One Thousand Tears

by Pauline Creeden

  Adelaide stepped back and joined the rest of the girls her age and found that most of the other girls had parted the curtain of their hair to peer at her in confusion as well. Then she noticed. Her skin was clean, and had no marks or dirt upon them other than a thin layer of the red dust she'd gathered today. Around her, the other girls were covered in filth from head to toe. Their thin bodies were bespeckled. They murmured among one another, but their eyes remained fixed on Adelaide, their curious glares either taking on a widened surprised look or narrowing into frowns, just as the other woman's had.

  After clearing her throat, the woman gathered the attention of them all. "Brace yourselves. The water will start out cold, but it will warm quickly."

  Then both women lifted the baskets and slipped out the doors behind them.

  "Water?" Adelaide whispered.

  Once the door shut, the spouts all turned on at the same time, filling the room with a flood of fresh water. Squeals and screams escaped the crowd as at first the downpour overwhelmed them all. Adelaide shivered at first, but the feeling of the water droplets beating against her skin took on a comfortable, familiar feel. The water added the pressure that her body craved. She opened her mouth in the shower and swallowed some of the clean, fresh water and drank, the feeling of thirst quenched. Then it turned warm quickly, and her skin prickled in response.

  The upper heads shut off and the lower heads turned on, spouting out foamy, soapy water, and Adelaide mimicked the other girls, taking the foam and spreading it over her body to clean her skin and hair. After a few minutes, the foam heads shut off and the upper heads turned back on, washing the foam away. Just as she grew comfortable in the downpour, the water cut off entirely, slipping away like whirlpools down the four drains in the floor.

  She watched the foam and water wash away, wishing that she could somehow keep it all. The sudden feeling of exposure overwhelmed her again. The pressure she'd grown accustomed to left her feeling colder, wetter, and cleaner. Around her, the bespeckled skin of her eleven companions were now as clean and washed as her own.

  At the other end of the room, the door opened once more, but no one entered. Instead, a few of the girls started out. The rest of the crowd followed, and Adelaide took up the rear once more. They entered another small room where the walls were lined with wooden slats, and there were several vents on the ceiling and at just out of their reach above their heads.

  Adelaide had expected one or both of the ladies from before to greet them in the room, but no one was there. As she entered, the door behind her swooshed shut, sliding across from one side to the other. Then the fans turned on and warm air blasted them all. The air continued, blowing Adelaide's quickly drying chestnut hair around her face. Droplets of water from her skin evaporated in the warmed breeze. It wasn't long until she was completely dry and then the air cut off as soon as it had started. At least it had staved off the chill that had been left after the warm water had been cut off.

  Naked and now dry, the group of girls didn't hunch over quite as much as they had before. They all stood taller now that they were clean, although most kept their arms crossed over their chests to cover themselves. The other door at the end of the smaller room swished open, sliding to the side. The thinner, smaller woman from earlier stepped into the doorway. "Follow me, please," she announced before turning on her heels and starting to disappear into the room.

  The initiates followed her into the next room, which had benches lying parallel to one another almost the length of the room in the middle. On the benches, sat more gray jumpsuits like the women wore. The thinner woman stood at the far end of the room again, and behind her stood the heavy set woman. "The suits on the benches are one size fit most. Just take the first one you come to and put it on. Here in these cubbyholes, you'll find shoes. There are only a few of each size so if you don't find a pair that are an exact fit, take the next size up."

  The girls rushed naked toward the cubbyholes, arguing and scratching each other for the shoes that would fit them. Adelaide stepped into the closest jumpsuit and pulled it on. One of the girls had grabbed the wrong size and tossed them to the side when they didn't fit on her feet. Picking them up, Adelaide sat on the bench and started to try them on.

  "What are you doing?" one of the girls grabbed the shoes from her hands and yanked them away. "These are mine."

  It wasn't the same girl who had tossed them. Adelaide looked up at her, quirking an eyebrow.

  Two other girls joined the first, their arms crossed over their naked chests.

  The first girl took the shoe she held in her hand and poked Adelaide in the chest with it as she punctuated her sentences. "I don't know who you are or where you came from. But this is our opportunity to join Atlantis 5. Some rich, clean girl isn't going to steal that opportunity from us. This is our town. This is our chance. And in this place we are all equals. Except you. You're lower. Don't forget it."

  "Yeah!" one of the other girls shouted as she grabbed the jumpsuit to Adelaide's left and started struggling to pull it on over the white sneakers on her feet.

  "Move out of the way," the first girl said, shoving Adelaide to the side a little on the bench.

  Adelaide blinked. Was she the bottom feeder in this situation? In the ocean, her mother and father had taught her that if she accepted ill-treatment, then she would always receive it. If she defended herself, she would earn respect, whether she won the situation or lost, as long as she gave it all her energy. So she clenched her hands into fists, and rushed at the first girl, slamming her forehead against the girl's face.

  6

  Bones cracked under the weight of Adelaide's skull, and her teeth clicked together in her mouth because she hadn't clenched them enough. The girl dropped the shoes that were in her hand and stumbled backward. One of the two girls who'd been her back up rushed to the girls side as blood flowed from the young woman's nostrils. Her eyes had gone wide as she stared at Adelaide her hand fluttering to her face. The girl who'd been struggling with the jumpsuit next to her plopped down on the bench, eyes wide as well.

  From her full height, Adelaide looked down on the girl with the bloody nose, glaring. She leaned down and picked up the shoes that she'd dropped. "These shoes are mine. If you'd like to challenge me for them, you'll find I'm more than up to the task."

  The girls blinked up at her.

  The woman who stood at the doorway clapped her hands to draw all attention to her. "Two minutes remaining. Get into your jumpsuits and shoes now. Anyone who is not ready when the second buzzer goes off will be barred from the cafeteria and will go without food for the rest of the day."

  Murmurs and squeals followed the woman's announcement. The two on the floor scrambled to stand and gathered up jumpsuits to pull on as quickly as possible. Adelaide had watched another girl pull on the shoes and tie the laces tight. She attempted to do the same with the shoes upon her own feet but ended up knotting them and shoving the laces into the shoes just as the first buzzer went off. The girls who were dressed rushed toward the doorway just as it swished open and the thinner woman went through. Adelaide followed. None of the girls lagged behind. As the last girl exited the dressing area, the second buzzer sounded. They were emptied out into a long hallway. To their left, a doorway had opened several feet away, and the young men they'd been with since entering the building were also funneled out into the same space. The murmurs grew louder, but Adelaide could barely make out actual words among them as they continued to follow the thinner woman into a large area with several tables. Her mouth watered in response to smells that Adelaide didn't quite recognize as they wafted in toward her nose. It had been almost three days since she'd actually eaten a full meal, and her stomach twisted in response to the delicious aromas. One of the younger girls next to her grabbed her abdomen as she groaned. Her eyes met Adelaide's before she ripped her gaze away and straightened. Somehow, Adelaide could tell that the girl probably hadn't eaten properly in the same amount of time... if not longer than her.

&nb
sp; A line formed at the front and each of the teens grabbed a tray. Adelaide followed suit and got into line behind the younger girl she'd been standing next to a moment before. She now realized it was the same girl the man with the bullhorn had ripped the hat off of and asked her age. None of the girls looked the same clean as they had before when they were spotted with dirt.

  Adelaide followed the line and set her tray on the metal rack in front of her just as she'd seen the others do. The heavy set woman from earlier now stood with plastic gloves on and set small plates and bowls with portions of different foods in them in front of each of the young men and women as they came by her in the line. The thinner woman joined her on the other side and also handed out portions. Ahead of Adelaide, the people took the dishes they wanted and left other portions behind, but rarely. Because she had no idea what she might like to eat and what she might not, she took one of each item. Her stomach gurgled within her core, and it felt as though her innards were eating themselves. With a frown she headed back toward the tables.

  Without being guided, it seemed the females and males continued to separate from each other and go to their own groups at the long tables. Adelaide found the closest empty chair and sat down at a table that had only one other occupant. The young man looked up at her as she sat. His longer dark bangs swept over his sea-green eyes. He lifted an eyebrow at her and looked around at the other tables.

  She followed his gaze and found that she was the only female sitting with another male. Three more males joined them at the table. One sat down in the seat immediately to her left. His shoulders were wide and brushed against hers as he sat. His sand colored hair was close cropped to his head and he smiled, his yellow tinted teeth showing. "Hello there, pretty little lamb. What are you doing so far away from your flock?"

  The young man who she'd sat across from, the boy with the sea-green eyes frowned at the guy with the wide shoulders. He slammed down his fork on his tray, drawing attention to him. "Let's not start anything, Scotty."

  The wide-shouldered guy offered a shrug, picked up his fork and scooped some of the slop on the first small plate. He shoved it in his mouth before saying, "No one's starting anything, Nathan. Don't get your panties in a bunch."

  After watching the young men around her use the utensils, Adelaide felt that she'd gained enough knowledge to give it a try. She scooped some of the same slop that Scotty had eaten and shoved it into her mouth with the spoon. Salty, kind of plain otherwise, the flavor was almost non-existent, but it was edible. She chewed it a few times and then swallowed. It didn't taste like anything she'd ever eaten before, which didn't surprise her much considering that these were air breathers and landwalkers. It was their food, and it didn't come from the sea. Her heart tightened in her chest a little bit when she had the distinct thought that she wondered if her mother would eat this. Then she remembered her mother was gone. She choked down a sob, taking a drink of the water from the cup next to her food.

  Nathan's eyes met hers. "Are you okay?"

  She nodded, and then scooped another mouthful of food from the same small plate.

  Scotty laughed. "Looks like the girl's got a good appetite."

  The other two boys who'd sat down with Scotty laughed at his joke. Adelaide met eyes with Nathan, finding his frown deepened, but he continued to eat his food once more. She followed suit and kept eating until her tray held nothing edible on it. Her stomach felt as though she'd swallowed a large stone or eaten a bunch of sand when she finished.

  The boys next to her had ignored her for most of the meal, talking amongst themselves about previous trials. It seemed that this initiate thing was new to three of the boys at the table, but it was Scotty's third try. He pushed his tray across the way.

  "Each time, they change the tests, so that repeat initiates don't get an advantage by practicing. It's been tough, but they cull the bottom two at each test. If you fail, you're out. Before they kept the best ten, five females and five males. But this time they say they are only taking the top four - and only one of the spots is going to a male. So the rest of you guys are out when I make it in." He laughed and folded his hands across his chest as he leaned back in his chair.

  His eyes met Adelaide's. "Sometimes the tests are divided by gender, and sometimes they aren't. So we might see you in some of the tests."

  He grabbed her by the upper arm and squeezed it gently. "You're flabby, but you got more meat on your bones than some of the others. It means you're probably stronger. You can use that to your advantage."

  Adelaide gently pulled her arm from his grip. It didn't take her long to be accepted by the group of boys as though she belonged with them. And that much she appreciated, but she didn't want to get too familiar with them. She knew that sometimes males could get the wrong idea about her affection or lack of for them.

  "So what culled you out from the reaping last time?" one of the other boys asked, the one she found out they called Ace.

  Deep furrows formed in Scotty's brow before he answered. "Sharks. They had us go into a pool of water with sharks, and wanted us to prove how brave we were by taunting the animals. To pass, you just had to remain longer than the first two that chickened out. I was fine until the floor dropped out from underneath us and we weren't wading anymore." His eyes grew distant as he stared off, away from the table. "I just couldn't do it. I got bumped in the leg by one and was having a hard time treading water. I bailed. But I did better than the second guy out. He was bit. The blood clouded the water and everyone was bailing out of the pool as fast as they could. Then the feeding frenzy started on the guy who'd been bit."

  Adelaide's jaw tightened. She knew the dangers involved when the predators started a frenzy. Scotty wasn't a coward for being smart. What kind of place were they in, that they would ask younglings to risk their lives in such a manner? "So people can die during the initiate's trial?" she asked.

  Scotty's gaze met hers, his blue eyes had gone watery. He nodded. "They often have two or three deaths during each trial."

  She swallowed, and the rest of the table grew quiet in the somber atmosphere. Before anyone said another word, the buzzer over their heads sounded.

  The groups were separated by gender once more, and Adelaide had to say goodbye to her new friends, without actually saying a word to them. They each just went their own direction without much thought. The girls were led to a waiting area where chairs lined the walls. They each sat in their own chair and were called into another area, separated from the waiting area by a curtain. The area smelled like some of the medicines that Adelaide had scented in the waters around the healer's cove.

  Across the room, three girls glared at her from their seats. Adelaide blinked, then recognized the one in the middle as the girl whose nose she had broken in the changing area. They were glaring at her and whispering to each other. Adelaide tilted her head and lifted a brow. She refused to cower or look away in this staring contest. If she gave them any ground at all, she knew they would take advantage of it. The two lackeys to the side of the ring leader looked away from her quickly, unable to hold their glares. But the leader, whose small nose had become swollen and slightly discolored, continued to glare at her, her gaze dripping with hatred.

  A woman stepped from behind the curtain, drawing the attention of all of them, and pulling Adelaide from her contest of wills. The woman was dressed in the same grey jumpsuit, but her color was red. She also had the Horizon logo on the breast of her jumpsuit, and for the first time, Adelaide realized that the jumpsuits that the teens all wore did not have the logo on them. Curious.

  "We will start the physical examinations at this end of the room," the woman said as she pointed toward the side of the room where Adelaide's adversaries had sat. "Then we'll go one at a time, counter clockwise until we reach this end. I ask that no one switch seats, but remain where you are now."

  The first girl stood up when the woman nodded to her and they both made their way to the other side of the curtain. At the rate that they would go for
this physical exam, Adelaide would be the tenth person examined, as only two girls sat to her right. She peered at them. They looked like two of the youngest in the room. Their wide eyes took in everything, but there was fear behind them. Adelaide wanted to reassure them, but she couldn't. What would she say to them? She knew nothing about what trials they were about to face, and she'd just found out from the boys she'd eaten with that some of these girls could even end up dead before everything was said and done.

  There were twelve of them, and only four spots. In order to stay in the game, Adelaide needed to be heartless. She couldn't worry about how those two younger girls felt about things. She couldn't help them if they were scared. If they fail the trials, they are obstacles removed from between her and her goal. She needed to win this trial. It was the only way that she and Jonas could be together. She clenched her fists and placed them in her lap as the nurse came back from behind the curtain and nodded to the second girl, and said, "Next."

  7

  Only three people were eliminated during the physical examination. Two of them were girls, and one of the boys. The whole experience gave Adelaide the chills. She saw what her systems looked like on their computer screens, but apparently she'd become completely human in the eyes of the others, because no one seemed to notice any difference between her organs and any of the other girls' as far as she could tell. One of the girls who had been rejected failed because she was sterile reproductively. Apparently that was an important aspect in being considered as a valued member of society in Atlantis 5.

  They showed the groups to their barracks immediately after. The girls' room had rows of beds lining each side, twenty of them, but there were only ten girls who'd made it past the physical examination. Each girl picked a bed while Adelaide stayed back, holding the blanket and pillow she'd been assigned until all the beds that others preferred were taken, then Adelaide moved down to the very end of the room, where no one else had chosen a bed. She set her things down in the bed closest to the window. The window itself was made of shaded glass, to mute the sunlight even further than it had been already. But she could still see out. According to the elevator, they were only on the fourth floor, but outside the building they were in, most of the others stood shorter in height, or had crumbled to almost that level.