by ID Johnson
“Is she your best friend?” he asked. “Mist?”
Rain nodded, but she must not have been too convincing because he raised an eyebrow. “We had an argument recently.” She tried not to let the sadness that washed over her show on her face. “I’m sure we’ll work it out.”
“You will.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ve never really had a friend before, but I can imagine it’s a pretty spectacular thing to have.”
She couldn’t help but smile, even though it hurt her heart to hear him say he didn’t even have a single friend. Fixing things with Mist was important; he was right about that, and she’d find a way to do that, as soon as the doors unlocked, assuming everything was the same once she was out. Whatever was going on out there, it was odd, and she just hoped everyone was okay.
Chapter Sixteen
Rain decided she needed to find something else to talk to 24C about, other than her friendship with Mist. Still sitting on the floor, waiting for the Mothers to unlock the door, she pondered whether or not to ask him more questions, but the only one she could think of at the moment seemed silly.
“It sounds pretty amazing out there.” He had that far off tone to his voice, like he was imagining a wonderful world where people could do whatever they liked, which wasn’t quite the case, but compared to his reality, it was close.
“It’s not bad. Better than in here. What do you wear in the workout room? You don’t….”
“Walk around naked all day?”
Rain dropped her eyes, feeling her face redden yet again. She didn’t mean to think about him in a workout room, lifting weights, completely nude, but the image was there just the same.
“We have gray shorts and white shirts. White socks, black trainers. We aren’t allowed to wear underwear, though, because it might restrict our sperm count. And we have to sleep in the nude.”
So much of what he was saying was hard to hear. Rain realized she’d been taking her freedoms for granted. She didn’t know what to say to him. “Do you… do you ever wonder what it would be like… if things were different?”
“All the time.” He had a haunted look in his eyes, and she couldn’t blame him. “But I don’t think there’s much point in it.” The announcer blared again, telling them they expected it to be five more minutes. “Although… I’m not sure what this is.”
Rain had been wondering the same thing. Of course, she remembered what Sunny had said about staying away from IW today. Had she been aware that something was going to happen? Was this it? “You should keep dreaming about it,” she said, though under other circumstances, she might’ve agreed it was futile. “You never know.”
A small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. “I don’t know how I’d get up in the morning if I didn’t have at least a little hope that things might change someday. But… I know plenty of guys who’ve been taken away thinking that.”
“Taken away where?”
“To the Bridge, mostly. Some to other jobs. But not usually.”
“They take you to the Bridge if you don’t perform well enough?”
“Yes, and if they find out we can’t produce quality offspring. If too many of our fetuses have to go to the Bridge, so do we. But if we do a good job, we can age out at thirty-five, and then we might be transferred to Construction or Cleaning. Those guys… they get to work outside, at least part of the time. That must be…that must be really good.”
Rain thought about the man she’d seen at the new build when she was headed to the woods with Mist. She wondered if he’d aged out. “Do they tell you if you’re doing well ahead of time? How many viable offspring you’ve produced?”
“They tell us if we are ‘adequate’ or ‘below expectations,’” he replied, shifting his eyes upward when he said the key words. “So far, I have always been ‘adequate.’ But I’m still in trials. I won’t be held accountable for viable offspring for another six months, when I reach the age of maturity.”
Rain had no idea the men had trials as well. “Oh.”
“I do know a few guys who have disappeared before maturity, though. Some for insubordination, others for being reported.”
“Reported? What do you mean?” Rain shifted on the floor. Her bottom was starting to hurt from sitting on the floor. It had been more than five minutes, she was sure of that, but the announcer hadn’t come back on. It was still quiet in the hall.
“When a woman reports abuse or an otherwise negative experience,” he explained. “If you get a few of those, they get rid of you.”
“You mean the Bridge?”
That made her stomach ache. The idea of 24C being taken away to the Bridge…. She couldn’t think of it.
“Are you all right? Your face is a little green.”
“I’m fine.” But she wasn’t.
“Attention! Regular operations will be restored in one minute. Women, prepare to depart your rooms in one minute. Men, you must be seated and strapped in when regular operations resume, or you will be severely punished. Any reports of men interacting with women or moving from their seats will result in severe punishment.”
“Well, I guess that’s my cue to resume the position.” 24C sighed and leaned back into the seat. Rain looked away, wanting to give him some privacy to put his shadow sock back on.
But she also wanted to ask him one more question before she wouldn’t have the chance. “Hey,” she said, without turning her head to look at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him pulling the black fabric back down over his face. “If you did have a name… have you ever thought about what you’d want it to be?”
“A name?” he repeated, his voice muffled from the mask.
“Yeah. Did you ever think about that?”
“I have thought about it, “ he said. He went quiet, and she thought he might never tell her, but after a pause he said, “I read somewhere once, a long time ago, that the first man’s name was Adam. I think, if I ever get a chance to have a name, I’d want to be like him, like the first man. To have a chance to fix everything, and start over.”
“Adam?” she echoed. Rain liked the name, even though she wasn’t quite sure why anyone would want to be named after the first man, the one who got everything off on the wrong foot. Still, she liked thinking of him as Adam much more than 24C.
A whirring noise brought everything back to normal--the straps came down around his wrists and legs. His head was thrust backward as well, and the room went dark. A click at the door let her know it was unlocked, but Rain remembered from her safety classes she wasn’t allowed to leave yet. She got her backpack out of her locker, wishing she’d had a chance to grab a wipe earlier, but she didn’t dare go across the room now for fear that whoever checked on her would think she was up to no good.
A few moments later, her door opened. A Mother stepped in, a frazzled expression on her face. “Are you hurt, Rain?” she asked.
Assuming she’d checked the scanner to see who was in the room since she’d never seen the woman before, Rain shook her head. “No, I’m fine.”
“Good. Did this Inseminator move or attempt to speak to you while the lights were on?”
Rain looked at 24C--Adam. He didn’t flinch. Turning back to the Mother, she said, “No, he did not.”
Chapter Seventeen
The door to the insemination room clicked shut behind her with a definitive echo, as if to say the conversation that had transpired within could never be accessed again. Another Mother was giving directions in a stern tone, and Rain did her best to pay attention. The lights in the hall seemed brighter than usual, and the ones that ran along the floor were flashing. In the distance, she heard a chirping noise, some sort of an alarm. “Go straight into the changing area, get dressed, and leave via this hallway on the left immediately. Go straight to your boarding house and remain in your room until the all clear is sounded. Do you understand?”
Rain looked at the Mother closely then and realized it was Mother White, the woman she’d thought had been looking a
t her oddly the other day. Her eyes enlarged slightly, but Rain did her best to hide her surprise. Or was it fear?
Creases above the woman’s upper lip protruded as she pressed her lips together, and Rain felt her insides tighten slightly. The idea of violating any of the rules made her feel anxious. Something told her Mother White would not hesitate to recommend her for punishment. “Yes, Mother,” she said with a sharp nod.
Mother White was dressed in a uniform Rain was not that familiar with because she hardly ever saw Military Mothers. Only from time to time while she was at IW or in the medical building, where IW was located. The fabric looked uncomfortable but durable, fitted with the majority of her body covered, save her neck and hands. Was it bulletproof?
Rain had no idea what would’ve precipitated such a response from the military, and she was pretty sure she didn’t want to find out. The Mother who had let her out of the room glanced down at her tablet, checked the numbers on the rooms, and pointed at the nearest dressing room for Rain, as if she might’ve forgotten where to go. Wasting no time, Rain hurried along, afraid of what might happen if she didn’t. As she rushed off, she felt as if Mother White was still watching her.
Rain entered the dressing area. Normally, most of the women would go inside curtained-off rooms to change, but the other dozen or so girls already in the changing area were quickly pulling their clothing on without a word, their faces either pale with fear or red with exertion. Rain wanted to ask if any of them had spoken to their Inseminators, but she knew, even if they had, they wouldn’t admit it. She also wanted to know if any of them had an idea what might’ve happened to put the building in lockdown. If any of the other women hastily getting dressed had answers, they weren’t saying a word.
Rain went into one of the curtained areas and took a few deep breaths. A dispenser of wipes was mounted on the wall here, and she still needed to use them. She cleaned up, listening to other girls hurrying in and out of the area, and then pulled her clothes on, not in as big a rush as the others. Whatever it was that had caused the panic and breakdown in the systems, Rain wasn’t as afraid of it as she was that one of the Mothers would discover she’d broken a rule. Was Mother White suspicious? Nothing could be done about the several rules she’d already demolished--including lying straight-faced to a Mother--but she’d be careful not to break any more.
Once she was dressed and her shoes were on, Rain came out, taking her gown to toss in the laundry hamper. A few other girls were getting dressed, one crying, and Rain thought she saw red marks around her neck. The blonde was unfamiliar to her, but Rain wanted to ask if she was okay. Instead, she gave her a sympathetic look and walked past her, thinking the Mothers would treat her if she was injured. What they’d do for the emotional state of any of the girls who had been in the building under these unusual circumstances was anyone’s guess. Likely not much at all. In a day or two, they’d probably be told it was a glitch in the power system, nothing to worry about, and then in time, since none of them would be allowed to speak about the events, it would fade from their memories.
Hesitantly, Rain stepped out, hoping Mother White was long gone. The hallway was clear, much to her relief, but the alarms were still buzzing on the other side of the building. It seemed like a good time to get out of there, so Rain pulled her backpack strap up tighter on her shoulder and held it there, not caring that it was pulling on a few of her red curls. Mother White had been specific about which way to go, but as Rain approached the hallway she’d been told to take, a group of ten or so other women came from that direction. “We can’t go that way,” one of them whispered, nervous.
“Why?” Rain asked as the rest of the women hurried down the hall she normally took, the one closest to an exit.
The girl, who was probably the same age as Rain, though she didn’t recognize her, shook her head and then rushed after the others, leaving Rain standing there alone, pondering what to do.
The Military Mother had been very specific about where she was to go, so Rain took a deep breath and turned left, headed down the hall she’d been told to take. At first, she saw nothing unusual, but about halfway down the corridor, she noticed one of the doors was ajar. From inside, she heard two or three voices shouting, all of them sounded like Mothers. Not sure what to do, Rain crossed to the other side of the hall and hurried her pace, planning not to look into the room at all. Instead, she kept her eyes on the floor.
A red, sticky liquid covered a few of the white tiles, and Rain’s eyes traced the path back to the open door. The further to her right she looked, the more blood she saw. The entryway was full of it, the footprints left within the crimson stain clearly from military boots.
Unable to help herself, she raised her eyes and saw a few Mothers dressed in military uniforms inside, large, black T6 machine guns in their hands. Across the room, on the floor, she could see at least one body. It was a woman, dressed in Medical white. Rain couldn’t help but stare for a moment, but realizing she was not supposed to see any of this, she hurried on, praying that the Military Mothers inside had not seen her and that no one else came this way. If Mother White had been one of the Mothers who saw her, she had a feeling she’d be in big trouble.
Pushing through the exit at the end of the hall, Rain gulped in fresh air and checked her sneakers for blood. The soles were clean. With a glance behind her down an empty hallway, she hurried off of the porch toward the sidewalk, wondering if the other girls who’d rushed back her direction had seen what she did or if they had been warned by one of the Mothers in the room not to go that way.
Other girls were rushing home down several of the sidewalks that led out of the facility. Rain could see them between the buildings she was flying past as well. No one was talking; certainly no one was giggling. Pushing her arm through her other strap, Rain held onto her backpack with both hands, wishing she could go faster without running. They’d always been instructed not to run in a dangerous situation because it led to panic, but Rain just wanted to be home. In the distance, the alarm changed from the chirping sound to a deeper, buzzing tone for a few seconds before she heard the announcer’s voice again assuring everyone that the situation was completely under control now and that normal operations would begin shortly.
Rain truly doubted that would be the case. At least one person was dead. It would take more than a thorough cleaning to hide that stain. A few days ago, she would’ve believed it would all go away within a matter of days because no one would dare talk about the situation once the Mothers told them not to. Now, she realized that wasn’t the case. There were women who would talk about it, who would question it. Perhaps some of them would even cheer for it if whatever had happened back there had been an attempt to change something deeply ingrained in the rules and laws that governed them.
Ahead of her, Weather House came into view. She muttered her thankfulness under her breath, picking up her pace even more and taking the steps two at a time.
Once she was in the hall, Rain stopped, sucking in air. She’d been walking faster than she realized, and her side hurt. Brisk footsteps were coming toward her down the hall. She looked up to see none other than the Head Mother of Weather Building, Mother Thunder, rushing toward her. Rain could tell by her expression that she was worried, even though she didn’t have many direct dealings with the woman. Mother Storm had been her assigned superior for many years, and she generally checked in with each of her girls every few weeks unless they needed something more. Mother Thunder’s pace let Rain know she preferred to handle this herself.
“Rain!” she said, her voice radiating both relief and concern. “How are you? Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m fine,” Rain assured her, having regained her breath. “Just a little alarmed.”
Mother Thunder rested her hand on Rain’s shoulder. “I am sure you are. Thank goodness you’re home. You are the last of Weather House to make it back. None of the other girls were harmed by those wretched Inseminators either, but I heard a few of the girls from the other b
uildings were not as fortunate.” She shook her head, looking down at the floor. “It’s no matter now.” Forcing a smile into place, Mother Thunder straightened Rain’s hair. “You needn’t worry about it. The Military Mothers will ensure nothing like this can ever happen again.”
Rain managed a small smile as well, thinking that’s what the Mother would expect to see from her. “Yes, Mother.”
“Go ahead to your room, dear. As soon as we get the all clear, we’ll have some dinner, and everything will return to normal.”
“Yes, Mother Thunder.” Rain nodded and headed toward the stairs that led to her room. Regardless of how many smiles the Mothers pressed to their faces, something told Rain this wouldn’t just go away. As she approached the door to her room, the idea that nothing would ever be normal settled in, and she wasn’t quite sure how she felt about it. A vision of Adam’s blue eyes looking at her inquisitively came to mind, and for once, Rain started to think perhaps some change was in order after all.
Chapter Eighteen
The door was locked. Rain pushed in a code she couldn’t remember having used in years and was relieved when the door popped open. Her three roommates watched with wide eyes as she entered the room, their faces relaxing once they saw that it was only her and not a mob of rebels, although, she had a feeling Mist wouldn’t be too upset if it had been.
The other two women, Breeze and Gale, were sitting on Breeze’s bed, the top bunk above Mist, holding on to each other with pillows squeezed to their chests. Mist was sitting on her own bed with her tablet in her hand, as if nothing unusual were happening in the world. If it hadn’t been for the look in her eyes as Rain came through the door, she would’ve thought she wasn’t concerned at all.