rue destiny

two

She hadn't cried at all except for the funeral but it felt to her as if she'd been crying ever since. Every day. Every moment. Even after making love to him, a momentary reprieve from the heartache, even then walking back home her body was exhausted from grief. She felt swallowed by the night. She let out a breath and the condensation lingered. It was always winter. She thought of the moment. That single moment, her parents still living in the old neighborhood. Still some semblance of nostalgic life there. Neighbors coming and going. Yards manicured. On that day, she had been absent-mindedly looking out the window, peering up at the tree house where her son Kell had been playing. Her father had constructed it just for him. Then an unseen militant fired a blank into the air. And a moment later, she witnessed Kell falling like a baby bird from his nest. Her child fell to the ground dead. The loud thwack of the blank had startled him and he must have been scrambling to get down, to find her. There was a moment of silence, a slow motion capitulation of this new reality. Just the thought of it sent regret and rage through her.

Why? They'd thought he was mixed, but this was before she'd met Caius. Before she'd started breaking the law. The government had her boy confused with another. Why would they kill a child anyway? Isibel felt herself start to cry but it was still the same silent tears. Still, no emotion would release itself from inside of her. It was a cancer. Losing her child continued to eat away at her until eventually it would kill her from heartache.

At first she'd fought –brought a suit against the government — but fighting the government was futile. Then it became dangerous once Isibel began drawing attention to the government's unjust actions. She couldn't let it go. The officials at first insisted Kell was mixed and that they had been justified firing the blank.

They didn't know she had evidence otherwise. Kell had been DNA tested just a year before to rule out the genetic disorder. She had the map of his genome. Proof he was human. But, that's when the government's new story emerged. History was re-written and it was said that he died during the invasion of the now derelict neighborhood of Sayvil. They claimed the enemy had taken a child's life as fighting broke out in the safe zone.

During the months following Kell's murder Isibel's fury grew stronger until Nole insisted she stop. There would be no justice only more injustice.

She shook her head at the recollection. Her foot broke through a thin layer of ice as she stepped up to the curb and started back towards her neighborhood.

According to Nole there was one way to demonstrate his loyalty to the government. To fight. He'd already served and when the government began threatening them over Isibel's anti-government activities, he re-enlisted. She let go of her fight and that's when she started the affair with Caius. It was a fool hardy rebellion but it was an indulgence and in a different world maybe she would have fallen in love with him.

Isibel inhaled the acrid air, metallic and musty. She'd grown up with it, but still it was noticeable especially in moments like that one. Outside, alone. She felt as if the scent was even stronger in her parent's old neighborhood. It was mixed with the memory of death.

Isibel inhaled the acrid air, metallic and musty.

Her son. That single moment overshadowed everything and always would.

The roads through her parents' old neighborhood were desolate. The approaching darkness was nice, it swallowed the dust and soot from all the years of bombing. It hid the clouds. Still the air was freezing and getting colder. Her feet broke through ice with every step. Wind whipped through the stillness in unexpected gusts. When it hit her face it stung. She looked down across the street at a blown out stretch of land where houses and trees had been destroyed. Sayvil's neighborhood layout was that of a conch shell — a symbol of fertility. She could see the community building, the center of all populated communities. The streets encircled the community building in an increasing spiral. City plans were based on Altman wisdom. Because of their superior intelligence, the Altmen had the unexpected ability to translate ancient beliefs and transcend contemporary intellectual paradigms. They were more sentient than humans and a constant state of metacognition allowed them to bracket out preconceptions and socio-politically bound meanings. Along with the societies paranoia and corruption, there was superstition. The government in their relatively limited capacity to grasp Altman beliefs, borrowed ideas from the them and on faith incorporated them into nearly every aspect of daily life The conch shell, an ancient symbol of fertility influenced the design of this once family-oriented community. Other ancient symbols were also incorporated into other community designs. Altman preparation camps incorporated the Eagle, a warrior symbol into it's community design, architecture, and décor.

Her community Tlaloc was now the only city left. Construction began during her parents' time and it was conceived of with the help of the first generation of Altmen — when their DNA was first engineered for superior intelligence. When they could see into the past and future. The epicenter of Tlaloc was a flattened mountain top. It was originally meant to be a shrine to worship Gods that humans could not understand, Gods based on mathematics and cosmology and purity of thought. Now the plaza was used for public executions of women convicted of moral treason.

The ironic and illogical truth was that despite their superiority Altmen were the underlings in society. When they weren't fighting they did everything in their power to avoid the humans. The government forbid mixing, calling Altmen a separate species. And that was what had killed her son. Kell had been mistaken for a mixed species. He was taken for another child. Children of mixed species were captured and while little was known about their fate, underground forces reported that these children's DNA was tested and those with evidence of Altman genetic make up were sent to training camps. No one knew what happened to mixed species children with dominant human DNA. None were returned to their families as far as Isabel had ever heard.

The ironic and illogical truth was that despite their superiority Altmen were the underlings in society.

When they shot a blank near her son, the police were trying to distract him to capture him. Instead Kell lost his footing and the head trauma from hitting the ground killed him instantly. Her little six-year-old boy fell from the tree like a baby bird. She remembered it in slow motion. His arms flailing and his back arched before he landed on the ground with a dull thud.