Habitat, page 20
part #1 of The End Series
“Right,” I said, hopeful we might have a future. “Dad, have you seen Ana? I was supposed to meet her here so we could check out some vendors before the fireworks.”
“Yes, before I walked your mother back to her cart, Ana came here. The reason I noticed is she grabbed a chicken leg and her backpack. I thought that was funny.”
“How long ago?” I asked.
“Thirty minutes, I suppose. Why?” he asked.
“No reason, I thought she might be ready to check out everything by now. I’m sure she will be here soon.”
“Well, I’m going to the bathroom. If you aren’t here when I get back, I will know you have gone with Ana. Don’t be late for the fireworks.” He walked away, and I scanned the crowd for my pal. In less than ninety minutes, fireworks would light the sky. Ana and I needed to get to the Archives.
Mrs. Hamilton’s gigantic hat caught my eye.
“Mrs. Hamilton,” I called. “Wait, have you seen Ana?”
“I’m looking for her, too. I wanted to check if she was okay.”
“Is something wrong, Mrs. Hamilton?”
She put her hand on my arm and paused before speaking. “No, cariño. Ana has been a little quiet lately.”
“Don’t worry. When I find her, we’ll come back for the fireworks. We both have been focused on our placements. I’m sure she worried she might not be chosen for the Archives assignment.”
“You are right, Ellis. I hope you both remember how someone else labels you, does not matter.” She cupped my face and smiled. “Have fun,” she said.
I worried Ana had already left without me. She should have waited. I needed to make my way to her house, where I left my bike. We decided it might be easier than going back to my house to get it. I set off taking the long way around the park, hoping no one saw me. I was sure Ana had gone home for her bike and was upset because I was late. If she had to wait long for me at the Archives, someone might have seen her, so I jogged once I was out of sight from the park. I came to her house and saw her bike was gone. She had left already, so I jumped on my bike and pedaled fast. Why did I have on this dress? We had an hour and fifteen minutes until the fireworks. We could still make this happen.
I crossed through town, now deserted, and turned toward the building. We didn’t expect to be separated when we came, so I didn’t know which door she had planned on using. I rode casually by the front of the building and saw no sign of her. After checking every entrance, I got nervous. I ditched my bike and walked to each one. I knocked hoping that if she was inside, she might hear me. There was no answer. I had no choice but to ride back to the park and hope our paths crossed. After making one more spin around the Archives, I rode back through town and around to the park. I was nearly to our spot before I realized I’d need an explanation of why I now had my bike. No one was there. In fact, our spot was missing. Our chairs and blankets, along with our food, was gone. Even Mrs. Hamilton’s picnic things were missing. No one ever missed the fireworks. Why did they leave? The sun was glowing with reds and oranges. I needed to find out why everyone left. As I rode past the lower end of the lake, I noticed how the sun reflected on the water. If this was a habitat, at least they wanted it to be beautiful for us.
I pedaled home not knowing the end of this day would bring the beginning of something far worse than I ever imagined.
CHAPTER 20
“I’m scared…I want Momma and Daddy. They scare me. The doctor talks funny. A woman tells me to breathe. She is rubbing my head. I’m gonna be brand new. She says when I wake up, I can have some of my brother’s Halloween candy. I don’t know where I am. Where’s Momma and Little Jerry? Everything is white. I’m freezing.”
(The patient starts to whine and cry.)
“She gives me a drink. It tastes good. I’m so sleepy. Something is wrong with my mouth.”
(The patient struggles as if her mouth is forced shut; after two minutes, the patient relaxes.)
“I want to go home. She tells me to shut my eyes, and when I wake up, Momma will be here. They make me smell something. They tell me don’t be scared. I close my eyes and I ain’t scared no more.”
—Ana Gracia Hamilton
Sleep Therapy Session Transcript
July 17, 2052
ANA
I COASTED INTO my driveway crowded with official cars. I jumped from my bike while it still rolled forward, not quite losing my balance.
“What is this?” I said, brushing my hair out of my eyes. My father, along with officials and Inspector Ryder, walked toward me.
“What is it?” I repeated, this time to the officials.
“Ellis,” began my father, “Ana…” he stopped and braced my arms with his hands.
“What?” I asked.
“She’s missing,” my dad said.
Silence. “What do you mean she’s missing? She must still be at the park. Check there or at the Archives. Maybe she forgot something and had to—” I stopped, catching sight of Ana’s bike in the back of an official’s car. It looked odd. I broke away from my father and took several steps toward the twisted pile of metal. “Why do they have her bike? What happened to her bike?” I said, turning to redirect my question to an official. “What have you done? Why does it look like that?
“Let’s go inside, Ellis,” said the inspector. My father took my hand in his, and I followed as if in a dream, still looking at her bike as I was led away. No one ever disappeared in Horizon. This didn’t happen; it wasn’t possible.
“She can’t be missing.”
“When did you last see Ana?” asked Inspector Ryder.
“At The Celebration, we had lunch and then received our placements. Come on, she is somewhere, lost in the crowd. We are meeting there to watch the fireworks together. She is probably wondering where I am.”
“Did you ask her to come here?”
“Here, to my house? No, why would I do that? It makes no sense. We’ve been at the park today,” I said.
“You are lying,” my mother spit out. “She said you told her to come and borrow the new brown dress I gave you for your birthday.”
I stared mouth open, taken by surprise at my mother’s angry tone. “That’s ridiculous,” I said. “That’s crazy. It’s ugly and not even her size. You must be the liar!”
My mother flinched, appearing seized with hatred.
Inspector Ryder asked, “Where have you been?”
“I’ve been—”
“Does Ana have a boyfriend?” asked another officer.
“What? No. What is this? Where did you find her bike?” I sensed a wave of heat spread across my face. “There is no boyfriend. This is…”
“Have you and Ana been arguing?” asked Inspector Ryder.
“What? This is ridiculous. I have to go to Mrs. Hamilton.”
“Officials had to take Ana’s mother to the hospital,” Dad said. “This incident has affected her tremendously. She is being given something to ease her condition.”
The sound of a crash, coming from my bedroom, broke into our conversation. I raced to see officials holding pieces of a glass frame that held my favorite picture of Dad and me.
“What are you doing?” I screamed at them.
“We are gathering clues,” said the official.
“Clues to what?” I shouted. I snatched the picture from the hands of the idiot official, obviously, the one who destroyed it.
“You think I know something, but you’re wasting time. This is insane. What if she fell off her bike and hit her head? She could be hurt and wandering around somewhere in town. This is useless—she isn’t here. You’re being stupid!”
“Be quiet this instant,” bellowed my mother. “How dare you raise your voice to an official? You will apologize at once for your disrespect and anger.”
I spun around, dumbfounded she would side with the imbeciles who wrecked my room and believed me capable of hurting Ana. I walked toward this stranger who raised me, and she returned a venomous gaze.
I broke the deafening silence. “You are correct, Mother. I spoke in anger, something I know well because it’s the only way you’ve ever talked to me. Why are you such a hateful witch?”
She lunged forward. “You ungrateful orphan,” she screeched. The blow to my face from her hand knocked the wind out of me. The emotional sting was far greater than the physical pain.
“Get out of this house, I don’t want to look at you,” said my mother.
“I’m leaving,” I said to my father. “I’m finding Ana, and if you love me, you won’t try to stop me.” He took a step toward forward with his hands outreached, but my mother stopped him with a pull on his shoulder and a look he comprehended.
“Let her go,” she said to him. I shoved my way past the crowd gathered in the room because I refused to let any of them see me cry. I barreled through the door and swung it closed as hard as I could. That gesture would show I intended to shut her out of my life forever. I turned back to savor the moment, but the door slammed so hard it snapped back open. The flesh on my arms tingled with raised bumps. Stupid door—it meant nothing. I could live with having only one parent, and that is exactly what I intended to do.
CHAPTER 21
Dr. C. Adler: Four, three, two, one. (Pause) Describe your mother.
Ellis Bauer: She’s incapable of love. (Pause)
Dr. C. Adler: Your mother loves you. Tell me your feelings
about her.
Ellis Bauer: Most of the time, I don’t believe she loves me. It’s almost as if she only pretends to care. (Pause)
Dr. C. Adler: Your mother performs many loving acts for you. She adopted you as an orphaned baby of The End. She raised you as her daughter.
Ellis Bauer: She provides me with the necessities, but that doesn’t mean she loves me. You care for my happiness, and you listen. I think that makes you more of a mother. I trust you, and that is the closest thing I have had to a mother-daughter relationship.
—Ellis Bauer, patient
Attempted Memory Reconstruction Transcript
May 2050
SANCTUARY
I PEDALED WITH a fury, either running from something or to something, I had no idea, but I knew I needed a safe place. The anger at my father, because he didn’t defend me to my mother, welled up. He had never taken her side before today. Although I told him not to follow me, I needed a person to listen and help.
I turned toward the Orchard building. The only person left in my life I could depend on was Dr. Adler. She could help me now. I didn’t see her at The Celebration, so I hoped she might be in her office. She always had the answers, so I planned to tell her everything. My mistake was keeping Mrs. Young and Bram a secret from her. How did I expect her to help me with these last two weeks if I didn’t confide in her? I was stupid to have hidden the truth; she cared for me more than my own mother. If Bram was telling me the truth, I might be putting her life in danger. If aliens don’t exist, she could have me committed. I hoped she believed me because I didn’t know if I’d survive another heartbreak today. And I definitely could not lose another person I loved.
I slammed into the bike rack, almost flying over the handlebars, and sprinted up the front steps. No one was in the lobby, and I was glad because surely I looked crazed. If the doctor wasn’t here, I wouldn’t know where to find her. I didn’t bother to knock at her door but threw it open instead. I startled her as she was tapping on her miniport.
“Please,” I began, “I need your help.” By this time, I choked with breathlessness.
She rushed toward me and held out her hand. I ignored it and wrapped my arms around her instead.
“Sit, Ellis,” she said after a moment. She led me to the patient’s sofa, but instead of returning to her chair, she walked to the door I had entered and locked it. She made her way back and sat with me on the sofa. “Tell me everything.”
“I don’t know where to begin. There is so much I should’ve told you,” I said. She reached over to move a piece of hair hanging in my eyes.
“Calm yourself; you are safe here. Let me get you a cup of tea.”
“No.” My breathing was slowing to a more normal pace. Sitting beside her, I smelled the fragrance of lavender mixed with gardenia, and I did feel calmer. “Ana is missing. Officials were at my house. They are convinced I know where she is, but I don’t. She may be in danger, and I must find her. Please help me.”
“Why do you believe she’s in danger?” she asked calmly. Too calmly. Was she putting on her therapist’s hat for me? Why wasn’t she alarmed Ana was missing? I told myself to shut up. I was losing a grip on what little sanity I had left.
“They couldn’t find her, but they found her bike behind the lake in the woods. The metal was twisted. She should have met up with me at The Beginning Celebration, but she didn’t.”
“The officials should have no reason to suspect you could harm your best friend.”
“I don’t think they believe I did,” I said. “Ana may have done something forbidden, and they believe I know it.”
“Ellis, you are upset, and I’m having trouble understanding what has happened. Tell me everything.”
My story began. She was the person I believed could help me, so I held nothing back. It all came out in a great flood. First, I talked about Mr. Hap and his forgotten memories, then Mrs. Young and how the officials had convinced everyone to forget the suicide. I told how I had met Bram when Ana and I were attempting to enter the restricted zone at the Archives. I told her his story about aliens and the Habitat. I confessed to her our plan to go back during The Celebration for evidence. Finally, I told her I suspected Ana found something and hid it in my house. When I finished, I had purged every secret I carried. They were now out in the open, even if only to one person.
I took a deep breath as if I had just run a marathon. I looked at Dr. Adler, expecting her to be staring at me as if I had gone insane; her gaze had not changed. She didn’t have the slightest look of surprise.
“Why aren’t you shocked? I promise it’s the truth,” I said, looking for signs she understood the magnitude of what was happening. “I’m not making this up,” I added.
“Ellis, you have to get yourself together, they may come for you.”
The sound of The Celebration fireworks caused me to jump. “Who…who is coming for me?”
There was a violent knocking at her inside door. I jumped. “Shh,” she whispered.
“Mom, let me in,” yelled the voice. The knocking became frantic now. “Mom!” It was Bram’s voice, but that was impossible. Why would he be…
Dr. Adler unbolted the door. Bram rushed in and grabbed her by both arms. “Something is wrong at Ell…” He turned and saw me. He released her and came to me. “Ellis, are you okay? I was so worried.” He took me in his arms, but I pushed him away.
“What…Mom…your mom?” I couldn’t grasp what I heard. I fought his embrace and yelled out, “What is this?”
Dr. Adler came behind him and spun him around to her. “Listen, we have little time.”
I lost my composure. Hot tears flowed; I slumped back into the sofa. I didn’t think I could survive this. Panic and shock tried to take over my body. I shook uncontrollably.
“They will be here soon, Bram. You must leave and take Ellis with you. Her life is in danger. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Banging on the office door caused us to freeze, and my dad’s voice shouted, “Claire! Hurry, let me in!”
Dr. Adler ran to the door and threw it open.
“Ellis,” yelled Dad as he rushed in. “We have to leave now.” Without another word, he grabbed me by one arm and pulled me.
“Dad, what is hap…”
“Alex, wait,” said Dr. Adler, who had re-locked the office door. “We have to follow the plan. We can’t back out now. What if we…”
“There’s no time, Claire. Give me your keys…”
“Open the door!” My father put his hand over my mouth. He then motioned for me to be quiet.
We crept toward the other door in Dr. Adler’s office. The person continued pounding, and then the door exploded inward. Inspector Ryder burst into the room. He raised a weapon and pointed it at us. My dad jumped to shield me. “Stop! I’ll take that, Dr. Bauer,” said the inspector, reaching for the brown satchel my dad had in his hands. The inspector grabbed the bag. Sound exploded and light streaked through the room. The inspector fell backward into a bookcase. More sound tore through the room as his own weapon discharged just before he hit the floor. I was shoved forward and fell into a side table. The ringing in my ears was as loud as the sound itself. I could hear nothing else. Inspector Ryder lay twisted and still just inches from me. Something pooled beneath him. He had dropped the bag that I now reached for in my stupor. A shriek shattered my deafness and jarred my senses. I turned. Dr. Adler was kneeling over my father.
She was pulling at him and crying. “Alex…no, no, don’t go. Please, no!”
“Dad!” I screamed. “Daddy!” I scrambled on my hands and knees from the body of the official to where my father lay. He, too, lay in a pool of blue liquid soaking the white shirt I gave him for Father’s Day.
“Ellis,” he struggled to say, “Trust Claire.” He lifted his hand to my face. Dr. Adler held his other hand. “I love you so much…you have meant everything in the world to me. I’m sor…sorry I’ve put you in danger. Don’t be angry with your mother. She was trying to save you. Go now. Take the bag, you’ll understand.”
“No, Daddy.” I kissed his forehead. “I love you, and I need you. Please, Daddy, don’t leave me. No! Don’t…” One of my tears fell onto his face and trickled down. I leaned closer. He smiled and closed his eyes. His last breath brushed against my cheek and then—silence and nothing.
A thousand things splintered within me.
“Come away, Ellis,” someone spoke.
Those were the last words I would comprehend during the madness fracturing my life. Darkness began to drown my mind, and I was so grateful to slip away.
