by Storm Jk
‘You’re so right. I hadn’t thought of such a thing.’
Jonas added, ‘Sven is very good at woodwork. He’s made all the furniture we have here. With the right tools we could make quality goods to sell. In return, maybe we could barter for some more materials to build huts. These tents get so cold in the wintertime. Smiling even more, Valeskia put her hand on Jonas’ shoulder. Looking into his eyes, she said, ‘This is a good idea. I’ll put it to Varrick tonight.’
‘You’re going back again tonight?’ Jonas remarked, he was not so foolish. He knew what Varrick wanted her for – she was the most beautiful woman in the camp.
Knowing it would hurt him Valeskia replied, ‘I carry his child, there’s nothing I can do except pray that he tires of me.’ Jonas didn’t think that would be possible, Valeskia was the most wonderful woman he had ever met. His heart was sad because he knew she only liked him as a friend. Changing the subject, Valeskia brightened and said, ‘We need to see what else we can do. Ask around and see what other talents we have here.’ Jonas left with the task and Valeskia went through all the different ways she would present the idea to Varrick.
*
The birth of her son had been easy but when the doctors took the child away from Valeskia it left her sobbing for hours. Finally the boy was brought back to her and she clutched the child tightly to her chest.
Varrick entered the room, beaming. ‘You’ve done well, Valeskia. As a reward I’ll give you the tractor you’ve asked for and extend the compound another two hundred feet.’ He was pleased with the work the people produced; they had already begun to make him money. He reached for the child and Valeskia regretfully handed the boy to him. Holding him up, Varrick counted all his fingers and toes. The boy didn’t cry. ‘I’m pleased with the child so I’ll give you another gift, woman,’ and he handed her a silver tray. On it was a coffee pot, milk jug and sugar bowl. ‘These belonged to my mother.’ Valeskia looked at the tray. She had never seen such beautiful objects. The silver glistened in the firelight. Handing the child back to Valeskia, he said ‘Now, to name the boy.’
‘May we please call him Vladimir?’ Valeskia asked softly. It was the name of her father, who Valeskia still missed daily. Thinking for a moment Varrick decided.
‘Why not, Vladimir is a good name for my son.’ Looking at the boy again, he added, ‘His hair is an odd colour, it looks grey.’ Valeskia had noticed that as well. ‘Still, he is perfect,’ Varrick remarked, his mind elsewhere. ‘Rest, Valeskia, and when you’re ready, we’ll have another child.’ He didn’t notice the horror that flashed across her face, so Varrick left feeling very good. Valeskia realised that her life would never change and she cried herself to sleep.
*
A year passed and Vladimir could walk, he was very steady on his feet and almost never cried. Thora looked after the child while Valeskia taught the children. Small huts had been built and the people were now producing new clothes. One of the men had been a shoe smith and had taught one of the older boys how to make shoes. They now produced enough shoes for all the people and some to sell. That morning, Valeskia had picked up a new pair of black boots for herself and a pair of small shoes for Vladimir. Smiling to herself, she thought how cute he would look in the shoes.
Suddenly the guard came and demanded, ‘Where is your boy?’
‘Why do you want him?’ Valeskia asked coldly.
‘Varrick has ordered that the doctors run tests on him. Where is he?’ A chill went down her spine. The tests the doctors performed were horrible.
‘He’s too young to be subjected to such things.’ Valeskia felt sick and the panic began to rise in her.
The guard just shrugged his shoulders. ‘I have my orders. I need to take the young girl, Dusana, as well.’
Knowing how futile it was to argue with the guards, Valeskia told him, ‘I will bring them after dinner.’ She hoped that she would be able to see Varrick before the tests took place and plead for their safety.
Thora cried at the news and Sven had to pull Thora off Dusana before they could go. Standing at the gate, holding Vladimir in one arm, Valeskia held Dusana’s trembling hand in the other.
‘It will be alright,’ Valeskia whispered to the girl, but neither believed the words.
The guard went to take Vladimir off Valeskia but she firmly told him, ‘I’ll carry him. I will not leave him with you.’
Her stern manner did not bode well, the guard knew she could complain to Varrick and they all knew she was his favourite. A few months ago another guard had touched Valeskia’s breast and Varrick had the man shot when he found out. He had done it himself in front of all the other guards.
Entering the sterile room, Dusana pressed herself into Valeskia’s skirts.
‘I wish to see Varrick,’ Valeskia demanded.
‘I thought you would,’ a voice responded. Valeskia turned to find Varrick standing in the doorway.
‘What are your plans for our son?’ Valeskia asked. She kept her voice calm and soft.
‘Just a check-up,’ he said. ‘And while you are here you can have a check-up as well. It’s time we tried again for another child.’ Turning to Dusana, Varrick cupped her face in his hands. ‘Hard to believe that this one is such a pretty girl under all that dirt.’
‘Varrick,’ Valeskia pleaded softly, ‘the girl is too young for the treatment, please give her another year.’
‘No, she is eleven now, that is when all the children have the treatment.’ Varrick was cold.
‘I beg you!’ Valeskia pleaded. Varrick responded by slapping her face. Vladimir began to cry and Dusana threw herself at Varrick, beating him with her fists.
She screamed, ‘I hate you, I hate you.’
Laughing, Varrick picked her up and placed her on the metal table. The doctors tied her down and as he turned to leave the room he spoke to Valeskia.
‘It would be easier for the girl if she was calm otherwise it will hurt more.’
Vladimir had stopped crying when the doctors had taken him off Valeskia. For a moment hatred consumed Valeskia and her body trembled with the emotion, overwhelming her senses. She quickly regained herself and went over to Dusana. Keeping one eye on Vladimir she kissed the girl’s head, shushing her, and said, ‘It’s alright Dusana, you will live through this.’
‘Will it hurt?’ Dusana whispered back, as the doctors prepared the injection.
Knowing it was pointless to lie, Valeskia replied, ‘Yes, child, but it will pass and I will be here.’
Vladimir began to cry again as Dusana screamed in anguish.
*
At first there had only been the change in Dusana’s spirit. She rarely joked and ended most days as clean as she had started. This worried both Thora and Valeskia, as the young girl was a ghost of who she used to be.
One night, while sleeping, Valeskia had a strange dream. Dusana was in it and they were sitting on the grass in a meadow with rows of lavender around them. The dream was so vivid that Valeskia could smell the flowers, the grass and the dirt. Dusana was smiling and spoke clearly in the dream.
‘This is my favourite place.’
‘Where is it?’ Valeskia asked, looking around the large field.
‘Australia. It’s a farm but it doesn’t belong to me,’ Dusana replied, taking in a large breath of the fragrant air.
Valeskia could sense the breeze and sun on her skin, her whole body was relaxed and she looked down at her pale yellow dress.
‘It’s so beautiful here.’
‘Our freedom comes from here,’ Dusana responded and she reached for Valeskia’s hand. Valeskia could feel Dusana’s warm skin.
She woke with a start, her hand in Dusana’s, and as she opened her eyes she found that Dusana was awake as well.
Whispering, so not to wake Thora and Vladimir, Dusana asked, ‘You were in my dream field, weren’t you?’
‘Yes, I was. It was so real,’ Valeskia whispered back.
‘It is a real place,’ Dusana added, ‘but it hasn�
��t happened yet.’
‘You mean it was the future?’ Valeskia was amazed. ‘You have the sight, like Sven?’
‘I think so. Can I tell you a secret?’ the young face was so earnest it touched Valeskia heart.
‘Of course,’ Valeskia replied, touching Dusana’s face and tapping her finger on her nose.
‘I think I can see what’s going to happen to our people. I think one day we’ll be free.’ Valeskia was silent for a moment.
‘Dusana, I don’t think you should tell anyone else, not now. It would be wrong to give everybody false hope.’
‘Maybe,’ Dusana replied. ‘But I know I’m right even if I won’t get to see it.’
‘What does that mean?’ Valeskia asked her quickly.
‘Never mind,’ Dusana whispered, ‘but we won’t be together much longer.’
‘Dusana, don’t say that. I will never leave you. Never!’ Valeskia was shocked at her statement.
Yawning and falling back to sleep, Dusana said, ‘It’s okay, we’ll never really be apart,’ and the young girl slipped back into sleep, leaving Valeskia awake and wondering at her words.
The next day, as Valeskia was finishing up her lessons for the children, Thora came into the tent. Her face was white but as the children left she gave them a weak smile.
‘What’s wrong?’ Valeskia asked as soon as the last child had left.
‘I was out by the fence at the north guard tower. I overheard a conversation between a couple of the guards.’
‘What did they say?’ Valeskia asked, lowering her voice in case the children overheard.
The woman packed up the books and said in a quiet voice, ‘They have a new doctor coming and he’s going to do different tests.’
‘What do you mean, different?’ Valeskia asked, not sure that she wanted to know.
‘He’s going to cut into our brains.’ Thora’s voice was close to panicking.
Shocked, Valeskia thought for a moment before the ramifications hit her. Putting her hand to her mouth, she knew she must go to Varrick straight away.
‘They also said that they would only take a few of each ability.’
Locking eyes with each other, Valeskia knew that meant Sven. So far he was the only person who had mind powers because they had been able to hide Dusana’s gifts from Varrick.
‘How soon is the doctor coming?’ Valeskia asked, trying to think.
‘In a week time.’ Thora was close to tears; Sven was her life and she couldn’t bear to think that they would be parted.
‘Oh, that’s good, we have time to think of something,’ Valeskia replied. ‘Over dinner, we’ll talk to Jonas and Sven. We’ll find a way out of this.’
That evening the group met in the girls’ hut. Dusana was nursing Vladimir, who pulled her hair with his strong little hands as she bounced him on her knee. Sven and Jonas sat quietly as Thora recounted what she had overheard. After she had finished no one spoke for the longest moment. Thora began to weep and Sven stood, wrapping his arms around his wife.
‘I have dreamt that some of us escape, I guess that time has come,’ he said.
Dusana added, ‘I too have dreamt of it.’ She locked eyes with Sven, he didn’t look happy.
Quietly he said, ‘Not all of us will make it.’
‘No,’ Valeskia replied, ‘we all go, all of us,’ and she gestured to the group. ‘We just need to be smart about it.’
‘Don’t worry,’ Dusana smiled at Valeskia, ‘you’ll think of a plan,’ and totally unconcerned with their predicament, Dusana blew bubbles at Vladimir. He screamed with laughter, clapping his hands together.
Valeskia took from Dusana’s manner that they would all escape and set her mind to the task. By the third day Valeskia still had no plan. Every night the group met and discussed options but nothing seemed to be workable.
Deciding to talk about something else, Valeskia asked Jonas, ‘How are the crops coming along?’
‘Good,’ he replied, ‘tomorrow we’re getting a delivery of apple trees. They’re quite mature so we should get fruit within three seasons.’
Valeskia paused, her mind sharpened by the idea. ‘How will they get here?’
‘In a large, covered truck. That way the trees don’t get damaged by the wind,’ Jonas replied. He was tired after another long day working in the fields and worrying about the doctor coming to the manor.
Clicking her fingers Valeskia cried, ‘That’s it! We’ll use the truck to escape. It will be able to fit us all. We can hide in the hut by the north field and get into the back once the trees are unloaded. If we arrange for the truck to leave around midday, I can make some pies for the guards to eat.’ Oddly enough, Dusana had asked Valeskia six months ago to make treats for the guards and while she had been uneasy about doing it, she now realised that Dusana had prepared the way for them to escape. The guards had become lazy now that the people looked after themselves and over the last year there had been no hint of trouble from any of the abnormals. The guards hardly took any notice of their comings and goings now.
‘This will work and it will be hours until we’re found to be missing,’ Sven said. He could see that his vision of their escape matched the plan – it was confusing to him that he could not see the plan until Valeskia had thought it up.
‘Where will we go?’ Thora asked. She was relieved now that they had a chance to escape.
‘We still have friends out there,’ Sven said, ‘we can get help.’
The group stood looking at each other until Dusana said, ‘This feels good to me,’ and everyone smiled except Sven. ‘Don’t worry, Sven,’ Dusana said, ‘this is meant to be.’
Sven bent down, lifted her into his arms and looked at her. ‘You’re not a young girl anymore; I think there’s a lady emerging.’
‘Mmm,’ Dusana replied, ‘that means I need to go and grab some more mud,’ and the group laughed at her joke.
The truck arrived just before midday. Sven and Jonas greeted the truck and led it over to where they wanted it to unload. Dusana had been on the lookout and ran to let Valeskia and Thora know.
In the four days since the news about the doctor’s coming, Valeskia had started a new game with Vladimir called ‘quiet as mouse’. His mind was quick and he picked up on the game eagerly. Valeskia would say, ‘Here comes the cat, his tummy is hungry,’ and Vladimir would run and hide, and stay very quite.
The men had taken packs to the hut just before dawn and they were filled with extra food and clothing. Valeskia had decided to take the silverware that Varrick had given her. She could sell it for money when needed, it was the only possession of any value that she had.
Thora was a bundle of nerves. She looked pale, her hands shook and her heart was beating fast. Valeskia was surprised at how calm she was; she looked at her hands, they didn’t shake.
‘Dusana, help me with the pies,’ she asked the girl. They had made hot berry pies that smelled good.
‘I would love to,’ Dusana replied smiling.
Valeskia walked over to the guards and called out to them, ‘We have spare pies if you would like some.’ She wore her most colourful dress; it was cut low and her smile was bright and friendly.
‘What sort have you got for us today?’ the guard asked. Having eaten Valeskia’s cooking before he knew it would be good.
‘Blackberry, of course. I believe it’s your favourite,’ Valeskia laughed, looking young and sweet.
‘Good, good,’ and he opened the gate, lowering his gun as he took the pies.
‘Maybe I should have a slice just in case there’s poison in them,’ Dusana joked.
The guard laughed and replied, ‘Good try, little one,’ and he took the pies off the girls and then locked the gate again.
Dusana ran off, giving the guard a wave; she would go the long way around to the hut.
In a loud voice, Valeskia said to Thora, ‘Come, let’s see if Vladimir is awake, he’ll be hungry.’ They locked arms and casually walked down the row of huts. Disappearing
into their hut for a moment, they re-emerged with Vladimir, carrying a blanket.
‘Let’s sit in the sun,’ Valeskia told Thora, ‘the sun will be good for him.’
‘That’s a good idea,’ Thora replied. Her voice was strained and her smile was fake, but no one noticed.
The women walked around to the side of the huts. The hardest part was the walk to the hut by the truck, as at any moment the guards could call them back. Putting Vladimir down provided an excuse for the women as he ran towards the truck. The women realised their luck and pretended to give chase. The guards looked but the warm pies soon pulled their attention back.
As the women rounded the back of the hut, they could see the men had the flap of the truck open. Jonas was talking to the man who drove the truck; they were laughing at some joke he had just told. Sven was hiding at the back of the truck and as soon as he saw them, he beckoned the women to get into the back.
‘Where is Dusana?’ Valeskia whispered, feeling panicked.
‘I don’t know,’ Sven whispered back, ‘but we need to get into the truck, now.’
Lifting both women in, Sven followed and Valeskia pulled the blanket over them, whispering to Vladimir that they would now play the game ‘quiet as a mouse’. Vladimir snuggled into his mother’s arms and quickly fell asleep.
‘God has given you a good child,’ Thora whispered.
‘I know,’ Valeskia replied, but she was uneasy. Where was Dusana?
Jonas poked his head in the back and saw that Dusana was missing. He told the group he would go and look for the girl but the minutes passed and Jonas still didn’t return.
The truck suddenly started and Valeskia almost got up but Sven put an arm around her and whispered in her ear, ‘This is how it must be.’
Valeskia struggled but Thora spoke, ‘This is the only chance for your child.’ Valeskia was now paralysed; she didn’t know what to do. Tears streamed down her face as she realised that the truck had passed the guards and that they were on the open road.