Outcast: A Corporation Novel (The Corporation)

by RaeLynn Fry

  He nods. “I did. And I didn't tell you about it.”

  “Well, that's obvious. Didn't you think I needed to know about it?”

  “No.” His tone tells me he's not going to argue or discuss that point with me, either.

  “Well, I guess it's good we have Déjà here, then, otherwise we'd never have known anything.”

  “Karis, you will respect your father, regardless if you agree with him or not.” Ella slips into the role of chastising parent and loyal partner seamlessly. When did that happen? And when did it start fitting her? I'm not sure if I'm okay with it or not, but that’s another thought for another time.

  I take a breath. “Where are the others, then?”

  “Gone. They never stay longer than they have to. Neech is more of a safe stop for them, should they need it. We rest them up and renew their supplies. Then they go back.”

  “Did you know about this, Adami?”

  He looks me straight in the eye. “Not about Neech, specifically. I knew there were safe places out in the Wasteland and we were welcome there, but that's not why I came. I was lucky to have stumbled upon one when I did.” His gaze is steady and straight and I believe him.

  “How do the Untouchables know about Neech? How did it come that we were a safe stop for them?”

  “It was a long time ago,” Papa says. “We had one come to us. He told us about other colonies out in the Further and they were banding together to stop the Corporation, but it was going to take time and resources. They asked if we wanted to help. Of course we said yes.”

  “How long ago was this?” Journey asks.

  “Ten years,” Déjà says.

  “For ten years, we've been having Untouchables coming into the city? And they want to work with us to take down Akin?”

  Déjà nods. “Lately, we've been having a lot of our people join their ranks.”

  My eyes go wide. “The missing citizens?”

  Papa nods. “Except they're not missing. They chose to leave with the Untouchables that came here to fight for the cause.”

  “This means the Untouchables are regular visitors.” I think of the handful of people who have just disappeared in the last few months.

  “Regular enough,” Déjà says.

  “All of this was happening, and you didn't bother to think that maybe, maybe, Ethan should know? Or the rest of us? Papa, he's trying to help us and all anyone’s been doing is treating him like an outsider. Worse, an enemy.”

  Papa takes my hands in his. “Karis, I like Ethan. He's a good kid with a good heart, but Akin is his father, and blood creates stronger ties and loyalties than any blade can cut.”

  Tears well in my eyes and I don't try to hide them. “Oh, Papa. If you only would have trusted him!” Adami squeezes my shoulder and pulls me closer into his side. I welcome the warmth. “He would have told you the truth. I know he would have.”

  Papa squints his eyes and looks at me. “I know he says he’s on our side, but when it really comes down to it, would he stand against his father? Could he?”

  I shake my head, wiping a stream of tears away from my cheeks. All of these lies and secrets, all they did was destroy everything and drive away the person I love more than anyone. “Papa, Ethan isn't Akin's son. He's a Sponsor. He's from Neech, and he was starting to remember. He was remembering everything.”

  The room goes silent, but I can’t bear to lift my eyes to look at any of the people in the room. Someone clears their throat.

  “I don’t see how that changes anything,” Déjà says. “He grew up with Akin; he still has loyalties to him. He may be thinking his new found ties to the Outer City will give him favor, but that’s a far stretch.”

  I’m shocked, and so is Journey. “Daddy! That is a very harsh thing to say, and I’m disappointed to hear you feel that way.” She crosses a leg over her knee and folds her arms.

  “He never agreed with his father—Akin—to begin with and this bit of news only freed him from any remaining loyalty he may have,” I say.

  “How do we know Ethan really is a Sponsor? What if it’s just a story he’s concocted to try and get more support or favor?” Déjà presses.

  “I don’t understand why you’re fighting this,” I say, wiping the last of my tears away.

  “You know she’s telling the truth, Déjà,” Eta says. “Hiding your head in the sand won’t change anything. Karis is right, Ethan is a Sponsor and leaving tonight would be a good idea.”

  “You know this for a fact?” Papa says.

  “With each Sponsor, the Corporation finds a way to eliminate their families, anyone who had a significant connection with them; to make sure there won’t be any problems with the Sponsor being taken. Family may be fine with a child being chosen, at first, but in the end, they always want them back. That’s a problem. It will happen to you and yours.”

  “The Corporation is going to eliminate us?” Papa doesn’t fully believe it, I can tell.

  “Not at first, and not all at once, but before the year is out, none of you will be a threat any longer. You’ll either get sick and die, commit a Releasable offence, or be a part of some horrible accident, but it will happen.” I take a breath. “I’m the only one that will be left, but only because I’ll be in the Inner City.”

  “Ella? Is this true?” Papa asks.

  She purses her lips. “I don’t know for sure. There have always been rumors, but one thing is certain, the family never comes for the Sponsor and the Sponsor never has a desire to go home.”

  “How can that be?” Papa says. “Someone that young would start missing home pretty soon.”

  “Not if they don’t remember home,” Eta says.

  Papa’s eyes go wide. “Ajna doesn’t remember us?”

  “The Sponsors remember nothing of their old lives,” Ella says. “They know that they came from Neech, but that’s it.”

  “How could they ever forget their home? Their family?” Journey says. She gives me a look that holds all the pity in the world.

  “The Corporation developed a medicine that erases a person’s past and lets them create whatever kind of story they want. It’s detailed, believable, and malleable.”

  “So, if Ethan really was a Sponsor, he would have known it from the beginning. Yet Karis is saying he had no idea and was only now remembering. How is that the case?” Déjà asks.

  “Ethan was different,” Ella says. “Akin took everything away from him. He only ever knew Dahn. He had no idea he was a Sponsor. Akin surrounded Ethan and himself with people who wouldn’t dare think of asking any questions about Ethan. In time, everyone forgot. Akin wanted it that way. He wanted to raise him as his son.”

  “Then how were his memories coming back?” Journey asks.

  “You have to take the medicine daily,” Eta says. “When you stop taking it, memories begin to surface.”

  “I find it weird the Corporation hasn’t come up with a onetime injection or something,” I say. “A daily dose seems too risky.”

  “It’s not for lack of trying,” Eta says. “When Ethan came here, memories started coming back. I made him a tea that helped them resurface. As long as he keeps taking his tea, the memories should come back smoothly, until they’re fully restored.”

  “What happens when that’s complete?” I ask.

  “This will set a precedent; we don’t know what side effects there may be, if any. Hopefully, nothing adverse will occur.”

  “I hate to doubt the man,” Déjà says, “but how do we know he ain’t just making this up? If no one is left around Neech that knew him when it happened, then there’s no one who can confirm that he’s one of us.”

  “Akin told me about Ethan when he brought him in,” Ella says. “I was to keep an extra close eye on him and give him his meds if Akin ever wasn’t able to.”

  “And,” I reach behind my back and bring out the photo, “because of this.” I hand it to Papa.

  “A photo?” Déjà takes it from me, instead.

  “Look at
the little boy.”

  He takes his reading glasses out of the front pocket of his shirt. “I can see some resemblance, but the little boy could be anyone.” But he sighs. He knows it’s a weak argument. “Where did you get this?”

  I look at Adami and he gives me a small smile. I’m asking everyone to share their secrets, and this is my biggest one. I shift uncomfortably and clear my throat. “From his old house over in West End.”

  “What on earth made you go there?”

  “I needed to get answers and that was the only place that had them.”

  “The west end?” Journey says with a question on her face. “You’re not allowed in that section of Neech. You’re Caste is higher than that.”

  “Are the Gates broken?” Papa asks.

  “No, the Gates are fine.” It’s not as easy to say as I thought it would be. “When I got sick from my faulty Mark and then got better, it changed me. It changed my Mark. It doesn’t work anymore.”

  There’s silence and wide eyes all around. “Doesn’t work?” Eta says.

  “The Gates don’t read it. I can go wherever I want.”

  “Are you sure?” Papa asks.

  I nod once. “I’ve been testing it, and so far…well, so far no Gate or scanner has noticed me.” The room is silent.

  “How did this happen?” Ella asks.

  I shrug a shoulder. “Bak said the Corporation was giving faulty Marks on purpose to control potential trouble makers. But he said he was conducting an experiment of his own, trying to find a way to break the Marks while keeping the subject alive. His experiment worked, I guess.”

  “Bak? Who’s Bak?” Papa asks.

  “Bak is the Black Market Artist who gave her the faulty Mark,” Adami says. “It’s who she went to meet with in West End.”

  “You’ve been doing all this, without even telling me?” Journey is the worst kind of mad. The quiet kind with a foundation of extreme hurt.

  “Why did you meet with him?” Papa says. “He works for the Corporation, it could have been a trap!” He shakes his head. “Did you even bother to think of anyone besides yourself when you were doing all this?”

  “That’s not fair, Papa. I was doing all of this because I was thinking of everyone of you. I knew this could help us in our fight against Akin, but I needed to know exactly what it was I had.”

  “How do you know you can trust him?” Eta asks.

  I can’t explain my reasoning without subjecting myself to questions I’m not prepared to answer, and that shouldn’t be our focus right now. “I can’t explain it,” I say. “You’ll just have to trust me when I tell you I can. He may be working for the Corporation, but he’s not working with them. He’s the one that told me you were all in danger because Ajna was Sponsored. He promised to keep you safe if it came to that. He’s the one that told me about Ethan. He told me there were more people than we realized in Dahn who wanted to see Akin fail.”

  “He’s a naturally giving and caring guy, is he? That he would just offer all of this information and help to you without there being anything in it for him?” Papa says. This is where I get my talent for seeing what hasn’t been spoken out loud. When it counts, my Papa misses nothing.

  “We made a deal.”

  Papa shoots up out of his seat. “A deal?!”

  Ella reaches up to his hand and pulls gently. He looks down at her with a clenched jaw, but then his face softens. His chest expands and contracts with deep breaths. He sits back down. “What kind of deal?” His calm words are forced.

  “A favor for a favor. He offered to protect you all if it came to that, in exchange for a favor from me in the near future. When I’m in Dahn.”

  “What if this favor puts Ajna or yourself in jeopardy?” Journey says.

  “Then I won’t do it,” I say simply. “But I couldn’t tell the man no to his face when he was offering to keep those I love safe and alive.” I take a deep breath. “Look, this isn’t up for discussion. I did what had to be done. Any of you would have done the same.”

  “I’m sorry, Karis,” Papa says, “but you’re not putting our safety—our fates—in the hands of a Black Market Artist. Especially not without our consent. And I don’t hear you mentioning yourself in any of this talk of escaping or going under Bak’s protection.”

  “Yeah,” Journey says. “What exactly is it you think you’ll be doing during this time?”

  “I have a contract with Akin. If I don’t keep my end, Ajna is no longer safe. I have to stay here and go into Dahn when he calls. But I can’t do that knowing you’re all in danger, here in Neech.”

  “Just like your mother,” Papa says. “Stubborn to the core.”

  “Hardheaded, too,” I say with a faint smile. “I’m asking you all to do this because I care. I got us all into this mess, and this is the only way I can see to get you all out.” My voice is much softer than it has been all night.

  Papa reaches out and takes my hand in his. “I promise, Karis, that if it really does come down to it, we will do what Bak says.”

  Tears puddle in my eyes. “You will?”

  He nods. “We will.”

  “I just wish he could keep Ethan and Dhevan safe, too. I don’t trust that they’re with Raj. I can’t help but feel like he’s leading them into a trap,” I say.

  “Me too,” Journey says.

  “It’s because he is,” Eta says with brusqueness.

  “What?” I gasp.

  “Calm yourself child, Ethan knew it was that way from the beginning. And what’s more, he knew the kinds of things they were going to find out there.”

  “But, how?”

  “I guess it’s my turn, now.” She sounds annoyed at the fact. “Ethan and I have discovered some things about what the Corporation is up to. The sickness, Maute, it’s being used to change the body.”

  “How?” Ella says. She doesn’t seem upset, more fascinated by the claim.

  “I’m still working on that part, but it would seem those who survive the sickness on their own—without the cure—are changed on inside and out. We think it’s to better survive the Further. To make a better soldier.”

  “Ajna survived, so that would mean—”

  “I would have to do some tests to see if our theory holds true with him. So far, I’ve only had access to those who have survived it on their own. Surviving because of the antidote may have a different outcome.”

  “How does it change the bodies?” Ella asks.

  “The skin is thicker, tougher; to protect against the heat and sun. The hair is more like wool and they have an extra layer of eyelashes. Their body can hold more water in various organs and in their cells. The vein structure around their brain is altered, too.”

  “But all of that,” Ella says with a pinched look on her face, “all of that would take years—possibly thousands of years—to evolve that way. But this would seem to be happening virtually overnight?”

  “Exactly. Which is why the disease tortures the host’s body the way it does while they’re still alive. That’s my theory, anyway. For now. When you come back to the house, I’ll show you what I have. It’d be nice to get the opinion of an Inner City Medic as to what may be going on.”

  “Yes, please. I’m eager to.”

  “Ethan saw the kind of soldier they were manufacturing, so he had a good idea of what waited for them out in the Further. He’ll be fine, child.”

  We all sit and absorb the different truths that have been spoken. There were a lot, but I can see from the expressions on everyone’s faces that they are glad for it all.

  “So, what do we do now?” I ask. “It’s not like we have a solid plan—or any plan at all—to bring Akin to his knees or to destroy the Corporation.”

  “The only thing we can do,” Papa says. “Take it one day at a time, and face our battles as they come, together.”

  “We have more than Akin has,” Adami says. “We have an evolving plan, people on the outside and people on the inside. We have passion and patience and a
desire to make the lives of those we know and love better. And most importantly,” he says with a knowing smile, “we have you.”

  I smile sadly. I can’t help but feel his confidence is ill-placed. I don’t want that kind of responsibility or pressure. I tie my fingers in his and squeeze. I couldn’t have a better group of people to fight this battle with, though. But my heart is sad; I want Ethan here by my side too. I need him.

  And I didn’t realize how much I needed him with me—next to me—until right now.

  Day fourteen

  Ethan

  Whatever group broke us out of the training camp is coming back for us tonight. I won't lie; the anticipation is getting to me. I can tell it's getting to Dhevan, as well. We haven't had the chance to talk much in the past two days; Ansel has been keeping him busy with their small patch of crops and Mae has me doing laundry and dishes and other household chores.

  Dinner is impressive for the supplies they have. There are some greens from their garden, a couple of rabbits that—I hate to admit—smell pretty good, and a hunk of what Ansel claimed was meat, but that I saw coming from a can. There are rolls but no butter. But I don't plan on complaining.

  “How was your time in the house?” Ansel asks. “Did Mae take good care of you?”

  “I see she taught you how to fold laundry in a decent fashion,” Dhevan says.

  I've come to just go with the punches. There's been so much teasing, Ansel and Dhevan’s jabs could have filled a few lifetimes.

  “Yes, it's true. I've been learning to do laundry and fold it and even cook a bit, but that only ups my pedigree.” All three of them snigger.

  “So tell us, boys, now that it's your last night, what brought you to the camp? We were told you were prisoners.”

  “In our city, we grew up with stories about the Further. That it's a dangerous place and if we ever set foot in the barren wasteland, we would die from exposure or be eaten by cannibals. We were told our cities were the last; there was nothing out there left living,” Dhevan says.

  “The Further?”