Upon a Time

by R. L. Stedman

  “It is you! Kid, I thought you were dead.” Bernice’s voice was full of wonder. “They didn’t eat you. Why not?”

  “Bernice? How do you know the boy?” Hunter asked.

  “He was with me. In the prison.”

  “The meat-locker,” Dylan said. “That’s what they called it.”

  Bernice frowned. “After they took you – that’s when the fires started.”

  Christine took his hand, squeezed it. It’s okay, Dylan. I’ll keep you safe. She could tell from the way he relaxed that he’d caught the message. “She was in the colony with you?” Christine asked. “Dylan? What did she see? What does she know?”

  Dylan said nothing.

  “Know?” Hunter frowned. “There’s something you’re not telling me here.” He put a finger through the bars, tipped Christine’s chin. “Girl. Look at me.”

  She shut her eyes. She didn’t want to talk about Dylan. Dylan was special, that was all.

  Dylan let go of her hand. “It’s alright. You can tell.”

  Christine opened her eyes, looked at her little brother, her beautiful little brother, who had killed so many Vay, and who was Mom’s final gift. Mom’s letter: I’m real sorry, I can’t tell you how sorry. But Dylan, he’ll make everything right. Mind you look after him. Keep him safe.

  “I have to keep him safe,” Christine told the ground.

  Hunter nodded. “I know, Christine. You’re a fine sister.”

  He used her name! Christine’s smile faded when one of the guards murmured, like she couldn’t believe Hunter was talking to a Vay.

  Bernice looked at Hunter, then back at Christine. “His sister? But … she’s Vay.”

  Christine shook her head. She had a name, didn’t she? She had a brother called Dylan, and a Mom and Dad and storybooks and she remembered. The Vay had no memories. Only hunger.

  Dylan was short enough to stand upright in the cage. Hands on his hips, he glared at Bernice.

  “Hey, kid,” Hunter said quickly. “It’s okay. Really.” He looked over at Controller. “How about we take these kids out of the cage? She’s not going to hurt us. Are you, Christine?”

  Christine shook her head. No. She didn’t want to hurt them. She didn’t eat people; Dylan had told her not to.

  “You sure?” Controller asked.

  Hunter nodded. Controller looked at him for a long, long minute, and something seemed to pass between them. Then Controller sighed and, reaching into her pocket, pulled out her keys. She unlocked the cage door. The guards, hands on their knives, moved closer. Clearly, they didn’t agree with Hunter. Christine thought that was wise of them.

  Smiling, Dylan stepped from the cage, gestured Christine to follow. For a crazy moment Christine wanted to go back inside, and huddle into the straw. So many Normals wanted to kill her that she felt safer behind the bars.

  “Did Dylan started the fire?” Hunter asked Bernice.

  “I didn’t see it happen,” she said. “We – me and the others …” She stopped. “We were kept in this tiny room. Cave. Space. Whatever.”

  “Meat locker,” Dylan added.

  “Yeah. Vay kept us for food, right? They ate in order; the one who had been there the longest got eaten first. No light, until they came for us. There were two people to go before me. I don’t know what their names were. Mostly we didn’t talk much, what was the point? We were just walking meat.” Bernice smiled drily. “Day after me, they pushed an old guy in. He was more talkative than the others, said his name was Jeremy, that he’d been caught with his wife. He talked so much about his wife that the rest of us just wanted him to shut up.” Bernice half-smiled. “Wish I’d known what he looked like.”

  “He was nice,” Dylan agreed.

  Christine stirred, looked doubtfully at Dylan. That wasn’t how she’d describe Jeremy. Although, he’d been kinder to Dylan than her.

  “Yeah. He was,” Bernice agreed.

  “And Dylan was there too,” Hunter prompted.

  Bernice nodded. “Yeah. Soon after they got Jeremy, in came this kid. Break your heart, a kid! In the dark – I kind of thought you were older.” She looked down at Dylan for a moment. “It’s nice to see you.”

  Dylan touched Bernice’s hand, but Christine didn’t feel jealous. Must have been horrible, sitting in the dark, listening to the screaming, knowing you’d be next.

  “Jeremy took my turn,” Bernice said. “He said he’d had his life, that it wasn’t fair for us young ones to lose ours. I told him there wasn’t any point, because they’d take me the next day anyway. “You never know,” he told us, “a lot can happen in a day. You might be saved.” I got mad with him, because who believes in happy endings?” She swallowed. “Wish I hadn’t been so angry.”

  Dylan smiled, tucked a hand into hers. “You were real grumpy.”

  “Yeah.” Bernice pressed her dark hand against Dylan’s fair skin. “I shouldn’t have been, though.”

  “It’s okay. Christine does that too. It’s a girl thing, Jeremy said. He told me not to mind. And I don’t. Really.”

  Bernice and Christine looked at each other, a shared glance that said: Boys are annoying.

  “Anyway,” Controller said hastily.

  “Jeremy fought,” said Bernice. “Killed two, I think. For an old guy he was pretty tough.”

  “He had a black belt,” Dylan added.

  Christine half-smiled. Jeremy had always wanted to fight the Vay. Kind of nice to think he’d gotten his chance. Her smile faded, remembering the pounding of the feet on the ground of the colony, the hungry eyes, the blood.

  No, she was still angry with Jeremy for what he’d done. He’d always wanted to let Dylan and Christine wander the forest, let the Vay find them. You built them for a weapon, he’d said to Mom. Why not use them?

  Jeremy had got real angry with Mom when she said No, there were other ways to beat the Vay. That was when they’d had their argument.

  Perhaps the Vay had heard the shouting; perhaps that was why they’d broken into the shelter. Mom’s disappearance had suited Jeremy, though. After she’d gone he could do what he’d planned with her and Dylan. Turn them loose in the forest. It hadn’t taken long for the Vay to find them.

  Bernice was still talking. “So, there was all this noise. Jeremy was shouting, and the Vay were getting stirred up. I …” Bernice swallowed. “I was too scared to move. I pushed myself into the corner and shook all over.” She paused. “After they’d taken Jeremy, I realized Dylan had gone.”

  “I sneaked out,” Dylan said. “In the ruckus.”

  “You planned it.”

  “Me and Jeremy.”

  Bernice shut her eyes. “I was alone.”

  “They were going to hurt Christine.”

  “Her?” Bernice gestured at Christine. “Why? She’s Vay.”

  Christine went to shake her head, no I’m not, but Bernice kept talking, which was annoying. Bernice wasn’t the only one with a story, but you’d think she was because she talked so much.

  “There was this horrible screaming. At first I thought it was Jeremy and I put my hands over my ears. Then came this great howling, that went on and on. Like for some reason every Vay there had decided to start yelling at once. Normally, Vay are really quiet, you know? It was really, really scary. I peered through the cracks in the door, kind of hoping to see something, but of course it was dark. Just darkness and shouting and screaming.” She stopped, then whispered, “Like a thousand people were dying.”

  Dylan stirred.

  Christine shut her eyes, remembering.

  A crowd of Vay, their hands stretched out like an audience at a rock concert, screaming at Dylan. Her brother, bleeding from a gash on his arm, had crawled onto a platform. He waved his arm above the crowd, and red blood scattered. Like a priest blessing the church, except instead of drops of holy water, the drops were red.

  And the drops had a stronger effect than any holy water from any priest.

  When the blood touched the Vay, they just … cru
mpled. One by one, each Vay fell. The effect spread, like a wind blowing through corn, until every Vay lay still.

  Dylan’s special, Mom had written.

  He sure was; Mom had built him into a weapon. He carried a virus that stopped the Vay. Christine was a weapon, too. Both of them, built to be something special.

  At first the Vay hadn’t really trusted her; perhaps she smelt wrong. But they weren’t sure about eating her, because after all they didn’t eat each other, not unless they were desperate, so they’d left her alone. Christine had time to prepare, to follow the plan that Jeremy had given them. Everything had been ready, just as Jeremy had wanted.

  Dylan had clambered up the stairs to the platform. He’d cut his arm – which was what they’d hoped would happen, and she had a knife ready, just in case – and the blood ran freely. He waved the arm again and again, blessing the Vay, and they’d screamed like animals in a trap. Those who could, ran away, but it wouldn’t matter, the virus would be in the air and in their lungs and they would never get away, not really.

  It was like watching the end of the world.

  Eventually Dylan’s face grew pale, and he began to wobble.

  “Dylan!” Christine shouted.

  He lost his grip on the platform and fell, down and down. Christine caught him and tied a bandage around his arm that stopped the bleeding. Jeremy grabbed her by the shoulder. “Well done!”

  Which was amazing, because after Mom had turned Christine part-Vay, Jeremy hardly spoke to her.

  “Get him away,” Jeremy said. “Go to the city. There are humans there. Keep him safe.”

  Christine picked up Dylan, put him over her shoulder. She was stronger than she looked. That was part of being Vay/Not-Vay too.

  Behind her, Jeremy poured kerosene on the ground. She’d brought it in there the day before, just as he’d told her to do.

  Jeremy glared at her. “What you looking at? Just go!”

  By the time she reached the palisade the smoke was rising.

  “Sorry I was rude to you,” Bernice said to Christine.

  “That’s okay.” Christine tried to sound mature, but actually she was still annoyed with Bernice. But she tried to be polite, because she didn’t want Dylan to feel sorry for the girl.

  “Bernice, how did you get out of the locker?” Dylan asked.

  “Jeremy unlocked the door. At first I thought he was a ghost, until he yelled at me to run. So I ran.”

  “What happened to Jeremy?” Controller asked.

  Bernice rubbed the back of her legs, as if in memory. “I don’t know. I got clear of the tunnel and I climbed up and up and up. I could see the opening in the roof and I figured, even if I couldn’t get out, at least I might see the sun.” She closed her eyes, suddenly exhausted.

  “Dylan didn’t mean to hurt anyone.” Christine tried to explain.

  “Yes I did,” Dylan said clearly.

  “Dylan!” She didn’t want them to think he was dangerous.

  “The Vay were going to hurt you.”

  Which was true. She couldn’t argue with that.

  “Why were they going to hurt you, Christine?” Hunter asked. She liked the soft sound of his voice. It made her feel safe.

  “She’s not one of them,” Dylan explained. “She doesn’t eat people.”

  “And I remember,” Christine added, and then realized from the blank looks on their faces that they needed more information. “I know my name. I know Dylan’s name.”

  “What else do you remember?” Controller asked.

  “Mom.”

  “What was your mom’s name?”

  “Caroline O’Keefe. She had brown hair.”

  Controller’s eyes widened, but she said nothing.

  “And my books. Movies. I don’t know. Just stuff.” Christine picked at the blanket on the bench. It was scratchy, but not as scratchy as the straw in the cage. Perhaps they could put this blanket over the straw, and it might feel better?

  “What’s your favorite movie?” Bernice asked, like it was important, and it was important, stories and movies were important, because they tell you who you are. The Vay had no stories. They were lost.

  It was a good thing Dylan and Jeremy had done. It was better for the Vay to burn up like stars.

  “Finding Nemo,” Christine answered.

  Bernice nodded, like this was a good choice.

  “I don’t like movies,” said Dylan. “I like fairy stories. And songs. I like songs a lot.”

  “What’s your favorite?”

  Dylan stood up, put his hands behind his back, and began:

  “Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

  How I wonder what you are,

  Up above the world so high,

  Like a diamond in the sky;

  Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

  How I wonder what you are.”

  “That’s lovely.” Controller glanced at Hunter. “It’s really late,” she said tentatively. “And I know we’re all tired. How about we go to sleep, and talk about it in the morning.”

  Chapter Eight

  Feelings

  Next morning, just as the sun rose, Hunter looked over to see the three kids rolling up their bedrolls and gathering their coats. He’d lain awake for a long time last night, wondering. Could this be the beginning of the end? Or the end of the beginning? Whatever. A change was coming. Perhaps.

  Hunter called sleepily from his mattress. “Where are you going?”

  Christine had slept between Dylan and Bernice; all three on a mattress and none of them in a cage, and no one had had the heart to separate them.

  “Out,” Bernice reached for her boots.

  Christine smiled at Hunter. She had a pretty smile for a Vay. Hunter reckoned she was by far the brightest of the three. “We’re looking for more colonies.”

  “You’re taking Dylan. Is that a good idea?”

  “We need him.” Bernice said.

  “Ah, yes.” Hunter pushed himself out of his sleeping bag. God, how he stunk. “Your mom. O’Keefe, you said? Controller looked her up. She was a geneticist, wasn’t she?”

  Christine nodded, like this was obvious. “She made a cure.”

  “For the Vay virus?”

  “We were test-tube babies,” Dylan said proudly, and pulled a jersey over his head so his hair stuck up.

  “And she made Christine into a Vay on purpose?”

  Christine nodded. “I’m not a proper Vay, though.”

  “I know. You said. Still, she must have thought you were pretty strong.”

  “Christine is special,” Dylan said.

  “I know. She’s real clever. She’s a good big sister to you. You’re lucky.”

  Christine looked embarrassed but Dylan nodded, as though it was obvious.

  Hunter rubbed his chin, bristles rasping under his fingers. I guess your Mom hoped that Christine being part-Vay meant she could get Dylan into the colonies, and protect him until he could spread the cure.”

  Christine shook her head. “That was Jeremy’s idea.”

  “Was he your father?”

  “Jeremy?” She made a face. “No way! Mom said his plan was too dangerous. She wouldn’t let him. But he did it anyway.”

  Christine told Hunter about the kerosene tin, how Jeremy had arranged for her to bring it into the colony. She was supposed to pretend to be one of the Vay until it was time to free Dylan. “He left us on a Vay-path. That’s when they caught us.”

  “What happened to your mom?”

  Christine and Dylan looked at each other. Hunter thought they knew she was dead, but they didn’t want to admit it.

  “Are you going to look for her? It’s dangerous. You sure that’s a good idea?”

  Bernice, lacing her boots, looked up. “We’re not looking for her. We’re hunting Vay.”

  Christine nodded. “I can feel the colonies.”

  “All of them?”

  She looked into the distance for a moment. “Some. The far away ones are pretty faint.”


  Hunter scratched his head. “You just going to go like that? Just the three of you?”

  “We have to,” said Christine. “The Vay, they’re miserable. They need us. They need Dylan.”

  “I don’t disagree with you. But how about you take an adult with you?”

  “You?” The three kids asked together, and if he was a smiling man he might have laughed at their look of amazement and delight. Nice to be wanted.

  “Not that I want to break up this happy gathering,” said Controller from behind them, “but why go at all? Dylan, have you thought of giving blood?”

  Christine hissed, and pushed Dylan behind her.

  Controller held up her hands, palms out. “It won’t hurt him. After you went to sleep, I talked to the doctors here. You know we have doctors? We have other scientists too, just like your place, Bernice. They think – if they get some samples from Dylan, they might be able to figure out a way to make the virus on a larger scale. Maybe enough for the entire state.” She smiled. “Who knows? Perhaps even the entire world! Now, wouldn’t that be something!”

  Behind her, men and women clustered at the opening to the cavern like they were afraid of the light. Hunter had told them the Colony had been destroyed. He wondered if many of them truly understood what this meant. They had a cure! An actual cure. Provided they didn’t lose the miracle child in front of them.

  “Will it hurt?” Dylan asked.

  “Not much more than a mosquito bite.” Controller smiled. “And we’ll give you a ginger cookie when you’re done. Cook’s making them special.”

  Dylan looked at Christine. “Okay if I do this?”

  At first she looked uncertain, but then she nodded. “I guess. It’s what Mom was planning. Just, she wanted you to get a bit bigger first.”

  “I’ve talked to the doctors,” Controller said. “We only need to take a pint. Then we can see how Dylan goes, and if he’s okay, we can take more over the next few weeks. We should have enough for them to work with in a month or so.”

  “I’ll need more ginger cookies then,” Dylan stated.

  Controller smiled. “Understood.”