by R A Doty
A rucksack sat next to Cole’s chair. He reached into it and pulled out a book. “Would you and Walter like to hear a story, Jessie?”
Jessie nodded excitedly and rushed over to Cole. He picked the girl up and placed her crossways on his lap.
Cole opened the hard-covered book, licked his thumb, and flipped through the pages until he came to the start of chapter one: The River Bank. It was years since he opened the book, but he always carried it with him. He paused momentarily, remembering how excited his daughter had got when he read the book to her. With the feel of the small child on his lap, it was easy to imagine that time never moved forward, and it was still his little girl that was eagerly waiting for him to continue.
Jessie squeezed Walter tight and watched Cole’s face through widened eyes as he began to read the first paragraph.
“The mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home.”
Elana rested her head on Samuel’s chest, and Stevie sunk down into the cushion. The sound of Cole’s voice was calming, and for a brief moment the outside world no longer existed.
“First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of white-wash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms...”
Chapter Six
CALLA NEVER HAD THE opportunity to celebrate a birthday for any of the nutrimen she was responsible for. It wasn’t exactly on the things-to-do list that she was given at the start of her job, but she thought how boring life would be if one doesn’t get to celebrate their own birthday. She made a chart and new exactly when each of their birthdays were, so when the opportunity presented itself she was very excited to arrive at the kennel that day. She smuggled in a single vanilla cupcake from home to give as a present.
The girl who was turning sixteen was given no name, but to Calla she was the tall one with long brown hair. She was always smiling and sometimes assisted Calla with her duties. Calla always thought if things had been different they probably would have been best friends. When she arrived at the kennel and walked into the yard with the cupcake hidden behind her back, the girl, and some of the others, were huddled around April, who was sitting on one of the concrete cubes. They dispersed when they heard the door close behind Calla.
Calla walked up to the girl and handed her the cupcake. “Happy Birthday.”
A half smile crossed the girl’s face. Having never seen a cupcake before, she wasn’t sure what to do.
“Here,” Calla said, pushing the gift closer to the girl. “This is for your birthday. Eat it, it’s good.” Calla made pretend-biting gestures toward the cupcake.
The girl took the treat and slowly brought it to her nose. The other nutrimen surrounded her as she took a deep sniff. She very much liked the scent, so she smelled it again and again.
“Eat it,” Calla said again, repeating the biting gesture.
The girl opened her mouth and bit down on the cake, wrapper and all.
“Wait, don’t eat the liner!” Calla took the cupcake, peeled away the paper liner, and handed it back to the girl. “Now eat it.”
The girl took a bite, and her mouth watered as the sweet taste of sugar hit her tongue for the very first time. Her taste buds tingled with sensations she had never felt before. After the doughy cake went down her throat she took another bite and closed her eyes as her tongue pressed the frosting all around. Her mouth filled with saliva and she tried not to swallow, for fear of ending the sensation, but she had no choice. With frosting covered fingers, she placed the remainder of the treat in her mouth and ate every last bit before licking the palm of her hand. When she finished, she stuck each of her fingers into her mouth and sucked them until the sugary sweetness was gone and each finger glistened. She had no idea it would be the best and last thing she would ever eat.
Calla smiled when the girl came out of her euphoric state. “Was it good?”
The girl grabbed Calla’s hand and pulled it toward her mouth.
Calla shook her head and twisted her hands in the air. “I don’t have any more. That was the only one I brought.” She kissed the girl on the cheek. “Happy Birthday.” The girl walked away, sniffing the lingering scent of vanilla on her palm.
For a brief moment Calla smiled, but then she remembered what sixteenth birthdays really meant. Before the smile completely left her face, the door opened and two orderlies dressed in white entered the yard. They walked up to her and held up a card with a number on it. Neither said a word, because they new the kennels were a no-talk-zone. Calla stared at the girl, who was now sitting on one of the cubes staring down at her hand. She nodded in the girl’s direction and then noticed April standing next to the fence. April turned away.
One of the men glanced at April as he passed. Her green eyes captivated him, and he had to force himself to turn away. He and the other orderly walked up to the tall girl, grabbed her by the arms, and led her toward the door. The girl looked back and smiled at Calla. They locked eyes until the door closed, ending their acquaintance forever.
THE GIRL EXAMINED EVERYTHING in sight as the men led her down the hallway. The entire ceiling shined bright with lights and people passed quickly, all seemingly in a hurry. She smiled at them but they all turned their heads, being careful not to make eye contact.
The people thought if they didn’t look at the nutrimen, they didn’t exist. It was their way of justifying what they had to do to survive. When they did their grocery shopping they would pick up the ingredients that were needed for their meals and forced themselves not to question where it came from. They especially didn’t want to make eye contact with Sunday dinner. How would one carry on a conversation at the dinner table, remembering what’s on the end of your fork? It was best just to look away and pretend none of it was real.
But it was real to the girl. With each step she took, her body tingled with excitement. Strange sounds came from the ceiling and unusual scents filled the air. She breathed deep, trying to identify them but no memories came to mind. It was all new and fascinating. She pulled her arms free from the orderlies and held their hands instead; a slight skip now in her step.
The two men briefly exchanged a glance before facing forward again. When the girl took their hands it somehow changed their opinion of her. She showed a side of herself that was supposed to be nonexistent in nutrimen. A side that made her seem more like a girl than an animal that was being led to the slaughterhouse. She almost seemed human.
Of all the things that captured the girl’s attention, nothing captivated her more than the bright red door in the distance. The door was beautiful and she couldn’t pull her eyes away from it, not even when a person near her laughed, a sound she’d never heard. As she approached the door a strange sensation rushed through her veins. Her heart pounded and her breathing quickened. Her pace slowed, and the men had to grab her by the arms to pull her forward. The color red filled her eyes and triggered an inherent fear which made her seem more like an animal again as she fought to escape. When the door opened, she squinted at the brightness while the men forced her into the room. Her breathing calmed and her heart rate receded as she was reintroduced to a world of white.
Goose bumps dotted the girl’s skin when the orderlies removed her baggy pants and shirt and the room’s cool temperature reached her body. She was led to a stainless steel table where she was forced to lie down. Her entire body trembled as her wrists were cuffed to the table and a rubber strap was stretched tight across her neck. She swallowed repeatedly and gasped for air, her hands gripping the edge of the table.
“Hi Aaron,” a woman dressed in white scrubs said to one of the orderlies. It was now acceptable to talk in the presence of the nutrimen. Once they entered this room they reached their destiny, and there was no chance to escape. “Do you have any plans for the weekend?” She stretched a surgical glove over her right hand.
“Hi, Jennifer. I thought I might go o
ut on the boat for a while. Do you want to come?”
“I’d love to if I’m not imposing.” Jennifer stretched another glove over her left hand. She blew into it and wiggled her fingers. “What time are you going?”
With bulged, tear-filled eyes, the girl on the table struggled to free herself.
“About five. Just meet me at the dock.” Aaron turned in the girl’s direction and made eye contact. There was something about her that unsettled his stomach, something that made him pity her. He wondered why this one seemed different from the hundreds of others he had strapped to the table. And then he remembered the way she held his hand in the hallway. That had to be it.
The girl opened her mouth and strained to make a sound. She pulled in as much air as she could and forced it all out in one last attempt to make the only sound that might help her, a sound that brought her comfort. “Calla.”
Aaron walked closer to the girl. He wanted to believe what he heard was real, but it was impossible. None of them ever spoke. They grunt and yelp, and sometimes scream, but they never speak. It had to be a coincidence. He turned to Jennifer. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?” Jennifer said, preparing a hypodermic needle.
Aaron turned back to the girl, whose face had begun to turn blue. “Can you hurry, Jennifer? I don’t like to see ‘em suffer.”
Jennifer pushed the plunger until three drops of liquid escaped from the tip of the needle. “It’ll all be over in exactly thirty seconds,” she said, walking past Aaron on the way to the girl.
The girl felt the prick and tried to look down, but couldn’t twist her eyes far enough to see her arm. A warm sensation raced through her body and relaxed her muscles. Fatigue set in and a feeling of exhaustion forced her eyes to close. All fear was gone. She thought of the beautiful sky that she raced to the fence to see each morning, and the pleasing sounds the flying creatures made as they sat on top of the fence, staring into the yard—so small and soft. And her final thought before all went black was the taste of the special food that Calla had given her. A slight smile crossed her face.
Jennifer walked over to a silver counter running along the wall and dropped the needle into a square metal box. She then grabbed a wheeled-cart containing an array of surgical utensils—scalpels, a bone saw, meat clever, and an electric rotary saw—and rolled it toward the girl.
Aaron avoided looking at the girl, who was now still and silent, as he headed for the door. “I’ll see you later, Jennifer.”
“Okay, Aaron. I’ll meet you at the dock.”
Chapter Seven
THE GLOW OF THE TABLET brightened April’s face, as she scrolled her finger across the screen. The other nutrimen stood in a circle around her, all leaning toward the tablet. They moved back when April held it up for each of them to see.
“Bird,” April said, pointing to the picture of a crow on the screen. “Bird,” she repeated.
The nutrimen opened their mouths and tried to mimic April, but only a few came close to saying the word, most just groaned and grunted.
April scrolled to another picture, one that made her think of what new worlds lie on the other side of the fence. Her hand touched the screen as if she could feel the bark on the tree next to the pond. A green meadow surrounded the pond, with a kaleidoscope of wildflowers scattered through tall fronds of grass. She held up the tablet. “Tree. Tree.”
“T-t-tree,” a voice repeated.
April lowered the tablet and looked over her shoulder. She smiled at Manolin and slowly nodded. “Tree.”
“Tree,” Manolin said.
April quickly raised the tablet and searched for another picture. Colorful images of strange creatures and far away lands slid across the screen, but none seemed perfect for what she was searching for. And then a flash of blue passed before her. Her hand stopped quick, and she reloaded the previous image: an ocean with waves crashing against a wall of rocks, with a deep blue sky dotted with white feathery clouds that seemed to go on forever. She held up the tablet and touched the screen. “Sky. Sky.” She turned to Manolin.
“S,s,sky,” he said.
April smiled and nodded excitedly. “Yes, Manolin. Sky.”
One of the females ran to the center of the yard and pointed in the air. She tried to say the word, but mumbled sounds were all that came. The others followed and stood beside the girl, all with their fingers pointing toward the sky. Some were able to enunciate the sound of the s, but that was the extent of their efforts.
April stood and handed Manolin the tablet.
Manolin touched the picture, and then quickly retrieved his hand.
April took his hand and slid it across the screen. A forest of pine appeared, followed by snow-capped mountains, a herd of elephants with great white tusks, and a giant whale breaking from the ocean.
Manolin smiled at April and held the tablet closer to his face, the other nutrimen now standing behind him. His smile widened as each image passed before his eyes. He stopped when he saw an image of the strange food that Calla gave to the tall girl that left. He handed April the tablet and tapped the picture.
April smiled at Manolin’s excitement, but it quickly vanished when she saw the image. She held the tablet high in the air for all to see. “Death. Death.”
IT’S BEEN ONE WEEK since the tall girl left, but Calla couldn’t stop thinking about her. Was it wrong to give her the cupcake, or was it the perfect birthday present? More like a last meal, she thought, as she walked down the hall toward the kennel. She doubted if she should have ever started talking to the nutrimen. Maybe they are better off not knowing what exists beyond their cages. Maybe the rules were made for a reason, and the reason isn’t just to discourage nonconformity among them, but to prevent us from caring. She thought of April and the fourteen years she existed without ever hearing a spoken word. Would she give her a cupcake in two years, just before she’s harvested? Would she be able to go to the kennel every day after the men come to take her away, knowing that she’ll never see her face again? She thought working in the kennels would be exciting, but as she grabbed the doorknob she wondered if she’d crossed the line and if she could ever turn back.
WHEN APRIL HEARD THE doorknob jiggle she jumped to her feet and ran to her bunk. She tucked the tablet as far under the mattress as she could reach. When she turned back toward the yard, the others were still standing in a group.
“HI, CALLA,” SARAH WESTON said, walking up the hall.
Calla released the doorknob and turned in her friend’s direction. “Hi, Sarah. What are you doing in this part of the kennel?”
“Father transferred me back to the kennel crew for a few months before my birthday. I don’t know why, but he said I should learn how important the nutrimen are to our survival. I’ll be just down the hall, so I guess we’ll be working together for a while.”
“Two more months,” Calla said. “You must be so excited to be getting married and starting a family of your own.”
“I am, I guess.”
“Why the hesitation?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Mother and Father are being really secretive about it, so I’m a little nervous about who they paired me with. I had to get an exam today, and they wouldn’t tell me why. I was unconscious for about an hour, and when I woke up they were whispering by my bed. Mother looked as though she was crying.”
Calla held Sarah’s hand. “Don’t be nervous. She was probably just sad that you’ll be leaving and starting your own family. I’m sure whomever they chose for you will be handsome, and you’ll have the cutest children in Ancada. And then you’ll move into a beautiful apartment downtown and live happily ever after.”
Sarah laughed. “You listen to too many books, Calla. You should have been a writer with that imagination of yours. Well, I’ve got to get going, so maybe I’ll see you later. You wanna hang out tonight?”
“I’d like that.”
“I’ll call you later. Bye.” Sarah waved as she walked away.
“Bye.”
/> CALLA ENTERED THE NUTRIMEN’S yard and walked straight to the utility room and dropped her bag on the counter. She began to perform her daily tasks without ever making eye contact with April or any of the other nutrimen. She had to desensitize herself if she was to continue working in the kennel.
April wasn’t concerned that Calla didn’t speak to her, because everything she needed could be found somewhere inside the tablet. Having surpassed Calla’s intelligence, as well as most of the citizens of Ancada, she now needed to focus on what had to be done. She sat on her bunk and watched as Calla performed her tasks. Every now and again she would catch Calla glancing in her direction. She didn’t blame Calla for the life she got to live outside of the fence, and she certainly didn’t hate her for it. She knew that she had no control of their lives, and whatever path was chosen for them in the past, they had to follow blindly. But that now had to change.
She walked over to Calla, who was standing at the counter filling out a report, and placed her hand on her back.
Calla glanced over her shoulder and flashed a silent smile before returning to her paperwork.
April turned, and walked away.
LATER THAT EVENING, while lying on her bunk, April hunched over the tablet trying to guess the password to open Calla’s journal. After several more failed attempts, she wondered what Calla’s interests were. If she had only known her better and spent more time with her in the outside world she might have had a better chance of guessing what word she may have used, but with the only time they shared being entirely in the confines of the kennel her options were limited. She could only imagine what secrets Calla had hidden inside the file folder.
Chapter Eight
SEATED HIGH ON A RIDGE, at an undisclosed location on the mainland, Luke and Daniel McAllister surveyed the entire area before them with rifles on their laps. A dark funnel of smoke, ten miles in the distance, rose up from the city’s skyscrapers toward the morning sun. The two men’s gaze shifted from the smoke to the ten-foot-tall, electrified steel fence surrounding their employer’s estate. A small boy, walking toward the fence, captured their attention.