“Jordan. But he’s unconscious. They put him down toward the front cells.”
Yes! Hope surged in Levi’s chest, and he craned in hopes he’d see his friend.
The gaunt woman stepped in front of Levi, blocking his view of Penelope. She reached past the bars and grabbed the sleeve of his jumpsuit. “Come on, Valentine. Let’s you and me share a little love, huh?”
Levi stepped back, pulling his arm out of her grip. “I’m trying to talk to someone here.”
“Natachah just wants a kiss,” Lonn said. “And she won’t shut up ‘til you give in.”
“I let her kiss my hand,” Penelope said, her tone somewhat ashamed.
The people here were worse than Papa Eli had said. “Well, I guess I’ll have to raise my voice, then,” Levi yelled into the woman’s face, “because I’m not touching you!”
Natachah screamed, threw herself on the floor, and began to shake as if having a seizure. She must have been faking it, but it sure looked real. Levi backed away from the bars and sat on his bed. Two guards ran down the corridor to the woman’s cell.
“Give us a break, Natachah, will you?” one of them said as he opened the door. “You’ll never get out of here if you keep this up.”
The second guard secured Natachah’s hands behind her back while the first held a white tube to her lips. Natachah pursed her lips around it and sucked in the longest breath Levi had ever seen. When the enforcer removed the tube, Natachah exhaled a plume of white smoke, blowing it out in a long stream, her face frozen like a skeleton’s.
“Sleep it off, Natachah, huh?” the guard said, grabbing her by the arms.
The guards helped Natachah onto her bed, removed the handcuffs, and left her cell.
“You just think about giving her a little peck when she wakes up,” one guard said to Levi. “Or she’ll just start in with you again and none of you will get any sleep.”
The guards left the cell and walked back the way they’d come.
Levi jumped up. “Hey!” he yelled after them. “I have some questions!”
The guards ignored him.
“Levi!” Penelope still stood at the bars on the side of her cell.
Levi knelt at the bars that divided his cell from Natachah’s. “Why you in here, Pen?” he asked, noticing they’d put the same number— 9X —on Penelope’s cheek.
“I got in trouble in science class. We went outside to collect leaves from one of the grassy areas, and while I was looking for a pretty one a boy asked to kiss me, since I was new. I told him no thank you, and he called me a proo dish.”
Levi frowned and double-checked the word. “Do you mean prudish?”
“A prude dish,” Lonn said. “That’s an attractive person who won’t play love games.”
Levi didn’t want to know what kind of love games were played in a school for thirteen-year-olds. It had better not be more than kissing in trees. “What happened, Pen?”
“He wouldn’t leave me alone. And he tried to kiss me anyway. So I kicked him where you taught me and tied him to a tree with his belt.”
“Ha!” Levi slapped his thigh and grinned. “That’s my girl!”
“The teacher saw, though. Said I was unloving and sent me to the assistant educator, who lectured me on hateful behavior, added an X to my number, and put me in here for the day.”
If Levi ever saw that kid or the educator … “That’s you and me, Pen. I guess 9X is the number to be, huh?”
“But, Levi, I don’t want to go back to the school. I want to go home.”
“Me too. And we will soon. Tell me about this boarding school.”
“It’s for all kids under fourteen. We have to live there. They said we can’t see our moms again. Nell is in my dormitory. I hope she’s okay without me. The boys were teasing her too, and I don’t think she’ll fight them off.”
“Tell me everything that happened yesterday, Pen. In the village.”
So Penelope did, starting with the attack on Glenrock: gathering in the meeting hall, the gunfire, the enforcers getting the women’s names, Omar arriving with Jemma. “The enforcer gave Omar a gold envelope. Then they took us to this city and marked us with numbers. Levi, they took my mom somewhere—they have all our mothers. One of the men told me I won’t see Mom until I’m fourteen or pregnant.”
The word pregnant pulled Levi away from dwelling on his idiot brother. “Excuse me? Explain what you mean by pregnant.”
“Exactly what I said, Levi. I’m not dumb. They took the older girls and moms to something they called the Highland Harem, to take turns having babies. Nell said she was going to volunteer to get pregnant so she could see her mom again sooner.”
“No, Pen. No, no, no. You tell Nell to be smart. I’m going to get us out of here, okay? Don’t let these people get to you. You fought today, Pen, and that was great. I’m proud of you. That was Papa Eli’s blood in your veins. You keep on fighting, okay? But be careful too.”
“But I’m scared.”
Penelope’s words—take turns having babies—caused his stomach to lurch. “I know, Pen. I’m scared too.”
“Dog-faced, manure-eating cockroach!”
Levi perked up at the familiar sound of Jordan’s insults. He ran to the bars that separated his cell from Natachah’s. Thankfully, the woman had been let out yesterday, the same day they’d released Penelope. He peered out and watched as enforcers dragged a somewhat limp Jordan through the door of a cell about six away from Levi’s. The enforcers heaved his friend onto the bed and left.
When their footsteps faded, Levi called out. “Jordan!”
Jordan groaned and lifted his head off the mattress. “Levi?”
“Are you okay? What happened to you?”
Jordan blinked twice, squinted at Levi, and screamed “No!” so loudly that Levi crouched and covered his ears.
“What’s the matter with you?” Levi asked. “You want them to come back and sting you again? Shut up!”
“You’re supposed to rescue us, you droppings of a donkey … How’d you end up here?”
“They caught me sneaking into the city through the storm drains.”
Jordan cursed another long, drawn-out, completely illogical phrase.
When he stopped, Levi asked, “What about you? What happened?”
Jordan pushed himself up so he was sitting with his legs dangling off the side of the bed. He rubbed his hands over his face. “They want me to join their people, so I tried to kick some enforcer’s face in. But those electric guns! Hog’s teeth, those things mess me over. By the way, they’ve got Mason up there somewhere. He decided to play along to see what he could learn.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Are you mad? I’m not letting those maggots push me around. They already put their mark on me.” He looked at the back of his right hand. “What does 4X mean?”
“Don’t know about the number, but X means you’re trouble,” Levi said.
“Good. They’ll cover me in Xs for what I’m going to do when I get my hands on that hairy, spike-nosed, vole-loving—”
“There’s no way out of here,” Levi said.
“Can we dig a hole like that Shawshank guy?”
“It’s all cement.”
“The drains then. Rip out that sink and follow the pipes.”
“They’re too small, Jordan.”
“But we could get to the dirt that way and dig a hole.”
“The cameras, Jordan. They’re watching us.”
“Shame what they do these days,” Lonn said from his cell across the way. “They bring outsiders in here, make all kinds of promises, but most people end up dead before the Guild even gets what they want.”
“What do they want out of us?” Levi asked.
“Babies. Uninfected ones if they can get ’em.”
Levi stared at the older man, bewildered. Why did the Safe Landers want their children? And if that was their goal, why were they keeping everyone separated? But before Levi could ask, Jordan jumped of
f his bed and walked to the bars of his cell. “The enforcer said the same. That our women would bear children for this place. Why?”
“Because our people can’t,” Lonn said.
“I don’t give a pile of rotten robin’s eggs about what your people can and can’t do,” Jordan said. “They took my wife. They will not keep her. Or my son.”
“I like your fire, boy, but you’ve gotta be careful. Their so-called liberation ain’t gonna get you what you want.”
“So what will?” Levi asked. “They have my fiancée too.”
“Patience and wit.” Lonn grabbed a scrap of paper and scribbled something on it, then casually tossed the now-crumpled wad toward Levi. Being just as discreet, Levi leaned down and grabbed the missive, quickly reading the words:
If you boys get out of here, go to the Midlands and ask for Bender. When you see Bender, tell him I said, “Rose.”
Levi looked at Lonn and nodded, then turned to Jordan and said in a low voice, “Looks like we have an ally.”
“That’s right,” Lonn said.
“Why should we listen to you?” Jordan asked.
Lonn swept his hair over his head. “Trust me?”
Jordan laughed harshly. “I ain’t trusting none of you maggots.”
“The problem is, we won’t get out of the city unless we find a way out of this cell,” Levi said.
“Getting out might not be as hard as you think. They’ll do something to convince you to comply and play nice,” Lonn said. “It’s how they operate.”
Levi couldn’t imagine anything convincing him to comply with these maniacs, unless it involved Jemma. He might be able to play the game for a little while, to keep Jemma safe. But if they hurt her in any way, they’d forever regret it.
CHAPTER
17
The redheaded guard, Ewan, escorted Shaylinn and Mia to their cosmetic consultations in a blue luxury car. The Plaza Medical Center was a huge white building several blocks away from the harem. It was six levels high—bigger than the entire village of Glenrock.
Tyra Grant’s office was on the third floor in the Beauty Care Department. As they entered the waiting room, Shaylinn couldn’t stop staring at the silver walls that were covered with pictures of beautiful women. Did they plan to make her look like them?
While Mia went in for her appointment, Shaylinn settled onto a cushy black sofa and tried to settle her nerves by playing with a GlassTop table that recommended a variety of hairstyles and clothing choices “that will make the new you sparkle even more.” She was just starting to relax when she heard Tyra’s voice.
“I really think you’ll do great, Mia,” Tyra said.
“I can’t wait to get everything done,” Mia said.
“Come on in, Shaylinn,” Tyra said, waving Shaylinn to follow.
Tyra’s office took a moment to get used to, due to the light pink walls and Kelly green shelves and accents. Even the glass desk Tyra now sat behind was incredibly shiny and bright. The chair Tyra motioned her to sit in was the most interesting of all: pink and green polka-dots covered every inch.
“Adorable chair, right?” Tyra said. “Shaylinn, you’re going to love living here. The Safe Lands has everything a girl could ever want.”
Shaylinn wanted to believe her, but things were moving so quickly. “I’m not sure I want to have a surgery.” She’d been caught up in the makeovers yesterday, but actually changing what she looked like …
“Oh, Shaylinn! You’re not here to talk about a surgery. Fortune, no!” Tyra chuckled and reached across her desk for a roll of white plastic. “These are just some simple InstaWraps. You seem to have a slow metabolism, and these will burn away the extra fat, tone your muscles, and remove toxins so your body will be healthier too. I’m also going to get you on a special diet so we can keep the weight off. I think you’ll be very pleased with the results.”
Shaylinn didn’t like the sound of the word burn. “Will it hurt?”
“Not at all,” Tyra said. “Stand up.”
Shaylinn slowly pushed back the polka-dotted chair and stood. Tyra grabbed the hem of Shaylinn’s shirt and rolled it up, baring her belly.
Shaylinn gasped. “What are you doing?”
“Showing you how to apply the wrap. Now, these are very advanced and quite expensive, but while you’re in the harem, they’re free.” Tyra pulled off the top layer from the roll of plastic, which left her holding a rectangular sheet about the size of a pillowcase. “This is what you’ll be using. Once you get the backing off, all you have to do is press the moist side against your skin.” Tyra peeled off a plastic layer. “Ready? It’s going to be a little cold.”
Shaylinn nodded and lifted her arms. As the wrap was pressed to her belly, she tensed against the coldness, but it was uncomfortable for only a moment.
Tyra began to smooth it over Shaylinn’s skin. “You can do more than one at a time if you have help. The wraps need to stay smooth against your skin. No wrinkles or bubbles, okay?”
“What do they do?” Shaylinn asked.
“The formula on the wrap absorbs into your skin and speeds up the cells in your body—the fat cells shrink down like you’ve been exercising for a month. Now, I want you to do some other things for me daily. A half hour in the sauna to keep your metabolism going—but if you become pregnant, the saunas will have to stop.” Tyra reached onto her desk and grabbed a few thin cylinders. “These are SkinnySticks —you can use them as little touch-ups on places where you need a little more toning, or, Fortune forbid, in places where there was a bubble in the wrap and the fat didn’t burn completely. Also, drink lots and lots of water. Follow the diet I’m going to give you, and eat smaller meals, and more frequently.”
Tyra quickly wrapped Shaylinn’s arms then fetched what she called a compression jacket. “This will hold the wraps in place while you wear them. They only require twenty minutes, but you can wear them longer. Some women sleep in leg or neck wraps because it’s more comfortable. I’m also going to give you a face mask so you can wrap your chin and neck.”
Shaylinn had to remove her shirt to put on the compression jacket so that the jacket would fit tightly. But she was able to put her shirt on over it—which was a small relief.
“You’ll likely see a major difference in just a few days,” Tyra said. “Especially if you start exercising and eating well.”
Tyra sent Shaylinn home with enough wraps for the next two weeks.
She showed them to Mia on the car ride back to the harem, whispering so Ewan couldn’t hear.
But Mia leaned toward Ewan and practically screamed, “Did you hear that? Shay is finally going to be skinny.” She turned back to Shaylinn. “Just think—if we’d never come here, you would have stayed chubby and plain forever. Now you’re going to look so amazing! I wish they could do implants and acne treatments as quickly as body wraps. I’m so jealous. We have to go out tonight and celebrate. Rand said he’d take me and my friends out anytime. What do you say?”
“Who’s Rand?” Shaylinn asked.
“A piano player I met at the entertainment orientation. He promised to introduce me to some professional dancers. Do you remember that man who waltzed with us? Maroz Zerrik?”
“How could I forget?” Shaylinn had relived that dance over and over.
“Well, Rand plays for Maroz’s show.” Mia grabbed Ewan’s arm. “Ewan, didn’t you say you would take me to meet Rand?”
Ewan looked at Shaylinn and fluffed his cloud of hair. “I said I could.”
Mia squealed. “I’m going to tap Rand right now.” She removed her Wyndo from her jacket pocket. “I keep forgetting that I can talk to anyone with this. Isn’t it amazing?”
“I forgot mine at the harem,” Shaylinn said, running her hands over her belly. Was she getting thinner right now? She couldn’t tell.
“Someone there?” A man’s picture was moving on Mia’s Wyndo screen.
Mia lifted the Wyndo. “Rand! It’s Mia from the harem.”
“Hay-o,
pearly girl. What you doing right now?”
The leer in Rand’s voice made Shaylinn shiver. She listened as Mia made plans to go out to a cab-array, whatever that meant. Shaylinn wasn’t sure how she felt about this Rand guy; but the look on Mia’s face made her wonder if she was worrying over nothing.
By the time Ewan escorted Shaylinn and Mia back to the harem, Jemma, Naomi, and Kendall were eating lunch at the kitchen table in the Blue Diamond Suite.
“Just in time for food!” Naomi said.
Jemma pulled out the chair on her left. “Come sit down, Shay. How was your morning?”
“It was good,” Shaylinn said, thinking she should go remove the wraps to see if she was thinner. “Tyra gave me InstaWraps to help me lose weight.”
“You’re not fat, Shay,” Jemma said. “You’re perfect.”
Sisters were supposed to say things like that. No man had ever told Shaylinn she was pretty, much less thin. In fact, several had told her the opposite, including her own father.
Shaylinn unfolded the approved food list Tyra had given her and scanned it. Fruit was the only match she could find on the table. With a deep breath, she took a wedge of melon and nibbled on it.
“My consultation was more than good,” Mia said. “It was ah-mazing. They’re going to get rid of my acne, and perform a breast enhancement.”
Shaylinn’s eyes bulged. Mia had mentioned implants but not the location.
“What on earth do you need implants for, Mia?” Naomi said. “You’re bigger than me, and I’m pregnant!”
Mia simply rolled her eyes. “Look around you. If you want to get noticed, you need more than nice eyes and a decent figure.” She ate a grape. “And I intend to get noticed. I even have a date for tonight.”
“Like in the Old movies where a boy comes by and gives you flowers?” Naomi asked.
“Sort of. But since boys can’t come to the harem, I’m going out.”
“With who?” Kendall asked.
“His name is Rand, and he plays piano for Maroz Zerrik.”
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