Glistening Haven: A Shape Shifting Dystopian Boxset

by Jill Cooper

  “That can be arranged.” He snapped his fingers, a few technicians nodded and hurriedly left the room.

  Good. Time to start the game. Jenna hated waiting around.

  ****

  Squeamish, Rebecca had never witnessed a glistening recondition before. New Haven had been in no rush to let her in on their secret techniques and Rebecca was glad. Not because she really cared if glistenings were injured, but because she had a weak stomach.

  Now as they brought Jenna in, Rebecca watched from behind protected glass and her stomach rolled. It was like she had drank some sour milk or eaten too many Cheetos before bed. She felt gross. Sick.

  Her eyes darted away as the door opened and Gerard was at her side. His hand rested on her shoulder. “It’s best they get her to fall in line now before the pregnancy advances too far. We are going to need her cooperation for the tests.”

  “I know.” Rebecca swallowed and refused to look in the window. “If it gets out that I’m here.”...”

  “It won’t. This New Haven is quite different than the others, isn’t it?” Gerard smirked. “Briggs working for me keeps him under control. And we’ll be the first to know when he cures the first glistening. Then that serum, it’ll be ours.”

  “And if the baby doesn’t survive?” Rebecca asked.

  His head gestured to the glass. “She did. I’m sure whatever traits she had that protected her were passed onto her baby, but in the event she doesn’t, she had other eggs. We’ll just make another.”

  Rebecca shook her head. This plan felt all wrong. “Jenna could be the downfall of this entire project. Curing the glistenings, developing a youth serum, destroying the glistenings need to feed, she could stand in our way of it all.”

  “We’ll have to make sure she’s under our control then, won’t we? New Haven rarely fails a reconditioning. We should count our lucky stars they’re on our side.”

  “I know. Her husband. Dirk. He’ll never stop looking for her.”

  “Let him look.” Gerard rubbed his jaw. “Is he a friend of yours?”

  Rebecca shrugged. “We’ve been friendly. Friendlier at least than me and Jenna. He’s never threatened to kill me.”

  “Good.” Gerard ran his hands down her arms and pulled her in for a kiss. “Then you’ll go to him. Tell him enough truth to get him to trust you. Then lead him away. Then, we will do away with him for good.”

  Rebecca scowled. “It’s going to take a lot of convincing.”

  “You’re a politician. You’re good at it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven Jenna

  Jenna had seen the inside of a reconditioning room, but only in her deepest nightmares did she think she’d be inside one.

  Stripped of her dignity and her clothes, she was tied to an old steel chair. They kept the room freezing cold and then made it so hot that she couldn’t see past her own sweat. Her arms were scrunched forward and tied beneath her seat so her shoulders and back screamed in agony.

  The bright lights shone in her eyes so Jenna couldn’t make out anything and when they turned off, Jenna could still see spots traveling around the room.

  “How many lights do you see?” The booming voice over the intercom said.

  “What lights?” Jenna said in a small voice she didn’t even recognize as her own.

  A jolt of electricity traveled up through the chair and through her naked, tired body. Jenna gritted her teeth and refused a scream lodged in her throat. She clamped her teeth down on her tongue, counted to ten, and when the pain passed, let out a slow shallow breath.

  The ceiling opened up and water drenched her. The heat was turned down and she began to shiver.

  Her teeth chattered and Jenna forced her mind from the room. Anywhere else would be preferable to where she was. She clung to memories, to seeing Dirk’s smiling face.

  The lights flipped back on and the speakers boomed to life and pounding beats of drums, alarms, and screaming sirens filled the room. Desperate to stay inside herself, Jenna squeezed her eyes shut.

  She saw a swinging door and blue curtains she hadn’t seen since she was a little girl. Jenna sat curled up by the window and could see the playground across the street. She wanted to go play like the other kids she could see on the swings and going down the slide. Sighing, she put her chin in her hands and her red pigtails swept in front of her eyes.

  “Lunch, Jenna.” A voice called and Jenna took off running, tripping on the door frame that led into the kitchen.

  Jane was young and beautiful with long red hair just like hers. Jenna took her place at the table as her mom put down a cheeseburger. It was Jenna’s favorite. “Thank you,” Jenna’s voice was little and sweet. Handed a cup of special juice, Jenna smiled at her mother with adoration.

  “Eat up, sweetheart.” Jane’s hand swept over the little girl’s head before she bustled back to the counter to rinse out the frying pan.

  The burger was big in Jenna’s hands and she tried her best to keep it from falling apart. “When can I go to the playground again?”

  Jane sighed and took a seat beside her daughter. “You know I wish you could play. Go outside with the other kids. But you’ve been so sick. I just want to make sure you’re better. That the seizures are under control.”

  Jenna frowned and put her burger down. “I just want to be normal.”

  “You are.” Jane clamped Jenna’s hands in her own. “You are as normal as anyone you see out your window. I just want you safe. Soon we’ll have an answer. Your daddy is working hard. And soon I think he’ll have an answer.” She cupped Jenna’s face in her hands and her face lit up. “I’m sorry you’re sad. You’re everything to me, Jenna. Everything.”

  Jenna pushed back her chair and hurried into her mother’s arms. Jane lifted her up and crushed her in a cocoon like hug. Jenna rested her head on Jane’s shoulder and let out a big sigh.

  “I love you, Momma.” Jenna kissed her cheek and saw a trail of blood on her skin. Jenna touched her nose and saw traces of it on her fingers.

  It was happening again.

  “Mommy?” Jenna’s voice reached a shrieking pitch and her eyes closed. She lost control of her limbs and her body thrashed.

  But Jane’s arms were strong, holding her down and moving her to the floor. Jenna was so afraid, but couldn’t talk. Couldn’t voice anything at all, as her head rocked back and forth on the rug. But, Jane’s hand was there to protect her.

  And her soothing voice was all Jenna focused on. “It’s okay, baby. I’m here. Mommy has you. Who is my sunshine? Who is my ray of love?”

  ***

  “Mommy?” Jenna’s voice cracked and when she opened her eyes she saw images flashing before her on a projector screen. Life in New Haven. Women smiling with their children as they pushed strollers. Men laughing as they tossed a football.

  “Life in New Haven is a good life.” The male’s voice came from the speakers.

  Jenna squeezed her eyes shut and shivered. Her arms were screaming for relief. Pain was replaced by tingling. She couldn’t wiggle her fingers anymore. All she could do was keep her eyes clamped shut and refuse to see the images on the screen.

  She sang to block out the voice, humming an old Metallica song from back in the day before the glistening war. Even singing the old song her mom once sang to her when she was a little girl, “My Sunshine.” How many years had it been since she thought of that?

  Now it was all she could think of.

  Jenna was seized on both sides by people she didn’t even realize where there. She yelped and her heart pounded in terror. They gripped her head back and pried her eyes open with no pity, no regard for her pain and put several drops into her eyes.

  A gag was stuffed in her mouth and a thick bandage was wrapped around her head and secured around the base of her neck. It was so tight she could barely breathe. Jenna gagged and thought she might choke. She might die right there and no one would care. No one she loved would ever be the wiser.

  The baby in her would never see life. />
  Deep regret washed over her as a needle was stuck against her skin against her neck. It pinched and then they let her go, rocking her head back and forth in the chair causing her whip lash.

  The images on the screen continued and Jenna couldn’t blink. She couldn’t scream. They had taken everything from her.

  Everything.

  “Move on to phase two.” The voice on the speaker said and if Jenna’s eyes were still able to produce tears, she would have cried.

  ****

  She was untied and her mouth was free, but Jenna was too tired to move. Men were in the room and dressed her in a pair of loose pants and a sweatshirt. Her legs were too heavy for her to assist them, or even fight them. The men lifted them for her and once she was dressed, they hoisted her up by her waist. Her arms were placed on the shoulders of two men and they dragged her to the door.

  The hall lights blinded her. Jenna and shuffled her feet until they came to a small door.

  One of the men unlocked it and then she was seen inside. It was a small eight-by-eight cell. The floor was dirt and there was no cot. No pillow and not even a bucket to piss in. They helped her sit down on the floor against the wall. Jenna figured she should feel lucky that they weren’t tossing her against it.

  “We’ll be back for you tomorrow.”

  Jenna just stared at him. He left, closing the small door which had only a small bared window at the top.

  “It’s going to take a while to break her.” She heard the man say on the outside as he locked her cell. “But we’ll get there. She’s making progress.”

  Progress.

  Jenna huffed and wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her legs in tight to try to stop the trembling. To try and warm up. She was shaking so bad, even her lips were quivering.

  The speakers snapped.

  And the loud music and sounds were back, but this time they were only worse.

  Louder. More intense.

  And with no end in sight.

  Jenna tucked her legs beneath her body and her head rocked back against the wall. She put her hands over her ears to try to drown out the noise.

  And she cried, a wailing sob that started in the pit of her stomach but went as far as to break her heart.

  But she couldn’t hear her cries, not over the music.

  And certainly not over her own screams.

  ****

  The music ended.

  There were no windows in her cell so Jenna had no idea how much time had passed. Or if she slept at all except for a few feverish like memories of the past.

  It had been a good amount of time because her stomach was roaring with hunger and her throat was besieged with thirst. If someone from New Haven was in there right now, Jenna would have begged them for food. Humiliated and red faced, but she would have begged nonetheless.

  THUNK—A sliding door against the wall opened and a tray of food slide along the dirt floor. Jenna’s belly roiled with hunger. Milk, and a big meaty looking sandwich. She crawled over to it, even touched the plate, but she couldn’t…just couldn’t pick the sandwich up. This was part of their game. Part of their tactic. She should know.

  Get her to eat the sandwich, get part of her to submit, and the rest of it will fall in place sooner or later. It was how New Haven thought because it was what worked.

  But she was so hungry. Jenna’s mouth was salivating and the smell of the barbeque beef sandwich might as well have been a long lost lover, she was that hungry.

  She gritted her teeth and looked away from it, her fists clenched on her lip, her fingernails digging into her skin.

  Outside she heard a groan and the shuffling of feet.

  Another captive glistening no doubt, Jenna thought and rose to her feet. Peering out the small window she saw two uniformed New Haven officers walking down the hall with someone. Whoever she was, was in a long blue night gown and her long brown hair was greasy and unkempt. Jenna thought she was being taken care of better than this person, whoever she was. They must not have viewed her as important; that or they were trying to teach her a lesson.

  The woman tripped and her hair lashed at her mouth. One of the officers snatched her by the waist to keep her from falling. Her hands splayed out, like she couldn’t really see the hall. It was like watching a toddler learning to walk for the first time, each of her steps was a shuffle and unsure.

  Jenna looked away, couldn’t watch. It was painful. Painful because that would be her if they kept doping her up—and if she didn’t get something to eat soon.

  Her eyes snapped back to the window when an officer said, “Easy Wendy.”

  Wendy?

  Her heart pounded and against everything that in her said hope was dead, Jenna clung to it. She studied the woman’s face. The woman’s hand brushed back her hair and that was when Jenna caught a glimpse of her nose and of one blue eye. She would never forget that nose or those eyes because she kissed them every day good-bye.

  Wendy Reynolds was alive.

  New Haven bastards, Jenna thought and fell to her knees, crashing right beside her tray. Wendy was being held prisoner in New Haven and had been for almost a year. It was horrible, but it gave Jenna purpose.

  It gave her a mission.

  Without thought Jenna picked up the sandwich and began to eat in big gulping bites. If she was going to escape and break Wendy out of there, Jenna was going to need all her strength.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight Dirk

  Chicago was locked down tighter than a virgin’s legs. Nothing in and nothing out.

  Dirk parked his car in the outskirts of town and hiked the rest of the way toward where Jane’s compound was located. When he came to a checkpoint, he used his New Haven credentials to get past and each time he prayed they wouldn’t run his name to find out he had been marked as inactive.

  And each time he was let past, he was pushing his luck. Knew the next time he might not be so lucky and if he ended up detained, the game would be over.

  It took him some time, but he managed to get just a few blocks from the site. He had to hope that when he arrived, there would be a way to sneak in and find some evidence as to what happened to Jenna. Dirk just had to keep hope alive he wouldn’t find a body.

  If he did, all bets were off. He didn’t know what his response would be, but ripping New Haven aparta part limb from limb was a viable option. At this point, all options were viable.

  The area was quarantined off with officers and police tape. Dirk ended up sequestered with a bunch of reporters, all waiting for their chances to get closer, ask questions and probably flash a few photos.

  One of them was a brunette maverick beauty. Dirk recognized her as Melissa Chong from the internet Vids. She had a reputation for doing what needed to be done to get a story, no matter the cost. Now her face was set with stubborn determination and her eyes sparkled with defiance. It was a look Dirk was familiar with and it made his body physically ache to find Jenna.

  “We are the press. We have the right to answers!” She shouted to no one in particular and when the police turned their backs to her, Melissa sighed with obvious frustration.

  “Excuse me, Ma’am.” Dirk used his police voice.

  She turned with a cocked eyebrow. “And who are you?”

  “New Haven police, retired.” Dirk flashed his badge quickly before tucking it back in his pocket. “Any word on what happened last night?”

  Melissa crossed her arms. “Well if you’re New Haven, why are you asking me? Shouldn’t I be the one interviewing you?”

  “Retired.” Dirk said with a wry smile. “Like I said. Cut me some slack and just fill me in. I’m not the enemy, Ms. Chong. And might I say you’re even more beautiful in person.”

  “If you want me on your side, complimenting my beauty isn’t the way to go. I’m a journalist. Not some debutant in a skirt.” She rolled her eyes.

  Dirk uncrossed his arms. “Okay, look. If I can give you a scoop, the biggest scoop of your career, can you just answer some questions?”r />
  Her face softened. “What kind of scoop. How big?”

  Dirk shrugged casually. “One that could bring New Haven to its knees. But if you’d rather someone else break the story, then I’ll just wait until I find the right--.”

  She held up her hand. “I’m listening. Fire away.”

  “Just tell me everything you know.”

  Melissa sighed. “Last night a tip was received that glistenings were headed to a private underground research center, run by humans. To receive help and aid. But I guess the glistenings turned on them because they leveled the building.”

  Leveled. Dirk fought to remain composed, but his innards were screaming. “And the official word is glistenings did this?”

  She nodded. “You don’t believe it?”

  “What if I were to tell you I was in that building last night when we evacuated? What if I were to tell you glistenings wouldn’t have needed to use charges to bring that building down?”

  “Are you saying it was an inside job?” Melissa leaned in and hissed. “That the police—no, New Haven, brought down a building? Why?”

  “To contain a problem. To contain human support for glistenings and as of thirty-six hours ago, Jake Monroe was in that building.”

  She wiped her mouth. “So New Haven was trying to take him out before he could broker peace?”

  “Or before he could lead a full-fledged rebellion. And be damned the human casualties.”

  “War is war.” Melissa said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. “Wait,” she studied his face. “I know where I’ve seen you before. You were with Mr. Monroe at the senate hearing. You were supposed to protect him.”

  Dirk’s jaw set tight. “And I did the best I could. Now I need to get in there and find evidence of what brought that building down and where—if any survivors—they were taken?”

  Melissa’s eyes narrowed and she sized him up. “And you’ll bring me the evidence?”

  “I’m going to need someone to broadcast it.”