Out of Sight (Progenitor Book 1)

by Matthew S. Cox

  Sima flopped into the chair, arms folded, glaring.

  “Here.” Danielle handed her an electronic tablet. “Please answer these questions.”

  Sima kept staring at her.

  “The children are all equally adamant about being reunited with you, well, except for Lissa.” Danielle sighed.

  “What?” yelled Sima, shocked and more than a little heartbroken.

  “She hasn’t been awake much to be interviewed,” said Danielle. “Dr. Bystrova, our psychiatric head, has already advised my group to place the four of you together for their mental health.”

  “Why didn’t you just say that before? Argh!” Sima grabbed her hair in frustration.

  Danielle offered a weary smile. “I was trying to focus for the time being on your future. And what we’re trying to do and what we will be able to do may not be the same thing. I did not want to get your hopes up.”

  “What is this?” Sima looked down on a list of questions that appeared to be a combination of schoolwork and a personality evaluation.

  “It’s a general assessment. Something to hand off to our education unit. At some time in the next few weeks, once you’ve recovered from your ordeal and gotten comfortable in your new home, you will go in for a more comprehensive exam, but this will give them a starting point.”

  “Can I see my kids when I finish this?”

  “I can’t say exactly how long that will take, but I’m doing everything I can to hurry things along.”

  Sima hated being treated like a child. She frowned at the pad, too consumed with worry about the kids to focus on the text. Black letters on white blurred into a mass of grey. “I… can’t do this. My head’s spinning. All I can think about is wondering what’s happening to them.”

  “They are receiving the best care possible. We have the most advanced medical facility on Mirage.”

  Sima glanced up at her, unimpressed. “You have the only medical facility on Mirage.”

  “Both statements are true.” Danielle got up and walked around to stand beside her. “You’ve been through a harrowing ordeal, and I don’t only mean the past few weeks you’ve been stranded out there in the jungle. I can’t imagine what it must’ve been like for you to survive on your own back on Earth from such a young age. That same determination kept those children alive here on Mirage. You are a very strong young woman, Sima. But you’re still a child. You’ve forgotten what it’s like to let someone take care of you.”

  “I can’t forget what I never knew,” muttered Sima.

  “You can let your guard down here.” Danielle squeezed her shoulder. “You’ve still got a couple years yet to enjoy not being an adult. Take advantage of it. Trust me. If I could go back to sixteen again knowing what I know now, I would. Don’t grow up too fast.”

  She let out a long sigh, and stared at the first question:

  What word most closely matches ‘tedious?’

  A – exciting

  B – colorful

  C – boring

  D – tasty

  “C… just like this test.” She tapped the letter and a little black circle appeared around it. “How many questions do I have to do?”

  “It’s pretty short, only about a hundred.”

  Sima let her head fall back, slouched in the chair, and sighed at the ceiling. “Ugh!”

  “Aha! You are a teenage girl.”

  “Huh?” asked Sima.

  “The melodrama gave it away.”

  Sima sat up straight. “The what?”

  “Oh, it’s hard to explain, but the school will catch you up.” Danielle winked. “Are you hungry? I can get you something to eat while you work.”

  “Yeah. Starving… as long as it’s not fruit.”

  Danielle chuckled as she stood and walked over to a wall-mounted fabricator. “All right. No fruit.”

  Sima devoured a turkey sandwich and fries while attacking the test with minimal enthusiasm, though a bit of her pre-twelve-year-old self resurfaced, compelling her to try getting as many questions right as she could despite her contempt for the test. She thought she did all right—except for the weird ones like: What do you find most appealing: forests, mountains, meadows, or cities?

  34

  Someone’s Kid

  Sima spent the next several hours in a small room attached to Danielle’s office, alternating between playing video games and pacing. A few other kids, most younger than her and none of them her family, arrived for meetings with Danielle, but none stayed in that chair anywhere near as long as Sima had. A seemingly endless parade of child voices echoed from the outer room, blurring into meaningless nonsense—until Sima’s brain latched onto a familiar word.

  “Your thing is wrong. My name is not Flora,” said a girl. “It’s Alina Strauss.”

  Sima paused the game and ran to the connecting door. A blonde-haired girl of around thirteen sat in the same chair she’d been in two hours ago, wearing a grey jumpsuit and white sneakers. Wow… Investigator Marr really did save her from Magdalena’s.

  Alina noticed the open door and looked over. “Oh, hi.”

  “Hi,” said Sima.

  “Do I know you? You look kinda familiar.”

  Sima walked in. “Can I talk to her?”

  Danielle nodded. “You’ve met?”

  “Yeah. Mag’s,” said Sima.

  Alina’s face turned bright red. “I thought so. Was it you?”

  “Me?”

  “Who sent that guy after me?”

  Sima grinned. “Yeah, I think so. I asked him to get you out of there. You’re too young to, umm…”

  Alina grimaced. “I never did that. Magdalena made me so expensive no one wanted me. I think one guy tried, but he, umm… disappeared.”

  The memory of Magdalena’s robotic arms and claws made Sima shiver. “If she wasn’t gonna let anyone, uhh, hire you, why’d you sit around in the front room like that?”

  “I dunno really. Mag said it would either get me adopted or help her ‘clean up.’”

  Sima slouched with relief. Perhaps she had misjudged the woman. She still thought her creepy as hell though.

  “What are you talking about?” asked Danielle. “Who is Magdalena?”

  Alina blushed again. “Just someone who let me crash at their place when I was on the street. She looked out for me.”

  “Yeah.” Sima nodded.

  “All right. Well, Miss Nuvari, if you’ll excuse us, we’re discussing some confidential things.”

  “Yeah, sure.” She held out a fist. “See ya around?”

  “Later.” Alina fist-bumped her.

  Sima wandered back into the side room, closed the door, and flopped on the little sofa again. How long am I going to have to sit here? Ugh. She stood again and paced, fretting over the kids, wondering where they were, what they’d gone through since the ride in the nomad, and how long it would take her to see them again. Feeling helpless and frustrated, she curled up on the couch and cried into a pillow.

  Hours later, Danielle knocked and pushed the door open. “Come on, hon. I have some good news for you.”

  Hoping that meant she’d see her family again, Sima sprang to her feet and ran over. “Okay.”

  Danielle led her down another hallway, across a small room of cubicles, and into another office similar to hers. A fortyish couple occupied the two chairs facing the desk, behind which sat a grey-haired man in a black jumpsuit. The couple stood as she entered, smiling at her. The man had a kindly but somewhat nerdy air about him, and the same shade of olive skin as Sima. He wore a dark orange jumpsuit with ‘Akbar’ stenciled over his left breast pocket. The woman, the same height or perhaps a bit shorter than Sima, lit up with a huge grin as soon as she made eye contact. Her jumpsuit was pure white and bore the name ‘Chen.’

  “Hello, Sima,” said the man behind the desk. “I’m Mr. Ashcroft. I’d like to introduce you to your new parents, Manoj and Pai Akbar.”

  Sima walked up to them, offering a guarded smile. She hadn’t been aro
und people old enough to be her parents too often, not counting the EGSF officers who arrested her. “Umm, hi.”

  “Hello.” Mr. Akbar smiled. “It is wonderful to meet you.”

  “Yes, yes,” said Mrs. Akbar, before hugging her.

  Sima blinked at the sudden affection. In four seconds, this woman had shown more love than her biological mother had in twelve years. Oddly enough, it felt genuine.

  “Please, have a seat,” said Mr. Ashcroft. “We just need to go over a few particulars and you can take your daughter home.”

  Sima melted uneasily into the third chair facing the desk. Mrs. Akbar kept smiling at her, which made her feel like a shiny new puppy about to leave the pet store.

  “Sima,” said Mr. Ashcroft, drawing her stare, “your test results were both good and bad. Based on your answers, you tested about at an eighth grade level. However, given your age, that’s going to mean a heavier course load to catch up. We’re going to extend a waiver of the OT requirement until you’ve gotten back where you need to be academically. I also understand you officially stopped attending school back on Earth several months into your sixth grade year?”

  “Yeah.” Sima looked down at her sneakers. “That’s right.”

  “What happened?” asked Mr. Akbar.

  Sima glanced at him. Wow, he looks actually concerned. “Umm. Can I tell you later?”

  He nodded. “Of course.”

  “The test showed that you have a high intrinsic intelligence as well as an aptitude toward scientific and technical fields. It is quite impressive that you scored at an eighth grade level despite where you stopped receiving instruction. That helped guide our placement for you with the Akbars. Mr. Akbar is one of the senior electronics engineers from the Progenitor, and Mrs. Akbar is with our biomedical division. She is a medical doctor, but has a focus on botanical research for potential medical applications of local flora and fauna.”

  My parents are nerds. Sima eyed the two smiling people next to her. “I’ve had enough of the local flora and fauna for a while. What about my kids?”

  “Oh, yes.” Mr. Akbar nodded rapidly. “I was to understand there are four? A whole family?”

  Mrs. Akbar put a hand on Sima’s. “We are happy to welcome all of you.”

  “I apologize for the unusual delay, but it took us awhile to find a matching couple who were also willing to cope with adopting four kids.” Mr. Ashcroft leaned back, lacing his fingers together. “Since you are too young for guardianship of the other children you were found with, this is the best solution. Also, due to your age, we could not share this information before, but since your parents are now here with you…”

  “What?” asked Sima. “Wait? That’s it? They’re my parents just like that? No hearing or anything? I don’t get to say yes or no? And what couldn’t you tell me?”

  Her prospective parents cringed, both looking worried.

  Sima glanced at them. “You’re okay taking all four of us?”

  They both nodded.

  “Okay. I wouldn’t have said no, but, it’s kinda weird and fast that I don’t get the choice.”

  “Well, you are still a minor.” Mr. Ashcroft smiled. “However, you would have been able to decline the pairing if you wanted to.”

  She relaxed a little. “Okay. Well, I mean, I don’t know them at all, but they look nice, and, uhh, Mom has already hugged me more often than my birth mom.”

  “Oh…” Mrs. Akbar leaned over and squeezed her again. “You poor dear.”

  “Umm. Sorry if I’m a bit weird at first. I’m not sure how to handle having two parents who give a crap.” Sima fidgeted, glancing again at Ashcroft. “What couldn’t you tell me?”

  “Regarding your, umm, siblings.” Mr. Ashcroft handed an electronic tablet to Mr. Akbar. “If you’ll both indicate your acceptance of this document first. Just to make everything proper.”

  “What is that?” asked Sima.

  Mr. Akbar skimmed down document, flicking his finger at the screen. At the bottom, he tapped a button and pressed his thumbprint to the glass. He handed the tablet to Mrs. Akbar, who rushed the document back to the top and read it more cautiously, but still quite fast.

  “Once they’ve both signed it, you are legally their daughter. As well as the other three.” As soon as Mrs. Akbar electronically signed it, Mr. Ashcroft cleared his throat. “All right. Now that everything is legal, I can say this. I’m officially talking to your parents here, but…” He kept eye contact with Sima. “The young girl suffered a punctured lung as a result of the animal’s fangs. On top of the damage she’d already sustained from toxic chemicals, our medical team decided to clone new lungs and transplant them in. She’s going to be stuck in bed for a while, but should be back to normal soon.”

  Mrs. Akbar tilted her head. “What happened to her lungs? Toxic exposure?”

  “Her bio parents made Pixie in the apartment where she lived before,” said Sima.

  The Akbars winced.

  “Austin, the older boy, was given medical clearance within hours. Juan also appears to be in fine shape and we expect he will be cleared for medical release in another day or two. So… that’s basically it.”

  A soft knock at the door preceded Danielle guiding Austin into the room. He looked like an entirely new person in a grey jumpsuit and black sneakers. A hint of blue T-shirt peeked out his open collar.

  “Sima!” He ran over and jumped into a hug. “Where’s Liss and Juan?”

  “In the infirmary. It’s okay. We’re all going to live together. These are our parents.”

  Austin twisted to look at them. “Umm, hi.”

  “If none of you have any further questions, you should show your kids their new home.” Mr. Ashcroft smiled.

  Sima stood, holding Austin’s hand in an almost painful grip. He didn’t seem to mind.

  Her new father put an arm around her, seeming as proud as if he’d watched her birth.

  “My aren’t you such a handsome young man,” said Mrs. Akbar, patting Austin’s cheek before squeezing his shoulders.

  Austin glanced at Sima with an expression part way between ‘this face is why I had 400 glint’ and ‘maybe having grown-up parents again won’t suck.’

  Oh this is weird. I have no idea how to be someone’s kid. Managing a nervous but hopeful smile, she walked with them out into the hall.

  35

  New Breaths

  Sima stepped through the doorway first and approached the infirmary bed where Lissa lay armpit deep in a pink blanket, wearing one of those dress/tunic hospital garments. Her face had lost the grim pallor, having actual color. Two silver spheres floated nearby, occasionally running scan lasers over her chest.

  “Mom,” whispered Lissa, smiling.

  Too choked up to talk, Sima hurried over to the bed and took her hand.

  The parents walked in behind Austin, who also ran to the bed.

  “Hey.” Austin hopped up to sit on the edge. “We’re gonna live together.”

  Lissa beamed. She leaned to the side, peering at the adults. “Who are they?”

  “Our new parents. I’m still just a kid, so they won’t let me legally be your mom.”

  “Oh.” Lissa eyed them a moment more, then whispered, “Can I call her grandmom?”

  Mom snickered.

  “She’s not that old,” said Sima.

  Lissa giggled—and didn’t lapse into a coughing fit. “The doctors gave me new breaths.”

  Mom walked over to the console on the wall and looked it over.

  Dad followed, muttering, “You shouldn’t fiddle with it. She’s family now. Pesky ethics.”

  “I’m not adjusting anything,” said Mom. “I’m simply making sure they have the dosages correct.”

  “How long do I gotta stay here?” Lissa sat up.

  Mom sat on the corner of the bed by the pillow. “Another two days at least. You’ve had a big operation for a little girl. They need to make sure everything is going to stay where they put it.”

&nbs
p; “Okay.” Lissa nodded. “I know it worked. I can breathe. I forgot what it’s like.”

  Everyone sat together talking for a while, the parents mostly telling them how happy they’d be. After taking in four kids, they received an upgrade to their residence quarters. Dad spoke of a park with Earth type trees and plants nearby, as well as a nice fitness center with a pool. Crews still worked to reconfigure parts of the enormous Progenitor into its city components, a project which they expected to take several more years.

  Sima, still holding her kids’ hands, listened with hopeful curiosity. It’s gonna be weird having people actually care about me. She looked at Austin to gauge his reaction to the parents. He continued smiling, which she took as a good sign. Her thoughts leapt to the scream he let out when jumping out of a tree to stop that cat from hitting her with quills… and how Lissa didn’t want her to walk away and leave her alone. Sima realized that she’d already been with people who cared about her. Unable to talk past her emotions, she sat there as Lissa rambled about all the stuff she wanted to do since she would soon be able to play again without passing out.

  “Sima!” shouted a boy.

  The parents jumped.

  Juan, also in a new grey jumpsuit, dashed into the room away from Danielle, sneakers squeaking on the metal floor. Sima intercepted him before he jumped on top of Lissa, and held him in her lap while perched at the edge of the bed.

  “Well…” Danielle brought her hands together with a clap. “That’s the whole family then. Can I help with anything else?”

  “I think we’re all right.” Dad ruffled Juan’s hair. “Thank you.”

  “Hi,” said Juan to the parents, before clinging to Sima.

  “You have my contact information.” Danielle nodded at the Akbars. “I’ll be your caseworker for the foreseeable future. If you ever need anything, please reach out to me.”

  Mom and Dad excused themselves and walked over to chat with Danielle out in the hallway.