by Dylan Steel
Unless it wasn’t.
They still hadn’t talked about his question. She hadn’t said she’d take up the mantle of the Lawless cause. She didn’t see how joining the Naturagre Interest Society helped the Lawless, but she couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that it was precisely the reason Mr. Walsh had recommended it to her.
3. NATURAGRE
A petite woman stood at the front of the room, her auburn hair smoothed back into a short, tight ponytail. She paced back and forth, cracking her knuckles out of habit as she addressed the students under her care.
“You will have a chance to research what is produced at each location before our biweekly excursions. For those of you repeating this Interest Society, you’ll be happy to know that we are visiting some different places this year.”
“Excuse me, Ms. Trynn. Did you say biweekly?” Penelope asked, casting an eager glance at Sage, who was sitting beside her.
It hadn’t really taken any convincing on Sage’s part to get Penelope to list the Naturagre Interest Society as her first choice too. She’d barely had a chance to mention that the Society visited places outside the city, and Penelope’s eyes had lit up with excitement. Most students at the Institution had never left the city—and they never would unless their graduation assignment dictated it.
Their instructor nodded, smiling broadly as she continued her explanation.
“Every other week, we’ll venture outside the city gates. There are lots of places to explore. Maple forests, water reservoirs, farms and orchards, livestock breeding—it’s a long list. I wish we had more time in a year to visit them all, but we simply have to make the best use of our time that we can.”
Ms. Trynn turned her attention to the rest of the students. “These assets are vital to Eprah and are managed by the benefactors. That’s a big part of the reason they’re so valuable and important to all of us, and why they merit the reverence they command.”
Sage fought to keep down the last meal she’d eaten. She hated hearing benefactors spoken of so highly. What had happened to Rosalind—her death at the mindless hand of her benefactor—it was still too fresh. Nothing could convince her that benefactors were good after what she’d seen.
“…of course.” Ms. Trynn was still talking. “And there will be a quiz after each excursion to ensure that you’re not just daydreaming in the fresh air.”
She grinned at the collective moan from the students. “But no worries. They’re pretty straightforward, nothing tricky. Naturagre, like all the other Interest Societies, is more concerned with your participation than some outstanding performance. In fact—though I probably shouldn’t say this—you most likely don’t need to study as long as you pay attention.” She winked.
Sage felt a wave of relief pass over her. Classes were shaping up to be hard enough this year as it was—she couldn’t afford to invest a ton of extra time in an Interest Society when she needed to focus on her studies. Bokja and high test scores were the only two ways she could be sure of a good graduation assignment.
“Alright, enough overview. Let’s get down to it. Any guesses as to our first excursion?” Ms. Trynn’s eyes twinkled. She waited impatiently for an answer but was met with silence. “Anyone? No?” She sighed. “Alright, then. Turn your attention to your databooks. You’ll see I’ve just sent you all the new infofile.”
The sound of quiet shuffling filled the room as the students pulled up their databooks to discover what their first adventure was.
“A strawberry field?” one of the older boys in the room piped up. Sage guessed he was in Level Fourteen.
“That’s right, Cal.” A smile spread over Ms. Trynn’s face. “And thanks to the generosity of Eprah and its benefactors, we’ll even get a chance to try some strawberries fresh. Won’t that be a treat?”
Excitement suddenly surged within Sage. It had been years since she’d had food served straight from the ground instead of from a tray in the wall. She remembered fondly how delicious ripe strawberries were—how sweet and vibrant and juicy the berries could be outside the gates of Eprah. But she also remembered the last day she’d eaten strawberries, the incredible loss that would forever be etched in her memory. Her excitement quickly turned into sadness. She swallowed back the lump that began forming in her throat.
“I didn’t realize those things grew in the ground,” Cal snickered. “I thought they were just cut up sponges or something.”
Giggles rippled across the room.
Ms. Trynn rolled her eyes. “Thank you for that eloquent assessment, Cal. But I can assure you, these strawberries are quite real. Very edible. And highly enjoyable, if I might interject my own opinion.” She narrowed her eyes. “Of course, if you’d rather insult Eprah’s generosity, we can just leave you behind, and you can explain to the headmaster why you were unable to join us on the excursion.”
A shadow fell across his jovial face. “No, ma’am.”
“Very well, then.” She nodded curtly and then turned her attention to the rest of the class. “Now that we’ve gotten that out of our systems, let’s have you break into groups of four. You four, you four…” She repeated the phrase and gestured methodically down the room, swinging her finger in tight circles as she pointed at different sections of students. “…and you four.”
Penelope and Sage exchanged a look of disappointment. They’d been grouped separately. And somehow, Sage had gotten stuck in the same group as Cal—who’d probably already gotten on Ms. Trynn’s bad side with his comment. Not like she needed any help. She was quite sure she’d slip at some point on her own—she didn’t need to be associated with anyone else’s anti-Eprah speech, even as a joke.
“Alright. In a moment, I want you to turn your desks together—wait till I stop talking!” Ms. Trynn snapped. She was quite skilled, seemingly able to glare at the whole room at once as she waited for silence. “—and begin reading about the process,” she continued.
“How do they plant, grow, harvest the berries? What kind of climate is best, etc. Go through the questions from the beginning of the section. Then, I want you to each discuss what you’re most looking forward to about the trip.” She smiled. “Sort of a get-to-know-you icebreaker. It’s important. You’ll be spending a good bit of time with your group over the next little while.”
Ms. Trynn paused for a moment as if to prove that she were the one dismissing everyone into their groups. “Ok, now you may turn your desks together,” she said.
High-pitched squeals and scraping sounds filled the room for a few seconds as everyone followed Ms. Trynn’s instructions, scooting their desks around until they faced one another.
Plunking her desk down, Sage found herself staring at Cal and two other girls she’d never met before.
Cal spoke first, a goofy grin on his face. “Introductions, then? If you’ve been paying attention, I guess you already know I’m Cal.” He ruffled his fingers through his hair and winked at the girl next to him.
She rolled her eyes and turned to the other two girls. “I’m Inette.”
“I—I’m Gabby,” the youngest girl squeaked softly.
“Sage.”
Cal’s smile flattened, his eyebrows crowding together. “Hey, aren’t you that one Level Eight who was in the tournament?”
Sage stiffened. “I’m in Level Ten now,” she said sharply.
The grin returned to his face. “You are. You totally are.” He jerked his head at Inette. “Did you know we have someone famous in our group?”
Much to Sage’s relief, Inette completely ignored him. “Maybe we should start with the icebreaker. What are you guys looking forward to the most? It might be fun to see how our answers change after we actually read about the fields.”
“Aw, why you gotta be like that, Inette?” Cal grumbled.
“You start, Gabby,” she smiled kindly at the young girl, still ignoring Cal’s outbursts.
“Um…” she looked uncertain. Her face flushed as she bit her lip and stared at the ground, unwilling to make eye c
ontact with her fellow group members. “I guess just trying a real strawberry.”
“That’s great, Gabby,” Inette said encouragingly. “How ‘bout you, Sage?”
Sage sighed. What was she looking forward to most? She already knew her answer, she just couldn’t tell them.
She couldn’t wait to be outside the walls of the city—even if it was only for a little while.
“Probably the same. Fresh strawberries,” she replied instead.
4. STRAWBERRY FIELDS
By now, Sage had become accustomed to walking out the Institution’s front gates for important events and all her visits to the Archives. She barely even noticed her surroundings when she left the grounds anymore. But this time was different.
As she filed into the street with her fellow Interest Society members, she looked up and gasped. There, stamping their feet impatiently in front of the group, were more than a dozen horses. She craned her neck and saw that they were attached to four different passenger trailers. Each one was made of some sort of shiny, thin silver metal, formed into a long, flat bed lined with benches and half-walls.
It quickly became apparent why the Naturagre Interest Society had such a small number of students compared to most of the others. This type of transportation was rare and costly. She’d never expected to be taken anywhere by horse.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” Ms. Trynn’s words came out almost in a squeal. “I didn’t want to tell you all until our first trip, today. I wanted to see the looks on your faces when you saw them!”
Sage took another step forward. “They’re beautiful,” she breathed.
Penelope nodded, not taking her eyes of the large animals. “They are.” She turned to Sage. “I’ve never ridden one, have you?”
She shook her head, still gaping at the creatures in front of them.
Their wonder was interrupted by Ms. Trynn’s voice again.
“Alright, class! You don’t have to sit with your group on the way, but you do need to stick with them once we get there. It’s quite a ways, so we need to get a move on. All aboard!” She motioned toward the trailers, shooing the students in their direction.
Sage walked past one of the horses that would be leading her trailer. It had a shiny brown coat with a streak of white across its nose, and it towered over her. Her gaze fixated on the long lashes that hooded its deep brown eyes.
Sensing her instructor’s impatience, she peeled her gaze away from the majestic animal and hurried toward the back of the trailer. She climbed up the steps and made her way as close to the front and the horses as she could, plopping down next to Penelope on an empty section of the thin metal bench.
“Is that everyone?” Ms. Trynn glanced over the trailers, moving her mouth slightly as she counted heads silently. “Great!” She flew up the steps and took a seat at the end of the row before shouting ahead of her. “We’re ready, drivers!”
In one swift motion, the steps at the end of the trailer swung upward, and the drivers snapped their reins. The trailer lurched forward, throwing Sage and most of the others off balance momentarily. She placed her hands on either side of her knees, gripping the edge of her seat to steady herself. She raised her shoulders apologetically at Penelope for having knocked into her.
It didn’t take long for Sage to adjust to the new motion and sway of their transportation. She closed her eyes, letting the breeze pass over her face while she listened to the clopping of the horses’ hooves on the pavement.
A sharp pain in her ribs made her eyes shoot open. She turned to Penelope and started to glare at her but then followed her eyes to see what she was staring at. They were already nearing the edge of the city. The gates were in sight.
Sage felt like someone was practicing for a Bokja Tournament in her stomach. She’d been forced to live behind these gates for three years. Three years. She looked down at her wrist and tapped a finger against her bracelet.
As they approached the gates, Sage was surprised to realize she felt nervous. For so long, she’d associated leaving through those gates with some sort of terrible punishment—it seemed almost impossible for nothing to go wrong.
Casting her eyes ahead of her at the first three trailers, she watched anxiously as each one passed through the gates. She held her breath as the shadow from the iron bars fell across her body, exhaling only once they were completely out of the city.
She stared back at the city shrinking in the distance. It was hard to believe she was outside the gates. The air felt better—cleaner—beyond its confines. She swallowed, leaning back.
The landscape was similar to her memory yet unfamiliar. They’d left from a different gate than she’d entered through years before. Just outside the city, their caravan passed through a series of abandoned buildings, most of which had turned to rubble, before reaching a grassy plain.
“Before this Society, I didn’t realize anyone was allowed to live out here. You know—anyone not Lawless.” Sage’s voice was just loud enough to be heard over the noise from the horses and trailer, but she was careful that her words didn’t carry past Penelope’s ears.
“Not many though,” Penelope said, refusing to take her eyes off their surroundings. “At least, not compared to the number of people inside the city.”
“Is it just benefactors?” She licked her lips as she stared straight ahead at the space between two other girls, watching the changing landscape.
“And the people who work for them.” Penelope nodded.
Sage’s eyebrows wrinkled. She’d never heard names called at graduation to work for benefactors. “But they don’t assign graduates to work for benefactors. How do they even have anyone working for them?”
“Oh, sure they do. They just call it a job in natural resources. They divide everyone up into more specific jobs after the ceremony. Can you imagine if they named each position? That’d take forever.”
Sage shuddered. There were more ways than one to end up under a benefactor’s thumb. That wasn’t good news.
Despite the fresh air, Sage felt her stomach beginning to turn. She didn’t try to make conversation for the rest of the trip, and that seemed just fine with Penelope—she was busy taking in all the sights along the way.
Before too long, an enormous building began to come into view. The tall grass suddenly gave way to rows upon rows of small mounds with greenery sprawled across it, flecks of red visible under layers of leaves.
They drew closer to the building, circled around, and stopped directly in front of the main door. Sage gasped.
The building was easily as big as the Institution, but it looked like a personal residence.
A woman walked out the door to greet them, long blond hair flowing behind her in the breeze as she seemed to glide over the stairs. She looked to be in her late twenties and was dressed more elegantly than seemed necessary for someone who grew things in the dirt. She craned her neck toward the visitors as if she were looking for something.
“Ah,” her eyes brightened once they landed on Ms. Trynn, “there you are, Meira!”
Ms. Trynn got to her feet as soon as the horses stopped moving. She put down the steps and hurried off the trailer, rushing over to the woman who’d just greeted her.
“Hello, Serefina!” The two women grasped each other’s hands, cordially kissing each other’s cheeks in greeting. Ms. Trynn turned to address her students. “Everyone, this is Benefactor Serefina Chartreaux. This is her estate, her home, and her strawberry fields. Oh! And I suppose you should all come down out of there now.” She gestured toward the trailers. “Go ahead and get into your groups!”
Sage and the other students made their way down the stairs and stood in front of the benefactor. She rolled her eyes as a grinning Cal trotted up beside her. He crossed his arms and gave her a slight nudge. Inette and Gabby arrived on the other side of her not a moment later.
“Benefactor Chartreaux will do the honors of assigning groups to the areas which you may explore. We’ll spend the first bit of our time in the fro
nt fields and the second on the remainder of the estate.” Ms. Trynn smiled broadly, adding, “And if you all behave yourselves, we might have a chance to tour her lovely home. Right, Serefina?” She turned and gave the benefactor a wink.
“Oh, of course, darling, of course,” she purred.
Ms. Trynn turned back to the students. “Well, come on, we haven’t got all day. Line up, line up.”
It seemed everyone was in a hurry to see the fields and to try fresh strawberries. Sage felt herself get jostled around as others rushed to the front of the line, landing her group last by default. She furrowed her brow in impatience, mentally blaming Cal for being too nonchalant and holding them back.
Their turn came soon enough. The other groups had already run off in their respective directions, hurrying toward their assigned areas. Sage held her breath as they waited expectantly for instructions.
The benefactor’s eyes fell on the four remaining young faces. A smile crept over her lips when she caught sight of Cal.
“Well, aren’t you just a peach,” she cooed, looking him up and down.
“Not a strawberry?” Cal joked, shooting her a lopsided grin.
A shrill laugh escaped her lips. Her hands flew up to cover her mouth. “Oh, my,” she said, dropping her hands, “I wasn’t expecting cleverness as well! You all will simply have to come with me.” She started down the steps toward the fields without further explanation.
Inette shifted her weight, and Sage swallowed hard. Gabby was looking up at the woman in wonder. Fortunately, Serefina Chartreaux seemed only to notice Cal, not the discomfort of the two girls trailing behind her.
“And what level are you in this year?” The benefactor placed a hand on Cal’s shoulder as they walked.
“Fourteen, ma’am.”
Normally Cal seemed to crave attention, but Sage sensed Cal was starting to become uncomfortable with Serefina’s questions.