“Ana, you know that’s a sensitive subject.” Jordan’s lips drew into a line.
“I’m just wondering, after all she did back then to protect us, why aren’t they trying to locate her or bring her back?” Ana shrugged.
“It’s because she committed treason, you know this, sweetheart.” Jordan’s face looked a little shiny from sweat. He forced a smile back onto his face. “Come on. We don’t have too many more evenings with you here, we should focus on happier things for now.”
Ana’s muscles had locked up, even after her parents returned to acting pleasant again. Even though her parents looked to have settled back into normal everyday conversation, she felt something was off. Mealtime was always a time for them when as a family they talked about things. The Action had been a rumor for some time, but it hadn’t been a taboo before then. “Is everything all right?”
Jordan and Emily’s eyes met. “Of course, dear. Come on, let’s eat before it gets cold.” Emily patted the table near Varrick and they resumed their meal. Varrick gave Ana a small grin.
Ana managed a smile in kind, and tried to remember, for just a moment, a time when she was Varrick’s age and things were too easy to forget. She returned to her food.
After a few more bites of his dinner, Varrick winced a bit and clutched his arm. Emily’s face got more contorted with worry and she grasped his arm to check it. She then checked his forehead with the back of her hand. “You feeling okay, sweetie?”
Varrick shrugged and mumbled a bit in response.
“What was that?”
“It hurts.”
“Where?”
Varrick frowned and pointed to his midsection. Emily’s face melted to a frown. “Can you eat any more?”
Varrick responded with a quick shake of his head. His face twisted in pain.
“Okay, let’s see if we can get that under control with a med pack.”
Ana worried about her brother. But she knew she had something else to be ready for. As Emily was busy with Varrick and Jordan watched them both, Ana rose slowly from her seat. “Mom, I’m gonna go out for a bit before lights out, okay?”
Emily called out to Ana from the table and their eyes met. “Be careful. You know I’m still responsible for you until you’re paired off.”
Ana sighed. “Mom, it’s fine. There’s nothing to worry about.”
As Ana passed Jordan on her way out, he caught her arm. “Don’t let anyone see you, okay?”
Chapter 2
“Easy. This takes time.”
Ana laughed at Treg’s words. If she were anywhere else other than on her back, looking up at the treetops, she may have thought Treg’s comment was genuine. But she and Treg had done this for a few years already, in the wilderness on the outskirts of Sector 5. As useless as these outings were for Ana’s future career and life, she found it beyond easy to make time for them. She wondered if these sessions were just more of a comfort to Treg or herself, some piece of their childhood they wanted or needed preserved.
The air was filled with the scent of leaves in the early decay of fall. The wind whistled through the foliage overhead, and Ana wished the gusts of air would take with them some of the worry she had about her future. If it wasn’t for the soreness in her belly and her thoughts about her future right then, the scenery would’ve been pretty peaceful.
Treg stood over Ana, his hand outstretched. Their practice area was a large group of trees in the wilderness area at the outskirts of Sector 5. Back on her feet, Ana glanced around and attempted to see which direction the border was. It seemed so easy in the Sector, but the woods were thick enough that it was anyone’s guess where the border really was. Treg cleared his throat and Ana looked back toward him and eyed their weapons. “Glad we can still do this. Can’t tell you how dull Worker Training was. Soon, I’ll be working in some plant and making babies ’til I’m dead.”
“We’ll both be working and raising families.” Treg smirked and shook his head as if their talk about parental lifestyles came from someone else nearby, not either of them. He looked off in thought. “You think we’ll still see each other?”
“Of course, dummy. We’ll still be in the same Sector. It’ll be kinda hard to miss you for long.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Treg muttered.
Ana swallowed the lump in her throat.
Their eyes met again. Ana shrugged. “I don’t know. I hope so.” It was happening so fast, and for them, things were set. Their lives of work and family waited for them in the close distance, delivered to them like a serving of food. But what about those in Lebabolis like the Deviants, who weren’t taken care of the same way? Varrick’s comment about helping the Deviants had Ana thinking about what made some people unworthy and others treated like family members.
Didn’t everyone deserve help? Wasn’t there a better way, where people weren’t just parts that were remolded if they didn’t fit?
Maybe the word about the Outlands wasn’t the truth? Could it be that it wasn’t so much about Products being kept out of the Outlands as it was them being kept in Lebabolis? As bad as it was for some in Lebabolis, was the unknown really better?
Ana folded her arms. “You’re going to the Outlands someday, aren’t you?”
“Oh yeah, at least part of the time. You might be too, you know.”
“Yeah, maybe. You nervous?”
“About what?”
“Everything, you know. Your future, the work assignments, the pairing?” Ana folded her arms and sighed.
Treg steeled his gaze. “Warriors don’t get nervous.”
“Oh don’t give me that.”
Treg’s eyes narrowed a bit, and Ana followed suit. If it were anyone else, Treg would’ve quickly responded next with a sharp verbal response for cutting the person down to size. But Ana’s lips curled up in a playful smirk and that was all it took for Treg to bust out with a chuckle. “You know I can’t keep this up around you.”
Ana took a few playful steps toward Treg. “That’s ’cause I’ve known you from when you were little.” She laughed and patted his arm. “Hey, it’s okay. You remind me of when I didn’t worry about anything.”
“Same here. And yeah, I don’t know exactly what I’ll be doing, but there’s a good chance it’s gonna involve escorts to the Outlands, at some point.”
“How about Nycole?”
“What, you suddenly got blind and deaf on me, Crucinal?”
Nycole, another Warrior Product from Ana and Treg’s age group, had been announced as earning a top slot in Charista’s upper tier security. It was common for the top placing Products in each group and class to get a mention on the MODOSNet updates.
“Oh yeah, I heard something. That she’s better than you.” Ana fought the smile that clutched her face but it was useless.
Treg twirled his staff around, his lips upturned at one side. “Just because she made the top slot in the Warrior Product at school doesn’t mean she’s better.”
Ana’s brow raised. “Sure sounds like it.”
Treg twirled his staff around over his head and swung it in a wide arc back down until one end smashed into the ground in a loud thud. “Ratings are based on each round of training, and you know that. People can have a bad day anytime.”
Ana looked into Treg’s eyes as their smiles faded. “I’m kidding. Besides, I wouldn’t have anyone else doing this training stuff with me.”
Treg looked away. “Training. Is that all this is?” Their eyes locked again, but this time his look was far deeper than the gaze of a concerned trainer. This gaze had a lot of years of feelings behind it, and unspoken words that flew across the few feet of air between them. He leaned on his staff, his own brow raised a bit. Ana felt something stir in her with their shared glance. A feeling settled on her like morning dew, images of a life not under the confines of Lebabolis. Her life with someone who very well could’ve been Treg. Scenes of children, a house, and much more freedom. Dreams were thankfully still possible in Lebabolis, as long a
s they remained dreams. She stayed in the thought for a moment longer, but then shook herself out of it.
Ana’s voice was a little broken when she replied, “You know we can’t do that.”
Treg sighed and glanced at his boots. “Yeah, I know. Another time, another place. Come on, there’s still time left before curfew.” Just like that, the wistfulness in Treg’s eyes was gone, in its place was the slightly weary but still focused Warrior stare Ana had gotten used to from him.
They dropped their staves and went to empty hand fighting. They moved in a circle, and Treg tossed jabs, while Ana responded with her own punches and a few kicks. His moves were fluid. Hers were slower, but compared to when she started, much better. Instead of her awkward jabs and thrusts earlier, she’d gotten smoother.
“You’re looking like some of the Warrior Products in the final days of training,” Treg said.
Ana’s eyes stung with sweat. “Doing what I can.” She huffed as she kept her pace brisk to match Treg’s.
“You’ve always been a fast learner.”
Ana dove to the ground and rolled over before she sprang back up. “What can I say, just kinda feels natural. So what’s with all this training they gave you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, since we’ve been doing this you’ve shown me shooting weapons, fighting, grappling, self-defense. But everywhere I’ve been in Lebabolis is pretty peaceful. I mean, there’s the Deviants and I see Lebabolis Sentries taking care of ’em. But the military and Charista, don’t you ever wonder why they’re so formed up?”
“Eh, I guess. But you know we’ve got the Outlands. The Sentries keep order in country, but there’s always someone outside to watch out for, and it isn’t always who’s in front of you.”
With that, Treg landed a soft blow on Ana’s face. She countered with a jab to Treg’s chin. “And now we’re getting philosophical,” Ana said and chuckled.
“Laugh all you want, but you know it’s true.”
“Maybe so, Warrior Product. Show me that power move you just did again.”
As they reset, Ana said, “My dad said he heard something about Baudricort at Central Depot.”
That stopped Treg cold. His eyes showed a glimmer of wonder for a moment, but a wave of dread washed back over them at the thought of the name Ana dared to speak. “You better not mention that too loud.”
Ana froze and blinked.
“I’m serious, Ana. You know his name’s banned, and even mentioning it isn’t something you should ever do.”
“Treg, come on. It’s really bothering me, and my parents got really quiet about it at dinner, like they’d let a secret slip or something. I had to tell someone, and you’re the only one I completely trust.”
“What did they say?”
“Some people spotted him.”
Treg froze.
“Where?”
“Inside the border, near this Sector.”
Treg looked off and processed the idea that the most wanted fugitive to Lebabolis could be in their very neighborhood. “Any talk about Baudricort is just rumors at this point.”
“You’ve been a Warrior Product graduate for all of about a week, what makes you so sure?”
“I think we’d have seen a pretty sizable unit here to catch him if it were true, don’t you? It’s just talk. People like to tell stories and so far they haven’t gotten us all on the Link, so spoken information isn’t tracked.”
“Right, of course. Look, I know he’s a mystery, and people like to chatter. It doesn’t mean it’s all false though. What do you think about Baudricort, Treg?”
The name again stung Treg like a blow to his gut. He mulled his response for a bit while he grabbed his staff and swung it around his head. “I dunno. He seems like a crazy old man. Maybe with all that access to the data it got too much for him? Seeing that much information about people’s gotta mess with your mind after a while. You know everything. It’s gotta be almost like being a god or something. Maybe he just couldn’t handle it.”
Ana’s mind wasn’t able to grasp any reason for Baudricort’s disappearance that made sense. Maybe he was taken by the Action, if that was for real? “You’d think Charista would’ve suspected something. It would be tough for him to just disappear. I bet Charista and the Coursons knew when it happened pretty quick.”
Treg stomped his boot into the ground in a loud thud that sent a flurry of leaves and twigs up into the air. “Yeah, maybe. But then he could’ve just taken off, too. Maybe he knew what they were planning and left without it.”
“You think that’s true about the Action?”
Treg sent a steely look toward Ana. He shook his head and scoffed in response. He swiveled his battering stick about, and watched the twirling motion, lost in thought. Still focused on his moves, he opted instead for another subject. “How’s Varrick doing?”
Ana watched Treg’s stance. She noticed that she’d mimicked his moves with her own body, without even realizing it. “Well, he’s been getting these fevers lately. Just had another one this evening. Mom’s treating him, but they still keep happening.”
Treg stopped his swivel move and stood up straight, facing Ana. “Fevers, huh? One of the Warrior Products I trained with, a guy named Sendi, came down with something they’re calling the Pox. It was pretty nasty, they had to treat him in some kind of quarantine facility.”
Ana kept an eye on Treg’s midsection and saw the slight shift in his weight. When she thrust her arm up and caught Treg’s arm in a block, she squinted as a barrage of images that popped into her head. Sights of Varrick ill and being pulled around in a hospital bed scared her. She wasn’t going to let that be his life, or hers. She silently pleaded that her mother and father could figure out a way to get him better.
“I hope it’s not that. Besides, kids get sick all the time. Didn’t you have some hives when you were younger?” Ana nudged Treg in the gut. He laughed and swung his hand down to gently push Ana away.
“All right, now. Yeah, I got sick.” Treg flung his arms around. The thick muscles of his biceps and forearms jumped about, and he narrowed his gaze again. Illness was treated quickly in Lebabolis, but there was no speed to this cure for Varrick.
“The big, bad Warrior got something wrong?”
Treg laughed. “All right, now you’re asking for it.”
Ana’s smile changed to a defiant smirk. After a few moments it was back on. Her face tightened up as Treg’s did. He thrust the stick up and Ana blocked it with her right arm. Ana winced at the sharp soreness where Treg’s stick made contact.
“You have to be able to fight someone who’s overpowering you,” Treg commented. He swiveled the stick more. Ana ducked and weaved. Treg grunted with his attack on Ana, not letting up on her. “Out there, there’s no mercy. In the real fight it’s live or die, not just win or lose.”
“I’m gonna miss these moments, ya know.” Ana stopped, her eyes tinted with sadness.
Treg nodded as well. “Yeah. Me, too.”
A few times, Treg came close to contact with her head. He held back from dealing any serious blows. Any marks on Ana would be suspicious, especially for a Worker Product. It wasn’t typical for assaults to happen without Lebabolis Sentries being involved. And Ana, a Worker Product one week out of training, wouldn’t be in any kind of scuffle at all, except if she were less than eager to leave the only home she’d known to that point.
“Treg, you ever think about just running from this life?” Ana clutched Treg’s arms. He eyed her hand on his bicep, then looked deep into her eyes.
“Sure, would be nice not having to do something I didn’t want to.”
“I’d want Varrick well and with me, though, and you, too.”
Treg glanced on her with warmth. “As if there’s any doubt.”
“How about the others, you hear from Otto and Kado?”
“The Intellectuals of the group? Nah, they’ve been on advanced studies. They’ll be designing systems and replace Baudricort i
n a few years. The Circle is gonna run this country, one day.”
That was the name they had for their friends, Ana, Treg, Norg, Kado, Zengus, and Otto: the Circle. Six friends who grew up in Sector 5 together, and were within a few years of each other. In their early years, they played together, as all Lebabolis children did, regardless of Product. Then, they went their own ways in the division of Lebabolis, Ana with the Workers, Treg, Zengus, and Norg with the Warriors, and Otto and Kado with the Intellectuals. But there remained that connection they had.
Treg glanced back toward the housing units. The light from the sun had turned a deep amber, the dark shadows on the housing unit building had grown long. “Hey, let’s wrap this up before the night security sweep comes.”
Chapter 3
Ana returned to her Housing Unit, 517. She glanced at the Digisign that stood two hundred feet from her residence. The black and steel squared-off pillar rose up twenty feet, and its always-running video screen made it seem like a lighthouse in the early evening. The screen alternated between the Lebabolis national crest and updates about productivity in sectors, and, of course, ration delivery, so Products knew when to head to Central Depot.
Ana heard a familiar voice to her side as she got to the main entrance to her housing complex.
“Out a little late, aren’t we?”
Vega Nyx, Ana’s instructor from Lebabolis Product school, leaned against the wall near the entrance. Vega’s face was framed by her warm smile and a short crop of hair. It was pretty normal for Workers to keep their hair at a shorter length, mostly for safety purposes.
“I was visiting a friend.” Ana looked off to the side for a moment. She didn’t want to look into Vega’s eyes in the hope her omission about her visit with Treg wasn’t obvious.
“It’s okay, I just wanted to see how one of my favorite students was doing.”
“Oh, just fine, I guess. Waiting to hear about my assignment.”
“Yes, of course. I understand a new Valentium plant is coming online. If it were my bet, I’d say that’s where you’ll be.”
On the Brink Page 30