Ada left me to change alone.
I yanked on the thin undergarments and loose-fitting blue skirt. It hung below my knees and had pockets along the sides. The comfortable gray shirt hugged my body. I stepped into the flat shoes, feeling the soft lining mold to my soles. My feet were sore and still recovering from last night’s escape. The forgiving shoes relieved some of the pain.
I slung my grimy bag, containing the last remnants of my previous life, on my shoulder and stepped out.
The large room on the other side was filled with couches and tables, but the chamber remained vacant. Paler shades of blue or white covered the walls and furniture. Ada leaned against the far wall, waiting for me.
“Sera!” she called, waving me over with her tablet. “Tor will be out in a minute. Can you answer his questions so we can get you settled in?”
What would be the difference between him lying and me lying for him? “Sure,” I said.
“How old are you?”
“Sixteen.”
“How old is Tor?”
I thought for a moment. He was tall and muscular, definitely older than me, but if I made him too old, they might not let us stay together. I had read the story of “The Huntress and The Elder” and learned my lesson well.
“He’s eighteen.”
“All right, good. How were you Matched? Medically or naturally?”
Ada was studying her tablet, speaking in such a nonchalant voice. She was so at ease. It must be a common question, something so basic to their lives that the answer should be obvious. But I had no idea what the implications of either would be.
“Naturally,” I offered.
“Were you medically Matched previously or was it medically approved afterwards?”
“Umm...,” I stalled.
“You were approved before you went on the mission, weren’t you?” Her tone changed. The idea of us not being “approved” agitated her.
“Yes... I’m sorry. I’m just tired. We were approved.”
“All right, good. I really don’t want to have to send you guys down to get tested and approved before you move in. Plus, those Medical guys don’t always think with the right brain, if you know what I mean.” She laughed, so I did, too.
“Torkek and Serafay....” Ada studied her tablet as I tried to melt into the air and draw as little attention to myself as possible. “I have room in LM Seven—Pod Thirty-Four, which is good, because Lock is in that pod.”
“Thank you,” I replied, having no idea what she had just said.
“Tor!” Lock’s voice preceded Tor’s explosion through the men’s door by only a second.
“Sera?” Tor called before he saw me. His face was smooth, free of the short hair I was used to, sharpening his features, and he wore a new outfit of tight-fitting shirt and black pants.
He skidded to a halt, his intensity threatened to consume me, but I held still.
“Huh,” he sighed when his striking eyes met mine.
A tingling washed over me as he appraised my new clothes and clean face. His narrow features were hard as he made his way to my feet and nodded.
“Tor, will you please...?” Lock rushed into the room, holding a rope tied around Elgon’s neck. The giant creature shook, flinging water off his fur and soaking Lock.
“Elgon,” I scolded. The hound flopped down and cocked his head, appraising me with an expression akin to amusement.
“Huh.” Tor gestured with a smile, and Elgon pulled out of Lock’s hold to stand between us. Tor pulled the rope off him and let it fall to the ground, forgotten. “You are clean,” he said, his attention back on me. The intensity of his appraisal made me flush, my clothes too tight. His eyes took in every curve and plane of my body.
Lock rolled his eyes and wiped the water off his face. “Matched Pairs.”
“Lock,” Ada said, “they have Room Six in Pod Thirty-four. Can you take them over?”
“Sure. That’s great. You’ll be in my pod.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, my eyes still locked on Tor’s, our connection heating the molecules between us. His black shirt clung to the outline of his body. His long legs were clad in dark pants. More of him was covered than when we’d been alone, but the tightness of his clothing took my breath away.
Ada tucked her tablet under her arm and nodded. “All right then. I’ll be over in the morning to give you your assignments.” And with that, she walked away.
“Come on,” Lock said, taking Tor’s arm and pulling him toward a glass door.
We followed him outside in silence, Elgon trotting beside me. Once in the open air, buildings loomed above us. All were gray and identical, except in size. We walked past another Erdlander, a man not much taller than me, with blond hair and round eyes. He nodded at Lock before continuing on his way.
Eventually, Lock spoke softly, just loud enough for us to hear. “You weren’t from this camp.”
His stocky frame moved faster than I expected, and I had to work to keep up with him. Tor’s easy stride matched Lock’s pace.
“You weren’t even from Iaera, were you?”
Tor remained silent as Lock glanced over at us. Before I had to tell another lie, Lock spoke again.
“It’s all right, I won’t tell anyone. Believe me, I think about running almost everyday. I’m sorry we dragged you back.”
“Huh,” Tor grunted, his eyes trained in the distance.
“Being a Matched Pair is lucky, otherwise they’d send you to Medical, and it’s impossible to hide anything from them. For now, you can just blend in. Don’t start taking the meds again. If you’ve gotten used to living without them, don’t start.” Lock’s words came in a rush, and I struggled to keep up.
“Thanks, Lock.”
“What meds?” Tor asked, earning a sideways glance from Lock.
“Just don’t take them. People change when they get here; I’m out of shape and not Matched, so no one cares that I don’t take them. I’ll probably be like Ada and stuck at the camp my whole life. But you guys, you’re Matched, so you have a chance.”
“Lock, what are you—?” I began.
“This is the Medical building,” he stated, as if we hadn’t spoken at all, his voice louder. “Behind there is the Science quad. If you are assigned a job over there, you’ll have meals in the underground lounge with all the camp workers.”
He strode farther and turned left down a path along another short building.
“This is the testing center. Don’t go in there unless you’re called. Beyond that is the transport hub for people with jobs off the campgrounds.”
“Where do you work?” I asked, staying on the topic Lock had set. I had to trust he would tell us more when he could. I had no way to know if we were safe from moment to moment, and pushing the only person who appeared willing to help us seemed unwise.
“I work in Linguistics. I’m guessing you’ll be put there too, Sera.”
“Why?”
“Elgon is a Sualwet word, isn’t it?” He slowed, his eyes trained on me. His pronunciation of Sualwet was so gruff and alien to my ears, it almost didn’t sound the same. “It’s okay. Not many people will understand it, and once you’re in Linguistics, it won’t matter. I’ll mention it to Ada, and she’ll put you there without asking why. I don’t know how you know Sualwet and I don’t want to, but be careful.”
Lock picked up his pace and walked ahead of us, the conversation over.
How much of who I was had I already given away without realizing it? I thought I’d been so careful. Discovery terrified me, but I hadn’t really thought it would happen. I had lied and listened, and here we were, walking through an Erdlander camp without anyone stopping us or tossing me strange glowers. Hadn’t I succeeded?
If Lock knew I was hiding something, why didn’t Ada suspect us?
“Sera,” Tor whispered when we were farther behind Lock. “Breathe.”
13
As we walked through the camp, Elgon stayed by our side. Low vibrations came from him wh
enever anyone approached, but his growls were loud to my acute senses. I placed a hand on his back to ease his nerves. By the time we reached our building, Living Module Seven, my anxiety had flared into mild panic. Tor hadn’t spoken more than a few monosyllabic words, and Lock was either a terrible threat or our best friend. I wasn’t sure.
The front door of LM7 led into a large empty space. Gray benches and dim lights lined the perimeter. This was not a place to congregate.
Lock walked through the center of the room, toward a wall with a thin black square hovering above the floor. It was similar to the platform that had transported us to the camp but smaller and quieter. While stepping up onto the square, Lock gestured for us to join him.
“Everyone is still out,” he said. “I’ll show you your room and then go find Lace.”
“Why?” I rolled my eyes.
“Because she lives here, too, and giving her some notice that you’re in our pod might make life a little easier.”
After we were all standing on the black square, Lock pressed a corner with his foot, and bars—similar to those on the flying platform—came up around us. Tor stepped to the center, Elgon pressed against his side. I watched Lock punch in three and four on a console, which had also risen.
Walls slid down from the ceiling and netted us in. The bars were the only thing separating us from the new enclosure. Above, a light glowed and a low hum penetrated the air.
“Thhhhrrrrrr....,” Elgon rumbled as the square rose.
Our platform floated through the chamber as we sped higher and higher. Tor grabbed Elgon as his grumble grew to a growl. He knelt around the animal, pressing him close. His closeness looked so safe and warm. Longing overcame me as I imagined how strong his arms would feel.
Soon the platform slowed, and Lock turned from the console toward us.
“Welcome home,” he said.
The chamber walls lifted and disappeared into the ceiling as if they’d never been there, while the railing vanished into the floor.
Pod Thirty-four wasn’t anything like the kind of pods I’d seen before. It wasn’t spherical or enclosed the way I’d expected. I’m not sure what I’d thought we would find. Erdlander words didn’t always mean what I translated them to, making it hard to keep everything straight.
We stood in the corner of a large room. There were two long tables on one side and a seating area on the other. Chairs, lamps, and small tables were scattered about in a haphazard pattern. Everything was either brown or gray except for a bright-colored blanket that lay across one of the chair backs.
“Around this corner here,” Lock began, as he entered the room along the left wall, “you’ll find the kitchen. You can eat in there. We have a little table, but most of us eat together out here.”
Tor stood and released Elgon, who skulked through the room, exploring it much more in depth than we had.
“We eat here? We sleep there?” Tor gestured to the couches.
“No, everyone has a room. I’m back here.” Lock pointed to a green door next to the kitchen entrance. “Lace is next to me, here.”
Her orange door mocked me with its presence. I’d met only three people in this whole camp so far, and of course I’d have to share a pod with the one who already distrusted us.
“Your room is down here.” Lock guided us across the open space, weaving between some papers scattered on the floor, until he reached a blue door.
“Mine?” I asked, pulling my bag higher on my shoulder, ready to sit down and stop moving for a while. My feet throbbed.
“Yep.”
“Thanks, Lock.” I walked toward my room, anxious for a few moments alone. I smiled at Tor, who stood behind me. We’d find time to talk later. I needed to think.
“Get some rest. I’ll wake you up when dinner is ready. You’re probably hungry.”
“Thank you. Really. I... I know you don’t want to know more but, you may have saved our lives today.”
“At least I can do one thing right. Too bad no one will ever know.” His voice had a tinge of sadness to it. It made me wonder about the kind man who had brought us here and navigated us safely through an Erdlander minefield without knowing anything about us.
“But we know,” I said. “So, thanks.”
Lock nodded and stepped toward Tor. I expected him to show Tor his room, but instead he continued to the platform as if to leave.
“Lock?” Tor called, raising an eyebrow. “My room?”
“You’re a Matched Pair, right?” Lock gave an enormous smile. “You share a room.”
The chamber walls dropped down to surround him, and the platform whisked him away.
Tor didn’t move.
Elgon joined me next to the blue door and pressed his forehead against my leg. I reached down, my fingers moving through his soft hair and scratching his neck.
Tor’s gaze dropped to the floor as I examined him. There was so much we needed to talk about, get straight, but all I wanted to do was be alone. And now....
“You’re eighteen,” I blurted.
He raised his head, eyebrows knitted together.
“Ada asked me how old you were. I didn’t know, so I said eighteen.”
“I’m seventeen.”
“You look older.”
“I’ve lived outside for a long time.”
Elgon sat and leaned his entire body against my side as I scratched his ear. The bag on my shoulder grew heavy, and anxiety and fatigue weighed me down.
“How old are you?” Tor asked, turning back to the ground.
“Sixteen.”
“I should have known that.”
“We haven’t had much time to talk.”
“No.” He glanced up at me again, his eyes covered by shadows. “You’re tired. You should lie down.”
“So should you.”
“I’ll... I’ll rest out here,” Tor offered, turning his head away from me.
“Tor.” I paused and took a deep breath. “If we’re supposed to be whatever a Matched Pair is, and Matched Pairs share a room, then they’re going to think it’s weird if you don’t sleep in our room.”
“It’s better if I sleep out here.”
“Like not sleeping in the cave?”
“Yes.”
“Well, that’s really not an option. We have to blend in, at least for now. Come on.”
I opened the blue door, which was now our home, not waiting for him to follow. Our room was small. Next to the door on one side was a wall of shelves, on the other was a tall dresser. Other than a low bed, the rest of the room was bare. Above it was a window with frosted glass. Light filtered in, but I couldn’t see anything outside. I longed to see the sky. Everything was white except for a blue blanket folded at the bottom of the bed.
Exhausted, I set my bag on the shelf to my right, kicked off my slippers, and sat on the mattress. It was softer than I’d expected, for being on the floor. The mattress conformed to my shape and molded around my weight, inviting me to lie down. Exhaustion won, and my head dropped to the thin pillow. I pulled the blanket over my legs.
I was clean, warm, and—for the moment—safe. The door was still open, and Elgon wandered in, sniffed the corners, and rested on the floor near me. With a whining sigh he allowed his head to sink to his paws.
“We’re all pretty tired,” I said. “It’s been a long day.”
Elgon snorted and rolled to his side, settling in for sleep. I wanted to go through my bag and discover what I had left of my life. I needed time to grieve my mother. For now, though, my body could do little more than lie still.
With a sigh I closed my eyes. I willed my mind to stop churning over everything we had been through. Instead, I thought about the glint in Tor’s eyes when he saw me in my clean clothes. The image of him clean-shaven, wearing a tight-fitting shirt, and looking at me with the threat of fire in his eyes was the last thing I saw before drifting into darkness.
14
Noise—loud, clanging, constant—from beyond the door woke me. My
ears rang from the onslaught of people moving about, and I buried myself deeper into the mattress, hoping to reclaim the peace I’d found while slumbering. It wasn’t possible, though. The sound mounted, and voices joined the cacophony, bringing the din to a head.
Still half-asleep, I rolled to my side and peered through groggy eyes. The door was shut, and Elgon snored away on the floor next to me. Curled up in the corner of our room, as far from me as he could get, was Tor. He looked so peaceful, even though he was lying on the hard floor. In sleep, his features relaxed, and I could see the boy underneath all the scars.
Even freshly showered and in new clothes, he had something wild about him, an underlying danger that both attracted and repelled me.
I reached down to wake Elgon, patting his side until he raised his head. We were all exhausted, but the noise outside called me, and I knew it would be better to get the introductions over with. Hiding in our room only delayed the inevitable. I didn’t know how long we were going to be here or what we could even hope to accomplish. For now, we were alive, and so far no one asked any questions. The one person who suspected something had already sworn to keep silent.
After climbing over the monstrous mountain hound, I slipped my shoes back on and straightened my shirt. Elgon stood at the ready.
~Maybe you should stay here with Tor.~ I crouched down and looked into the hound’s wise, green eyes. ~I’ll be all right alone.~
But when I opened the door, Elgon stuck close behind me.
Entering the great space overwhelmed my senses. Brutally loud noise bombarded me, and so much movement made it difficult to keep my vision from blurring. I pulled my awareness in, and with one hand on Elgon’s back, I stepped away from the door.
It clicked shut behind me.
“The monster awakes,” someone said with a sneer.
My heart clamped down inside my chest. Blurry vision returned with my panic, and I saw small shimmers of light in the corners of my eyes. The adrenaline pushed me too far. Woozy, I took in the silent faces around me.
“Shut up, Lace,” a familiar voice said. “Elgon is nice enough. Like having a really big, really intense dog.” Lock appeared through the crowd with a smile and approached me. “Sera, this is Pod Thirty-four. Everyone, this is Serafay.”
Two Moons of Sera Page 8
