Habitat, page 14
part #1 of The End Series
“It was all over me,” she replied.
“Ana, why was coffee on the floor?”
“Because Mrs. Young dropped her cup. You said yourself, Ellis, she dropped her coffee cup.”
“Yes, you’re right. She dropped her coffee cup. Her cup, Ana. That’s all. A cup.” This had to be the explanation she needed to believe the real story. I was on fire now trying to make her see the logic in my story. “Why change clothes for one cup of liquid at most? We don’t know how much coffee was left in her cup. But at most, would one cup require you to change clothes?”
“It…seemed like more than a cup because…my clothes were saturated,” she said, using her hands to show me all the places her clothes were stained. She acted confused and looked away.
“Ana, you said she dropped her cup. The most coffee you could have on your clothes if you had managed to soak all of it on yourself, was one cup. Remember, Mrs. Young sat on the floor. Don’t you suppose she soaked some of the coffee into her own clothes?” She didn’t speak. She was trying to rationalize this fact in her head. I pushed forward. “You would have had less than a cup of liquid on your clothes. Even if they didn’t want you to sit with your clothes soaked, why not allow you to take them home?”
“They…forgot?” She stood now. I had to press her to remember.
“They brought your bike home.” She looked even more dazed.
“Give me a minute to think.” She paced back and forth in a pattern, stopped, looked at me, and opened her mouth, only to close it and pace once more. I could see she was taking this whole matter seriously. She stopped pacing. “Okay. Fact number one, you wouldn’t joke about something this serious. So, that means you believe what you’re saying. Yet, I don’t understand why you would have a completely different version of what happened. How can you confuse blood and coffee?” She held her hands as if she were balancing blood against coffee on a scale. “Fact number two, how can you confuse having a heart attack with someone cutting their wrists. I don’t believe your version of what happened, but…because you do have a different version of the story, something isn’t right.”
She now spoke as if she was voicing the thoughts running through her mind rather than speaking to me.
“I trust you not to make up a cruel lie. Fact—you and I are positive about what we saw. Fact—only one version of her death can be correct. So, if only one of us can be right…” Come on, Ana. “One of us has had some sort of fake memory implanted. I can’t be wrong because the pictures in my mind of Mrs. Young clutching her chest and falling over are so vivid.” She knelt beside me.
“We need concrete proof either your memory or mine is correct. You are so methodical, Ana. You should be a detective,” I said.
“So, we have to find evidence. It’s mind-shattering I wouldn’t remember being covered from head to toe in blood and not remem…”
I jumped up and grabbed Ana by the arm.
“What is it, Ellis?”
“Head to toe,” I said. “We have to go.” I now half-dragged her to a standing position making her stumble because I was pulling faster than her legs could carry her. “Hurry, we have to hurry.”
“What is it?” she said.
“Let’s get back to your house. Say nothing in front of your mom. Hurry,” I said. If the proof still existed, I could convince Ana.
We sped to her house. This time, her mom wasn’t in the yard. We rushed straight to her bedroom. I heard the shower running, so I knew we wouldn’t be disturbed.
“Where are they?” I asked, moving things around on her desk.
“Where are what?” Ana replied.
“Your earrings,” I half shouted.
“A little box in my top drawer…”
Because I was the closest, I opened the drawer, and I flung underthings everywhere.
“Hey,” Ana protested, “I’ll have to clean this mess. Why do you want my earrings?”
“Here, look at it,” I said, dangling one in front of her face.
Ana took it from me. “What’s wrong with my…” She stopped. The silence seemed to run on for minutes. “What is this?” she asked.
“When you left to change, I saw blood on your earring. You must have gotten it from your hands to there. It’s blood, Ana. It’s Mrs. Young’s blood.”
She continued to stare at the earring in her palm. Without speaking, she let herself collapse into a sitting position on the bed, still looking at the jewelry in her hand. She looked from me back to the earring.
“It was on your earring and…”
“Everywhere,” she said.
“Yes,” I responded. I eased down beside her. I didn’t want to break her concentration. She had to be on the verge of the truth.
“Try, Ana. Please, remember. You went to help Mrs. Young and…”
“Blood was everywhere.” She dropped the earring and sobbed.
CHAPTER 14
We have a duty to our own intelligent species to speak out against the Habitat Project and call for the release and repopulation of humans into this new world. Regardless of our part in helping to save the people of Earth, we are not given complete supremacy to direct their lives for our own purposes. We must see they, having a certain degree of evolutionary advancement, are entitled to live as freely as our own race. Let not history see the Atum as a destructive band of warriors combing the galaxy and taking whatever desired. We must allow survivors of Earth’s war to become, once again, her free citizens. We shall live as one people—a veritable, universal melting pot learning from each other and working together to survive as a new race.
—Human Liberation League
May 2033
THE TRUTH
THREE O’CLOCK WOULD never arrive because I needed Bram more than ever. I had no way of contacting him to discuss what happened at the Fountain, and I was nervous. It was hard enough getting Ana to remember what happened, and she was there. I could wait no longer. I didn’t want to lie to Bram anymore. I’d tell him why Ana and I attempted to enter the restricted section of the Archives. He also deserved the truth about what we suspected was happening in Horizon. Technically, I hadn’t broken my promise to Dad about keeping the secret. So far, I’d only told Ana. She already knew and just needed help to remember, so that couldn’t count as telling someone. I cared for Bram, and I didn’t want our relationship to begin with so many lies. If the Archives was empty, we could talk secretly and be undisturbed.
At 2:45, I arrived, hoping he might have come early as well. I passed by Mrs. Croft’s desk expecting her to be hiding another issue of her celebrity magazine, but she wasn’t there. No one was in the Archives. I climbed the stairs and rounded the corner where I first met Bram a week ago. I was different now from then. So little time, yet so much change.
“Hey, you…”
I spun around to see him standing at the same spot where we first collided. He wore dark pants and a black shirt. His clothes always looked new and perfect. I felt a shiver looking at him. This guy was more than cute. In the old world, he would have been one of those celebrities in Mrs. Croft’s magazines. His jet-black hair and piercing ice-blue eyes were gorgeous. He stared at me as he had in the park. How many of my faults did he see? His concentrated gaze made me insecure and yet euphoric because I could fool myself into thinking his lingering smile was more than simple politeness, but instead, desire.
Behind him was the door Ana and I had attempted to enter on the day we met. With Bram’s access to this restricted place, we could find information to explain the strange happenings in Horizon.
“You’re early,” he said. “I wanted to surprise you by being early.” He took my hand in his. “How are you?”
How do I answer that question? The heated sting of oncoming tears told me I had to pull myself together. “Bram, I need to tell you something that’s happened. It’s serious, and we need to be in a place where we can talk in private.”
“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” he asked.
I looked around to be sure this spot was safe for our conversation.
“What is it, Ellis? Are you upset with me?” His smile gave way to concern. He pulled me to a table nestled within the fiction section. “Come and sit. What’s wrong?”
I sat at the large, sturdy wooden table, and he took a seat beside me. We were still hand in hand and sitting so close our knees were touching. Had life not dealt the blow of Mrs. Young’s death, this closeness to Bram might have been exciting. I tried speaking, but the words weren’t there. I tried again, “I…have something to tell you. It’s possible you’ll call me crazy.”
He tried to protest, but I held up my hand to stop his words.
“Please listen. Yesterday, I had to convince someone of the unimaginable. Two days ago, something happened while—no, let me start farther back,” I said. I reorganized my thoughts. I explained how Mr. Hap told me a different memory from the one he’d told me long ago. Next, I told him how Mr. Hap was taken away and put into the hospital. I continued through the whole story with Mrs. Young up to where Ana had regained the actual memory of our ordeal. When I stopped talking, I felt psychologically and emotionally out of breath. He said nothing.
“Please say something because I have no idea what you’re thinking.”
He took a deep breath and swallowed, never looking at me. Why won’t he look at me? It didn’t matter, I’d gone this far and couldn’t stop now. “There is more. The day we met here, Ana and I were breaking into the restricted section hoping to find some proof. I suspect a huge cover-up in our town. It must sound irrational, but there is a reason we are made to forget our memories. My father told me once sometimes bad memories need to be forgotten so we can fill our lives with good memories. The Officials expected Ana and me to forget the memory of Mrs. Young’s death because of the stress and sadness it could add to our lives. But who is dictating which of our memories we must surrender? Who has the authority to decide which memories are unhealthy? The Horizon 5000 lost everything and now are being robbed of more. Mrs. Young and Mr. Hap were right. Someone is controlling us, and I want answers. You have access to the restricted zone, I suppose, because of your career placement. You can help us, Bram. We can work together to discover the truth. We can learn why it’s happening and reveal those truths so we can take back control of our own minds. I have no idea why I was resistant to the suggestions and medicines from the official, but I wonder—have I ever been forced to forget something else? If I have, how will I ever know my true past? What if I’ve been made to forget someone I love? What if I were made to forget…?” I stopped before I said the word ‘you.’ I took a breath. “Bram, how many memories have they stolen from me, you, or anyone? Our paths crossed for a reason. It’s been the best part of my life, and I don’t want someone to have the power to wipe you out of my mind. Please…please tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I…” He put both of his hands over his face and ran them through his hair. He took another deep breath, “Ellis, meeting you has been like finding a lost piece of a puzzle you thought you could never complete. Do you understand what I mean? At last, the puzzle is whole. I never realized something was missing from my life. You are what has been missing.”
As unbelievable as his words sounded, I waited for him to say the word ‘but.’ I took a deep breath and fell forward into his arms. He put his arms around me for a moment. He believes me. Then, he pushed me away, his face was tight, and the muscles of his jaw clenched.
“Ellis, I care for you more than anyone ever in my life.”
Emotions washed over me—I was confused and scared and thrilled. I leaned into him wanting to be kissed; I closed my eyes. We could make everything right. His hands gripped me; this was the moment. I wanted to melt into his embrace, and then, he pushed me away.
I opened my eyes. He bowed his head. Without looking up, he said, “Ellis, I need to tell…” His miniport chimed. He picked it up and read something. “We must go.”
“What? Why?” He stood and took my hand, leading me to the restricted door. He looked around and then slid a card through the security latch; the door opened. He didn’t move for a moment until he stepped back and closed the door. “How do we get outside the building?” He took me by the arm. “We must leave now. Lead the way.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Ellis, we don’t have time to discuss this now. Someone is coming here. You and I must leave this building. Show me the way to get out.”
This wasn’t part of the fairy tale from two minutes ago. I looked at him and knew if we didn’t leave, something awful might happen. I didn’t say another word. This time, I was the one who grabbed him by the arm half dragging him along a path he’d obviously never taken. Why wasn’t he familiar with the Archives? Students were required to visit this place every week for studies. He was lost. I turned an unexpected corner, and he anticipated a different route. We stumbled over each other’s feet. We raced down the stairs into the open vaulted entrance past Mrs. Croft’s desk and straight for the front doors. As we reached them, Mrs. Croft called out; we ignored her. By the time we hit the outdoors, we were running.
“Now you come with me.” He looked around the town. “The Orchard building is this way, right?” I nodded.
We walked at a brisk pace but didn’t run. I tried to ask questions, but he only said we needed to wait until it was safe. I gave in and asked nothing else, but I racked up a hundred additional questions to ask when the time came. Nothing made sense. I tried to imagine any excuse for him not being familiar with Horizon.
We crossed into the neighborhood behind the Orchard building. I was unfamiliar with this neighborhood. I may have trick-or-treated here for Halloween a long time ago, but these were townhouses for single people and adults without children. I couldn’t understand why we came to this part of Horizon, but I trusted Bram.
He slowed his step as we came to a block of narrow, three-story buildings. We walked up the front steps, and again, he pulled from his pocket a card to scan through the door latch. The glass door opened, but he looked around before entering. We walked straight back to an elevator. These were uncommon in Horizon. Most buildings used stairs except the hospital. Bram pressed the button, and the doors opened. We stepped inside, and he pressed the number two. The elevator lifted us in seconds and opened to the second floor. There were two doors opposite one another. We walked to the left, and again Bram swiped the card through a door latch. He turned around and mouthed the words—wait.
“Hello?” he called out. He stopped to listen. “Come inside; it’s okay.”
“Where are we? Is this where you live?” I looked around the room. Things were different from our house. This home was more modern and had odd gadgets and machines. I stopped walking and turned in a circle.
“Come and sit. I’m getting water for us.”
“Bram, what is this place? Is this your house?”
He handed me a glass of water, sat, and paused before starting.
“Ellis, I will answer your questions, but let me tell you a story first.” He paused. I wanted to speak but changed my mind. He began again. “When you were telling me the story of Mrs. Young, what was the thing you were most afraid could happen?”
I paused for a moment. “I…I guess I was afraid you wouldn’t believe me.”
“Right. Now, I want to tell you something you may not believe. Will you keep an open mind?”
“Of course, I will,” I said.
“Good. Please remember one thing while I explain. I lied when I said I cared for you.”
I’m going to be sick.
“It is much more than that,” he quickly added. “I’ve loved you from the first moment I saw you. I can’t explain my feelings. It may not make sense, and it may sound ridiculous, but I love you.”
There was a relief but not entirely. His words thrilled me, however; they were ominous, like an earth-shattering ‘BUT’ would be added onto the end of his sentence, for the second time today. Stop it. I wouldn’t allow this moment to be ruined by thinking everything was too good to be true. I leaned forward into his embrace. His arms wrapped around me. For an instant, I didn’t care about Mr. Hap, Mrs. Young, rules, memories, or anything.
He pulled away from me and cupped the side of my face with his hand. He brushed away a loose strand of my hair and looked so deeply into my eyes, I thought I’d catch fire.
“This moment right now is perfect. We are together and understand each other’s feelings. I don’t want anything to change,” he whispered.
He leaned closer. My heart sped, and my face heated. I closed my eyes. His lips brushed mine lightly, and I hoped he wouldn’t pull away this time. He kissed me again, but more firmly. Desire and agony raged inside me. The third time our lips pressed together, I knew nothing could keep us apart. Our connection was passionate and intense. Nothing else mattered but being with him. His skin was warm, and he smelled like cedar wood and fresh linen. The scratch of his beard stubble felt wild and raw. He held my face and leaned in until our foreheads touched.
“I had to kiss you before we talked because you may never let me near you again,” he said in a hushed tone.
“That’s crazy,” I added, leaning away from him. I tried to understand his meaning.
He moved toward me and caressed my face again. This time, I kissed him with brazen eagerness.
He pulled away. “I don’t want to, but we have to stop. Before I tell you this, please remember I love you. I never want to hurt you, and from this moment forward, I will never lie to you again.”
CHAPTER 15
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
