Always Greener

Valentine

Her name is Valentina. Valentine's day. That old holiday, with hearts and chocolates, and, I'm told, so many many people. That was before the plague. Later, she told told me she picked that name long before leaving the House. She repeated it, again and again, to herself, so she wouldn't ever forget.

Valentina isn't hearts with candy in them. Valentina is a heart ripped, still-beating, from a man's chest, held aloft in the air and crushed like an over-ripe fruit. She's like violence personified. But she's still good. She's still mine.

She stood on the grass still when I woke up. I only passed out for about a minute, but the pain of hunger woke me. I was just in time to see the crew of that yellow bus emerge. They wore strange clothes. There were two boys and three girls. Some were older, some younger. I'd never seen a person smaller than I was, or any boy, at any age. Only adult men were guards at the House, but they didn't really count as human boys to me.

They came off the bus through a door in the side; the small smiling boy and his stocky, pale friend. Another girl, as large as Valentina, with only one muscled arm. A little girl with poofy hair, a real child. And a soft, light-brown girl with two long braids and the largest gun I'd ever seen.

They looked at Valentina, and Valentina stared back. I scrambled around in the shed, backing into a box of tools and using it to prop myself up. I grabbed an old weed whacker and used it as a leaning stick. The whole yard was covered in lumpy bodies, and I had to step over them.

My first instinct was seriously to hide myself behind Valentina. Wouldn't yours be, if she was your only possible friend in the whole world? I hobbled for her, peering around her side to see.

First, the stocky boy moved towards us, holding his hands up like an animal trainer. "Are you former captives? Did you escape just now? We escaped too. Do you know about people like us?"

"Someone told me about this; about people like you, about the system of the world. I had some informants while at my House." Valentina gestured to me. "This one doesn't know yet, I only just decided to take her with me."

"Do you have names?"

"I do. I'm Valentina. She hasn't picked one yet."

Well, that was probably when I realized having a name would actually be cool. I'd have a little noise to call mine, and everyone would know me by it!

The boy nodded. "Let me introduce you! I'm Eleinomae, Elei for short. I had a likelihood for a lot of genetic disease, so that's why I'm here. They kept checking my blood at my House."

I still didn't understand of course, but I could see in Valentina's eyes that she did. She had green eyes, like the leaves... She gave Elei a nod to continue, and I noticed she relaxed a bit too.

"This," he gestured to the shorter, happier-looking boy next to him, "Is Samsara. We're from the same House, and we both also have what they're calling the Roman Gene."

Samsara shrugged. "it's not a very big deal. Lots of children that get sent away do, besides their other ills. Elei and I make the best of it." His almond-shaped eyes crinkled as he smiled again. "You can call me Sam."

They were holding hands, which I definitely understand now, but had me pretty confused then. Being so isolated left me not understanding romance, I guess.

The one-armed girl looked over. She had a really hard face. "I'm Trang. I was born without my left arm, so they sent me right to a House when I turned five."

Finally went the girl with the gun. "My name is Seraph, and this is Mercy. She is mute, and cannot talk. I'm still not quite sure what's wrong with me. I was never told. I think it has something to do with how bad I am in social situations. I'm better with machines. Now, let's hear the newcomer."

I felt left out. I wished I had a name right then to share.

Valentina shook her head. "Like you need to know me yet. You won't want me in your group. Worry about feeding my friend for now. Why don't you tell her how the world got this way?"

She was so blunt and bitter-sounding, but for some reason, the way she said those things made me feel protected. She's kind, don't you see?

Eleinomae looked a bit wounded. "Well, okay..." He trailed off, watching as Valentina stalked away. "Anyway... Will you come in?"

Sam gestured to the bus. "This is our only for of transport. We pick up supplies using it, so there's food inside for you."

Seraph went up the steps first, sticking her gun in the diver's seat like it was a person. Mercy clung to her leg. Trang went through a box on one of the seats, her single arm churning through supplies like a steam-shovel.

Samsara sat down on an empty seat, motioning for me to sit by him. My legs stuck to the seat. He did that little smile again, which felt nice. "So, how long ago did you get out?"

It took me a while to gather myself. I was really stressed, and the words kept sliding back when I reached for them. "Only last night." I finally told him. "I feel lost. Will you tell me what's going on?"

He nodded, only his smile looked sad for a second. "I will. Do you know much science?"

I didn't answer. I didn't know that word, so I didn't want to embarrass myself.

"Well, there are a lot of laws in science, about the world. This world used to be filled with lots of people. There's a science law that says the earth can only take care of a certain amount of people, but until a while ago, people could only guess how many. 

"The limit came when 10 billion people lived here. A wave of bacteria and parasites killed almost everyone on earth. It destroyed the population in this country, which used to be called America. The new government had to act. There were limited resources and people, and the people in charge had to think of a strategy. They needed only the best people to make more people, so they would have a better shot at rebuilding the population. They needed people to work too.

"So... They tried to get everyone to go into the cities. A town like this might have had a thousand people once, and now there are only those who were too sick to go, and people who refused."

"But why were we taken away?" I asked. Honestly, I wouldn't be recording all this. I don't remember every conversation word for word. It's probably not useful to you from memory...

"We were the workers. Weak ones, those who would refuse or wouldn't be able to reproduce. Those with disabilities, or mental conditions that could be diagnosed early. They start testing when a child turns five, and if they find something, they send you to a House, with all the unwanted children your age. They drug you pretty heavily afterwards, so you aren't supposed to remember your life before. They take you away, and bring you back when you turn 18, to work. To be a slave.

"Our lives aren't worth anything but work to them. That's just how it is now."

I had parents, in a huge city somewhere. I wasn't sure what was wrong with me yet, why they would need to send me away. I didn't have the energy to be angry though. I was just hungry and sleepy. "How do you know all this stuff?"

"The drugs they used didn't work on me. I remembered what happened for years, and a lot of my life before. Eventually, I told Elei, because out of everyone there, he was the only one I trusted. As you can see, we got out okay."

Trang reached over to hand me some bread with jam. "We survive, and we kill whoever comes for us. You've escaped too. They always shoot to kill."