Marie's Journey (Ginecean Chronicles)

by La Porta, Monica

  Lulled by his voice, Marie closed her eyes and fell asleep. When she woke, she felt disoriented and slightly nauseous. Meanwhile, the doctor had come back with some medicine she was injecting the dying men with. “Something stronger to ease their passing,” Rane answered Marie’s silent question.

  Almost immediately, they seemed to drift into a peaceful slumber. Grant silently thanked Rane and then resumed his tale. Marie listened as he told the boy about the last time they went to the cellars to steal food and the steak they ate that night. Rane didn’t move the whole time Grant reminisced about their criminal endeavors. Marie noticed the doctor didn’t seem surprised, and when Rane gave her a knowing look, Marie realized she hadn’t acted surprised or shocked either. She was past caring though. The pain she was witnessing trumped every last bit of her propriety.

  Grant talked for hours, his voice remaining even and soft while he recounted every single episode he had shared with those unfortunate men. Now and then, he even chuckled at something he had just said. “Remember when Rufus turned sixteen and we dared him to touch a guard’s baton when she wasn’t looking?”

  There were lots of stories like that, and while Marie failed to see how most of those situations could be funny under any circumstance, she was grateful Grant could do something for those men. The young man had become completely unresponsive after the first hour and his eyes had rolled to white. She gently lowered his eyelids and couldn’t help but hope he was beyond physical pain and misery.

  Rane took his wrist between her fingers and sighed in relief. “He’ll be gone soon.”

  Marie had never thought wishing someone’s death would be an act of mercy and wondered if working in the men’s infirmary meant mostly that. How could anyone maintain her sanity? No wonder the doctor appeared so unstable. What would be of her in a month or so?

  A few hours later, the young man’s body wilted on the floor, the last remnant of life slipping through him. She had the unsettling feeling she saw the moment he died and the realization chilled her to the bone. The young man’s face relaxed before her eyes, and in death, he looked even younger, no more than thirteen.

  Grant stopped his stream of words and for a moment was unable to tell the next story, his effort at not crying visible through his clenched jaw and red eyes. He breathed slowly, waited a moment, then resumed his talking for the other men until, one by one, they were gone. Only then did he howl to the ceiling, a sound so sad and so haunting, every movement in the infirmary ceased at once.

  Marie realized through her stupor that the rest of the men had kept tending to the wounded, carrying on their job while she and Rane took care of the dying. The silence stretched as every standing man slowly walked to give their mates their last salutes. Nobody said a word, but each man placed his right hand over his heart. Grant was the last one; he stood up on uncertain legs and repeated the salute, his eyes moving from body to body, then dropped to his knees and covered them with their blankets.

  A sound coming from outside invaded the sanctity of the moment. A loud voice was calling for Rane, but she didn’t react. The doctor’s eyes were fixed on the covered bodies, and her lips were moving. Marie didn’t understand what she saying, but it sounded repetitive, like a prayer. The yelling became louder and closer. The door was unceremoniously opened by an irate Captain Callista, who was immediately followed by a handful of her women.

  “I told you not to mettle with me.” In a few strides, Callista had walked by Rane’s side and was now pointing a manicured finger at her. “I told you before I wouldn’t tolerate your interfering one more time.” Despite her authoritative tone, her finger trembled, betraying how angry she was. “Didn’t I tell you?” She moved closer to Rane, her body towering over the doctor, who hadn’t yet acknowledged her presence. “Did you think you could get away with it?” Finally, she forced Rane to look at her by pulling her hair and tilting her face up. “I’ll make you pay for this act of insubordination.”

  Rane kept silent and still. The only exception was her eyes that, for the briefest of moments, wandered toward the men being herded at the back of the room by the captain’s guards.

  Callista noticed though, and her free hand balled in a fist, but she didn’t move it from its resting place on her hip. Instead, after a moment of awkward silence, she released the hold she had on the doctor and turned to face her guards. “Round them up and take them to the court. Then put them in a straight line. One every three will be flogged. The second in line will go without food for five days. The third will be sent to a waste plant tonight.”

  Marie dared a look at Grant, and she saw the fear in his face. The captain turned on her heels and Marie lowered her eyes to the tiles while the men were escorted out in complete silence. She raised her chin, but Grant had already exited the room. Her attention was diverted toward Callista, who made a scene to remove dust from her immaculate pants.

  “Where were we?” Callista walked closer to Rane, until she was invading her personal space once again, but she kept her hands to herself this time. “Oh, yes. Now I remember.” She smiled and spoke slowly and close to Rane’s face, but Rane still didn’t flinch.

  Marie didn’t understand how Rane could be so composed while she was on the verge of throwing up. She was worried for Grant, for the doctor, and for herself. There was something in the captain’s maniacal calm that promised more unpleasantness to come.

  Callista took Rane’s face between her hands, and for a moment Marie thought she was going to kiss the doctor, but she didn’t.

  “When I realized what you had done, I thought of a way to repay you and decided a change of air would do you great. I’m sure you’ll like it there. Won’t you, Rane?” Callista lowered one hand to Rane’s jaw and tilted her chin left and right. “Always the savior you were. But in reality, you are garbage and I think it’s only fitting you should end your days amongst garbage.”

  Rane had the audacity to smile. Just her upper lip curved up, but a smile nevertheless. That simple gesture brought the captain over the brink and she slapped Rane with such strength her head lolled back and hit the wall behind her.

  “You’ll die there, you know that? But, at a waste plant, death is never fast or merciful. It’s slow and shameful, and you deserve every painful bit of it,” the woman spat with a low hiss, her demeanor altered by the confrontation, her eyes wild and cruel, her breathing ragged.

  It took several seconds for Marie to fully understand what the captain had just said, but when she finally did, she cried out loud, “You can’t send her to a waste plant!” Her plea managed to attract Callista’s attention and she wished she could disappear under a rock when the woman’s eyes focused on her. “Please—”

  “Please what?” The Captain smiled at her, a cold show of perfect, white teeth.

  Marie shivered, knowing Callista was playing with her. “Please, she’s a good fathered woman.”

  Callista seemed to think about that for a moment. “A good fathered woman, you say.”

  Marie felt Rane’s hand touching her arm, warning her to stop talking, but she went ahead anyway. “Yes, I’m begging you—”

  “Don’t—” Rane started saying, but Callista interrupted her.

  “Yes, listen to her, child. Don’t interfere in adults’ business.” Callista turned toward Rane once more, but kept talking to Marie in her haughty tone, as if imparting a moral lesson. “You see, a good fathered woman, as you erroneously called her, would have never ignored precise orders from a pure breed. She would’ve never gone behind my back and asked for medicine I didn’t order. And I didn’t order them because they’re expensive and wasted on workers. And what did she need those medicines for?” She paused.

  Marie didn’t know if she was expected to respond.

  Callista resumed before Marie could decide. “This fool needed the medicine to ease the passage of a few workers who were dying because of their stupidity. And she signed the order on my behalf. Did you not think I would discover your betrayal sooner or later?
”

  “They were in a lot of pain,” Marie couldn’t help but whisper.

  “What did you just say?” Callista spun so rapidly, Marie didn’t see the woman grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her up, her feet dangling in midair.

  Out of the blue, something possessed Marie. Without fully understanding what she was doing, she repeated her words and added, “She was only doing her job. Nobody should suffer so much.” Fully conscious of what she had just done, she braced for the slap that didn’t come. Eyes half-closed, she peeked and saw the captain was looking at her intently.

  “Well, I was right in my first assessment. You did find a replacement for the other man-lover. I got rid of the redhead by sending her to a semen farm, but you look too young…” Callista slowly released Marie to the floor, where she stood on shaking legs. The captain held the pause longer than necessary, as if she were waiting for Marie to respond to her silent threat.

  This time, Rane squeezed Marie’s arm and intervened before she could say anything. “Don’t take it out on her, Callista. She didn’t mean it. We have worked through last night and today. She’s clearly disoriented.”

  “How convenient to blame heresy on sleep deprivation.” The woman kept looking at Marie with her predatory stare. “How old are you anyway?”

  Rane stood up. “Please, leave her alone. She’s just fifteen.”

  “It’s settled, then. She’s too young to be a donor, isn’t she? Pity.” The captain stepped back and gave Marie one last chilling smile before heading to the exit.

  “You’re angry with me—” Rane’s voice broke and with that Marie’s hope as well.

  At the door, Callista slowed her stride to impart one final blow. “Pack light, child. At the waste plant, you won’t need a lot of clothes.”

  Marie didn’t react at first. She refused to believe what she had heard. It couldn’t be true.

  “I didn’t mean for you to get in the middle of my mess.” Rane held out her hands to hug her, but Marie collapsed on herself, a heap on the floor.

  She felt hands touching her, but she couldn’t see anything. Her eyes shut and her body felt too heavy. Thankfully, darkness came to her rescue and she drifted toward a soundless haven.

  8

  Something, maybe someone, woke her. Other than the fact that she was still at the infirmary, Marie couldn’t be sure of anything. She tried to climb off the narrow bed she didn’t remember lying on, but didn’t make it far. Her right wrist sported a handcuff. “What’s that?”

  “Callista gave orders to stop us from leaving this room.” Rane appeared to be equally tied to the bed next to her.

  “Why?” Marie needed only a second to remember why and then wished she hadn’t. It was all true. The nightmare she thought she had was her new reality. “When?” she asked after a moment.

  “I expect Callista to come any moment now. I let you sleep through the best part of yesterday afternoon and tonight. It’s already five in the morning.” Rane spoke slowly as if collecting her thoughts. “Marie, I’m so sorry—”

  The door opened and several guards entered, followed by Callista. The woman had taken great care with her appearance. There wasn’t a single detail out of place; even her boots were shined to perfection. The contrast with Rane’s and Marie’s slovenly appearances was evident.

  “Callista, I’m begging you to reconsider. Marie has learned her lesson.” Rane tried to stand upright, but she’d been handcuffed at an uncomfortable angle and didn’t have the same range of motion Marie had.

  “It’s too late.” Callista waved her elegant hand in the air.

  Marie smelled an expensive scent wafting her way and automatically became conscious of her condition. She could smell her own fear emerging among the unpleasant aromas emanated by her unwashed body. The sheer magnitude of the disgrace Callista had called upon her made her stupid. She simply wasn’t able to think beyond the immediate or maybe she didn’t want to think what would happen one minute from now. She heard the conversation, understood everything, but felt as if she wasn’t there.

  “Spare her this humiliation. I’ll do anything you ask.” Rane grew more and more anxious, her voice betraying her fear.

  “Yesterday, I made an example out of those miserable workers. Today, I’ll make an example out of two stupid fathered women.” Callista snapped her fingers and four guards flanked Marie’s and Rane’s beds. “Good-bye, Rane.”

  The guards removed their handcuffs and hastily hoisted them up. “Move and don’t make a scene,” the one who was holding Rane ordered and then accompanied her words with a sharp slap to the doctor’s face.

  Marie thought the punishment uncalled for, but she was still floating somewhere above the scene, not fully connected with what was happening. She followed instructions but still earned a baton poke by one of the guards. She cried out, but didn’t recognize the sound as hers. Once out of the infirmary, silence swallowed her and that somehow managed to put a dent in her armor. They walked the stairs two at a time, only to slow when they reached the first floor. The guards brought them to a halt outside the kitchen. The silence became a suffocating presence, and she saw them. All the people she knew at Redfarm were there, staring at her, mouths agape in shock and judgment. Her friends were there, first in line, looking at her, eyes wide. Verena was there, face puffy. Her eyes were red, and long streaks of dried tears stained her beautiful skin.

  “I don’t believe what they’re saying—” Verena said, at first her voice too broken to be fully understood. “I don’t believe them!” she screamed and everybody turned from Marie to her. “It’s a lie. You wouldn’t do it!”

  “I didn’t do anything…” Marie didn’t understand. Her head was clearing and she didn’t like it. As the numbness was receding, a feeling of despair took its place. Not caring was better compared to the agony slowly working its way to her heart. “What did they say I did?” She looked at Verena, hoping for an answer, but Callista demanded the audience’s full attention by hitting the floor with a whip lash that zinged through the air and produced a thunder-like noise.

  “All of you take a good look at those two women. Have you?” Callista paused for effect. Some of the younger girls even nodded at her question. “This is what happens to men lovers who help workers escape. They are sentenced to life in a waste plant.”

  At the last statement, people reacted. Some of the apprentices gasped in shock, part of the elders who evidently had already helped spread the rumor stood silent, while others cried their disbelief. Finally, Callista’s words dissipated with what was left of the fog in Marie’s mind. Or maybe it was the way her name was called by her friends. Or the tears in Verena’s eyes. Marie felt her legs giving out and sagged to the floor before she could reach for Rane’s proffered hand. She looked at Callista, who was coldly staring at her, and she wished she had fainted.

  “Here at Redfarm, we punish perversion with the maximum penalty. Do not ever forget that.” Callista grabbed Marie by the collar of her shirt. “Do not feel sorry for her.” She shook Marie, whose limbs swayed as if she were a ragdoll.

  Cina, Laila, and some of the apprentices she had worked with in the kitchen sobbed. Verena was beyond crying, her face frozen in a silent scream.

  “This is not your friend anymore. She committed blasphemy. She will be pay for her sins.” Callista gave her another jerk.

  Marie couldn’t help but let her tears fall. When she thought her humiliation was complete, Madame Lana appeared. She hadn’t seen the woman descending the stairs, but there she was to be testimony of her last moment at Redfarm. Marie started crying in earnest. None of the numbness she had felt before was left, only searing pain tearing through her body. She didn’t grovel and beg; she knew it wouldn’t help. The captain was power-angry and a pure breed, and she was nothing more than a fathered girl.

  “Captain, I believe you proved your point eloquently.” Madame Lana walked slowly toward them.

  “Madame, these women are culpable of harboring and aiding w
orkers. They are men lovers.” Callista looked at the older woman in suspicion.

  “I’m sure it was a misunderstanding.” Madame Lana stepped closer and calmly reached for Marie and freed her from the captain’s hold.

  Marie stood still for a long moment, uncertain of what to do. Her body shook so hard it became difficult to stand still. She saw Madame Lana open her arms to receive her, but Marie couldn’t move.

  The woman closed the gap and embraced Marie, who, had she any sanity left, would’ve been shocked by the rector’s demeanor. “This girl wouldn’t hurt a mosquito and I’ve never heard a single complaint about Doctor Rane. Helping workers to escape… demonstrating unhealthy affections toward men… those are big accusations. Let the matter settle for a few days. We can open an official inquiry.”

  At the rector’s last suggestion, Callista’s eyes narrowed into two slits, her mouth serrated in a white line, and when she finally opened her mouth, her voice was calmer and colder than before. “The bus has just arrived and these two fathered women will be leaving. There won’t be any delay in delivering their punishment, because today, tomorrow, or a week from now, the sentence will be the same. I’d leave things the way they are if I were you.” She had come face-to-face with Madame Lana to whisper her warning.

  “I’m not trying to hinder—” Madame Lana couldn’t finish.

  Callista snatched Marie from the older woman’s arms and said out loud, “If you sin, you will be branded as a sinner.”

  Marie was thrown toward Rane, who caught her. She thought she heard Verena raising her voice and then a louder whiplash than the first.

  “Escort them out.” Captain Callista’s order echoed in the absolute silence. “Vasura is waiting.”

  The collective gasp following the disclosure of the waste plant’s name sounded deafening. Fathered women whose crimes were so heinous imprisonment wasn’t punishment enough were sent to Vasura. For a moment, Marie looked at the people staring in shock. A feeling of disconnection swarmed over her yet again. Then, Verena’s face stood out and she was painfully reminded of her reality.