by K M Lovold
But she’d resolved that was an absurd reason to avoid him, so this morning, after she made progress with her digging, she was going to do it. She’d approach him. Finally. She pounded harder than usual on the rocky ground, knowing the faster she met her quota, the more time she would have. Time to talk to Jack, help him mine, and introduce herself to the new guy. She had to know if what she felt was true, and she wouldn’t know until she looked him in the eye and spoke to him.
She’d watched him closely, and so far, every time she’d seen him, her opinion had intensified. He was different. She detected this several times when a keeper would approach him and Jack and put his power over them. At first, it was obvious the new man was being manipulated, but as time went on, the keeper’s control over him seemed to waiver.
Although she couldn’t hear what was being said, Jack always had that glossed over look when he stood at attention, staring and speaking to the keeper, but the new prisoner’s eyes moved when the keeper wasn’t looking, and his fingers twitched. When the keeper’s attention returned to him, he’d straighten, hold his chin up, as if he were doing so on his own. Like he was controlling himself rather than being controlled. And when the keeper walked off, the new man would return immediately to what he’d been doing, while it’d take Jack a couple seconds to return to himself.
Something was definitely different about him. And if he was innocent, Jack would make sure to keep him in line. She knew Jack well enough to say they were on the same page: find an innocent prisoner, someone who might really be able to help them.
And Jack was on his way to becoming a keeper—he’d told her as much before the new guy arrived—and he worked at the train. Select few got to go there, and there were times when Jack and his new buddy were not to be seen. Could it be Jack had managed to take him along to the train?
She shook her head. That couldn’t be possible, could it? Then again, Jack was well liked and trusted, friends with a few higher-up keepers. If he said he wanted to take the new man, they just might let him. That gave her more hope than anything else since the train site was a safe place to talk without being overheard. Everyone knew that cave was safe. Deep inside her, hope grew.
“Doing well today, Nikolina,” a low voice sounded behind her.
Nikolina turned around. The keeper, David, stood there, hands behind his back, his dark hair slicked into a ponytail.
“Yeah, I guess you could say that. It’s been an OK day.” She put one hand on her hip, staring at David who seemed to study her. He liked her, she could tell, but there could be nothing but friendship on Reathran. Things didn’t work here like they did on Earth. Not with the foreign chemical flowing through their veins. It robbed them of all that.
“You’ll be done soon. Sooner than normal.” He did not wield his power over her—seemed to be doing that less and less.
“I hope so. I’m exhausted.” She spied Jack. “But not too exhausted I won’t help others when I’m done. The more work I do on any given day, the better I sleep at night.” She winked at him.
He smiled, his hands still behind his back, and nodded. “Yes, I agree. Maybe we can share our meal together, in the common room.”
Nikolina smiled. “Sure thing. That’d be great. Well, I better get back to it, I want to be able to help some others when I’m done. But I’ll see you at mealtime.” She turned and started pounding again.
Now, he wanted to share their meal together? That was a first. Maybe David was willing to be friend, more so than keeper. He could be someone she could talk to, get information from. He might come in very handy eventually.
He was nice on the eyes, too. Not that it mattered. But she imagined if they’d both been on Earth, without this dreaded chemical flowing through their veins, they might just hit it off in that way.
“What did you just say?” A keeper screamed not far from them, catching her attention. She and David turned to see a keeper yanking the collar of a prisoner, lifting his feet off the ground a few inches, his eyes wide with fear. “Don’t you ever let one of us hear you say something like that again, or you’ll get far worse than this!”
The prisoner nodded his head profusely, and then the keeper dropped him to the ground and shoved him.
The keeper probably hadn’t heard the man himself. Another who spied through their listening devices no doubt relayed the message to him. Occasionally, that happened just to remind them the keepers were listening. They tuned in enough on and off to show the prisoners they’d never know when they were being heard.
Nikolina looked away, squeezing her hand so tight her nails bit into her palm, then she spiked her ax into the mountain. Right near a gem. A big one. She could tell by the resounding thud her ax made next to it. She dropped to her knees and worked the dirt from around the stone with her fingers as best she could, then hit the ax again and again around it, never touching the gem, which would cause problems for her. She’d been doing this for so long now, she was a pro and pummeled the ground around the memroth without so much as scratching it. She’d be in big trouble if she hit the gem itself and shattered it in any way. Finally, she worked her hands around the other side and pulled it out.
“Nice.” She held the large memroth, turning it over in her hands, guessing at its weight. At least fifteen pounds. Not too heavy for Nikolina though. She stood and tossed it into the cart and wiped the dirt off it as best she could. It was magnificent. Lately, she’d been finding large pieces, larger than any she’d found when she’d first arrived on Reathran. She looked to the mountain where she’d yanked it out. Could it be the farther into the mountain they went, the larger the pieces they’d discover?
She put her hand to the hole where it had been. The texture of the mountain was hard packed, yet dry, easy to rake her gloved fingers through, causing the dirt to crumble. Seemed different then when she’d first gotten here. But she couldn’t figure out what all that meant now.
“Looks like you got ’er done.” David stood next to her again. “Go ahead, haul it to the weigh-in and drop-off zone.”
“Thanks.” Nikolina swept a piece of loose hair out of her face. “I’ll see you at mealtime.”
As she pushed the heavy cart away, she got nearer to Jack and swallowed, pushing her fears aside.
“Hey, Jack!” she hollered.
Jack turned and squinted in the sunlight towards her. “Yeah?”
“I’m heading to the drop-off zone, then I’m done. Need any help?” She gave him a grin. This was it. She was going to meet the new guy.
“Well, it’s about time! Come on over, we’ll be here!” He motioned for her to join them.
The new man looked her way, and for the first time, they made eye contact. Finally.
She pushed her cart faster.
****
“Here’s an exceptionally good one.” Ian pulled one of the largest memroth rocks he’d seen since he’d been on Reathran. At least for him. “Look at this one.”
“That's what I’m talkin’ about.” Jack patted Ian on the shoulder. “Keep going. Let’s get our quota met fast ’cause we need to get to the train.”
Ian threw the memroth into the cart and returned to digging, motivated by Jack’s words. If they could get to the train, they could really talk.
Levi had already wheeled one pile of memroth away and come back with the empty one to be filled again. With Ian and Jack working together, and now that he’d been here for a while, the keepers expected double the quota between the two.
“Hey.” The woman who’d called out to Jack earlier approached them. Ian had seen her many times but had never spoken to her. “I’m back and done for the day. Can I help?”
“Of course, you can.” Jack put his arm around her and gave her shoulders a squeeze. Her light brown skin was flawless, and she was quite beautiful. “Why haven’t you come around lately? I don’t think you’ve met our new guy, Ian, who isn’t actually that new anymore. Or have you?”
“No.” The woman held her hand out to Ian, her black ha
ir pulled back in a ponytail, except for a few strands blowing in the breeze. “Hi. Good to meet you. Despite the strange circumstances. You know, the entire population being murderers and all.”
Ian grinned. “Good to meet you, too.” He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “I didn’t get your name.”
The woman’s deep caramel-colored eyes beamed, and her full light pink lips lifted in a smile, revealing perfectly straight teeth. “It’s Nikolina.”
“Hi.” Ian leaned closer to her. “I really haven’t met too many people here, and you’re the first woman.” He chuckled. “Not that I haven’t seen several of you, but Jack’s made me focus on what I’m doing.”
Nikolina stood tall with a strong posture. She wore the same attire the rest of them did, except it looked much different on a woman, especially with the first couple buttons undone on her leather shirt. “I’m always happy to meet someone new on Reathran.”
“Well,” Jack chimed in. “If you want to help us, please do. We’ve been discovering more and more extra-large rocks, so we’re almost there. Almost done.” Jack went back to pounding.
Nikolina picked up her ax and held it above her shoulder. “That’s funny, I was thinking the same thing. I’d just dug up one of the biggest ones ever, and I was thinking they’ve gotten larger lately. More so compared to when I first got here.” She hit the nearest mound with her ax.
Ian followed suit, working close by. “And when was that if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Almost twenty-one years.” Nikolina struck again. “But things haven’t changed one iota, so it’s as if I just got here yesterday.”
Ian shook his head. Since he’d been able to speak freely to Jack, more and more memories had filtered through his mind. His home was crystal clear to him now, including Canyon Lake situated beside it. He also remembered trains to a tee, and the tracks they rode on were different than the track on Reathran. He remembered tall electrical poles on the road to his home, and he found great significance in those for some reason. Every day he wracked his brain, trying to remember their importance, sometimes thinking he might be on the precipice of something big and that if he remembered too much more, things would change for him. And not in a good way. He didn’t want to risk losing his routine—doing his day-to-day mining with Jack, visiting the train and having honest conversations about everything Ian was remembering and experiencing.
One thing was for certain: he had zero memories of any crime he’d committed. Jack was right. Ian was innocent. He had to be.
“How are you doing here so far?” Nikolina interrupted his thoughts.
Ian shrugged while he pummeled the dirt. “I hate it, to tell the truth. I feel as if I shouldn’t be here.”
Nikolina looked behind her. “Be careful what you say. You don’t want any keepers coming and taking control now do ya?”
“They can’t control me.” Ian spotted another giant memroth. “But that’s all I’ll say.”
Jack threw a small rock at Ian along with a hard look.
Nikolina’s mouth fell open, and she stared at him. “What?” But then she and Jack looked at each other, and she went back to pounding harder than usual, almost as if she wanted to drown out her words. “I think I know what you’re trying to say.”
Ian caught sight of two keepers not far off and got back to work. He knew the keepers couldn’t control him—he’d discovered that after his first month here—but he didn’t like watching his friends become puppets. Then he peered at Nikolina. They locked eyes, and she winked. Like Jack, she knew he was innocent. The look on her face told him so. He grinned and nodded at her.
“Why do you think I wanted to meet you?” Swing. Strike.
“What took so long then?” Ian chuckled. “No matter, I’ll keep doing my work like I’m supposed to.” He struck memroth, then used deft fingers to uncover the surface and pry it loose. “Digging memroth”—he pulled it out of the ground—“going to the train with Jack. And so forth. Look at this one.”
Nikolina hefted it. “Nice job. Just keep doing what you’re doing, and you’ll be fine. You’ll be better than fine.” She smiled.
And the way she said it, with that smile, made him believe it.
****
Nikolina hiked away from Jack and Ian after they were done, her chest swelling with promise. She licked her lips with cautious hope.
She was right. He was innocent. Why had she waited so long to meet him? Months had gone by, and she could’ve spent that time getting to know him. Oh well, all they had was time, so she’d get to know him now.
But this was a first for her on Reathran—a reason to believe something might change for her here. Why she automatically jumped to that conclusion, she wasn’t sure. But it had been the same old monotonous life day in and day out for twenty-one years, so this turn of events was spectacular. She had to do her part to help Ian. She had to make sure his unspoken secret stayed hidden. The keepers could never find out about him. What might he be able to do here without being under the control of the keepers? She exhaled deeply while looking heavenward.
Now, after having met Ian, she couldn’t be gladder that she and David would be sharing their mealtime. And if things went well, she’d suggest they share tomorrow as well.
They didn’t eat or need much food, one meal per day on Reathran. Mealtime was all of them together, and it was the only time they could sit amongst each other, keepers included. Besides, of course, their cells at night and in the morning. They could speak of how they were doing, how they were feeling, what kinds of things they struggled with. But, the prisoners were always being listened to, and the keepers could take control any time they wanted, but it never seemed to happen during mealtime. Everyone was too busy enjoying the food, which was always rather bland, but it satisfied the small hunger they had. Nikolina had some faint memories of what food tasted like back on Earth. It was much better there.
How she longed to return to those days.
She kicked a rock in her way. The usual warm, dry wind whistled along the stony terrain she marched across. There wasn’t a flat stretch of ground anywhere, and sometimes, they had to trek around boulders that had rolled down the mountains and hills. Prisoners would be ordered to move those out of the way soon enough, but then another would appear. For some prisoners, the task of keeping the pathways clear of boulders was an all-day job.
She reached the small cell she had to herself and yanked the leather band out of her hair, swishing her head around, letting her hair flow freely. She grabbed her hairbrush and groomed it thoroughly. Every day it would be filled with dust, and once a week, she would get to wash it. For now, she brushed and brushed and pulled it back into a ponytail, then swept the debris off her leather pants.
She picked up her small notepad and pencil off the concrete shelf and plunked down on her bed, using the wall as prop and pulling her knees to her chest. She opened the notepad, tipping her head back against the wall, and closed her eyes.
Evan’s face smiled at her. “I love you,” he whispered, and her eyes flew open, her breath catching. She’d drifted off to sleep for a few minutes, and she dropped her notepad and clutched her arms around her legs, willing her trembling to stop.
She didn’t have a lot of memories, but the ones she did have consisted of Evan—the boyfriend she’d had back on Earth. She’d planned a life with him, a marriage, a family. The memories blurred around the edges, but this time his face appeared so clearly, his smile so contagious, his eyes so bright and full of love. Love for her. Why was he so vivid this time? Maybe because Ian instilled in her a hope she hadn’t had in… too long.
She took a few deep breaths, attempting to push the torturous memories away, and headed to the common area for mealtime. It wasn’t that easy though. Even mealtime reminded her of dinners with Evan…
“Have a seat, my dear.” Evan pulled out the chair at their small table, complete with flickering candles and a rose in a vase. “I’ve got the most delicious meal coming you
r way.” He kissed her on the cheek and disappeared to the kitchen to fetch their dinner, but then the picture faded.
“Nikolina!”
She turned on her heel, having just entered the common room. David motioned her to him. She bit her bottom lip and strolled over. “Is this where we’re sitting?”
“Yeah, let’s get our grub.”
They got their trays of food, which consisted of fried potatoes, a green vegetable of some sort, and a slab of chicken—one of their usual meals. They ate the same things repeatedly here, but at least it was something different than digging for memroth.
“I wanted to ask you something.” David poked a pile of potatoes with his fork and shoveled them into his mouth.
“What’s that?” Nikolina took a bite of chicken and quickly scanned the dining hall, catching sight of Jack and Ian walking in. They picked a table on the other side of the room.
“I been watching you,” David said. “For some time. You know that.”
Nikolina nodded. “Yeah?”
“Well, you’re one of the strongest females here. You do a good job. You always meet your quota—lots of times earlier than others—and then a lot of time you jump in to help others.” David cut a hunk of chicken, and with his fork popped it in his mouth, pausing while he chewed. “Like you did today.”
“I didn’t know you’d noticed so much.” But she had noticed. David had been one of the keepers nearest to her for years and years. She didn’t know how it worked—which keepers watched over which prisoners—but David had been around, close to her, for as long as she could remember.
“I think you’d make a good female keeper. First one ever.” David spoke the words and smiled, his teeth gleaming as best they could despite their yellowing.