What Tomorrow May Bring

by Tony Bertauski

  “I’ll w-wait h-here,” Sigrid said, somehow managing a smile.

  Suko returned, carrying a butterfly knife, clearly stolen from the gym.

  “W-we’re not supposed to have those—Rosa will k-kill you if he finds that!” Sigrid said, suddenly worried Suko would get in trouble.

  “I thought it might come in handy,” Suko said as she sawed at the twine, taking care not to cut Sigrid.

  Finally freed, the pain Sigrid felt in her hands became overwhelming as the blood surged back into them; she clung to Suko, shivering, and wept openly.

  “I’m sorry,” Sigrid, said, embarrassed at her outburst. “I’m acting like a child.”

  Suko scoffed. “They’re the children—bloody animals. Don’t worry, they’ll get their comeuppance.”

  Suko half-carried her back to her bed, putting her own blanket over her as well. Sigrid couldn’t stop shivering, nor would she let go of Suko’s hand. Suko crawled in next to her, huddling close. She placed the knife next to her under the pillow. “Tomorrow I’m teaching you little red fist,” she said, referring to one of Rosa’s favorite Kung Fu moves.

  Sigrid laughed, but her shivering turned it into a series of choking coughs. She somehow managed a smile, though. She was safe now.

  * * *

  Sara felt something on her face, a pressure, and she awoke with a start. Something was on her chest. No, someone was on her chest. She looked up and realized that Sigrid was on her bunk. The tiny girl was kneeling on her arms. Something flashed in the dark—the little bitch had a knife.

  Sara’s eyes bulged wide as she saw the knife come toward her face and Sigrid pressed the blade to her cheek.

  “If you ever touch Suko again…” Sigrid hissed. There was a chill in her voice, but her hand was calm and steady where it held the knife to her.

  Sara did her best to sound defiant. “What? You’re going to cut me?” Both girls were breathing hard, their eyes fixed fiercely on each other. “You don’t have the guts.”

  Sigrid’s wrist flicked out and Sara felt the blade nick the soft skin under her eye. She screamed and shoved as hard as she could, sending Sigrid tumbling off the bed.

  “You little bitch!”

  The lights came on, and they all saw Sara standing there—blood oozing from between her fingers where she clutched her hand to her face. “You bitch!”

  “Next time it’ll be your eye,” Sigrid blurted. She instantly regretted it; she couldn’t quite believe she’d said it. But it was done.

  Sara ran out, screaming in rage, leaving Sigrid sitting on her rear holding Suko’s knife in her hand, traces of blood on the small blade.

  Suko rushed to Sigrid’s side, grabbing up the knife. “Oh, my God—are you okay?”

  Sigrid nodded, still a little stunned, not quite believing herself what she’d done. But Sara deserved it, and Sigrid wasn’t going to let her bully her or hurt Suko again.

  Chapter 3

  Survivor

  Felix Rosa stood at the large picture window in Dr. Garrett’s office. Outside, the girls worked at their exercises. One of his instructors worked with a group wielding Naginatas, the long Japanese bladed-staffs, while another group of girls ran a short obstacle course.

  Dr. Lisa Garrett sat at her desk looking over Rosa’s report on the girls’ activities from the night before. Things had almost gotten out of hand. No. Things had, and now she had to figure out what to do. Her goals may have been purely scientific when she’d started the program, but the reality remained that she was responsible for raising thirty-two teenage girls—thirty-two genetically enhanced teenage girls, whom Kimura was currently training in some very deadly arts.

  Lisa rubbed tiredly at her temples. “You must wish sometimes I’d supplied you with a group of boys.”

  Rosa dismissed the suggestion. “Actually, I find them remarkably focused. They apply themselves to all their tasks with a great deal of veracity, and they demonstrate a tremendous aptitude and willingness for learning. They are dedicated and hard-working. Frankly, I’ve found the experience most satisfying.”

  Lisa sighed. “Just think, if we were at Stage Four I might be able to program out bad behavior.”

  Rosa chuckled. “You might want to consider starting at that stage with the next lot.”

  Lisa sat back in her chair, examining the report on her pad. “In my old school, we would have expelled the lot of them. Unfortunately, we don’t have that luxury.” She needed all the girls—they were too rare a commodity. “But we can’t have them killing each other either…”

  “If this were a military academy, I might consider corporal punishment.”

  Lisa considered that briefly before dismissing it outright. “We’ll hold off on the lashings for the moment.”

  “Do you want me to cancel their survival training?”

  “No, that’s fine. It might be good to get them all out of here for a while. A change of pace might be just what we need right now.”

  Rosa nodded. “I’ll make the arrangements.”

  As he headed for the door, Lisa stopped him. “One thing, Felix…Novak—the little one…”

  The grin that came over Rosa’s face was all the answer Lisa really needed. “She’s an interesting one. She doesn’t have the easiest time of it, not quite so big or fast as the others, but…she never quits.”

  Lisa smiled. “Good.”

  * * *

  August 17, 2343

  Sigrid and Suko stood together and watched as three Kingfisher transports zoomed out of the summer sky toward them. One at a time, they came in low, hovering briefly before coming to rest side-by-side in the center of the compound. The whine of their four dual-mounted thrusters only fed the girls’ anticipation. Today’s trip would be their first outside the Academy walls since they’d been brought there over four years before.

  For a group of girls who had grown up in the crowded and dirty streets of Earth, Alcyone presented a completely alien environment; one of lush trees, mountains and flowing rivers. It was nothing like any of them were used to. The planet was sparsely populated, with only a few mining and manufacturing centers. The total population didn’t even top one million. The fact that today they’d get to ride in the Kingfishers presented a new attraction and Sigrid couldn’t wait.

  The flight didn’t disappoint either. The pilots were more than happy to show off. They seemed to make an extra effort in climbing steeply and pulling up hard at the last moment as they cleared the last of the towering peaks that surrounded the Academy. Sigrid’s heart was in her throat, and she held tight to Suko’s hand as they swooped down, skimming a few feet above the ground, as they dived into the river-valley beyond.

  The short flight was over all too quickly, and the transports deposited the girls in a clearing by a river that widened into a large pool. The girls took to it instantly, running screaming and splashing into the cool green water. A few of the instructors tried to get the girls out and back in parade rest, but Rosa let them go. He’d brought them here to blow off some steam—best to let them get to it.

  Sigrid loved to swim, but swimming was prohibitively expensive back home. Eager to dive in, she couldn’t get her boots and shorts off fast enough. She grabbed Suko by the hand. “Come on!”

  Suko held fast, digging in her heels. She’d never been to a swimming pool, let alone seen a river. “Wait. What if there’s…things in it?”

  “Things? What things? There are probably fish—”

  “I—I can’t swim.”

  Sigrid was surprised—she’d never seen Suko frightened of anything. She pulled her hand again, but more gently this time. “It’s easy. I’ll show you. It’s okay.”

  Keeping one apprehensive eye on the water, Suko pulled off her boots and shorts and let Sigrid lead her in. The day was warm, it had to be at least thirty-two degrees, but the water felt like ice on her ankles, and she squealed, hopping from foot to foot. “No way—it’s bloody freezing!”

  “Come on, you big weenie.” Sigrid wasn’t ha
ving any of it and she pulled Suko deeper into the river.

  When the water got up to her thighs, Suko screamed, flapping her arms. “You’re crazy!” But Sigrid kept walking backwards, dragging her in. The river deepened quickly and Sigrid began treading water—Suko was doing her best to keep her toes on the rocks as the water lapped at her chin. When the ground disappeared from under her, she panicked and thrashed and swallowed a mouthful of water, but Sigrid didn’t let go. She swam backwards calmly, holding both of Suko’s hands, guiding her along. Suko kicked and splashed wildly with her feet, but Sigrid barely seemed to move her legs at all.

  “I love it! Isn’t it great?” Sigrid declared with delight.

  “Gr-b-b-great,” Suko managed, spitting up more water.

  “See! It’s easy.”

  Sigrid let go of Suko’s hands, but Suko began to sink instantly and she kicked out, grabbing onto Sigrid. “Don’t…!”

  “It’s all right. I got you.”

  Back in Sigrid’s arms, Suko relaxed and let herself be guided along. The water felt lovely against her skin, even if a bit cool.

  A half hour later, things were much more calm and quiet at the riverside. Most of the girls lay sunning themselves on the rocky beach. Rosa and the other instructors were relaxing up on a big rock where they could keep an eye on all of them.

  Suko had long given up on the concept of swimming as recreation by the time Sigrid pulled herself out of the water.

  “That was soooo good,” she said as she flopped down, wet, beside Suko. Sigrid shook out her hair, playfully spraying Suko in the process.

  Suko squealed in protest. “No! It’s cold.”

  “Landlubber,” Sigrid teased.

  Suko lifted up the elastic of her briefs and frowned. “And I got sand in my underpants.”

  The sudden low rumble of engines drew their attention and they both looked up in time to see another of the fast-moving Kingfishers crest the treetops on the hillside, zooming low to land in the clearing just downriver. All the girls stood up and craned their necks to see what was going on.

  “I guess it’s time to go,” Suko said. She took Sigrid’s hand as they walked down to find out what the fuss was about. As they got closer they could see the crew offloading supply cases from the transport.

  “Is that food, sir?” the redheaded girl named Leta asked.

  Rosa grinned. “In a manner of speaking, Ms. Halliday.”

  Sigrid had always thought Leta beautiful. She was tall for a girl, with large, deep-green eyes and a face framed by a thick mane of heavy red curls. She also seemed to be developing at an alarming rate—alarming to Sigrid, anyway, who could only dream of such curves.

  Sigrid was close enough to see that the supply crates contained rope, saws, axes, some long-bladed machetes and shorter knives. Not exactly food, she thought.

  Rosa began handing out the tools, studying the girls around him. “You all looked like you were enjoying yourselves so much, I thought you might like to stay for a while. We had considered leaving you here on your own without any of this. I had complete confidence that you’d all be just fine, but since this is your first outing we thought we’d cheat a little and give you some tools to make your stay here a little more comfortable.”

  “Stay, sir? Here?” Leta asked.

  “You don’t like this spot, Ms. Halliday?”

  Leta didn’t answer; she stood blinking at him, twirling a stray curl around her long fingers.

  “We’ll be back to see how you’re all making out in a few days.” His gazed hardened, focusing on some of the girls individually—Sara and Sigrid in particular—as he spoke. “I trust you’ll all do well to take care of yourselves. Look to each other—and trust in your training.” He stepped up into the transport. “I expect to find you all in good health when I return.”

  Like the other girls, Sigrid was too stunned to say anything; there were hundreds of questions in her head, but none made it to her lips. And then, the transports were gone, lifting off and speeding away over the hillside. Silence returned to the clearing, with only the sounds of the river behind them and the wind passing through the thick standing of trees.

  “What do we eat?” one of the girls asked.

  None of the girls answered. They all knew what Sigrid knew. This was a test. They’d all taken their survival courses, but that had been classroom training, just theory in books, but this—this was designed to test them for real in the wilderness.

  Mei took charge. She was the oldest, by a month, and everyone liked her so there were no objections. She divided up the tools and sent the girls off in groups to begin searching for edible plants and berries, and firewood for cooking.

  “What about shelter?” Suko asked. “If we’re going to be here for a while…”

  “Food first,” Mei said. “Then we’ll figure out some kind of shelter.”

  Mei put Sigrid in a group to find food—something a little more substantial than berries. She shooed Sigrid off, with the simple instruction: “Go kill something.”

  The river seemed like the simplest option. It was teeming with large fish. Sigrid knitted her brows in concentration as she fashioned a spear, using one of her leather bootlaces to lash her knife to the end of a strong, thin branch. With Suko splashing behind her, she set off to one of the shallower areas to spear some dinner. It turned out they did a much better job of frightening the fish, but once they stopped splashing about and managed to remain still for a few minutes Sigrid speared her first.

  “I got one!” she exclaimed. She raised the silver fish on the makeshift spear to show everyone, but it promptly wriggled off the blade and splashed back into the water. Suko dived after it, only remembering after the fact that she couldn’t swim. She splashed about frantically until Sigrid came to her rescue in the four-foot deep pool.

  Realizing she could stand, Suko gave her a sheepish look. “You saved me!” She laughed, and kissed Sigrid hard on the cheek. “My hero.”

  Sigrid pushed her head under. Suko found this highly amusing and splashed back, but the other girls nearby berated them for losing the fish. Sigrid was more careful with the next one, making sure to grab it and give it a good whack on the rocks.

  An hour later, despite the afternoon heat, their feet were so cold, and their teeth chattering so hard, that they were forced to give up the hunt.

  “Well, we bagged seven,” Suko said, counting their catch. “Hopefully the other girls are having better luck.”

  Shivering on the bank, they pulled their socks and boots on. Not wanting to dispense with the spear just yet, Sigrid split her other bootlace in half so that she could tie both boots up halfway. They flopped a bit, but not so much that she couldn’t walk.

  There was a fire going and one of the girls had caught a rabbit. Lei-Fei made a show of skinning the unfortunate creature, doing a good job of grossing out most of the girls. Only three other girls had caught any fish, but the woods were laden with leafy greens and berries, so they all managed to eat enough to feel pleasantly full.

  Suko patted her stomach. “Too bad Rosa didn’t leave us a pottle—we could’ve made some chips. That would’ve been choice.”

  “I have no idea what you just said,” Sigrid said—she still struggled with Suko’s kiwi-isms. They both laughed.

  As she relaxed by the fire with Suko, her belly full of fish she’d caught herself, and with none of the earthly noises of traffic and people shouting, Sigrid couldn’t remember ever having a better time.

  Mei roused them all up. “We still need some shelter, people. Let’s get to it.”

  Some of the girls were already off in the woods looking for branches and tree boughs to start building lean-tos. Sigrid and Suko headed off to join them. Suko had one of the axes and was just beginning to work on a small tree that looked good for a support beam when she heard a rustling and a scream a short-ways off. The two girls froze, listening, and then heard it again—a squeal, and then someone cursing.

  “That sounds like Khepri,”
Suko said. “Come on.”

  The undergrowth was thick and the earth soft, forcing the girls to scramble and claw their way through the dense forest. They found the dark-haired Persian girl sitting with her back up against a tree. She was hurt and holding her leg. Sigrid saw the three long gashes down the side of her calf—she’d been clawed. Blood seeped through her fingers and down her leg.

  She looked up at them, slightly dazed, as they approached. “Hi, guys.” She sounded more embarrassed than distressed.

  Sigrid knelt by her side and pried the girl’s hand away from the wound. More blood oozed out. The cuts were long, but not deep. “I don’t think you’ll need stitches. I think it looks worse than it is. It’s all the blood.”

  Sigrid took off her shirt and tore it into several strips to bandage Khepri’s leg.

  Khepri grimaced. “Blech…”

  “What happened?” Suko asked.

  Khepri pointed off into the woods. “Big! It was bigger than me. One of those deer-thingies.”

  Sigrid knew she meant the elk-like animals that roamed the forests here; smaller than elk on earth, but with an impressive array of razor sharp antlers.

  Khepri laughed, embarrassed. “Silly, really. We just startled it—it charged—just kind of ran over me. I think it was more scared of us than we were of it.”

  Sigrid tied off her makeshift bandages. They’d have to figure something else out for her when they got her back to the camp, but the pressure was already slowing the bleeding.

  “Sara ran off after it,” Khepri said. “She got it with her spear.”

  Suko’s face darkened in anger. “She left you here?”

  Khepri shrugged. “Well, Sara…you know.”

  “Which way did she go?” Sigrid asked.

  Khepri pointed deeper into the forest further up the hill.

  “You’ll be okay here for a bit?”

  “Feel better already.”

  “You’re going after her?” Suko asked, surprised.

  Sigrid shrugged. “I want to see the animal. We’ll be right back—just a few minutes.”

  “I’ll be here,” Khepri said and shooed them off.