Clone Legacy: Book 3 in the Clone Crisis Trilogy

by Melissa Faye

  “Captain!” I called. “Captain, do you have a moment?”

  She turned to me, her lips shut tightly. “What is it, trainee?”

  “I was assigned to a family camp. I wanted to make a difference, though. I mean, a bigger difference. Could I be at a breeding camp? Or work with the group that’s traveling to rebel camps?”

  The Captain huffed. “You should count yourself lucky, Yami. You have one of the safest jobs you could have. Maybe the best job possible for a non-Breeder.” She leaned in close to my ear. “You’ll find plenty to do at a family camp. Plenty of people to talk to about how evil the Chancellor is and how important it is to fight back. Useless stuff like that. It’ll be an easy job for you until you’re caught saying things you shouldn’t be saying. Then you’ll see what it’s really like being a non-Breeder in this country.” She walked away, leaving me staring blankly ahead with my mouth wide open.

  AFTER FIVE DAYS OF heavy training, our bags were packed, and Gianna and I had said our farewells. We both had trackers to talk with HQ, but wouldn’t be able to talk with one another anymore. I stood in line next to a few other soldiers heading towards locations in the same region as my family camp. Several soldiers looked at me with disgust. I had what was seen as the easiest assignment, and some of them were going to be fighting rebels. I smiled politely, hoping to at least irritate them before we went our separate ways.

  I never saw a bus before, but I assumed this one was relatively nice. It was a shiny white, like many of the community buildings, and the inside was clean and sanitized. We were packed in tightly, though, and I quickly developed a cramp in my neck from how I sat with my pack in my lap.

  I couldn’t keep track of time as we made our first stop. Eight soldiers dropped off at some kind of military facility. They would be attacking a rebel camp.

  Our next stop was a Breeding Camp, where five more soldiers were dropped off. I scanned the camp while the soldiers unloaded. It looked like a normal community, except it was surrounded by a rundown area full of tents and delapidated buildings. Sort of like Matana’s camp, except the people weren’t smiling and socializing. The people in the camp wore light blue jumpsuits and walked directly from one place to another, picking up food and heading back to their tents. They looked like robots.

  I was the only person left in the bus as we headed towards Family Camp #5. I appreciated the silence; I could finally clear my head. There was no telling what a Family Camp involved. I could make guesses. Another nice community with non-Breeders in service to families. Lots of people happy to be with their children. Or maybe some people weren’t happy to be trapped there like everyone else.

  It was evening by the time we reached Family Camp #5. The bus driver grunted towards me as I passed by him and stepped off the bus. I didn’t know who he was. Another solder in training? Someone higher up, like Sarge? Or another non-Breeder serving the UCA? I lugged my second bag from the bus’s cargo and was met by a cheerful woman at the camp entrance.

  “A new soldier! How nice!” she exclaimed with unnecessary delight. “Right this way. Yami, right?” I nodded.

  She led the way into the camp. Like the Breeding Camp, it was surrounded by a large fenced in area full of tents and miserable faces. I watched the woman’s eyes skirt past this section and settle on the community itself. I couldn’t help taking in a deep breath of the freshly mowed grass. I forgot how beautiful a community could be this time of year.

  My assignment was easy. Like a dozen other soldiers, I had a schedule to follow with limited oversight from our superior, another sergeant named Zoya. The other soldiers were quick to welcome me and describe just how easy our jobs would be.

  “No one here wants to be anywhere else,” said one soldier. “And the rebels are more interested in breeding camps than family camps. You’ll be walking around a lot, not doing too much.”

  “That’s a shame,” I said. “I was hoping to make more of a difference here.”

  Someone else snickered. “Make a difference? That would be something. No differences to be made here. Just a lot of happy families and kids running around.”

  “Do you know any of the families?” I asked. “Are they doing ok, separated from their communities like this?”

  A woman I hadn’t noticed in the corner of the barracks leaned out of the shadows. “Don’t worry about the families. We’re not allowed to talk to them. Just keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary and you’ll do fine.”

  I lay back in my bunk at lights out. I wasn’t surprised there was a rule about not talking to families. It was more separation, more titles. Did any of these soldiers believe they’d be Silver anymore? Or did they just do this to keep from having to work as non-Breeders, serving others and living in filth? Plus, I thought, a rule about not talking to families could easily be broken. And I was becoming a fan of breaking the rules.

  Chapter 14 – Charlie

  Mallory expressed her frustration with my impatience by refusing to speak to me all the next day. I was in with Jacob’s crowd, though, so now my time was spent with them. My day suddenly filled with appointments to speak to Chosen members. They wanted me to join their fold. They wanted it so badly.

  A few days later, my mediation with the guy I punched went well. I expressed the same remorse I had shown Jacob’s people and begged his forgiveness. Lee facilitated the conversation, and little flickers of confusion crossed his face when I displayed my regret. Surprisingly, Enzo was present as well.

  “So you won’t do this again?” Enzo asked. “You can be trusted?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “This sort of thing can’t be taken lightly,” Enzo said. He raised his voice slightly – nervously almost. “There are expectations.”

  “Of course, sir,” said Lee. “Charlie regrets what he did and won’t be causing any more trouble.”

  I grinned. A model breeder.

  I was only a block away from Lee’s office when an NB stepped directly in my path.

  “I’m sorry, sir,” he said. I felt him place his palm against mine, slipping something into my hand.

  “No problem,” I said. I squinted at the man’s face, but couldn’t figure out who he was. He turned away quickly and scurried off.

  I waited a few moments before looking at my hand. He had given me a small piece of paper, folding into a tiny square. I unwrapped it carefully.

  “Serving tonight’s dinner party. Meet by the restrooms at 8. V”

  Vonna was going to be at tonight’s social activity. And we could finally talk.

  I HUSTLED OVER TO THE dinner party early, eager to see Vonna, and was quickly cornered by a woman with a teardrop pin. I covered my exhausted sigh with a yawn, and listened to her talk about the importance of the breeding program.

  “Some people say breeding is a bad word for it,” she said. “I don’t think so at all. That’s what we’re doing. That’s why I respect the Chancellor. He speaks the truth. He knows what’s best for all of us.”

  “Is that so?” I mumbled. People were filing into the hall, and I watched the NBs carefully as they hustled around finishing set up. Vonna was nowhere in sight.

  “Of course!” The woman scoffed. “We need to breed as humans as much as we need to breed sheeps or cows. It’s our only hope of survival. And it’s so much easier when everyone who can breed is together like this. I just went on a date with a nice gentleman the other evening, and he told me all about his wife. His wife! None of that exists anymore, and I told him so. He didn’t like it. But if things don’t work out with him, I’m surrounded by a hundred other men who might be a better fit.”

  “Mhmm.” I spotted Vonna across the room, carrying out trays of food. Her eyes flickered right past mine.

  “People used to pair off randomly, for love,” the woman continued. “But I think a little push in the right direction can do wonders. Just last week my best girlfriend paired off! She’s heading to a Family Camp as we speak.”

  This gave me pause. I half remembered
Lee mentioning this, but he hadn’t given us much information. “A Family Camp?”

  “You know!” the woman said with a mischevious grin. “They go there to have children. Start their families. I hear they’re quite lovely places. Lots of kids running around, going to school, living in nice houses with their families. Maybe kids will have siblings again! And anyway, there’s no sense staying around here once you know who you’re going to raise children with.”

  That must be where Etta and Breck are, I thought. They already have a child. Etta 2 as well.

  The woman called over a man with a teardrop pin and they began to gossip about the woman’s friend. I didn’t know any of them, and struggled to focus on the conversation. Something about her and her match hating each other at first, then bonding over...something. I smiled politely and chuckled when one of them did.

  I excused myself when people headed to their tables to eat and found a spot at a table closer to the bathrooms. I found myself sitting with three people who were not wearing silver pins, and exhaled a sigh of relief.

  “You’ve been talking to those people, haven’t you?” the woman next to me asked. “Jane.” She held out her hand.

  “Charlie.”

  “I saw you shifting around over there,” she said. I realized I recognized the woman from one of my first dinner parties. She looked tired. And bored. She was the one who told me to stay out of trouble.

  “Yeah. They don’t have a lot to talk about. Breeding. Being better than others. The gods.” I chuckled. It was getting repetitive with no end in sight.

  Jane smiled, closing her eyes as if the whole thing was cute. “I went to one of their meetings. A friend of mine dragged me along. You’re right; they’re poor conversationalists.”

  “Actually, I should tell you, I didn’t follow your advice.” Jane raised her eyebrows but leaned forward to hear more. “I stirred up some trouble. I actually punched one of the men in the face. Not what you told me to do at all.”

  Jane laughed loudly, then quickly covered her mouth with her hand. “I heard of that! It was you?”

  I nodded and laughed with her. “The whole situation is absurd, isn’t it? Pretending to go along with any of this.”

  “Yes, but waiting and observing has been helpful.” She played with her wine glass and looked around. No one else had joined our table yet. “Did you see all the Chancellors walking around camp? I heard he had clones but I didn’t believe it. And I never expected to see them together.”

  “Yeah. It’s like they’re training one another. Like some massive ant colony, working together to get the job done.”

  “And did you see the little one?” Jane said. Her eyes lit up. “He’s a kid! I heard someone call him ‘sir!’ I think if he starts doling out orders or punishments...”

  “He was there when I got into trouble! It’s a poor fit. He doesn’t have the endless confidence and condescension like the others do. At least not yet. He seems to be struggling to keep up.”

  “I wonder what else is coming,” Jane said. “Baby Chancellors? Chancellors in every town? A Chancellor wife who’s cloned again and again, one for each Chancellor?”

  “Definitely,” I said solemnly. “They’re probably making more of them in an assembly line now. Maybe they’ll make enough to take over the whole population. All that will be left is one clone line.”

  “What about the rest of us?”

  “Gone,” I said. “We’ll all be gone. The earth will be run entirely by tall men with dark hair and well tailored suits.”

  We giggled, but stopped when a man came to join our table. Dinner service started on the other end of the room, and I watched the NBs carry their trays. Vonna was with them, but kept avoiding my eyes. I checked my B-Band. Only twenty minutes until 8.

  Someone in the room stood up to make a toast. He must have had too much of the pre-dinner drinks, because it started out with him thanking the UCA for providing us with everything we need to find a partner, and rambled on to include a love poem he wrote on the fly for a woman he was pursuing. People started talking over him, and his ramble quieted without ending.

  7:58

  I hurried over to the restrooms. I snuck into the men’s room and splashed cold water on my face, then stepped back outside. The hall featured an end table with fliers for future events and a small succulent. There was a painting on the wall. A landscape of mountains. My stomach turned. I only saw the mountains when I traveled to Matana’s ACer camp. It was likely that most of the people here had never seen them, and would never see them.

  “Charlie,” said a small voice a few feet over from me.

  I turned to see Vonna straightening up the space near a trash can. She shook her head, so I turned away.

  “Are you ok?” I asked.

  “I’m ok.”

  “Can I help you?”

  “You can’t.”

  “Tell me what’s going on. Why did you flinch in pain?”

  Vonna paused before she answered. “It’s our collars.” She twisted her fingers underneath hers as if she could pull it off. “They administer shocks if we miss our schedule. Or if we’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or if we do anything else wrong.”

  I sucked in my breath. I felt my fists clench.

  “We have to get you out of here!” I hissed.

  “We have to get everyone out of here,” Vonna said pointedly. “It’s not just me. It’s all the same. The Chancellor running all of our lives. Punishing us to keep us in line. Forcing you to – to – to breed.” She said the last word with disgust, as if it left a foul taste in her mouth.

  I nodded hello to someone walking by me into the men’s room, then pretended to be interested in the mountain painting. I saw Vonna make as if to leave the hallway.

  “Wait,” I called. “What about the Chancellor?” Vonna didn’t answer. “The young one. He said his name was Enzo.”

  Vonna rolled her eyes. “They’re all strange. They aren’t around that much, but when they come, they visit the NB camp. They make it seem like we’re doing everyone a favor. But I know there are harsh punishments when people are out of line. It gets worse than just a shock collar.”

  “The young one, though. Enzo. He was staring at you. Are you in trouble?”

  “No.”

  “But...?”

  “He talked to me. Twice. He wanted to know who I was and where I grew up. Dumb stuff. I don’t know why he asked. But he came to see me that second time as if we were friends.”

  “Who knows how much socialization he’s had in his life besides his own clones,” I said. “But the way he was looking at you, it wasn’t like he was trying to make friends. He wanted more.”

  Vonna turned to me. “Like what?”

  I held back a laugh. “Like he has a crush on you.”

  “I’m ignoring that.” Vonna turned back to her work, though the area was as clean as it could be without her fussing over the space. “We’re inside the government’s control right now, and we need to get out. Find out what the others are doing. The NBs are miserable. I bet I can get some of them to join us.”

  “If we can remove those collars,” I said. Vonna pulled at it again uncomfortably.

  “Keep meeting with me,” I said. “I know it’s risky, but I’ll try to figure out how the collars work. I’ll ask around. No one seems to mind where I go or what I say as long as I’m not outright belligerent. You talk to the NBs and see if anyone knows how to get us all out of here.”

  Vonna nodded and without another word, snuck away.

  I turned towards the entryway. Jane stood in the hallway, a few feet from the ladies room, with her arms folded and eyebrows raised.

  “You know, you could get that girl in a lot of trouble talking to her,” Jane scowled. “What is it? What do you need to talk to an NB about?”

  “Don’t worry about it.” I tried to walk past, but Jane held up a hand to stop me.

  “If you’re not keeping your head down, what are you doing?” she snapped
. “Are you working with the NBs? Are you trying to get that girl riled up? What is it?”

  Another person passed us and I smiled and nodded hello. Then I grabbed Jane’s arm and spun her around to the corner.

  “I don’t know what I need to do, but I need to do something,” I said. “Are you going to rat us out?”

  Jane tugged her arm out of my hand. “Of course not!”

  I stared at her face. I was trying to find more people to work with, and here was one more.

  “I know that girl. Her name is Vonna. She can help us. We can help her. If you want to be a part of it, welcome.”

  “Thanks for having me,” Jane said. “What now?”

  The man who gave the rambling speech suddenly appeared in the hallway, holding an empty glass and swaying on his feet.

  “I loved her!” he cried. “I loved her and they took her from me!”

  Jane snickered. “You didn’t write her a very good poem.”

  The man’s eyes opened wide. “No, not her. I don’t love her. Not like I loved Mallory.”

  “Wait – Mallory?” My face tightened. “You loved someone named Mallory, and they took her away?”

  The man pointed his finger in my face. “You don’t know love, do you? I’ll try to make it work with this other girl, but it’s not the same. And you don’t know the rejection! Mallory wouldn’t have me. She ran. And they took her.”

  “Why did they take Mallory?” Jane asked, trying to take the man’s arm to stabilize him.

  “She doesn’t want to be with me or any other man!” he almost yelled. “She refused to be part of this! And now she’s gone! Poof! Just like that!”

  Chapter 15 – Yami

  No matter where I went, the communities were all the same. “Family Camp #5” was no exception.

  I wondered what it used to be. Maybe a community where they’d finished testing and sent people to Breeding Camps already. Maybe a community where the Underground took over. Something had happened there. It was like a fresh coat of paint lay over the entire town. Something happened, and someone covered it up.