The Renegade

Chapter 4

 "We are now entering Domus," Audra says, stating the obvious with pride. "Before we take you to meet the Father and Mother, you must undergo a purification process to make sure you don't carry any medical antibodies with you from the outside that could harm our population. We work hard to keep Domus insulated from harmful pollutants outside our doors."

I hardly hear her words as my eyes struggle to take in everything before. Even though we've just driven into an outside section of Domus, blocked off by cement walls, I still struggle to take everything in. We're enclosed in a box, the rest of the dome blocked off from us just in case we carry germs or antibodies or whatever. Given what Luk told me about the plague, I can understand their hesitation to let us in, but still, I hunger to know what's beyond these walls.

The tank pulls to a stop and we get out. Luk helps me to climb down the steps with faltering, flinching steps. There's nothing in the room except for a group of suited men and women who greet us and motion for us to follow them. The first thing I notice is the warmth; the Civilization wasn't icy, but it never felt like this. Balmy, warm, comfortable. The kind of warmth that could make me forget about the Outside.

Audra, the only person who has dared to smile at us, explains, "We're all going through the purification process. Since you're all healthy, there's no need for a medical examination, just the purification. I promise it's completely painless; you'll simply need to remove your clothing and hold still as you're sprayed for thirty seconds with an antiseptic gas. Then, you'll be provided with clean clothing and I'll escort you to the Father and Mother."

We all nod because none of us know what to say; I know I should have questions, but I'm still too shocked by what I saw of the trees and greenery inside Domus to speak. Audra leads us after the men and women who greeted us. They wear outfits of all white, linen pants with clean t-shirts though some of them wear different styles of tops and bottoms. This is so different from the Civilization's amalgamation of wild colors and clothing, and I notice that like Luk, these people don't boast any bizarre piercings, tattoos, or abnormal hair colors. They all look normal, and I wonder how freakish we must appear in contrast--Ryke with his long hair and tattoo sleeves, Hayl's mohawk, Elz's pastel highlights, my purple streaks. Even Luk's eyebrow piercing stands out compared to them.

They lead us down a narrow hallway that's still closed off from the dome and finally to a glass room with mirrors on one side and a nozzle at the top.

"This is the gas chamber," Audra explains. "You must remove all of your clothing besides your undergarments and enter. The chamber is transparent so the purification specialists can ensure that you don't tamper with the process. To show you how harmless it is, I'll go first."

Without any further explanation, Audra strips out of her snowsuit, revealing an outfit of all black, which she also removes. She enters the gas chamber in only her bra and underwear, flashing us a smile before she opens the door and enters, facing the mirror with her hands outstretched. My stomach spins as I watch a mostly clear gas issue from the nozzle that hangs from the ceiling and cover her. She's right; nothing bad happens even though I worried that this was just an easy way to exterminate us. But we're not in the Civilization anymore; maybe Domus doesn't want to kill us.

Orrick, Hayl, Ryke, and Tali go through without problems and then Elz leads Ila in, a guy in white nodding when she requests to go in with the child. He refuses, however, when Luk asks to help me. Finally, I have to take my turn, and Luk has to help me remove my clothing. My shirt is easy enough to remove even though I blush a little when I realize that my emaciated body is exposed to everyone. I almost wish Ryke was here to openly flirt with me and eradicate some of the awkwardness of this sterile procedure. Even more embarrassing, Luk has to help me remove the spandex pants they've given me because of the pain in my leg. My face colors as he pulls the pants down my hips, now narrow and childlike from everything I've been through, and past my wound. I chew on my lip and try not to cry out. Of course, the first time Luk sees me without clothes would be like this--sterile, devoid of meaning, mechanical.