Portraits of Gentry
'Sleep'
By Deborah A. Palmer
Copyright © 2018 by Deborah A. Palmer
Cover Art © 2018 by Deborah Beregszaszi
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Dedicated to my family,
who kept on encouraging me,
no matter how many times I started a book.
Chapter 1
She just sort of washed up on shore one day. Well, her and ‘Rosie’. Technically they had no real names, unless being labeled as 'those shore children' counted, but in her mind, her fellow cast-away had always struck her as a 'Rosie'. Fortunately, they had both been old enough for solid foods when they were first found, but that hadn't meant much for their benefactors. The shore children were definitely an oddity, but they were harmless. Because of this, it seemed perfectly acceptable for the Haven dwellers to display them in ornate cages at the city limits, where their own perfect children could marvel at them. Her life had been relatively uninteresting. Feeding twice a day, perpetually surrounded by a surprising amount of rabid dogs, small talk with 'Rosie'. It was blissfully dull, except for that one time in the week when the dogs became especially loud and annoying shortly before the fences were lowered. That was her reality for roughly 80% of her life, which considering she was approximately 12 didn't seem like much in the grand scheme of things. She held her ears as the frothing canines barked in anticipation of running wild again. "Fourteen, thirteen, twelve,..." 'Rosie' counted down. She was always counting things down. It would have been endearing if she wasn't always correct. Maybe that was the envy talking. Sure enough, the gates were lowered at the count of zero. 'Rosie' then proceeded to countdown the arrival of the community custodians. Why the city inhabitants insisted on cleaning up after the flea ridden, half-crazed mutts was beyond her, yet every time the fences were lowered, after precisely 135 seconds, they would be there. Ensuring that the resting place of the canines was as pristine as the city itself. At least they were less noisy than the dogs.
"What are you thinking about?" 'Rosie' inquired. The other girl looked towards her counterpart, contemplating a satisfying answer.
"Nothing specific. Why're you asking?"
"Because the Rookie thinks you want to eat him." The girl looked back in the direction where her eyes were sightlessly gazing earlier. Sure enough, there was a younger custodian with an anxious expression in her direct line of sight. She growled at him exaggeratedly for the sake of entertainment. The boy yelped comically, quickly moving to a different area for work. His reaction evoked a small giggle from 'Rosie'.
"You are incorrigible, Lys."
"Where did you hear a word like that?"
"The other day, one of the parents said that to one of the children."
"How can you ever understand anything they are saying? They always talk over each other until it sounds like they're talking a different language."
"I usually choose a unit of people to focus on. You would be surprised how easy it is to expand your vocabulary if you listen closely to one conversation."
"What's a vocabulary?"
"Dunno, something to do with words, I think." She answered with a playful smile. It wasn't uncommon for 'Rosie' to be the happier child, yet 'Lys' could recognize a slight increase of general excitement.
"What's got you so cheery, Rosie?" The girl in question put a finger to her lip conspiratorially. "I'll tell you in 17 minutes and 43 seconds." She stage whispered. That was a good minute after the custodians left. Whatever it was, she didn't want the good citizens to know about it. Which was strange, since 'Rosie' never cared about who heard their conversations before. For once, 'Lys' wished that the other girl would count out loud again. If only so she could be aware of how much time was left. She whiled away the time until they were fed, by looking for the Rookie and purposely glaring at him when he looked her way. When the time came for the custodians to leave, he made sure there was an entire crowd of people between them. 103 more seconds, and 'Rosie' would finally tell her what was going on. She kept her head down as she counted the remaining seconds to herself. She looked up with an amused smirk that threatened to explode into a mischievous grin.
"Do you know what today is?" 'Rosie' opened.
"You know I don't." Honestly, she hardly knew what day it was unless some of the people who came by their 'home's' mentioned it offhandedly.
"To be fair, I'm not so sure either, but I hope it's the anniversary of us living here, because that would make it even more special."
Despite the fact that 'Lys' thought that specific anniversary had already passed, she focused on the other part of the statement with her next question. "Why would it be special?"
"Because ..." She dramatically pauses for effect. "Today is our last day here." 'Rosie' struggles to keep herself from squealing out the 'here'.
"Are you sure?" She doesn't ask her about where she has that information, because 'Rosie' never needed outside sources for these kinds of things. For the same reason she knew how long things would take, without anyone giving her an estimate.
"Well, I know it's my last day. However, I do know I will see you again, so I'm sure your turn won't be so long."
"So what? The mayor has decided to cut our fund? Is he going to release us to the wild like the dogs, except forever?"
"Not quite. Look, in a little moment a few undesirables are going come here and talk with us, and later there is going to be some kind of flying device that's going to take my cage away."
"Are you sure you won't be transported to another city like this?"
"Who knows, but at least I won't be here." 'Lys' wonders what it's like to take life in stride like 'Rosie'. For all intents and purposes, they had the exact same upbringing, yet her counterpart never seemed worried about anything, rolled with whatever came her way, as if everything was scheduled. Perhaps, it had to do with her uncommonly precise intuition that she was completely prepared for whatever happened. Though considering their repetitive lives up to this day, 'Lys' is sure she would have been more lethargic if she had those abilities. As she pondered on this, three scruffy-looking people in tattered clothing carefully edged themselves into the city limits. Ah, the undesirables. Just as expected. The older one was trying to keep the other two in line, however after they crossed over the fence the two similarly aged ones couldn't keep from goofing around.
"Do you think if I snuck into the Haven now, they would notice I'm an outsider?" the boy posited.
"Yes, because your clothes look like a moth restaurant, and you have never taken a shower in your life." the younger girl answers.
"Well, obviously. But supposing I got cleaned up and grabbed some new clothes."
"It wouldn't matter, people like that can smell the poor on you."
"You don't know that."
"I'm still right. Besides, the fact that you're not related to anybody in there would be a dead give away."
"Look at this place! It's so big, I bet you could live your whole life without seeing the other side. I bet I could hide here until the gates are lifted and make up a sob story about how I was ambushed by some vagrants from the ruins ..."
"Quiet! Both of you!" The older one finally hisses. "We don't have much time and I don't need you two calling attention on us."
"Then why did you drag us with you?" the younger girl retorts.
"Because nobody else wants to deal with you." The younger ones surprisingly just laughed at this comment, and nodded in agreement. At this point they had reached the girls cages.
"Okay, which one of you is the shore child?" The older one asked.
The caged girls shared a look.
"Both of us." 'Rosie' provided.
"What? But the transmission said there would only be one." The older girl nervously ran her hand through her shaggy hair.
"Actually, the transmission said they were implementing the 'shore child' protocol. They never specifically said it would be one ..."
"Shut up, Raye! Ugh, this complicates everything."
"Can't we just take them both?" the boy asks.
"Our machine can only carry one cage, and we don't have time to bust one of them out." The older girl sighs.
"So now what?" The girl apparently named Raye asks.
The older girl takes another deep breath and looks towards the other two with determination.
"We go ahead with the plan. Raye, keep watch for Haven dwellers. Ty, go to the others and tell them to bring the vessel." the younger ones jump into action, although the boy, Ty, grumbles about the fact that he always gets the tedious jobs. Finally the older girl turns to them again.
"I'm sorry about this, but we have been waiting for things to come together for so long. Something unexpected at this point is just bound to stress me out."
"Don't worry, the vessel will be here in 352 seconds." 'Rosie' responds nonchalantly.
"How do you know that?" Raye asks curiously.
"The same way she knew you were coming." Lys contributes. "She always knows how long things will take."
The wheels began turning in the older girl's mind. "Do you know where we need to go?" She asks carefully.
"Yes." 'Rosie' answers immediately. 'Lys' wonders where her counterpart got that information—This didn't strike her as something even 'Rosie' would know. The still unnamed girl is more relaxed for the remaining time. Approximately 5 minutes later Raye calls out.
"Mia, it's here!"
"Perfect. Get over here, I'll help you climb on this one's cage." She orders while pointing towards 'Rosie'. Obviously, they would pick her. The girl in the other cage is sure they would have picked 'Rosie' even if she knew where they were supposed to go. She probably would have picked her too.
As the vessel approaches, a chain is lowered, which Raye immediately attaches to 'Rosie's' cage. Fortunately the cages are not nailed to the ground. The citizens' desire to parade them around the Haven on special occasions has left them mobile. A rope ladder is lowered to the remaining undesirables, which they instantly start climbing. As 'Rosie' is slowly lifted off the ground, she waves towards 'Lys'.
"If you really wanted to, you could break yourself out!" She said over the loud humming of the vessel.
"What do you mean?"
"Remember when it used to rain?" was her response. 'Lys' was still puzzled, yet something inside her seemed to resonate with those words. After that she was too far to talk to anymore, so she only had her own thoughts left to entertain her. She felt like she should be envious of 'Rosie', yet she couldn't quite bring up that emotion. As much as she loathed her current living conditions, she couldn't imagine anything better. Perhaps that stemmed from her limited traveling history, yet for some reason no alternative location really appealed to her, free or caged.
The hours pass even slower without the other girl to keep track of time. She is actually relieved when the dogs returned. Having spent a whole day running and tearing things apart had successfully mollified the beasts, so they are much quieter now. The lack of someone to converse with leads to her listlessly lying in place after her feeding. If the custodian is confused by the decrease in shore children, she does not show it. It occurs to 'Lys' that perhaps that was the idea. Whoever orchestrated the plan knew there was an imminent relocation planned by the citizens of this particular Haven.
It's a small noise that wakes her. Not one of the dogs, because she had grown far too accustomed to their nightly noises at this point. It sounded like somebody was struggling. After taking some time to reorient her vision, she tries to asses the source of the noise. It doesn't take long for her to spot the lone figure attempting to stealthily climb the fence. Like the people who came earlier, he looks unkempt and dirty. He seems to be in the latter part of his teens. He has some rope coiled around his upper body, and some kind of bottle attached to his waist. Every time he pauses in his ascent he checks to make sure the bottle is still attached. She watches with rapt attention as he makes his way to the top. He takes a soundless breath as he finally reaches his destination. Next he unwraps the rope and with some extreme concentration, takes hold of the two ends in his left hand. At the tip of the rope he makes a loop and swings it loosely as he focuses on his goal. Which appears to be the spike on top of the girls dome like cage. The boy takes one stray look at the sleeping dogs, before throwing the loop at the spike. Fortunately for the boy, it lands perfectly. After tightening the loop and securing the rope on his end, he proceeds to shimmy his way across it towards the cage. It is at this moment that 'Lys' notices the open backpack he is carrying. She notes that it appears empty. Two things happen once he reaches the cage. One of the dogs sneezes, and the boy temporarily loses his footing. He holds on to the spike with as much desperation as he holds his breath. After a few growls and whines the mutts fall silent again. After that moment passes, the boy wraps his legs in a secure lock on the bars and takes turns wiping the sweat of his hands. He finally pulls the bottle from his waist and motions to the girl to press herself to the edge of the cage. Delicately he pours a few drops of the liquid on two points of a bar, keeping a hold of it with his other hand between those points. A slight hissing noise is released as whatever the liquid was begins to eat through the bar. Once the steel is disintegrated, the boy puts the piece into his backpack. He repeats this process three more times. 'Lys' is completely awestruck by the liquid that so easily destroys steel. After safely depositing the last bar, he carefully removes the backpack and hangs it on the spike. He winces a little as the bag weakly clangs against the cage. When the dogs still ignore him, he makes his way into the cage. Once safely on the floor, he beckons to the girl. Her eyes go wide with realization as she becomes aware that this is really happening. She can not fathom, why this boy would be interested in breaking her out, but she has become invested in his success at this point. Her intrigue in the execution of his caper interests her more than her own liberation. Once she reaches him, he squats down, and motions for her to get on his back. After ensuring that her arms are clamped tightly on each other, he climbs up again. Once on top of the cage, he re-positions her in front of him, and retrieves his backpack. With his back facing the ground, he makes his way back across the rope. At one point, one of the bar pieces almost falls out of his bag, however 'Lys' is able to catch it. The boy shows his appreciation by throwing her a quick smile. They reach the fence without further incident, and for the first time in about a decade, the girl's feet touch dirt. She can hardly process the moment, taking a few tentative steps to better understand the cool and dusty sensation on her skin. However, the boy immediately begins to drag her towards the wilderness, too impatient to let her immerse herself in the new sensation. She has very little time to appreciate the new sights as the boy is determined to get away from the city as fast as he can. She catches glimpses of broken and rusty objects, as they rush through the forest; Fascinated by the concept that things could come to that state, after living in the always spotless Haven. She wonders if this is just what happens to anything that isn't plant life outside of the Havens, noting the health and abundance of all the greenery that surrounds her. Looking at the boy that still insists on dragging her, she wonders if that happened to him, and the other Undesirables. 'Maybe, that's why they hate it out here so much.' she muses to herself. 'They're afraid of things that aren't shiny anymore.' Things do come to a stop, when the boy has her abruptly duck behind a tree. The familiar sound of canine pants explain everything. Every once in awhile, a few of the dogs are left in the wilderness when they ignore the return signal the Haven broadcasts. To the citizens it's a small inconvenience; for undesirables it's an emergency. As the dog aimlessly
trudges along, the boy grabs a bar out of his pack. At first it seems like it's going to pass them by, when it suddenly catches their scent. The dog approaches their tree uncharacteristically slowly, no doubt confused by the girl's familiar scent in this unusual environment. When the dog reaches them, the boy acts instantly, bashing the animals brains in with the steel bar. Although the girl is no stranger to grotesque visuals, what with the mutts returning with the odd human appendage, it is still quite disconcerting to witness in action. The boy takes a few settling breaths before turning to the girl again.
"It's not too far anymore. Come on." are the first words he utters in her presence. She hesitates, and takes a few steps back instead. Confused, the boy approaches her, only to realize that he's still clutching the bloody object. He throws it away, with his face contorted in frustration. He crouches down to the girl's level, trying to keep his voice soothing. "I know you have no reason to trust me, but I'm not going to hurt you." She spares an uneasy glance towards the dog's corpse before looking back at the boy. "You have to understand. I can't take any chances with those mutts. I've seen them do bad things." He reaches for her, but she still refuses to move. "If you want I can take you back. Or I can try to avoid any other stragglers if we keep on going. But please, don't be afraid of me." She thinks about his offer. As reluctant as she feels going with this boy now, she truly has no desire to return to her cage. She also believes that if she is to be reunited with her companion again, her chances are better with this unruly creature. So with some caution added to her curiosity, she decides to keep following the boy.
They wander for a short moment until they come upon a small neighborhood, or at least the girl guesses it was a neighborhood at one point. For one, it is completely abandoned, as if nobody had really lived here in ages. Also, the houses are in terrible condition, much like everything else out here, and it's not just fact that all the doors and windows are damaged in some way. The houses look nothing like the short glimpses of the homes she had seen back in the Haven. They almost look primitive compared to those buildings. They stop at one of the houses, but instead of going through the door that hangs limply off its hinges, the boy lifts a heavy looking door on a strange-looking building beside it, and beckons the girl to go in. Inside it is pitch black, especially when the boy allows the door to lower again. He shuffles around until he is on the other side of the room, and somehow manages to light a candle. He proceeds to light a few more candles and lamps, until the girl has a clearer view of the room. She finds that the building is mostly one room, and the larger part of it is taken up by some strange rusty machine.
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