by C. S. Nelson
Before she had a chance to turn around, Dustan had wrapped her up in his arms. “Annie, I’ve missed you so much,” he whispered. This time, Annie felt nothing. He probably did miss her, he probably thought about her all the time. But he was also sleeping with multiple girls, getting to know them, loving them, thinking about them as well. She unintentionally rolled her eyes before squeezing out of his grasp and backing far enough away that he couldn’t touch her again.
“Where’s your new partner?” Annie asked, looking around the table. There were plenty of beautiful girls there. She couldn't compete with any of them.
Dustan pointed to a girl with dark, shining hair, talking to the breeder next to her. “We don’t really get along,” Dustan said, shrugging. “Basically just trying to get the job done so we can both move on. It’s been hell. How have you been?”
“I’m seeing someone new,” she said, taking great satisfaction in his reaction. Technically, she wasn’t lying. She had been seeing someone new, before the president had taken him away from her. “He was the acting commander.”
Dustan forced a smile. “As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.” Annie didn’t know what to say. Was it possible that there was still some genuine Dustan left in him? Or would his personality change again as soon as he was paired with a breeder that he actually did get along with? She didn’t believe a word of it. “And I can see that you aced.” He gestured to the ink smeared across her face.
“Oh,” she laughed. “Yeah, the president wouldn’t let me leave without it. It was a mistake really. The suckers were caught off guard. It wasn’t some heroic act of bravery or anything.”
Dustan smiled, running his fingers across her cheek. “Somehow I doubt that. You’ve always been the brave one.” Annie shrugged uncomfortably. “You know, it’s really amazing that you’re here, Annie. This means that when the ship arrives we can start again. I know its months from now, but once our careers are over we can go back to being us.”
Annie stepped back. “There is no more us.” She glared at him. “‘Us’ died when you didn’t care about Anthony’s death. We’re different people now.”
“What do you mean I didn’t care? Of course I care,” Dustan scoffed. “It’s just, in the grand scheme of things, the death of one individual isn’t nearly as important as the survival of our species. Anthony died for the greater good.”
Annie laughed in disbelief. All it had taken was a couple of months with the breeders for Dustan to become completely brainwashed, to forget who he was and what had mattered to him. “Coming from someone who never has to be worried about being unsafe. It must lovely for you to sleep in your warm bed at night, with no fear that a creature will creep up and literally suck your very being from your body. It must be just wonderful for your greatest worry to be which girl you’ll get paired up with next. Anthony died trying to retrieve food for you, so that you don’t have to worry about starving, and your greatest concern can be that you don't like the girl you’re having sex with. Do you see how warped your view of the world has become?”
Annie looked around the room and realized all other conversations had stopped. Everyone was watching her. Considering most of the people in the room were breeders themselves, she knew that nobody would be on her side. She had already blown it; no one would trust her now. “Just calm down, Annie. You have no clue what being invited to this meeting means for you. You’re saved.” He reached out to her but she pushed him away. “Let’s get you some water,” he said, snapping his fingers.
A man, dressed in a uniform that Annie had seen before, stepped forward from one of the corners of the room. The teachers had described these people as those who had failed in their careers. They were defiant, and unable to follow rules. The only way they were able to stay in the Shield is if they were under constant surveillance. Their names were stripped from them, and they were known by numbers instead, no longer considered to be human or to have the same basic rights that everyone else had. Forced to work at all hours, whenever the president needed them, they would never have a day off. This one wore his hood up over his face, his hands clasped together in front of him in shackles. Annie had never had one of these beings do anything for her personally, but she had seen them around the Shield. She knew that they were dangerous.
“102, please fetch Annie some cold water.” The way Dustan spoke to the man revealed that he was familiar with giving them orders. She was sure that the servants were common in the breeder’s buildings.
The man bowed slightly, disappearing behind one of the white doors across the room, that Annie assumed to be some sort of kitchen. “I could have gotten it for myself,” Annie said.
“Why bother? It’s what he’s here for.”
Annie sighed. The servant came back and handed Annie a glass of ice-cold water, something she hadn’t had since she had left school. “Thank you,” she said, smiling at the cloaked man. She was sure that he had done something atrocious to end up in this position, but he was still a person. She was uncomfortable with others waiting on her. He turned and went back to his corner, standing still with his hands in front of him. What a sad existence.
Summer and the president re-emerged from behind the curtain, both looking more flustered than before. “Apologies for that delay.” The president smiled, clapping his hands together. “Shall we begin?”
Everyone took their seats around the table, quickly. Only Annie, Summer, and the president remained standing, and Annie realized that her choices were to either sit next to the president or sit next to Dustan. Choosing the lesser of two evils, she stepped around the table and took her seat next to Dustan. She could see him grinning from ear to ear from the corner of her eye.
Summer and the president sat down across from her. “First order of business,” the president began, pulling a large stack of papers out from the bag he had brought with him. “I would like everyone to once again welcome Annie of the rangers. She is an ace, quickly working her way up in the rankings after being in her career for only a few months.”
Everyone around the table clapped for her half-heartedly, and Annie felt her face go red. “Thank you,” she mumbled.
“Annie, surely you understand that being invited to this meeting signifies more than just us cherishing your opinions?” the president asked. Annie shrugged. “Ah, I guess we have kept secrets far more successfully than we once thought.” Everyone laughed. “We haven’t been entirely truthful with the Shield in the aspects of our contact with Mpho.”
“Meaning that you’ve heard from them in more ways than just the message stating they were coming to save us?” Annie asked. This didn’t surprise her at all. Ever since Kevin had spoken to her, she had questioned why everyone in the Shield had put all their faith on a single message sent hundreds of years ago stating that humans from another planet were on their way to save them. It didn’t make sense once thought about critically. But everyone seemed to turn a blind eye to that logic when they could instead focus on the possibility of rescue.
“Yes, exactly. We have had very frequent contact with them, actually.”
Annie eyed others around the table and realized from the expressions on their faces that this was very old news. “And what have they been saying?”
“This is going to blow your mind.” Dustan nudged her.
“There are two different ships that are coming from Mpho,” the president stated. “One, as promised, is coming to retrieve us and take us back to their planet where we can live the rest of our lives in peace…”
“I think it would be unwise to continue this conversation with her,” Summer interrupted. She shot the president a troubling look.
The president closed his eyes, sighing deeply. He was visibly annoyed with his longtime partner. “Interrupt me again, Summer, and you will be asked to leave.” The tension in the room was so thick that Annie could taste it. The look on Summer’s face revealed that it was not often that she was spoken to like that.
Summer’s lips tightened, staring into
Annie’s eyes from across the table. She didn’t understand Summer’s hatred for her. “Continue,” she hissed.
“The other ship will be taking a majority of the Earth’s population and be sending them to another planet in a distant galaxy where they will be free to live their lives.”
“Why are they being sent to a different planet?” Annie asked.
“The humans of Mpho are in trouble. Much like our transgressions of the 20th and 21st century, they destroyed their planet with pollution and toxicity. Mpho is becoming dangerously close to being unsalvageable. They need a new planet to move to, where they can start anew without fear of their dying ecosystems.”
Annie swallowed hard. “So…instead of sending us home, they’re sending us to a new planet to test whether it’s livable?”
“They’re sending some of us, yes. Not you or I, but some of our friends and neighbors. Just as they did when they sent us to Earth a few hundred years ago.”
Annie felt a lump in her throat. They had been sent to Earth? She had always been told, as everyone else before her, that humans had evolved on the planet. Everything she had been taught about Earth’s history was a lie. “So everyone in this Shield is under the impression they are being saved in just under a year, and instead they are being sent to another planet in some kind of sick experiment?”
“Not a sick experiment,” Summer replied. “A chance to save those that are saving us.”
“You’ve deemed it acceptable because you’ll go to Mpho safely,” Annie scoffed. She was shocked. Everyone that she knew and cared for was being lied to.
“As will you, Annie.” The president smiled at her. “They are saving a select few, from all around the Earth’s surviving Shields. The more Shields that have gone down, the more seats there are on the homebound ship for us to fill. The people sitting in this room were the people chosen to be saved. We had one spot left to fill, and we chose to save you.”
“Why?” she managed to squeak out. Her head was spinning. What about all the people that those sitting in this room cared about? What about all her fellow rangers? What about Kevin, and Zed, and all of the people she had left behind at the ranger camp? None of them were safe.
“Good question, I’m wondering the same thing.” Summer rolled her eyes. But Annie’s head was spinning far too much for her to be bothered by Summer’s hostility.
“You’re fiery, Annie,” the president said. The more she heard it, the more she began to believe it. “You’ve earned your keep here, proved your worth. You’re a fighter. I trust my life with you.” Kind words from the man that Annie had shown so much aggression towards. “And if we’re being honest, the original plan was to take the commander of the rangers.”
“And why aren’t you taking Commander Matthew?”
“Well he had a reaction similar to yours,” the president stated. She stared at him straight-faced, refusing to give him any kind of a reaction. The president didn’t scare her, despite how hard he tried to intimidate. “He began spreading the news to rangers in your camp. Perhaps you remember the group that was reassigned a couple of months ago. Surely you understand, we couldn’t let him cause a ruckus. News travels fast around the Shield. If the general population were to discover that they weren’t actually coming home to Mpho with us, chaos would ensue. And then, to our dismay, he fell incredibly ill, and he has yet to get better.” More scattered laughter around the room, which made the president smirk. “We gave up on the commander long ago. Every life we take on that ship is valuable.”
“And you’ve chosen me to fill his spot?”
“You’re here, aren’t you?” Summer responded.
Annie leaned back in her chair, trying to take in the situation. She looked around the room, realizing all eyes were on her. She was throwing up red flags for everyone. She had already been told that the commander who refused to accept this plan was now dying in a hospital bed. She didn’t agree with this plan, she thought it to be incredibly immoral and selfish, but if she wanted to leave this room safely she had to play along.
“Well, I need to be honest, this is all very surprising to me,” Annie started. She could hear her voice shaking and wondered if others could as well. “But I would like to personally thank all of you for choosing me to fill the commander’s place on your ship. It’s truly an honor.”
The president grinned. Annie relaxed a little, relieving the tension in her shoulders. “I’m glad to hear that this is the way you feel,” the president said. “I think I can safely say it’s a relief to us all.”
Annie looked around the room again and most of the eyes were no longer focused on her. Dustan was still watching her, smiling, and she smiled back even though she felt physically ill. Every person in this room was willing to abandon their friends and neighbors in order to save themselves. It wasn’t right; it wasn’t fair. She was sure that the humans from Mpho were reasonable. If they had just talked to them, maybe their minds would have been changed. But it sounded like as soon as there was an opportunity for him save himself, the president took it.
“Obviously you are sworn to secrecy, ranger,” Summer said. “If it has been discovered that you have shared what has been said in this room with anyone, you will be killed.”
Annie swallowed hard, waiting for someone to correct Summer. But no one did. “I thought that the death penalty wasn’t condoned in the Henderson Shield,” she said. She supposed that the reason they were keeping the commander sick was to avoid breaking this law.
Another awkward silence filled the room. Annie chewed her lip. She knew that she shouldn’t be questioning so many things, drawing so much attention to her doubt, but she couldn’t help herself. “That is true for the average citizen of the Shield, however this is a matter of security and peace. If word got out that most were not going home to Mpho, there would be disorder. No one is to know of the experiment being conducted on the people.” The president smiled at her warmly.
The last thing Annie wanted was to be pumped full of poison and left in a hospital bed. “I understand completely. You can trust me,” Annie assured the room.
There were a few smirks. “We already know we can trust you. We know everything about you.”
“I told them every good quality you have, Annie.” Dustan grinned. Annie looked at him and half smiled. She knew that he still missed her. He still wanted her to care about him more than anything. But the Dustan that she knew never would have gone for a plan like this, leaving the rest of the humans behind to save himself. The breeders had changed him, whether he was aware of it or not. “You’re an amazing person.”
“And now, onto more important business,” Summer Henderson changed the subject. Anything to stop praising Annie. “We need to discuss an adjustment in the breeders. It appears as though Ricky and Madison are not getting along and are refusing to breed…”
Annie had already lost interest. She looked around the room at the breeders taking notes as Summer spoke. She watched as the president smiled at Summer as if he knew something she didn’t know, as if he wanted her to know it. What a strange relationship the two of them had. They claimed to be in love, for longer than Annie could remember now, but appeared to show nothing but hate and aggression towards each other.
She had a feeling that the president had invited Annie to this meeting just to get under Summer’s skin. Annie was offering nothing to the president currently. She had been rude to him during their meetings; she had shown how little she respected him when she ignored his order not to leave the Shield. So why had he chosen her to sit in the room?
One of the hooded people came forward from the shadows with a jug of water and then stepped around the table filling the breeder’s glasses. Unsatisfied with the conversation about the two breeders who didn’t want to “create new life”, Annie watched the man step around, filling each glass without a ‘thank you’ and continuing on.
He stepped closer to her, filling Dustan’s glass, and Annie caught a glimpse of his face from beneath the hood. It was a
face that Annie recognized, a face that made her heart sink into her stomach. Kevin, she thought. She wanted to scream out to him. He looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept in days. He had shackles around his wrists. Annie knew that he knew that she was looking at him, but he wouldn’t return her gaze.
He slowly moved around the room, focused only on his task. Annie continued to stare, biting her tongue to keep herself from calling his name. “Annie, what do you think about this?” the president asked. Annie turned to him. She had no clue what had been the topic of conversation over the last thirty seconds, but she realized that he had already known that.
“Sorry, can you repeat the question?” Annie asked.
“No, it’s fine, her opinion isn't important,” Summer continued again.
Annie and the president held eye contact for a few seconds, and she now realized why she was here. She was being tested. His plan, all along, was to show her what would happen if she ever went against his orders. Kevin was now a slave. Then the president gave her one of his nightmarish smiles, his scars stretching with his cheeks, and turned back to continue his conversation with the rest of the table.
Annie didn’t hear a word they said. Her ears were ringing. All she could focus on was Kevin. He got closer to her. She reached out and touched his wrist as he filled her glass. But as soon as her skin touched his, Kevin pulled back. She looked into his eyes and all she saw was confusion. Kevin wasn’t there. The president had done something to him. He didn’t even recognize who she was.
Annie sat through the rest of the meeting in silence.
Chapter 15: Blue
It was late, but Annie couldn’t go back to base. She wandered the empty streets of the Shield, trying to keep the questions that she didn’t want to think about out of her head. The condition of the Shield, the state of Kevin, her future, the death of her friend. She had faced so much in the past couple months. She was done worrying about everyone else, even if it was just for the night. She needed a break. Annie had always been good at pushing her worries to the back of her mind, and tonight she was going to do just that. Forget about everything for a while, be carefree.
