We Are All Strangers

by Nicole Sobon

  “Sorry.” I flung my blond locks over my right shoulder, and sat still as she secured the necklace around my neck. “What does Subject 415 mean?” I asked again, hoping Claire would tell me.

  But still, there was no response.

  “Your finger,” she said, her palm lay out ready to take hold of my finger.

  I glanced down at the small silver tube she held and the short spikes that sat eagerly awaiting the chance to pierce through my skin.

  I took a deep breath and lay my pointer finger on her palm. Without warning, she slammed the cold metal against my skin. I could feel the liquid slipping underneath my skin, burning as it traveled throughout my body.

  It felt as though a fire had been ignited all over my body.

  Everything burned, and all I wanted to do was cry out in pain.

  “Take this,” Claire said handing me a clear gel tablet. “It’ll help with the burning.”

  Part of me felt as though I shouldn’t trust her, but I was willing to try anything to end this pain. My eyes never wavering from her, I reached for the tablet, opened my mouth, and tossed it onto my tongue.

  I closed my mouth and swallowed the tablet down.

  “What was that?” I asked, pointing at the tube that now lay on her lap.

  She shrugged. “It is part of standard procedure; don’t worry yourself too much with it, Ms. Mulligan.”

  If there was one thing that I had learned, it was that if someone ever told you not to worry? There was usually reason to worry.

  “Once we arrive at the compound, you will be escorted to a small room just inside of the gate,” she said, stuffing the tube inside of the clear case, along with her paperwork. “There they will administer a small tracking device into the nape of your neck.”

  I instinctively reached behind me, gripping my neck. “Is that honestly necessary?”

  Claire chuckled. “Oh child, you really have no clue the trouble you’ve gotten yourself into, huh?”

  I lowered my hand, my fingers curling around the red chip attached to the silver chain. It was hot under my touch. A small light pulsated at the center of the chip, blinking in tune with my heart rate.

  “Love isn’t worth this, Ridley.” Claire shook her head, her eyes scanning over the passing world as we traveled in the SUV. “It isn’t worth the pain you that you will experience within the compounds.”

  Chapter Three

  The tires clung to the dirt road beneath us as we came to a sudden stop just outside of a walled compound. An older woman with long gray hair, dressed in a loose white cotton dress, stood beside the gate, her face void of any emotion.

  “We’re here, Ms. Mulligan,” Claire said, throwing open her door and exiting the vehicle.

  Panic soared through my body forcing my heart to pound against my chest.

  Breathe, I reminded myself.

  Claire stood at the front of the SUV with the older woman beside her, her foot tapping anxiously against the ground. Now, she mouthed.

  I took one last breath before exiting the vehicle.

  I knew that I was about to walk into Hell – not literally, of course, but as close to it as one could get on Earth – and I wasn’t sure that I’d last to see another day. But I also knew that I didn’t regret the actions that had led to me being here.

  Love, pure love was one of the most exhilarating things that I’d ever experienced.

  I’d never known a feeling more genuine, or thrilling than the feeling of being in love.

  It was an all-consuming thing; a feeling that overtook your mind and body, one that I’d hoped I’d never forget because the experience of love was something that every person should have had the right to.

  “Ms. Mulligan,” Claire hissed. “Would you please quicken your pace?”

  I lowered my head, allowing my hair to fall in front of my face as I walked the five feet to where Claire stood. “About time,” she said, absolving a heavy sigh. “This is Matron Elizabeth, you will report to her during your time within the compound. Do you understand?”

  I stood straight, my eyes glancing over Matron Elizabeth. Where the thin dress hadn’t covered her frail body, I noticed large circular bruises lining her arms, which only worsened my fear. “Hello,” I barely mustered. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Matron Elizabeth.”

  She extended her hand out to me. “Come along,” she said, her fingers wrapping around mine. I looked back at Claire, who was already retreating to the SUV. My feet dragged across the dirt as she pulled me closer to the gate. She knocked lightly on the steel gate before taking a step back.

  A small window slid open; a guard looked us over from the other side before reaching for a lever on the wall beside him. “One second,” he called out, sliding the window shut just before the gate opened up revealing a haunting community.

  I wasn’t sure what I expected to find inside the gate, but this certainly wasn’t it. The walls, made of brick, were covered in vines and cracks. Worn down buildings lined the compound, which was eerily quiet, with not a single person in sight. “Where is everyone?”

  Matron Elizabeth laid her hand against my lower back, ushering me towards a small wooden door located off to the side. “They are in their headquarters,” she answered. “No need to worry, my dear child. You will be joining them soon enough.”

  She knocked once before turning to face me. “Do you know what that is?” She asked, pointing at the chip that hung from my neck.

  The softness of her voice worried me. “No,” I said, the word barely escaping my lips.

  Her fingers curled around the red chip. “This is you.” Her eyes grew dim as she continued. “Everything that you are – that you were before coming here... it’s all here.”

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean.” And I didn’t.

  I’d feared the compounds for as long as I could remember; the threats from the Council constantly haunted my thoughts, creating an image of Hell on Earth.

  And yet, none of it appeared to be true. At least, not upon first glance.

  Nothing was making sense.

  “There’s much more at play than you know, Ms. Mulligan.” Matron Elizabeth sighed. “In time, the truth will reveal itself.”

  Just as I was about to speak, the wooden door opened, revealing a petite woman, no older than thirty by the look of it, dressed in a short, cotton dress. “Come in,” she said, moving aside so that we could pass by.

  I walked ahead of Matron Elizabeth, my fingers gripping the light fabric of my dress with fear. I could feel the fabric tearing from the pressure, destroying what little remained of my life before Compound One.

  A light bulb hung from the ceiling above, the only light within the tiny room, illuminating the stainless steel table that sat next to a metal folding chair. “Claire said something about a tracker.” It was more of a statement than a question.

  “Under the rule of the Council, violators of the Caiden Act, those that are sent to live within the compounds, are required to receive trackers.”

  “Why is that?” I asked, watching as she retrieved a small, metal disc from the table, sliding it into place on the bottom of a tube.

  “How else do you expect them to retain control?”

  They seemed to be doing a rather fine job of that as far as I was concerned.

  Back home, we were required to carry our identification cards on us at all times. The cards were an extension of us; they contained every bit of information about our lives that the Council felt to be important: our names, birthdays, family members, school and work schedule, food plan, health records, and, most importantly, our matches.

  They’d done a fine job containing the residents of Caiden, instilling fear in them from early on, but every now and then, a few would lose themselves to their curiosity; allowing for the possibility of love – true love.

  I’d lost myself to my curiosity, I’d welcomed the possibility of love, and it’d led me here: a place hidden far away behind a large gate, a place designed for crim
inals, a place meant to destroy you, piece by piece until nothing remained.

  “Please, take a seat.” The woman said, lowering me into the metal chair.

  I fell back against the metal backing, my hands gripping the underside of the chair. “What are you going to do?”

  It was a stupid question honestly; one that I’d known the answer to before I’d even opened my mouth to speak.

  “It’s an injector, child. What do you mean what am I going to do?” The woman rolled her eyes, clearly becoming agitated with me.

  “Gwen, please.” Matron Elizabeth stepped forward and lay her hand on Gwen’s shoulder. “She’s terrified enough as it is, there is no need to be rude.”

  There was also no need to keep prodding me with needles, I thought.

  I wasn’t stupid enough to try and escape, especially since it was evident that most of what I’d been told of the compounds was nothing other than a story, carefully developed to terrify me; to make the idea of natural love seem unappealing.

  “Kieran,” his name fell from my lips unexpectedly. “Is he – what they’ve told us about the detention centers, is it true?”

  Matron Elizabeth lowered her head, cupping her hands at her waist. “Not all of what they’ve told you is a lie.”

  “The detention centers are real then?” I asked, my voice low, overcome with sadness.

  Gwen nodded and leaned in, hovering above me. Without warning, she pressed the cold metal tube against my collarbone. I could feel the needles piercing my skin, and the tearing sensation as the tracker was set in place, but I didn’t react.

  My mind was elsewhere – with Kieran, imagining the pain he must’ve been experiencing.

  They’d told us that natural love was selfish.

  They’d sworn that natural love was wrong.

  And although I wouldn’t have traded how I felt about Kieran, or how he made me feel, I found myself wondering if they were right after all because love wasn’t supposed to destroy a person. It was supposed to build them up, to make them better than they were on their own, but our love was destroying him, piece by piece.

  “Vera, my defense advisor – why didn’t she tell me about this place?” My voice sounded empty, not like my own.

  “There are things that those within Caiden are not aware of,” Matron Elizabeth answered. “They believe that the compounds are still operating as they once were.”

  “As they once were?” I pressed the palm of my left hand over my right shoulder blade, where Gwen had inserted the final tracking device. It was sore, and it throbbed with every movement, but it was nowhere near as painful as the ache in my chest; as the pain of knowing that I was the reason Kieran had to suffer.

  “Not long ago, this compound was nothing more than a grave for the living.” Gwen lay the tube down on the metal table and leaned back, against the brick wall. “We used to live in fear, of what would happen to us, of what we’d return to, or as, when our time at the compound was up.”

  Matron Elizabeth nodded. “But after some time, the Council members stopped visiting, and we realized that, as long as our trackers were activated, no one bothered to see what was taking place within the compounds, because to them, we were all nothing more than criminals.”

  “What happens if they return?” I asked, leaning forward in the metal chair, my elbow pressing into my knee. “Won’t they seek punishment for all of us?”

  “Maybe they’ll return, maybe they won’t,” Gwen shrugged. “All I know is that as long as I hold on to that feeling of love – that feeling of pure happiness, that rush of joy – then I’ll be okay because in the end, the only thing that matters is that we had the chance to love and that we held onto that feeling until the very end.”

  I replayed Gwen’s words in my mind, allowing them each to sink in.

  If they came for us, I was sure that my last thought would be of Kieran; of the time we spent together in the field; of times when joy still existed in my world.

  Kieran. I only hoped that love would be enough to see him through the pain.

  Chapter Four

  Matron Elizabeth led me down a small tunnel that led to the buildings lining Compound One. Young girls, dressed in torn cotton dresses, stared at me as I followed behind her. Their eyes were brimming with curiosity, studying my every movement; but there was something off about these girls. One of the girls, a young girl that could not be any older than eighteen stepped forward. Her blond locks hung loosely around her face, highlighting her dirt covered skin and electrifying blue eyes. The color was so rich and vivid that I nearly froze in place, unsure of how to react.

  Okay, so maybe not everything here was that far off from what we’d been told back at home because I was fairly certain eyes were not supposed to look like that. It was like staring into a blue orb of light. It was unnatural. It was terrifying.

  Kind of like us.

  Matron Elizabeth spun around, looked between me and the girl and grabbed a hold of my wrist. “Kate, I believe you have someplace else to be,” she said, her voice commanding.

  Without waiting for an answer, Matron Elizabeth spun on her heels, pulling me behind her as she led me to a door marked 171. She tapped on the battered wood door softly and waited with her hands folded at her waist. “You will be boarding with Roslyn during your time at Compound One.”

  As we waited for someone to answer the door, I found myself growing more curious about the girls that we had seen on our way here. Kate’s eyes had burned themselves into my memory, begging me to seek out answers that I knew Matron Elizabeth would probably withhold from me.

  “Kate – her eyes,” I said, stumbling over my words. “Something was wrong with her eyes.”

  “That is of no concern to you right now, Ms. Mulligan,” she said, effectively ending the conversation, but failing to ease my worries.

  I wasn’t blind.

  I knew that there was something going on.

  I knew that whatever was taking place within Compound One was to be kept quiet. But I needed to know what lay ahead of me, and what time would bring during my time here.

  Matron Elizabeth knocked again, this time much heavier than before. “Where is that girl?” she mumbled, spinning around, her eyes squinted, fighting back against the morning sun.

  “I’m sorry, Matron,” a young girls voice called from behind us. “I just went to update my meal card.”

  I turned around to face the girl, curious to know what she looked like, and yet terrified that she may look like the others. She didn’t.

  Her eyes, which were a soft shade of brown, reminded me of my mother’s. They were warm and welcoming, a far cry from Kate’s electrifying stare. Her black hair fell in ringlets around her oval shaped face. “Hello,” she spoke softly. “I’m Roslyn.”

  She extended her hand out to me, a soft smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

  “Ridley,” I said, taking what felt like whatever to answer. “Ridley Mulligan.”

  I grabbed a hold of her hand, shuddering at the feel of calluses on her palm, and the thought of how they got there. “You will find a bag inside with the items provided by the Council for you, Ms. Mulligan. If you need anything else, please let Roslyn know.”

  And with that, Matron Elizabeth was on her way back to the front of the compound, leaving me to drown in awkward silence with Roslyn, a girl I’d only met moments before.

  I glanced around at the compound, taking in the worn-down buildings and overgrown vines. It was nothing like home, and I had to accept that. I had to accept that this was my life now.

  A life without Kieran.

  A life without a family.

  A life that probably would destroy me.

  “How much do you know?” She asked, breaking the silence, her hands fidgeting in front of her. Roslyn kept her eyes focused on the dirt ground, choosing to avoid any sort of eye contact with me.

  “Not very much,” I said, honestly, my voice breaking with frustration.

  She stepped forward, her fing
ers wrapping around the silver doorknob. “Come along then.”

  The door opened to reveal a dimly lit room with a small, oval shaped table and a worn-out couch. There were no personal artifacts lining the inside of the room; nothing to show that this was a home. It looked like nothing other than a place to seek shelter from the blistering sun, to hide away from the Council during the times that they bothered to check in on the compounds.

  “How long have you been here?” I asked as I stepped inside.

  Roslyn moved in behind me, closing the door. “A year as of yesterday.”

  “How long do you have left?” My eyes trailed over the room, taking in every crack that lined the walls.

  “I have a year left,” she whispered. “That is assuming that the Council doesn’t return.”

  I knew how powerful the Council was and just how terrifying they could be. There wasn’t a sane person that would stand up to them for fear of dying. Yet, somehow or another, the people of Compound One had managed to scare the Council away.

  “What happened?” I asked, moving to sit down on the battered sofa.

  “Have you ever heard of memory erasing?” Roslyn took a seat on the opposite end of the couch, her hands folded in her lap and her curly hair hiding her face from view.

  I nodded. “What about it?”

  “Well, as you know, the compounds have existed for some time now. They are meant to serve as punishment for those that don’t follow the Caiden Act.” She paused, pressing her finger to her chin as if debating how to phrase what she wanted to say next. “The problem was that the compounds weren’t working as they’d hoped. They were designed to rehabilitate criminals, to make them understand their wrongs.”

  But that wasn’t the case. I knew that. I’d seen the emptiness in the eyes of those sent back to Caiden after time in the compounds. There was a loss of hope, of caring, of love. Of being. They existed but inside, there was nothing left.

  “It didn’t work,” I finally mustered.

  “No,” Roslyn agreed. “The others in Caiden were beginning to see it, too. They grew frantic with worry that crime would overtake their home; that they’d lose their children to the compounds. So, to help ease the worry, the Council set in motion a new plan.”