16
Des leaned against the wall in the corner as Hazel sat on the edge of the bed. Tendrils of steam danced steadily above a hot bowl of soup in her hands as she offered a spoonful to John who was now sitting up. Every time she brought the spoon to his lips she would whisper ‘careful’ and he would know it was time to slurp it.
“You take really good care of me,” John said after swallowing.
Hazel smiled and dipped the spoon into the broth again, this time fishing out a carrot for him to eat. Des watched the show of affection with eager attention, wondering what it might feel like to have someone love him this unconditionally that she would feed him and spend all her time taking care of him. A part of Des longed for that kind of affection—to encounter a love so strong. But Des would never have a child. Des would never have a significant other. The only person he might be able to come close to calling family would be Hazel because she had created him, but even she wasn’t close. Not anymore.
He wondered if they would have been close if he had never left. Would they love each other? Not the mother-son kind of love, not even the romantic kind, but one that represented a close friendship.
He was saddened by Hazel’s expression. There was plenty of love in her actions, but her face did not show it. She seemed to be in a state of permanent despondency. Des knew she wasn’t doing what she was meant to do. She had a mind that the government needed but they didn’t want. She knew too much about how things worked within the military. But here she was, stuck in a room with an old man when she should be helping to figure out the world’s problems. It needed more people like her. But fate had dealt Hazel a heavy hand, and she, like all the Outlanders, was fastened here with no place to go—no future to look forward to.
“So, Des,” John said, his eyes dull and unfocused, his voice raspy and weak. “Hazel told me about your people. Your village. I’m sorry about that.”
Des wasn’t sure what to say.
“I had spent so much of my military career,” John continued, “fighting against the Outlanders that I never considered that there were others out there in the wilderness.”
“Now we know there are a lot more,” Des said. “Thanks to your daughter.”
“Yeah, well, thanks to me we’re stuck in this hellhole,” she said, stirring the soup.
“You don’t think this is going to turn into another confrontation?” Des asked. “The Outlanders seem restless.”
“The Outlanders have always been restless,” John said slowly. He received another spoonful of soup and swallowed. “They are always looking for a fight. They are untamed in their hearts. The wilderness made them that way.” He sighed as his head lolled to the side restlessly. “And now I am a part of them, made so by the impossibility to leave.”
“But you know the truth now,” Des said. “They aren’t savages. It was the Mainlanders who depicted them as such.”
John’s jaw was set firm and he exhaled through his nose heavily. “It doesn’t matter. They are people who can control their actions, and chose not to.”
“They were starving,” Des said. “They were essentially an enemy because the Mainlanders needed an enemy. The government needed to guard the people from something. From someone.”
“Tell that to my wife and youngest daughter,” John said. “What would they think about your words?”
Des glanced at Hazel who stared into the bowl of soup, dazed and quiet. Des knew he shouldn’t have talked about it. He had his own opinions of the Outlanders—that they were a wild, yet determined people deserving the same rights as anyone else—though he considered now that he should have kept his thoughts to himself. The old man didn’t need to get worked up, and Des could tell his blood pressure was rising and his cheeks were turning red.
It was easy to read a human’s emotions. So much of what they felt and thought was displayed through physical actions, though many of them were the same. For example, Des remembered a girl from his village who would get so easily embarrassed. Her cheeks would burn brighter than the sunset. But he also remembered when Bernard would get angry, the same thing would happen. It was all about context. Bright cheeks didn’t mean just one thing.
Thinking about those people would have made Des’ face burn with anger if he were human. Thinking about what the Outlanders had done to the Mainlanders over the years versus what the Mainlanders had done, first to the Outlanders and then to Des’ own village, it was easy to see who the savages were.
“I am sorry,” Des said to John, trying to defuse the man’s emotions. “Horrible things have happened on both sides of the wall.”
Des left the room so father and daughter could eat in peace. He stepped over Gizmo, who made some depressing comment that Des ignored, and walked to the other side of the house and into the kitchen.
He hated feeling helpless. He was in limbo, waiting for Nolan to get back to him about the coordinates. Des wondered if he could have gotten the information more quickly by himself. He wondered if this was what the Outlanders felt on a daily basis. Did they stare at their kitchen tables wondering when they were going to get answers? Moment-by-moment did they ponder a life of true freedom?
Des just wanted to know who his enemy was. He wanted to know why he had been called Esroy by the robot guards. He wanted to know if he could trust Nolan, or if the man was just another government lackey who had been, or always would be, corrupted by the desire for power.
Des looked up from the sink and through a foggy window that showed the brightness of the cool, breezy morning. Though the glass was too clouded to see through it very well, Des could sense movement in the street. He wanted to be out there, searching for the answers. In his short existence, he had never been one to wait. He was a person of action. He was made to get things done.
The blurred movements behind the glass darted quickly, and Des was suddenly aware that something unusual was happening outside. He turned the side of his head toward the window, his audio receptors picking up muffled sounds of hurried feet. There were vehicles moving and they were coming in fast.
As the trucks came to a rest, Des rushed to the window next to the front door and saw what awaited him. “No,” he whispered to himself.
It was the first time he had seen the man in five years, but he had changed very little. Bracken’s feet were planted on the hood of a truck which only added to his already towering frame. His face was weathered and tired-looking with deep set wrinkles. His hair was white and full, but cut short. He wore the same camouflage uniform as the dozen or so men that were around him, and that immediately sparked a thought in Des’ mind. Where were the robot soldiers? These were all humans. Of course, Des’ next thought was why are they here?
Bracken held up a bullhorn to his mouth and pointed it toward the house. “Prototype D,” he said, “we know you are in there. You have violated the law and are under arrest. I want you to come out of the house slowly and with your hands in the air.”
Des watched the men as they got into position around the house and in the yard. Each of them carried automatic weapons that could damage Des if he were hit enough, but he knew he had the agility to get away from these soldiers. He would be more worried of the robot soldiers with their metal net guns.
Hazel stormed out from John’s room. “What’s happening?” she demanded.
“Seems like I’m under arrest,” Des said.
“For what? The medicine?”
“I don’t know.” He looked at her. “Did you see who it is?”
Hazel shook her head.
“It’s Bracken.”
Hazel’s eyes widened and then narrowed suddenly as her teeth clenched together. “He has no right to be here.”
“I’m afraid that’s not true,” Des said, looking back through the window.
“I’m going to give you ten seconds,” Bracken said. His voice echoed throughout the neighborhood. Des could see other people peeking through windows and doors to get a better look at the commotion outside. “If you do not com
e out by the time I get to zero, I will order my men to fire on the house.”
Des’ joints froze up. Would Bracken really do that? He looked at Hazel. “Do you think he’s bluffing?”
Hazel shrugged and shook her head. “He’s got no love for any of us here. I wouldn’t doubt it if he wanted to see all of us shot to death.”
Bracken started his countdown. “Ten…nine…eight…seven…”
Shooting holes throughout the house would do nothing to Des, Bracken knew this. It was a ploy to pull Des out and surrender. Des stood up straight and put his hand on the doorknob.
“Des, no!” Hazel shouted. “You can’t just give up like that.”
“Six…five…”
“I have to,” Des said. “You will both be in danger if I don’t.”
“No!” Hazel grabbed Des by the arm and yanked.
“Four…three..”
Des tried to pull away, but he didn’t want to hurt her.
“Two…one…”
“Let go!” Des yelled, but his cry was drowned by the sound of exploding shells and shattering glass.
Des immediately stopped pulling away and instead jumped on top of Hazel in the middle of the floor as splinters of wood and shards of glass rained down all around them. The bullets pounded against the house with a deafening crescendo.
All he could do was wait for the shooting to stop. If he moved at all, Hazel would surely be hit. He looked toward John’s bedroom, but the bed was out of view. He only hoped the man had the strength to at least fall out of bed and get behind something.
He could hear Hazel shouting beneath him, but the words were incoherent among the slamming bullets and resonating firepower traveling from the guns.
Was Bracken insane? What could have possessed him to open fire on a house like this, no matter who was inside? Hazel and John had done nothing, yet the punishment was dealt because of Des’ presence. The same anger that surfaced when he thought about his village seethed through him now. This was another injustice dealt by the Mainlanders against the innocent.
As Des looked up, he could see decorations flying off the walls and shelves. Paneling split open to expose the insulation beneath the surface. Only objects close to the ground received the least punishing blows.
The firing stopped in an almost perfect unison. Des could imagine Bracken holding up a hand in the air and all the men obeying his orders intently.
“Prototype D,” Bracken said through the megaphone. “If you do not come out of the house now, we will begin with much bigger weapons. We will keep firing on the house until there is nothing left. I will give you ten seconds.”
Des pulled himself up to his knees and Hazel stared at him with big tears in her eyes. Bracken knew he wouldn’t get Des unless he threatened the people Des cared about.
“Ten…nine…”
“Go look after your father,” Des said.
“I’m not hit!” John called from the other room.
Des stood and walked toward the door. With one look back at Hazel, he nodded. “We will get this sorted out.”
“Eight…seven…”
“He’s going to kill you,” Hazel said. “He will take you to a deactivation chamber.”
“Six…five…”
“It won’t come to that,” Des said. Then, he opened the door to face a crowd of armed men ready to blow Des into oblivion with any misstep. He could hear Hazel crawling toward the bedroom.
“Who is going to clean all this up?” Gizmo yelled from the other side of the living room. “I bet it’s going to be me…”
“Get your hands up,” Bracken ordered.
Des did as he was told. He took small steps toward Bracken’s truck, never taking his eyes off the man. Des knew he was probably fast enough to get away from these soldiers, but he didn’t want to risk Hazel’s life any further.
“That’s far enough,” Bracken said when Des was only about ten feet away. “It’s been a long time since I laid eyes on you. Can’t say it’s nice to see you.”
“Can you please tell me what reason you have to destroy an innocent person’s house?”
Bracken shook his head and pointed toward the house with the megaphone. “These people aren’t innocent. Far from it. I have no problem with killing any one of them, especially when harboring a law breaker such as yourself.”
“Law breaker?”
“We’ve got proof of you robbing a drugstore,” Bracken said. “I can’t understand why you would do such a thing, but you did, so you have to face the consequences.”
“John was sick. He needed the medicine.”
“I don’t care if he was about to die—”
“He was about to die!”
“Don’t interrupt me!” Bracken shouted. “I don’t care if it will kill him, you broke the law. You’re going to pay for it!”
“This is all because I embarrassed you five years ago, isn’t it?” Des said. “I destroyed your precious Esroy and you thought he would be invincible.”
Bracken’s face cracked into a wide grin and he began to laugh. “You have been gone a very long time, Prototype D. I think you might be malfunctioning.” He looked around at his men, his arms spread out. “What do you think, boys? Do you think Prototype D here might be suffering from a glitch?”
None of the soldiers laughed, instead remaining silent and watchful. Bracken’s face turned hard as he looked down at Des. “Time to go, robot.”
Des fell forward as the metal netting hit him from the back. Then there was one from the front and he was wrapped tightly like an insect spun up in a hungry spider’s webbing. Des cooperated only because he had to get as far away from Hazel’s house as possible.
Before the soldiers threw Des into the back of the truck, he tried to focus his hearing on the house. He wanted to know if John and Hazel were okay, but the soldiers were too loud. Des never had the chance to look Hazel over for any sign of injury. She could have been shot and Des didn’t know it.
The soldiers shut the doors of the canvas-topped truck, blocking out most of the light. All he could hear was the sound of rumbling engines, and laughter from his enemies.
17
“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Hazel yelled at Nolan. Her face was red with rage and she nearly screamed with every word.
Nolan’s face was displayed on the screen in front of her. Hazel had been lucky that none of the bullets had hit her computer. She yanked the camera from its stand and panned across the room. Holes sprinkled the walls and floors. Pieces of wood and glass were dispersed across the wooden planks at her feet. She hadn’t wanted to call Nolan, but she felt she had no other choice. He was the only one in the government that might have been on her side.
“Is everyone okay?” Nolan asked.
“We are alive. And uninjured, though I don’t know how.”
Nolan shook his head and looked away from his camera.
“He barely gave any warning,” Hazel said. “He gave a ten second countdown and then fired on the house like it was routine.”
“Did Bracken say why he was there?” Nolan asked.
Hazel shifted and looked away. “Because Des stole some medicine.” She turned her head back to Nolan. “For my dad. He’s been really sick.”
“Why didn’t you call me?” Nolan said, this time his face was flushed with anger.
“Oh, I don’t know, because you told me never to call you for favors,” she answered. “You made that loud and clear.”
“That was a mistake,” Nolan said. “I was angry.”
“Well, I’m angry!” she shouted. “We’re all angry out here in the Southern Zone. And what is Lester Vaughn doing about it? Nothing! What are you doing about it? Nothing!”
“Hazel, that’s unfair,” Nolan said. “Things like this take time.”
“It’s been five years, Nolan. Look at this house! You’re out of time.”
He stared in front of him. It felt strange to see him on her screen. Their last talk had ended in a fight that sounded a
lot like this one, though it had been in person and Nolan had not backed down as easily.
Part of her felt guilty for talking to him this way, especially since he was the only one who could do anything for them. “I wish you could come out here and see what this place really looks like. The house is in shambles.”
“Will you and your father be warm enough tonight?” Nolan asked.
“Yes.”
“Good,” Nolan said. “I will see why this happened and what can be done about it.”
“No,” Hazel said. “This is the last straw. I can understand Bracken’s disdain for me. I can understand that he probably wanted an excuse to try and kill me, but this was uncalled for. I am a citizen and I have served Mainland well. So has my father.”
“Well, Bracken sees you as a traitor,” Nolan said. “Not that it matters.”
“I get it. But this is over, Nolan. Lester Vaughn has been useless and the people out here know it. All they are looking for is someone to lead them.”
“To do what? Fight?”
“That’s right.”
“And who’s going to lead them, you?”
Hazel set her jaw firm and swallowed hard. “If that’s who they need, then yes.”
Nolan grinned. “You really are an Outlander aren’t you?”
“No,” Hazel said. “I’m a person. And people here are supposed to have rights. This government is reckless and overbearing. The people in the Southern Zone are red hot and looking for any excuse to make a new government.”
Nolan’s face turned serious. “Hazel, don’t start something. We’re trying. We really…I’m trying. None of this is easy, especially with Morris in power.”
Hazel believed him, but it didn’t matter. It might have mattered at one point. But not anymore. If Hazel was going to lead anyone for change, she was going to need some help. She was going to need someone powerful.
She needed Des.
“Just get Des back to me,” she said. “He’s innocent in all this. All he did was save my father’s life.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Nolan said. “Just…just don’t do anything crazy. Please.”
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