"What is that thing?"
"An appendage surgery rig. I borrowed it from Doctor Tedeschi. Mainly, it's used for basic cyberware installations. I was surprised that the good doctor had one on hand."
“Doctor Tedeschi?” I asked.
“The plantation doctor. Big plantation like this, it pays to have one on staff to keep the workers healthy.”
"You know how to use it then?" I asked, looking the rig over.
"Well enough for something as simple as this. The machine does most of the work anyway. All I have to do is load the chip in it and position it over your arm where we'll be installing it."
I nodded and held out my arm. I looked away, not wanting to see the machine do its work. Sometimes, it's better not to know exactly when you're going to be prodded. I stared at the wall, taking in the framed photographs.
Lucas was in each of them, shaking hands with someone or laughing. I didn't recognize any of the other people in the photos, but they all looked to be important.
Then, my eyes fell on a gold-framed certificate of some sort. I looked at it for several long moments and realized it must be a college degree. It was from the Harvard Business School and it had the name Lucas Drezno printed on it in big bold letters.
I heard a pop of compressed air and then my arm was stinging like hell.
"You went to Harvard?" I asked, more to take my mind off the pain than out of any actual curiosity.
"For my graduate degree, yes."
"Wow, that must have been expensive."
"Yes. Very. It was well worth it though, nothing is more important in this world than a good education. Except perhaps, the connections you can make at a historic school such as Harvard."
I rubbed my arm slowly, the pain was fading away just as Lucas had said it would.
Before Zenigra and I left, I asked Lucas if he had any extra blankets lying around. Before I had finished speaking, he spun theatrically and flung open a closet. He pulled out two heavy blankets and handed them to me. Maybe Zenigra was right, he did seem like a stand-up kind of guy.
"Keep that arm safe!" he said and grinned at Zenigra and me as we left.
Chapter 6
Zenigra walked me all the way back to my bunk in the storage closet. I could tell he was happy with the way things had gone with Lucas. He was moving with a bit more confidence in his step and he couldn't seem to stop smiling.
I opened the door to the closet and tossed my new bedding inside. Turning around, I raised a hand to Zenigra.
"Have a good night," I said.
"You too, Sev. Good job tonight."
"I didn't really have to do too much, Zenny." I laughed.
"Still. Good job." He raised a massive hand in a parting gesture and turned, weaving his way back through the maze of bunks. I lost sight of him quickly in the dimly lit dormitory I guessed it was about ten and most everyone was laid up in their bunks. As I was turning back to the entrance of my closet, I caught sight of a man sitting up in his bed, looking directly at me. I stopped turning and squinted a bit. He was on the top of a double bunk, about fifty feet away. As my gaze came into focus, I could make out a closely cropped military style haircut.
Piner.
What the hell did this guy have against me anyway? So I got into the plantation and his son didn't. Better luck tomorrow. I worked the fields hard today and then, did that thing for Lucas. Nobody could tell me I wasn't pulling more than my weight around here.
I thought about calling out to Piner and asking him what the hell he was looking at. Then, I thought about trying to catch up with Zenigra and asking him to set Piner straight for me. Then, I thought about the kind of trouble Zenigra could get into with Lucas if either of us caused a problem.
Still making up excuses huh? Someday your pride is going to get you into trouble.
Zenigra had put his ass on the line to get me in here. I owed it to him to keep my mouth shut and my temper under control.
I continued staring at Piner for a few more moments before completing my turn and entering the closet. The door shut quietly behind me. I kicked off my shoes but kept the rest of my clothes on. I spread my new bedding out and lay down. I pretty much always slept with my clothes on.
It had become a habit when living in that apartment building in Miami. A couple of times a month, someone would get drunk and start a fire in the building. They were usually just trying to get rid of some trash and it was nothing that the sprinklers couldn't handle, but it set off the alarm building wide all the same.
So, it would be the middle of the night, alarms blazing, all the hallways filled with the strobing red fire warning lights, and we were expected to get up and go outside for an hour or two until the Fire Department cleared the building.
I knew of a couple people who could sleep through the alarm, but I never got the chance to try. As soon as the alarm started going off, my mother and father would be out of their room, somehow already dressed, rushing to my bed and pulling me up. I'd complain and tell them it was nothing, that they knew it happened all the time, but they were always so paranoid.
"We live on the 28th floor, son," my father would say.
"What if it's not just a trash fire this time, Seven. Do you think it's a good idea to risk your life like that? I hope you make better decisions at school," my mother would say.
So, it was just easier to sleep in my clothes because there is nothing worse than your parents screaming at you to hurry up and get dressed over the whine of an emergency alarm, in the middle of the night.
When I started sleeping at plantations, I realized pretty fast that while most of the workers were just normal people who would look out for each other, there were always a couple of chummers who were more than happy to relieve you of anything they could get their hands on. I was probably safe from theft in my closet as it would have been hard for anyone to come in there without either stepping on my head or knocking into something on the shelf. But, like my Mother would say, why take chances?
I closed my eyes and scrunched my toes a few times. It felt good to be out of those shoes. When I first left Miami, I had trouble sleeping at night. I was so used to the sound our TV had made. It was the kind of white noise that you could focus on to drown out all other thoughts. Like a painkiller for an overactive imagination.
Anytime I had tried to sleep without it, it would always take me forever to get to bed. My mind would race through the day's’ events and past experiences. I'd think about all the embarrassing things that had happened to me in my life and how I would do things differently if I had a chance. I wouldn't have let the bullies make fun of my name. I would have stood up to the popular kids that played Frisbee the first day of school, and then I would be the popular one.
I'd fantasize about Sasha and our alone time together. But, all that would get my heart pounding and just make sleep all the more unattainable.
When I started working the plantations, I'd stopped missing the white noise of my parents’ TV. Sleep came quickly and deeply. My thoughts washed away in a tide of exhaustion.
Dimly, I hoped I woke up earlier than I had the previous morning. It would be nice to take a shower. It had been a few days, even before I'd gotten to the plantation. I'd planned to take one after dinner, but that thing with Zenigra and Lucas had made that impossible. Maybe I should go take one now, the water was sure to be on and might even be hot.
The much stronger urge to just keep my eyes closed pushed that thought from my mind, and I drifted off to sleep soon after.
*
Thankfully, I woke up early enough the next morning to take a shower. I stuffed my bedding into the corner so it wouldn't get trampled as workers came into the closet to get their equipment, and then I left the room.
I had to walk around the edge of the dormitory for a while before I found the shower room. It was large. The whole room was done up in blue tiles, including the wall and ceiling. The only breaks in the tiling were the drains in the floor, the shower heads, and controls spaced alon
g the wall at even three-foot intervals.
I kicked my shoes and socks off at the edge of the door, pulled off my shirt, pants, and boxers, and left the whole lot in a pile by the door. A few early risers were already here. Two men and a woman. After staying at my first Plantation, I had quickly gotten over my anxiety of showering with other people, especially women.
Almost all of the Plantation shower rooms I had seen or used had been unisex. Some of the plantations I'd been to had times in the morning and at night set aside for men and women to shower separately. But, of those plantations, only one that I'd been to actually enforced the rule.
I picked a shower a few feet away from my clothing, so I could keep an eye on it. I turned the controls all the way up, hoping to let the water burn the grogginess from my body. It came out lukewarm.
The pressure was good though, you could always rely on that at a plantation. People would deal with lukewarm, even cold water, but it had to come out hard enough to wash away even the most ingrained dirt.
The water slammed into me with enough force that I had to avert my face from the jets. I ducked my head under the stream of water and ran my fingers through my hair, dislodging some of the accumulated dirt. I didn't have any soap, but I'd gotten used to that as well. Looking down, I watched the sweat and grime filled water stream from my body. I wished my problems could wash away so easily and permanently.
I thought about my parents. About how it was my fault they were dead. If they had just let me die instead of signing our lives over to Skywatch, they would be alive right now. Living happily together.
Five minutes later, as clean as I was going to get, I turned the faucet off. Despite the dark turn to my thoughts, I would have liked to stand under the warm jets for a few more minutes. The room was filling up though, and a queue was forming at the door.
Not wanting to give any of the workers more of a reason to dislike me, I trudged back over to my clothes and put them on. I kept my shoes and socks off for the moment and walked back to my closet leaving thoughts of my parents behind me as I went, like wet footprints on a bare concrete floor.
*
When I got back to my closet, there was a line of people waiting to get in and get their equipment. As I waited in line, I stooped down and slid my socks and shoes on. When it was my turn, I grabbed a pitchfork. I also checked to see that my bedding was still there and hadn't been disturbed. Then, I walked out with the crowds to get my assignment for the day.
I stood with a fresh set of people today, didn't recognize any of them from the previous days’ work or my time in the cafeteria. They seemed to have heard about me though, and no one tried to start a conversation the entire day.
Again, I watched as water was distributed to the people around me several times while I was overlooked. Twice I had to call out for it and was given it only reluctantly.
I spent the day working as hard as I had the previous. I did what was expected of me and more. When someone in my group started to falter from fatigue, I picked up the slack. The only thanks or acknowledgment I got for that was a grunt now and then.
Towards the end of the day, I was tired, angry, and feeling somewhat lost. I'd really thought I could win over at least some of the workers by showing them how hard I was willing to work.
Around three in the afternoon, most of the workers were winding down, their minds already on the dinner that would be waiting for them in the cafeteria. But there I was, still crouched down, doing my job packing dirt around freshly planted Switchgrass seeds.
A slight shiver ran through me and I looked up to find Piner standing there, a wheelbarrow rested on its haunches in front of him. I stared at him for a moment, startled, and wondering how long he'd been standing there watching me. I'd been so intent on my task, I hadn't noticed him approach.
"You can work as hard as you want kid, but it won't make any difference. Nobody wants you here." He made a circular motion with his hand pointing around at the other workers. A few of them who had stopped what they were doing to watch the scene gave nods of agreement.
"Obviously somebody does, chum. "
"You got a smart mouth punk. It's gonna get you into trouble one of these days."
I opened my mouth to say something but thought better of it. He had been more than willing to slam me onto a table in the cafeteria the other day. Shuffling right, I moved on down the line of freshly planted seeds, pushing some dirt on top of them and then patting it down. Piner moved along with me, pushing the wheelbarrow in front of him.
"You think you're real special, don't you?" I could feel the gazes of some of the other workers, all watching me. I knew Piner was trying to get me to snap, to go off on him so he would have something to complain about to Jack in hopes of getting me kicked out. Honestly, I was close to not caring. Glancing to my right, I noted a pitchfork, laying in the dirt, well within reach. I could probably grab it and whack Piner in the face before he had time to drop the wheelbarrow and get his hands up to defend himself.
"Real special." Piner continued, "But you ain't nothing. Just some stupid Mexican kid thinks he's better than the rest of us."
I was getting close to snapping. The pressure of my anger continued to build inside of me like a geyser, threatening to explode. The only thing keeping it in check was the knowledge that if I snapped, I'd be giving Piner exactly what he wanted.
"I can't help but notice you're on the road all alone. Did your parents ditch you?"
I swallowed hard. His words stung. They made me want to lash out at him physically or verbally or--
Piner scuffed his foot against the ground causing some dry dirt to rise into the air and get into my eyes and nose. I coughed, brought my hands up to my face to rub my eyes, then continued to work as if nothing happened. A few people behind Piner laughed.
"Too much of a pussy to do anything, huh? I should have known." And with that, he began pushing the wheelbarrow away from me. I worked on for an hour or so more before it was my group's’ turn to stop work and get dinner. We had been one of the first groups out that morning and so we were one of the first ones in.
I walked back into the dormitory, put my equipment back in its place on the shelf of my closet, and headed for the bathroom. I washed my hands and face. Some of the dirt Piner had kicked up into my face still seemed to be stuck in my eyes, and it took me a quarter of an hour to wash it all out.
*
The cafeteria was packed when I got there. I drank a few glasses of water, had a bowl of soup, then left, smuggling out some bread under my shirt. I walked through the lobby and back outside, looking for somewhere I wouldn't be disturbed.
I walked in the same direction as the night before, retracing my footsteps and kicking up much less dust without Zenigra around.
When I got to Lucas' hut, I walked around behind it and sat down. The trees that bordered the plantation about a hundred yards away caught my eye and I looked at them for a while. Their leaves were just in the process of turning for the season and the colors were amazing.
The sun had already set and only a pinkish glow remained on the horizon, just visible above the treeline. I pressed my back against the cool metal of the hut and pulled the bread from under my shirt.
I blew on on the bread until I had gotten off most of the dirt that had settled on it from my clothes. I ate the bread slowly, trying to think about anything besides the humiliating scene with Piner. My body was tired from the way I had been pushing it on the fields the past two days. I finished the remainder of my bread and leaned my head back against the wall of the hut.
As the last blotches of pink faded from view beyond the trees, my eyes drifted closed and I fell asleep.
I awoke sometime later, shivering. It was full night now and there was a chill in the air. It was colder than it had been the night before, and I didn't have my jacket on. I stood up and brushed bread crumbs off my shirt.
I could hear music playing from inside Lucas' hut. As I walked around the edge of the shack, I thought I heard
raised voices from inside. Not willing to let my curiosity get the best of me, I made my way back to the dormitory. There was a crescent moon low in the sky and it provided some light, though I still had to be careful not to trip over anything. As I got closer to the main building, the floodlights started to light my way and I picked up my pace.
I wasn't sure what time it was, so I was extra quiet as I slipped into the dormitory and began weaving my way toward my closet. When I got there, the door was ajar. I pushed it open and immediately noticed that my bedding was missing. All of it.
Piner. It had to have been him. That guy just wouldn't be satisfied until he pushed me over the edge. If he thought he was going to get away with this, he was in for a serious surprise. I was already cold from falling asleep outside, and I started to shiver at the thought of spending the night without blankets on the cold floor.
I stepped out of the closet and started in the direction of Piner's bunk. I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I got there. Maybe punch him in his smug face. Or I could roll him off his bunk onto the floor and gouge him in the eyes, then steal his blankets.
My heart was pounding loudly in my chest and the pounding only grew stronger the closer I got.
As I got closer, I could see he was in it, apparently asleep. The occupant of the bunk below him appeared to be asleep as well. I wondered if Piner was just pretending to be asleep. He could be waiting for the outburst stealing my bedding was sure to bring. I knew if he was prepared for my attack, I didn't stand much of a chance. That didn't matter to me though. One way or another, he was going to need a trip to the hospital.
A few feet from his bunk, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. A shadow, creeping along the wall. I forced myself not to look right away and kept moving toward Piner's bunk. Had Piner gotten someone else involved? Were they both waiting to jump me? The shadow moved further into my vision and without moving my head, I was able to get a better look at it. It looked to be a boy, about my age though a few inches taller. He had unkempt shaggy brown hair and a muscular build. He wore such a strange variety of clothing that I was having trouble picking out individual garments.
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