long sigh. I don’t know what I’m doing and this isn’t coming easily. “What’s your name?”
He stares at me hard, with no intentions of confessing.
“Won’t you tell me?” I somewhat snap without meaning to.
“Nathan Ambers.” I like the sound of his name, it fits him.
“I’m Willamina Whistler.” I say.
I watch as his eyebrow shoots up like he can’t help it. Is it in amusement? “That’s a bit of a mouthful.” He remarks.
To my surprise, I feel myself blushing and look down at my feet. “You can just call me Willa.”
“I guess you can call me Nate.” He says almost casually. Then, he looks like he’s thought of something important. “Why are you doing this?”
“Do you want me to turn you in? You begged me to let you go.” I say, suddenl
y defensive.
“Exactly! To let me go! Why did you bring me here, what can you possibly want from me?” I see anger flash in his eyes.
I feel stupid for caring about this, but I need some answers. “How did you get in?”
He seems to be thinking hard on how best to answer this question, deciding what to tell me. But he finally determines the best answer, and it sounds like the truth. “There’s a fallen tree on the Wall that leans at an angle so you can climb up it and jump over.” This makes sense.
“How do you get back over?” I wonder out loud.
I watch as his eyes widen with a just realized fear. “I don’t know.”
This time it’s my turn to narrow my eyes at him. “How can you not know? Did you just see the tree one day and think that you could use it to climb over, steal from us, and then somehow stay here without ever getting caught?” I’m upset that he’s trying to trick me. How stupid does he think I am?
“No!” He protests with some annoyance. “Look,” he shuts his mouth abruptly.
“What?” I ask. I’ll give him a chance to tell the truth. He puts his head in his hands in resignation.
“I didn’t want to tell you about this because I don’t want to get them in trouble, but I guess I don’t have any choice. I didn’t come alone. There’s a group of guys who come to your side all the time to get what their families need to survive. This is my first time coming with them so I don’t know how they were going to get back! You’ve got to believe me; I’m telling you the truth!” He says a little too loudly. We both look through a crack in the wall toward the house, but we don’t hear or see anything.
“I believe you.” I say quietly. He’s very on edge and people that are on edge can be dangerous. I try a new subject that I hope it will calm him. “You said you have sisters?”
He nods and his eyes soften a bit.
“What are their names?” I ask.
“Gabby, Cinda, and Leila.”
“Are they around your age?”
“No, Leila’s still a baby and Cinda’s just four. Gabby’s eight but she’s too sweet to break her back working all day. Without me, they’d be in even rougher shape.” He’s becoming comfortable now. I can tell he hasn’t had anyone to talk to about his worries in a long time. “I should be able to trust that if anything ever happened to me, my brother Gabe, who’s almost thirteen, would step up and take care of them. But I can’t because he’s selfish and irresponsible.”
“What about your parents? Where are they?” I’m almost scared to hear the answer. He gives a short bitter laugh.
“My dad is crippled, but he wouldn’t be much help even if he wasn’t. He hates us and he’s a lazy, miserable man. My mother has to stay home and cook and take care of the kids, but really all she does is cook and mope around. The kids pretty much look after themselves. She just doesn’t care about them.” His voice trails off. I can see the pain in his eyes, but then he puts his walls back up. “But why do you care anyway?”
I think about it. Why do I care? I never have before. It’s never been something that you even give an inkling of your time to think about. And yet, here I am, coming to the biggest and most important realization of my life. I’m at the bridge and it’s time to cross it.
I look him directly in the eye. “I care because you’re a person just the same as I am. You deserve a good life and happiness just like me… and it isn’t okay to decide that some people will have a bad life so that others can live in luxury. I‘ve been blind to this my entire life, but no more. I will not be blind for another second!”
And for the first time, he smiles at me.
Chapter Seven
Nathan
I hear movement coming from outside the small shed she brought me in. I move closer to the door, still not taking my eyes off her. She might seem understanding but I don't even sort of trust her. Although, I did just spill out almost everything about my family to this girl, I don't know why I did, I mean, I don't even know her. I would never tell anybody about my sisters if it wasn't a life or death situation for them. Maybe that's why I did it, the panicked fear in my head about being caught and killed was too much.
I peek through a crack in the door, not seeing anybody but still hearing movement. I turn to her with a bit of a blaming glare.
She’s standing there, still looking uncertain and a tad frightened, with my life in her hands. I just don't understand why she looks so afraid; she's not the one in danger here. I stand straight up and take a step towards her, but in the same step I take, she jumps back with fear. I stop, not wanting to be any closer to her than I already am but wanting to talk to her without being heard by anyone else. I stare into her wise eyes, one of the first things I noticed about this strange girl. Her eyes are so deep; it's almost as if they've seen the beginning of time, and it wouldn't surprise me if they did. But as I see the fear spill out of them, she takes another step back and so do I. I suddenly understand why she's afraid.
In a soft but stern voice, I say to her, "I need you to let me out. I need to go back."
She looks at me with caution, like she's thinking very hard about whether or not she should let me go. This makes me angry. I feel trapped, locked up. I can't stand being held against my will in this small room with my enemy.
Then she says slowly, "I don't think you completely understand. The sun is up; in less than ten minutes every entrance in and out of the city will be overrun with guards. If you try to leave, they'll catch you." Her voice sounds brave but there’s also a slight tremble. I breathe in heavily.
"So, what? You're just going to keep me locked up in here?" My voice grows hot and flamed. I can see she’s definitely afraid now, although I’m not trying to scare her. But I have to leave and if this girl is the only thing standing in the way of my freedom, I won't hesitate to fight her off. She starts to say something but is cut off when an incoherent voice chimes in from outside. Both our heads turn to the voice standing just outside the door.
Instantly I duck down and move back further. She peers through the crack and gasps.
"They know I'm not in my room." She says in a panicked whisper.
"You brought them here?" I say, even more softly than she spoke.
"No, of course not. They just always wake me up. If I don't show up soon they'll send out a search party!" She pulls out boxes and bins from under a shelf and starts scrambling around in them. She seems worried, although I can't imagine why. They won't slash her throat if they catch her.
"What's a search party?" I ask, almost rising to my feet but staying down.
"Umm...well, it's uh...kind of like an angry mob, only, they’re not angry. It’s basically where lots of people team up to look for someone who's gone missing. They'd take the pods which have spot charts. My pod would track where I've been and locate where I am now."
"What?" I'm more confused than ever and all I want is to get out of this closed up space. "What the heck is...you know what? Never mind. I gotta get out of here!" I announce, jumping up and spying through the crack again.
"No! You can't! They're right outside, Nathan! If they see you, they'll take you away!" She cries. I look at her with confusion again. Why exactly is she worried about me? Maybe this is a trap; maybe she's trying to lead me into an ambush or something. I can't trust her. The minute I get the chance, I have to run.
"Look," she says pulling out of one of the bins, what looks like a jacket but is much longer. It's completely black and has a hood that goes over your head. She tosses it to me but I dodge and miss it on purpose, letting it hit the ground beside me. She looks at me like I’m crazy.
"I don't know what that is." I explain.
"It's just a coat. All the gardeners in town have to wear one so we know who they are." She says, picking it up and cornering me with it. We are extremely close to each other now, and I can sense this is odd for her. She takes a step back and hands me the coat. “It’ll make you stand out less.”
Slowly, I take it from her with hesitation
.
Softly she says, "Put it on." Looking at her once more, I take off my jacket to put on the new one. It’s definitely different from my leather jacket, which is cold and rough and protects my skin from anything sharp. This coat is soft and warm, probably the most expensive clothing I've ever touched, but definitely wouldn't protect me from anything. The length of it goes down to past my hips and I zip it up on the front.
"There now, see? That wasn't so bad." She says with a grin as she turns to the door.
I lean towards it as well to see through.
"If we can get past the garden and out the gate, we should be okay." She says with confidence. Then turning around to me, she says, "As long as you do as I say...we won't get caught."
This sounds very much like what Michele told me, and that got me locked in a room with a Teck. As soon as she says this, I feel caution bubble in me.
"Lead the way, princess." I say with a frown. She gives me a quick glare then goes for the door. She slowly opens it and peeks out. I stand back, ready for anything. She opens it wider when the coast is clear. She then signals me to come out.
The sun is very bright now; there won't be any sneaking in shadows. Now that the sun’s out, I really get a chance to look around. This place is huge, the building in the front of the garden is bigger than I ever imagined. And the plants, I didn't think anything could get so green. But it isn’t just green, there are also many other colors. I don't know the names of most of them but I recognize the different features. Unfortunately, I didn't come here to sight see. I quickly throw my mind off the ridiculous flowers.
Trying to stay close to Willa, she leads me past the door and to the side of the house. She leans close to the corner and looks around it. She jerks her head back and moves closer to me.
She looks at me with worry and stress as she says, "There are people everywhere, Nath-Nate. I don't think I can get you out of the city without being seen."
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