The Registry

by Shannon Stoker

  The rain stopped, but the sun never reappeared. Mia’s sweatpants started to dry a little but hung on her like extra weight. The moisture from the crops didn’t help the situation as she tried to fight off the shivers. When Andrew turned off the main highway, Mia felt hopeful that they might rest soon.

  A sign directed them toward the town of Schuyler, two miles away. Mia thought of a task that might bring Whitney out of her slump.

  “Math whiz?” Mia asked. “If we’re two miles away from a town, could you figure out how long it takes us to walk a mile?”

  Mia wanted to distract her friend, but she was also curious about their speed. Whitney showed a slight smile and nodded her head. Mia was worried about her friend; her eyes still held a bit of terror. Mia just wished she would stop misdirecting it toward Andrew.

  The rows of corn ended and Andrew began walking back toward a patch of trees. Mia sighed, as this meant it was time to rest, making her project for Whitney pointless. She made an apologetic face toward her, and Whitney nodded in understanding. Thunder sounded and the wind picked up, sending chills down Mia’s spine and reminding her of the need for rest. She hoped they would make it to the trees before the rain picked up again.

  Just as they reached the sprawling branches of a group of maples, the rain came. While some drops made it through the leaves, they were safe from major rainfall. Mia dropped her sack and leaned against the tree. Whitney was running toward them, tripping in the rain. Mia didn’t realize she had fallen behind. She expected her to be angry, but instead Whitney looked tired and defeated as she peeled off her wet clothes, pulled out a blanket, and wrapped it around herself.

  It was surprising to see Whitney so uninhibited. Mia couldn’t believe she would just undress in front of Andrew. Then Mia glanced around and noticed Andrew was nowhere in sight. She stood and started to circle the tree; he could not have gone far.

  There were only about four or five trees grouped together. Endless cornfields loomed ahead. Andrew was walking between the maples, staring at the ground. He looked almost as if he was pacing. Mia thought he must still have been upset about the day’s activities. She wanted to comfort him and thank him but wasn’t sure he would appreciate the gesture. Then she noticed he was not just pacing. He was looking for sticks.

  She turned back toward their packs and saw that Whitney was fast asleep, using her bag as a pillow. Mia picked up the strewn-about clothes and hung them up on low branches, hoping they would dry out. She lifted her pack and Andrew’s as well, trying to make sure they stayed out of the water. She wondered if Andrew had a blanket in his pack or if they would be forced to share the one Andrew had stolen for her. She felt herself blush at this idea; she didn’t know what was coming over her.

  The difference between the two bags was noticeable. Andrew’s was stuffed tightly and professionally. Mia’s was tiny and empty. She scolded herself for thinking Andrew wouldn’t have a blanket in there. He had everything. Shaking her head, she unzipped her bag and pulled out two empty water bottles. Walking out past the branches, she stuck them in the ground, hoping they would collect some rainwater.

  Andrew was back and stacking up the sticks he had collected. He placed the smaller ones on the bottom and made sure the bigger ones were not crushing them. She wanted to help but knew she would only get in the way and make it harder for him.

  “I hope this works,” Andrew said. “I was having a hard time finding dry wood.”

  “When it rains, things get wet.” Mia cringed as the words left her mouth. She wanted to have a useful anecdote to add, but she had no clue wet wood wouldn’t burn. She didn’t know how to get a fire going. Survival 101 was never part of her mother’s curriculum. “How are you going to start it?”

  “Standard procedure is with a mirror, but there’s no sun out, so I’ll have to use an emergency match.” Andrew didn’t look up as he opened his bag.

  Mia was surprised Andrew had thought to bring matches, and then she remembered his departure was planned; he hadn’t left in a hurry with no clue what he was heading into. She began to focus on his pack and wondered what else was in there. She was curious about whether he had food. Her stomach let out a long, low growl at the thought of sustenance. Almost everything she had taken from home was gone, and she hadn’t eaten a real meal in days.

  “We should take inventory of our supplies,” she said.

  “I don’t think that’s necessary. The nature-trail part of our journey is almost over.” He threw a match at the bottom of the pile of sticks and used his hand as a fan. It looked more like a smoke cloud than a fire.

  “What do you mean? I didn’t think we were close to the border.” It dawned on Mia that they could be, though. She still wasn’t sure how long it would take to get to Mexico, and she had fallen asleep in the back of that truck.

  “We’re still in the Midwest Area, heading to the Southeast Area, though, less than halfway to Mexico from your home,” Andrew replied.

  “It was your home, too.” Mia looked into his eyes.

  “I guess.” Andrew shrugged. “Your father was good to me.”

  “How do you know?” Mia asked. “Did you have anything else to compare his treatment to?”

  “Yes.” Andrew’s jaw clenched. “I understand why you don’t want to marry that man, though.”

  “Thank you,” Mia replied.

  Mia took comfort in his conversation. She had a feeling the days when she wasn’t allowed to ask questions were over. The smoke flickered and a fire sprang up. She could feel the warmth and edged closer. Andrew pulled off his shirt and hung it by Whitney’s clothes; next came his pants and socks. Mia was shocked at how muscular he was. Just because he was thin did not mean he wasn’t fit. He looked down at her and realized she was staring. She looked away, embarrassed, focusing on the flames to hide her red face. He changed into fresh clothes and sat down by the fire, bringing a small bag with him.

  “You should change, too. You’ll get sick sitting in those,” he said as he opened the bag and fished out some dried meat.

  Mia had never seen something that looked so delicious in all her life. The salty beef almost made a snap as he bit into it.

  “You can change right here if you want to; I already saw you almost naked in that black dress.” He raised an eyebrow. Mia laughed a little, happy he was displaying a sense of humor.

  “Making jokes now, are we?” She walked toward the trunk of the tree and stripped. She wondered if he was looking at her but was too shy to check. She opened her pack but didn’t have a change of pants. The extra T-shirt was on the top, followed by the blanket. She pulled out the rough gray blanket and wrapped it around her waist. It was small and went down only to the middle of her calves, but she had little choice. At the bottom was her leftover food, a few cookies she had stolen from the kitchen. She sighed as she pulled them out and returned to the fire.

  “That dress was beautiful, by the way,” she said. “I might not buy into the system but I still know a beautiful gown when I see one.”

  “I guess.” Andrew shrugged.

  Once she sat back down, she caught Andrew’s eyes. He was staring at her and turned away awkwardly. Mia smiled, thinking they were even for the moment. She pulled out a cookie and ate in silence. Andrew continued to snack on his meat, focusing on the flames.

  “Cookie?” Mia asked.

  Andrew shook his head but broke off a piece of his jerky and handed it over.

  “Thank you,” Mia said.

  Andrew just nodded. Mia wondered if he knew she was thanking him for more than the food. Her inquisitive nature was getting the better of her, and she wanted to get him talking.

  “Have you ever killed a person before?” she asked.

  An uncomfortable look crossed his face. He took a deep breath and exhaled.

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I had to,” he said. There was no pride in his voice. “It’s a hard world. If you don’t defend yourself and you’re not ready to attac
k, it could be you that’s dead.”

  Both of them sat in silence watching the flames dance, listening as some rain fell through and hissed as it hit the fire. Mia knew this topic was closed, but she wanted to keep him talking.

  “Do you know why the Registry exists?” she asked.

  Andrew gave her a confused look.

  “Do you know the history? Why we live the way we do?”

  He sighed and looked away. “In school, they didn’t cover much. They just tell you it exists everywhere. But that’s not true. I’ve heard stories. America is powerful and respected because of its armed services. We have the best in the world by far. A few hundred years ago, there was a great war. Back then all countries fought with each other all the time. Our army was all volunteers and not enough men were stepping up. So they made it mandatory that all men had to enlist. We won the war right away. Things went back to peacetime, but the government kept the enlistment requirement. Now we dominate and end all wars.”

  “I thought we used to be little countries. Then we merged together.” Mia was thinking back to Whitney’s story.

  “Not really countries, just smaller territories,” Andrew responded.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I don’t. It’s just what I’ve heard,” he said casually.

  This was the most Mia had ever heard him speak. She was intrigued for multiple reasons.

  “That’s just about mandatory enlistment. What about the Registry? And why do people give up their sons?” She wanted to know more.

  “The origin doesn’t matter. There is always fighting and war in the world. You’re lucky you’re protected from it. That’s my job, to go out and face it. No matter who the enemy is, as a country, we need to fight them. Mandatory enlistment lets America stay on top, and if the Registry is a part of that system it must be good.”

  “So the Registry fuels mandatory enlistment?” Mia was confused.

  “No; I mean, I don’t know. But they both exist here and mandatory service is a good thing.”

  It was obvious that Andrew had never concerned himself with thoughts of the Registry. Mia wished he had more information.

  “Can’t mothers raise their sons until enlistment time?”

  “I guess. But why would they? Sons are a waste of money.”

  Mia was surprised that Andrew thought of himself as a waste of money. She couldn’t think that raising someone was a bad investment.

  “What was the great war about?” Mia hoped to keep him talking. It seemed like the military was a favorite topic of his.

  “What wars are always about. Power and money.”

  “What about love?” Mia looked, wide-eyed, at Andrew. She didn’t know much on the subject, but it seemed a powerful force. She always thought she would love her husband at first sight; it was her duty. Now the idea seemed absurd. She doubted romantic love existed, but there was still room for the feeling in her life.

  Glancing at Whitney, she felt love between the two of them, and the feelings would have been enough to drive her to war. She wondered if she and Andrew would ever develop that bond. Her eyes ran up and down his form and she felt a shiver run through her. But she pushed the idea out of her mind; she was not escaping to form more friendships.

  Andrew laughed. It was at her expense but she was glad to see him smile. He didn’t understand the emotion and shook his head in disbelief. Rather than embarrass herself more, Mia changed the subject.

  “Where are we going next? If the nature portion of this trip is over.”

  “Traveling this way isn’t going to work. It’s too risky and it would take too long. We are going to get jobs until we make enough to get on a train to the border.”

  “How do we get jobs?” Mia didn’t think she would be good at much.

  Andrew winced with annoyance. Mia realized she knew nothing about the world outside her father’s farm and the answer to each question she asked was common knowledge. He must have felt like he was traveling with a baby.

  “We are going into town. We’ll wait until someone needs workers for some odd jobs. There is a bar that was marked as a good place to find work.”

  “Have you been there before?” Mia asked.

  “No.”

  “Then how do you know it’s a good place for work?”

  “Because.”

  “Ugh.” Mia groaned in frustration. “If you were just better at explaining things, we wouldn’t have to go through this every time I ask a question.”

  Andrew remained still, chewing on his food. Mia couldn’t tell whether he was going to snap or answer her.

  “At that rest stop, the map I took—on the glass someone, another kid probably, marked this bar as a good place to find work. So I thought we’d go check it out.”

  “Oh.” Mia was happy he had responded, but now she had more questions. “How many kids are traveling the country?”

  “A lot, I guess, pretty much every boy under nineteen. I’ve been out here since I was about thirteen and I’ve never run into the same one twice.”

  “Do you miss your parents?” she asked.

  “I can’t miss what I never knew.”

  “I thought you said thirteen.” Mia assumed that meant he was thirteen when they kicked him out.

  “I was raised in a school for boys in the Midwest Area, a few hours from your farm in a big city. The government releases you when you’re around thirteen. They give you six years to toughen up before service. My parents got rid of me when I was one day old. Besides, if parents keep their sons the boys won’t be hard enough to survive service. It’s really mercy, throwing them out.”

  Mia couldn’t believe abandoning a child was an act of mercy. She didn’t feel ready to battle Andrew on his ideals, though.

  “You’re almost nineteen?” Mia asked.

  “I’m not exactly sure. I don’t know my birthday, but the date they give you to report for duty is based on when you exited school. I’m somewhere between eighteen and nineteen.”

  It had never occurred to her that the world was so harsh on boys. She knew young men traveled around before service time. Her father always had a staff full of them on the farm. She had thought they were runaways or special cases. She’d had no idea there were so many abandoned sons.

  “It doesn’t bother me; I’m stronger and tougher, and I’ll have a better chance at surviving service, and getting a good placement, too,” replied Andrew.

  She didn’t believe that being tossed out didn’t bother him. Her heart ached; he had been raised to believe his life was worthless. He wasn’t even important enough to know his birthday. She felt an urge to hug him, and tell him that she cared about him and he was valuable to her. The feelings growing inside her put her on edge and she decided not to push the issue any farther.

  “What about your name?”

  “Andrew? What about it?”

  “Who named you? And what about your last name?”

  “There’s just a database, a rotation of names. It was assigned to me, when I was young. My last name right now? It’s CMW1408.”

  “Your last name has numbers in it?” Mia was confused.

  “Once I’m discharged I’ll earn the right to choose my own last name. That’s when I’ll be deserving of a citizen’s name.”

  Again Mia was shocked at the lack of affection and comfort awarded Andrew.

  “Stop with that look. Don’t feel bad for me.”

  “Do you know what name you’ll pick?”

  “Something that starts with a Z, Andrew Zapp, Andrew Zoop. I like the A-Z combo.”

  “Zoop?” Mia laughed. “That’s not even a word.”

  “It doesn’t have to be a word, just pronounceable. I’ll be the only Zoop in the country.”

  Andrew closed his eyes and leaned back on his elbows. Mia thought it was sad that he was so happy being alone. Even when he could choose a name he wanted one that nobody would share. He showed no desire to form a community. She couldn’t understand how nothing bothered him but
didn’t think she’d figure it out tonight.

  “Hey, why did we stop here tonight? The town isn’t far, we could have made it,” Mia asked.

  “It’s not safe to go to work spots at night,” Andrew responded.

  Mia glanced around and noticed how dark it was. She wished she knew the time. Something as simple as the time could be so valuable, but she supposed it didn’t matter. She let out a large yawn and pulled the blanket closer.

  Andrew walked over to his pack and pulled out something rolled up. He flopped it out, unveiling a large sleeping bag. He unzipped it and started to crawl in. Mia dropped to her side and tried to curl up under the blanket as much as possible, turning herself into a tiny ball. She knew she should have grabbed her pack to use as a pillow, but the thought of standing up right now was too much for her. She shivered as a breeze blew through.

  “Good night,” Andrew said. Mia selfishly wished he would have offered to trade beds but knew why he didn’t. She imagined climbing under his blanket and getting closer to him but quickly forced the thought from her mind. She felt her face grow warm as his breathing steadied. Her thoughts remained with him, though, her savior.

  “Thank you,” she said in a soft whisper before sliding into sleep.

  Chapter 25

  If the wronged party does not want private punishment, upon government intervention, the punishment for crimes committed may include, but is not limited to, imprisonment, mandatory reenlistment, or death.

  —The Boy’s Guide to Service

  The rocking chair moved back and forth with a loud creak. Grant gazed down the long driveway as the sun rose behind the house, illuminating the landscape. He thought one day he might get used to this, find it relaxing, but not today. The black SUV turned down the drive. Grant had picked his in-laws’ house as a meeting place. He assumed David wouldn’t mind. Grant chuckled to himself as he stood on the porch and looked at the waiting agents.