Daughters of the Mayflower Universe: One

by Celie Wells

  The driver was right outside the door where I had left him. He pulled on his thick gloves, zipped them closed, and secured his suit without a word. The next stop was the Eaton estate, and so far, we were still right on schedule.

  SLEEPING BEAUTY

  Walking into the Eaton mansion, you could feel an odd tension in the air. The young woman who opened the door had a pleasant enough smile, but she looked me up and down before inviting me inside. She smiled at my driver Craig like she knew him, and cheerfully took the box of supplies from his arms. A second, older-looking woman closed the door directly behind us and led him to a side room to rest.

  A third woman escorted me back through several rooms of the estate. Each room had a set of heavy double entry doors that needed to be unlocked. Aside from the security, each room looked correctly appointed. What little cheerfulness there was to be found in the household dimmed the further away I got from the front door. The core of the mansion was sparsely decorated. The private rooms were cold and empty in many areas, as if furniture was missing.

  Mrs. Eaton appeared out of a side corridor. She greeted me warmly and led me to Beryl's wing of the house to leave my things.

  “Thank you for a visit today, Mrs. Eaton,” I said, hugging her lightly.

  “Listen to you, call me Priscilla. We are family now, my Dear, you are welcome here anytime.” I smiled and handed my suit to a fourth woman who was waiting to take it from me.

  “See that it's fully charged,” Priscilla instructed, as she led me into another large room. Beryl and another of the staff arrived to greet me.

  “Kar, this is Zeke's cousin Greta.” The middle-aged woman threw herself at me and hugged me tightly.

  “Nice to meet you, Greta,” I said, peeling the woman off my chest. Beryl had a sheepish smile—one I only saw her use when she had unpleasant news for me.

  Greta looked at us both closely, “Ahh, I see it now. You both look like your father, but I see a bit of your mother there in your eyes.” Greta smiled and cupped my cheek in her hand. “Such a beautiful girl, no wonder he was so concerned.”

  “Zeke? Have you spoken to him since they started moving the camp?” Greta winked and pulled me close to her again.

  “I have, and he is safe. I told him you made it home unharmed within a day. He was very pleased to hear you are doing well.”

  “I'm so relieved that he's safe,” I sighed, looking at Beryl.

  “Noah climbed the shelf's face with me then went to see a shipwreck off the southern tip of the Continent. I was only alone for a half-day.” Greta excused herself to some duties in the kitchen and pulled Priscilla along with her leaving Beryl and me alone to talk.

  “Holy shit, blink twice if you need me to rescue you.” Beryl rolled her eyes and grabbed me by the hand. “This place is locked up tighter than a re-education camp on Sunday morning,” I huffed.

  “I don't need to be rescued, but I do have some things to explain.” Beryl led me into a brightly lit room, in the center of it was a half-dressed man lying on top of a bed with tubes and wires attached to his every limb. The skin on my arms and legs crawled in protest at the sight.

  “Beryl, what have you done?” She sat me down in a chair next to her and began explaining her plight.

  The man she married is this comatose man on the bed. The man I thought was Priscilla Eaton's dead son, was not dead. Our grandparents suggesting Beryl for such an operation seemed cruel to me. Beryl spoke of the half-dead man on the bed as if he were alive. As if he would pop off the sheets at any moment and play the doting husband, she wants him to be.

  All I could think of was the pending destruction and the care the man needed. The beeping and the whirring of the machines in the room were dizzying. This whole estate could be reduced to rubble with his body entombed underneath. When this fairytale ends, my sister will be left broken-hearted.

  I begin to wonder if she planned to leave him here when the time comes. I hoped with the addition of a newborn child, her priorities would become fixed on life. Looking around, I could see Priscilla and my sister were planning to stay through the event. With 200 pounds of dead weight around their necks, I couldn't see how they would survive very long.

  “What are you thinking. You will have a toddler when the event happens, that's bad enough, Beryl.”

  “That hysteria is just theory. No one knows for certain what is going to happen?” Beryl half-yelled into the room.

  I held my head in my hands and tried to think a way to convince her, but I didn't know anything for sure. Only that many other intelligent, knowledgeable people believe it will happen soon.

  “How long has he been this way?” I asked.

  “Years,” she replied. The bleakness of the situation echoed in her tone.

  I got up from the chair even though it felt like led weights were pulling me to the floor. I walked around the man's bed. I knew his name was William. Every charitable act from the Eaton estate was done in his name.

  “What is your plan here? Is anything expected to change with his?”

  Beryl shook her head no. “I'm going to try to wake him up. I've been researching treatments. He can breathe on his own, but he hasn't made progress beyond that.”

  “Why would he? It's got to be like living inside an incubator.” I ran my finger across an IV line and saw one of the staff members cringe. “He doesn't want for anything.” Except a bullet, I thought.

  “I have considered that he isn't responding because he's too comfortable. Small steps like reducing his pain medication, letting the temperature stray from optimal, but I don't want him to be in any pain.” I nodded in agreement.

  “We have been taught to fear sunlight, maybe sun exposure will help bring his self-preservation to the surface? I'm sure it's a totally stupid idea. I have zero experience with anything like this.”

  “No,” Beryl mused.” that's interesting, a little fear, a little pain. Just enough to irritate so you try and get rid of the irritation.” Beryl was in deep thought mode. I remember this look from the last time we couldn't get the water conditioner pump to cycle back on. “So, I only leave the house long enough to go to school. I hope you can understand why I'm so preoccupied.”

  “Of course, sure. It's got to be all-consuming for the whole estate.” I thought back to everyone I met on my way in. They looked concerned and territorial because they knew she was going to show me their secret. “I can keep a secret. I won't breathe a word of this to anyone, not Jason, not anyone.”

  “There are things Jason doesn't need to know,” Beryl whispered.

  “I told him everything about my abduction. We don't have secrets.” Beryl pulled at the long chain around my neck until it was at my neckline. She tugged at the three gold rings that hung from it.

  “This ring is from Hess when you turned thirteen, this ring was Grandma Connie's, and this ring wrapped in bits of white silk. This ring is new,” she stated.

  “I won't tell anybody about William because even I know this is forbidden, but most of all, because I can see you are falling in love with a dead man. You don't need to threaten me.” I pulled at my collar dropping the rings back into my bra.

  I squeezed Beryl's hand. “It was good to see you today, Mrs. Eaton. I hope the rest of your day is a pleasant one.” I left the room and found a woman at the entrance to Beryl's wing, holding my fully charged day suit. I thanked the woman for her help and jumped into my gear fast enough to make Difference proud. Beryl didn't come after me. That wasn't our way. She and I have a long history of squabbles, but we always put them aside when the other needed help.

  Greta and Priscilla met me at the front entry. My driver was holding a cake box full of glazed shortbread cookies. The tall man smirked at me as I approached. I grabbed one of the flaky pastries and thanked them both for a lovely visit.

  Looking back into the core of the estate, I could see Beryl standing a few rooms away. She waived, and I waved back. It's hard to be angry at someone with a freshly baked cookie in your mouth.


  THE BEGINNING

  For everything, there is a season. I’ve heard this saying many times over the years. It’s supposed to encourage patience, maybe a measure of self-reflection. Seasons come and go each year—they repeat. It should say there is a time for everything, and once it ends, it is gone forever. Not as lyrical, but it is more accurate.

  Several facts rule my life now. I am sixteen and a full citizen in the eyes of the law, I will be married in a few months, and the planet will be totally unrecognizable by my first wedding anniversary.

  Our engagement was simple and private. We took a trip to the city after my birthday and bought a beautiful set of platinum rings. Jason slipped mine on my finger and asked me to marry him right there in the jeweler’s shop. My desire for flashy, fake moments died when I walked home in the baking sun wondering if I would live. Jason’s ability to provide artificialities left him while he planned the genocide of an entire population segment. We were both left jaded.

  Change is the new normal. Some changes in my life have taken things from me that I can’t get back, while others have brought beautiful things, I can’t believe I ever lived without. I learned to embrace today because nothing is guaranteed for tomorrow.

  Nina, my new and most favorite future sister-in-law convinced Hess to sign my marriage papers. After everything I endured getting back home to my family and my fiancé, Nina argued I deserved to make my own choices.

  Traditional school ended for me. I took the placement tests and scored high enough to leave without the sixth year. I tried to go back and sit at my desk. I couldn’t focus and I could hardly breathe unless I was sitting with an easy view of all the doorways. I just couldn’t do it anymore. Difference and I both took the testing together. He had his own issues, but neither of us belonged in the traditional classroom any longer.

  I secured my Domestic life path by finishing my last test and submitting my paperwork. Jason and I both pulled our birthing licenses and put them on hold. We aren't interested in children until after the celestial event. Beryl helped me get an appointment for a birth control device to help with that goal.

  According to Mr. Tilley, the new world currency will be skills. Bloodlines will be a secondary consideration. The twenty original families have doubled in size over the last few months, making their attempts to secure passage on the evacuation ships by heritage alone futile. There are only so many spots on the ships, and they go to those who are the most useful. The government announced quietly that none of the spots on the ships could be purchased. This set off a panic. The first of many I expect to see over the coming months.

  Jason and Difference enrolled in a medical training program. I secured a place in the technical equipment maintenance trade school. I'm more comfortable with machines, they don’t scream when you do something wrong. We convinced as many of our friends as we could to join the escalated training programs. Honey and Aqua enrolled in the teaching program. I can’t stand small children so more power to them—somebody needs to teach the little sticky people how to read. We will be assured staff positions on the world-class ships and possibly ancestry spots on the Universe class ship. Our grandchildren might one day colonize a new planet.

  The medical facility is just how I remembered it, bright white, clean, and unremarkable. The maternity wing is painted in pink and blue pastels so it’s a bit more inviting than the rest of the monotonous looking building. Beryl is going in for her incubation session today. Three months have gone by in what seems like only three weeks. She produced healthy twin boys, both slightly above weight, like their father.

  We don't discuss Will outside the walls of the Eaton estate. He is one of the many secrets my sister and I keep with knowing glances and subtle jokes that only we understand. Beryl hasn't accepted what the near future will look like. She fully expects some last-minute miracle to move the comet away from the planet. I can't afford to think in such optimistic possibilities.

  My sister's new mother-in-law, Priscilla, is quite the useful ally. With her invisible line into the Red encampments, Zeke knows I made it home alive. Just when I was beginning to rest Zeke’s memory in the back of my mind one of Violets beautiful sewing creations made it into my closet. The purple nightgown appeared tied with a white silk ribbon and a note that simply read Z. Jason hasn't asked about the new sleepwear. I'm not sure what I will say if he does.

  Our wedding is the next concern on our long to-do list. Two months from now, the estate will welcome friends and family for a colossal affair. Dredge sees it as one of the last grand parties the family estate may ever throw. He's treating the event accordingly.

  The comet cluster is close enough to see with the large-scale telescopes now. Many news reports show interviews with experts spouting their theories. How safe or how doomed we are depended entirely on their viewpoints that day.

  We are using the wedding as an excuse for stockpiling provisions. We hope to have a well-stocked stronghold available for those unable to secure a spot on the ships. The bones of the main corridors have been reinforced with steel beams. The retrofitting is not aesthetically pleasing, but it is architecturally beautiful and will withstand quite a beating.

  The room of incubators is quite an odd sight. Machines and lights line the otherwise white walls. Expectant parents are invited to visit and oversee their child's progress. The theory of the process is tidy, but the application is a bit bloodier than I imagined necessary. The pods are a mix of engineered fluids and the contents of the mother’s womb. The bright orange-pink gelatinous goo is hard to look at.

  A tastefully decorated table of snacks and drinks sits at one end of the long room. A card embossed with a red and gold Eaton family crest reads: Refreshments provided by a grant from the Eaton family in memory of their late son William J. Eaton.

  Priscilla squeezed me on the arm and motioned to the cookies, “Have a cookie, Auntie Kar,” she smiled and walked the length of the incubation room, admiring the wall of growing embryos.

  I think she makes herself believe the lie she created surrounding her son when she is in public. It is an incredibly powerful trait to be able to lie convincingly. I don't have the stomach for it yet. The omissions alone tear me apart. I can't wait for the population to catch on so I can watch the panic breakout in the streets. It will be a great relief for me to stop hiding mine.

  Jason seems to be the only force capable of calming my mind. The touch of his warm hand over mine melts my fear of death by rocks from above. We figured it all out, the making things fit problem took several awkward attempts, but everything is pretty great now.

  I popped a little round shortbread cookie in my mouth and smiled at Priscilla. We had a few more minutes to wait for Beryl to join us. She put her arm around my shoulder. “You have that same look your grandmother used to get when scheming some poor boy's death. What is rolling in that brain of yours?”

  “A lot of things, but if we clear the panels on the north side of the property, we can shore up the estate wall that lines the bedroom wings with steel pillars. A good mason could cover them in crushed rock to match the pathways before the reception,” Priscilla moved my bangs out of my eyes with a sad look on her face.

  “Time and place my sweet girl, “Priscilla waved her arm across the room. “We are going to have two babies soon. Look around, take it all in. There will be time for doomsday plans later.” I nodded my agreement with a silent smile.

  “Your right, of course.”

  Priscilla sighed and walked the room again. I followed behind her and clapped as the incubator holding the tiny Eaton twins was added to the wall.

  My mother came straight from work, and my father arrived soon after. Beryl was wheeled out to the incubation room. She stood, still a bit wobbly from the procedure, and kissed the front glass separating her from the tiny baby boys. “We can find names for them now,” she proclaimed with her smile beaming.

  It was a happy moment in a day our family would remember fondly.

  Jason arrived with
Difference beside him, both still dressed in blue scrubs from their class.

  I parked our new bigger transport vehicle under the hospital sun shield. We all piled inside and made our way to the Eaton estate. My father drove as everyone shouted out boy's names they could think of James, Richard, Sterling, Aeon, Courage, Auggie, Garrett, Weston, Colt, Hew, Craig, Bartholomew, Michael, Henry.

  Jason grabbed my hand in his and squeezed lightly, “Someday, this will be us,” he said. I nodded my head in agreement and kissed him softly. This moment was all I needed. My hand in his, moving forward towards another happy event, another first to share in our life together.

  I chose well when I walked towards the city's golden skies, back to Jason, my family, and my future. I can’t imagine missing these moments. I will live happy and free on the surface, under these golden night skies for as long as the heavens allow.

  I hope for a scientific miracle to move the comet out of our path, but I plan for survival. I plan for life even if that life is lived on a large ship hovering over hot, scrambled earth. I hope for peace and clarity and knowledge and ability. I have hidden myself away and prayed for these things from a God I don’t even believe exists. My grandmother believed so maybe I’m praying to her so she can pray for me.

  I can’t help but think of Zeke when I pray. I’m sure that breaks some kind of churchy rules. The faith he seemed to have in his God was so complete. I could use some of his blind faith and the feeling his kisses conjured. I don’t have that feeling here in the gold. I left that chemical magic under the purple sky and truthfully, I miss it.

  This undertaking for survival is the beginning of something more significant and challenging than I considered myself capable of before. I put everything else out of my mind, focus on what’s in front of me today, and fight for tomorrow like my life depends on it.