The Culling ttk-1

by Steven dos Santos

  “Cypress, deserters aren’t just risking their own lives,” I say. “Their Incentives … anyone they leave behind … they’re all subject to punishment. That’s why we’re all here. How could anyone do what you’re suggesting?”

  Her eyes drop to her lap. “How could he?” she whispers. A shaky hand swipes across her face. Then she bolts to her feet and marches into one of the shelters, throwing the flaps open and disappearing inside.

  For a few minutes, nobody says anything. We just stare at each other across the crackling flames, watching the shadows dance across the orange glow on our faces.

  Who is she talking about?

  “Do you really think the Fallen Five were murdered?” I finally ask Digory. “Cypress seems certain they’re alive. But if they are alive and hiding out, why haven’t any of the Recruits over the last nine years caught a glimpse of them?”

  “Yes, I do believe the Establishment killed them,” Digory answers. “But if by some miracle Cypress is right, there’s a very good reason none of the other Recruits has ever seen them.”

  Adrenaline revs my heart.

  “What is it?” Gideon asks.

  Digory tosses more twigs into the fire. “After they disappeared, the Establishment moved the Trials to another base-whether this was done to cover up evidence or prevent it from happening again, that’s open to debate.”

  “But the location of the Trials has always been kept secret! How would you know-?” I stop myself. His connections within the rebellion … “I understand.”

  He nods. “If Cypress is right, we may get our chance to solve the mystery of the Fallen Five.”

  Ophelia rubs her arms. “Why’s that?”

  He looks around. “This year”-he lowers his voice-“the Establishment decided to return the Trials to the original venue.”

  My eyes open wide. “You mean-?”

  “We’re the first to return. That’s why they installed those pylons around Infiernos. Whatever happened to the Fallen Five, it happened right outside that sonic fence.”

  I glance back at the narrow path creeping into the jungle. It’s framed by a canopy of interlocking branches that resemble gnarled fingers clasped together in dark prayer. A wisp of mist curls forth like a dying breath. I hug myself, trying to rub some feeling back into my marble skin.

  Seventeen

  It’s the last night before we’re set to begin Phase Three, the final stage of our training before the Trials begin. I’m on adrenaline overload and can’t sleep.

  A groggy Gideon trudges into the barracks in the middle of the night and taps me on the shoulder. “You’re up,” he grunts before collapsing onto his cot. For the first time, I’m grateful to be on CQ duty.

  In no time at all, I’ve slipped into my uniform and out the door, briskly walking the perimeter of the barracks, trying to burn up the anxiety churning through me. I plow through my rounds in record time. Along the way I encounter pockets of soldiers making supply runs, performing maintenance checks on vehicles, packing up equipment. In each instance, they look haggard, as if they’ve been pulling double shifts. A couple of times they drop their voices to a whisper as I walk by, as if I cared what secrets they harbor. When I’m done, I’m still jumpy with nervous energy and decide to jog up the three-hundred-plus steps to the top of the circular Observation Tower.

  Even though I’m breathing heavily by the time I arrive at the top, I can’t help but think how much more stamina I’ve built up during my training. Six weeks ago I’d have probably passed out after about a hundred steps.

  Six weeks. Seems like a lifetime.

  From up here, I have a moonlit view of all of Infiernos. About fifty yards ahead of me, at the base’s front perimeter, the sea crashes against the shoreline. Further down the beach, I can just make out the cove hiding the bay where the freighter docked on our arrival. Behind me and on either side, the complex stretches several miles inland-the giant dome, the other barracks, the training fields, the landing strips, the officers’ quarters-all surrounded by the massive pillars of the sonic fences, which occasionally spark when some unfortunate animal veers too close.

  I strain my eyes, trying to make out what lies beyond the base, but even in the moonlight I can’t see anything through the darkness and haze. For a moment I wonder if we’re actually on an island at all … maybe we’re on a peninsula, and, if so, what is it connected to?

  I turn my head back toward the ocean and lean over the railing, gulping a lungful of salty air from the rippling black sea, allowing it to wash away the mustiness of the barracks. I haven’t felt this invigorated in months-ever since Cassius’s betrayal.

  Above, millions of stars blanket the night sky. Back home at the Parish, I don’t remember ever seeing so many of them, what with the smog from the Industrial Borough clogging up our skies. It’s beautiful and mysterious all at once. If I tilt my head at just the right angle, to block out my surroundings, it’s as though I’m floating in space, which seems about right.

  I’ve never felt so far away from everything I’ve ever known.

  Movement behind me.

  Despite the roaring of the wind, I can hear my heartbeat. My grip tightens on the railing. Maybe I won’t live to compete in the trials after all. Maybe Cassius is planning to assassinate me before I get the chance to have my revenge.

  I whip around.

  Digory’s lips are curved in a dazzling smile, reflecting the moon’s gleam that surrounds him in a halo. His hair shimmers like liquid gold.

  My muscles relax.

  He holds his palms up, his eyes mirroring my surprise. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you. I called out your name, but I guess you didn’t hear me.”

  I smile back. “Why aren’t you in bed?”

  He stuffs his hands in his pockets. “Couldn’t sleep. Just like you.”

  I nod. “It seems everyone’s been tense lately. And not only about the Trials. Have you noticed all the anxious looks, and the whispering? I’m not just talking Slade and the other officers-the enlisted are looking pretty wired, especially those recon units.”

  “I’ve noticed. And we’re not the only ones-Cypress mentioned it too, and so did Gideon. Something’s definitely up.”

  The black jumpsuit I’m wearing is made of thin material, hardly protection against the chilly night biting into my flesh and making my teeth chatter.

  “Here, take this.” Digory removes the jacket he’s wearing and wraps it around me.

  I try to give it back to him, but his hands hold it firmly on my shoulders. “What about you?” I ask.

  His grin captures the starlight. “I’ll be all right. I’m pretty cold-blooded.”

  He means it as a joke, but I can’t help but wonder what he’s capable of when the time comes to defend his people during the trials.

  What I’m capable of.

  Silent minutes flutter away into the night. This is the first time we’ve really been alone since arriving at Infiernos. I brace myself for some well-meaning questions or comments about stuff I really don’t want to talk about.

  Instead, Digory tugs up the jacket’s collar around my neck and nudges his face toward the sky. “I can’t believe how many stars there are up there.”

  I inhale cool saltiness. “I’ve never been away from all that cloud cover in the Parish. This is the first time I’ve ever gotten a really good look at the constellations.” I lean forward on the railing and point toward a particular cluster. “See there, I think that’s the one the ancients called Taurus.”

  His shoulder grazes my own, his eyes following my finger as I trace an invisible pattern in the night. “Tau-rus? What’s that mean?”

  “The legend goes that Taurus was a god disguised as some kind of animal-not sure what it’s called-a bull, I think. You see that outline that looks like a beast?”

  He nods.

  “Anyway, this Taurus fell in love with a beautiful princess while she was playing on the seashore and literally swept her off her feet, carrying her away and mak
ing her his lover.”

  Digory turns and his eyes penetrate mine. “Leaving their symbol for all to see until the end of time. I like that.” He smiles again. “I don’t think I ever heard anything like that at the Instructional Facility. It’s one of those banned fairy tales the Establishment’s always going on about, isn’t it?”

  I shrug, expecting him to bring up Cole’s story of the Lady, the story that Cassius used to damn us. He doesn’t. I exhale, plunging ahead before thoughts of Cole’s plight shut me down. “Apprenticing at the library and sneaking into the restricted section does have some advantages. The funny thing is, no matter how hard the Establishment tries to hide literature it doesn’t approve of from the world, the sky’s full of stories for all to see.”

  Digory steps onto the lower railing, hikes a leg over the upper railing, and raises himself into a sitting position. “Like what else?” He holds out a hand to me. “Show me another story, Lucian.”

  It’s as if one of those gods of the constellations is beckoning me, ready to sweep me away from the earth to live out the rest of my existence in the heavens.

  I take his hand and allow him to haul me up beside him. “Let’s see.” My eyes scan the sky. “Ah, yep. That’s Orion.”

  “Who’s Orion?” Digory’s face is lit up like Cole’s when I tell him about the Lady.

  “Orion was a hunter.” I connect a group of stars with my finger. “You see how you can make out his bow and arrow?”

  Digory laughs. “Yeah, I can see it. That’s incredible.”

  “According to the restricted books,” I continue, “Orion hunted with two faithful beasts … now let’s see if I can … oh yeah … there’s one.” I trace another pattern in the sky.

  Digory’s eyes squint. “I’m not sure I can make that out.”

  “Of course you can. Here.” I take hold of his hand in mine and make the outline again.

  “Oh, yeah. Now I see it, Lucian.” His smile fades. “Wait a minute. That looks like a Canid.”

  “Very good, Mr. Tycho. You’re looking at Canis Major. And that”-our hands map out another cluster-“is Canis Minor.” I wink at him now. “Or the smaller Canid, as you’d call it. These two aren’t as visible this time of year as their master.”

  “Hmm.” His brows knit in mock annoyance. “I’m not sure I like this guy Orion so much if he hangs out with Canids. Are you sure his name’s not really the Imposer?”

  I actually laugh out loud this time. “It’s not like that at all. The hunter was actually in love with one of seven sisters known as the Pleiades.” Once again I guide his warm hand in mine, indicating six bright lights.

  “That’s only six,” he says, his breath hot in my ear. “What happened to the seventh?”

  I purse my lips. “Alas, she didn’t return his love and went far away, never to be seen again.”

  He shakes his head. “Poor guy.”

  “That’s not the worst of it, though.”

  He scoots closer. “What could be worse than having the person you love not want to have anything to do with you?”

  My pulse gallops. “The poor, heartbroken Orion, wandering around in search of his lost love, stepped on Scorpius”

  — I guide Digory’s hand toward another distinct pattern-“and died.”

  Digory flinches. “Ouch! Not the ending I was hoping for.” He chuckles. “I think I like the Taurus story better.”

  The salt air stings my eyes. “Not every story has a happy ending, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth telling.” I turn away. Concentrating on the brightest star I can find, I hope he won’t notice I’m doing everything possible not to give in to the ache I feel for my brother.

  “I wonder what it would be like, Lucian, to love someone so totally, so … you know, so powerfully, that even the stars can’t contain themselves from proclaiming that love for everyone to see,” he says softly. “It must be the grandest feeling in the world.”

  I shrug. “They’re only fairy tales. You said so yourself, Digory. ”

  His eyes return to the sky. “They don’t have to be.” He squeezes my hand.

  Neither of us says anything for the next few minutes. We just stare out to sea, listening to the waves crash in the distance, harmonized by the mourning wail of the wind.

  “So tell me,” Digory says at last. “What story are you looking at now?”

  I’m losing the fight against my emotions. “I’m not looking at a story. I’m just thinking how far away these stars really are. By the time their light reaches us, the stars could have been dead thousands of years.”

  He brings my hand to his knee and holds it there. “Don’t worry. Cole’s all right, Lucian. I know he is. You have to keep believing that.”

  My eyes burn. “But he’s a prisoner in that awful place-what did Cypress call it? Purgatorium.” I swipe at my eyes but the wind has already dried them. “He may as well be one of those stars.”

  “But he’s not alone, Lucian. Look. Look up there.” Now it’s his turn to guide my hand in the sky. “You see that bright star up there?”

  “Mmm-hmm.”

  “Let’s just say that’s Cole for a minute. Well, look around, Lucky. He’s not alone. There are millions of other bright lights out there, and one of them is you.” He moves my hand to another star twinkling in a different area of the sky. “And as you just showed me, they’re all connected.” He begins moving my hand from star to star. “Sooner or later you’ll find the path that connects you to each other again.” He traces the final point until it interconnects with the bright star representing Cole. “I promise you.” He adds his other hand and completely envelops mine in his.

  My sadness boils over into liquid heat stinging its way down my cheeks. I wrench my hand away. “How can you promise me something like that? You know what we’re up against, what’s about to happen. It’s an impossible situation, barring some unlikely miracle. The only way Cole and I can both survive this is if I can somehow make it through to the final round and win the Trials. In order for that to happen, everyone else’s loved ones will have to die in the Culling. Do you get that, Digory? Including the people you love, who, by the way, you’ve never told me a thing about. So unless you and the others are prepared to sacrifice your own just so I can see my little brother again, I’d refrain from making promises that will be impossible to keep.”

  “I know how hopeless it seems, Lucian. Trust me. And I’m sure the other Recruits do too. But the moment you stop believing that it’s possible … well … that’s the moment that it’s not.”

  Waves of confusion rock me. It’s hard enough living and training with Digory. But being alone with him-it stirs up too many conflicting emotions.

  All that time at the Instructional Facility, he hardly ever spoke to me-barely even looked at me. What if all this newfound concern during our training is part of his strategy, making me … like him, rely on him … just so he can crush me when I least expect it, the way Cassius did?

  There’s too much at stake.

  Swinging my legs back over the railing, I spring back down to the platform. “Sorry. I know you’re only trying to make me feel better. But I think it’s best if we each go it alone from this point on.”

  “You do, huh?”

  If he’s only been turning up the charm to lull me into a false sense of security, he’s got the aching expression down pat.

  I take off the jacket and hold it out to him. “Here. Take it.”

  He dismisses me with a wave of the hand. “Keep it. You need it more than I do.”

  I’m tempted to look away from the blossoming hurt on his face, tell him I don’t mean a word of what I’m saying, but it has to be done, for his sake as well as my own.

  “Good luck during the Trials, Lucian. I guess we’re going to find out what we’re both truly made of.” His voice is quiet, barely above a whisper. But the air of finality about it catches me off guard like an unexpected crash of thunder.

  He bolts from the Observation Tower without anot
her word.

  Leaving me to wonder if I’ve just made one of the biggest mistakes of my life.

  By the time I make it back down to the ground, exhaustion is finally starting to catch up to me. But before I can round the corner leading to the barracks, I spot a figure darting through the shadows from one equipment bunker to the next. A fresh wave of energy takes hold of me. Recalling all my recent stealth training, I slink into pursuit, partially from curiosity and a sense of duty …

  Mostly to avoid having to face Digory back at our barracks.

  When the figure ducks behind a supply crate, I catch a glimpse of pale skin and raven hair in the moonlight.

  Cypress.

  What the hell is she doing skulking around?

  But she’s already on the move again and I continue my tail, shadowing her as we dodge one ground patrol after another until she stops behind an electrical shed that overlooks two of the perimeter pylons.

  She turns in my direction, but I duck behind the bunker that’s diagonal to her, before she can see me. Then I crawl to the edge and peer around the corner.

  Styles and Renquist are talking to the pilot of a troop carrier-an oblong transport vehicle, with an open-air bed, that looks like a floating coffin without the lid. The craft is hovering a few feet off the ground, just on the other side of the invisible sonic barrier.

  “-After all your recon, you’d think you guys would’ve turned up something already.” Renquist’s voice carries in the wind.

  “Maybe they don’t show up on infrared at all,” the pilot’s voice crackles. “Look, just open the shield and let us back inside.”

  Styles belts out a raucous chuckle. “Don’t get your skivvies in a wad, Corporal.” He holds his walkie to his mouth. “This is Sector Seven. Deactivate field for squad re-entry.”

  Cypress crawls to the edge of the shed. By the looks of her posture, she’s ready to spring.

  She’s going to make a break for it.

  The hum between the two pylons winds down and the lights dim.