Recombination

by Brendan Butts

  I watched out of the corner of my eye as he moved along the edge of the dormitory, clinging to shadows. Then, he stepped into a pool of moonlight filtered through the windows that ran along the dormitory walls up by the ceiling. That's when I noticed the bundle he had clutched under his arm. A bundle that looked a lot like my blankets.

  He didn't seem to have noticed me yet. I crouched down slowly, letting him get a bit further away from me and then, I started to follow. Staying in a crouch, I weaved in between bunks. I had to force myself not to gasp as one of the sleeping workers gave a loud snore.

  I had expected the boy to make his way to one of the numerous bunks in the room, but he seemed to have other plans. He was heading for the exit to the fields. I quickened my pace, closing the gap between us a bit.

  The boy went through the door to the fields and I followed about half a minute later. When I got outside I didn't see the boy anywhere. It was dark, the floodlights on this side of the building were off, and the moon was behind a set of clouds.

  I had a sudden moment of panic, thinking I had lost him completely. Then the clouds parted. In the pale moonlight, I saw a figure moving quickly across the fields. He was heading in the direction of one of the processing plants. I walked along the edge of the building for about ten feet, so I wouldn't be directly behind him in case he looked over his shoulder. When I was satisfied I was far enough behind not to alert him with the sounds of my footsteps, I began following again.

  The boy reached the processing plant and walked around the side. I started moving diagonally, spurred on by my curiosity, hoping to keep him in view. I only just managed to catch sight of him as he entered the plant through a side door.

  The plant was a large building covered in sheet metal, with two truck-sized doors on the front, facing the fields. During the day, those doors were opened to allow workers and their wheelbarrows access to the plant. I reached the door the boy had entered through and crept up to it. It had a battered metal sign hanging at head height that read 'Maintenance'. I put my hand on the knob and turned it slowly, hoping he hadn't locked it behind him. He hadn't.

  I slipped inside into almost complete darkness. Again, I crouched down, letting my eyes adjust. Slowly, shapes began to arise from the darkness. A window running the length of the room looked out on the rest of the plant. Computer equipment was placed along both walls to the right and left of the window. I scanned the room. There didn't appear to be any other exit except the one I'd walked through and I wondered where the boy was hiding. I moved slowly around the room, careful not to bump into anything.

  I wasn't having any luck figuring out where the boy had went until a brief flicker of light caught my eye. If it hadn't been almost totally dark in the room, I might have missed it altogether. It came from behind a rack of equipment sitting a few feet away from a corner. I slipped into the corner and slid down the wall. The tall rack had completely hidden the three foot wide, three-foot tall ventilation duct set at ground level.

  The duct was covered with a detachable mesh, probably to keep rats from getting in or out. I looked down the shaft and saw that it was the source of the light. Somewhere deep inside the shaft was the source of the light.

  I pulled the mesh off the shaft and started in as quietly as I could manage, heading toward the source of the light.

  Chapter 7

  “Ain’t no thang.” – Seven Ecks, (banished non-citizen) waving off medical attention after being through the cheek during a gang fight, Red Sector, Withmore City, 2095

  I'd spent some time in shafts like this while exploring my parents’ apartment building as a child. It's funny looking back on something I'd been doing only a couple years before and thinking of it as my childhood. That had been happening more and more often. It made me yearn to be back in Miami, living with my parents. I didn't really have to worry about anything back then. I'd dreamed about leaving home, making it on my own.

  I glorified it so much in my head. The adventures I'd have. The friends I'd make. The girls I'd meet. In my fantasies, girls always loved a mysterious stranger from out of town. I planned out all the different ways I'd meet them. I'd step in to save them from a group of gangers. Or I’d wait, looking mysterious and badass, and let them approach me.”

  When I got out of Miami, cracks had formed on the surface of my fantasies like frozen ice under a booted foot. The cracks spidered under the weight of my experiences and it wasn't long before I had plunged into the cold, unforgiving depths of reality.

  The shaft wasn't tall enough for me to crawl on all fours, so I turned over onto my back and pushed myself along with my heels. Getting about like that made it a bit harder to see where I was heading, but it was a quiet and fast way to move.

  The ceiling of the shaft was lined with dust, but as I looked to my side I could see the floor of the vent was pretty much free of it. It looked as if someone came through here on a regular basis. So, this was definitely the way the thief had gone. The shaft began to curve as it reached the end of the building and now I moved along a different wall.

  As I pushed myself along, I began thinking about the identity of the thief. From what I had seen, it was a boy about my age. His clothes had looked as if they had been scavenged or stolen over time. Not one of them had seemed to match any other item worn. I hadn't been able to make out brands from the distance I had first spotted him at, or as I had followed behind him under the moonlight.

  There seemed to be two possibilities The first was the least likely. The thief was merely a kid who worked the plantation that I had somehow not noticed so far. I was following him to where he kept all the stuff he'd stolen since he got here. Or he had snuck onto the plantation and was living here, stealing from the workers at night, when everyone was asleep.

  I reached the end of the shaft, and it opened into a cell-like room about 15 feet by 15 feet with concrete walls and no windows. The only light came from a shadeless lamp taped to the wall opposite the opening of the shaft. There was no furniture in the room, just piles of clothes and bedding almost everywhere. The piles created large shadows in the room and I couldn't see the thief.

  I flipped over onto my stomach, still in the shaft, and pulled myself the rest of the way out. I hit the ground pretty hard and even though I managed to break my fall with my hands, all the air left my lungs. Grunting, I rolled over onto my stomach just in time to see one of the shadows move.

  A booted foot arched out and caught me in my side. I howled in pain even as I rolled away from it. Another kick caught me in the back. I raised my hands protectively over my face, curling into a ball. The beating continued for what seemed like an eternity. I lost track of the number of times I was kicked and punched. My eyes were squeezed shut as if not seeing what was happening would make it less painful. I had no chance to defend myself.

  Eventually, another kind of blackness started to creep over me. I felt like I was dying. I was literally being beaten to death. I hadn't even seen the thief's face. I was going to die here, lying on this floor, in this hidden room, in a plantation so far from home.

  No one would find me. No one would even know where to look. I had always planned on getting a clone. It had been a huge goal of mine. It would make me invincible. Even if I died, I wouldn't die. Of course, clones were expensive and I lived in poverty. Just another childish dream I'd had to let go of when I left home.

  If I'd only managed to get one, then this wouldn't be the end of me. I would die here, sure, but I'd wake up in a cloning facility when the Genetek brain monitor they stick into you when you first signed up for a clone, notified them that I had died.

  I would wake up, with all the memories I had from the last time I'd updated my clone. I'd still be me, I'd still be alive, and I would be able to find the thief and kill him. Revenge, cold as death.

  Another kick, this time to the back of my head. I didn't even have the chance to think of Sasha one last time before the blackness engulfed me.

  *

  When I awoke, it took me a
few moments to realize that what I had experienced wasn't a dream. Then, I realized I wasn't dead. I waited, unmoving, for the assault to begin again.

  I had no idea how long I had been unconscious. Seconds? Minutes? More? I listened hard but heard no sound of movement. Was the thief just standing there, waiting for me to wake up so he could continue beating me?

  I opened my left eye, slowly. My right seemed swollen shut. I stared upwards. Still no sign of the thief. I turned my head slowly to the side, hoping to peer into the shadows, but I couldn't make anything out. Not even the sound of another's breathing reached my ears. I attempted to sit up, but my head swam and my vision began to tunnel. Pain wracked my body but I willed myself to stay conscious and shuddered at the terrible effort it required.

  I was sure I had a concussion. I'd seen enough TV to know that you aren't supposed to fall asleep when you've got one of those, or you could die. I concentrated on my breathing for a while. Each time I took a breath, pain stabbed through my chest. Some of my ribs must be broken. I couldn't sit up and I could barely inhale. So, I just lay on the floor, trying to remain awake.

  I thought about Sasha. Wondering what she was doing these days. Was she still in love with me? Had she met someone else in my absence? Would I ever see her again? Thinking of her made my heart race and that made it easier to stay awake.

  I lay on the floor for hours, barely aware of the time passing. The throbbing in my head lessened into a constant but manageable thrumming. I'd hoped my breathing would become easier with time, but it hadn't.

  I began to notice that the room looked different than when I had first dropped out of the vent. A lot of the clothes and bedding were gone. Had the thief moved it all while I was knocked out? That was when another thought hit me. The thief was gone, I was sure of that now, but what if he was planning to come back? Maybe he had just left to get some means to finish what he started. A gun, perhaps.

  That thought was enough to drive me shakily to my feet and get me lurching toward the vent. I took a few quick breaths, bracing myself for the pain I knew was going to assault me and hoisted myself into the vent and onto my belly. I had meant to quickly flip over onto my back once inside but even prepared for it, the pain shooting through my rib cage overwhelmed me for a few moments and I was forced to lay there, gasping.

  When I finally got a hold of myself again, I turned over onto my back and began pushing myself through the vent. I exited on the other side and looked carefully around the room for any signs that the thief was in there, laying in wait for another ambush. I didn't see anything, so I made my way outside. It was just getting light out. I longed for my cot but knew even if I made it there, I wouldn't be sleeping. It had to be close to dawn and that meant work would be starting soon.

  Still, I didn't think I would be much use in my current condition. I'd have to go see what kind of a doctor Tedeschi was and hope he could fix me up enough to work. It would be hard explaining what had happened to me. I could bring them to the shaft but I doubted if anyone else would be able to get into it to see the thief's hidden room. They might think I was making the whole thing up for attention. Though how they’d explain me beating myself to a pulp I couldn’t imagine. Piner would find a way to twist this to his advantage if I gave him the opportunity.

  I walked slowly out into the stiff morning air thinking about how was I going to explain what had happened to me. As I limped toward the main building, I caught sight of the two prefab huts where Lucas and Zenigra lived. I made my decision and switched directions. A few minutes later, I knocked on the metal door to Zenigra's hut, praying that he was home.

  The door was replaced almost immediately with Zenigra's large frame. He looked out into the air in front of him, confused.

  "Down here," I mumbled, suddenly regretting my decision to come here. Zenigra looked down and caught sight of me. His face went from confused to horrified, "Oy, Seven, what in the blue hell happened to ye?"

  *

  I collapsed against him, all the strength running out of me. It was just way too hard to remain standing. Zenigra lifted me under my armpits easily, and carried me into the house, kicking the door shut behind him.

  I didn't notice much about the room as he carried me through it. I thought I saw a table and a fridge, but my eyes kept drifting closed. Suddenly, there was something soft beneath me and I realized Zenigra had put me down on his bed.

  "Stay awake, now, Sev. It ain't good ta fall asleep after a beating like you took. Stay awake an' tell me what happened." The force behind Zenigra's voice caused me to open my eyes more than the actual words did. I blinked a few times attempting to get my eyes to focus. It wasn't easy, but eventually, they came around. My right eye was still mostly swollen shut with just the barest amount of light getting in.

  "I saw a thief in the dorms. Followed him. He was maybe my age. Went into a shaft. When I came out, he jumped me and--” I trailed off for a moment and my eyes started to slide shut but I caught myself drifting off and forced them back open. “He knocked me out and came to he was gone. Most of his stuff was gone too."

  "A thief? Whatchu mean a thief? What was he stealing in a place like this?"

  "Clothes, bedding," I said.

  "This baka jumped you for some bedding?"

  "I saw his place."

  "Okay, okay, we need to get you fixed up. I need to let Lucas know what happened. He's going to be upset. He wanted me to keep you safe."

  "No, Zenny. Don't tell him. I don't want you to get in trouble."

  "Yeh, but he's going to find out sooner than later, even if I don't say anything. You're a mess, kid. The first time someone sees you the game’s up and I'll be in even more trouble for not telling him straight away."

  "I guess."

  "Keep talking to me while I make the call. Tell me everything you can think of about this thief chummer." Zenigra moved away from the bed and left my field of vision. I didn't try to move my head to keep him in view.

  "He had on all kinda different clothing. It was really mixed and matched, and boots probably with steel toes. I think he broke some of my ribs. It's hard to breathe. It really hurts." I could hear Zenigra murmuring something into a grid phone. It was probably Lucas on the other end of the line. A few seconds later, the murmuring stopped and Zenigra re-entered my limited field of vision.

  "Lucas is on his way over, he's going to bring the plantations’ doc. You'll be okay, Sev. They'll get you fixed up right."

  "Gotta--” I sucked in a wheezing breath, “--get to work soon."

  "Hell. You won't be working for a few days kid. Lucas said he'd smooth it all over with Jack."

  "They're gonna hate me."

  "Nobody's gonna hate you. Just relax and the Doc will be here any minute."

  Chapter 8

  Every time I started to fall asleep, Zenigra's low rumbling voice would bring me right back out of it. I'd keep my eyes open for a few moments, doing my best to stay awake and then start drifting again. So, Zenigra would bring me right back out of it again. This continued for a while, I wasn't sure how long. Eventually, the door to Zenigra's hut creaked open, and Lucas and another man were inside.

  Lucas looked the same as he always did. It didn't register with me until hours later that it was somewhat strange for Lucas not to appear disheveled given the fact that it was still not even light out. Maybe he was just an early riser.

  On the other hand, the man with Lucas must have been woken from a dead sleep. He was Asian, his black hair just long enough to be unruly. His chest was covered by a simple white undershirt and he wore pajama pants that bore designs and colors that would have felt at home on the back of a cheap Hawaiian shirt.

  Lucas was yelling for the man to hurry up and the man was mumbling something under his breath that I couldn't hear. It was getting harder to keep my eyes open. Zenigra growled again.

  "Keep 'em open, kid." I tried to obey, my lids lifting slightly. Lucas and the other man were at the bed now. The man, Doctor Tedeschi I assumed, was carrying
a black bag. He laid it on the bed next to me and began pulling instruments out of it. I started to laugh at the sight of the bag, it seemed so outdated in the age of modern medicine and clones.

  "How long ago this has happened?" Tedeschi asked in clipped and heavily accented English.

  "He got here ten minutes ago, Doc. I called Lucas right away, but I think it happened a few hours ago. Most of the blood is all dried," Zenigra replied.

  Tedeschi grunted quietly to himself, still pulling instruments out of his bag. Finally, he seemed to find what he was looking for and a bright light flashed in front of my eyes. I shut them quickly, trying to avoid the pain the light caused.

  "You must open eyes. Follow light. Not move head." Tedeschi's voice was abrupt, insistent. I did my best to open my eyes, squinting against the incredibly bright light emanating from something he held in his hand. He moved the light across my vision and I began following it with my eyes. It was hard not to move my head along with the light. I had to stop myself from doing it several times.

  After a few moments, the Doctor turned off the light with a click and pulled back the sheets Zenigra had laid over me. I started to protest, but Zenigra cut me off with a glare. He looked worried. I wasn't sure if he was worried about me or worried about Lucas being angry with him. I hoped Lucas wasn't angry. It wasn't Zenigra's fault I had gone off on my own in the middle of the night hoping for some kind of adventure.

  I wasn't sure what I had hoped to accomplish, running after the thief on my own. It would have been much easier and smarter to just start shouting and wake up the whole Dormitory. The thief wouldn't have gotten far if I'd done that. Drifters really don't like people stealing their stuff.

  I guess I had been hoping to bring him down on my own so that everyone would stop hating me. It was stupid, but I'd grown so accustomed to the feeling of family that was present on all the plantations I had been at previously. I had fully expected it to be the same here. It would have been the same here if it hadn't been for Piner.