My Name Is Saved

by Jameka Brown 2012

  I nod and move away from him. I thought this might be a place I could call home, but I can’t live among people who have the ability to better themselves and others, but choose to wait. What exactly are they waiting for?

  Purity looks at me for a moment longer than opens a door. There are at least twenty people sitting with their legs crossed in front of them and their hands resting on their legs. They do not speak or see, but sit in total silence. Purity whispers, “This is the temple. We come here to spend time with the Universe, and seek guidance.” Purity backs away and slides the door shut. “What we see and hear, we tell the Seers and they decipher the meaning.”

  “Can’t you do that yourself?” I ask.

  “No, it’s too intricate for us. We would interpret it wrong.” I wonder who told them that. As we walk back through the halls decorated with pictures of people with whiter faces than mine and symbols of strange lines, I can’t help but feel apart. There is some measure of me that has settled in, but the remainder isn’t quite connecting. They should finish the boat, I feel it in my heart, that they will soon need it.

  Purity slides open the door to agriculture zone. We walk by the large living complexes when the ground begins to shake. The vibrations rattle the buildings and we are thrown off of our feet. My head smashes into the ground as the infrastructure crumbles around us. Blurs of visions appear and then I’m lost in another world.

  Chapter 8

  Purity’s brown eyes are the first thing I see before I notice the rubble caked around us. The boy is lying flat on his stomach, he doesn’t move. Tears are racing down his face, but he doesn’t speak or cry out. I wipe away bits of rubble and scoot over to him. My body is too battered to actually get up.

  I run my hand through his hair. “What is it Purity?” I ask him. No words or movements come from him. I run my hand down his back, but he does not respond to my touch. I knock the rubble off and still he does not respond.

  Rushing feet grabs my attention. I see Dr. Nu hurrying over to us. He drops down to Purity’s side and replaces my hand. “Purity!” Again silence only comes from him.

  Dr. Nu looks up at me. “Where is Kintin?”

  “We left her with Roark in the picture room. That was about an hour ago,” I say.

  “Good, good she’s up high,” Dr. Nu says still rubbing his son down. I’m not sure he heard what I said. He’s having a hard time holding back his tears.

  Naveen screams and tosses her body over Purity. “What’s wrong with him?”

  Dr. Nu’s eyes glaze over before he pulls Naveen into his arms. They stay like that for a while longer and then he greets her eyes. “There is nothing anyone can do Naveen. He’s paralyzed; the elders are going to take his life.”

  “No!” She shouts and pushes away from Dr. Nu and puts her body over her son again. Tears continue to stream down his face. I hold onto his hand and rock. “There was a time when a simple procedure would have healed him.” Mama used to tell me stories of how the world was so advanced that no one remained ill longer than two hours.

  This society has the equipment and the past knowledge to help their people. Why wouldn’t they use it? Then I look around and I see people gathering in the center. They’re on their hands and knees rocking and screaming something to the sky.

  “What are they doing?” I ask them.

  “Preparing their chi to return to the Universe,” Dr. Nu says. His face is down cast and every now and again he looks at his son. “That was the worst quake yet; they’re coming more and more frequent now.” Just like Garden Home.

  Kintin shows up and screams when she sees her brother. I pay no heed to her pain and watch the astonishing event. They are preparing to die instead of doing anything and everything in their power to save themselves.

  “This is madness,” I say a little too loudly. Somehow, through slow movements I get to my feet. “You have everything you need to get out of this place, but all you do is sit around waiting for the Universe to reveal the things that you’ve have already seen.” My mind is reeling now. “You said you are here to be of use to the Universe. You are the Universe. What have you done in regards to its prosperity? Nothing, not a single thing.”

  “What would you have us do Saved?” The woman speaks. “We cannot breathe outside like you do.”

  “But you have machines that can filter in oxygen from the plants, and half a boat waiting to be completed. You just have to figure out how.” I move away from them. “There is an island that I am going to find.” I point to my chest. “When I find it, I will come back for each one of you, not because I have to, but because I am able to. That is what I’ve learned from you and your Universe. I am able to.” The voice continues to chant my course. Feed me, love me, live for me.

  Aches riddle every centimeter of me, but I hobble away with confidence holding me upright. I know, no, I feel, that their belief in the Universe holds some truths, but so does God. The Universe is me, is us, it prospers on purpose, on love. And God’s bible gives me moral commandments that staunch suffering, not a guaranteed ride to the afterlife. Together they fill a void that I didn’t realize was empty.

  These people thought impasse was their answer, but now they have lost several servants because they allowed another to rule the voice in their head. Not me, until I cannot muster another breath, I will not stop living for my God the Universe. This world is dying but the one of the island might be vibrant. Somehow I will deliver his servants to his home, and there we will begin a new, more conscious life.

  “Saved?” Naveen calls out to me. “Take Purity with you.” I look to see her holding a mask in her hand. The first sign of a new dawn. “I can’t watch him slip away.”

  The boat barely holds me, but I will not deny her wish. Purity will sail away in search of the island with me, even if it’s the last thing he does. Dr. Nu lifts his son and we ascend to the surface. All is quiet now, all is peaceful inside. I know that God is not in a book or ethereal place, but all around me. His words of feed me, love me, live for me repeat joyously in my head. My chi is now wide open.

  Chapter 9

  We drift in the water for hours, maybe days, the food is nearly gone, and Purity has been making weird guttural noises since this morning. I adjust his position and still the cries persist. I’m almost out of options when something bumps us. We’ve hit land and I never noticed. The boat nearly tumbles on its side before I hop out and right it. I look around but all I see is black smog. The air is thicker here; it’s almost hard for me to breathe as well.

  “Don’t move!” A voice shouts. I freeze and raise my hands in the air. “Slowly lower yourself to your knees.” I do as the voice says. Rough hands lock my arms behind my back and tie them together. They drag me off my feet and away from the boat.

  “No!” I scream. “Purity, you must help Purity. He is paralyzed in the boat.” I kick and struggle, but they hold onto me.

  “If you follow us we will help your friend,” the voice says. I immediately calm down and settle to a walk. I can barely make out the others hoisting Purity out of the boat before someone from behind shoves me forward.

  The door makes a hissing sound and we walk into whiteness. The floors are pristine, the lights are too bright, and the suits the captors are wearing resemble the great white bears of Garden Home. Only, these bears walk up right.

  No décor litters the walls, it’s just blazing white. Another door hisses open and we walk into a large circular space. There are a plethora of chairs outlining the place, rising so high I can barely see the top. The floor is made of some hard brown material I’ve never seen before. It has many small circles etched into it.

  The doors behind us open and Purity is brought in. They lay him gently on the floor and I rush over to him. He’s still breathing, but his eyes keep vibrating. “It’s okay Purity, these people are going to help you.”

  Just as I soothe him the floor clicks and opens. A box forms around him and blue lights go back and forth. I bang on the top, it opens and a protrusi
on knocks me off my feet. More noises come from the floor and straps lock my extremities down until a box covers me. A vacuum snatches away all of my clothing. I attempt to free myself but the restraints glue me to the floor. “Help?” I scream to no avail. Lights move up and down my body. A piercing pain explodes in my brain, and I convulse. Then it stops the box recedes and I lie there naked as the day I was born. What was that?

  As the shock slowly fills conscious thought, I crawl over to Purity who too is fully naked. He lifts his hand. I stop. The other hand raises, and then his knees bunch. He turns his head towards me and for a moment just stares. Purity smiles so bright, my heart doesn’t know what to do. He pushes himself to his knees. His eyes stay on mine as we crawl to one another like two tigers greeting.

  “Thank you,” Purity says.

  “You’re better?” I ask.

  “Like never before.” He remains grinning. I want to touch his face, but he touches my hand. A feverish warmth grips my gut and below. I don’t know what to call it, but its pain and euphoria and I want more of it.

  “Separate!” A voice shouts and we bulk away from each other. The both of us scramble to our feet. Even though there are clicking noises coming from the floor and a wide opening appears. I cannot help but look at Purity in all of his glory. He does not shy away from my gaze, but returns it. Fire thrives in his expression like a need to consume. An invisible string snares us and he smashes his lips to mine. Nothing touches but sensual sensation. “I said separate!” The voice hollers again. Purity slowly draws away and gives me an amused look. My face warms and I look down to the side. He kissed me, someone kissed me.

  A man and a woman sit in large gold chairs. Their hands rest lazily on the arms of the chair and they glare at us through their masks. The slim man in tight fitting white suit stands up. “I don’t know who you are or where you come from, nor do I care. You have landed in my world and therefore you belong to me.” He begins walking down the steps. I see nothing but Purity. “It proves my theory there are more of us out there.” He stops in front of me. “You, whatever you are, are not welcome in Serenity.” He turns to Purity and I touch my lips. “You my boy, may eat at my table. It has been a long time since I’ve seen such an unpolluted genetic makeup as yours.”

  Purity moves away. “Saved is my friend. We stick together.” The man frowns.

  “Forgive me son, I gave you the impression that you had a choice. That is not the case. Choice is how the Great Cleanse occurred, we gave too much freedom.” He pulls Purity to his side. “There is no reason to remain among pollution if you can avoid it.” Purity attempts to twist out of his grip but I shake my head. We don’t know what these people are capable of and he just got a second chance at life. A life that his actions show could include me.

  The man mounts his mobile floor and the two of them gaze at me. “You are a defect, here at Serenity we weed out all impurities,” the woman says looking at me. With that the ground underneath me opens and I free fall. No fear quenches, no anger arises, all I can think of is that single kiss. So when I crash into the ground there is no pain or confusion, I’ve been kissed. The lights dim, numbness follows, but emotions prevail. I readily succumb to whatever is packaged.

  Chapter 10

  “Get up!” Someone shouts in my ear. “Get up!” I hear even louder. My eyes open then shut after the bright light burns them. Is this the Universe? Something slaps me across the face and I jump off of the table I had been lying on and land in a crouch on the floor. Its cool solid touch feels like places on Earth. Slowly but surely I adjust to the pristine light. A girl with waist length silver hair has a beautiful green eye and a blue eye. Her dress hugs her curves and flows around her feet. “It’s about time you woke up,” she hisses. “You show up and disrupt all of my hard work and then expect to sleep through it.” She steps forward and I stand up. I tower over her by a good four inches. “I am not having it.” She looks up at me. “What’s your name?” No aches complain or pain blames. There is nothing to suggest I’ve just smacked into a solid substance.

  “Saved,” I answer while trying to figure out what is going on. “Is this heaven or the Universe?”

  “What a stupid name and even dumber question.” She crosses her arms over her chest pushing them out a little further. “You’re not dead yet. You’re still in Serenity.”

  I chuckle at her miffed expression. I can’t help myself. Her rosy lips pucker in disbelief. Where am I? “If you say so; is yours any better?”

  “Of course it is. My name is Asorra.” Why didn’t I think of that?

  Now that I realize Asorra is a champion of the mouth and not of the fist, it suddenly occurs to me that I’m stark naked. “Do you have clothes for me?” For some reason it doesn’t particularly bother me.

  Asorra stares unabashedly at me for a few moments then turns around and walks through a door that opens when she gets near. I follow along behind her out into more whiteness. Periodically doors with a smoky covering appear. “What’s your crime?” Asorra asks.

  “Excuse me?”

  “What did you do to piss off the High Councilor and his wife and get sent down here?”

  She rounds a corner and I try to keep up. “I don’t know, he said something about me being a defect.” We pass five doors before we stop in front of a door. “How do we get out of here?” All this white is making it difficult for me to formulate any ideas about anything. It’s seems to be blinding my inner chi as well.

  “You don’t,” she says while waving her hand over the screen. It beeps and she signals for me to do the same. “This is your room for the remainder of your life.” She turns away from me and begins walking. She stops and glances once more. “Just so you know, I see nothing repulsive about you. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes.” Asorra disappears around a corner leaving me smiling and falling into my room. Did she just compliment me?

  The room is all white with a white bed and white walls. There are white clothes in a drawer and a screen that makes noise, but I don’t care about how odd these things are; or how advanced this world is. All I care about is finding Purity, making Asorra my friend and, getting everyone to the island. To do that I need a bigger boat and I think I know just the person to show me the right door. Despite the fact that I’ve been thrown down a pit to meet death and awoke to a ferocious beast known as a girl, today’s been a miraculous day. Now it’s time to return the favor. There’s no way the Universe didn’t send me here.

  I step outside of my room just as Asorra comes into view. “Good, now you can make-up for your intrusion,” she says. I follow her foot prints to the letter.

  * * *

  We enter a circular room that is filled with large screens. Each one shows a different area. Along the bottom are boards with the letters of the alphabet lined up in three rows. People with various defects sit around the twelve tables pushing the letters down. There is a girl with no arms using her feet to complete her work.

  “Princess?” A man calls. His left ear is missing. “Mr. Chase and Miss Holden are getting near again, shall I avert them?”

  Asorra storms forward and clicks a button. The events on one of the smaller screens appear on the larger central screen. A very dark complexioned boy is walking slowly towards a pale red head. They circle each other smiling but do not say anything, nor do they move away. “Argh!” Asorra roars. “When will these two learn? They are never going to be together.” Asorra turns to the man. “Cecil, write; good evening Mr. Chase, Good evening Ms. Holden. Return to your separate homes.”

  Cecil, the earless, furiously hacks at the letters on the board. The girl with the red hair on the screen speaks with a sweet voice and smiles. The gruff boy mirrors her expression and they both walk away from one another in different directions.

  A clicking sound showcases a circular podium. On it appears to be some sort of yellow substance with tiny round purple balls and a large bottle. Asorra walks over to it, removes the tray, and watches the podium retract.

  “Wel
l done Asorra, enjoy a treat on my behalf,” an invisible voice says.

  Asorra rolls her eyes and lifts the tray in the air. “Cecil, take this to the common room and share it with the others.” Cecil’s eyes brighten and he gently removes the tray from her grasps, then like hungry animals all of them flock towards the door, shoving and pushing one another.

  Asorra turns her attention back to the blank screen and says nothing. “What’s all of this?” I ask.

  She doesn’t look at me when she answers, but goes around clicking various buttons at the twelve stations. “In Serenity the high councilor and his wife believe that the inhabitants need guidance. After the Great Cleanse, the adults were too stuck in there ways. So they waited until they had children and killed their parents.” Asorra slumps into a chair. Good thing I told Purity not to struggle. “The perfect babies remained on top, the defects were sent down here to die. Many of them did.” Asorra rubs her face. “My mother created this underground haven, and saved the babies. I am the imperfect daughter of the High Councilor. My relation to him is the only reason I’m alive.”

  “Whatever you write, they have to follow?” I ask her.

  “Yes, they hear the command. Every morning when they wake-up their scripts are automatically downloaded. Their actions, conversations, and reactions are all written by me. If they do not comply their brain will receive a small electrical shock that is highly painful.” Asorra rubs her hands together and looks away. There is absolutely nothing to say about this, so I just shake my head. “There are five separate cities. The one you just saw is known as Dance City, it’s where all the entertainers live.” Asorra clicks a button, and a screen showing both men and woman walking hastily, in white suits, to large buildings, appears. “There is the Business City, where all the pointless companies exist.” Another screen showcases walls of gardens and people walking around with boards in their hands. “Nutrition City, these people mess around with our food.” Another screen appears that resembles the scientist room from Horizon. “Innovation City, all the brains and their families live here.” Asorra clicks the button again and a white room filled with boxes that healed Purity, light the screen.” Medical City, doctors and scientist live here.” One more screen appears showing people laughing with cups in their hands. They sit in a colorful low lit room. “This is the high society town. The high councilor chooses who he wants to release from the program and they become his friends.”