by S. L. Baum
“I took my father’s open seated vehicle.” He pointed across the street to where it was parked. “It’s slower than a regular vehicle, but much faster than walking.”
I looked across the street and scolded myself for the fact that Thorn and I hadn’t even noticed it when we came up the street. We should have been more observant. “I wish my parents had one of those,” I said, because I couldn’t think of anything else to say at that moment.
“My father plays a lot of golf in his spare time. The vehicle is a nice way to travel along the paths. I enjoy driving it around town, too.” Weaver put his hands up to his head and pressed them into his temples. “Can I come back tomorrow? Or is there somewhere else we can talk? This is a lot to process.”
“I’m not sure, Weaver. I promise we will talk again, soon. I’ll message you. But all messages need to stay clean, so no talking about this kind of stuff while on a tablet,” I stared at him to make sure what I said had sunk in. “Drive safe.”
“I will.” He started across the street and then stopped. “Tomorrow,” he called out. It was a statement, not a question. Then he turned back around and got into the vehicle.
As he drove away, Thorn reached for my hand and wove his fingers with mine. “Do you think he’ll make it home? He looks dazed.”
“I’m sure he can handle it. Well, that’s another one for our team.”
Thorn looked at me. “We are teaming up, aren’t we? It’s us against them.”
“The more Citizens we get, the easier it will be to voice our displeasure.”
“I hope you are right, Blue.”
“Me too. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said as I stood up on my tiptoes and then I leaned forward to place a kiss on the tip of his nose.
Thorn wrapped his arms around me, enveloping me in a hug. “I’ll message you as soon as I get home.” He lowered his head to place a soft kiss on my lips. “I think I love you,” Thorn whispered against my lips.
“I think I love you, too,” I whispered back into his and then kissed him again, this time not as quick or as soft as it had been before.
“How is it that there was Sleep water in the main cooler drawer and neither of you two noticed?”
Aspen was sitting at the table, and the three of us were eating breakfast. She was extremely annoyed.
“We did notice, but not until after you started to fall asleep,” my father explained. “You drank more than we did. I only had a sip or two.”
I put on my best, I’m so sorry you were drugged against your knowledge, face. “I didn’t have any of the water that father poured. I wasn’t thirsty at first and then when you dozed off and we figured it out, I dumped it out. I can’t believe Dallas made such a mistake.”
My father put his hand over hers and squeezed. “I just grabbed a bottle out of the drawer and poured. I was expecting Vitamin or Energy, either one would have been fine. I didn’t even think to check if there was a Sleep mixed in. We simply do not keep them in the kitchen.”
“I’m not convinced it was Dallas,” Aspen huffed.
“Maybe one was placed in the wrong container when they were packaged for distribution. The Citizens in Three are not as precise as we are,” my father offered another explanation.
“That could be so,” Aspen agreed. Her face became less tense as her mind processed the plausibility and accepted his words. “I always thought the people who came from Three were slower than we are. They are the ones who allowed the Banished to sneak in and attack, after all. But why didn’t you fall asleep?”
“I told you, dear, I only had a few sips. When I realized what I’d poured into our glasses I quickly drank an entire bottle of Awake to counteract the Sleep.”
Aspen nodded her head. “That was quick thinking, Jackson, and exactly what I would have done.” She yawned. “But the problem is, I still feel tired. You’d have thought I drank the entire bottle instead of half a glass. I do hardly ever use it, so I guess my body is sensitive to the effects.”
“It must be,” my father agreed.
“I didn’t react all that well that time you left it in my room and I accidentally drank it,” I reminded her.
Aspen waved her hand in the air, dismissing my statement. “It was a good thing for you. You were very well rested for your Gala. What did you two do without me all evening?”
My father had just put a forkful of oatcakes with honey into his mouth. He held up a finger while he was chewing. “We went on a little walk. Fresh air and exercise. Wonderful things,” he said as he put more food on his fork.
“Umm hmm,” I mumbled through a mouthful.
“It certainly gave you two an appetite this morning,” Aspen concluded as she sipped at her juice. “By the way, Father asked me to visit him at his office today. I think I will go in with you this morning, Jackson. Could you ask the driver to wait another thirty minutes or so? I need to finish getting ready.”
“Absolutely, dear. I’ll message him right now.”
Aspen stood up and pushed herself away from the table. “I’m not hungry, I’m going upstairs. I’ll be back down as soon as I’m ready.”
When we heard the door close to their room, my father leaned in toward me and whispered. “That went pretty well.”
“Better than I thought,” I agreed. “I wonder what my grandfather wants to see her about.”
“Those two are often conspiring together. I’ve been with her for twenty years, Blue and I hardly know a thing about her. It’s sad, really.”
“It is sad.”
He straightened back up and brought his voice up to a normal level. “I hear you are due at the CEC today. Cimarron has a few things to go over with you?”
“Yes,” I sighed. “I got the message this morning. The CEC is running at full capacity again, so everyone is expected to be back in their normal routines.”
“Are you ready now?”
“Umm hmm,” I mumbled through another bite.
“As soon as you are finished eating, have Gill take you to the CEC and then come back for me and Aspen. He is waiting outside.”
I picked up my cup of juice and washed down the last of my oatcakes. “I’m ready right now.” I leaned over and kissed his cheek. “Have a productive day, Father.”
“I hope to.” He winked.
Chapter Eleven
When it Falls Apart
It Comes Together
Gill looked nervous as he drove me to the CEC. He usually seemed so calm. But after the meeting we had the night before, I’d be surprised if any of us that had been in attendance were not nervous. My mind was wandering through everyone else’s day. What was Thorn doing? What about Lily, I hadn’t talked to her in a couple days? What was Aspen doing with her father? Would my father be able to get the info he needed? Was Weaver all right?
“Stop.”
I looked up at Gill. “What did you say?”
“I said stop. Stop thinking about everyone else and just think about what you need to do to get through your day,” he said.
“How did you know?”
Gill looked at me in the rearview mirror. “Because I am doing the same thing.”
“We are a pair, aren’t we,” I sighed. “It is getting harder to walk through my day as if I know nothing. And you’ve been doing this for all these years!”
“I’m a patient man,” Gill said. “But I never felt as close to my goal as I do right now.”
“What is the ultimate goal, Gill?”
“To bring it all down.”
Cimarron was waiting for me in our normal room at the CEC. Her hair was pulled back into a severe bun. Her face looked drawn and tired, but her eyes were alert and ready to go. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had told me she was existing on Awake and nothing else.
“It’s been days and days,” I said to her as I entered the room. “How have you been? Other than busy.”
“Busy is definitely the right word for it,” she replied with an energetic smile. “I knocked the would-be usurper
down a peg when we got back to One. He was going for my position, just as I suspected.”
“What happened to him?”
Cimarron frowned. “Not enough, as far as I am concerned. But I did request to move someone else into the number-two position, and my request was granted. So he was immediately demoted to number-three. He’ll keep trying, but that will keep me on my toes.”
I clapped my hands. “Back to business. What are we doing today?”
“Good girl. Excellent choice of words. Back to business it is,” she beamed. “We have a Business Leaders’ dinner tomorrow. The entire Council will be there, as will many business owners and managers. A similar dinner will be held in each Concord, and at one point there will be a Broadcast statement from your grandfather, and you. Everyone loves the Lush Girl!”
I smiled widely. “Lucky me.”
“You truly are a lucky girl.” Cimarron went to the table in the middle of the room and picked up her tablet. She read through a list of To-Do items. “Proper outfit. Proper casual conversation. Proper responses to possible questions asked. Proper small talk, nothing in depth allowed. Proper posture.”
“Proper posture?” I interrupted her.
“It seems that quite a few Citizens noted that you were slouching during the last Broadcast. Stand tall and look strong and proud,” Cimarron told me. “And no feathers. The feathers didn’t go over well in the – How was she dressed? – poll. Voters were not convinced it was your best look. You only received a sixty-two percent approval rating on that outfit. We would like to keep that at seventy-five or above.”
I straightened my face and cleared my emotional reaction. “That is good to know. Although I must say that I loved the dress and the headpiece, I understand what you are saying and wonder what we can do to improve the numbers. What about an online poll to choose my outfit for the next big event?” I suggested. “I doubt there is time to get one together for tomorrow’s dinner.”
“Ooh. I like it. Very good idea.” She typed away at her tablet noting down my suggestion. “We could put up a few choices and we could even have a ranking system.”
“Well that checks proper outfit and proper posture off your list. We are moving right along.”
Cimarron leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Just between us, Bluebell, there is something going on in all departments. A rumbling, an uneasiness… I feel a change coming on.”
“What kind of change?” I whispered.
“I’m not sure. I have a feeling it will be universal and immediate. Either a Councilman or a liaison has visited every department head, one-by-one, in the past few days. It will happen any day now. Remember, you heard it from me first. As the lead Citizen’s Information Specialist, I always have an ear out for this exact thing. I’ll be informed as soon as any executive decisions are made, so that I can smoothly transfer the information to the Citizens. But seriously, Blue, I just know it will be soon.”
During the break, I was able to meet up with all of my friends. The whole group of us sat around the table, after placing our lunch orders.
“Are people acting strangely today, or is it just me?” Lily fiddled with the clasp on her bag as she asked the question.
“Strange how?” Fisher asked. He reached over and took the bag from her to examine the clasp.
“I don’t know. It just seems off, as if everyone didn’t have the best night’s sleep or something.”
Fisher secured the clasp and then handed the bag back to Lily. “It seemed pretty normal in Architecture.”
“Peace Keeping did seem a little tense today.” Ash bit at his thumbnail as he spoke.
“You seem a little tense today,” Holly frowned. “That is so gross. Stop biting your nails or I’m telling Mother.
Stone’s left cheek was inflated with air. Rosebud poked at it and he transferred the air to the right side of his mouth. “I know what Lily means,” Rosebud said.
Stone opened his mouth, releasing the trapped air. “So do I. Things are off. The head trainer fellow wasn’t even there this morning, and this was supposed to be the everything’s back to normal day.”
I grabbed Thorn’s hand under the table. “I have to go to some Business Leaders’ dinner tomorrow night. That’s back to normal for me.”
“You live the life, Blue,” Holly said with a wink. “I would definitely be good in your position.”
“You can have it. Hey, where are The Pets?” I asked, having just noticed their absence.
“Setting up house,” Willow told me. “They are moving all their belongings into this big split level house. There will be two separate family areas, with a large main room with a massive wall screen to connect the two sides together. The house has been going through a total remodel for the last month, ever since the contest was announced at their Gala. The brothers are moving their stuff in tomorrow. I guess they wanted the girls to feel settled in, first.”
I was amazed that I didn’t have any of that information. “How do you know all that?”
“My mother was one of the interior designers on the project. She told me all about it,” Willow explained. “The Council spared no expense. Everything is amazing, or so my mother says.”
“It will all be public soon.” Thorn raised his eyebrows. He did not like the idea of broadcasting every aspect of their lives for all Citizens to enjoy. “I think the first twelve hour per day week starts right after Leaf and Blade are moved in. They start their official cohabitation period immediately.”
“Personally, I can’t wait to watch it. I think it will be incredibly interesting,” Holly squealed with delight.
Our lunches arrived and the rest of the conversation centered on Petunia, Petals, Leaf, and Blade. I felt sorry for them already, the subject of everyone’s conversation. The girls that had been our good friends were now those people on the wall screen.
On the drive home from the CEC, Gill told me that my father was waiting for me in the house, but that Aspen had stayed with her father so they could dine together. I was happy to hear both parts of his news. Before I got out of the vehicle, Gill asked me to keep him informed. I wasn’t sure how comfortable he was with my father in charge of gathering vital information, especially since my father was the man who had sent Hope away and then made himself forget all about her.
I was upstairs, changing into some comfortable lounging around clothes, when I heard the door chime. I was twisting my hair up on top of my head as I walked down the stairs to see who had come to visit. I heard my father talking to someone, and I suspected it was Weaver, since he had been so insistent that he be able to come back to my house. “Weaver,” I called out. “I swear I can’t tell you any more than I did yesterday.”
“It’s not Weaver,” my father said as he stepped back to reveal the person at the door, the person he had just been holding in an embrace.
I almost sank to the floor.
“Bluebell, my, how you’ve grown! You are the best thing I have seen in twelve long years!”
“Mother,” I breathed. “How?” It was all I could say. My brain wouldn’t allow my mouth to utter any other words. I had been rendered completely speechless.
Tears trailed down her cheeks as she came toward me. “I have waited for this day,” she said as she put her arms around me. “Our plan worked. We are all alive, and now we are back together.” I felt my father’s arms envelop the two of us. “We made the right decision, Jackson.” Her voice cracked as she said the words.
I pulled away from the family embrace. “How are you here?” I asked. “Aspen is at dinner with her father. No one can see you!”
“Today was the best day to arrive, and so I am here.” She stood with her fists planted firmly on her hips. She looked like an older version of me. I understood what Raleigh had said to me before. There was no doubt that I was this woman’s daughter. “I know exactly where Aspen is and I will slip out before I am detected.”
“How are you so sure, Hope? I couldn’t stand it if you were discovered and any
thing happened to you.” There was pain in my father’s eyes. “I didn’t make the sacrifice then so I could lose you now.”
“You won’t lose me, I promise.” Hope held up her arm to show a device that was strapped to her wrist. “Did you know there are these things called satellites, high up in the sky, and they can see things that are here on land? I am tracking her. I know where that lying witch is.”
I stared at her in confusion. “What’s a witch?”
“A fictional creature that performs magical spells, and they are usually evil,” my real mother explained. “They appear in all sorts of literature and movies.”
“Movie?” my father looked at her.
“The language is so different outside of Concord. I’m sorry, it has been many years.”
“What is outside of Concord?” I asked.
“Everything,” my mother and my father answered together.
“I cracked into the Archives today!” my father exclaimed with excitement. “And today must be one of the monthly delivery days from the outside.”
“Yes. It is! It took me years to meet the right people and gather enough sympathy for the Citizens of Concord. I have some very wealthy and tech-savvy benefactors, who have done whatever they could do, to help me get here. And they will help me get you two out, and anyone else that wants to start over. Outside, I’ve been free to make my own choices, good and bad, and live the life I want, and not just the life that was chosen for me.”
Between my father and Hope, I learned the entire story of Concord; the history that had been hidden from all Citizens since it was formed.
Concord is an isolated chain of islands that used to belong to another, quite large, country. The Council decided long ago to wall off a small section of each island and that would be all the livable space that was allowed. The Banished were able to survive quite well in the areas beyond the walls, though they knew not to get too close to Concord, because there were electronic pulse devices installed that would stun a person so much that they would become paralyzed.