by J L Park
I crept closer to the shed, eyes darting all around me, listening for any movement, anything to give away that I wasn’t alone out here. Not that I knew what I would do if I wasn’t. The trees swaying in the breeze, whispering their secrets to one another and the birds that graced their branches. Nothing that gave away that there was anyone else out here. Feeling as safe as I ever would out here, I snuck around the side, to find the door. Locked on this side with a couple of padlocks, I wasn’t sure anyone was in there. However, I recalled not being able to hear anything outside of the door when locked up myself. Thankfully, part of my training with Ferox had included lock-picking, and my uniform hid several useful pockets. Reaching into one, I pulled out the things I needed and picked the first padlock, with a bit of difficulty. I caught myself before I cheered as the lock gave away in my hand. I dropped the picked lock on the ground and started on the next one. This one was harder, several times I just missed the right angle, and let it drop against the door, stepping back to think.
A rattling came from the other side. A small voice.
“Hello? Is someone out there?” A muffled female voice came through a crack. I jumped in shock, and looked around, “Please, help me!” they called.
“Hello, I’m Reed. Listen, I’m trying to get you out, I’m just having a bit of trouble. When were you last visited?”
“Yesterday, I think. I’m Jessica.”
I tried to work out how often Walker had visited, whether it was daily, or less often, as I continued to struggling with the lock. Finally, it came away in my hand. I leaned in to the door and spoke again.
“Hey Jessica, I’ve got it. I’m going to open the door okay, it will be bright.”
“’Kay.”
I flicked both locks back and pulled on the door.
Inside, a young woman stood blinking in the bright light, in Perdoctus Red, stained with dark streaks, her hand over her eyes. Her hair, dirty and lying limp over her shoulders, her face turned towards me, streaked with dirt and tear tracks. She stumbled forward, her feet bare, filthy, her clothes hanging from her as though she had lost an awful amount of weight. She fell into my arms, a sob escaping from her as I knelt lower to the ground. The stains down her back, a rusty brown-red made redder by the bright red of her uniform. Hard, stiffened stains, in lines down the shirt from her shoulders to her waist. My own back stung in sympathy of what she would have felt, would be feeling. Peering over her head, into the shed, I could see the buckets and mattress.
“Walker,” I muttered to myself.
Her head whipped up. “You know?”
I shuddered in spite of myself, and nodded, turning my head so she could see the scar on my jaw. She nodded, pulling away from me now, trying to get herself together.
“Listen, he used to visit me every other day so we should be safe, but I need to get you out of here, and I only have the motorbike so I can’t hide you.”
She nodded, as I frowned. “Thank you for getting me out. I … I could… I could just run back?”
“No. You’re in Perdoctus colours, do you have any idea where you are?”
She looked around, and shook her head.
“You are in the outskirts of Pius.”
Her eyes widened, tears flowing as she realised she could either ride back with me and be visible as Taken, or stay here.
“Reed, I know what they do to those who are Taken. I can’t go back with them knowing.” I nodded,
“Jessica, I might be able to help with that. But, I may need to enlist some help. Is that okay with you?" She nodded. I pulled my headset out of my pocket and put it back on, tapping in the private code for Jorja again.
“Jorja.”
“Jorja, it’s Reed again.”
“You all right?”
“I need a hand.”
“With?”
“I thought I’d seen something in the forest on my way back to the Sentry. So I went in for a look.”
“What did you find?” I kind of loved the fact she didn’t even question why I would do something off the agreed tasks, and just got on with business.
“A girl.”
“Taken?”
“Yeah.”
“Fuck.”
“I’ve only got the bike. If I take her back on the bike, she’ll be known instantly as Taken. She’s in Perdoctus Red.”
There was a pause on Jorja’s end. “Sorry, Reed, I had to move away from others, so I could ask you this - do you remember who helped you?”
“You know? I guess it isn’t a secret I can hide in Ferox with this damn stripe on my face. Anyway, yes I do.”
“Could you contact them? Or tell me who I could contact somehow?”
“Do you know Member Alyx Smith?”
“Yes, he’s on duty in Arator at the moment, why?”
I grinned at Jessica, “It was his mother, Maria, in Arator.”
Jorja chuckled. “Typical. Right. I’ll contact him, and get him to contact his mother, see if she knows anyone? I could ask James to pick her up on his way, but I’m not sure of his stance on the Taken.”
“Sure. Can they contact me privately on this headset?”
“Yes, I’ll give him the code. Give me 20 minutes?”
“Thanks,” Jessica eyes were darting around, her hands trembled as she rubbed them on her thighs, waiting to hear what I had organised, but terrified that Walker would return. I recognised that nervous habit, I'd done it myself a number of times. She looked up as I tapped the headset to end the conversation.
“What's happening? Do I have to go back in the shed?”
I shook my head, “No. She’s trying to get hold of the son of the woman who helped me when I escaped. Her son is Ferox. We’ll figure something out.” I knelt down in front of her, locking eyes, “I’m not going to leave you out here, or take you back as Taken. I know what they do to those of us who are Taken. I won’t let them do that to you.”
Her lip quivered. “But, what if they take too long? What if he comes back?”
I understood her fear, her panic. “I’ll protect you, I promise.”
However, moving away from the shed was a good idea. I motioned for her to follow me, back to where I’d hidden the motorbike, hiding us behind a bush. My headset beeped as we got to the bike, tapping it I spoke quietly
“Reed.”
“Reed, It’s Alyx.”
“Hey. Any luck?”
“Yeah, Mum can help, she’s sorting the paperwork to get me to Pius in the car. Jorja figured they may get suspicious of how long you’ve been out there. Can you walk the bike to the entrance? Pretend there’s something wrong with it? So that a car turning up and stopping isn’t considered weird?”
“Yes. I’ll drop it, and fall over a few things, so it looks like I’m just clumsy and needed the loo, so I turned into the woods.”
Alyx chuckled on his end. “Sounds like a plan. Listen, we aren’t too far away, keep her out of sight. We’ll see you soon, ‘cause yes, I’m coming to help with the bike.”
“Great. Thanks.”
He clicked off at his end. I grinned at Jessica, who had heard only my side of the conversation.
“What’s happening?”
“First, I need to trip myself up a few times, hang on.” She frowned at me as I walked away, tripping over a rock, cutting my shin on the way down, “Ouch, didn’t mean to do that, but hey, it works!” Finding a reasonable sized log, I pretended I didn’t see it as I stepped, and fell on my face, to the sound of quiet giggles behind me. I grinned, and walked back to the bike, flicking the branches off of it, and wheeling it out of the bush, onto the muddy track. Stepping backwards, I let it go, getting it filthy in the mud.
“Looks like you can’t ride for shit,” Jessica murmured.
I smiled. “That's the plan. Now, I’ve got to push it to the entrance as though it’s broken down with me being clumsy, and they’ll meet us at the entrance. You need to walk in the bushes, where I can see you, but far enough away that no one else can.”
“Looks good.” I pushed the bike which wasn’t anywhere near as easy as I thought it would be. Grunting, I felt completely unfit. What had taken me five to ten minutes when I rode on took us nearly thirty to get out. Jessica remained in the bushes as I pushed the bike out onto the road, peering at the sentry gates to see if there was a car coming through.
“Shit, there’s two,” I muttered, resisting the urge to wave my arms as I spied the first one coming through. They slowed as they approached, my back crawled with nerves, my body trying to make me run, convinced that it was Walker. I glanced in the windscreen and let out a breath I hadn’t realised I’d held on to.
“Reed? It’s James, you okay?”
I nodded, “Yep, someone’s on their way to help. Thanks though. Thank you for seeing the woman in the camps.”
He nodded and continued on his way. The other car I recognised, even in the daylight, and smiled as it approached, pulling in, Alyx getting out and coming over to “tinker” with the bike, after opening the back door, away from the view of the guards. He stood with me, in the line of sight of the guards, pretending to mess with the bike. I walked over to the trunk of the car, pretending to get something out, to stand in the way of Jessica crawling into the back seat. Maria, threw a blanket over her, just as she did with me. As soon as she was securely hidden away, I limped past the car causing Maria to get out to tend to my injuries.
“We didn’t mean actually injure yourself, Reed,” she exclaimed as she saw the bleeding wound on my leg.
I laughed, as she fussed over it. “Hell, I’ve had worse, Maria. I thought it might make it seem like I’d really come off the bike.” She nodded, placing a plaster over the wound. Standing up, she helped me to my feet, "I’m sorry to involve you again."
“No, never apologise for that. This is something I can do to help, make it better for those I couldn’t stop being Taken. I’ll look after her, I promise.”
“Thank you.” Maria climbed back in the car, as Alyx kick started the bike, a roar as it came to life after he had caused it to miss twice on purpose. We both cheered. I took control of the bike, throwing a leg over it, and putting on the helmet. I nodded at Alyx in thanks as he climbed back into the car, and they drove back to the Sentry gate. I followed close behind, wanting to be available if they discovered Jessica in the back seat. I held my breath as we all approached the sentry gate, guards coming forward to chat with Alyx and Maria. One of them laughed and glanced at me, Alyx laying the clumsy story on thick. They waved them through, and I watched them turn down the road to head to Arator, which was closer to Perdoctus than Pius was. They had to get through one more gate to be home free with Jessica, and would then contact her family from Maria’s.
The guard was still chuckling when I approached.
“Bit clumsy there, Miss Taylor?”
I took my helmet off and laughed with him.
“Yep. Nothing new there, but the bike wouldn’t start. Thankfully, Member Smith knew how to fix it.”
The guard nodded, “Better let you through, you’re running late for the rest of your duty. Rudy is back ages before now.”
“Thanks. Yeah, not a good impression for my first Fence Duty shift… Have a good day, guys.” I didn’t bother to replace the helmet as it was a very short ride to the shed that they stored the bike in, just inside the gates. I put it back in its place, cleaned it down with a rag, and locked it back in the shed. Placing the key back in the spot that Jorja had shown me this morning, I checked my watch, finding it was still morning. My body was weary, as though it had been going for hours, or days even, not just a couple of hours between getting up and getting back to Pius. I really didn’t feel up to the rest of the duty, but trudged on, completing all the things I needed to do to complete my day’s tasks. Meeting up with Jorja in the middle of the area we were both needed to cover, she grinned.
“Looks like it was a long duty?” I nodded. “You did good. The older woman in the Non-Sel camp has been transported to a hospital here. There is a slightly different one for Non-Sels, much like a clinic. Pius is particularly good at getting them healthcare, as they felt it wasn’t righteous to leave them to suffer, but first, they have to ask for help.”
It surprised me, I’d been Pius all my life until that fateful day, and I hadn’t known that. My birth section grew in my respect just a little.
“And Jessica?” I murmured.
“She’s at Maria’s now. They will contact her parents, and figure something out. I’ve been out there a couple of times in the time she was missing, and I would never have thought to look in that part of the forest. What made you go down there? I mean, you can’t even see the shed from the road.”
I glanced at her. “I was in a very similar shed, before. Though, I was kept in Arator.”
“You think it's the same guy?” Her eyebrows rising in shock.
“I KNOW it’s the same guy. I muttered his name, and Jessica just about fell over in her haste to stare at me in shock.” I frowned, “It seems that he moves the girls he takes over at least one section to keep them in a shed, in the patch of forest before the farms.” I refused to be ashamed of what had happened, so I looked up and made direct eye contact with Jorja, “I just feel for Jessica. I know what he’s like. I know what he will have put her through. What she will still go through.”
Jorja looked thoughtful, rubbing her chin as she considered what she was about to suggest. “Do you think he had one in every section?”
I grimaced, “I really hope not. He probably does, but I’d really hope not.”
“I might check when I’m out in other sections. You know who he is?”
I nodded, vigorously. “Yep. He’s Pius even.”
I watched a shudder ripple right through her. “Bastard.”
I laughed, “Yes, very much so. Hey, thank you for your help. I know that it puts you at risk, for being involved. I’m prepared to wear all of it, should the rescue get out.”
Jorja shook her head, “It’s fine. The people we involved will keep a secret. I’m happy I could help. I know that GreyBrook frowns on those who are Taken, but as you know, with the Non-Sel health checks and all that, there are a few rules I am happier to break than to keep.”
I grinned. We talked for a while longer, then I thanked her for her direction on my first Pius Fence Duty shift, and bid her farewell, handing back my headset.
I arrived back at my childhood home to find Jameson pacing in the hallway, looking troubled.
“Everything all good, Jameson?”
“Yeah, Dad’s not so flash. Mum’s in there with the Hospice nurses from the hospital.” He kept pacing, “I just hate not knowing what to do. At least you had work today to focus on.” I nodded, as he looked up, “though, you look tired. Have a rest, I’ll pace for the both of us!”
Laughing at his nervous energy, I trudged up the stairs, and lay down, fully clothed. I was asleep within seconds.
“You think you can beat me? You think you can escape? Go ahead. Try it. You’re 'Taken' now. Tainted, dirty. Hell, you didn’t even make selection - who will take you now? No one wants that on their books. You’re just a dirty, filthy, tainted, Non-Sel dyke.” His breath hot on the back of my neck as he shoved me around the small shed, yanking me by the hair if I fell. “I could kill you, put you out of your misery,”
“Go on then.” An evil chuckle raised the hairs on the back of my neck, as he leaned forward, breathing on my neck, pressing me into the wall hard.
“Nah, where's the fun in that? No one wants to beat a corpse,"
“Reed!” Jameson was shaking me by the arms, ducking out of the way as I swung my fist, still sleep blind, “Reed, fucking stop it.” He grabbed both arms and held me down, just as my vision cleared.
I caught a look of horror on his face, his hands loosening as he realised what he’d done, before I succumbed to yet another flashback. I came to, moments or hours later I had no idea, to
Mother and Jameson sitting on my bed, peering at me.
“Reed Hadley Taylor, I believe you have some explaining to do.”
I sat up, not sure what I needed to explain, suddenly aware I was bathed in sweat, my back burning. Pulling on the sleeves to my jacket, I slipped my arms out, my shirt clinging to my body, which could have been awkward had it been anyone other than my brother and my mother staring at me. I ran my hand through my hair which had come out whilst I was sleeping. Looking at the state of the top blanket, scrunched and pulled out, I must have thrashed a lot. Rubbing my arms, I flicked between looking at Jameson, who looked guilty, and my mother.
“Explain what, Mother?”
Her gaze, originally almost a glare, softened. “What the hell was that? You scared the life out of your brother, me, your father and the Hospice nurse.”
I frowned, “How?”
Confusion crossed both of their faces, mirroring the one on my face.
“You mean you don’t know?” Jameson asked, whispering.
I shook my head, a memory of his eyes growing large, horrified as I blacked out. “Oh…” I muttered, still confused how I gave them all a fright. Jameson made sense.
“Oh?” My mother muttered, “Is that all you’ve got?”
I shook my head. “I remember Jameson holding my arms down on the bed, then….”
He looked down at the bed, rubbing the blanket between his fingers, avoiding my eye. “Then, you screamed.” Jameson muttered, “Over and over.”