by Melissa Faye
I hid in a dark corner, just beyond the light from a street lamp overhead and nestled between a large oak tree and a community center. My thoughts raced. If Lorenzo found out what we knew, what would he do with that information? What would he do with a community that had overthrown its leadership? Was he more concerned with one or the other – or both?
I knew the Chancellor was against finding a cure for fertility. He believed that by continually cloning himself, he would live forever. But if a cure was out there, he wouldn’t be able to stop its spread. He must be interested in our research. Controlling a cure meant controlling the people. I needed to make a move now.
And just as I thought it, a Gray Suit spotted me and pointed me out to one of his friends. The friend ran straight towards me at full speed, and on my crutches, I didn’t stand a chance. In the time she took to close the distance between us, I had just barely turned myself around and limped a step forward. I gasped as she knocked me to the ground.
“Stay down!” she yelled at me. It wasn’t necessary; I couldn’t go anywhere. She tried to kick my crutches away, but only got one. She seemed satisfied enough, though, because she dragged me to my feet and pulled me towards the building. I was shoved unceremoniously into the group of night workers, and fell to the ground before they could catch me. Someone helped me up and I thanked her with a nod, clutching my single crutch and cursing myself for being seen.
“Do you know what they’re doing?” I whispered to the woman who helped me up.
“They’ve been here for ten minutes, but it looks like they’ve already taken half the lab,” she whispered back. I shut my lips tightly when one of the Gray Suits turned to glare at us.
“How could they have found out about your team’s breakthrough?” I mumbled. “It can’t be a coincidence, can it?” I looked around the group. I didn’t know any of them. Could one of them be a mole?
“They must know,” someone said over my shoulder. “Look at what they’re taking. They went directly to the right equipment, and they’ve set it up in that truck over there. Even the print outs they pulled from our filing room – they appear to be the exact ones related to the fertility mutation.”
I watched the Gray Suits as they scurried around like worker ants. I saw what the man meant; there was a mini-lab forming in the back of the Chancellor’s truck. They were prepared for this beforehand. Now that I knew why they were here, the next question scared me – what would they do with the community once they had what they wanted?
The Chancellor watched with pride as his Gray Suits went about their work. He looked around the area with his usual arrogant smile. We made eye contact for a brief second, and I tried to give him my most vicious glare. His eyes glazed right over me. He didn’t even care I was there.
My ankle ached while we waited. I was losing feeling in my other foot, but my sprain was hurting from wrestling with the Gray Suit. I wanted nothing more than to lie down and rest it, or find one of those pain patches they had at the Med, but neither solution would be possible at the moment. Instead we waited.
AFTER THE MOBILE LAB was set up, the Gray Suits marched us back towards the town center. With only one crutch, I struggled to keep up. One of the researchers, the first woman I spoke with, let me wrap an arm around her shoulder and we walked together, an awkward three-legged creature walking towards its own certain death.
I considered trying to message Charlie, but a few minutes earlier when one of the F-Lab researchers reached for his, it was immediately confiscated. I wasn’t surprised. I didn’t get a lot of good-byes. Not with Alexis, or Vonna, or Matana, or anyone else we lost or left behind.
We arrived at the town center and were instructed to join the other community members on the Chancellor’s mansion’s lawn. The researcher helped me sit down on the ground. Most people were standing in small groups, hugging and crying. I watched the Gray Suits carefully for any sign of their plan, but they didn’t move.
Suddenly, the ground was rocked by an explosion that shook me to my bones. It was loud and long, reverberating through the area. People fell down and clutched the grass as if an earthquake was about to tear the earth apart. There was a second explosion, and a third.
The sound came from the Gold area we had just left. The Fertility Lab was destroyed.
Fire lit up the sky until it felt like daytime. The faces around me were caked with dirt and tears from people getting so low to the ground; I suspected mine was as well. I looked around helplessly for Breck, Alexis, Javi, or even Ann, but I couldn’t find them. It led me to a bigger, more hopeful realization. As large as the group on the lawn was, there was no way the whole community was there. Many people were in hiding. Or better yet, preparing their attack.
While we waited, we watched the flames visible from several blocks away dance across the sky. No one was putting out the fire. I wondered how far it would spread. The researcher who helped me was kneeling beside me and I turned to her.
“Do you think everyone got out?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she said. “But I think they tried. Everyone is here. They must want us alive for some reason.”
I turned this idea over in my head. They could have murdered the researchers on the spot, but they hadn’t. The gunshots had died down long ago. They were just an indication of the initial fights between community members and Gray Suits. The Chancellor’s goal was not to destroy the community. At least not yet.
I watched a group of Gray Suits fiddle with something on the far end of the lawn right next to the mansion. With a sickening feeling in my gut, I realized it was the speaker system. How lucky, I thought. Another one of Lorenzo’s energizing speeches.
I couldn’t see from the ground, but heard someone test the microphone and tell Lorenzo it was ready. He cleared his throat, and the sound echoed around the lawn. Everyone was quiet.
“Thank you for having us, Gentle Acres.” It was a good start: sarcastic. Cruel. “We came here tonight to take over the research work of your fertility lab. It seems your scientists have discovered a mutation responsible for fertility in some of our citizens.” A rush of mumbling and whispers filled the air. Not everyone had heard the news.
“You’ll be happy to know, I’m sure, that this isn’t the first breakthrough of its kind across the UCA,” the Chancellor continued. My jaw dropped. I knew there were other kids and other parents, but the thought never occurred to me that someone else could have made the same discovery we had without any of us finding out. “In fact, the mutation your scientists discovered is just one of eight we have identified so far across the country. And tonight, each of you will be tested for one of these mutations. If you are identified as a potential breeder, we will bring you to a facility to ensure your safety and wellbeing. If not, we will find other use for you within our communities.”
It was enough of a threat to send a shiver down my spine and send others into hysterics.
I watched as someone drove the Chancellor’s truck to one side of the lawn and the Gray Suits began to set up what looked like a mobile laboratory. The lawn grew quiet again as people stared at the truck. I stood back up with the help of my crutch and moved a few feet to the side to get a better look at Lorenzo. He stood straight and tall, chest out, that same smile on his face. Ready to catalog and sort people for breeding. Or worse.
The Gray Suits began to organize the community into a line that snaked back and forth across the lawn. It took a while, and the Gray Suits used their guns, I thought, unnecessarily. People were worried enough about what was to come without having a gun pointed in their faces.
I was pushed into line between two people I didn’t know. We gave each other uneasy nods. The man behind me shifted his weight back and forth between his feet. I hobbled uncomfortably on my one crutch and one good ankle.
Suddenly, I saw people emerging from behind nearby buildings. They were armed, but they weren’t Gray Suits. I didn’t see anyone I knew in the crowd but I knew who was part of it. Javi and others had collected tr
oops and raided the armory. I grinned to myself as they approached. They were going to fight back. No – we all were.
Chapter 16 – Charlie
I had only seen the Chancellor up close one time; he spoke with Yami and me at the Med before we escaped Young Woods. I understood now why the blonde man was cringing. There was something about the Chancellor that terrified me, even when he wasn’t expressing disapproval. I could barely speak when he talked to us that day many months ago.
I froze in place behind a bush until Lorenzo was in the building and the doors closed behind him and the two guards. I looked back to where Etta and Sven must have been waiting for me. I wasn’t sure if I had messed this up again, but I knew they were looking at me through the Night Vision app. I exhaled softly. No, this was the right thing to do. We never would have gotten this close if I hadn’t made a move.
I watched the Gray Suits make another pass by this part of the compound, but my hiding place was good and neither saw me. After they passed out of sight, I counted to one hundred slowly and snuck out of the bushes on the balls of my feet. The only sounds were the branches and brambles pulling at my legs again and a spare twig crunching under my feet. I paused again, listening for more movement. Nothing. I snuck away and took long, light strides to get back to Sven and Etta as fast as I could.
“You’re an idiot,” Sven said as soon as I was within earshot. “You shouldn’t have come with us. You can’t be trusted – “
“You found Teo?” Etta asked nervously, ignoring Sven. She looked small again in the dark, biting her lip, frown lines across her forehead. “Is he ok? Did you see Hope?”
“No, but it’s not just Teo,” I said. “Chancellor Lorenzo was there.”
Etta gasped, her eyes bulging. “How could he be here? Did he follow us?”
“No idea,” I said. I realized I had been holding my breath for a long time, and breathed quickly to get more oxygen to my brain before continuing. “He just talked about...detention. That’s what that building is. Detention for kids they took who know they don’t belong here. That’s why Teo is here. And there’s something else. Integration, he said. They integrate the kids into this...community...place.”
“Integration?” Sven scanned the compound again with Night Vision. “That sounds unsafe. Like rehab at the community, I suppose. Brainwashing kids into thinking they belong. Or that this is where they were born.”
“No!” Etta cried before hurriedly clamping a hand over her mouth. “Yami was in rehab, wasn’t she? She told me it nearly destroyed her after only a few weeks. We can’t let that happen to Teo. Or the other kids.”
“There aren’t enough of us,” I said. Sven raised an eyebrow. I supposed it wasn’t like me to be a voice of reason at this point. “Really. I could have been caught easily. I’m not sorry I went, but we would regret going back.”
Sven looked away, but Etta patted my shoulder. “I’m glad you went. It was dumb, but I’m glad we know where Teo is now.”
“If your Chancellor is here, it raises more questions,” said Sven. “If he followed you, there will be extra security around Teo and Hope. Did he mention any of your names?”
I shook my head. I still couldn’t figure out how Lorenzo could be here rather than in Young Woods. He wanted more power, that much was clear, but how could he be in control of this compound so far from the town he led?
“There’s more,” I said. “That girl we saw? The one who looked miserable and wouldn’t talk to anyone? Apparently her integration failed. They’re going to try something new with her.”
“That can’t be good,” Etta said. “What if they do that with Teo? What are they going to do?”
“We need to get the kids out,” said Sven. “There’s only three of us, but we need to try.”
“Am I rubbing off on you Sven?” I teased. He gave me a hint of a smile, then remembered he was disappointed in me and scowled. “We can’t get them all. But maybe we can get Teo out. And the other kids in detention.”
“And Hope!” Etta added. “We have to get Hope.”
There was a pause as we all realized what we were talking about.
“I don’t like us picking and choosing which kids to save,” said Sven. “It doesn’t feel right.”
Etta didn’t answer. I felt torn. In such a short time, I felt close to Hope, and could only imagine what it felt like for Etta. And Teo was a good kid. He didn’t deserve this. And Etta 2 needed our help. But Sven was also right. We shouldn’t be choosing who deserves freedom and who doesn’t. Or which parents get their kids back and which don’t.
“Here’s what we can do,” I said as the thought came to me. “Scope the place out a little better. See what security is like around the nursery and detention building. Those are the kids it’ll be easiest to save, since they’re too young to know or too old to think they belong. Let’s at least find out what it’ll take to get them out of here, and go from there.”
“I’m in,” said Etta. “But we do it now; the dark will cover us. And I’m not waiting a second longer than necessary save Hope.”
We talked through the plan. I drew a map on scrap paper of the basic set up of the compound. Sven and Etta made corrections based on their own observations. We were all tired and hot, but agreed we couldn’t wait.
WE GATHERED OUR BAGS and snuck down towards the nursery. We still hadn’t heard back from Yami, but I sent her and Breck a rundown of our plan. Hopefully they would get it in the morning and could get help if anything went wrong. I wondered what Yami would do if she was here with us. Maybe she would understand why and how our Chancellor was part of this. She understood him better than the rest of us.
The nursery was on the opposite side of the compound from the detention building, so we timed our move carefully with the Gray Suits’ rotation. I stood back, letting Sven and Etta take charge. We snuck around the compound in a wide loop until we could see part of the nursery behind one of the exterior buildings.
Sven gestured and we followed him into the compound. The only sound was the wind rustling through trees and the occasional voices winding down from open windows. The nursery building was small, with brightly colored walls and display areas full of children’s artwork. It was like the art gallery Teo set up, but knowing what we knew about the children, there was a sinister tone underlying everything about it.
We peeked through the windows like I had before. The youngest children were in a room full of cribs at the north side of the building. Four cribs had children in them. Including Hope.
Another teacher walked quietly around the room while the babies slept. She was an older woman with a kind face and curly white hair. After doing a lap to check in on the kids, she walked into an office behind the room, separated by a glass wall. She worked on her TekCast while occasionally looking over at the cribs.
“What now?” I whispered. We had weapons, but none of us were interested in using them. Any noise we made would attract more attention and likely too many Gray Suits. There was also the danger of waking the babies themselves. The teacher would come immediately and we had no explanation for our presence.
“We can’t get in there without alerting the woman,” said Sven. “I don’t want any of us taking out a weapon in that room.”
“I can go in by myself,” said Etta. “I can get Hope and come right back out.”
“What if the woman sees you?” Sven asked.
“We can direct her attention elsewhere,” I said. “Make some noise. Draw her over to the far window so she doesn’t see Etta.”
Sven squinted his eyes. “That won’t leave you much time, Etta.”
“It’s enough,” said Etta. “I want her out. Now.”
Sven gave me a look. We weren’t going to get anywhere arguing with Etta. This was the only way for us to increase her chances of success. We set ourselves up in place.
Etta snuck towards the door to the building. Sven and I went to the far side near the woman’s office. I stood watch, a few feet away from the building, so
I could see both Sven and Etta. I gave them each a nod.
Etta opened the door quietly and stepped inside. I wouldn’t be able to see her until she got into Hope’s room. I waited a moment, then nodded to Sven. He had a few pebbles in his hand, and threw them at the woman’s office window. Slowly at first, then a little harder. I looked into the nursery. Etta walked inside, crouched low below the woman’s line of sight. I nodded again at Sven. He threw the pebbles harder and faster.
The woman stood up and went to her window. Sven backed behind a corner. I gave Etta another nod. She stayed low as she snuck across the room. When the woman backed away from her window, Sven tossed more pebbles. Etta finally got to Hope’s crib. She looked into the slats and very slowly stood up. The woman was back at the window now, looking again for the source of the noise.
Etta leaned over Hope and slowly picked her up, careful not to wake her. The woman was still looking out the window. Etta’s face was softer now as she looked at her daughter’s face. She walked quietly out of the room, not bothering to crouch anymore.
The woman turned back towards her desk. The nursery door closed behind Etta with a loud, low thud. It was the only noise in a nursery with three other sleeping babies. I held my breath. There was a moment of silence and I exhaled. Then one baby woke up and let out a long, shrill wail. Then a second. And a third. I heard another baby crying from only a few feet away from where I stood. Hope was awake now, too.
The woman inside the building panicked. She ran into the nursery and immediately noticed Hope’s empty crib. Etta was right beside me now, and Hope’s cries grew louder. The woman must have alerted someone; the whole building’s alarm system started to blare.
“Run!” Sven said, pushing our shoulders. Etta held Hope tightly to her chest and we took off in the opposite direction of the Gray Suit rotation. Other Gray Suits appeared as if from nowhere, blocking our path. We spun around and ran in the other direction, ignoring their shouts and threats.
