[scifan] plantation - books one to three

by Stella Samiotou Fitzsimons

but instead I open the door. I don’t want to be a coward anymore. He’s wide awake, sitting on the

  bed.

  “You didn’t answer,” I say.

  “One last chance for you to walk away.”

  “You don’t love me,” I say. “You’re like me. You don’t know how to love.” My voice breaks

  even as I say this.

  He lowers his head so I can’t see his eyes when he talks. “All I have ever done is try to protect

  you. Haven’t you seen that? Since that first night at the plantation when I carried you back to safety.”

  He raises his head and looks into my eyes. “You were right. I did love Daphne. How could I not? I

  was afraid, but now I just feel broken and you are the only one who understands me. You always have

  been.”

  I go to him, I put my arms around his neck and caress his hair right where his tattooed number is

  hidden. I can almost feel the digits through my fingers. Those painful engravings that bond us all

  together in misery.

  “You’re so beautiful, Freya,” he whispers. “So frail. So strong.”

  I kiss him because I want him to know that this is what I want. This is what I choose. Not

  because he asked but because it’s my truth as well at this moment. His skin is warmer than a cat’s fur.

  I touch his burning eyelids and whisper in his ear that we have both suffered more than enough.

  17

  As far as the eye can see to the east and to the west, there’s mud and more mud. Sticky, reeking,

  brown and green mud. The crater looks to be a hundred feet wide and we have to walk through it.

  “How deep is it?” I ask.

  “It will probably go up to your thigh,” Wudak says and steps in. “It’s not quicksand, we can

  cross.”

  The thought of dipping my feet and legs inside this viscous mass is less than appetizing. I put my

  right hand over my mouth and nose to diminish the sense of stench even by the tiniest amount. I take

  the first step in the mud, then the second, and watch my boots disappear under the sludge.

  I follow Wudak slowly, trying to ignore the increasing feeling of nausea in my stomach. I tell

  myself to stay focused on the opposite side of the mud. Stay focused on the plan.

  Pip told me to stay strong this morning. It was a very emotional time when I said goodbye to

  everyone. They escorted me out of the tunnels and stood in the morning light for the first time in

  weeks.

  Pip held on to my hand as long as she could. She let go when Zoe gave me a hug.

  “Take care,” Zoe said. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

  I squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek feeling grateful for her friendship.

  I’m in the mud all the way to my knees now. Wudak turns back every now and then to make sure

  I’m fine. I wish I would have had time to talk to Zoe before I left. I have never needed a girlfriend

  more than now. There’s so much I’d like to say to her. So much that I could not tell anyone else.

  Tilly had tears in her eyes when she wished me a safe journey. “We will take care of Pip,” she

  promised.

  “I know you will, I leave her in excellent hands,” I said hugging Scout.

  “Make sure you come back soon, Freya,” Rabbit said.

  “I’ll do my best,” I said.

  Biscuit gave me a loaf of bread. “With cinnamon,” he said. “Your favorite.”

  I want to reach in my backpack and get that loaf out. Cinnamon bread and some cool water

  would appease my stomach and quell the nausea. I don’t dare to even blink, though, for fear I might

  slip deeper into the mud, hair and all.

  Doc patted me on the back. “You’re perfectly healed,” he said. “You’re in top shape. Your

  blood sample was beautiful. I’ll have answers when you return.”

  I nodded and hugged him. “Remember to rest a bit,” I said. “You can’t work all day and most of

  the night.”

  “I can’t make promises but I will try,” he said.

  Nya gave me one of her smallest bows with a feathered arrow which surprised me and almost

  made me cry. She is very possessive of her weapons and even sleeps with them.

  She hugged me roughly and whispered in my ear, “There’s a hidden explosive mechanism in the

  arrow. It’s very small and it won’t bring down a building, but it will create a lot of confusion. Use it if you must.”

  I nodded and kissed her which she didn’t like at all. She grabbed Theo who was standing behind

  her and shoved him into me.

  “I’m sorry,” he said as he took a step backwards. “You have to ask Zolkon for a manual of sorts

  about the receptor. I can’t touch it without some indication as to how it works.”

  I promised him that I would do my best. As much as he loves gadgets, he is especially fascinated

  with this one. The one that only I can handle.

  “Wait,” Wudak says. I awaken from my memories and freeze on the spot. He reaches with his

  hand inside the sludge and digs out a snake. It’s hard to tell what kind of snake it is as it’s covered in mud, but I let out a terrified cry anyway. Snakes are the one thing I can’t stand.

  Wudak examines it for a while. “Not venomous,” he concludes and throws it away. The snake

  lands in the mud several yards away from us.

  “Do you think there are more snakes around?”

  “Probably,” he says. “I always find a couple when I cross the mud.”

  That doesn’t sound good. Not good at all. I slow down, each step causes anxiety. I try to look

  through the mud, but it’s useless. It’s mud. I decide to concentrate on signs of movement but the mud

  slowly moves in ripples behind Wudak’s legs anyway.

  “Come on,” he says. “No stalling, we’re already behind schedule.”

  Behind schedule. That’s what Theo said as we were saying our goodbyes. “We’re behind

  schedule regarding you know what regarding you know whom, so any clues you can bring back will

  be helpful.”

  Doc nodded in agreement and I knew they were talking about Omicron 5. But what clues could I

  possibly get for them? I’m clueless when it comes to scientific matters.

  “Do you have to be injected with Omicron 5 on the same day every month?” I ask Wudak.

  “Yes,” he replies.

  “Have you ever had to wait longer?”

  “Once.”

  I can see that I will have to drag the answers out of him. “How long? Did you feel any

  different?”

  “Just one day. And it was horrible. Everything felt different. Watch out, it’s deeper here.”

  He guides me to the left so I don’t step in the hole like he did. I’m much shorter than him and the

  mud would have gotten up to my waist.

  I don’t cover my nose with my hand anymore. The smell doesn’t bother me as much and my mind

  is occupied.

  I dreaded the moment when I would have to say goodbye to Finn. He came to me with his big,

  radiant smile on his face. His bluish green eyes were softer than usual and full of encouragement.

  I couldn’t find words to make the moment easier. I just hugged him with all my might and held on

  to him for as long as I could.

  “It’s only a few days,” he said. “Then you’ll come back to us.”

  I smiled but I really felt like crying. Finn has this effect on me. He makes me realize how much

  better he is than me. Than any of us really. How much better I could be.

  He put both hands on my shoulders and kissed me on the forehead. He doesn’t know that I am

  going to break his h
eart one day. The thought hits me hard and I stumble in the sludge, barely being

  able to avoid falling. Wudak’s hand steadies me back on my feet.

  We’re halfway through and I can clearly see what lies ahead on the other side. A vast emptiness

  of grey and black. Boulders, rocks, dust, debris and desolation everywhere. Even the sky looks sick.

  As hard as it was to say goodbye to Finn, it was even harder with Damian. He awkwardly

  stayed at a safe distance and recounted his instructions of the last twenty-four hours. Don’t leave the receptor out of your sight, don’t trust anyone, don’t think Sliman are your friends. Then he gave me a quick hug and let me have my final moments with Pip.

  Pip’s strength surprised me. She didn’t cry, she didn’t even look sad.

  “I’m so happy to be with you again, Freya,” she said. “I love you.”

  I couldn’t help but wipe away a few tears as Wudak and I set off. It’s the first time since

  Plantation-8 that I am going to find myself without any of the Saviors around me.

  I turned my head back and looked at them one last time, with Damian towering over everyone.

  He and I said our goodbyes before the break of dawn when I had to pull myself away from his arms

  and return to my room. It was a very hard thing to do and he didn’t make it any easier.

  He held on to my hand as I got my boots on with the other. He pulled me back from the door

  right before I opened it and kissed me.

  “I’ll never leave if you don’t stop,” I complained in a whisper but the thought seemed to amuse

  him.

  “And that’s a bad thing?” he said.

  “Be serious. I need to sleep and I can’t sleep next to you. I don’t want anyone to find out like

  this.”

  “You mean Finn.”

  “I mean anyone. Especially Wudak. I’d never hear the end of it.”

  He let go of me but I am still in his arms. He’s been in my thoughts ever since. He knows that I

  chose him over Finn last night and I am not sure it was a choice I should have made, but I’m done

  with regret.

  “Here we are,” Wudak says. “Final steps.”

  He takes my hand to help me climb onto the elevated shore. There are a few dried out bushes

  here and there across the bank, but they disappear a few yards further. The only spots of shade are

  occasional huge boulders scattered around the desert floor.

  We’ve made it this far without any danger. We sit down to drink and eat a few morsels before

  we cover the last ten miles. Cinnamon bread has never smelled or tasted better.

  *

  THE FORTRESS LOOKS like a mirage, something that shouldn’t be where it is. A stolen look

  into a different world. It has been designed to look like a medieval castle with towers and turrets. It’s built with stone and metal and it’s tall enough to give you a sense of vertigo.

  “This is a huge construction,” I say to Wudak. “I don’t understand, how is it possible that the

  aliens don’t know about it?”

  “Oh, they know about it, they are the ones who commissioned Zolkon to build it.”

  I come to a sudden halt and look at Wudak frightened.

  “No,” he says, “let me finish. The fortress was built a very long time ago when Zolkon was a

  young man. The project was abandoned soon after it was finished. Zolkon has built an energy field

  around the fortress so that the aliens can’t trace life inside it.”

  “Why did they want to build it in the first place?” I ask, still feeling thrown off by all this.

  “Nobody knows. You have to understand, the aliens see us as slaves, they use us, they tell us

  what is needed and that is that. They never explain their reasons to us.”

  I try to think what Finn would have told me if he were here. But it’s too late for speculation. We

  are standing in front of the gates and Wudak announces our arrival through a speaker on the wall.

  18

  The heavy steel gates open with a groan. We walk through a dark corridor and then come out to

  a courtyard paved with stone. The different buildings that make up the fortress stand around the

  courtyard in a circle.

  Wudak leads me up a staircase. When we reach the top, we walk across some sort of balcony

  and then go through a wooden door. We enter a bright circular room with long windows. Wudak

  points to the largest window in the back of the room. Through its stained glass I see a gigantic

  beautiful garden down below, a garden like none I have seen before.

  There is a water fountain in the middle and the different paths around it lead to a wide variety of

  blossomed flowers most of which I couldn’t name. The plants get taller in the distance until they turn into trees.

  “I thought you said nothing can grow here,” I say.

  “So you were fooled. It’s not real. The plants are synthetic. One of Zolkon’s many tricks.”

  We step out of the room and walk around the balcony until we reach another door. This one

  leads to a hallway with four doors on each side and a bigger one in the back.

  “I imagine you are tired,” Wudak says. “I’ll let you change and rest in the room that has been

  prepared for you. I’ll come and get you when dinner is served.”

  He opens the first door to the right and ushers me in. The shock that I get when I enter the room

  can only be compared to the shock of discovering I could use the sensory receptor.

  This room is unlike anything I have seen before. There’s a huge bed with a silvery ceiling

  canopy, a sofa and two armchairs. There’s a coffee table with books on top. There’s a fireplace

  already burning. There’s a lush carpet on the floor.

  The two doors in the room lead to a bathroom and a huge closet. The bathroom is a marvel with

  a big marble tub and surrounding mirrors. On the counters I find some objects that look like torture

  instruments.

  Wudak is at a loss when I ask what I’m supposed to do with them. I notice that they have tags on

  them and I read them out loud, “Hair dryer, curling iron, eyelash curler.”

  “Ignore them for now. I will find out,” he says and leaves me in the middle of this mysterious

  wonderland.

  Clearly, this is not what I had envisioned when we set out on our journey early in the morning.

  This is not what I imagined I would find here when Wudak started talking about the wasteland upon

  which the fortress was built. I walk around aimlessly unable to calm myself down. I’ve been going

  from change to change for so long now. I never know what the new day will bring.

  I get out of the muddied pants and put on the only other pair I’ve brought along. When Wudak

  comes knocking on the door, I have just managed to doze off. His voice calling my name takes on the

  form of a headache. I slowly open my eyes and tell him to come in.

  He’s holding two huge plastic bags and hands them over to me as soon as I get up. “A present

  from Zolkon,” he says with clenched teeth. “He thought you’d like to try them on for dinner.”

  It’s obvious he doesn’t like whatever is in the bags but he leaves before I have a chance to ask

  the reason for that.

  I empty the contents of the bags on the bed and scratch my forehead. A present from Zolkon?

  Really? Did he go out shopping or something? I’ve never seen a dress and shoes like that except in

  photos and movies.

  The dress is white and long with straps around the shoulders. There are tiny shiny beads on the

  front and a white rose on the waist. The shoes match the
dress perfectly, white with shiny beads. I

  also find a small box on the bed and open it cautiously. I find a necklace and a pair of earrings as

  well as a lipstick and eye shades. At the bottom of the box, there is a note.

  I hope you will enjoy these small trinkets from past times. Have a bubble bath, have fun

  getting dressed and come find us in the big room in the back of the hallway. That’s where we’ll

  dine.

  About the hair dryer…plug it in and let the warm air dry your hair.

  Zolkon

  I have a vague memory of a hair dryer. Maybe in a movie or a magazine. I want to call Wudak to

  ask him if this is a joke. How could it not be? Who plans and devises wars and rebellions in the

  middle of such luxury? I’m here to have the receptor readjusted, because our lives depend on it.

  I know all this. Yet, the fabric feels so soft and fragrant. I open the lipstick and apply a thin layer of red color on my lips. I go to the bathroom and find brushes and combs in the drawers. I turn on the hot water and prepare a bubble bath. I can pretend I am somebody else for a while.

  I remember Damian’s advice to never let go of the receptor so I go and take it from under the

  pillow and place it next to the bathtub. I let myself sink in the hot bubbly water and I feel my muscles relax in an instant.

  When I look in the mirror with my white dress and shoes on, my brown hair falling in curls on

  my shoulders and back, with the silver necklace around my neck, I have a hard time recognizing the

  person who stands there with a smile on her face. I never knew I could be pretty and it seems I am no

  longer a girl at all. I look like a woman from the magazines we’ve seen in Lost Town.

  I pause in front of the door and take a deep breath. Then I knock and Wudak’s voice invites me

  to go in. There are two Sliman besides Wudak in the big room that looks like a library. The walls are

  lined up with books all the way to the ceiling. Old, leather-bound books in all the colors of the

  rainbow. The table where the Sliman sit looks two hundred years old. There are lit candles and a

  vase of flowers on it.

  The Sliman get up when I walk in the room and bow their heads. I glance at Wudak to get some

  encouragement but his face is dark and unreadable.

  Zolkon introduces himself to me and takes my hand. He leads me to a chair next to his. He’s the