Solstice

by Jane Redd

  “In this city,” Rueben began in a slow voice, “more people are Taken, due to life cycle or crimes, than are born each year. The population is dwindling.”

  “Dwindling?” I hadn’t expected that.

  “Yeah, so a certain number of people are allowed to earn citizenship each year,” he said. “At the age of eight, Lake people become eligible to join the recruitment program. Usually the head officer of the town selects a handful of youth to recommend. The year I was recommended, I was the only one accepted for citizenship from the whole town.”

  Before I tested into the A Level, there were kids who lived at the Children’s Center who didn’t have caretakers. We were always told that their caretakers had been Taken. Now I wondered if some of them were from the Lake Towns.

  Out there, in the vast waters, were other pockets of civilization. Living and breathing totally different lives than ours here in the city. “What was it like living in a Lake Town?” I asked. It was hard to reconcile my preconceived notions with the living, breathing boy who now sat across from me.

  One side of his mouth lifted. “That would take weeks to tell you. But information is harder to get out there—we don’t have the WorldNet. We rely on stories handed down from generation to generation, and life is much harder in a physical sense. My family spent most of their time scouting for wood and metal pieces to add onto our floating barge.”

  I tried to imagine Rueben fishing for scraps of wood, his long arms snagging pieces out of the water. I blinked the image away. “So you must have been grateful to become a citizen in the city.”

  The flush was back, and he shoved his hands in his pockets. “There were some big trade-offs.”

  I waited until he met my eyes again. “What kind of trade-offs?”

  He exhaled, looking past me. “I haven’t seen my family for eight years.”

  “You mean your caretakers?”

  “Yes.” His eyes flickered to me, then away again. “And my two sisters.”

  “Sis-ters?”

  His gaze slid back to mine. His eyes were no longer warm, but dark and cold like wet earth. “Siblings—my mother and father had three children . . . offspring.”

  Three? The silence dripped between us. I wondered how a large family could be allowed, even in such a primitive place. There was something else in his eyes that was hard to identify. Then my heart clenched. Pain.

  “You miss them,” I whispered.

  He didn’t need to answer.

  I knew a little of what it felt like to miss someone. David, Naomi, Sol, Chalice. I blinked rapidly and said, “Does the B level in your Lake Town allow that many children in one family?”

  His eyes thawed a little, but his voice was subdued. “There are no ‘levels’ in the Lake Towns, Jezebel. Caretakers are called parents just like in the Before, and adults are allowed to marry if they want to.”

  I let the information settle over me. No levels. Parents instead of caretakers. More questions swarmed. “If there are no levels, then how does the town function? How does everyone know what to do?” The true meaning of barbarians hit me. That must be why their society was so backward, why they had to live on barges hooked together, constantly in motion.

  His tone was clipped when he answered. “Society functions in the Lake Towns just as it has for thousands of years, just as it did in the Before.”

  I clamped my mouth shut. That meant they suffered with disease, civil unrest, and crime. My eyes narrowed as I peered at Rueben.

  “Why are you in here?” I asked over my thudding heart.

  “I’ve been living in the city since I was eight years old,” he said with a sigh, as though he expected the question. “Believe me, I’ve been through all the training and all the education. But, like you, my Harmony implant doesn’t suppress my stronger emotions. So, like you, I’m considered a Clinical.”

  I waited for him to mention why he was in the prison. “Did you . . . commit a crime?”

  He grimaced slightly, but his eyes brightened. “Failure to comply.”

  That could mean anything. “But you’re from a Lake Town. That makes you different to begin with.”

  Rueben’s gaze was hard. “Not different in the ways that you think. Different, yes, because I have memories of a family, of people who are free to make their own choices, of a place where people can fall in love.”

  His words stabbed at my heart. Why did he have to talk about falling in love? “If the Lake Town was such a good place to live, then why are you here?”

  “I was chosen to come,” he said, the bitterness swift in his voice. “It wasn’t a privilege, but a duty.”

  “And now that you’re here—in Phase Three—have you failed that duty?” Would he finally tell me what he had done to get here?

  “It depends on your point of view.”

  I looked away. I didn’t know how to process all of this new information. My eyes wound up on the dream monitor on the wall. The city was a place where things were controlled, and that control kept our society surviving while the others failed and became extinct one by one.

  Rueben settled onto his bed, lying down and clasping his hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. I glanced over at him, and as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I was fascinated by his background. And his knowledge. What would it be like to be taken away at the age of eight from everything you’d ever known?

  After several moments, he started speaking again. “I don’t want to argue about who has the best life—whether it’s in the Lake Town or here in the city.”

  “I don’t either.”

  We both fell quiet, until I said, “I just didn’t know . . . ”

  “I know,” he said, and gave me a weak smile.

  My mind was still racing, but I wanted to know more. “How does the Harmony implant record information?” I hated to admit it, but it seemed that I knew much less than I had realized.

  “It tracks levels of emotion, recording things like increased body temperature, faster breathing, and perspiration output—all indicators of the presence of emotion. If you compare the Harmony technology to other sciences, it’s still relatively new.” He sat up again and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, resting his elbows on his knees. “A very low level of control is exercised over the average person.”

  I exhaled. Had Naomi known about this term Clinicals? Or had she just called it immune? “So is everyone being controlled right now?”

  “Just enough to keep them in compliance,” Rueben said. “It’s a low level compared to what it has the potential to do.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that. The kids in my class were already so controlled, so passionless.

  “Once in a while, a person exhibits stronger behavior patterns than what is socially acceptable,” Rueben said. “Like me and you.”

  “And the scientists are able to increase control levels,” he continued, “in order to eliminate the powerful urges of various emotions.”

  “Can people tell when their emotions are being controlled?”

  “Most of the time it’s not noticeable, unless there is a big change. Like I said, most people don’t need additional control—the lowest level is enough. When is the last time you saw someone rebel against an inspector?”

  I briefly thought of Sol banging on the metal door just before he was cuffed, but he had done that to help me. “Never,” I said.

  Rueben gave a quick nod. “When’s the last time you heard someone argue?”

  I searched my memory. I could think of plenty of times when students informed on each other, but I’d never heard a real argument.

  “What about kissing?”

  Kissing? I stared at him. “What do you mean?” I thought of Rose and her boyfriend and the apple. Why was Rueben bringing this up?

  “You know,” he said with a slight smile, his teeth white in the dimness, “when a girl has a crush on someone. Boyfriend, girlfriend . . . kissing?”

  “But that’s—”

  “I know
it’s against the law to fall in love here—or should I say to have a ‘romantic interlude.’” He lowered his voice. “But have you ever wanted to kiss someone?”

  I tried to shake my head, to say no. But I froze. Was he testing me? Was he part of the test to see if I had really read the book? To find out if I was truly a Clinical? Finally I answered, “Wanting to do something isn’t the same as doing it.”

  Rueben closed his eyes. Then he started laughing. He opened them, and laughed louder. I looked behind me, worried he’d wake someone. I didn’t know what the penalty would be for not sleeping, but after seeing that poor girl in the strait jacket, I didn’t want to find out.

  “Why are you laughing?” I asked.

  He came over and sat next to me. Very close. He leaned against me so that his breath puffed against my ear. “You’re definitely at risk.”

  “For what?” My body felt prickly all over at his nearness. I wanted to shove him away, but at the same time, I didn’t want him to move. I wanted to ask him why he smelled like sunshine on the day of Solstice—did all Lake people smell like him? He’d probably laugh at me again.

  Rueben took a single breath, then said, “You’re at risk for falling in love.”

  His words sent a jolt of fear through me. How could he know? He couldn’t. This was a test—I knew it. I didn’t want to fall into his trap. I didn’t know if I had passed the other tests, but I’d pass this one.

  “I won’t break the law, especially that one.”

  I felt, rather than saw, him smile. “You already have.”

  My face got hot. “The book was a mistake. It was my inheritance, and I only—”

  “I’m not talking about the book,” he said, too close now. The prickles on my body turned to perspiration. Did he know about Sol telling me about the Before? Did Rueben know that I’d been shocked and it hadn’t erased my memory? I felt like I might suffocate.

  “You’ve failed every test so far,” he said.

  I scooted away from him, the mattress creaking beneath me. “How do you know?”

  “I can see a lot of information on the instructors’ tablets when I’m clearing plates in the cafeteria.”

  Panic shot through me, and I pulled away from him. He was learning too much about me. Had I really failed the tests? “I don’t see how I failed; I only answered the questions.”

  “Exactly,” he said. “When they showed you a red peony, you selected the color of ‘blood’ as the best descriptor.”

  “It was the color of blood,” I said, thinking hard. Sol had described a valley of blood red flowers. I had merely repeated his description. Did that mean I’d given something away? “I still don’t understand how I failed the tests.”

  Rueben reached out and took my hands. I flinched. The only other person who’d held my hand was Sol. But I knew Sol felt nothing in return. Rueben was unsettling, his words and actions unpredictable. Emotions practically burst from him, reaching out and touching me. I pulled away, but he wouldn’t let go. “What do you feel when I hold your hands?”

  My face felt hot again. “I don’t know—”

  “Don’t try to analyze it. Just tell me the first thing that comes to your mind.”

  “Nervous.” I dared a glance at his face. “Warm.”

  A smile tugged at his lips. “That’s what I thought.” He stood, still holding my hands, and drew me against him.

  “What are you doing?” I whispered.

  His arms slipped around me. I tried to wrench away, but he held me firm, and my attempt was only halfhearted. “Now what do you feel?” he said in my ear, the warmth of his breath spreading to my fingers.

  I tried to breathe, tried to move, but his grip only tightened. I hadn’t realized how strong he was. “Let me go,” I said. Something like fear grew inside of me, and I felt a scream bubble in my throat.

  His was breath hot against my skin. “Kiss me first.”

  My entire body shook with astonishment, with anger. I made one more effort and got a hand free. Then I slapped him as hard as I could.

  Rueben jerked back

  I looked around frantically for something to use to defend myself, but there was nothing.

  I moved against the wall and braced myself, expecting him to yell, to strike back. I imagined him becoming violent. Stories of rape and pillaging in the Before ran through my mind. My hand throbbed, but I’d be ready if necessary, using my fists.

  But he didn’t move. “That, my dear Jezebel, is why you were sent here.”

  My breath left my chest, and I stared at him, my hands still clenched. “Are you finished?” I ground out between my teeth. I used everything I had to hold back the avalanche of anger. I wouldn’t let him get me into trouble. Not here, in this place. I had to get out and make it to the University. I had more important things to do than let this boy get under my skin.

  He took a step toward me, and when I shrank back, he stopped. “Every other girl would have begged me to stop breaking the rules. But you . . .” He chuckled. “You hit me.”

  “You had no right to touch me, to . . .” He had no right to laugh at me. The trembling in my body reached to my toes. Maybe this was a game in the Lake Towns, but in the city, it meant Demotion or Banishment.

  “I know,” Rueben said. He stepped forward again, his eyes intent on me, one side of his face red from my mark. “And it made you angry.” His lips moved into a smile.

  I blinked, adrenaline still pulsing through me, but I was starting to realize Rueben wasn’t really going to kiss me. “I’m not angry,” I muttered, still seething.

  He gave me a look that plainly said he didn’t believe me. “You saw an injustice and reacted.” His sounded . . . proud.

  I shook my head. “I don’t need any more trouble.”

  “You stood up for yourself.” He touched my clenched hand, and I forced myself to relax it, forced the emotions to retreat, to be calm. “The scientists would love to put a stop to these kinds of reactions before they wreak real havoc.”

  “I wasn’t . . . I’m not . . .” The breath left me, and I moved around him and sat back on the bed. There was no hiding from him. He’d seen my emotions firsthand. I needed his help, even if he was a part of the test. “What now?”

  There was something like regret in his eyes. “They’ll experiment. Alter your implant.”

  My entire body went cold. I had worked so hard to suppress my emotions. How would it feel not to fight them anymore? To feel and act like everyone else?

  Rueben sat across from me this time, watching me closely, and giving me the space he’d stolen from me earlier. “I’m sorry, Jezebel. You’re too much of a risk.”

  “I’ve never broken a rule—at least not intentionally,” I said.

  A small smile returned to Rueben’s mouth. “Never intentionally.”

  “It’s true.”

  “I believe you.” But his expression said otherwise.

  “Are you part of my test?” I asked.

  His brown eyes held mine. “I hope you can believe me on this—I’m in the same test that you are.”

  “Then why did you say all those things to me, and why did you try to . . . ”

  “Kiss you?”

  I nodded, my face hot again.

  “I wanted to see what you were made of,” Rueben whispered. “I need an ally.”

  Fourteen

  “I thought the testing was over, and I’d have my assignment by now,” I said to Dr. Matthews a few mornings later. His trembling was back—it seemed to come and go. The testing was taking place earlier in the day than usual so that everyone could go above ground for the Summer Solstice.

  His permanent frown deepened. “Your dreams weren’t tracked last night, just like the previous two nights.”

  I suppressed a yawn. I hadn’t slept much over the past few days. After Rueben’s kiss test, we’d stayed up whispering during the nights. And the times we weren’t whispering, I was worrying about the freckled-faced girl, Grace. Had she recovered or was her
brain permanently altered?

  On one of those nights, Rueben told me he’d been integrated into C Level when he first arrived at the city, but by the age of eleven, there were signs that he wasn’t fitting in. He tested into B Level every year, but every year elected to stay in C. “I guess it became obvious that I wasn’t exactly ‘normal,’ and when I refused to move up a level after passing the last series of tests, I was assigned here,” he’d said.

  “Why didn’t you want to move up a level?” I asked.

  “I blame it on the Solstice,” he said. “Whenever I felt the sun on me, it reminded me of my family in the Lake Town, because that was the last time I was happy. And I thought about all the people who’d lived in the Before. I liked the freedom living in C Level gave me; there weren’t as many expectations.”

  I was the opposite. I wanted to get as much education as possible, to find a way to save this city. How could Rueben just want to spend his days doing nothing? We had to prepare for the future and think about the next generations.

  But, I did admit that the approaching Solstice made me forget my responsibilities just a little, as my body craved the sun, its natural warmth and golden light. I wondered if the doctors would bring Grace to the surface. Maybe it would help her.

  Dr. Matthews’s voice brought me back to the present. “We’ll conduct the dream test again tonight.”

  I folded my arms on the desk in front of me. It felt like I’d spent my entire life in this small round room, surrounded by blank walls, with electronic images flashing before me. “Can you tell me what happened to Grace?”

  Matthews kept his gaze on his tablet, but that didn’t hide the tremor in his hands.

  “Is that what’s in store for me?” Perhaps I was feeling bolder because the Solstice was only a few hours away. Rueben said that it was the one time we’d all be allowed to go to the surface, under strict supervision. Even Matthews’s frown had seemed softer today—perhaps he was looking forward to the sunshine as well.

  “Will she get to go above ground for the Solstice?” I asked when he stayed silent.