Unwound (The Symphony of Brass and Bone)

by Yolanda Olson

  As we sat down, we were approached by what looked like human machines that weren't quite finished.

  That must be so terrible, I thought to myself. "Don't stare," Roman said quietly sliding a large piece of plastic board toward me. Smiling, he thanked the ratchet machine that was apparently out server.

  "What—"

  "Former Orphans and Guardians who've either broken the rules or have tried to escape," he said shortly as he looked over his plastic board.

  I could tell he wanted to drop the subject desperately.

  "How were they made?" I asked curiously as I watched them walk stiffly around the room.

  "I don't know and I don't want to talk about it," he said getting angry."Please just leave it alone."

  "I bet from brother could make them," I said glancing down at my plastic board.

  "PLEASE!" Roman shouted smacking his hand on the table.

  I jumped as everyone in the room turned to stare at him. I felt my cheeks flush with embarrassment and I ducked low in my chair. The last time I had been yelled at like that was by my mother who was angry that I was dissecting an old washer with my brother. She told me I was encouraging him to be "precious" as she called him instead of going out and playing football with the others. I remember how he looked like he wanted to die on the spot.

  “Roman, don't ever raise your voice to me like that again," I whispered vehemently. My hands were shaking with fury and I had to put the board down. I was filled with the rage I felt for my mother when she had embarrassed my brother the way she did. Even though it was only he and I standing there when she said it, I knew how deeply it had hurt his feelings.

  I felt hot tears sting my eyes. I wiped them away and rose from my chair. I threw the plastic board on the table and walked out of the stables. Roman could explain to Karma where I had gone; I was done playing their game. I wasn't a possession and he was not going to use me as a pawn. I didn't need him or his training. Anything that I would need to do I would learn as I went along or I would die trying.

  If was supposed to be an Orphan now then that's exactly what I intended to be. No family, no friends, no guidance.

  I gave myself the name of Chaos, but I would never forget that my true origins were as a Blackhouse and I would show them London. The real London.

  The Letter

  Roman had spent hours looking for me. Finally in the afternoon sun, he found me sitting at the base of the tree I had been so found of upon first sight. I had multiple chewed branches scattered around me. I had left before I had a chance to eat so I found myself picking branches and sucking the sap out to fill myself.

  After the last branch I had chewed on was done, I felt lightheaded. Granted what I did wasn't the best way to sustain myself so I just chalked it up to hunger.

  "Are you done, London?" he asked me leaning a hand against the sturdy trunk of the tree.

  I glanced up at him through hazed eyes trying to focus on him. I wasn't sure what he was referring too but he called me by my real name. Maybe I was getting some respect finally. Maybe I wasn't being treated as a toy thrown into murderous dollhouse having to fight for my life.

  If that was the case anyway. I never did get the entire story about what we were doing here or why we had to be in this place.

  "I want to go home," I managed to say.

  "I know you do," he said gently crouching next to me. "You have to go through The Program before you can do that. I promise you that if you get through this I'll find a way to help you get out of here."

  "But you're not supposed to. What if they're listening?" I asked suddenly nervous.

  "Then they'll know. They'll know that you don't deserve to be here anymore than they have the right to keep you here," he said.

  "Come with me," he continued, "you're staying in my quarters tonight. I'll sleep on the floor and you can have the bed," he said reaching down and lifting me to my feet.

  I found myself trusting Roman as he looped my arm around his neck and helped me get to the Orphanage. He seemed to honestly care about my survival. At least someone in the world did, I thought bitterly to myself.

  In the dim light of the hallway, I could see a small sliver of light where I knew his bedroom door was. I hesitated in my steps. We weren't supposed to be together in the same place if we weren't training.

  He pushed the door open with one hand and helped me to sit on the bed.

  "I have to go into town to get some things. It's my turn to go. That door is the washroom so you'll have full privacy while I'm gone. I'll explain to Karma what happened and she'll relay it to the Keepers. I'll be back as soon as I can. Get some rest," he said as he gently closed and locked the door behind him.

  I didn't have the energy to get up from where Roman left me. Instead I drifted off into a restless sleep. I knew I wasn't asleep for long, because when I looked out the window I saw that the dusk was just arriving.

  Yawning, I uncurled myself and lay there for a moment. I felt sticky and sweaty and decided it would be a good idea to go into the washroom before Roman got back. Unless he was already there and just gave me some extra time to myself.

  I lit a single candle and set it on the stand next to his bed. The windows were now open and I could make out the shape of someone standing by the breezy curtains.

  Clearing my throat, I turned my back to the shadow and let me towel drop to the floor. I figured if someone was going to intrude then they would have no cause for complaints with my nightly rituals.

  The figure rustled behind me and I watched it out of the corner of my eye as I made my way to the oval mirror in Roman's room and turned the small table light on. I sat down on the Victorian chair and began to brush my long hair trying to push away the day's events. Next, I would try to scrub my face off. Even though I had stayed with the tree all day and missed whatever training there had been, I knew I would feel human again if I felt some pain.

  "I have something for you," Roman said finally stepping fully away from the shadows of the window curtains.

  I looked at his reflection in the mirror. If they knew I was here, in his room, they would make him part of the end. He was taking a great risk by letting me be here.

  "Speak softly and quickly," I all but whispered to him as I grabbed a cloth, dampening it in the silver bowl of water I had filled in the washroom. Once I was satisfied with the moisture, I began to roughly scrub my face.

  "Why do you do that?" he asked coming to stand behind me.

  Sighing I let the cloth rest on my almost raw face. How could I ever explain to Roman that I cherished his company and caring as a friend, but I despised him for what he was supposed to be turning me into? I knew I despised him most of all because at one point, somehow, he would have to leave me.

  "You said you had something for me?" I asked muffled by the cloth.

  "This," he said.

  I looked at him from behind a partially hidden face and saw him holding a small beige envelope that looked as if it were about to burst. I watched him place it on the old wooden dresser in front of me.

  For a moment he lingered next to my nude body before he went to sit on the bed. Curiously I turned the envelope over and immediately recognized the handwriting. I dropped the cloth and covered my mouth while the tears started to fall.

  "How?" I managed though a half sob, half laugh.

  Roman came over to me, "He refused to take no for an answer." Kissing me gently on the forehead, he excused himself from the room and silently made his way back to the Guardians main hall.

  Through a tear filled haze, I opened the letter from my brother and began to read.

  London,

  I can't tell you how desperately I miss you. I'm sorry this happened to you. If I knew what they were planning I would have taken your place gladly. I've asked them why so many times and they've finally answered me. That's why I'm writing this letter because I'm hurting. They told me that out of the 8 of us you have the least potential and are the most expendable. That's not true! I told them th
at's not true! I told them that you are the strongest and the smartest. I hate them. They're not my parents anymore. I told them that. I'll make them pay for what they did, I swear it, because of out the 10 of us all I love you the most. Please come back home. I miss you and I need you. You are the only one here that ever understood me and loved me. Whatever you do, come home.

  For me.

  I love you.

  Please be strong.

  It will all be over soon.

  I closed the letter and put the rest back into the envelope. I couldn't bear to read anymore of what my brother had to say.

  I threw myself on the bed sobbing harder than I ever had. I could only imagine what our mother had been putting him through since she decided I wasn't worth being a part of the family anymore.

  The door opened quietly behind me and closed again. I felt the warmth of the blanket covering my body and the gentle caress of Roman's hand against my hair as he tried his best to calm me down.

  "Shh," he said gently. "If they hear you they'll take you away and you don't seem to be in the mindset to be alone right now London."

  I let out a shuddering sob as I tried to calm myself. That much was true, if I was found in Roman's room who knew what they would do to me or him.

  It took another twenty minutes for me to fully stop crying and Roman never left my side. Except for the occasional footsteps going by in the hallway, there wasn't much other noise in the Orphanage now that I had stopped crying.

  "All better?" he asked gently.

  Nodding quickly, I pulled the blanket tightly around me and curled into a ball again. I was about to ask Roman to do something that I knew he wasn't going to be too fond of but I knew it would be the only way to get me to go to sleep.

  "Roman," I began, "would you please sleep in the bed with me?"

  "Ah. Um. I—"

  "Please?" I asked in a small voice.

  I heard him sigh in defeat and lock the door. He drew the curtains closed and I felt the bed creak as he crawled in next to me. Like a caregiver, he put an arm around me over the blanket and rested his lips against the back of my head. It would take no time before I fell asleep to the sound of his breathing against me.

  I dreamt of my brother that night while I fell asleep soundly in Roman's strong embrace.

  Training

  When I woke up the sun was blaring against my skin. Somehow in my deep slumber Roman had managed to put me back where I belonged. According to the Orphan Keepers anyway. As I stirred I wondered if they had discovered me in his bed and if they had punished him because of it.

  I wouldn't be sure of that of course until I made my way to the Orphanage. I rolled on my side and heard the crinkle of a paper. Blindly I reached my hand toward it until it I was able to grasp my fingers around it. I sat up swung my legs over the side of the hammock and read the handwriting.

  I hid the letter and I put you back here before anyone noticed you were missing.

  When you wake up head to the grand ballroom.

  Today is the day we have to train. I'll make it as easy as I can.

  -R.

  Knowing we hadn't been discovered after all left a great sense of relief in me. I couldn't believe he had somehow managed to get me out of the Orphanage without anyone noticing him.

  I was also grateful that he hid my brother's letter, but I couldn't be sure if he did it more for his own sake than mine. With as much as I felt myself starting to trust Roman I still had that sense in the back of my mind that he is a Guardian, entrusted by the Orphan Keepers to train me to kill and to kill me if I got out of line. Someone like that could never be fully trusted.

  Could they?

  With the debate swirling through my mind, I decided it was time to move. I didn't know the time since we weren't allowed clocks or time keeping pieces of any kind, and I needed to dress myself. I was sure in his haste Roman didn't have the chance to put clothes on me. The blanket was warm against my flesh and it smelled of him and for a moment I inhaled deeply.

  Oh if only Mother could see me now, I thought grimly to myself. She'd probably chastise me for fawning over some boy when more important things needed attending too. I let the blanket fall to the floor and wandered to the back of the gazebo. I had a small pile of regulation clothes that I assumed were placed in all the rooms for the new Orphans before they arrived.

  I pulled the pants over my legs, zipping and buttoning them into place. I pulled on my socks and pulled the boots firmly over them. I wasn't sure what the color code for today was so I picked a pale white shirt and pulled it over my head. Once that was on in place I ripped the bottom off so that I could tie my hair back tightly and firmly.

  Whatever the training was, I was sure it wasn't going to be anything easy and my hair would probably get in the way.

  I walked over to the door and I put my hands against the glass wondering how to open it. Roman had told me it only opened from the outside and I was definitely not in the right position to open the door.

  Just then I heard the dragging of a foot and watched amazed as one of the mechanical humans lurched toward the door and pulled it open for me. It bowed toward me slightly then pointed to the path that led to the Orphanage.

  I nodded at it. I wanted to show it that it wasn't below any of us and deserved respect as well. I could almost swear it smiled at me but the stitching on the mouth was so tight that I couldn't be sure.

  Before I could make my way past it completely, it grabbed me with a bony hand. I looked down and then up at it, and it grunted. Holding up it's other hand it opened it and I saw something small and black. I peered at it. I wasn't sure what it was.

  The mechanical human grunted again to get my attention and pointed at it's ear. Raising an eyebrow I took the gift and placed it firmly in my left ear.

  The world suddenly came to life. I could hear the birds singing from miles away and I could hear the water over by the lake I had seen at the stables. I understood now; whatever this was would give me an advantage in training and this creature knew it.

  "Thank you," I said sincerely.

  It grunted again and nodded before slowly heading into my room and closing the door behind it.

  Ten minutes later I was pushing the door to the Orphanage open and walking to the Grand Ballroom. I hadn't tried to escape this time because the monsters I had seen were scattered about the property. Hanging from trees, lying in the grass, sitting on the staircase. I knew it would be futile right now to even attempt it.

  I entered the Grand Ballroom and saw that Karma was already giving out instructions to the other Orphans and I was late. Roman was standing in the back near the entrance and came over to me with a smile when he saw me.

  "Better late than never, London," he whispered with a grin.

  "It's not like I can tell what time it is here," I retorted rolling my eyes.

  For a moment I saw the hurt in his eyes from my sarcasm and felt bad. There was no reason to snap at him considering what he had done for me by bringing me my brother's letter.

  Instead I just sighed and shoved my hands in my pockets listening to what Karma was saying.

  "You will be watched during your training, so please don't do or say anything stupid. Follow all instructions your Guardians give you. Training is for today only," she emphasized, "After today you will be on your own. Your Guardians will go back to where they belong and you will be made to prove yourselves. Do not mess this up. The only way to ever see your Guardian or daylight again is to successfully complete your training and follow the rules as I've laid them out. That's all I've got for you guys. Good luck!"

  Great. I missed the entire speech because I was asleep, I thought miserably to myself. And knowing that I wouldn't see Roman for quite sometime made me feel even more miserable.

  "Don't look so sad," he said nudging me, "You'll do great and I'll get to see you again in no time!"

  "But I don't even know what I'm supposed to do! I missed the rules which means I'll definitely break them," I wailed. />
  "London, calm down," he said taking me by the arms and looking at me. "I'll explain everything as we go. I know you're the strongest one here and I know you'll do just fine," he said reminding me of what my brother said to me in the letter.

  I sniffled and turned my face away from him.

  "No, don't do that," he warned wiping the tears from my eyes. "Whatever you do don't cry here. They'll see it as a sign of weakness and they'll throw you to the Killing Fields. They don't like what they would consider disposable Orphans. I learned that on my training day. One girl started crying because she didn't want to be here and wanted to go home and they...They took her. They made us all watch as she had to fight her way through the Killing Fields. She didn't even make it past the maze which is the first part. Don't be her, London. Be strong. Think of your brother."

  I looked up at Roman, my eyes still glistening with tears, and nodded. He was right. I was the strongest here and I had to get back home. I had to save my brother from her mean words and evil ways of embarrassing him.

  "I promise I'll do my best, Roman. For you and for Edison," I vowed.

  Roman looked confused for a moment then nodded in understanding. Now he knew my brother's name and I hoped it was something he would never forget.

  "She'll be so easy to get rid of," I heard a female voice whisper on the other side of the room. I pushed the little device deeper into my ear and listened closer to see if I could tell where the voice was coming from.

  "Yeah, she'll be the first one I go after," another voice snickered.

  Looking up and around the room I saw a girl with shiny jet black hair standing with a girl with hair whiter than I had ever seen before. They were both standing there with their arms crossed darting looks in my direction.

  "Those girls," I said to Roman, "their names escape me."

  "You'll get to know them again soon enough," he said grimly as the sound of door above us opened.

  I heard at least three pairs of footsteps and the door close again.