daynight

by Megan Thomason

  “Thanks for bringing me back,” I say. I’d like to hug him, but don’t think Blake would react kindly. So I smile and tell him I’ll see him soon. When the door closes, Blake wraps his arms around me.

  “I thought he’d never leave,” he says. “I’ve been waiting an awfully long time to do this.” He backs me against the front door and kisses me. He’s holding back, though, and I wonder why. Or maybe it’s me holding back. For that I’d know why—but I push the comparisons with Ethan aside.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask.

  “You must hate me for leaving you like that during the flash flood,” he says.

  “That sucked, but how could you even think it would be possible for me to hate you?” I say.

  “I love you, Kira,” he says.

  I pause. It’s funny how once one person says those three little words that it’s expected to reciprocate and keep saying them. And at some point you stop questioning whether you meant it in the first place and the words continue to leave your mouth. That happened with Tristan. And now, here I am again. About to tell a guy I love him. He nearly died. What else can I do? I might love him. But am I sure? Why am I second-guessing myself?

  “I love you, too,” I finally say, though the crack in my voice may reveal my uncertainty about it.

  “What about Ethan?” he asks.

  “He’s a friend. I thought I mentioned that,” I say.

  “As in friends with benefits? Or just friend-friend?” he asks.

  “You are so jealous,” I say. “It’s too bad you didn’t lose that attribute with your skin.” I’m well aware that I don’t answer his question, but we’re not going to discuss it in this house with others listening. “You know, I feel like I’ve just been locked up inside forever. Can we go for a walk? On the upper trail of the canyon? I’m not quite up to hiking down it yet.” I’ll never let myself get trapped down low in canyons again.

  “Sure,” he says. “Bear with me, though. I’m a little slow.”

  We walk. And talk. Oh how I’ve missed our conversations in the canyons. I breathe in the putrid, warm air and run my hands along the prickly shrubbery, thrilled to be outside. Blake asks me for details about my ‘vacation.’ I gloss over my recovery from the flood, the video, and my trip home. And even though I’m talking to Blake, I take care when speaking of the ‘incident’ with my parents and Jared. The brainwashing had the intended effect.

  I explain that the SCI had Jared return with me after there was an ‘accident’ with my parents. I’m honest about the faked relationship with Ethan, including the kissing, although I say the kisses meant nothing. Liar, I think to myself. I may be attracted to Ethan, but it doesn’t matter since I made a choice to just be friends with him and let him pursue the love of his life. Blake’s less than happy to know I shared saliva with Ethan.

  “I think there’s more to your trip that you aren’t telling me. You really expect me to believe your parents died in an accident?” he says. I knew he wouldn’t buy it.

  “Blake, please don’t push me on it,” I say.

  “You don’t know me very well if you think I’ll let it go,” he says. His body language tells me he’ll never forgive me if I don’t tell him the truth.

  “It’s my fault they died. I didn’t want to come back. In fact, I refused to come back. My parents and several girls Ethan dated died because I wanted to be able to eat out, watch movies and lay out by the pool,” I say. “I’d been clearly told there’d be consequences if I wasn’t cooperative, but thought I could get away with it. I should have known better. The last time I tempted fate all my friends died.”

  “Oh, Kira,” he says, taking me in his arms. “It’s not your fault.”

  “You can’t breathe a word,” I whisper. “Or they’ll lock me back up or Exile me. Or kill Jared. They still have him.”

  “What do you mean lock you back up?” he asks.

  “Ethan, Jared and I have been back on Thera for a while. But in lockdown. Brad Darcton felt we could all benefit from therapy,” I say. “Jared hasn’t been too cooperative, though, so he’s stuck there for longer. I can’t risk his life, Blake. I just can’t.”

  “Perhaps there’s hope,” he says. “That we’ll all be free soon. My dad and the other Exilers plan to attack. I found a way in to the city that doesn’t involve crossing the Eco barrier. I’m not sure it’s the best idea, but they’re going ahead with it whether I like it or not.”

  He proceeds to catch me up on his ridiculously dangerous mission and near-death inducing return. He tells me about the different Exiler factions with competing strategies. The Militants’ plan is crazy. Suicidal. I don’t want Blake to have any part in it. It doesn’t sound like he wants any part of it either. He assures me that Ted’s given him a foolproof, risk-free way to help his father, but avoids mentioning the details. Which means it’s not foolproof or risk-free. What to do? I’m not willing to lose him again. We can’t fight the SCI in the way his father is advocating. Our best hope’s to avoid making waves and stay alive until we can find a way to get out.

  “Gads,” he says. “I forgot to tell you the biggest news. Right after I got back, Tristan and Bri invited me to one of their out of control parties. They got raided and hauled down to SCI headquarters. The Ten Cleaved them there.”

  “Ha ha,” I say. “Serves them right. The two of them belong together.”

  “Not just Tristan and Bri. All of them.”

  I’ve been back for three nights and still haven’t seen all the happily Cleaved couples. Spud Rosenberg brought us orders from the Ten to refrain from any interaction with them to ‘allow them time to acclimate to their new circumstances.’ Fine with me. I have no desire to rush the reunion with Tristan and Bri and wanted the alone time with Blake. Not that our private time’s gone as well as I’d have liked.

  Spud completely mucked with our schedule. To avoid the Second Chancers, Blake and I have had free time and exercise time in the evening, with classes after midnight. So, we spend all evening in the canyons disagreeing over his plans to help the Exilers, the late night hours quietly fuming while trying to concentrate on school work, and early morning ‘making up’ by making out. And even that’s been tame since Blake moans every time he’s touched. The grafts are pretty nasty, I must say. They’re healing, but his back and arms look like skin patchwork quilts. I just thank my lucky stars that he survived. Had the detonators not catapulted him farther up onto the beach, I’d be saying goodbye to yet another boyfriend.

  Our area of contention is that Blake’s still intent on delivering a knockout punch to the leadership of the SCI—although he’d like to devise a plan more proactive than his friend, Doc Daryn, and less extreme than his father. I’m determined to avoid any contention with the SCI until we have a foolproof plan. Enough people have died at my hands. He doesn’t understand my point of view and although I sympathize with his, I think the outcome of his plan will be failure for the Exilers and pain and suffering for the rest of us.

  Tonight, we’ve been invited to attend the first ever Garden City Cleaving Festival at Headquarters Plaza. The entire city’s been summoned and special attire has been issued to wear for the event. Surprisingly, I like the outfits they picked to represent Garden City. I’m wearing a lightweight, wispy dress with floral pattern and hidden pockets. Blake has a light yellow short-sleeved shirt, green pants and tie to match my dress. He’s been complaining about the short sleeves as one of the grafts on his arms shows, but I assure him they’re healing so well that no one will notice. A small white lie.

  We arrive shortly before midnight and the crowds have amassed. It reminds me of how Times Square looks on New Year’s Eve, though it’s at least a hundred degrees out and everyone’s dressed in the same clothes. The heat generated by all those bodies is being offset, only slightly, by ventilation holes in the concrete surface that are blowing cool air up into the crowd. So, at least my feet and legs feel mildly comfortable. The air being piped in has a slight pleasant scent to it. Aromathera
py to combat all the body odor, perhaps, or a drug to pacify the masses?

  A large stage has been constructed in the middle of the crowd, with booths surrounding the plaza. Giant screens sit atop the booths and have projected images of some of Garden City’s most prized murals. The entire plaza has a warm glow. Not bright enough to wash out the screens, but enough to see well in the dark of night. Did they portal in a party planner from Earth? It’s uncharacteristically festive for Thera. I scan the crowd to see if I know anyone. Or, should I say, to see if I can catch sight of Ethan, not having seen him since I reunited with Blake. I’m sure he’s here, but with everyone dressed the same it’s worse than playing Where’s Waldo.

  At midnight sharp, seven men and three women take the stage, Brad Darcton among them. Brad climbs onto a five-foot tall podium atop the stage and addresses the crowd. Then he introduces the Presiding Ten of the Grand Council. Was one of the women another Darcton? Blake whispers something about going to find a restroom and I’m left to watch the spectacle alone.

  “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to address the Garden City residents tonight,” Brad says. “And to celebrate our heritage and beautiful prospects for the future with each of you.”

  He tells the love story of Helina and Hadrian and how they tenderly cared for their garden. How their children were special and had the ability to overcome Day and Night, Dark and Light. How the blood of the Originals still runs through the veins of those on Thera. And how we honor the Originals by Cleaving and bringing new generations of Original-blooded Therans into the world.

  “The Ten is thrilled to present Garden City’s newest Cleaved couples,” he says, motioning for them to come up on stage. I scan the stage. Notably missing is Bailey Goodington. There’s no way she would have missed that party. I’ll have to ask Blake why she isn’t up there. “These forty young pairs put their faith in the Cleaving process. Furthermore, they agreed to parent the next generation of Theran youth without delay. It is with great joy I announce that each couple is confirmed pregnant thanks to our Assisted Pregnancy process.”

  Wild cheers and shouts of congratulations fill the air. The couples on stage look genuinely happy. However, I stay silent. The math’s not working for me. I know how long it took to shoot me up with drugs before they took my eggs. There hasn’t been enough time since they Cleaved to retrieve the eggs, create embryos, insert the embryos back in, and confirm the pregnancies took. Unless they’d already done the egg retrieval on all the girls previously? Perhaps they’d been planning this for a while?

  I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around. Guess who is better at playing Where’s Waldo than I am? My heart starts thumping wildly.

  “Ethan,” I say and give him a huge hug and kiss on the cheek, noting he’s not as scruffy as usual. We’re both slow to let go and I know I spend a few seconds too long staring at his lips, which he most definitely notices. “I was hoping I’d see you tonight. You haven’t come by even once. I’ve been going through major withdrawal.”

  “I thought you’d be sick of me after being around me twenty-four seven for weeks,” he says. “And that you’d want the time with Blake. Where is he?”

  “He went to find a bathroom or something, but I’m not sure he’ll ever be able to find his way back in this crowd,” I say, watching the hordes of people fill every gap in the makeshift arena.

  “Things going okay with him?” he asks and I can tell he regrets it the moment the words leave his mouth. “Sorry, that’s none of my business.”

  “We’re friends. You can ask me anything,” I say. As long as you don’t ask me to betray Blake or your girlfriend, because you are too much of a temptation and I really don’t want to be that girl. If my relationship with Blake was fake before, I can no longer say that. It’s real, fights and all. What choice did I have, since Blake declared his love for me, I felt obligated to return the sentiment and Ethan’s in love with someone else. I have to get over Ethan and fully commit to Blake. “It’s going okay.”

  “You look beautiful in that dress,” he says, changing the subject. “And it could even pass for something you’d find at the mall,” he adds with a whisper.

  “Thanks and yeah, shocking huh—patterns. You look pretty handsome yourself, College Boy,” I say. I can feel the blood rush to my cheeks. It’s one of those awkward deals that can’t be avoided after two people have a ‘moment’ and then try to retract it and just be friends. I’m really happy to see him. He’s been on my mind a lot. I haven’t been having much fun lately. Plus, it’s hard to spend that much time with someone and then go cold turkey. I want to look away but I can’t take my eyes off his. Under the festive lighting of the plaza the topaz sparkles in his eyes are more prominent than usual.

  “My dad’s on a roll,” he says, changing the subject again.

  “He’s quite the dynamic speaker. When he was introducing the rest of the Ten did he mention another Darcton?” I say.

  “Oh yeah, that’s my mom—Vienna Darcton,” he says.

  “You never mentioned they both were members of the Ten,” I say. “Yikes. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I’m not them—and you thought the worse of me already,” he says. I’ve hurt his feelings and I run my hand along his face to show him I’m sorry. He softens when I stare into his eyes and then down to his lips and we’re back to uncomfortable, so he lightens things up. “So, what’s the deal with all the Cleaving? Did all those kids really turn eighteen at the same time?”

  “Nope,” I say. I tell him about the partying and consequences, and then add, “I didn’t know about the pregnancies though. That’s a bit of a surprise.”

  “When did you say they Cleaved?” he says. I can tell the math’s not working for him, either. He saw the same in-vitro information I did while we were back on Earth.

  “Not long enough ago for them to be pregnant already,” I say.

  “Huh, you should ask them about it,” he says. “In the meantime though, since Blake’s probably lost in this crowd somewhere, why don’t we make a round of the booths and look for him? There’s free food and fun to be had. Or at least that’s what my dad announced.” I missed the part of his speech about food.

  “I am hungry,” I say. Ethan takes my hand and leads me through the crowd.

  We get half way around the booths and still haven’t seen Blake. The booths are a mix of industry-sponsored informational stations and ladies who volunteered to bring their favorite meals in bulk to hand out samples. I managed to eat a full meal, though I haven’t tasted anything to beat Ethan’s chocolate soufflé. We skip over a full section of booths aimed at small children and end up in the ‘Cleaving propaganda’ section where we run into Tristan and Bri. Ethan drops my hand, probably thinking I don’t want to have to explain it, although Bri definitely noticed.

  “Kira, you’re back,” says Bri, who gives me a huge hug. She’s sporting her party look, her eyes a dark sea of eyeliner. “Where’s Blake? And hi, I’m Briella. We’ve met before, but you probably don’t remember,” she says to Ethan, outstretching her hand to shake his. She looks to Ethan, then to me, and back as if she’s trying to figure out how and why we are here together.

  “I remember. Nice to see you again,” Ethan says. “I’m Ethan Darcton,” Ethan says to Tristan.

  “I’m Tristan. Bri and I are Cleaved,” Tristan says. As if we didn’t know, although the comment seems to be directed to Ethan. Tristan is marking Bri as his personal territory.

  “So where’d you say Blake was?” Bri says, glancing at Ethan again, implied text being ‘Did you dump him for this hunk?’ I can tell she wants me to explain why I was holding Ethan’s hand when I’m supposedly committed to Blake. How can I explain it? I shouldn’t have been, but I love the way Ethan strokes my hand while holding it and have missed it since we got back to Thera.

  “Blake disappeared to find a bathroom and seems to have gotten lost, so Ethan’s been helping me try to find him,” I say, though I’m starting to wonder if that’s
where he really is. I thrust my hands in my pockets to wipe off some of the sweat and I find an object in my left pocket. A watch. Blake’s watch. What’s he doing? Something where he doesn’t want to be tracked. You’re an idiot, Blake.

  “Huh, we haven’t seen him either,” Bri says.

  I don’t want them raising any alarms so I change the subject. “I guess congratulations are in order. Wow. Cleaved and Pregnant. That’s, uh, just, uh, huge.” I try to imagine her nine months pregnant. She’ll barely turn eighteen by the time the baby’s born, being young for our class.

  “I know,” she says. “It all happened so fast.” Yeah. Too fast to be believable. Ethan nudges me to tell me that’s my cue.

  “Fast is an understatement. Tell me about the whole Assisted Pregnancy thing. How’d that work?” I ask.

  “Well, a couple nights after our Cleaving we went into the doctor and they put the baby in,” she says.

  “Huh?” I say. “I’m confused. How often had you been seeing the doctor before that?”

  “Well, almost every night for the month before. They’d put me on a few extra medications, but that was just because my thyroid was out of whack or something,” she says.

  “When did they retrieve your eggs? I think I remember your friend that you introduced me to—Lara Stewart—she mentioned having a surgical procedure to get her eggs out,” I say. “Did you have the same thing done?”

  “What? Just the one procedure, but they assured me that was all I needed. And obviously it worked because I’m pregnant. I’ve been having plenty of evening sickness to prove it,” she says as she rubs her stomach.

  I turn to Tristan and ask, “When did you give, uh, your contribution to your child’s DNA?”

  “Oh yeah, that happened the same night they put the baby in,” Tristan says. I shake my head. Obviously they’re clueless and will be no help to me. For all I know the only assistance they did was to take a syringe full of Tristan’s goods and insert it into Bri. It seems like a pretty huge coincidence that the timing would be right and that they got all the girls’ cycles aligned. Although, they’ve had them all on birth control so it could be possible.