Dispersion

  “That’s coming up pretty soon. Happy early birthday,” Isaac says as he enters in my information. “And you’ll be wanting a two-room suite with your wife and daughter,” he says to himself as he keeps typing away.

  Allison laughs as I say, “She’s not my wife. We’re not married.”

  Isaac flips his hair out of his dark eyes and turns to face us. “I’ve heard that people have children out of wedlock a lot in the territories. I thought that was a rumor. You’ll probably want to get married soon. Some people may be uncomfortable with the two of you living together before marriage, even though you already have a child.” As he finishes, his cheeks are red with embarrassment.

  Marriage was an archaic symbol of the past. People in the territories would sign legal contracts to get approval for shared living quarters and permission for genetic engineering, but that was paperwork. From the history lessons, the educators always made it seem like it was unnecessary.

  Allison chuckles again. “Honey, that’s not what’s going on. The two of us aren’t together romantically. The two of us together…can you imagine?” Her smile somehow widens as we make exchange glances. “I mean, no offense to Elliot, but that’s not at all what’s going on here. He’s not the father of my daughter.” Her smile fades slowly. “He died.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear that. I thought…” He tapers off and gestures toward me holding Josie.

  “Forget about it,” Allison mutters. “Elliot, I can take her back now.”

  Taking care not to disturb Josie any more than necessary, I give her back to her mother. Allison stares down at her intently. Jess puts her arm around Allison.

  Isaac coughs and tries to get us back on subject, though he’s much more subdued now. “Do you want a separate suite as well? You don’t want to room with Dominic?”

  Dominic and I look at each other, a smirk playing on his lips. Though it would help with our new image with Veritas, it wouldn’t go over well.

  “Individual, please,” I say.

  “Work assignment?”

  I never thought I’d have a say in this. In the territories, everything was always decided for us. Given the choice though, there’s only one thing I can think of.

  “Is there anything in food distribution or something like that?”

  Dominic’s head jerks toward me as he watches my expression.

  “It’s what my mother did,” I finish weakly.

  “Hmmm,” Isaac mumbles. “I can work with that. We have a small team that organizes food and other various supplies. I believe someone requested a transfer so this might work out well.” He continues typing away to input all of our information.

  “How about you?” he asks as he gestures toward Allison and Josie.

  “Allison Lauren, and this is Josie.”

  More clicks fill the room as Isaac inputs this new information “Age and birthday?”

  “I’m twenty-four, born February twenty-fifth.”

  “Do you want to live alone as well?” Isaac asks, his attention not leaving the monitor.

  With Jess’s hands still over her shoulders, Allison says, “Can I have a two-room suite with Jess?”

  Allison looks hopefully up toward Jess, who nods her head in agreement.

  At least the two of them will be together if I can’t be. Allison seems to be following through on her promise to be there for Jess.

  “I can do that…how about work assignment?” Isaac asks.

  “I’ve always wanted to be an educator,” she mutters, almost embarrassed to admit it.

  Isaac clicks his tongue. “I doubt they will let you teach right off the bat, but I can put you in to be a teacher’s aide.”

  “That would be great.” Allison looks back down toward Josie. “What will I do with her?”

  “We have a great daycare system in place,” he responds. “My sister loves the caregivers there. They’re great with my nephew.”

  Allison’s eyes widen. “I’ve never had to leave her yet…”

  He chuckles good-naturedly. “No worries. That’s how my sister felt too, but she’s comfortable with it now.”

  Allison clenches her jaw but doesn’t respond.

  “Last but not least,” Isaac says as he turns back to his computer. “Name?”

  “Jessica Borum. Twenty-six. August twenty-second. I’d prefer the medical field. I already have some training there.”

  “We could always use more doctors and nurses. That’s great news,” Isaac says absentmindedly while he finishes putting in all the information. “Let me print this.”

  He walks to the corner of the room where an ancient machine has come to life and is making a loud noise.

  “Waiting on an upgrade for that as well, I presume?” Dominic asks, unable to keep the condescending tone of out his voice.

  Fortunately, Isaac is oblivious. “I’ve been waiting on that one for a while,” he replies. When it finishes printing, he gathers everything together and puts it in a large manilla folder. “I need to go get your keys. I’ll be right back.”

  He goes into the small closet behind him and sorts through a large box.

  Allison scans through her papers and looks across to scan Jess’s.

  “What time do you get off work, Elliot?”

  I scan my page, slightly uneasy about adhering to a strict schedule after months of not even knowing what time it was. This is what I’m choosing, though. At least I have a say in this. “A little after four. Why?”

  “I won’t get back until about 5:30 and Jess has to report in around 4:30. Can you watch Josie until I get back?”

  “Of course,” I say and make eye contact with Jess. She quickly breaks her gaze, but not before I see the same concern I’m feeling in her expression. Allison’s awfully protective of Josie, which makes sense, but she’s going to need to trust other people with her. At least she has us.

  Dominic sighs in impatience and taps his fingers on his thigh.

  “Take it easy,” I mutter, keeping my voice low enough so Isaac can’t hear me. He’s happy enough. There’s no need for Dominic to ruin it for him.

  Allison shifts Josie in her arms. I don’t offer to hold her this time.

  Finally, Isaac walks back toward us and hands us each a packet of papers. “In these, you will find a map of the compound that will help you navigate everything as you get accustomed to life here. In addition, there is information on where your living suites are. Here are the keys for each of you,” he says as he hands them out. “Take care not to lose them, though if you do, come find me and I can help you out.”

  I start flipping through my packet while he continues speaking. “There are also first-day details for your job assignments starting in the morning, such as where to go, who you will be reporting to, and what to expect. It’s not detailed, but they’ll be able to sort you out tomorrow morning. I’ll make sure they know you’re all coming.”

  I freeze flipping through the papers as a title catches my eye. In bold, at the top of a page, are the words Worship Hours. Before I can read too much more, Dominic speaks.

  “What time do I report in the morning?”

  “After our morning worship, of course," Isaac responds. “Everyone is required to attend the worship after breakfast. Then our typical work hours begin, except for those in fields that require varying hours.”

  “For how long?” Allison has found her Worship Hours page and is reading it with her eyebrows furrowed.

  “We meet every morning, normally for about thirty minutes, but sometimes, if the pastor is feeling especially passionate, he may go a little bit over. There’s also evening worship before dinner, but that isn’t mandatory. It’s only there if you need to hear His word again. I like to go on the days that are stressful. It helps me put my problems into perspective.”

  “And what problems are those?” Dominic asks.

  Isaac shrugs and smiles. “There’d be a lot more without Him.”

  Chapter Ten

  Isaac’s chipper voice continues
our onboarding.

  “We all live in the compound and work together to keep everyone functioning at their best. It’s better to strive to improve Veritas as a community and from there, as individuals, we’ll do better,” our loyal escort, Isaac, says as he leads us down yet another monotonous hallway.

  “We’re all pretty centrally located around the Mess and Worship Halls. The farther away you get from those, the more work assignments take place. In each of your packets, I’ve included a detailed map to help you get around. If you get lost though, feel free to ask anyone for help. We’re a big family here. Remember that,” Isaac finishes.

  “How many people live here?” Dominic asks.

  Isaac blows some air through his lips as he thinks. “We’re over two hundred, I believe.”

  “Wow,” Allison says. “That’s it?”

  Isaac tenses before relaxing again. “After the Civil War, there were only about twenty at the compound when it started. The territories were ruthless…” he tapers off as he turns another corner. “We’ve had a lot of great growth lately that has allowed us to expand and spread His message even further.”

  “What do you contribute to your growth?” Dominic asks as he continues to eye the bare surroundings.

  “There’s obviously been natural growth as families have grown, but we’ve accepted a lot of new people into our community as well. As word got out about our reputation and culture, people started to come.”

  “They always made it seem like there were a lot more of you out here,” I say.

  “The territories almost took us out entirely. Only small pockets of people remained. We’re having some growing pains. People who have always been used to being individual contributors are now expected to become leaders. To be honest, our culture and environment aren’t for everyone—and that’s okay.”

  “What happens if someone wants to leave?” Jess asks.

  “Then they can leave, of course,” Isaac says and laughs. “Geez, you guys are suspicious.”

  “Should we be?” Dominic asks.

  Isaac blinks at his hostile tone. “Of course not.”

  Dominic’s face breaks out in his charming smile. “Sorry for the question. It is quite an adjustment after all we have been through to hear about your culture and compound. It is like a breath of fresh air.”

  Isaac’s grin returns and his easygoing attitude comes back. “That’s what I like to hear.”

  We all pass through two more corners, with Isaac whistling happily until he speaks again. “These rooms are typically more of the family suites, so they’re on the opposite side of the Mess Hall as the single suites. It’s quieter over here. It’ll be a nice place for your baby to live. My sister is across the hall from your room.”

  I frown at being so far away from the three of them. We haven’t been so far from each other since we were captured in the territories. I let out a deep breath to get rid of some anxiety.

  Isaac clears his throat. “Okay, the room to the left is the two-room suite. The keys that I gave the two of you will work for the room. Your belongings from the car will be dropped off as soon as they’re screened. Do you need anything else while I’m here?”

  “We should be good,” Jess says.

  “Thank you so much for guiding us through the compound.” Allison smiles. “I’ll be sure to let Jonah know how helpful you were.”

  Isaac blushes and looks away.

  The door closes before I get a chance to say goodbye. After so long in a vehicle with them—and all the time we spent together before this—it’s uncomfortable to leave them. I’m not sure if I’m ready to live a separate life from them.

  “You coming, Joe?” Dominic asks.

  I take two deep breaths to steady myself. Even though we won’t be crammed into a small house together anymore, I’ll still see them often enough. It’ll be fine.

  “Yeah, let’s keep going,” I say.

  Isaac brushes some of his hair away from his face and keeps talking. “There weren’t two rooms next to each other, but I got you two only a hallway apart.”

  “That’s fine,” I say, though I would have been happier if there were more space between us.

  “The two hallways that you’re on are designated as the male hallways, while the females have the hallways closer to the Mess Hall. There’s a bathroom at the end of each that the community shares.”

  “We do not each get our own?” Dominic asks, his eyebrows raised.

  Isaac shakes his head. “The family suites do, but not the singles over here. These were the first rooms that were built back when Veritas was founded. They were made with efficiency in mind, not luxury. Plus, with the population being so low, they thought it would be a good way to encourage people to get married and start families by offering a step up in living arrangements.”

  “Lucky for Jess and Allison that you placed them over there,” Dominic mutters.

  “I hope I don’t get in trouble for that. I figured, with the baby and loss of the father, I could make an exception. I want everyone to be as comfortable as possible when they’re with us—especially after having to live in the territories for so long. No one should make a fuss about it.”

  “I appreciate the exception. It will make the transition a lot easier on all of them to be together,” I say and hope he can gauge the sincerity in my voice. Even though I’d rather be the one with Jess, I’m grateful she’s not alone. She can lean on Allison.

  “Of course,” he replies and turns one last corner through the maze.

  Each hallway looks the same as the others without any distinguishing characteristics. I see no future where I won’t get lost at least a few times.

  “Here’s your room, Elliot, to the right.”

  I take my key out and place it in the lock. Nothing happens. “Is it not working?”

  Isaac chuckles. “You have to turn it.”

  “I’m used to something else,” I say, trying to regain some ground. Back in Potentia, all of our locks were based on our fingerprints. Even my grandparents had better technology than this.

  Feeling silly, I turn the key and open my door to my new room. Its style is similar to the rest of the compound with its simplistic nature, but a bright rug in the middle of the floor makes it a little warmer. The room itself is probably about ten feet by ten feet with a bed against the back wall. It’s bigger than the single bed I had in Potentia but smaller than the bed Jess and I shared. After sleeping on a couch for weeks and then in the vehicle, it looks tempting.

  On the opposite wall of the bed is a six-drawer dresser with plenty of room to place objects. If I had any, that would be nice. There’s also a modest corner desk in the far corner and an end table next to the bed. All of the furniture is unstained and looks solid.

  As we’re in the middle of the building, there are no windows in here. With the light off, it will be completely dark, regardless of the time of day. Back in Potentia, the massive living quarters obstructed the view from my room. Only a dim gray could go through. Is it better or worse not to see?

  I ache for my grandparents’ cabin where the windows looked over the lake and nature.

  “Looks great. Thanks again for your help,” I call out to Isaac.

  He peeks his head in and looks around. “Your layout is the flipped version of my room. My bed is on the other side.”

  “Oh.” I’m not sure how else to respond. The gray comforter on my bed is calling for me to lie on it.

  “An alarm spreads through the compound to wake everyone up at 6:30 a.m. every morning. Breakfast is served from 6:45 a.m. until worship at 8 a.m. Dinner will start in about an hour. Let me know if you need anything. I need to show your brother to his room and get back to work.”

  I shut the door behind Isaac and fumble against the wall until I find the light switch. It comes on and I blink back as I adjust to it.

  Once I’m satisfied I can find my bed without running into anything else, I turn the light back off. Walking over to it, I take my shirt and pants o
ff, leaving me in my underwear.

  Slowly, I climb into the bed and fall asleep within seconds of my head touching the pillow.

  -----

  When the alarm goes off, I jerk my head up and try to figure out where I am. There’s no light in the room outside of a small sliver under the door. I use that as a guiding point to get back to the light switch.

  As the light assaults me, I blink and piece together what must’ve happened. I was so tired, I slept all the way through the evening and night until the compound alarm went off. My bag is in my room. A stranger came into my room and I slept through it.

  The alarm silences and I let out a sigh of relief. Is it going to be like that every morning? That’s going to be something to get used to after waking up with the sunrise every day for the last few months. Though I grew accustomed to not having a schedule in place, it’s a small sacrifice for the stability and safety in Veritas. I can adjust.

  All of my clothes have been taken out of my bag, and nothing remains. What could they possibly have against those? They were old leisure outfits from the territories.

  I’m forced to put on the same clothes I’ve been wearing to go outside. When I open the door, an older man, probably in his sixties or so, is coming out of his room. What’s left of his white hair is standing out in every direction.

  I blink as I take in his hair loss. With genetic engineering, one of the first things they removed from the gene pool was baldness because it was such an easy gene to isolate. Between him and Jonah, this must be a fairly common occurrence.

  “You’re new. I’m Jerry,” he says as he sticks his hand out. His flabby arm is covered in brown spots.

  I shake his hand. “Elliot.”

  Jerry walks toward the bathroom and I follow him. “It’s a good idea to get a jump start on the bathroom before everyone else comes out. That way you make sure you get all the hot water you want.”

  “I’ll be honest,” I say through a large yawn, “I’m not used to being up so early.”

  He nods. “I was out on my own before joining here forty years ago. It is a bit of an adjustment, so let me know if there’s anything I can do.”