by H. J. Lawson
“There you are,” Madison yells as she enters our cart, “should have known you'd be here,” she says bluntly, looking at the boys.
My bottom lip drops down. “Sorry,” I smile.
She shakes her head, smiling back. “I thought you hadn't gotten onto the shuttle,” she comments as she approaches.
“Come on, food is being served in our cart,” she says, waving me forward.
Lowell brings his two fingers together, gently places them on his lips, and then onto the back of my hand. He's reminding me of the kiss we secretly shared in the cover of darkness, back in Cueva. There is lightness in my heart as I unwillingly release my fingers from his. I hope he's not selected and we can both live in Cueva together.
Chapter Four
My stomach feels stretched beyond what is humanly possible; I've eaten far too much.
“I think I'm going to explode!” Madison laughs, as she rubs her belly and slouches back into the comfortable seat.
“Me too,” I agree.
This was one of their best meals I've had on the shuttle; and they gave us ice cream, chocolate cake, and fruit for dessert. We cannot get any of these things back home. This was a taste of life in Purenet.
“I cannot wait to get out of the Cueva!” Madison’s brown eyes glisten with excitement.
I stare at her for a moment; this is the last time we will be together before our lives change. I'm going to lose everyone. My throat dries up at the thought.
“Are you still not sure?” Madison asks.
I wish she could read my mind, too, just like my family.
“I want to stay and care for my mother and I don't want to be a Host, but I don’t want to leave you and you-know-who,” I whisper.
Madison scans the shuttle to see if any of the Outsiders are watching us, but they aren't—I've already checked.
“I know, trust me, that's the last thing I want to do. No, the last thing is be a Bazi. What choice do we have? We cannot live underground for the rest of our lives. Everyone is leaving the Cueva—it will be empty soon.”
The thought of being a Bazi repulses me. How can people sell themselves as sexual toys for the rich in Purenet? The Chancellor hand-selects them and they get to live with him in his quarters and go on visits to other Sanctions. It's a sign of the Chancellor's wealth and power over the Sanctions.
Madison is right. Everyone is leaving, either through selection or death, or by just disappearing. They have lost the fight, simply given up, like the generations before us.
Silently I stare out the window at the blurry white tunnel. Then, before my eyes, it changes. Now we are above ground. I know it will only be for a few seconds and I try to take it all in.
I see bright blue, cloudless skies. Mountain tops break the skyline. There is a silhouette standing proudly on top of the peaks, but it is not a human... it looks like an animal with horns. The landscape is different from what I remember. There is a hint of green on the old desert landscape. Life is growing back.
Before I can finish taking it all in, we are back in a tunnel. And as quickly as it appeared, hope is gone again.
I turn to Madison and her mouth is gaping open, at the flash of the view we got.
“What animal do you think it was?” I say.
Madison shrugs her shoulders, “I've never seen anything like that in the history apps before,” she says.
“It was a deer,” Madam Enid states as she approaches our table. “Nice of you to join us,” she smiles, back to her cheery self.
“Madam Enid. I will remind you to stick to the Cueva curriculum designed by our Chancellor,” Madam Uri says as she follows Madam Enid to the next car.
“She's always teaching them information that's not on the curriculum,” the other Outsiders mutter as they follow the pack out of our car and on to inspect the next one.
“Do you think she'll ever give Madam Enid a break?” Madison asks.
“Nope, and the others are just as bad, always joining in with Madam Uri.”.
“It's a good thing that Madam Uri wasn't born in Cueva,” Madison says.
“Why?”
“Can you ever imagine anyone selecting her to be a Host? Or a Bazi?” Madison shudders, as we laugh together.
The train journey flies by faster than I had hoped.
“Ladies, gather your belongings. We are here,” Madam Enid announces. Some of the girls gather up their satchels. Most of us have nothing but the clothes on our backs and our bar codes. Father would add a couple bitcoins to our accounts for trips like this; now we have no bitcoins.
The shuttle comes to a halt and the girls mumble in excitement.
“Hush... hush, ladies, please do not bring any disruption to the Cueva. We are here as the Chancellor's guests. Please remember that,” Madam Enid announces proudly, as the shuttle door opens.
As we exit the gate we are greeted by heavily-armed guards. Shields cover half of their faces, and what remains is a blank expression.
“We are guests of the Chancellor; it is the class' school trip,” Madam Enid informs one of the guards.
A guard lifts up his face shield. “We will be your escort today,” he announces, to our surprise. Normally we don't have an escort, except for the Outsiders.
“Escorts?” Madam Enid repeats.
“Correct. Chancellor's orders.”
Madam Enid grinds her teeth together.
“May I ask why?” I blurt out.
An eerie silence fills the gate. Everyone else wanted to ask the question but didn't have the guts to do it.
“Excuse me?” The guard takes a step closer. “Are you disobeying an order? Before you even get out of the Gate?”
“Excuse me, sir. I didn't realize asking a question is disobeying the order,” I snap.
Easy, sis. My brother's voice rings in my mind.
I know... I know.
“Outsiders, keep these Cuevas in order! Or the trip will be over before it has begun and you will be staying in Cuevas forever.” The guard squints his eyes, creating craters of wrinkles in his face as he sneers at Madam Enid.
Madam Enid takes a step closer to him. She is like me, or I'm like her, not willing to stand down when something is wrong.
“We understand,” Madam Uri's deep voice rings out, cutting Madam Enid off before she can reply.
She is an Outsider, and it's clear to everyone that Madam Uri hates living in the Cueva, even more than the other Outsiders. She will do anything to get back into Purenet. Because of this, I trust her the least. Everyone knows she's a mole in our Cueva.
She has her hand firmly gripped onto Madam Enid's petite shoulder. Madam Uri is almost double the size of Madam Enid—if it wasn't for her long, black hair, you'd think she was a man.
There is a silent standoff between the guard and Madam Uri. She would clearly win in a fist fight.
Madam Uri steps forward to the control panel to scan her hand, taking control of the situation.
The guard steps to the side indicating we can pass by. “One more wrong move...”
Chapter Five
A red laser beam scans our bodies. This is the last checkpoint for us to get into Purenet. They are checking to make sure we don't bring any diseases or viruses with us. They don't want us to infect their precious people, while ours are left at home to die.
A guard with white gloves signals for me to move forward, and I pass his exam. Part of me wants to fail, to make my decision for me.
“Come on, come on, keep moving,” the guard orders, as he points toward the silver doors.
Standing motionless for a moment, I gather my thoughts. “I thought the Cueva were meant to be smart,” one of the guards mumbles under his breath to the man next to him.
I shoot him a vile look. I know the insults will come, but the first one always hurts the most.
“You ready?” Madison asks as she stands by my side.
I nod.
We scan our hands and the double doors begin to open to the center of Purenet. This
is the hub for their city—they get to go to restaurants, which are scattered throughout this area, and it's the connecting point for their homes and offices.
My feet are frozen to the ground as I memorize the sea of people quickly moving around with hassles of their everyday lives. The sounds are overwhelming.
Before I can cover my ears, Madison takes my hand and squeezes it tightly. We need each other's strength today.
Kids pass us in orderly formations on boards that hover above the ground. Instead of the normal blue glow coming from under the boards, there are rainbows of color. The kids all have identical white jump suits on with a reflecting track running down the seams, making their suits look like they glow as they catch the sunlight. They are on their way to school.
They stare at me as if I brought an unwanted smell with me, making me feel even more uncomfortable. My heavy dress sits awkwardly under my arm pits; I tilt my head as if I'm looking sideways and sniff.
Phew, it's not me.
“Come on, girls, they will not bite.” Madam Enid smiles as she walks past us.
I can do this; I take in a deep breath. I begin to walk forward.
Automatically I look up toward the glass dome surrounding the Purenet compound. My eyes well up with the brightness of the clear blue sky and with the sun blazing in its full glory.
My body shudders at the sight of the sunlight, as I'm always aware of the terrorizing harmful rays, yet I still yearn for them.
“Skylier... Skylier, look,” Madison nudges me in the ribs, breaking my trance.
The normal sea of bright, blinding-white has changed. They are still wearing their normal white clothing, but there is color. My mouth falls open in surprise.
Their hair is pure white like mine, but theirs isn't natural; they use chemicals to strip all the color from theirs. Only now, they have slices of different, bright colors running through it.
Madison reaches up to my chin to close my mouth.
“Look at their hair!” she squeals.
Purenet looks so different from the last time we were here, and that was only a year ago.
The structure still looks the same once I look past everything else. All of the store fronts in the hub used to be identical, crisp white gloss, with the store or restaurant name digitally displayed above it in a neon blue text. Now they have different colors. Some even have pictures. There is bright product outside the stores, drawing passersby in.
The order of Purenet has been somehow lost and replaced with an element of happiness, giving off a warm feel instead of the coldness of the white interior.
“There have been a few changes since the Chancellor's son Xander got married to Shristi, an Untouchable from Rubin Sanction. She has brought her very own brightness here,” Madam Enid announces happily.
Everyone in Cueva had watched the wedding in the communal area at Cueva on the big screen. Purenet normally uses it for punishment or banishment announcements, which I never attend.
Shristi’s wedding gown was stark white, her new Sanction element, and her headdress was made of colorful flowers. Xander was wearing the Sanction's highest soldiers' uniform—a fitted jacket with matching white pants. It really was a dream-like ceremony, much grander than what we do.
Our tradition is that the male gives the female a token of his love. This token is passed from mother to son, showing their love for one another, and then on to his bride.
Mother calls hers a twig ring, because it looked like branches from a tree like our ancestors drew. But she is wrong. It is the same as the antlers I saw on the animal today.
“Skylier, you would look beautiful with the color highlights,” Madam Enid adds as she softly strokes my hair.
“Less of the chit-chat. We have a schedule we need to stick to,” Madam Uri snaps, instantly dampening the mood.
Always on a schedule; I would just like to wander around. I could spend the whole day in the hub looking at the beautiful flowers. And no one is even stopping to smell them.
Quickly I walk over to them, before the rest can notice I'm not with the group. The soft petals brush across my nose as I take in a deep whiff of the sweet-smelling flower.
I wonder what they are called. I will have to ask.
They are roses... rings in my mind.
Rian, how do you know that?
Who's Rian? Wait. Can you hear my thoughts?
What, that's not Rian in my mind, who is it?
Quickly turning around, I see a young guard around my age standing next to me. He looks as confused as I am.
Did you just read my mind?
Get out of my head. You are not welcome in here! I snap at him.
We both jump back in surprise, our eyes locked on to each other in shock. How can we read each other's thoughts?
I'm Dax, I mean you no harm... we have to get back to the group before they miss us.
His voice rings softly through my mind like a rhythm that has always been there.
Chapter Six
That was freaky! I will tell Mother when I get back. I'm going to stay as far away from him as I can, and block him out of my mind.
I thought only families could read each other's minds, and not every family can do it—females are stronger than males.
Father said it was because females are nosy, always wanting to know what's happening. It's also limited to a handful of families born in the Cueva. Mother said it's because of all the years spent together in a close, dark place; somehow we became connected on another level. But still, I don't like the idea of other people entering my mind.
As we take the tour of the food plant—the Chancellor's way of showing us how grand they are and how grateful we should be—I feel Dax's eyes watching me.
I find the tour interesting, but I try not to let on. The food is grown from cows' stem cells—they call it “bio meat.” Cows used to roam the land before the wars, and people would eat the animals. Now there are few left, as most are dead from the chemical fallout.
They show us where they add in the vitamins and there is a long, impressive list on the wall in the lab, explaining what each one does. The list also explains why age and sex determine which meat you get. When the bio meat arrives at the Cueva once a week, it's divided up into these different sections, and the cook's job is to heat up the food. I never understood why our food had our numbers on the lids. Now it makes sense.
I've always had an interest in science, like my mother. One day I hope to work in the labs.
“Are we nearly done? This is boring,” Madison whispers to me.
“You may learn something.” I smile back at her.
“What, that our ancestors were crazy people trying to blow up the planet, dropping nuclear bombs on each other, poisoning the earth and creating a giant hole in the ozone layer that killed nearly everyone and now because of them we live in caves? Oh wait, I already know that,” she says smugly.
“All right, you are right.” I shrug.
She frowns, “I wish I wasn't.”
“Now it's time to try out some of the food we make. Also, as it's Selection day, you get to try out food from different Sanctions.”
I smile at the lab worker with satisfaction.
The mixture of different foods drifts up my nose as soon as I enter the dining area; I especially notice the sweet smells of chocolates and fruits. My mouth waters at the array of food offered. We all head over to the food table with its delicious variety of food. Many of these treats I've never tasted before. If I became a Host, every day I could try something new, and smell the roses. As I glance around the room, my classmates have a puzzled look on their faces, as if they are thinking the same thing as me.
“Help yourselves,” the lab worker adds.
Everyone freezes for a moment, not used to having a choice. A click of plates from a worker breaks the awkward unknown and a classmate starts digging into the food.
We all quickly join in.
“What's this?” I ask Lowell, who's managed to slide in next to me.<
br />
“I haven't got a clue.” We both stare oddly at the red thing on my fork.
“Madam Enid, what's this?” I say, waving the fork.
She smiles. “A strawberry—they are good, taste them,” she says, nodding her head, to the annoyance of Madam Uri.
“I guess that's not on our curriculum either,” Madison whispers.
“Guess not,” I say just before placing the strawberry into my mouth.
As I bite down on the soft sweet texture inside, I can almost taste the perfume that's radiating from it.
I turn to Madam Enid. “Delicious,” I say as the strawberry bulges from the side of my mouth. The juice pours into my mouth, which I quickly close.
“As bad as your brother,” Lowell says, as he wipes the juice from the edge of my mouth. His hand gently sweeps across my face, making my cheeks tingle.
“Less of that, Lowell and Skylier,” Madam Uri yells. Lowell's hand instantly drops down toward his plate, leaving my cheeks to heat up with embarrassment.
We quickly pile our plates with all the treats, catching one another's eyes and smiling.
Lowell and I sit next to one another, but our hands don't touch. Madam Uri hasn't taken her eyes off us. Madison is seated on the other side of me, and Rian across from us. We all make small talk about the food and steal other tasty treats, which we hadn't spotted, from each other's plates. Every so often someone asks what type of food they are eating and Madam Enid takes great pleasure answering. I wonder if she worked in a food lab when she was living in Purenet.
Rian tilts his head at me, requesting that I open my mind to him.
Have you decided? Rian's mind asks the question his lips cannot.
I don't know, I reply honestly. I'm going to miss you, my mind adds.
Rian smiles. You will see me on the big screen; I will win the money for mother. I just hope she has time to wait for it... Rian's mind trails off before he can stop; the smile fades as sorrow creeps in.
She'll wait for you, my mind lies.
Rian's warm eyes stare at me, knowing I'm lying. His eyes seem older than before; my younger brother is turning into a man.
