by Celie Wells
“Mutilated? My mother had four children, and her body hasn't been mutilated.” Ezekiel shook his head in defiance of my explanation.
“You are so ignorant. There's the loss of bone density, muscle volume, scarring, general malnutrition from the child literally sucking the life out of you, and then labia damage. Have you asked your mother about the labia damage she's suffered from birthing four children?” I demanded.
“No, of course not,” he bellowed.
“I'm telling you. If men suffered any genital disfigurement from bringing a child into the world, the planet would be devoid of all human life.”
Ezekiel laughed. “I will agree with you on that one point. So, what about your suicide parties?” He asked.
“We have life celebrations, and they can be... quite lovely.” The thought of my grandparent's ceremony overwhelmed me. My eyes started to burn and tear as I tried to shake their final room's image from my mind.
“Oh shit, I didn't mean to upset you. I find the whole concept spiritually disturbing. None of our religious groups accept suicide in any form. Doesn't matter how many trips we take to the reeducation centers. Your people’s casual use of suicide doesn't appeal to the righteous.”
“Your Gods don't mind if you kill each other with knives and bombs for religious disagreements. But they frown on you choosing the date and time of your own peaceful deaths.” I chuckled. “So hypocritical.”
“We are supposed to value all life. Fanatics give many religions a bad name. Most people of faith are normal, sane people trying to live and enjoy their lives.”
“My grandparent's ceremony was last weekend. It was nice, tastefully decorated. They chose to have it exactly six-months before their wedding anniversary. All their friends got to visit with them. My brother even came down from the Tree—he's an engineer.”
“I'm sorry you lost family—hard to lose people for any reason,” Ezekiel explained with a subtle hint of sadness to his voice. I gathered someone important to him died unexpectedly.
“My grandparents did the ceremony thing out of tradition. Everyone expects people of a certain age to have a ceremony. I can't imagine a surprise death. Someone just dies. You can't even plan for that kind of thing.”
“Plan, no, we don't plan for our day to die. We leave that last detail up to God.”
“That sounds totally absurd.” I shook my head and tried to quiet any further nasty comments. “Wait, Red's and Re-ed's, is that the same thing?”
“Not all people from the camp were re-educated to remove religious hysteria, as your topside people call it. Some were drug addicts or had crime issues like being out of work for too long.” Ezekiel scoffed, kicking a small rock out of our path.
“I mean, that's awful. But there was a lot of damage done by religious hysteria. I can't imagine anyone going through the centers and then choosing to stay in the city if they were truly brainwashed.” Ezekiel rolled his eyes at me and looked like he was formulating his rebuttal.
“Anyway, as promised, one aquafer to prove we don't steal city water.” Ezekiel waved his arm in the direction of a deep trail carved into the ground. “Let me find us some light, right through here.” A large flashlight shined on what only looked like a dark slice of rock.
The cave opening was narrow, but it developed into a wide, tall space with a large blue circle of water in the back. The edges of the waterhole were shallow, but the center was dark blue and very deep. The pit of my stomach pulled towards the darkness, and I felt dizzy.
“Sit around the edges and put your legs in the water. The water is cold, but you will dry right off when we step outside in the heat.”
“Wow, this is amazing. I have never seen anything like this. Are there creatures living in there?” I asked.
“Fish? No, not here. The entrance is far below ground and way too narrow for fish of any real size. Believe me. This water source was thoroughly inspected.” I sat close to the edge of the pool and took off my shoes. The water was cold but felt soothing on my bruised legs.
“This pool would be worth millions of credits to anyone topside,” I whispered.
“There are caches of water like this across the seabed. Only a few elders know where all of them are. My family, the men, keep track of the larger, more useful pools. We are in charge of moving the camps. You need to know where to set up. You can't house people over a thin seabed floor or too far from available water sources.”
“That makes sense. So, you're a builder?” I asked.
“I'm a son, and a brother and a faithful Christian, and then I help my father and uncles move and set up our camps.”
“My grandmother went to weekly theology discussions. They debated one book for years. She arranged for her and my grandfather to be buried under a tree in the Arborist museum.”
“See you and I are not so different really. My grandmother was Catholic too.”
“No, my grandmother just liked to study ancient cultures and theologies. She said constant learning kept her mind sharp.” I explained.
“The only way you can be buried in the museums is to be one of the faithful. That type of burial saves your mortal body so you can be resurrected on judgment day.” He pulled off his shirt and laid it flat on a large rock.
“You expect to use a body that’s been stuck in the ground for hundreds or maybe thousands of years. I would ask your God for a new body. That sounds totally disgusting
“Ha, yeah, I'm pretty sure you're given a new perfect body,” he laughed.
“Of course, why wouldn't you.” Ezekiel kicked off his shoes and jumped into the pool's deepest part, creating a large splash of cold, salty water.
“Ah, what's wrong with you? I'm all wet,” I whined.
“You're not all wet. Yet.” Ezekiel grabbed me under the knees and pulled me into the shallow part of the pool.
“Now, you're all wet.” Ezekiel pushed a small wave of cold water on my face.
“Stop it, I can't swim. I've never been in this much water.” I grabbed on to Ezekiel's neck for dear life. There was no bottom in the middle of the pool.
“About time you learn then. Don't worry. I won't let go of you, Karine. I want to keep you.”
“Why?” I asked, honestly curious.
“Why what?”
“Why do you want to keep me. You've only known me a few hours, and I haven't been a very nice guest.” I looked into Ezekiel's eyes. He was surprised by my question. The green hazel patchwork in his iris's was beautiful. I found it hard to look away.
“You are the most direct person I have ever met. You terrify Abraham Green, and that old man doesn't scare. You're beautiful, and you don't even seem to know. You have to stay here with me. I can't let you die in the city when the asteroid hits.”
Ezekiel was close to my face. He had the same look of pain that Jason gets in his eyes right before he kisses me. “I won't live here as your prisoner. Suicide is my right as a citizen of the greater continent.”
“Don't say that word, Karine,” Ezekiel yelled. The noise echoed through the cave and took on an ominous sound.
“Or what you'll beat me, force me to your will, treat me like one of those breeding robots in your camp. I am never going to choose to stay here.”
Ezekiel swam to the edge of the water, pulling me behind him by my arm. “I won't lay a hand on you. But you want me to. I can see it in your face. I can feel it in the air between us.” Ezekiel quickly hopped out of the water. I clung to the edge and watched him angrily wring out his shorts and stand dripping in the sunlight that found its way into the cave.
His wet clothes clung to his thin muscular frame, accentuating every attribute he gained through physical labor. I understood why he got angry so quickly. This trip to the cave alone was supposed to convince me to stay. I assumed he never heard anything but total cooperation from the other girls he's taken here.
Ezekiel stood dripping at the edge of the pool, still displaying his excitement from earlier. “We could be happy together here.”
/>
My mother's crass advice floated through my mind. Once they have no blood left for their brain, you can get any truth you want out of a man.
I crawled clumsily out of the pool, found my balance, and walked into the sunlight. “I could never be happy knowing everyone in my family was worried and trying to find me.”
“Put your shoes on. We should head back for the selection ceremony. “Ezekiel was quiet on the walk back to camp. There was some utility conversation about avoiding sharp rocks and walking in the shade but nothing more.
He was right. My clothes dried in a matter of minutes outside the cave. Salt rings formed at the seams of my shirt and edge of my shorts. I flicked the crusty plops in his direction as we walked. Ezekiel ignored me and seemed to be lost in deep thought.
We reached the entrance to the camp he stopped and shook his head. “You pick me tonight. Don't give up your right to choose a family. They will force you to go with one of the bigger houses. Unless you want to be stuck with Noah?” I shook my head no. “Pick my family. I won't watch you go with another one.”
“Thanks for showing me the water pool. As days in captivity go, this one was a pretty good.” I winked at Ezekiel how my father winks at my mother when he makes one of his stupid jokes. Ezekiel scoffed and looked at the ground all the way to the door of my holding tent. My sisters in captivity were laughing and carrying on inside. Several of the camp's older women were wandering in and out of the door carrying armfuls of beautiful dresses and trays of sugary treats.
“Looks like I'm missing out on all the fun,” I commented.
“Remember what I told you, Karine, choose my family.” Ezekiel bolted from the tent as if his life depended on being as far from me as possible.
The tent was bursting with estrogen and excitement. The ceremony dresses were beautiful, and everyone looked so happy with their new friends. Violet hugged me tightly as we stood in front of the tall dressing mirror and admired the formal creation, she sewed by hand for me that day.
I struggled to recall a similar experience with my own mother. We are not a touchy-feely family, and I never knew it was something I needed until now. To belong to the group and share in their happiness would be so easy. They were begging me to join them, but I couldn't turn off that alarm in my head, screaming at me to run.
Zeke was an unexpected distraction. My heart thought we were old friends, but the trove of experiences to go with that feeling was empty. False infatuation clouded my judgment and softened my resolve. Chemical reactions in my stressed brain were not going to stop me from leaving.
I took a good look in the mirror and smiled back at the beautiful girl in the beautiful dress and told her it was time to go home.
OPTION THREE
There was a time when I knew exactly how my life was going to turn out. Now I'm not sure. My mind hums with the anxiety of choosing between a life I understand and one that seems so promising.
If I leave the encampment, what life am I returning to? The continental government hasn't released information about a threat from a comet or otherwise. These people have a plan to survive whatever comes crashing in from above.
Am I stubborn? Is wanting to leave the wrong choice? Blue is staying. She lives a privileged life in our society. Why would she leave that life behind so easily?
Beryl says I lose sight of the big picture and waste time trying to force insignificant short-term situations. Of course, I called her a bitch for saying that to me, but I didn't understand what she was talking about until just now. I can't see what the big picture is anymore.
I want to go home. I want to live through the comet, and I want Jason. I can't tell if these are short-sighted desires, but they aren't insignificant to me.
“So, I ask again of our next new member Karine, what say you? We need an answer proclaimed out loud for all here assembled to witness and understand. What family have you chosen as your own?”
Standing by the edge of a large copper fire pit, I looked out over the flames at all the families assembled. Blue stood smiling next to her new man—their wrists loosely bound together by a symbolic silver cord. He pulled her hand to his lips, closed his eyes, and kissed her skin. The moment was backlit by the dazzling array of solar lanterns that seemed to drip soft, pink, and golden lights on every structure of the public square.
The only noise was the slapping of the hem of my purple sheath dress in the breeze. All eyes were fixed on me. The question had been asked of me twice now.
Zeke winked at me. He told me to choose his family. He fully expected I would do as he asked.
I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. “After much consideration. I choose death by banishment.” There was collective gasp before the roar of voices overtook my other senses.
Violet bolted towards me through the smoke as an older man grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the growing group of elders. I curled my hand into a fist and jabbed it under his rib cage. My arm was released only to have another arm wrap around my waist. This time it was Zeke.
“Let me speak! Let me speak!” Violet raised her arm high into the air as she got the attention of the crowd.
“Violet, I won't stay here,” she took a step back, blocking me from the crowd and pulled me to her body with her thin, dainty hand.
“I claim this child as a daughter of my house. She is the wife of our first son Ezekiel. She is known to him. They have courted alone, outside the boundaries of the camp. She is his wife in the eyes of God.” The crowd yelled out indistinguishable words and sounds that morphed into gasps and the sharp edges of protest. Her statement was not well received.
I wasn't sure precisely what Violet was proclaiming, but it seemed she was telling everyone that I had sex with her son, so she owned me.
“I told you to choose me. I would have let you go.” Zeke growled into my neck.
“Let me go. I don't need you to let me do a damned thing. You, arrogant son of...”, a dark cover dropped over my head, and my feet were off the ground.
Zeke and his father were transporting me out of the crowd. I didn't fight them. Zeke's father stood proudly next to him in the crowd earlier. He was a white-haired older man, a much older man than I had seen in some time. He reminded me of my grandfather, and I couldn't bring myself to hate him.
We struggled through the crowd of angry spectators before I was finally placed on a wooden chair in a quiet room. The hood was pulled off my head, taking my painted hair clips with it.
“So, Ezekiel, what is the issue we are being charged with settling today?” Four people stood at the front of the tall tent, two men and two women. I recognized one man from the coffee tent and one woman from Blue's new family of cheerful women.
Zeke put his hand on my shoulder and pushed down hard. His warning squelched my words but could do nothing about my facial expressions.
“Council this woman was brought to us by the old custom of abduction. She did not join us willingly. I have courted this woman, but she is not known to me as my mother believes. She wishes to leave and refused to claim a family. I claim her now.”
“Does the head of your family agree, Ezekiel?”
“I support my son's claim only if the girl agrees to marry him, Councilmen. I see no reason to give her my family protection otherwise.” Zeke's no-nonsense father was a man of few words.
“The Council heard the facts as presented. Are there any other facts to consider?”
“If I can add a fact to the record.” Noah stood at the back of the room. An older woman and a middle-aged looking man stood by encouraging him. “If the Council would permit me?”
“I selected this beautiful woman from a crowded gathering. I fought those that would have kept her topside to die when the comet hits, and I brought her here where she is safe. I have the strongest claim to her. I formally claim her now.”
“The Council heard the facts as presented and recognize your possible claim to this woman as valid. Are there any other facts to present in this matter?”
“Yes, my dear, we are just getting to the part where you may make a statement.” I considered many ways to begin but I choose to start with the hard and difficult truth.
“I want to go home to my family and my fiancé even if I will die when the comet strikes.” There were murmurs and quick discussions between council members.
“We have a saying, better dead than with the Reds. This slogan isn't just propaganda. My people believe it the way your people believe in your God's wrath.
“I belong to the house of Fuller, and they will not leave me here alive. Noah murdered several people the night he abducted me and the other girls. I saw the murders with my own eyes. According to my society's laws, once I turn 17, I am within my rights to kill him. I plan to deliver the justice my fallen citizens deserve, and my society demands.” Once I was done speaking, I could hear the weeping and sobbing coming from Noah's mother. This was not a hard or cold woman. It was the first bit of shame I felt in days.
“Council, please, I beg you. Give me this woman to me as my wife, and I will convince her to stay or send her back home.” Zeke pleaded.
“Noah, do you have any closing remarks?” The Councilman asked. “I wanted to save them. I didn't go to that site intending to kill anyone. I couldn't leave those women there to die. I wanted to add to our clan. Once they saw our home, I knew they would be happy with their new lives.”
“Karine, do you have anything else to add?”
“I need to be sent home tomorrow with a video file from Blue Bell Tilley to her parents. The man I'm betrothed to is the son of a dead Coleman boy and a dead Fuller girl. He was named the sole heir of the Fuller house, and he controls all their military holdings. He is good and kind, but if he were made up of a thousand blocks of light, you would find one block of pure, unrelenting darkness. He will live in that one dark box for all his days if I am not returned to him.
