Taken (A Dystopian Novel) (The Taken Trilogy), page 10
“By the way, it’s Russ,” he corrects, extending his hand. “My friends call me Russ.”
*****
After dropping Aubrey off, I go straight into Director Harrington’s office and accept the job. He passes a folder to me with the Wicker Farm city seal stamped on the front. I skim through the papers quickly. Then he leans back in his chair, hands stacked and locked on top of his belly, and a self-satisfied smile fixed on his face. I can almost see him designating a spot on the wall for my picture.
“I’m glad to see that you have made such a wise decision so quickly. May I ask what swayed you?”
“Just a good night’s sleep, sir,” I say when I look up. My deceitful smile mirrors his. He stands and leans over the desk, using his fingers to point out what the different sheets in the packet are.
“Pay incredibly close attention to the ones about your duties. Any violation of the law will result in severe and swift consequences,” he informs me. Like working with Russell, I think to myself, and shift anxiously in my chair.
“Feel free to leave school for the day if you like, but you are to report to the compound first thing tomorrow morning,” he says and then dismisses me. I sit on the steps in the front of the school and spend the class time reading over the documentation, wondering what I have gotten myself into. But I push away my apprehension. This is the way to get out of here….if I am to believe Russell.
In my own world, it would have been a lucrative opportunity, especially for someone like me who was working at a place like Señor Sausage’s. I was just going to have a high school diploma, possibly an Associate’s degree from Wynn Community if I could afford to attend more than just one semester. Now, I would play a role in how the governor interacted with people, maybe even craft his words. There is even an opportunity to attend college courses. I shove the papers back into the folder and remind myself that these rewards are part of the Wicker Farm seduction scheme.
With the rest of my day free, I decide to explore the town to kill time. I drive by a line of shops and grocery stores and parks. None of the stores look active anymore. But unlike the weekend we arrived, Wicker Farm looks like a normal bustling town: friends chatting on a bench, a herd of children being led to a playground, adult in suits walking about sidewalks. It is unsettling. The sight of it all makes me tense as I imagine how easy it might be to accept this as my fate. Every time I blink, I want to re-open my eyes and see everyone fighting against it, but they don’t. I think of the old man, the Resistance sympathizer, and the sense of defeat around him. Would I grow old here?
I drive back to Nora’s house and wait until it’s time to go pick up Aubrey, and when she finds out that I’m meeting up with Sasha, she insists that she come along. She will bring her camera and promises she won’t be a bother. When we get to The Institute, Sasha is waiting outside in a slim-fitting tee shirt and cotton shorts, and her slender, toned frame is more apparent. There are several security officers around, including Brian. His jaw flexes when he sees me. I address him with a quick nod.
“Didn’t realize we were going jogging,” I say when we approach. “I’m not a runner.”
“I hadn’t planned on it, but I have been a little stressed all day.” She gestures past The Institute to the trees, rising high above us like countless masts. “There’s a trail back there. We don’t have to run. I just need to clear my head.”
Brian and the two other officers trail us as the three of us walk behind The Institute. It is a hazy day with a ceiling of silver clouds hanging over us. Aubrey scampers ahead on the worn path. I shout for her to be careful. The asphalt is cracked and crumbling in some places.
“You’re stressed because of Elias?” I ask quietly. She looks behind us.
“Could you guys hang back a little bit?” Sasha requests of the officers. Two of the officers do, but Brian explains rather mechanically, “You are to remain in a view of no more than fifty feet to enable us to maintain your safety.”
“Brian, you can see me just fine. You’re so close, we’re almost sharing shoes,” Sasha says and I snicker. He mumbles inaudibly.
“He’s into you,” I say.
“Brian? I doubt it. He’s not a Native, but we grew up together. We’ve been friends for a long time. I don’t think so.”
I shoot her a skeptical look. “I’m a guy. I know when a guy likes a girl, and he definitely likes you.” We step over an enormous tree root snaking across our path.
“Tell me the secret. How can I tell if a guy likes me?” she asks.
“Can’t. I’d be betraying The Guy Code,” I say with a smile. We move deeper into the woods, and the overgrown brush creates a tunnel of greenery around us. She walks through easily, but because I’m taller, I have to dodge low branches. Ahead of us, Aubrey is crouched, distracted by something. She stands, snaps a picture of us and plunges further into the woods.
“There were protests last night, all around the compound because of Elias’ death,” she says solemnly.
“Yeah, there was one outside our community too. Heard they burned houses.”
“I heard. I’ll miss Elias. It was hard being at work today because I worked pretty closely with him,” she explains in a low voice. “Never thought he was Resistance though.”
“In my experience, people tend to be multi-dimensional. No pun intended.”
Brian clears his throat and speaks loudly, “Sasha, I do not think that you should proceed. Your father will expect you soon for dinner.”
“My father knows that I’m going to be late,” Sasha yells without turning around. She takes my hand and widens the distance between us and the officers. On instinct, my hand closes around hers. I wish I didn’t like it so much.
“Is he always so stiff?” I ask.
“Yes. He takes his job pretty seriously, as he should, but I think he’s trying to impress my father. We needed security so Harrington put him on that path when he was in school, but he wanted to do something else. He’s part of our personal security, but he patrols Wicker Farm when he needs to.”
“What’s outside of Wicker Farm?” I ask.
“The rest of Miranda,” she says with a shrug. “I don’t get out much anymore. Sometimes to Jessup beach, but I haven’t seen other parts in years.”
I laugh, but she remains serious.
“There’s not much to leave for. The Epidemic left a lot of cities in ruin…cleared whole towns. Some parts of the country are the same way. Right now civilization is few and far between. You’re not thinking about doing anything stupid, are you?” Then she looks at me with a questioning stare.
“No, I took the job."
“What?” She stops walking. I hear the security officers’ irregular steps as they stop abruptly too. “Thought you needed a few more days?”
“A good night’s sleep changed my mind,” I say with a shrug, but she doesn’t accept it as easily as Harrington did.
“So it’s just a coincidence that you made the decision the day after Elias was killed? You’re really starting to make me regret recommending you for the position. You’ll get yourself, not to mention me, in serious trouble if this is just some scheme.”
“No, Elias’s death was like a wake-up call.” I swallowed hard and look away. “I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize Aubrey life’s here.” It’s a strange tangle of a lie and a truth.
“Dad knew Elias for years, and I think he is afraid of another mole. He’s about to start cracking down on The Resistance. They’re getting bolder. They forget that he’s letting them live over there. I keep pleading for the regular people who live over there, but The Resistance is overshadowing them,” she says. “I have to go soon, so we should probably talk about Aubrey’s birthday party.”
“It’s totally up to you. My mother didn’t really throw her a lot of parties. One time, I got a group of her friends together, and we all just went to the pizza place down the street when we were at the old house. Another time, we went to the roller skating rink. Last year, I took her to a horse farm and she got to ride one.”
“Sound like pretty great birthdays. I’ve never had one off the compound,” she says.
“I do what I can to make it special for her. She deserves a good life,” I say. “For this one though, I’m not sure what to tell you. Um, I know she likes the color black and, apparently now, pink, and she’s really gotten into music the last few years. She’s really not interested in Celia at all. She hasn’t really made that many friends…”
“Not true!” Sasha says. “She’s a star in the classroom already. Her presentation went really well today.” She summons one of the security officers, and Brian steps forward, and she repeats some of the things I just told her. He jots it down on his notepad.
“Get this to Magda and tell her that all of this needs to be prepared by Sunday,” she instructs. “I’ll have a list of invitees by tomorrow.”
Brian stalks away, and I think he wants to ball up the note and toss it away. We both call for Aubrey, and the three of us walk back to The Institute parking lot. I want to stop by and see Marcus and Chad, but they’re still not allowing any visitors inside.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Sasha says as she steps into the back seat of the town car.
“Should I expect one of these tomorrow?” I ask, referring to the car.
“No, you’ll be driving yourself. Right now your position is probationary,” she says. I smile and wave as the car pulls off. Maybe I’m not giving myself enough credit. I might be able to pull this off. I feel a wave of guilt, but I shake it off. This isn’t personal, I lecture to myself. It is survival and ultimately for escape.
When we pull up to the guard post of Nora’s complex, Aubrey and I are greeted by one officer, and two others are huddled and deeply enthralled by something that I can’t see. After checking my ID and sweeping over the two of us with a keen eye, the security hands my ID back with a flier.
“We had major breach here last night, and we’re asking residents to be really mindful of their neighbors. Someone living here is Resistance.”
“How do you know?” I ask. My tone is even, but my heart is beating fast enough to enter a NASCAR race. He gestures at the flier, and I reluctantly look at the sheet in my hand. On it is a snapshot image. Of me. The moment I hopped back into the gate after leaving Charlie and the others.
8
Paper Pusher
It is from a top angle, but I know it is me. I am wearing the black hoodie, the dark jeans and my Nike sneakers…from the other dimension. They don’t exist here. It is only thing I had on last night that didn’t come from Wicker Farm. I can see the sliver of blue. Thankfully, I don’t have them on now. I hand the sheet to Aubrey before the officer can see that my hand is shaking.
“The cameras only take snapshots, but we’re circulating the photo. Someone will recognize him and we’ll get him. Only a matter of time. Everyone’s on notice, and remember that harboring an enemy can result in severe penalties.” He signaled for the others to open the gate. “You two have a good night.”
As soon as we get inside, I scramble up the stairs and dash into my room. The night before, I had carelessly thrown the hoodie and my jeans on top of my laundry hamper. Now I have to get rid of them, but I gasp loudly when I realize that they aren’t there.
“Looking for these?”
I flinch at the sound of Nora’s voice. I spin around, and she is standing there with my hoodie and jeans, folded in her arms, with my sneakers on top.
“Nora, I can explain…” I stride with wobbly legs toward her.
“We have to burn these now.” She pivots, and I follow her down the stairs in a confused stupor. Aubrey has nearly cleared all the food from her plate. Grilled cheese with tomato soup, her favorite.
“Light a fire,” she says. “There should be matches nearby.”
“Nora, it’s April. It will look strange.” My voice wavers. I walk to the fireplace anyway and chuck a few log pieces in. Lucky for me, she kept some from the winter.
“You haven’t really given us much choice, have you?” She says with insolence. “Light a fire. Hurry up.”
My trembling hand drags the match tip against the box, but it fails to ignite. After several more tries, an annoyed Nora says, “For God’s sake, there’s a butane lighter in the side table drawer. Hurry up.”
I force my feet to move. I never expected Nora to behave so brazenly. I rummage through the drawer and pull the lighter out. I set the logs ablaze, and Nora tosses everything in. The two of us watch in silence as the items lose their shapes and blacken to ash. There’s a tinge of sadness because those where my favorite Nikes.
“Don’t ever put me in this position again, Jackson. This is your one free pass,” she turns to me with her arms folded across her chest. “We need an alibi for the smoke I’m sure everyone is probably staring at right now. Aubrey, dear? Get your camera.”
When Aubrey walks over, Nora says, “Fireplaces can be an important aspect of the home community. The hearth, as it used to be called, was used for many things like cooking, heating and even melting objects down.” She glares at me during the last part.
“Oh, I get it.” Aubrey raises her camera to her face. “People gathered around it to eat and keep warm. Fire kept them alive and they built communities around it.” She snapped a picture. “Thanks Nora.”
“You’re still working on that community paper? Thought it was due today?” I ask.
“It was, but we’re supposed to turn it into a project for Community Day,” says Aubrey as she clears the table. I didn’t even have to tell her to do it.
I try to tell Nora “thank you,” but she is already climbing the staircase. I take a moment at the bottom to compose myself before I go and knock on her door.
“Come in, Jackson,” she calls form behind the closed door. I walk inside. She is sitting on her bed folding laundry.
“I need to apologize, and I don’t want to be dishonest with you, but things are complicated right now.” I shut the door and lean against it. “I’m really sorry.”
“They’re only complicated because you made them that way.” She sets the empty basket on the floor. “When I heard that I would be getting a nine-year-old and a seventeen-year-old, I thought I was lucky enough to have missed the problem ages.”
“Aubrey and I can be out of here tomorrow,” I say.
“And where would you go? The Clave? If I wanted you to leave, would I have suggested burning everything after I found them? Would have been easy to pick up the phone and report you.” Nora adjusts the stacks of fresh clothes and pats a spot on the bed next to her. I walk to the bed and sit.
“I used to know someone just like you,” she says as she fiddles with the ring on her finger and smiles. “I’m from here you know. I was in my late twenties when The Epidemic first hit. I lost all of my family. My parents, my siblings, aunts, uncles. Then, my husband---”
“Nora I’m so sorry,” I instinctively grab her hand and hold it in mine, but she smiles at me, though it is weaker than before. Unlike my mother, Nora is not wearing red lipstick.
“It’s okay. I was in quarantine at what became The Institute when it happened, and by then, I had already accepted that I was alone.
When the disease was in its early stages, the government must’ve been stockpiling food and water, protecting technology, anything that would be needed in case things got worse. And they did. After The Epidemic ended, the place looked like a war zone. Eventually we were given food and water. I was actually living in The Griffin Enclave and conditions there aren’t much different now.
But then they restricted us to Wicker Farm. We weren’t allowed out of the town. No one ever told us why at first. I used to travel a lot before The Epidemic, so imagine my cabin fever!”
“You haven’t left the town in several decades?” I ask incredulously and she shakes her head “no.”
“You know, when the first group of resettlers was brought twenty years ago, I was against it, and I have always been against it. But some of us survivors helped them adjust to life here because the government wasn’t doing much back then. I met a man, Jeremiah, he was from your Earth.”
“He led the first riot,” I say. She nods.
“Fell in love with him. He was one of the people that really started advocating fighting back. I was so torn because I thought they all deserved to go home, but I really cared about him and I was afraid of what would happen. I wanted him to stay. He became so fixated on getting out of here, and he said he would take me with him.
We were warned constantly that any unrest would be dealt with by any means necessary. A different man was in charge then. A scary man, who only cared about his wants, but Jeremiah and the others were not afraid. They had never actually used forced on us before. We in The Clave hatched a plan to storm the government compound and demand that Jeremiah and the others be taken home. We didn’t even have weapons. I begged him not to go. I said the two of us could make a life together and wait for things to get better, but he went anyway. I never even got the chance to tell him that…” She stops and closes her eyes for a second. “Anyway, they were all killed.
I know this seems unfair, Jackson, but you have to think about how your actions affect the people you leave behind. Everything you do will have a consequence and not just for you.”
“I think Jeremiah did the right thing by standing up for what he believed in, Nora,” I counter. She pulls her hand away from me and stands.
“What if they had come looking for you today? Or what if they come tomorrow? Are you saying you don’t care about what happens to me…or Aubrey?”
“Of course, I care---”
“If you care, then stop thinking about just yourself,” she snaps. She starts putting laundry away, and I know that the conversation is over. I walk out of her room without another word. At least, I understand her a little better now. She had only been trying to talk me down off the ledge the past few days and not let me make the same mistakes Jeremiah did, but she has told me things I already know. I am putting her and Aubrey at risk, so I have to be more careful. That is the most I’m willing to promise. I don’t know if I’m willing to die yet, but I will do everything it takes to get me and my sister back home.
