Freeborn

Chapter Three

A group of migrators huddled outside the RMS, which the citizens of Coda knew as: Relocation of Migrator Services. Lucy stood between her two sisters, while Onyx practically sat on her feet, eyeing the people around them. She knew she’d have to keep him close, or some of the starving migrators would start seeing him as potential food.

“Why do you have to wear those dark glasses?” asked Beth, staring up at Lucy. “I can’t see where you’re looking!”

Lucy clamped her hand over her little sister's mouth. “Shh, I don’t want people to become suspicious.”

“Of what?” Beth’s nose wrinkled as she stared innocently.

“Need I explain?” said Lucy, letting her sunglasses slide a half of an inch down the bridge of her nose. She pointed at her eyes, and quickly pushed them back to hide her purple irises.

Beth shrugged. “Cole doesn’t care.”

Lucy couldn’t help but smile. “Well, that’s because Cole is my best friend. He’s known me forever and he didn’t have a choice but to not care.”

Annie butted in. “I think your eyes are cool.”

Sighing, Lucy wrapped her arm around Annie’s shoulders. “Thanks, sis, but unfortunately people judge too quickly, especially strangers. They might think I’m some mutated freak from the diseases. It’s best if this is our little secret, okay?”

“Fiiine,” the girls said simultaneously.

“Plus,” Lucy added, “you’re both almost teenagers, so it’s time to act like one.”

Beth stuck out her tongue, sticking her finger in her mouth, pretending to gag.

“Oh stop,” said Lucy. “It’s not that bad.”

A thin man with wispy white hair stepped out from the RMS building with a roll of red tickets clutched in his hands.

“Alright, we’ll be going by the number of members in your group,” he said. “Gonna be starting with five! If you have more than five members in your group, the family will be divided and migrated at a later date. There will be no exceptions. Rules are rules. Let’s begin.”

Beth tugged on Lucy’s arm. “He won’t count Onyx, right?”

“We’re only four, anyway,” answered Lucy, patting the top of Onyx’s head. His long tongue caught her wrist.

A migration coordinator called out, “The Anslow family, step forward.”

Lucy recognized the family who lived two doors down from her. They had taken refuge in an old bookstore two years prior. Their eldest son was only eight years old, a daughter who was six, and the youngest was a four year old boy. The mother had three miscarriages since living next to them, according to Beth who knows the son. Lucy figured people would stop trying so hard to have a large family, food was scarce and disease had come and go as it pleased.

“Roland!” Beth called out to the younger boy. He turned to look back at her, lifting his arm to wave, but his mother dragged him forward to the front of the crowd. Beth frowned. “He’s gonna forget about me.”

Lucy kneeled, becoming eye level with her shorter sister. “Don’t worry. We’re going to the same city as him. I’m sure you two will become friends, again. Let’s focus on the travel.”

She nodded silent and sat on the ground cross legged.

They waited for another twenty minutes until their last name was called. Lucy looked over her shoulder as she made her way through the crowd, making sure Beth, Annie, and Onyx followed from behind. People gawked at the ebony dog, pointing and whispering to one another. He casually made his way through the thicket of strangers with his ears slicked back.