She wondered if she’d ever get sold again, or if she’d end up like her mama, living at the Confinement with a dozen different men over the years and having a dozen babies, and in the end getting sick and dying without ever getting bought. No grand house for mama to clean, no little sapien hut out back to call her own.
Now that Mama had died, Cali could have her spot in the house if she wanted it, but she didn’t know if she did. When she’d been younger, it had seemed great to live in a real house outside the bunkhouses. Now the little houses didn’t offer Cali the same protection they offered others—her bloodsuckers would come and find her, no matter where she lived. And living in that house would only make her think of her mama dying, and the mean girls might make things even harder if they thought she was getting uppity by moving to a house. They’d already beaten her up once, and right after that mean bloodsucker had tossed her across the garden, too. Lucky she’d landed on a nice soft garden bed instead of a rock. Then she’d really have been in bad shape and gotten it even worse from Ruth and the girls.
That wasn’t even the worst of it, though. The worst part was that she’d been in the garden with that bloodsucker, and if she hadn’t gone out there with him, the humans might have gotten away. They might have made it to South America this time. After all, someone had to make it one of these times, right? If she’d hadn’t gone to the garden, maybe they would have been the ones to get there. But she’d been brainless, talking to that Superior like he really cared what she had to say. If it weren’t for her, and him, three people would be on their way south by now. Instead, they were at the blood bank.
34
Draven sat up in bed and reached for his buzzing pod. Twisting his body sent an arrow of pain into his very bones, so he had to maneuver his whole body around to retrieve the device. He tapped it on after a moment’s hesitation.
“Draven?” Lira said. “Holy sap-crap, are you okay? I heard you got hurt. Then I heard you almost died.”
“I’m all right. Thank you.”
“Really? Because I heard you were in the hospital. Do you want me to visit? Do you need anything?”
“No, thank you. I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I know we got in a fight last time I saw you, but we can forget all that, right? I’m not mad anymore. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes.”
“I could come visit. I know something that would make you feel better.” Lira smiled sweetly. But he knew better now.
“How did you know I was here?” he asked.
“Oh, um, my boss told me. I guess she’s attached to some friend of yours or something, or she heard from her friend who heard from your friend, I don’t know. Someone you know knows her. Anyway, that’s not the point. You sure I can’t help? I do know exactly what you like. I’ll do that thing with my tongue you like so much.” She gave him a suggestive smile. She was quite good at doing that thing with her tongue. Unfortunately she used her tongue far more often for other things—like talking.
“Lira, I’m hardly in the mood.”
“Oh. Right. Well, I’m sure I could think of some other way to make you feel better.”
He sighed. “Thank you. I’ll let you know if I need anything the hospital can’t provide.”
“Good. I’ll be expecting to hear from you.”
“Good day, Lira.”
“Adios, mi honcho. Don’t forget. If you need anything, anytime. Don’t forget to call. I’ll be waiting.” She sang this last into her pod.
Draven returned his pod to the table. He wished he hadn’t answered. He needed more morphine to deal with Lira. He called for a nurse, and after his shot, he slept again.
He awakened to find Cali in the room, and he started upright so quickly that a sharp pain slammed him back. Hyoki gripped Cali’s arm, and Draven could see Cali’s jaw tighten. She looked like she was enduring a great pain. His thirst was great, and need sharpened his senses. Her scent needled him until the roots of his teeth throbbed.
“Unhand her,” he told Hyoki.
Hyoki released Cali and pushed her towards Draven’s bed. Cali turned and resisted, more for show than anything else, Draven imagined, as of course her attempt proved futile.
“Byron ordered me to bring you this one, to feed you and to show you she still lives.”
“Bring her to me, and leave us,” he said.
Hyoki lifted Cali and brought the resistant sapien to the bed. Draven reached out and took Cali’s wrist before Hyoki released her. “Should I help you with her?” Hyoki asked.
“I’ve strength enough.”
Hyoki shot him a doubtful look, but she left the room, glancing back at Draven before closing the door. He looked up at Cali, who struggled to free her wrist from his grip. After a bit, he grew weary of her attempts and pulled her against the bed. “Why do you struggle this way, little sap? What has come over you?”
In answer, she ceased struggling and looked him directly in the eyes in defiance.
“It seems you are unharmed,” he said. “I wish I could say the same for myself. I feared I had injured you when I pushed you in the garden. I intended no harm. I’m glad to find you well.”
Still she did not answer, but only glared at him in her sullen way and tried to pull her hand from his. “Come, my jaani,” he said. “I mean you no harm.”
His injuries had weakened him and left him ravenous, and the scent of her sap left him drunk with thirst. Though she remained reluctant, she ceased struggling. He wished to speak further, but he could not concentrate with her alluring aroma so near his hunger. “May I draw from your arm, here?”
She raised her chin and looked down on him in his hospital bed. “No.”
He jerked her down on him. Even her slight weight sent a knife of pain straight through him, along the path the shard had driven. He grabbed a handful of Cali’s hair at the crown of her head and wrenched her head back.
“Then I’ll draw elsewhere,” he said, and let his hunger guide him into the source. He could hardly breathe through the pain, but he did not shift her weight from him. He drew hard, a moan of pain escaping his throat with every breath. She lay motionless while he drew. When he had drawn too long, she reached for his hair, wrapped her hands into the tangled mess and tightening her grip.
“Stop, you’re going to kill me,” she gasped in a strangled voice. He withdrew and sealed the punctures slowly, letting the cold slipperiness of his tongue travel over her throat and linger until her skin had drawn up in a chill. He remembered her complaining of his thoroughness, so he let his tongue play over her skin a minute longer. Only then did he push her off. She lay on her back beside him, breathing hard. He could tell that he’d frightened her, and he was glad.
“Do not say no to me,” he said, his voice hard and smooth. “Another Superior would have you punished.”
“I hope I never see you again.”
“I did not mean to throw you, or hurt you, in the garden. I caught those saps for you. I’m here because one nearly killed me. I could have died. For you, Cali.”
Cali stood, shaky and pale. Her glare surprised him. “I thought you were different, that you were a good one. But you’re not. You’re evil.”
She turned and approached the door and knocked. Hyoki opened it and grasped the back of Cali’s neck. “Are you satisfied?” Hyoki asked from the doorway.
Draven looked hard at Cali. “No,” he said. “Bring me another. A well-behaved one. This one does not know how to please me.”
35
By the time Hyoki returned, Draven had already gained strength from his meal with Cali. But he did not feel better. Hyoki entered with the boy Draven had caught escaping. The young sap stared at the floor. “This is what Byron sent? Why?” Draven asked, knowing there would be a reason.
“He wanted you to be assured that your wish was carried out.” She pushed the boy forward. He stumbled a few steps before halting. “Walk,” Hyoki said, but the boy did not move. He didn’t fight, the way Cali had.
He simply stood, motionless. Hyoki guided the boy to the bed, and he stood beside Draven with his head still hanging down.
“I hear you received the appropriate treatment,” Draven said to the boy. “I’m sorry you had to go to the blood bank before I awoke. Are you quite weak?”
The sapien did not move. All sapiens seemed determined to ignore him today. “Look at me,” Draven said, but the boy didn’t move. Draven looked at Hyoki. “What’s wrong with him?”
“I do not know,” she said in her precise, accented voice. “He was like this when I got him. Was he different before?”
“Yes.” Draven took the sap’s head in his hand and lifted the chin. The eyes were empty, blinking but unseeing. Dead eyes. He dropped the sapien’s chin and it settled back onto its chest. “I will take it, because I need the strength. Would you do me a favor while you’re here, Hyoki? Would you tell Byron I’d like to speak with him?”
“Yes, Draven. I know you like eating alone. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He didn’t tell her that he had no objection to eating with others—as long as he wasn’t eating Cali.
Draven was not as intoxicated by the boy, and he was a bit wary of feeding from the sap not knowing what had happened to it. But as it did not reek of drugs, he took what he needed. The sapien did not react, even when Draven punctured the skin. He could control his appetite easier with the boy than with Cali. The boy’s sap had nothing particularly appealing in it. Still, Draven needed nourishment and the boy provided it.
After leading the boy away, Hyoki returned to lie beside Draven in the same space Cali had lain. “How are you feeling, my brave one?” Hyoki asked, toying with Draven’s buttons. She smiled up at him, revealing her delightfully long drawing teeth.
“I should be home in a few nights.”
“I will come then.”
“Thank you for bringing the food.”
Hyoki kissed him, her teeth buzzing a promise into his, before leaving him to recover with only his thoughts for company. He received a call from Byron that morning. The panel opposite the bed lit up and Byron appeared, looking down into his communication screen.
“Draven,” he greeted his friend. “I’m glad you’re recovering so easily. Looks like those saps did you some good.”
“I’d not say easily, sir. But I am stronger now.”
“What can I do for you?”
“What has happened to the young sap? He seemed drugged, but no drugs permeated his system.”
“Ah, yes. You see, we couldn’t let him among the other homo-sapiens with the knowledge he had. He might not have known about the wood’s effect on us before you got stabbed, we’ll never know. The important thing is that he saw its effect on you, and we couldn’t have him spreading this dangerous knowledge among the other saps. So we had him, say, neutralized.”
“How?”
“Essentially? We cooked his brain.”
“And he’ll live.”
Byron shrugged, an awkward gesture when he was looking down into the screen. “He’ll live. But he’ll never be able to recount what he saw, even if he could speak again, which he never will.”
“That’s not what I intended when I asked for him to be returned to the Confinement.”
“Did you want us to send him among the thousands at the Confinement with that knowledge? Impossible. Maybe if he had simply escaped, and you hadn’t been wounded.”
“You could have warned me this would happen.”
“Isn’t it better than being weak and in pain his whole life, hooked up to machines that take his life daily? This is a simple life for a sap. He won’t ever feel pain again. He’s lucky, in fact. He’ll never be frightened or angry, or any of the other emotions the sapiens are still capable of nowadays. He’s better off than any sap in that place. He’s at peace.”
“I guess I don’t see that as lucky.”
“Draven, I see that you’re angry. You’re too soft-hearted. They’re dumb beasts, brutes. Saps don’t feel things like love and faithfulness and regret, and the higher emotions that we have. They are simply unfeeling animals. You did this one a favor. Let your mind rest easy with this knowledge, my friend. And don’t waste your pity on an animal incapable of having those same feelings for itself.”
“Yes, Enforcer, sir.”
“All right, you get some rest. I have something I’ve been mulling over, something I’d like to ask you about. Concerning Anders.”
“Yes, sir. And thank you for the saps.”
Byron smiled. “It’s the least I can do after your service to the government. You were harmed in the line of duty. They owe you a couple meals on the house, right? And that female you threw, she’s a tasty little treat, isn’t she?”
“Ah—yes. The one I took from that restaurant. I’m afraid I developed a taste for her while I had her.”
“I noticed that when I went to check on her. Her temperament leaves something to be desired, but she looks to have survived your blow quite well. I don’t think you hit her as hard as you thought.”
“Perhaps not. I wasn’t paying much attention to her at that point. Was she examined by a doctor?”
“Yes. Just some bruising. She’s fine. Listen, I have to get home to the wife. You heal up, all right, soldier? And let that woman of yours take care of you. She looked like she wanted to, and any man would be lucky to have a woman like that around.”
“I suppose so,” Draven said. He needed to talk to Hyoki about Vitrola, but he dreaded the confrontation. As he drifted off to sleep, his thoughts returned to Cali and her inexplicable hostility towards him. Owning such a discontented sapien would be inconvenient. She would likely try to escape, as she had before. But perhaps he didn’t mind. Perhaps her discontent would match his own, and they could be restless and unsatisfied together, master and slave, each straining against their own private bondage.
36
“Come on, Cali, get up, let’s go,” Poppy said, sticking her head in the door of the house. Like usual, the day was sweltering. Cali had come back to lie down after the midday meal. She rubbed at her sore arm, where her loyal Superior left all the scars from his bites like little reminders of each visit.
“Yeah?” she said, sitting up and blowing her sweaty hair off her forehead.
“Yeah what?” Poppy said. “I’m getting married, you can’t just lay in here and feel bad. Once you get out there and start having fun, you’ll forget all about your cramps. I always feel better when I stay busy.”
“I know, I’m coming. You’re right. And how many times does my sister get married?” Cali forced a smile and followed Poppy outside into the late afternoon sun. They didn’t get married at night—too many Superiors would come out looking for food or wanting a particular person they’d gotten used to.
The afternoon was too hot to work much anyway, so it made the perfect time for getting married. Cali had attended a handful of marriage ceremonies every year she’d lived in the Confinement, but this would be the first since she’d come back. And it was special, because her own Poppy had found a boy crazy enough to marry her. He didn’t have a house yet, and still slept in the barracks, but Poppy didn’t care. She loved all boys, no matter where they lived or how old they were. Her new husband was thirty-five already.
Cali joined the crowd milling around in the dusty area between the gardens and the barrack buildings. The cooks had set up the food outside again. They stood cooking over a huge blaze that made the day even hotter. Cali squinted against the heat and sun.
Poppy had gone off to find a dress that came close to fitting. Everyone had to wear the regulation shifts all the time, even when Superiors weren’t around. The shifts were cool, so people didn’t mind. But at some point, a Superior or two had donated some old, worn-out clothes for scraps or for heavier farm work. The clothes sat in a back corner of the storage area, since no one wanted to wear Superior clothes if they could help it. Sometimes people got sent out to work on farms, and they used the sturdy men’s clothes. But the women’s clothes—
a few stained or torn dresses—never got used except at marriages. Then the girl got to wear a real dress, and even with stains, it looked better than the dull regulation shift that everyone wore every day and night for their whole lives.
Poppy came back wearing a faded pink dress. She spun around, laughing. Everyone started cheering, and someone found Poppy’s husband and shoved him up front.
“Say some promises,” someone said.
He cleared his throat. “I’m gonna marry this here lady,” he said. “And I promise to love her real good and take care of her, and her baby, and as many more babies as she has.”
“You better watch out,” someone called. “You better only promise to take care of the ones you think is yours.”
Everyone laughed, including Poppy and her husband, Dan.
“And I promise I’ll love you right back,” Poppy said. “Plus I’ll keep right on having babies until someone buys us all.”
Everyone cheered and started clapping, and someone pulled out the three skin drums and started drumming. In the glare of heat, the bare feet hit the ground in rhythm, making their own dust and music to go along. Cali laughed and let her sisters pull her out into the circling, stomping, barefoot crowd. Even tired and droopy in the heat, she did feel better than lying around in the sweltering gloom of the tin house. She pushed her feet faster, dancing and laughing and catching Poppy to give her a big hug.
Jonathan approached and took Cali’s hands and passed her in the circle, then caught her up and danced with her again. She didn’t care. He was nice enough, after all, and he had a house. And for whatever reason, he really wanted to impress her.
She danced away after a minute. “Feeling better?” Zinnia asked.
“Yeah, tons. Wanna eat?”
They ate soybean cakes and corn crackers fried crispy on the huge sheets of metal over the fires. Then someone got out some of the fermented corn whiskey they made sometimes, and everyone started drinking and singing. After she’d drunk a little, Cali forgot about not feeling good, and sang along at the top of her lungs like everyone else, singing her sister off as she went to celebrate her new marriage with Dan inside the barracks before everyone else went in.
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