by RaeLynn Fry
I look at the back of his head peculiarly for a second before answering, “Yeah.”
I start on the opposite side of the room from him and begin to press on the planks of wood that cover the walls. It's a two story house, so neither of us bothers going up the stairs. There wouldn't be an inconspicuous way out, up there.
We move chairs, rugs, pull a bookcase out from the wall. Nothing. And the Guards are getting closer. We're running out of time. We both swivel our heads and take the small space in, looking for any place we might have missed.
I can hear the low tones of voices not far off. Adami and I look at each other with wide eyes. My gaze flits to the wall under the stairs. I look back at Adami and point with my stare to where I was just looking. He, too, studies the wall by the stairs, looks back at me and nods.
I go to the window to keep a look out as Adami heads to the stairs. I hear him knocking softly with the meaty part of his fist, testing for a hollow spot. Then he stops. I look over my shoulder and see him fingering a seam in the wood planks. His finger catches on something and he starts to tug. Nothing happens at first. Then, with a loud creak, the panel comes apart and starts to swing out. We both freeze where we are and listen.
“I heard something,” a Guard says. “This way.”
Adami crouches low to the floor and hurries my direction. “We need to go. Now.”
I nod. “But they're too close for us to open the door all the way. They'll hear us and come inside. We won't be able to get away.”
“What do we do, then?” He looks out the window with me. There are four Guards across the street from us, shining flashlights into the dark windows. I look around the living room floor. There are broken pieces of wood, glass, rocks, bricks, furniture. An eclectic variety of weapons.
“Okay, this is what we’re going to do.”
“I’m all ears.”
“When I say go, make your way to the door and open it just enough for us to get through. We'll have to hurry and close it as quickly and quietly as we can.”
“What are you going to do?”
“It’s either this or hide and hope they don’t find us.”
Adami lifts himself up so that the top of his head is slightly higher than the sill. “There are four Guards, and they’re all looking in separate areas. I hate to break it to you,” he slides back down to face me, “but I don’t think your plan is going to work.”
He’s too calm about his conclusion. “It has to work, because it’s the only one we have.” I pick up a rock that was probably thrown through this same window to begin with. I stand up and heave it through the night, as far from us as I can.
It hits the side of a building, causing the Guards to group together and hurry after the disturbance. Adami grabs my hand and we hurry to the door, slipping through the small opening and closing it behind us. It's pitch black, but it is a way out. I can feel the breeze from the night air around our ankles.
“Ready?” he whispers against my ear.
I adjust my hand in his, lacing our fingers together, and squeeze.
“It's dark, so we have to go slow.”
“As long as we're going in a direction that's away from the Guards.” I put my free hand out in front of me, feeling out the way in front of us.
Our steps are small and our going slow. Neither of us says a word the entire way, we only breathe in and out, never letting go of each other's hand.
७
I don't know how long it takes us to get through the tunnel, but by the time we get to the end, we are both sweaty and dirty. But we’re safe. Adami and I stare out at an unfamiliar section of Neech. We turn in a slow circle. I'm trying to get my bearings, and Adami’s expression tells me that he's just trying to take it all in. I look for the only point of reference we have, Corporation Tower. It's behind me and to the left, a blue-black, dull throb of light in this blacked out part of the Outer City.
“There's the Tower,” I say, pointing up.
“The Tower?” Adami asks.
“The only part of Dahn that's visible from Neech. Corporation Tower. If we head towards it, we'll eventually come to a part of the Outer City I'm more familiar with.”
“It looks rather imposing,” he says. “A very twisted North Star.”
“You should see it up close. It's downright scary.”
“I can imagine.”
We start our journey back home, silent for the first few blocks, making sure we aren't being followed and that there aren't any Guards nearby. Things start to look familiar. There's Sachi's bakery. And down the road a ways is one of the hostels for the steelworker apprentices. I relax more, knowing where we are and that it won’t be much longer until we’re home.
“Tell me about Nagar.”
“It's not too exciting. Nothing like here, that's for sure.”
“Is it a city, like Neech and Dahn?”
“It's more of a community. It's small. There are only a few hundred of us. We have tents and lean-tos and shacks for homes. We have to be able to get up and move quickly if we feel threatened or in danger.”
“Does that happen often? Moving, I mean.”
“Our community is in the middle of the Wasteland, so there are many potential dangers, but only a couple, since I've been there, that we've had to pick up entirely and move somewhere else.”
“What happened?”
He mulls it over before he speaks. “Outsiders came. We've always been wary and cautious of outsiders, but when it comes down to it, those are the people who make up Nagar. After all, my mother and I were both outsiders at one point. But these people were different. They were aggressive and forceful. Marlo, our leader, felt they would do us harm, threaten our way of living.”
“So what did he do?”
“He asked them to leave.”
“And did they?”
“At first. But, the next night they came back, and they brought others with them. They wanted our camp. We're a level-headed group, we think things through, but we will defend what we have with our lives and do whatever it takes.”
“And what did it take?” I'm almost too nervous to ask.
“It took their lives. They proved themselves to be untrustworthy to just walk away, showed us they had to be stopped. We couldn't afford the risk of leaving and having them come back with even more like them and harming us. Our community is based on honesty in all things. If it's found you're lying, there are serious consequences.
“So, in the middle of the night, a few of our best fighters snuck into their camp and broke their necks.” He says it so simply, so void of any emotion, that a shiver crawls down my spine. “After that, we moved camp. That was seven years ago. We haven't been found again since.”
“It sounds like Nagar is filled with dangerous people.”
“Their danger is only equal to that of the threat you possess to them. Nothing more. They're humans, and families. They're no more dangerous than you would be in their situation.”
“If Nagar is trying so hard to remain unfound, and out of the line of sight from others, why did they send you out into the Further to find us?”
He lets out a half laugh in the form of an exhaled breath. “That's a funny story, actually. You and I are more alike than you realize. I'm kind of a you, where I come from. I never do what I'm told and always do what I want. It’s why my mother has silver hair and why Marlo is always threatening to exile me from the community, to live on the fringes.”
“So they didn't send you out here?”
“No, I came because I wanted to see what else there was in life.”
“That's insane. For all you knew, you were going to die out in the Further for something you only thought existed in old stories.”
“Well, it panned out, so I don't like to dwell on what might have been but didn't happen.”
“You're lucky you came across us. The Further is vast and our cities small in comparison. You could have easily missed us.”
“Very lucky.”
We
're quiet for a little more, but it's a comfortable silence. “Tell me more about your Mark and why you wanted it changed.”
“Every Candidate gets one during their Jatis. It tells us what trade we're going to take up when we get older, who we're going to be Paired with. It holds all our information, our credits. When Ajna got sick and our Petition for medicine was denied, I had no choice but to get mine altered to try and get into the Inner City to get the medicine that could save my brother's life.”
“And did you? Get the medicine?”
“I got to Dahn, ran into Ethan, and we eventually got the medicine. Not before discovering Akin had a file on me and my family and that my mom was alive and living with the enemy in cushy comfort.” I didn't mean for that last part to slip out, it just did, but it feels good. “Please don't mention that last part, though. Only Ethan and I knew about her, and if Papa were to find out, it would just break him inside.”
“There’s so much about you I want to know more about,” he says. “I grew up without a father. It was only Mom and me.” That's all he says, and for whatever reason, his words are a balm to the hurt that crept up at the mention of my mom. My hate for her is a poorly secured band aid that is doing nothing to heal the wound. Eventually it's going to have to be ripped off so that true healing can start to take place.
“Mama left us when Ajna was still a baby. No real reason or explanation of where she was going. She just packed a few belongings one night and never looked back. I'll ask her, though. One day. I just need to make sure I'm ready for whatever her answer will be.”
“So you got the medicine and came back to Neech?”
“Rebeka, that's my mom, brought us a couple of different medicines. One for my brother, and one she gave Ethan. She knew my Mark was faulty—bad—before I’d even told anyone. That's what saved my life.” I look down at the ink on my skin and Adami brushes his fingers over it so lightly, it makes me shiver.
“It's beautiful,” he says.
“It is,” I agree.
“But it's broken, now?”
“It's hard to explain, but it doesn't look the same. It doesn't feel the same. There's something a little off about it, and I can't quite put my finger on it. I decided I wanted to test it, to see if something really had changed. So I went to one of the Gates I'm not cleared to enter.”
“Come again?”
I keep forgetting he knows next to nothing about our world. “Neech is divided into a number of Castes, no two on equal footing. You're either better than someone else, or they're better than you. As such, the city is sectioned off into different quadrants, and is heavily restricted to only certain Castes. The main market area and our park and city buildings are accessible by all, but other sections with different specialty shops and industrial buildings, are guarded by Gates. If you don't have the right Mark identifying you as the worthy Caste, you can't enter.”
“What happens if someone tries?”
I lift my shoulders up in a carefree way, even though I feel far from carefree. “They die.”
He grabs my wrist and stops me. “They die? How?”
“The Gate does it. That's why no one even thinks about crossing over into a different Caste's quadrant.”
“And you've seen this?”
“No, but we all know it happens.”
“Has anyone actually seen this happen? Does anyone actually know that's what goes on when you try?”
I pause to think. I've never heard about a specific someone dying trying to cross through an unauthorized Gate. I make a mental note to ask Ami about it tomorrow. If there has ever been, she would know about it. My silence gives him my answer.
“That's what I thought. So who's to say it happen at all and the Gates are just another way of the Corporation keeping control of Neech?”
“You bring up a very good point, but I doubt there's anyone in the Outer City willing to find out for sure. I don’t think anyone has ever been brave enough to call the Corporation’s bluff.”
“What happened when you tested your different Mark?” We start walking again. My house is only a few minutes more ahead, which is good. I'm exhausted, and can still get a few hours of sleep before I have to go to the Factory.
“Nothing happened.”
“Nothing? Expand on that, please.”
“Just that—nothing happened. The Gate didn't read my Mark and I could pass through just fine. But I haven't been brave enough to try it on other things to confidently say it's completely out of commission.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, the Main Gate into Dahn, for one. Our ration stamps, for another.”
“So how do you get your rations, then?”
“We get physical ration cards to trade and the only stipulation is that a member of the household has to pick them up. Papa picked them up this month.”
“That's all well and good, but you can't keep having Jeret pick them up every time. He'll get suspicious and with life, that just won't always work out. You're going to have to come up with a long term solution and not just a short term plan.”
I slip my hand into the pocket of my duster. “I have one.” I pull out the paper-wrapped Mark that was given to me as a gift.
“What's this?” Adami takes it from me. He unwraps it and immediately recoils. “Is that human skin with a Mark on it? Karis!” His reaction is strong and unexpected. “That’s from someone’s arm.” I didn't think he'd be unaffected by what I’m showing him, but I didn't expect him to be so upset and disappointed in me, either. He hastily wraps it back up and shoves it into my hands. “Please don't tell me you did that yourself.”
“Of course I didn't do it myself.” I snatch the wrapping back.
“Where did you get it?”
“It was a gift.” I wrap it up and put the package back in my pocket.
“That's one sick gift. If Ethan gave it to you, I feel I must insist you break things off with him. He's a bit twisted.”
“Ethan doesn't even know I have it. I don't know who gave it to me. It was on our back porch, next to our bundle of firewood one day.”
“But you have a suspicion of who it might be, am I right? And you trust this person; otherwise you wouldn't be carrying it around with you.”
“I wouldn't say I trust this person, exactly. More like, they gave this to me for a reason and that reason helps both of us.” I’m just worried about how I might be helping them.
“How in the world could you possibly know that?” He's crossed his arms over his chest and is looking straight ahead.
“It's more of a feeling.”
“Oh, good. You're using a dead person's—person, Karis—Mark that a psychopath gave you because your gut tells you the gift-giver is trustworthy.”
“Dead person?” I echo.
“You didn't think their flesh was carved away and they're still living, walking around, do you?”
“Well, no...” I actually hadn't thought about it at all. But there's no other option, is there? The paper in my pocket suddenly becomes heavy enough to weigh down my duster. “It doesn't change the fact it's a tool that can be used against the Corporation, and I need every advantage I can get.”
He shakes his head and lets out a low whistle. “Don't let anyone ever tell you you aren't willing to do what it takes to meet your end goal.”
We're at my house and Adami slips through the back door before me. I wait a breath before following him through. I don't know why, but his reaction leaves my heart heavy. I don't like that he might be disappointed or think less of me. I sigh and follow him in.
Ethan
“I haven't been given specific instructions on how to deal with you, other than to deal with you. Quickly.” Nan stands up in a lithe, fluid movement to tower over us. The day is almost ending and the very last of the daylight is all but gone.
Flood lights buzz on with the sound of thousands of swarming insects, casting his face into a melee of sharp angled shadows.
“I'm not one to draw things out
, “ he says, “so find what comfort you can in knowing your end will be clean and fast.”
At that, Raj whimpers. I look over at Dhevan, but his face is stone. “Even his own son?” Raj asks.
“No one is to be granted favor. President Hughes made that quite clear.”
I didn't expect any leniency or any show of compassion from my father, but to give the okay on my death? That takes the air from my lungs and knocks me back a few paces, mentally.
“I don't know why you sound surprised at that, Raj,” I say, in an attempt to not think about Nan's words. “You've met the man. He cares about nothing but himself.”
“Chow time is almost over, there's no sense in drawing a crowd or doing this in front of an audience. We will wait until the Guards are in their barracks and then you'll be executed. It will be fast and humane. Which is more than any of you probably deserve.”
Raj whimpers again, and in a fit of unexpected irritation, I find myself snapping at him. “How about you buck up and be a man for once in your life, Raj?” His head snaps back like I've hit him. “My father's ordered our deaths and we aren't going to see another morning. Accept it.”
Dhevan finally speaks. “I can't believe it, you're giving up.”
“In what world do you live in that you see us actually getting out of a situation like this, Dhevan? I didn't think you were one to actually have the mind of a simple farmer. I thought you were smarter than that.”
“And I thought you had more heart and balls than this,” he bites back.
“Boys, what is the point in arguing between yourselves? Young Mr. Hughes is correct in saying you should be a man about this whole situation. You're only getting what you deserve. Whether it's something you've done in this life, a past one, or one yet to come. It doesn't matter.”
“Karis deserves better than you,” Dhevan says.
I grind my molars and try not to let my hackles rise. My words grind out from behind my teeth. “Don't you think I already know that?”
“Once the Guards are settled, we’ll be back for you—”
