Divided

by Madeline Dyer

  The length of the chain allows me to move some distance, and I nearly reach all the walls. I feel my way around them. Rough stone, not the crumbly kind. Just hard and cold. Painted yellow, I remember. I search for gaps with my hands, but there are none. And the walls are solid. There’s no air vent in this cell.

  The doorway—that’s my best bet at escape. But the door is metal, fits the frame snugly. No light shows around the edge. I throw my weight against the door, but it doesn’t budge. I push my right hand against each corner, trying to see if there are any weaknesses, but there’s nothing.

  There’s no way out of here.

  Of course there wouldn’t be. This is a prison. And I imagine the other Untamed in similar rooms, in the dark, scared. Those little Zharat children…are there Untamed children here?

  All of us trapped, imprisoned, because we’re Untamed.

  If you were Enhanced, you wouldn’t be locked up in here….

  But there’s no point in thinking like that, because we can’t be converted—and just the thought of conversion, of the augmenters, makes me feel sick again. I frown. I don’t understand. It doesn’t make sense. It is too convenient. The augmenters didn’t make me ill before…why would they now? What’s different? Me—no, all of us Untamed—or the augmenters?

  Yet I know I shouldn’t be thinking too much about why it’s happened. I don’t know how long this will last, how soon they’ll be pumping us full of augmenters again.

  And I’m Untamed now.

  And I need to escape, need to get my soul back from Raleigh. Need to undo as much of this mess as possible.

  I sit down slowly. Through my overalls, the stone floor is cold against my legs; I shiver. The Dream Land. I need to get there. I touch my left arm slowly. The bandages are still there… The area’s still painful. That didn’t work, that didn’t get me back into the Dream Land.

  I take a deep breath and close my eyes. Then I try to reach the Dream Land.

  I imagine a silver ladder, and I climb it. My hands get sore, and my muscles start protesting.

  I keep climbing it, imagining the Gods and Goddesses at the top.

  But then the ladder changes angle, and I’m crawling along it, over nothingness and—

  The door creaks open, and the sound jolts me back to reality—not that I was far away.

  The light flickers on again; brightness that makes me blink, narrow my eyes, and—

  “Three?”

  I stare at him as he shuts the door. His brow wobbles as he looks around. Then I see what’s in his right hand.

  My mother’s pendant. My pendant. The light catches the crystal, makes my breathing sound funny. My fingers get hotter as I stare at it. I want to touch it. It sounds silly, but the pendant is calling to me.

  I look at Three carefully. I look at his eyes. Look for anything that isn’t the mirrors, that isn’t me staring back into them. But there’s nothing else, just me and the distrust on my face as I look at my Enhanced brother.

  But he can’t be. Not fully. Not if… It’s my pendant.

  “Take it.” Three pushes it into my hands, and my heart jumps.

  I clutch at it, sweaty skin against cold, precious stone. A slightly sharp edge presses into the pad of my thumb, then slides away as I turn it over. It’s just the crystal. The piece of sinew has gone, and I examine the exposed hole. It is tiny, a lot smaller than I remembered.

  Three starts to turn away, but I grab him, somehow keeping a hold on the pendant. I’ve got it back. Three got it back. For me. My legs wobble and my head feels strange.

  But you won’t get into the Dream Land, let alone get stuck there.

  “Why?” My word is loaded, but it’s important. Because this is it—this is where I find out for sure. This is the revelation.

  And I look at my brother, really look at him. Again, I try to see if there’s anything Untamed left in Three’s eyes, begging for there to be a glimmer of something. Because it has to be that—that he’s on my side. He’s given my pendant back to me, so he has to believe that I need the Seer warnings about the Enhanced One’s plans and that I need to be able to act on them without getting stuck in the Dream Land—that I need to be able to escape from this compound and make sure the Untamed win. He doesn’t want me getting stuck in the Dream Land, ruining the Untamed’s chances of winning. Three mustn’t be up to date, mustn’t know about the banishment—Raleigh mustn’t have told him. But it doesn’t matter. It’s the gesture—symbolic of whom he still is.

  “Put it away. Keep it on you, but hide it.” Three’s voice is brisk and so unlike him. Doesn’t sound like him at all. Yet he presses his hands together, rubbing them in the way he used to at Nbutai when he was nervous.

  Nervous.

  “Why?” I repeat my question. I need the confirmation, the assurance that I’m right.

  Three looks toward the door quickly, then back at me. He touches his metal cheek gingerly. “Because Raleigh doesn’t know. He can’t know, can’t see you with it. You’ve got to hide it.”

  “No. Why give it back?” I take as deep a breath as I can manage. My brother is normally blunt about things. He says what he means. But his actions have always spoken louder than his words. “You’re still you, aren’t you? Still Untamed.” Saying the words makes me feel strange, but better. “You’re still in there.”

  Three’s nostrils wrinkle, and he takes a sudden step back. “No.”

  I shake my head, soften my voice. “You are—it’s okay… It’s only me here.”

  He looks up toward the ceiling—for cameras? Microphones? Am I being monitored? My mouth dries.

  “I’m a Chosen One,” Three says.

  “No!” I reach for him, but he doesn’t let me touch him again. “It’s okay—”

  “My name is Tomas.”

  I’m shaking. My hand with the crystal is shaking. I lift it up and see my brother’s eyes go to it.

  “This… You gave this back to me, Three. No Enhanced would do that. You did that to help me, didn’t you? To prove whom you are. It’s okay, you can trust me.”

  He breathes noisily, then cracks his knuckles—something he’s never done before. The sound makes me flinch.

  “You’re wrong. I didn’t give it back to you because I’m Untamed. I’m a Chosen One,” he says, and he says the words strongly. So strongly. My eyes narrow. “I gave it to you because a Sarr Seer should have it. Mum says it’s always been in our family, our line. All the Sarr Seers. It gets smaller each time there’s a generation with more than one Seer. Mum cut part of it off for Two.” His eyes appear to darken, even though they’re mirrors. “And Mum gave it to Esther to pass onto you when she joined the Chosen Ones. She left it behind for you. She says you must have it. Keep it, Shania. Hide it from them. Don’t let Raleigh take it from you again.”

  I open my mouth, then stop. I stare at him. The pendant flashes hot in my hand.

  Three shakes his head quickly, then looks around. “I must go.”

  And…and he walks off. I feel too strange, too shocked, to do anything. So I watch him leave, and I turn the pendant over and over in my palm. Then I stare at it and wonder how many Sarr hands have touched it. All my mother’s ancestors? All the magic from her line? For some reason, I’m reminded of the time when I was little and thought that Sarr was my father’s name and how annoyed my mother had been that I’d thought that. She’d shouted at me, and I hadn’t understood why. But she said the Sarrs had to continue.

  I take a deep breath. The pendant is cold.

  Keep it, Shania. Hide it from them. Don’t let Raleigh take it from you again.

  I nod quickly, then place it in my bra. The surface is smooth, except for the slightly sharp edge, and I angle it carefully. It’s cold, and the coldness of it makes me shiver. It makes me tingle—because I know now. I know there’s a part of my brother that he’s hiding, hiding beneath the one-way mirror, waiting….

  He won’t admit it, for fear of being caught, but he’s shown it.

  And
I’ve seen it.

  A weight lifts away from me.

  I’ve still got my brother.

  He’s still in there.

  Three can resist too.

  The moment an Enhanced One enters my cell, I turn my body away from him, to hide the pendant from him, even though it’s already concealed.

  He takes a key out his pocket, moves to the manacle around my wrist.

  “It is time.”

  I stiffen, watch him carefully. I vaguely recognize him, but nothing more than that.

  The man tells me he has a gun and that he’ll shoot me if I try anything.

  His words repeat themselves in my mind as he leads me through corridors. We pass a window at the top of some steps, and I get a brief glimpse of the outside world: sandy ground, a few sparse trees to the left and a denser group to the right, a newly-painted white building opposite, and—

  And the sky. Soft, edged in gray cloud. Looks exactly the same as in my dream, when I became Corin.

  I feel my expression slacken. That was just a dream. Just my head messing with me.

  Wasn’t it?

  Unless….

  “Where are we?” I try to linger at the window, but my legs don’t let me. Raleigh’s not in sight, yet he’s controlling me. And it feels just as strong a control as when I had augmenters in my system.

  “The Second Region of New Kitembu,” the Enhanced says.

  “The Second Region?”

  “That’s where our conversion compound is. Here.”

  I grimace. “No. Why’s it the Second Region of New Kitembu? Why not just New Kitembu?” Other cities and towns I’ve been in didn’t have long names.

  “The city of New Kitembu is big.” He nods, and I’m surprised when he launches into a detailed explanation, almost as if he’s a guide. “This region contains the conversion compounds, middle-housing, and factories. The First Region has the top-housing and the majority of the shops. The Third Region contains the farms, but that’s farther north than we are. The First and Second Regions are pretty much side by side. The Fifth Region is a little way away, beyond the farms, up where Mount Etu rises. The land there is higher in altitude, and we use it to test the performance-enhancing augmenters when creating or developing new formulas.”

  “What about the Fourth Region?” I ask.

  “The Fourth Region no longer exists.” His voice is blunt. “Nor does the Sixth Region.”

  “Why?” I ask.

  The man steers me left sharply, without any warning, his fingers digging into my arm. We pass two other Enhanced Ones, and they watch me warily. They almost seem nervous, except that can’t be right—it’s a negative emotion.

  The Enhanced man waits until we’ve walked down the next corridor and ascended a flight of stairs before answering my question. “The living conditions were not sanitary enough for human living, and the residents were evacuated and dispersed among the newly-built towns farther south.”

  I frown. “They weren’t sanitary enough?”

  “Slums,” he says. “The kind of places that breed wild thoughts…the places the Untamed would like to occupy if they could…breed more of their badness. In the old days, many humans lived like that, but we know that it is not right. Everyone is entitled to security, comfort, and safety. The Fourth and Sixth Regions were demolished. That land is being cultivated for future crop yields.” He pauses. “Raleigh has mentioned that he’ll be moving you back to New Kimearo soon though.”

  “New Kimearo?” I raise my eyebrows.

  “Raleigh may be the leader of our section, but he is not the leader of New Kitembu. He’s brought many of his men with him, but Zahlia will not host him for much longer. Divorce is rare in our society, but their separation was, of course, amicable. We do not want any trouble to arise, so the sooner he leaves, the better. And, I’m sure Raleigh would much rather have the glory of winning the war from his own town, else the place of the war’s end will go down in history as New Kitembu and Zahlia will be credited in part when she had little to do with it.”

  “So why did he bring me here?” I ask.

  “New Kitembu is nearest to the Noir Lands, but it’s also the city where new technology is developed as Zahlia has the top engineers and scientists. We believe Raleigh wishes to utilize our resources and then take you away so the final act of the war’s closure is done on his own territory.”

  I mull over his words, and, a few minutes later, we get to the room. Another new room. Bigger than others I’ve been in, and there’s no furniture in it. Another chain is attached to the opposite wall, and the Enhanced leads me over to it, forces my hand into the new manacle, locks it. Then he lets me go.

  I try to pull my arm away, but the manacle’s too tight.

  Behind me, Raleigh laughs.

  I turn and—

  I don’t know how I didn’t see the screen before. Or her.

  Esther.

  Of course it’s Esther. And just seeing her—though she’s on a screen, not here—makes my heart squeeze. She’s alive.

  The picture is sharp. She’s chained to a wall, and she looks awful. Dull eyes, dull hair. Her skin is closer to gray than any other color, and she crosses her hands in front of her stomach as she looks at me. She can see me? Is it a two-way connection?

  “Esther!” I cry.

  “She can’t hear you, but she knows you’re here,” Raleigh says, his voice low. He takes a Luger out from behind his back. “I’ve set this up so you can see one of your Untamed friends. My team is with her, and if you don’t co-operate, I will instruct them to hurt her. So you know what to do, don’t you, for the greater good, yes? She can be our insurance. If you try anything or let the darkness take over, I’ll hurt her. She’ll know it’s your fault, because my team have briefed her—and she’s putting her trust in you. Trusting you not to hurt her, Shania. But if you do, you’ll watch it.” He chuckles. “A rather effective method of controlling your evil tendrils, don’t you think? If you so much as try anything, she will suffer. In fact, let’s have a demonstration.” He says those last words loudly, looking at the screen.

  Before I even register Raleigh’s words, an Enhanced man appears next to Esther, in the screen, and hits her.

  I gasp. “Esther!”

  “I told you not to communicate.” Raleigh whirls around, moving quickly, glares at me.

  I clamp my mouth shut, but I’m breathing heavily. Shaking. Furious. Sweat’s already forming over my body.

  Esther whimpers.

  “So,” Raleigh says, a malignant smile unfurling. “Now we can get down to business. You weren’t very quick at killing last time, were you? All that resistance. But that’ll change now, won’t it?” He smiles, proud. “I should’ve done this before, this insurance.”

  Killing.

  Elia.

  No.

  My eyes widen, my chest tightens.

  I stare at him and move back, against the wall. This one is smooth. My breath comes in fast, short bursts, and, for some reason, I look around for the Enhanced man who brought me here, as if he will help me. But he’s not here now, and I didn’t notice when he left.

  “Now,” Raleigh says. He puts his firearm down, a few feet away—out of my reach. “Given your Untamed state, I suggest the easiest way to do this is that you allow me to take full control—because I know you won’t do it willingly as you’re already letting the darkness grow stronger. So, give me access—full access—to test on the subject and if you resist or try to stop me, I’ll have her hurt.” He steps back, points at Esther. Her face is even grayer now. Raleigh just smiles, then pulls a radio from his pocket. “Bring the subject in.”

  The door opens, and two Enhanced women step through. In between them is a small child with curly blond hair and a cute, button nose. He’s Enhanced—his tiny eye-mirrors blink at me, and then he smiles. A sweet, innocent smile.

  My stomach knots, and, a second later, I imagine him lying in front of me—dead. I shake that image away, breathing heavily.

&nbs
p; Then I turn on Raleigh. I’m shaking.

  “I don’t want to kill him.” My voice is laden with venom, and I shake my head again.

  But every Enhanced One deserves to die. You know that.

  Not children. I shake my head.

  They’re still part of the disease. They’re the ones who’ll grow up to hunt your people down.

  Raleigh raises his eyebrows. “You don’t want to?” He laughs. “How wonderful—you’re averse to violence. Maybe the Untamed part isn’t as strong as it was. That’s really good! But, Shania, you don’t have a choice. I have to make sure you can protect yourself, and you gave up any choice you had when you signed yourself over to me.”

  “I didn’t sign myself over, and you said it was just that one time I had to…” I gulp. “With Elia. That I wouldn’t have to do it again.”

  “Did I say that?” Raleigh’s voice crawls through the air, as if it’s got a hundred little caterpillar legs. “Or did I say that I need to know you can defend yourself adequately? And so far, you haven’t shown adequate skill. You were too slow before. And time can cost you everything. I assure you, this session is necessary. Kill him quickly, Shania. The quicker it is, the nicer it’ll be for him, and the more satisfied I will be that you can defend yourself adequately, efficiently, and quickly. And there is a part of you that wants to be nice, isn’t there? Just concentrate on that. Don’t let the darkness get stronger. Try to help yourself, please.”

  I spit at him.

  At first, Raleigh doesn’t move. I just watch my spit on his face. How, at first, it clings to the end of his nose, and it reminds me of the shiny marbles I used to have when I was little. Then the weight of my saliva gets too much, and it drips off. My eyes follow it to the floor, then I look back up at Raleigh.

  He tilts his head to the side. His neck clicks, and his upper lip curls. “You should not have done that.” His voice is low and coiled, concealing venom, like a Gaboon viper slowly moving its tail, getting ready to strike.

  Then he lunges at me, but Esther screams.

  Raleigh stops, and I twist around, try to see past Raleigh to the screen and—