by Celie Wells
“Well, what a relief.” I chuckled, straightening the waist of my new shorts.
“Good, good. Looking at you, I'm thinking of a sophisticated sheath for the ceremony. Something classic and timeless. Blue chose a frilly style, and Ellia chose a poufy long flowered dress. Midori wants ruffles, but I hadn't gotten to meet with you yet.”
“I'm sorry, Midori, and who?” I asked.
“Ellia and Blue Bell dear, the other girls who came here with you.” I hadn't even asked the names of the girls that were kidnapped with Blue and me. I was so focused on getting away and our impending death by friendly fire that I never thought to ask their names.
I rubbed my head as the room started to tilt. My mother's voice entered my mind again. Focus on other people, Karine. Pay attention to what's in front of you. Her advice helped me through my dance recital when I was ten. Maybe it would help me today.
“Are you okay dear, have you eaten anything yet today?” Violet asked in a kind, almost motherly tone.
“No, but I'm fine. The dress you’re describing sounds perfect. Thank you, I'm not much for frilly or poufy.”
“Of course not, you seem practical, reserved, no-nonsense. Our family will be thrilled if you select us. Listen to me, I'm sorry this is exciting for us, but it must be difficult for you. Have something to eat, and you will feel better.” I smiled and nodded my nasty string of comments away.
Violet was useless to me, but I didn't have a reason to make her my enemy. I went to the table and pulled a fresh muffin from the basket. I ate while Violet chattered on about the comet and their plan to leave the area to escape the fallout.
She mentioned the family members that worked topside and how the camp gets information about current events anytime they need. Five other camps sat further towards the west, and they would all be merging soon to survive.
When I was done eating my muffin, Violet took me by the arm and led me out of the tent to tour the camp. She had an extra hat rolled up in her bag. She offered it to me and secured it on my head without taking a breath.
She explained how one of the families farmed, one had livestock, one produced clothing, one bakes, and several of their elderly watch the young children during the day while work is being done. Women her age usually teach, but she is too busy with her household still. The volume of constant information she provided was dizzying.
We reached a tent that smelled like coffee and fresh-baked sugar cookies. A nice-looking man around my father's age greeted us at the door. He offered me a tall mug while watching Violet continue to relay all the information she contained about the campsite.
The caffeine hit my bloodstream like a bullet. I reached my saturation point with Violet. Everything she said after the coffee was pure noise.
A young man with tools in his hands emerged from the back room. He was of average height and had a friendly smile. His thick black hair fell into his eyes, and I could see he spent time in the sun from the tan line on his biceps.
“Ezekiel, come meet Karine. She is...well, she's new here.” Violet offered nodding at me.
“Good morning Mama Violet.” The young man hugged Violet and kissed her on the cheek. “Hey Karine, everybody calls me Zeke.”
“Why don't you take Karine to the stables or better yet the caves. Show her around the camp.”
“I have a whole list of repairs for today. I can't take the time. This is only my second stop so far,” The exasperation in Ezekiel’s voice was hard to miss. Violet shot him a cold stare.
“No, that won't do. I'll let your brother know you're busy today. He can handle things. Go take Karine, show her around.” Violet left her coffee on the nearest table and darted out the door. “Things to do today. I will see you later, Karine.”
Ezekiel put his toolbox on the floor and tucked it under a table out of the way. “I guess we are going to visit the camp.” The man serving the coffee nodded in agreement and motioned for us to head outside.
“Wait, I need a second, let me just sit here. It's finally quiet.” Both men laughed. I got the impression I was not the only one who noticed Violet's constant chatter.
I finished my coffee, and we headed for the door. “So, you’re new here, do you have a sponsor family?” The happy tone he used led me to believe he really didn't know how I had been acquired.
“Noah kidnapped me from my town square a few nights ago. Does that make his family my sponsor?” Ezekiel looked shocked.
“Oh shit, you're that girl.” I put my hand out to shake his. Ezekiel grabbed my hand and shook it firmly. “Abraham was talking about you at the supply tent this morning.”
“The man with the great apple juice,” I commented. “Yeah, yeah. Abraham.”
“Yep, I remember him.” I chuckled.
“He remembers you too. I think you scared the hell out of him. Just to clear the air, I don't agree with the old customs. I wouldn't want the topsiders kidnapping me, although you folks don't have to work. So that might be a fun change.”
“Where would you get that idea. We all have to be productive in society through work or community service or both most of the time.” I explained as the bullet points from my civics in practice class popped in my head.
“So, what about metal suits. You guys never go outside without a suit because you are afraid of the sun,” he asked, contorting his face with disbelief.
“We have sun suits or day suits as we generally call them, for protection from solar radiation damage. There are no shadows like these to shield us in the cities.” I motioned towards the shadowed sky. “You will suffer solar burns if you don't wear protective gear. After dark, we don't need to wear anything extra.”
“We have the same problem here. We wear hats and long sleeves and try to stay in the shadows of the sea walls. But we wear thick fabric shielding in the open desert.” Zeke explained in a serious matter of fact tone.
Violet brought me to Zeke for a reason, he was easy to talk to and quite handsome in a pedestrian, burly sort of way.
“This one sounds almost too stupid but is it true that you need a government-issued license for each child you have?”
“That is true. You need to license each child to receive medical care and their breeding rights, plus a progressively larger tax is assessed for each child in a family,” I explained, thinking of my family's composition.
“Wow, now that is the rumor, I thought was total bull. Have you ever heard any wild stories about lowlanders, sorry, Reds?” Zeke asked.
“Noah pretty-much covered everything for me on the way here. You don't eat people, and you can't fly, you aren't all inbred as we have been told.”
“Not all of us, but in some camps. I wouldn't bet my life on the bloodlines being completely clean,” Zeke laughed.
“Telling people, they are a big fat liar upsets some of your population. To be fair, it might upset some topsiders enough to choke somebody too.” I lifted my head, exposing my bruised neck to the light.
Ezekiel stopped and examined my neck. “Is that where you got those bruises?” His face twisted in disgust. “Noah and I are old friends. I’m so sorry he did this to you.”
“Thanks, it’s nothing compared to the citizens they killed when they took us. We are told that Reds are blood thirsty savages. I can see that doesn’t apply to everyone here, but Noah reinforced the governments narrative. This place is nothing like I would have expected.”
Ezekiel nodded in agreement before pulling a hat from his pack. The sun was rising high. The peak afternoon heat found us. He tugged on my hat securing on my head and pulled the chin strings tight.
He held out his hand and bowed down until his eyes met mine. “Let’s go find us some water.”
TAKE OUT
Traveling home from the Eaton estate, the driver stopped in front of a busy oriental restaurant located in the town center. A small woman in a new slim-fitting style day suit entered the transport through the back-passenger door.
The driver glanced at the woman briefly and waite
d for her to get situated. By his reaction, I assumed the woman was another employee of the Eaton estate. Still deep in my own thoughts about everything discussed with Pricilla, I wasn’t paying much attention. The large box of food containers the woman brought with her smelled like a savory oriental dinner. I smiled at her and nodded politely while helping her close the transport door.
Once we started driving again, the woman took off her dark amber faceplate and looked me up and down.
“You are Beryl, the new Eaton breeder?” The woman asked.
“I haven't given Mrs. Eaton my pledge yet,” I answered, confused how this information would have left the estate so quickly.
“Hmm,” she growled. “your younger sister is well. So are the other three girls. They are all well. Your girl is convinced the Fuller army will bomb the camp rather than see her taken. Is this true?”
The pit of my stomach began to gurgle and roll. This woman knew of my sister, and my answer surely held her fate.
“Yes.” I swallowed, focusing my attention. “Jason, the Fuller heir, is my sister's fiancé. He's determined to punish everyone involved in her kidnapping. The Tilley clan is just as determined to have their daughter Blue Bell returned.”
The small woman held up her hand and shook her head. “But will they kill their own child in the process?” she asked.
“Yes, I'm afraid they will.” The woman knocked on the transport wall, and the car pulled to the side of the road.
I put my armored hand on the woman's knee and opened the front of my face shield.
“I have known Jason all his life. He's grown quiet with rage. If my sister dies, every credit of his sizeable fortune will be spent towards the total annihilation of the Red population. Please don't let this turn him into a monster. Send her home unharmed.” The little woman scanned my face with her cold eyes. I couldn't hide my fear and desperation. My eyes filled with tears as the uncomfortable moment of silence lingered.
“Take this food to your family. Tell them of our chat or don't, you choose. Your benefactor asked for information about the girls, and my employer wished for your honest assessment as payment. This debt is settled both ways. Don't bother looking for me at the restaurant. You will not find me in the city after today.” The tiny woman exited the transport next to the main shuttle concourse. In ten minutes, she could board any number of trains and vanish.
The remainder of my three-mile ride home seemed to take hours. Every bump in the road rattled me to my core, and I struggled to keep my composure.
When we arrived at my family home, the driver walked the takeout box and my bag to the front door. My father saw us from the front window and opened the door and greeted us both with a polite smile. I walked inside and stood watching as my father thanked the man, and cheerfully accepted the food.
“From the Eaton household, Sir. We are thinking of your family in this time of turmoil. May it resolve quickly.” The driver walked out the door with a deliberate nod to me.
I stood frozen, facing my father. “Thank you for bringing me home, Sir,” I replied appreciatively.
“It is my honor, Ma'am. Welcome to the Eaton Family.” A chill ran down my spine. Had I just sold myself for the safe return of my baby sister?
“More food? We need to gather up some care packages for the neighbors.” My father always thought of others. His first instinct was to share.
Through the entry room window, I could see Hess walk from the kitchen to the living room. My mother sat on her favorite overstuffed green chair, and Jason sat on the edge of the couch next to her.
The enormity of my situation hit me all at once. I fell to the floor with a metallic clank and told my father everything. The Eaton secret, the woman on the transport, and the answer I gave her. All the day's events raced to fly out of my mouth at once. My father looked at me like I was a stranger caught stealing from the family well.
“Say something, Daddy. What am I supposed to do now?”
“What you're telling me is so wild, so unimaginable. I don't know what I'm supposed to say, Sweetheart.”
“I shouldn't have said anything to you about Pricilla's household.” My father nodded in agreement.
“I'm glad you confided in me, but you can't speak of the Eaton boy ever again. Comma patients are allowed ninety days to recover, that's all, no more. The crime you are suggesting the Eaton estate is concealing is unthinkable. But this stealthy woman with the food, how sure can you be of what she says about your sister is true?”
I took a deep breath and tried to corral my wild thoughts. “The woman gained nothing by talking to me,” I explained. “She didn't want anything but my opinion. It was like she looked straight into my heart.”
My father put his finger to his mouth to silence me and quietly walked to the desk by the entry door. He pulled out an electrical device about the size of my data-pad and waived it over the box of food. “Nothing electrical here, and nothing is emitting any kind of signal. We should probably toss out the food to be safe.”
“This whole box is from Mrs. Eaton. It will be quite fine and probably off the regular menu.”
“Are you feeling better now that you told me, Beryl?” My father asked, patting my shoulder.
“A little, but what do I tell the others. I can't keep this news about Karine to myself.”
“Tell them you are planning to take the Eaton offer and tell them about the woman. We should loop Dredge in on this conversation too. He undoubtedly knows privileged information about the Eaton family's predicament.”
My father helped me out of my day suit, and we walked into the main house together. I only told the group what the small woman in the transport said to me about Karine. The news of my sister's condition brought everyone hope except Jason—he was unusually quiet.
“Jason, she's alive, and she's trying to get herself home.” I expected relief or joy from Jason, but I got nothing but a dark stare.
“There’s no way to tell where she is right now. What condition will she be in when they finally return her? I swear to you all if she is harmed in any way, I will burn the seafloor to ash and kill every Red on the planet.” Jason pounded his wounded fist on the edge of the couch. Fresh blood spots dotted his bandaged arm. I was sure his stitches were ripping apart.
My bottom lip began to quiver, and my eyes started watering. I wouldn't forget this moment. We were witnessing the birth of darkness in this once happy child's heart. Jason was like a son to my family. He was the annoying little brother I never wanted, but he was always a sweet and loving boy.
“I have to go and relay this new information to the drone fleet commander. I think we need a series of warning shots to reinforce our message. We are bombing the northwest seabed tomorrow night. The Red's easy access to us will be rubble soon.” Jason rose from the chair like a battered old man. His arm was bandaged from fingers to shoulder, and his back was still in obvious pain.
Jason had been beaten, shot, and dragged to the edge of the outdoor pavilion. He watched armed men take my sister from him and disappear into the night. I don't know how I expected him to act, but the man that stood before us was cold and singularly motivated towards vengeance.
My father and I walked behind Jason as he sprinted toward the front door. To my surprise, he brought only a dark brown leather day suit with him. This type of covering is worn merely to keep your skin from sizzling off. It does nothing to stop the solar radiation problem.
“Jason, you have to take care of yourself. This leather suit isn't enough to protect you.” I grabbed at the arm of the jacket and shook it violently.
“She doesn't have her day gear, Beryl. She was in jeans and a white shirt when they took her. I won't wear my gear until she returns home.” Jason's voice cracked, showing his guilt, and giving away his self-imposed punishment.
“None of what happened is your fault. I don't care what Kar was wearing. You need to take care of yourself.” Jason peeled away from me and darted out the door. His car and driver were waiting ou
tside. The solar exposure from the house to the transport was negligible, but somebody had to get that boy thinking clearly.
Jason's transport drove away from the house. “Mom, the lady that runs the Fuller Estate, do you have a number for her?” My sister would want me to do something about this. She wouldn't let Jason self-destruct regardless of what happened to her.
My mother spent a good long time on the phone with someone at the Fuller estate. I never paid much attention to gossip, but I heard one of Dredge's friends who died some years back left his widow penniless. It's rumored this widow lives in the Fuller estate and runs the large house for Dredge in exchange for room and board. I wonder what the gossip will be about me after I move to the Eaton estate.
SURVEILLANCE
Ezekiel and I walked the camp boundary line. He wanted to show me their water source to dispel the rumor that Reds are water wasters. We left through the main camp gates after grabbing a few supplies from a supply tent.
Along the way, our conversation turned into a pros and cons list for Topsider life versus the Red camp.
“That is not an item for the pro column,” he argued.
“Yes, it is,” I insisted. “Let me see if I have this right. You think unassisted births are better because they can result in the baby and mother dying in childbirth.”
“Not better because of the deaths, just more in line with the natural order of things. Sometimes bad things happen. Besides, don't you occasionally lose the child when transferring the baby to the birthing machine?” He countered.
“Incubator, and yes, it happens, but rarely. Like one in ten-thousand rare. This is one area where you are not going to sway my opinion. Modern techniques have much better mortality rates.
“We carry the child for three months, then transfer the infant safely to the incubator for the remaining six. The child gets optimal nutrition, immunity enhancements, muscle stimulation, and the mother's body doesn't have to be mutilated.” I explained, thinking of the gory footage shown during my natural birthing techniques lecture.
