Outcast: A Corporation Novel (The Corporation)

by RaeLynn Fry

For one who's always up on the latest gossip, she's hung on to this piece of information with iron claws. Even the missing citizens aren’t more interesting than my brother. They haven't picked up yet that I don't like talking about Ajna being chosen as a Sponsor. It happened over two months ago, but it's still a juicy topic for conversation. After all, the last one happened over ten years ago.

  “Yup,” I say, not looking up.

  “How does it feel, knowing your brother showed enough promise to be taken?”

  “Great,” I say. I've been working on my sarcasm, lately. I think I've got it down pretty good.

  “Try to ignore them,” Ami says in a low voice, as she leans my way.

  “I always do.” I just need to focus on my quota and then get out of here.

  Aaral readjusts her bun at the nape of her neck. “Do you miss him? You can tell us the truth. Are you jealous he was selected?”

  Her naivety knows no bounds. “Seriously?” I say, and stare at her.

  She looks back at me, genuinely confused. Ami pats her arm softly and says something under her breath. I stand up and grab an armful of clothes from the center basket.

  “My brother has been stolen from us by the Corporation and you want to know if I miss him or if I’m jealous?”

  “Well, they didn't actually steal him, Karis,” she says, still confused.

  “Try talking about the missing people for a change and give my family a rest.”

  “Aaral, just be quiet,” Ami says kindly.

  I gather up some clothes in one arm, and the back of my chair in the other and drag it with a loud scraping noise away from the circle and closer to the corner. With my back to the old, and tactless women, I start to sew; rather angrily.

  ७

  I can't avoid my best friend during lunch break. She's waiting for me by our lockers. “I tried to catch you this morning,” she says.

  “Oh, yeah?” I dig around in my locker for my mask.

  “Yeah.” She leans up against the metal doors, crossing her arms. “I could have sworn you were ignoring me, though.”

  I grab my lunch bag and shut the door. “Huh. Weird.”

  “Very.” She lets it slide. She's been letting a lot of things slide with me, lately. “I need to talk to you.”

  I turn around and head back to the double doors. I'll eat while I sew. It’s frowned upon, but better than the current alternative. “I've really got to get back to work.”

  “It's important.”

  “So is my quota.” I turn around.

  “Karis!” She follows me through the doors. “Listen,” she says, dragging an empty chair next to mine, “I totally get why you're upset with me; I said some pretty harsh things that night about—” she stops. People are coming in from their break. Ami walks into the circle and Journey gets up to give her the chair. Ami drags it back. “—about things, but you have to know they were said out of love.”

  “Did you need something specific, Journey? I have a lot to do, and if you hang out down here for long, you'll be late for your shift.” I'm not trying to be rude, I'm really not, but I don't have the energy to be talking about this.

  “What I'm trying to get at is, you don't need to be avoiding me. I waited for you this morning for almost twenty minutes. I had to run to get here on time. You know how much I hate getting sweaty.”

  “I didn't not meet up with you because I was mad at you.” Not entirely, anyway. I start sewing again. “I couldn't sleep so I decided to come here and get a head start on work.”

  “So you didn't talk to your father, then?”

  “Papa wasn’t awake when I left.” I look up at her wide eyes.

  “You don't know, then.” She's dropped her voice and my group leans over to hear better, one parasitic organism. I don't even think they know they're doing it.

  “Know what?” I whisper back.

  She looks around and stoops in closer to my ear. “Ella’s here.”

  ७

  Work is almost impossible to get through. Ella is here. Finally. She must have shown up not long after I left for work. Did I pass her in the shadows on my way to the Factory? What's taken her so long to get to us? It takes everything I have not to run through the streets to get home. At the end of the shift, I don't waste time waiting for Journey, she knows where I live and can get there on her own.

  I push through our front door and see Ella and my father sitting on the couch, turned in towards each other, so close their knees are touching. They're bent in towards each other, talking low, Ella letting out a soft laugh.

  “Ella?” I say, a mix of hesitation and excitement in my voice.

  “Karis!” Ella looks just as relieved to see me. She stands up and covers the space between us is three quick strides. I shut the door behind me just as she pulls me into a grip strong enough to squeeze the air from my lungs and pop my ribs and spine. I pause for only a second before hugging her back; just as strong. “You're well!” She pulls back and holds me at arm's length, inspecting me as she would any patient. She frowns a little at the corner of her eyes. “You could look better, but you're not anything how I feared you would be. So the antidote—”

  “Worked, yes.” I smile generously. I need to let her know that I haven't told Papa about Mama being in the Inner City.

  “You should be eating more.” She pulls down the neck of my shirt below my collarbone and lets it fall back into place.

  “One thing you'll find here in Neech, we all should be eating more.” Her hands fall to her sides and she reaches out for my fingers. She leads me back to the couch and Papa moves over, making room for us. I sit between the two of them. “Am I interrupting anything?” Papa shifts his weight a little bit, almost as if he's nervous. I look at him. “I'm not, am I?”

  Ella smiles as if I'm being silly and pats my knee. “Nothing pressing. Your father and I were just getting to know each other.”

  I nod, even though something about what I saw between them unsettles me somewhere deep.

  The front door opens and Journey and Eta walk in. “Thanks for waiting, Karis,” Journey says. “Papa's on his way, Mr. Singh.”

  “Thanks, Journey. And how many times do I have to tell you? Call me Jeret.” He has a soft spot for her, and I know he thinks of her as a second daughter. “I’ll go and get the tea for everyone.”

  “I was just eager to get here,” I say. “I knew you'd come by after work. Besides, it looks like you weren't alone,” I say of Eta. “Hi, Eta.”

  She nods to me. Journey looks a little put out, but manages to put a smile back on for the guest. “I'm Journey,” she says, holding out a slim hand. “Karis’ best friend, last I checked.” I roll my eyes.

  Ella rises and walks over to meet her, taking my best friend's hand in hers. “So nice to meet you, Journey. I'm Ella.”

  “This is Eta,” she puts her hand on Eta's shoulder and smiles again. “She's the finest Medic in both cities.”

  “Hush child,” Eta says, but I can tell she likes the compliment. “It's always nice to meet another of the trade.”

  “Likewise,” Ella says, shaking her hand next.

  There's a soft knock on the door. When Papa answers it, Déjà walks in. “Sorry I'm late, we had an emergency come up at the steel mill. We had an issue pop up with our arc furnace.”

  Papa brings over a chair for him, he sets it down and shakes Déjà's hand. “Thanks for coming.”

  Déjà nods. “Ajna?”

  Papa shakes his head. “No real news yet.” Papa turns to Ella. “This is Déjà, Journey's father. He's head of the steelworkers.”

  Ella's smile is warm and inviting. She makes you feel welcomed and a part of something good. “It's nice to meet you, Déjà.”

  Déjà shakes it, delicately. “Nice to meet you, too.”

  “Where's Sai?” I ask.

  “With the missus. The little one hasn't been sleeping so well, so we thought it best to let a sleeping dog lie, while it was.”

  “Sai?” Ella asks.


  Eta clears her throat. “Sai is a wee one that we all took in when her family was Released.” My body tenses a little at the memory of Kavin and his family. I still care for him. A lot.

  Ella inhales sharply. “The Corporation released her family, but left her an orphan?”

  “Not exactly. I told the Corporation that little Sai died the spring before, to save her from certain death.”

  “What did her family do to get Released?”

  “Their eldest son, Kavin, got a Black Market Mark. It was faulty,” I say. “He started to turn and they found out.”

  “How awful. Did you know him? The boy?”

  I look at the floor. “I grew up with him. He was my Pair.” My voice is monotone and without emotion. “His name was Kavin.” I hate awkward silences, so I pretend they’re not there and move on. “Ella’s a Medic from Dahn and the one who helped me when I was there. She also pretty much raised Ethan ever since he can remember.” Eta looks like she's sizing up potential competition, Déjà looks critical with his squinting stare, and Journey looks positively excited to be meeting someone from Dahn. I look over at Ella and I feel a little swell of pride. She’s taking it all in stride and isn’t letting it get to her. She knows she’s on our side, and she knows she’ll be able to show them that.

  “Please, sit, everyone,” Papa says. “We were just getting ready to talk about what happened in Dahn, what kept her away from us for so long.” He turns to Ella and guides her back to her spot on the couch, settling in next to her. “We were starting to think you weren't going to make it—that something had happened to you.”

  Eta sits on the other side of Ella and Journey tucks her legs underneath her dress and sits on the floor next to my chair. Papa comes back and hands each of us a cup of tea.

  Ella smiles a little painfully before she answers. “Things did happen. Nothing too serious. Nothing I couldn't manage. I wasn't able to gather much information before I left,” Ella’s hand is back around her cup of tea, “but I picked up as much as I could. The Corporation suspects something is going on in Neech, but they don't know what.”

  “How can you be sure?” Journey asks.

  “I still have some reliable sources on the inside.”

  I know one of her sources is my mother, Rebeka, but I don't know how reliable she is. She left me, Papa, and Ajna behind a long time ago. And never looked back. That makes her as about untrustworthy as she can get. She's the one who gave Ethan and me the cure for my faulty Mark and Maute for Ajna. But it's going to take a lot more than handing over a couple of cures to prove to me that she can be trusted. And there's no way I'm going to let Papa know where she is or that I've seen her. His heart has barely finished mending, and it's been over fifteen years.

  “These sources can be trusted?” Papa asks.

  “With my life.”

  I snort out a half laugh. When the group looks over at me, I quickly study my nails until I feel their stares turn away. I try to pretend it was the tea that made me cough.

  “We were expecting you weeks ago.”

  Her shoulders sink a little as she goes back in her mind. “It wasn't even the morning after you two left, Karis, that Akin came for me. I knew he would, which is why I left right after you. I stayed close enough I was able to keep an eye on everything, but it was hard keeping out of the Guard's and the Corporation's way. I knew I couldn't just leave the city with nothing in hand. I'd been inside the Corp's labs before, and I knew I had to risk going back there to try and get as much information as I could. On what, I could only hope to know when I got there.”

  “But Akin was looking for you,” Papa says. “How did you manage to get into a place, I imagine, that is heavily guarded?”

  Ella's eyes flit to mine before she answers. “I had help from the inside.”

  My mother.

  “The same sources as before?” he asks.

  Ella nods. “I haven't been shown a reason that they can't.”

  “Yet,” I say. They ignore me.

  “Did you find anything useful in the labs?” Eta asks.

  “What I was able to access was very useful. Actually, I'd like to go over it with you, when you have time. I'd rather not make the information known until we know what it means. Right now, as it sits, it's just raw data. It needs to be translated, in order to be useful.”

  “Tomorrow, after my morning rounds. Jeret can tell you where my place is.”

  “Wonderful,” Ella says, with what seems to be, relief.

  “I take it you got out of the labs without being caught, then?” Journey says.

  “Almost. It was a close call, but I had to go into deep hiding after that. Some of my contacts were willing to help me, others were not. And how can I blame them? They would be risking their lives for someone who was being hunted by the Corporation.”

  “So who finally took you in?”

  “D'mitri.”

  “Ella, was that wise?” I ask.

  “When it's the only option one has, it's very wise.”

  “D'mitri is a very powerful player in Dahn, but he's also very expensive,” I say to try and help clear up the confused looks. “What was his price?” I ask Ella.

  “A favor when he needs one. It doesn't matter, I would have paid more. All of the exits were being guarded, heavily. I stayed in the confines of D'mitri's compound for the majority of the time I was there, waiting and watching for my time to leave. Things are changing in Dahn. Something has the Corporation, and especially Akin, on edge.”

  “How did you get out of the city, if the Gates were over guarded?”

  “D'mitri sent some of his employees to me, in the middle of the night, and said it was time to go.” Ella turns to me. “Remember how Ethan said he hadn't yet explored all the sewer tunnels? Well, D'mitri has. We exited that way, using old tunnels that feed into Neech. I came right here.”

  “Is Akin on to us?” I ask, because at this moment, that is what's most important.

  “You made a deal with him, Karis; he's not going to forget that. He knows where you are and what you're doing, for the most part. Along with your family and close friends. Nothing is safe for any of you. The only thing that's working in your favor right now is that something else is preoccupying his mind. All available resources are being funneled in that direction, so he has no extra men to track your every movement with your Marks.”

  I let out a breath. That gives me a little bit of relief. “He doesn't know what we're planning? How do you know?”

  “Not to my knowledge, but I left in a hurry and didn't really have access to that kind of information. But,” she says, “my contact would have told me if he did, and they’ve said nothing.”

  “And what of Ajna? Have you been able to see my brother?” I ask.

  Ella's eyes go a little sad and she sets her tea cup down on the table. “I wasn't able to get to him to see how he was doing. By the time word got to me that the Corporation had taken another Sponsor, it was getting too dangerous for me to stay in Dahn. I had to get out. But I felt pretty confident that they had taken your brother.” She shakes her head. “But even if I had stayed, Sponsors aren't made available to the general public for a few months after they're brought in.”

  “How?” Papa says.

  “No one crosses Akin the way Karis did and comes away unscathed. Even with him taking your brother, you got off easy. There are rumors that some have died. Believe it or not, though, he's safe for now.”

  “That's what Ethan says, but I find it hard to swallow.”

  “Ajna is the Inner City's new golden boy. When I was leaving, they were preparing for a parade and party to welcome him.”

  “Don't they know he was stolen from a family that loved him?” I say in disbelief.

  “They don't see it that way.” She reaches out and rubs my arm. “We will get him back, Karis. But we need to be smart about it. For now, we have to wait it out.”

  In my heart of hearts, I know she's right

  “What’s been happening in
Neech? There rumors spread like fire in the short time I was there, but information that way isn’t reliable.

  I take a breath. “Um, I don't really know where to start. Ethan and I found out that Maute was being delivered to Neech through the filters. We still don't know why some people are infected while others aren't, but I spend a lot of my free time disabling them.”

  “Have you made a lot of progress?”

  “Some,” I shrug one shoulder. “But the Corporation is making their rounds as well, so they've put some back. I get as many as I can and bring them to Eta.”

  “To study?” Ella asks Eta.

  “Trying to find out what its makeup is, in hopes of creating a cure and finding out why some are safe and others aren't.”

  Ella's eyes brighten. “I'd like to help with that, if I could. I used to be one of the few Medics with access to Maute.”

  “It couldn't hurt to have a second set of eyes on the problem.”

  “Tension is high in Dahn, everyone can feel it, but they can't see why.”

  We all nod slowly. “There are more Guards in Neech than I've ever seen. They look for any reason to harass a citizen. It doesn’t help that citizens keep going missing.”

  “Karis has been at the receiving end of the Guards’ frustration,” Journey says.

  I wave away the instant appearance of concern from Ella and Papa. “It was nothing, they were just bored.”

  “Karis, you should have told me.” Papa is more irritated and disappointed than worried.

  Ella pats Papa's knee in comfort. “You should have told your father. He worries about you.”

  I wrinkle my brow a little at what I'm seeing. “Anyway, the increased patrols are making it really hard for us to organize and meet. But we manage.”

  Ella looks around the room, a little confused. “In all the excitement of finally getting here, I didn’t even notice Ethan isn’t here. What’s he off doing that’s more important than seeing me? And Jeret, could I please get a fresh cup of tea?”

  I know this won't be easy for her to hear. Ethan is like a son to her, she basically raised him for as long as he can remember. And I know that Ethan loves her like a mother. There's no easy way to answer what she's asking.