The Forbidden Plan

by Erika Starits

  Burdensome realizations weighed on my conscience. We were breaking laws thinking about this concept of liberty. Yet, he had thrown it unashamedly into the open and encompassing atmosphere.

  The chilling conversation ceased. Zander hit the smuggled objects above his gathered branches and kindling. Little sparks of light emerged from the unfamiliar items. Zander was going to create a fire. I became mesmerized by the branches catching light. Soon after, flames blazed in the darkness. My needful body welcomed the warmth. I shivered and moved closer to the glowing firelight and closer to Zander. He rubbed his hands back and forth against the heat. He stalked back to the scattering of trees to cut more branches.

  I positioned my body as close to the flames as I could manage. The glow flickered in the darkness and across my face. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the enveloping warmth. I happily concluded I would not freeze to death. I would live to see another day.

  I relaxed against one of the gigantic rocks peppering the land. Heavy eyelids gave into unprevented sleep. My slumber was interjected with notions of freedom. Fitful dreams disturbed the peace I maintained as a drudge. My subconscious was drawn to the new concept with fierce and strong force.

  Someone stirred my slumber. Hands firmly gripped my shoulders and shook my body ferociously. A presence was near and I could feel the heat of its breath.

  A voice shouted, “Ana, they are coming soon! Ana!!? We are going to die if you do not wake this instant!”

  Chapter 3

  Zander’s voice immediately infuriated me. He was insolent before and now proceeded to yell in my face. He did not have the right to call me “Ana.” We were not familiar acquaintances and we were not from the same drudge house. How did he even know my nickname was Ana...short for Analysse? My shoulders continued to be handled roughly.

  Zander urgently bellowed, “Wake up, wake up! The elite tens will be arriving within the hour! Help me hide the evidence of fire!”

  My eyes fluttered open. After seeing Zander so close to my face, I recoiled and promptly pushed him from me.

  I shouted, “Get away from me!”

  I stumbled to my feet and observed the sun barely peeking over the mountain tops. He sneered at my defensive reaction.

  “You are ridiculous to fall asleep so deeply during Remembrance Duty.”

  Zander expressed unguarded disgust. I was getting weary of seeing repulsion in his eyes whenever he glanced in my overall direction.

  He maintained his tirade and stated, “I’ve seen how Old Jake hovers over you. He has clearly allowed your weakness and vulnerability to run untamed. If you close your eyes it should be to rest them, not to fully sleep! You are lucky I am not as insensible as you or we would both lie dead in minutes.”

  I glared at him with as much vengeance as I could muster. My chest rose and fell with unchecked emotion.

  “Shut up,” I angrily snapped.

  The curt and vindictive response was alarming. It was not the norm to convey such strong passion in my speech. I never had to defend myself so powerfully. Weakness may have been reflected in my appearance, but it was not as present within my soul. A discovery as much to his surprise as my own.

  Zander stared for a hasty moment. The corners of his mouth appeared to move in stunned amusement. The expression was as fleeting as time.

  He immediately barked another order, “Hurry, we need to hide the evidence of this fire or we will be put to death.”

  The fire could evoke deadly punishment and this acknowledgement induced extreme panic. My insides were rattling with fear, but I resolved to hide it from Zander.

  I asserted, “You mean you will be put to death. I had no part in hiding fire starters in your underpants.”

  Zander licked his lips and his dark eyes turned into furious slits. They pierced mine and impatiently held my gaze. He seemed unsure of how to react to my constant countering of his self-proclaimed dominance.

  He contemptuously replied, “Well, you sure enjoyed the warmth of the fire. Now, didn’t you?”

  Zander uttered the last stab of words in our heated exchange. He stalked in the opposite direction and left me inwardly shaking with emotion. He gathered remnants of burnt tree branches to hide further in the wilderness.

  He growled one more rude command, “You need to turn the dirt over and bury the evidence. The elite tens could arrive within minutes, so please make yourself useful.”

  From the feel of the dirt between my stiff fingers, it was obvious the fire fizzled out hours ago. I slumbered way too soundly. Zander was right and he infuriated me. It was a foreign emotion, but surfaced in full force in his presence.

  I recalled his hateful glare for not agreeing with his outlandish remarks about the life of a drudge. It caused a raw bitterness to stir within. We were not treated as well as firstlings, but we were blessed to have any life at all. Why did he react like I was filth because I disagreed with his point of view? He audaciously accused me of being ridiculous as my eyes opened with the morning sun. He treated me like dirt. Like the dirt I was moving with my hands in an intense effort to hide the proof of fire.

  I buried the evidence proving we violated serious rules. Seconds later, hooves pounded the earth. They echoed throughout the crisp and silent morning. I moved near the fence’s gate. I vigorously cleaned my hands on my dark brown pants.

  Elite tens were coming and I was in association with breaking laws. This acknowledgment crippled me with anxiety. My breathing was fast and unsteady. It puffed out in fearful clouds of fog. Zander sprinted to my side and stood as silent and stoic as a statue. The Chief’s commanders were given the title, Elite Ten. They wore a distinguishing badge pinned near their chests. The badge was bronze and shaped like a star. A few of the elite tens were visible in the distance. I identified them as Rykeir, Ralina, and Zeenab.

  Ralina and Zeenab were indifferent personalities. They enforced the laws with firmness, but not cruelty. However, Rykeir was known for his malice. He loved inflicting pain in all forms both emotional and physical. He took great pleasure in wreaking havoc in others and regularly beat drudges for minor offenses. Seeing his image sent frightful chills through my veins. Rykeir had long black hair, gray beady eyes, and a gruesome scar on his cheek. He was frequently clad in black leather garb. These attributes haunted many of my nightmares. Within minutes, the elite tens arrived at the entrance and exit of Starosa. The only opening in the buzzing electric barricade.

  The whirring of the electric fence became deafening. Rykeir emerged from his horse with dominating movements. His companions stayed atop their horses looking aloof. Ralina was tan skinned with thick brown hair pulled into a ponytail. Zeenab was the perfect contrast with thin blonde hair and pale skin.

  Rykeir broke the silence when he barked an order to Zeenab. I slightly jumped. The tense reaction sparked an inward reprimand. I resolved to keep my actions from being transparent and revealing guilt or weakness. I ardently hoped he did not notice my negligent falter.

  Rykeir haughtily sauntered to the gate. He entered a code into the electric box attached to Starosa’s fence and opened what held us prisoners of the frightening outside world. Rykeir strolled in slithering motions. He turned his lips into a sneer to speak, but something stopped him in his tracks. He sniffed the air. His nose and mouth moved in suspicious movements. He fingered the smooth and shiny handgun perched at his hip. Rykeir threw his gray seething eyes at Zander.

  He spoke in a menacing tone, “Do I detect sssmoke in the air?”

  Zander stared directly at Rykeir. His strong jawline was firm and set.

  He proclaimed, “No, sir. You do not.”

  Zander’s voice was steady and his demeanor was solid and bold. I sensed his smoldered indignation. Rykeir looked at Zander, clearly disbelieving his response.

  He hurled a grim penetrating glare and followed me with his eyes. He moved them from my head to my toes whenever I was near him. It made me as uncomfortable as being trapped in a cramped room with no immediate escape. It was especial
ly unnerving when I was afraid of Zander's fire being discovered. Rykeir persisted to gaze at me in unsettling ways. He was apparently trying to decide something.

  He crudely inquired, “Aren’t you a cleaning drudge, girl?”

  I swallowed rising panic and responded, “Yes, sir. I am.”

  Drudges addressed the elite tens and firstlings with ma’am or sir or they could count on an immediate beating. Rykeir glanced back and forth at Zander and I in confusion.

  “Why would Chief Meadows allow a ssstrapping young man like you, a creator drudge…”

  He snapped Zander a sinister sneer and proceeded, “With thisss beautiful, delicate cleaning drudge?”

  Rykeir chillingly exaggerated the sss sound of his words.

  He peered at us accusingly and hissed, “Interaction with different drudge lines is ssstrictly forbidden.”

  The way he said beautiful rendered me off balance. I considered why he was always studying me with disturbing scrutiny. It required the strictest discipline to not jolt with terror. I wanted to run inside the safety of the community without an elite ten’s permission and the customary handcuffs.

  Zander responded in fearless and unwavering speech, “I am not sure, sir. I was informed her regular companion became ill and we were arranged together last minute.”

  Rykeir contemplated Zander’s response. He shrugged it off with slithering movements.

  “Well let’s get you back to your own drudge linesss where you belong. I will have to ask Chief Meadows his intentions for the inappropriate allowance of you two being together.”

  He paused for a time ceasing moment and huffed, “I don’t like it.”

  Rykeir spit and it was like venom from a serpent’s mouth. He had a huge part in almost every decision Chief Meadows carried to fruition. Unanswered discussion about the cause of his influence was overheard in whispering voices. Chief Meadows did not cower to anyone except for Rykeir.

  Rykeir barked, “Zeenab, Ralina, handcuff the drudges and bring me the end of their chains. I will be the one to carefully drag them to the sssafety of Starosa.”

  He exaggerated the word carefully and his teeth and evil grin glinted in the sunlight. Zander and I were cuffed, roughly handled, and pulled inside of the towering protection. The gate clattered shut. The enclosed wall of electricity instantly warmed my icy fear from Remembrance Duty.

  Atop his horse, Rykeir dragged us quickly. If we did not keep pace, the handcuffs sliced our wrists. All drudges had scars from the minor abuse, but we only had to endure the slashing discomfort once a month. The affliction and resulting damage served as a reminder to be grateful for the other days. The days we were in Starosa safe, fed, and working. I could not wait to eat, shower, and sleep on my cot once again.

  We were pulled like animals and traveled the main dirt road for about a mile. I focused on the drudge houses in the distance. I was fatigued, famished, and aching. My wrists were screaming from the pain of not being able to keep up with Rykeir’s horse, but I could finally see the five drudge houses. The welcomed sight renewed faltering strength to press forward. My mouth was dry with desperate need for water, but I was almost to my home.

  We were on the only road leading in and out of the community. The road was surrounded by untraveled dirt, rock, and various plant life. The bustling town was hidden by the large and drab drudge houses. The five drudge houses from left to right sheltered the creator drudges, servant drudges, worker drudges, sustenance drudges, and ended with the cleaning drudges.

  On the other side of the drudge houses was Main Circle where there were shops and restaurants for the firstlings. Beyond Main Circle, the dirt road lead to the School for the Firstlings. It was encompassed by gardens, crops, and cotton fields where worker drudges toiled in daily. Behind the school the road forked and each direction led to a different factory. In one factory the sustenance drudges prepared and stored food. Creator drudges fabricated various materials from clothing to weapons in the other.

  A rocky path branched into the firstlings’ houses. The firstlings lived in huge and beautiful structures. They were nothing like the drudges’ two-story buildings of bleak, gray cement. The firstlings had gorgeous and spacious windows affixed to their lovely homes. There was not a window to be found within the walls of a drudge house. Yet, it was my home and I could not wait to return.

  Rykeir steered left at the road’s intersection and my heart dropped in trepidation. He would be disposing of Zander first. I would be left unaided with the elite tens. It would not have been such an undesirable circumstance, if it did not include the repulsive Rykeir. I was never left alone with the elite tens because Old Jake usually accompanied me. Old Jake resided in my building and we were discarded in front of our drudge house together. The previous twenty-four hours marked the first Remembrance Duty he was not my constant companion.

  The sun warmed the chill of the night as we stopped at the building for creator drudges. Rykeir strutted to Zander. He ripped the issued knife from his waist and out of its sheath. He threateningly put the knife in Zander’s face and grotesquely licked the blade. It cut into the corner of his tongue revealing a fair amount of blood. Without warning, Rykeir spit it in Zander’s face and slithered away with a smug grin. The ragged scar on his cheek was stretched to its limits in amusement.

  I caught Zander’s heated glance before he faced the other direction. He turned from the hideous Rykeir and toward his living quarters. He was not willing to make eye contact with the elite tens…or me. He stiffly waited to be uncuffed and released.

  “Uncuff the riffraff and let’s proceed,” Rykeir ordered Zeenab.

  Rykeir’s repulsive behavior infuriated me. I had never witnessed anything like it. It made me sick to my stomach. He was the only elite ten without conscience and most capable of the disgusting and disgraceful action. Most of the elite tens did not treat drudges with the barbarity and disregard he often chose. I involuntarily clenched my fists and anxiously moved my fingers, but it was only a reaction. I would never do anything to disrespect an elite ten. Zander was released and Rykeir and Zeenab climbed atop their horses. Zander trekked to his drudge house without a backward glance.

  I watched him clean Rykeir’s vile spit with the sleeve of his brown coat. He was experiencing bitter humiliation. I pictured the hatred and rage burning through his dark brooding eyes and twisted onto his handsome features.

  The elite tens maneuvered to my drudge house. As we approached my building, Rykeir halted his horse and confidently jumped off. He gathered the reins and advanced with a dreadful fleer and self-assured strides. He brushed my cheek with a long, bony, and grimy finger. His touch gave a bitter taste in my mouth. I impulsively moved the chain and cuffs near my face and was mortified at my instinctive reaction. It could be perceived as an act of defiance. Fortunately, the movement seemed to amuse Rykeir.

  “It is a pity you are a drudge. Sssuch a waste of a beautiful girl.”

  He handled a few strands of my hair between his fingers. It took everything out of me to remain unmoving. I was seething with an intense longing to be released. He dropped his hand and addressed his other companions.

  “Ralina? Do you think Chief Meadows will allow this appealing waste to move lines and become a servant drudge?”

  He leered in my direction. What did his servant drudges do outside their duties of cooking and cleaning? This consideration caused a sickening inward wince. Ralina tossed her light brown ponytail.

  She replied with boredom, “I am not sure. He seems to already have plans. He sent her on Remembrance Duty with a good-looking drudge from a different line.”

  She shrugged and scoffed at me. Ralina’s comment did not settle well with me or Rykeir. The corners of his mouth expressed dissatisfaction.

  He commanded, “Hmm, well uncuff her.”

  Rykeir moved to walk away, but abruptly stopped to face me again. He slowly strutted and put his face close to mine. He penetrated me with a haunting gaze. His hands hungrily found my waist and f
umbled for the issued knife. He eagerly untied the twine of leather and nauseatingly lingered past comfort. He casually removed the weapon from its sheath and openly considered a morbid action. He decidedly gave me a brutish shove and sheathed the knife before stalking to his horse.

  Ralina took the initiative to hastily uncuff me. She nudged me toward my drudge house. I detested how Rykeir’s disgusting hands loitered at my waist. I rubbed at the pain in my wrists and unexpected tears emerged. Zander’s talk of freedom echoed through my mind with an unexpected force.

  The elite tens chatted as I solemnly walked to my house. Their overheard discussion confirmed clawing complications circling my mind. Unuttered fears became real and unnerving. Their heartless stares bore into my back and their words stung my ears. Zeenab’s booming speech punctured the air.

  “I am curious about what she and the boy did?”

  Ralina laughed and muttered, “Yeah, well it must have been pretty bad. If they continue to have Remembrance Duty together, they will undoubtedly meet their fate. It is human nature.”

  Rykeir barked, “Silence, you two.”

  I stumbled to the entrance of my drudge house with troubled feet. Questions were spinning. For the first time in my existence, I was stewing with genuine discontent. I struggled to control my anxious frenzy. Before pushing through the door my movements were startled to a pause. A horrible noise resounded from Main Circle. Screaming rang through my ears. There was pitiful wailing and sobbing.

  A woman hysterically shouted, “Don’t you dare come forth! Don’t you do it!”

  Chief Meadows’s powerful proclamation thundered through a gathering crowd’s sounds.

  “Will you have me kill her before you come forth?! Because you know I will!”

  Air was trapped in my lungs and my heart feigned to stop beating. What traumatic scene was happening on the other side of my building?

  Chapter 4

  I moved with hesitation toward Main Circle. I was fatigued and weak from hunger, but curiosity overpowered my will to eat and drink. I resisted the impulse to run into the safety of my building. An overprotective old man normally hindered my actions, so I had never witnessed a Reminder Beating. Without Old Jake by my side, I made my way through the throng of people.