Aberrant

by Ruth Silver

  He let out a heavy sigh, shooting me a nasty look. “Something like that,” Joshua muttered as he stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind him. “Do you need something?” he asked coldly.

  "I wanted to talk with you." I glanced past him at the closed door, knowing she was in there on his bed, waiting for him. It made me sick. “Guess it’s a little late for that.”

  Joshua let out a heavy breath and ran a hand through his hair. He looked anxious, flustered. Clearly I surprised him by stopping by. “I’m busy studying. You met the council. You remember what they said?”

  I nodded faintly. I did know what they said. It didn’t change the fact I was angry with him. “Yeah, I was there. They read me the rules, too,” I remarked bitterly. I crossed my arms. “I was going to suggest we have dinner together, but I guess you’ve already made plans.”

  Joshua stalled for a minute deciding what to do. “You’re mad at me.” It wasn't a question, it was a statement. And by the sound of it he was shocked.

  “I guess I should be grateful; you did rescue me from prison." I knew it was a low blow, but was that all I meant to him? He helped me escape from Genesis, and I gave him a free pass – a chance at a new life. “I wanted to tell you I met your sister. I thought we could all have dinner sometime, but now I realize I made a mistake.” I grimaced. I didn’t want him inviting whoever the dark-haired beauty was to eat with us. I didn't think I could face her without reaching across the table and slugging her. Maybe she hadn't done anything yet, but the way she looked at Joshua told me all I needed to know.

  "What?" Joshua shook his head confused. "My sister?" It took a moment for the realization of what I was saying to dawn on him. His skin turned ghastly. "How is she?" He frowned, trying to form a coherent thought.

  "She's nice." I nodded slowly, trying to be civil. "She took me to the council meeting this morning and then we grabbed lunch. I would almost think you’d like her, though probably not as much as the girl in your bedroom," I remarked coldly.

  “We’re done here,” Joshua answered, turning and headed back into his room, closing the door behind him.

  “Damn it!” I hit my fist against his door before I sulked back into my room, slamming it shut. What had gotten into him? Maybe I’d made a mistake bringing up Jacqueline, but he would eventually find out she was his sister. Besides, if anyone had a right to be angry it was me! He had moved on without me. The council demanded of me to have a child I wasn't ready for. Clearly, he hadn’t taken our marriage seriously, and though I knew it hadn’t been our decision, I thought he’d been happy with the fact we were together. I thought he had actually cared about me. I knew we’d been friends, but before the marriage ceremony that morning, I thought I felt something more between us. Now, I didn’t know what to think.

  Tossing myself back on the mattress I grabbed the giant book and started from page one. It was going to be a long two weeks. I didn't know how the council expected me to finish all the texts they'd given me, let alone one in two weeks’ time.

  My eyes moved over the pages. I had remembered learning that after the Fourth World War, the country of Cabal had been prosperous, and technology and medicine had greatly advanced. Cancer had been cured, but at a high cost to society. As I read the history text, I learned that what they’d taught us in Genesis wasn't entirely true.

  The Cabal History text explained that people had once lived to one hundred and twenty, resulting in overcrowding along with a shortage of food and water. As the prosperous nation began to struggle, the Red Plague began wiping out people overnight. No one knew where it originated, but it spread quickly. The Red Plague was brutal, infecting hundreds of thousands before their symptoms were even visible. The best doctors across the world quickly gathered together to put a stop to the ravaging disease, but by the first meeting five million people across the world had contracted it. China had bombed their own cities to control the disease, killing another seven million people. Not all of them had been infected, but most had been exposed. India had offered a vaccine in its earliest stages at the second meeting with the worldwide group of doctors. It appeared to work, and no one thought twice about the side-effects. Without it, the entire population of the world would have become extinct.

  I continued reading, learning that the vaccine had very dire consequences. The next twenty years consisted of constant miscarriages from women and the inability to conceive. Doctors wracked their brains trying to understand the cause and when they linked it to the vaccine, they removed it from the market. But it was too late. The entire population of Cabal had been vaccinated, as was the entire world in a global pandemic. The people were told by the government of Cabal that eradicating cancer had caused infertility, but no evidence linked the two. Doctors struggled for years to reverse the damage done to society to no avail. The next step was to find a way to continue allowing population growth while ensuring the countries’ resources didn’t disappear. The government decided to start five breeding projects across the country to ensure the future of Cabal. Reading the word 'breeding project' made my stomach somersault.

  I nearly jumped from the bed when I heard a loud rap at the door. "Just a sec!" I called, glancing at the page number before shutting the textbook. I opened the door, surprised to see Jacqueline on the other side.

  "Hungry for dinner?" she asked, bouncing excitedly. She had so much energy, I was envious of her.

  "Yeah, I could eat something."

  "Grab your dining card. We'll head to dinner, and I'll show you some of the town’s sights on the way."

  "Thanks." I nodded following her out of my room before shutting the door. The door had no locks or keys. I walked behind her, heading down the stairs and out the main door where we’d entered earlier.

  "So, what kind of food do you like?" Jacqueline asked as she led me onto the road.

  "What do you mean?" I asked. "Back home the food was always the same. The government gave us exactly the amount we needed for nourishment."

  Jacqueline looked disgusted. "That sounds terrible. Do you like Sushi?"

  "I don't know." I raised an eyebrow. It sounded funny. "What's that?"

  "Raw fish," Jacqueline laughed seeing my face cringe. "Okay, we'll start you off small. How about we have seafood for dinner?"

  "You mean cooked fish, right?" I hoped that's what she meant.

  She smiled, shaking her head. "You are so funny. Yes, cooked fish. They have all sorts. I'm sure we can still get a table." Jacqueline continued walking. "To the left is the clinic." She gestured across the street. "If you get sick or have a small injury, the doctor there will look after you. Our hospital is a few blocks away and is for the dying or health problems too large for the clinic."

  I nodded. "Do people get sick a lot?"

  Jacqueline thought about the question. "What do you consider a lot? I've been there a few times with the flu. Not a big deal, why?"

  I wanted to tell her I couldn't remember any of my classmates ever becoming ill. Our hospitals back home were only used for conception and birth. "Just reading about history," I explained shrugging, not sure if I could trust Jacqueline. I wanted to, but she was Rebecca's daughter. I still had so much to get used to and so much to understand.

  "Oh, you must have read by now about the Red Plague?"

  I nodded faintly. "I breezed over that section, but yeah, I read a little."

  Jacqueline laughed. "So, you didn't get into the gross and nauseating description about the boils that grow on your skin and the pus that oozes out your –"

  I held up a hand feeling my stomach turn cutting her off, "Gross!"

  She got the hint I’d heard enough and pointed towards the right. "That's our tech center. I've never been in there. You need to have a special pass to gain access. I've always suspected it has to do with communications between the towns." It was the largest building in the city and reached towards the clouds. Slowly the sun began setting in the sky and colors bounced off the tech center causing the silver and gray exterior t
o shimmer with pink and orange hues. I stopped walking, staring at the building, transfixed but its unexplainable beauty. "It was built right before the Red Plague," Jacqueline told me as she grabbed my arm and pulled me with her down the road. "There are rumors that a dozen children were locked up on the top floor, never vaccinated. They were kept away from the rest of society until the disease was eradicated."

  My eyes widened as I glanced from the building to Jacqueline. "Are you sure they're rumors?" Was that how my mother was able to conceive me? Had my grandmother been a child on that floor or her great-grandmother?

  "I've never heard the story from an adult," Jacqueline confessed. "Parents don't talk about the Red Plague. It's a childhood song. A melody that gets passed down between children. A reminder of what's been taken from us and that we're all vulnerable, just waiting to die."

  "A song?" I repeated. There were only a few songs I knew, the Cabal National Anthem and the Genesis Pride song.

  Jacqueline hummed the verse, helping me recognize the tune. It was familiar though I'd never heard the words.

  "Children run, babies cry

  Little ones will never lie

  Hide your children, fast and swift

  For twelve already fallen in the rift."

  I paused listening to the words, thinking them over. "How does that have anything to do with the tech center?" I asked not seeing the connection.

  "That was the song mothers would sing to warn one another that the government was kidnapping children. I suppose," Jacqueline sighed, "it was the first taste of what our world has become." I didn't want to believe her. It sounded awful though I knew there might have been some grain of truth to the song.

  "How many towns are there?" I asked as we continued walking down the long stretch of road.

  Jacqueline shrugged. "A lot? I don't know. Are you asking how many government towns or how many rebel towns?"

  "Either." I say. "I'm still wrapping my brain around the fact that I was living in a breeding camp."

  Jacqueline nodded. "It takes some getting used to. There are five breeding projects, at least that's how many we've found. The government refuses to call them breeding projects, which is precisely what they are. They prefer Genesis, and then a Greek alpha denomination to decipher them. Genesis Alpha, Genesis Beta, Genesis Sigma, Genesis Delta and Genesis Zeta. Though I don't get the point of that." She confessed. "The government has many other projects, though, too. There's breeding, food preparation, clothing production, shelter construction, and science advisement. They have funny names like Genesis, Provisions, Livery, Edifice, and Maven."

  It was a lot to take in. "What about the rebel towns?" I asked, curious how many of those existed.

  "I don't know the names of all the rebel cities. Most of them are named after rebels who created the towns or stood up to the government. This city is Haven named after Raven Haven. Funny name, right?" Jacqueline laughed leading us into the restaurant. "Raven Haven led the rebel alliance about twenty years ago when this town was formed. She really got her hands dirty, helped define this town and put us on the map for the alliance."

  "Is she still here?" I asked curious why – if she was so great – she didn’t belong to the council or if she had, why no one had introduced me to her.

  "Sadly, no." Jacqueline shook her head, not saying anything more. We took a seat at a small table. "It's self-serve. We just swipe our cards when we go up for food," she explained to me. "The cards provide us with money for food. You'll learn you have enough if you don't eat the most exotic meals every night."

  I nodded slowly, trying to take it all in. "How do we earn money?" It seemed like a stupid question, but clearly things were run differently here than back home.

  "Well," Jacqueline spoke up, "I'm still in school. I'm almost sixteen, so they give me an allowance for food and necessities. When you're eighteen, you're expected to find a job here in town."

  "You mean you can choose what you want to do?" I asked, perplexed. Back home the government assigned us our jobs. We didn't have a choice – we were placed based on our aptitude tests.

  Jacqueline tried not to laugh as she nodded vigorously. "Yes, of course. Come on – let's eat and then I'll show you a few more sights on our way back."

  We did eat. It was a lavish meal, one I hadn’t experienced in a lifetime. Flakes of fish melted in my mouth. Jacqueline handed me liquid gold. Repeatedly I plunged my fork in watching it drip bite after bite. She laughed at the mess I made all over the table but I didn't care. We drank a dark purple juice that was both sweet and bitter at the same time. It burned my throat and made my cheeks flush with each sip. For dessert, chocolate was drizzled on a mouth-watering cake filled with fudge. Though it was small, I finished it in seconds, I couldn't have eaten another bite.“So, where to now?” I asked as she led me out of the dining area.

  “I thought I’d show you the library, and then we could take a look at one of the museums. They have recovered artifacts from thousands of years ago."

  “Really?” I knew what a museum was from history, but I had been told they’d all been destroyed in the Fourth World War – that nothing had been left standing. Eventually, our town Genesis was formed to keep us safe and help our nation grow. I doubted our government more and more.

  “You’re like a child on Christmas morning,” Jacqueline joked. “The way your face lights up,” she mocked, but I didn’t care.

  “Christmas morning?” I asked her, perplexed.

  She shook her head. “Forget it.” Together we walked across the street and took a sharp turn as we found our way onto another parallel road housing both a museum and library. The buildings were several stories tall and loomed over Haven.

  We walked into the library first, and my eyes widened at the sight of all the books sitting on the shelves, untouched – thousands of them, older texts, some of them novels, others reference books. “Wow,” I breathed turning in a circle and taking in the entire room.

  “Come on.” Jacqueline grabbed my arm, leading me further inside. “What types of books do you like to read?”

  I stared at her. “Genesis forbids books.”

  She laughed with a knowing nod. “Yes, but you’re in Haven now. You can check out any book you like.”

  “Check out? You mean read?” I asked curiously. I darted through the library, my eyes scoured the shelves as I danced between the aisles, my feet incredibly light. I poured over the books, eyeing each title, deciding which one would be mine. It was so hard to choose! I’d read romance novels and a few adventure stories in the cellar during my teen years. I hadn’t read anything new in ages and I found it overwhelming to have so many choices.

  “Here.” Jacqueline pulled a book from the shelf. “I’ve read this one. It’s got a bit of mystery and romance, but you will never guess the ending.” I eagerly read the back cover.

  “Can I take it back with me?”

  “After you check it out.” She smiled with a nod. “Come on, I’ll show you how.” We walked to the front, and I showed the same card I used for dinner to check out the book. I knew I wouldn’t have time to read it while reading the history texts, but I didn’t care. I wanted something to take my mind off what was going on. I wanted to escape my current reality.

  Together we walked from the library across the street to the museum. She studied her watch as I carried the book I borrowed with me. “We have about an hour until it closes.”

  “Curfew?” I assumed she meant.

  “Well, I have curfew because I’m under eighteen,” she replied. “But you’re an adult. Adults can stay out as late as they wish, but the museums and town closes by nine,” she explained. “People want to go home and be with their families.”

  I nodded, trying to understand these new rules. “Right.” I followed Jacqueline up the main stairs and into the museum. My eyes moved over the glass cases and the artifacts buried inside. There were tools from thousands of years ago and as we walked through the museum, we moved forward in history towards the
beginning of Cabal.

  “Are those–-” my voice trailed off.

  “Photographs.” Jacqueline nodded. “I haven’t seen a camera outside of this museum,” she mused turning around and walking to the opposite side of the wall. I glanced behind me noticing another glass case and a series of antique cameras mesmerizing her. It was no wonder.

  “Does anyone in Haven have one?” I asked. I knew in Genesis it was illegal to take pictures, to document anything, the same reason why books were illegal and our newspaper was written by the government. They told us only what they wanted us to know. They showed us only what they wanted us to see. Slowly, I started to see the government for what they really were.

  Jacqueline shook her head. “I don’t know anyone who owns a camera. They’re so old.” She beamed with excitement. “No one makes the equipment anymore. There’s no reason to,” she mused with a shrug. “Come on, I’ll show you the maps.”

  “Maps?” My eyes widened as I followed her down the corridor into another room. My gaze tore over the glass cases, taking in each map, memorizing every detail possible. “Wow,” I breathed, seeing how many breeding camps there were. They were all situated north and south of where I had lived all my life. Everything west was marked “Gravelands” on the map. Another map detailed the local rebel cities, the closest ones to Haven. “Have you ever been to Torv or Spade?” I asked noticing they were the nearest towns to where we were.

  “I don’t remember much other than Haven,” she admitted. “I grew up in Livery.”

  “What happened to your home?” I knew it was a touchy subject, but the council had briefly mentioned it. I wanted to know more.

  Jacqueline sighed, eyeing her watch. “Come on, I’ll tell you on the way home.” She offered as we headed out of the museum. It had already grown dark outside and I followed her closely as we walked back towards the dormitory. The road was dark but the moon helped light our way back. “I was three when my town burned down.”