"Cale... I'm sorry." I mumbled. We'd been driving for at least an hour now. Cars continued to zip by as we weaved in and out of traffic. It was truly fascinating seeing a car this close up. Several years ago when I was newly created, the Community government had deemed them too dangerous for the restored city, and ordered that they all be removed. Everyone that owned a car-though there weren't many people that did- was stripped of the privilege and was given a brand new bicycle instead. I understood now why this was necessary now. They looked extremely dangerous.
Cale grunted in response. He hadn't said more than two words to me since out argument. He only stopped to acknowledge me if I tried to apologize, or to ask if I had any money for the gas station. Of course, I didn't, which made me feel even worse about things. The least I could do is try to help him out.
Suddenly, the truck came to stop. Cale grunted again and pointed his hand forward in the direction of something in the distance.
"What is it?" I asked. Instead of replying, he inched the car forward and pointed again, this time at a building, faintly in the distance.
The building was the largest I had ever seen.
It towered over any other home or office building that I had become accustomed to seeing since coming to the safe house, and certainly did not resemble anything we had back home. When the truck pulled up to the front of the building, I couldn't believe my eyes. Cale watched in disgust as I marveled at the beauty of it. The tall spires that stacked on top of massive stone columns were simply mesmerizing, as well as the large, iron gates that enclosed the entire structure.
It must have been five stories tall, maybe even more. The architecture of the building resembled a grand castle that I read about in books as a child, though not quite as large, for it was not a wide building. If I had just wandered past the building, I probably wouldn't have thought of it as more than the home of someone very wealthy. Part of me was ecstatic at the idea of getting to go inside this building.
"We're almost there!" I squealed as the truck, which had moved forward again, finally began to roll to a complete stop. The ride was quite bumpy and jerked us around every few minutes. Nevertheless, the technology of the past hadn't ceased to amaze me. I wanted learn so much more about it; not only what it was, but how to use these incredible devices I was rapidly growing accustomed to.
"Really, Perri? You sound ridiculously enthusiastic about this." Cale muttered. It was the first time he replied to me the entire way here.
"Oh, hush. Who knows, maybe it won't be that bad!" I insisted.
"Well, little miss optimism," he huffed, "I wouldn't be so sure about that."
"Why?"
"My parents were taken here on the day they died." He said softly. "How's that for not-so-bad?"
"Oh," I said. My cheeks flushed a deep rosy hue. "I'm sorry. I didn't know-"
"Of course you didn't. You don't seem to know anything, do you?" He snapped
"Look, I get we fought, and I'm sorry. I guess I understand what has gotten into you lately, but it's quite irritating. But I really don't want to go down this road again, so I suggest you shut your mouth and worry about yourself from now on." I replied. "And besides, how do you know how your parents truly died? Clearly you weren't there when it happened."
"Let's put it this way- you're not the only one who's had access to a Retrograde, remember?" He said, gesturing to my pocket. "And-" Before he could open his mouth to continue his answer, an armed guard came over and opened the doors of of the truck for us. "Alright, quit your bantering. We can work this out later, okay? Now, get out and shut up otherwise we'll all be in trouble." Cale whispered. We both hopped out of the truck without another word or glance and walked over to the massive gates. Another guard stood in front of the gates, but let us through without any hesitation after the guard whom came to greet us whispered something to him. Even though we stood right behind him, I couldn't make out what he said.
Beyond the gates stood a large fountain, at least three feet taller than I. It stood in the middle of the cobblestone pathway that was surrounded by four large patches of grass. Each one hosted intricately cut topiaries, all taking the shape of either moons or stars. Circling them was an array of multicolored flowers, all planted to be the same height and follow a specific pattern. The site seemed almost too pleasant to be one associated so closely with death. I could see Cale tense beside me.
"Ew," he said under his breath.
"You're insane if you think this is gross." I whispered back. The both of us followed the guard around the fountain and up to the front of the building. A massive metal door with an intricacy carved 'J' opened as soon as we approached it. The guard stood in front if the entry way, blocking our ability to proceed inside.
"Officers, you may leave." He commanded in the direction of the men. They nodded and started back down the pathways we had just come up. "Now, children, follow me. There's someone you need to meet."
The inside of the building was even more lavish than the exterior.
In the foyer hung a massive chandelier that dripped fat, blinding crystals. Underneath the chandelier was a table that held a vase full of hundreds of scarlet roses. Two grand spiral staircases sat further back, with what appeared to be an elevator in between. With great difficulty, I had to restrain myself from dashing around the place and exploring every nook and cranny.
The guard, without any acknowledgement about the place, lead us around the left corner and into another set of metal doors. This time, there was no lettering carved into them; only a lone, brass knocker embellished the exterior of the door. He stepped forward and knocked three times. The door swung open with no hesitation. Without another word the guard shoved both of us inside. The door slammed behind us immediately, followed by several clicks. An intricate series of locks had been placed on the reverse side of the door, and slid into place as soon as it shut behind us.
The room was a near pitch black. I could barely make out more than Cale's shadowy figure that stood beside me.
"Cale," I said, my voice rising to an unnaturally high octave. "What's going on?"
"Do you think I know?" He replied with the same stroke of fear in his voice.
"Sorry, it's just-" I started but came to a halt as a light flickered on. Another shadow stepped out from the darkness and approached us.
"Ah, children, I'm so delighted that you have arrived safely." They said. More lights flared on. The room, which was practically larger than my entire house, contained no more than a simple, wooden dining table table surrounded by four chairs of the same mahogany complexion. "Do take a seat; make yourself at home." I hesitated for a moment, and turned my head to look at Cale. His face remained utterly placid and unreadable. Except, however, for the slight quiver of his rosy lips that erupted as a result of his teeth gently gnawing on them. His eyes remained straight ahead, focusing on those of the man in front of us.
A light flickered on. I recognized the cold, brown eyes and grey beard of the man in front of us almost immediately.
"I don't know what the hell this sick joke is, but you better start explaining." I demanded. I lurched forward, but Cale's reflexes worked faster than mine. His strong arms were around mine almost instantly, restraining me from advancing any further.
"Perri, just sit down." Cale hissed in my ear. His arms released me and shoved me down into the chair. He didn't make eye contact with me as he neatly pulled his own chair out and took a seat. Rather, his were constantly moving and scanning the man up and down.
"My dear," my head snapped up when he spoked. "I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about." Mayor Johnson replied with a sly smile. "Please, if you would just take a seat-"
"I'm sitting, aren't I?" I said and crossed my arms over my chest.
"Well, miss, if you consider slouching the equivalent of sitting, then I'm afraid we might need a bit of a vocabulary lesson." He chuckled half-heartedly.
"This isn't funny. Just spit out whatever you need to say."
"Very well. I'll just get on with it. After the circumstances yesterday-"
"By circumstances, you mean when your officers ransacked our home?" Cale interrupted.
"Yes, Mr. Collins. I am terribly sorry about that, but you know our regulations in the city. We just can't have people, children especially, try to defy the law."
I watched as Cale's breathing became heavier and heavier. He stood up with me and gripped my hand in his. I gasped at his unprecedented movement, but figured it was out of a need to contain his rage, and not sincerity. "My sister." Was all he managed to say.
"Hmm? Oh, yes Miss Bridgette Collins. That is your sister's name, isn't it? Such a shame, now that your entire family is dead. Congratulations, Mr. Collins. You've outlived every single one of your relatives. You should be proud of your accomplishments." He sneered. I could feel Cale's palm twitch inside mine. His face bore no expression, not even one that showed a single ounce of remorse or grief.
"Well," he whispered. "I guess it's my lucky day."
"I wouldn't be so quick to make such a grand perception of a day," Mayor Johnson warned. "We still have a lot more to discuss."
"I think that can wait until later." I said. "But for now, since I assume you won't show us to the door-"
"You assume correctly."
Cale clasped his shaking hands together in front of his face. His face slowly turned a brighter shade of pink than it was a moment before. "If you would please just show us to where we will be staying, that would be wonderful." He said through gritted teeth.
"Yes, I will have one of my attendants do so. I hope you both find everything to your liking here, and, should you not, take this." He said and placed a small bell in our hands. I placed my hand down to stick it in my pocket, but pulled back when I felt a rapid vibration erupting from the space. Mayor Johnson's eyes watched my every movement like a hawk. Rather than expose what already had a home in my pocket, I kept the bell wrapped in the palm that was opposite from the pocket . "If you need any services from me directly, give the bell a little ring and I shall be up at your beck and call." He flashed the same, pretentious smile and lead us to the door. He instructed us to turn around as he disarmed the locks. The same guard from earlier greeted us on the opposite side of the door. "Dinner is at seven pm sharp; please do make an effort not to be late. Adieu, Mr. Collins and Miss Bennett."
I stood frozen. My head whipped around to meet his. "How do you-"
"Ah, well I think that can wait for another time as well." He winked and slammed the door in our faces.
________________
"For the hundredth time, I have absolutely no clue to how he knows your name!" Cale exclaimed. "You know, if you would just tell me what year you're from then maybe I could help you out!"
"Oh lord, not this again." I groaned. "We've been over this!"
"No, we have not. Why are you trying so hard to convince me that you're from this time period? I know very well that you aren't."
"Oh, really? And how are you so sure about that?" I demanded, placing my hands on my hips. We currently sat in Cale's assigned room, which was down the hall from mine. Well, he sat- I stood pacing amongst the green carpet floors.
"Perri, listen to me. There's a lot of things you aren't yet aware of. One of those being that I know you're not from this time period. For one thing, you even told me that you aren't, during the car ride here." He sighed.
"You heard what I said?"
He rolled his eyes. "Just because I choose not to respond to you, doesn't mean I don't hear you. There's a difference between being deaf and ignoring someone."
"I know that." Goodness, did he really believe that I was that dense? Of course I knew that he heard me, but just the fact that he retained such nonsensical information was a bit surprising.
He continued, "... And, you happened to know our mayor, so that gave things away-"
"Your mayor?"
"Yes, he was elected just this past year. Why, is that a problem?" He asked.
"It's just... Well, there's no point in hiding it now. He's our Mayor back home....in..." I took a deep breath, "well, where I'm from is, uh.."
"Oh, for Christ's sake, Perri, just spit it out!" He whined.
"The future, okay? I'm not from this time period, and no, I'm not some alien from another planet, if that's what you're thinking!" I blurted. His reaction was not what I had expected. Instead of laughing or cracking some childish joke, he just nodded.
"Tell me more." He stated, simply.
"Right now?"
He laughed. "No, next year. Yes, right now!"
"I..." My head was reeling. Where was I supposed to begin? "I guess I have to warn you, first. The Community that I'm from is nothing like you're used to..." Not that it was really easy to get used to, I thought. I refrained from telling him that, though.
I explained to him everything-literally. There wasn't any legitimate reason for me to withhold the information of the Community from him. I started by hopelessly attempting to explain the Cleanse to him.
"So if I've got this correct, your thoughts are physically taken from you?" He asked in awe.
"Well, more biologically than physically, but to answer your question: yes, they are."
"How much do you keep? Do you remember anything from your past?"
"Yes, and no. See, the thing is, we lose most memories, though not completely. Of course, our thoughts regarding basic human skills are kept. Otherwise, we'd have a bunch of useless sacks of flesh running around." I laughed, half-heartedly.
"Right... Wow." He sighed. "This is-"
"Insane?"
"Well, I was going to say fascinating, but I guess that works too."
I stared at him. "You can't be serious... Right?"
"I can be?" A look of bewilderment danced beneath the soft veil of his eyelashes. "I'm serious. I don't endorse it, seeing as much as you hate it, but you can't blame me for wanting to know more."
"That's true..." I admitted. I kept forgetting that my reality wasn't like everyone else's around me. Just because I'd grown up one way, it didn't mean that he had done the same.
"What about your family? What do they think of the system?"
"My family?"
"Yeah, your family. You know, your mom, dad, sisters and brothers." He frowned. "Don't tell me you don't have a family."
"I don't?" I said, meekly. "We don't exactly have families in the Community, as least not in the traditional sense of the word. Liam was the closest thing I had to family..." The last part came out as no more than the end of an echo: breathes, small, yet just enough to get the point across before evaporating into the welcoming hands of the sky. Or in my case, it was enough to get me by without washing Cale away a food of tears.
"Ah, the infamous Liam." Cale sat back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. "You sure seem to care about him a lot, don't you?"
I nodded, keeping my head down low and my eyes firmly shut. With all the chaos that had surrounded me these past few days, it made me sad to admit how much he had slipped from my mind. I should be mourning his death, not, discarding it. After all he had done for me, he at least deserved proper remembrance. I'd wondered if they even gave him a proper goodbye at home, whatever that would entail. It was highly unlikely though, for death was something that just didn't happen. Ever. Death is the fate that awaits the ill and the unstable, not the cleansed.
Cale cleared his throat, causing my head to snap up. "Care to talk about it?"
"No, not really." I whispered.
"That's okay." He replied. "I don't want to push you if you're not up for it."
"Thank you. Really."
"So... Were you guys ever allowed outside the Community?" He asked, quickly changing the topic.
"If we received special permission then yes, we were granted time outside the Community. But, it had to be taken up with the Mayor personally, and you had to set a specific curfew with him. He also had to approve the reason you needed to leave." Even though Liam spent most of his time at my house, he did spend a great amount of time outside the Community. He wouldn't tell me exactly why, but it had something to do with completing training for his job. He worked as an intern at the government building, which meant that he to frequently run outside errands for Johnson.
It didn't make sense to me; other interns never had to leave the Community to complete training. When I brought this up to him, he replied that since he was the youngest employee, he required a bit more experience before he could move up to a higher job ranking. Even though I knew that we simply didn't have the resources for a further education inside the Community, the puzzle pieces never quite seemed to fit for me. Liam never had expressed an interest in a government job growing up. It wasn't like he relied on the internship, either. He would receive the same wage as everyone else if he chose to work any other job. Also, there was no such thing as a certain job position being unavailable. He could have any job he wanted, yet he chose to work close to Mayor Johnson. The amount of sheer disgust on my part was nearly unexplainable.
Cale continued to ask questions about the Community until I ran out of answers to give him. He asked the basics: what my work entailed,what my house was like,who my friends were,how I performed in school. All of his questions, however, refrained from any potential association with Liam.
"Thank you, for finally telling me the truth." He said with a smile after I'd answered all of his questions. "And, thank you for denying my suspicions. I had a feeling you were part alien, but I guess I was wrong..."
I tried to fake a smile, though I'm sure it came off as more of a confused smirk. The silence that filled the room afterwards was eerie- too much so for my liking. I shifted uncomfortably, balancing my weight from one hip to another. "So..." I started, quietly. Cale stopped picking at his nail beds long enough to look up at me.
"Hmm?" He muttered gruffly.
"Where do we go from here?"
"Well, for starters, Mayor Johnson is somehow able to outlive all of us, if he was just elected last year and is still in power where you're from. Plus, he knows who you are. I really have no idea what's up with him."
"Maybe he'll give us some answers at dinner? I mean, he even said he would."
"Perri, please be rational. That bastard isn't going to tell us a damn thing, and you know it."
"Looks like someone's a little cranky." I muttered under my breath. Unfortunately, he must have heard me, for he shot me a spiteful glare.
"You would too if you'd found out your sister has just been murdered." He said. He turned his attention to the small window beside us, keeping his eyes focused on the black sheet of night that surrounded us.
"Well, my best friend has just been murdered. So I guess we're on the same playing field, aren't we?"
"Yes, but unlike myself, you can choose to run away from it. You can take your Retrograde and flip into any time period you'd like, just to get your mind off of his death. But I can't! I have to stay here and deal with reality and the fact that my only family is dead and there's nothing I can do to bring her back."
"Listen, I'm so sorry-"
"No, you're not." He surmised. "You're not actually sorry for me, you're sorry for the circumstances that I've been placed in. You're sorry that Bridgette died, not because of the sorrow it brings me. If I was chipper and bouncing off the walls right now, you'd still say sorry because of what happened to her. When people, especially ones we love die, we grieve and apologize for the loss of their presence, not for the profound effect it has on the ones they left behind. So please, don't give me your pity, for I won't deal with it."
"I wasn't trying to pity you-"
"Just... Stop, please. It's done, there's nothing we can do now." He insisted. "Let's just focus on figuring out what the hell is wrong with this man, okay?"
"You think I like this bickering? Listen, you can sit here and argue with me all you want, but it doesn't change what is going on now or what happened yesterday. God dammit, Cale. Sometimes, I just don't know." I let out a harsh breath I walked over to the bed. I threw myself atop the covers and lay sprawled out amongst them in a star shape. I rolled over slightly to look at Cale, who had his knees hugged to his chest in the farthest corner of the bed. I could hear the little rattling of the bell from my palm as I moved. I loosened my grasp on it so that it now sat flat in my sweaty palm. Slowly, I moved it closer to my pocket and closer to the Retrograde. I jerked it away once the familiar vibration radiated from it again.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Cale asked. His head looked up while his eyes moved back an forth between the bell and my scrunched up face as he scrutinized me.
"It's probably nothing." I said quickly.
"Don't be so dismissive, Perri." He said, leaning forward to place his hand under my chin. " Just tell me what's wrong. Don't say nothing, because I know that it's something."
I pulled away from his hand, though not because I wanted to. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Retrograde, setting it on the bed between us.
"Take out your bell." I commanded.
"What?" He asked.
I rolled my eyes. "You know, the thing that Mayor Johnson gave us earlier?"
"Oh, that," he muttered and withdrew it from the pocket of his jeans. "Okay, here it is. Why do you need it?"
"Hover it over top of the Retrograde." I instructed. He did as I told, and placed the bell a few inches above it. Almost immediately the Retrograde began to shake violently.
"Oh my god." he gasped.
"Exactly. I felt it as soon as I was handed the bell."
"Something is not right here. He murmured to himself.
"Why on earth would you think that? Everything seems perfectly dandy to me."
"Please, do me a favor and shut up." He begged.
I placed my finger on my chin and peered up at the ceiling. "Hmm, I think not. Maybe if I continued talking we'd actually get somewhere instead of just contemplating the obvious."
He laughed and moved the Retrograde to the side so he could scoot me closer to him. "You're insane, you know that?"
"You love my insanity, and you know it." I smirked and hit him in the arm. He smiled at me, his brown eyes warm and comforting once again; a sight I had not witnessed since my first day at the safe house.
"Maybe I do, Perri. Maybe I do."
A/N: since chapter 9 was probably the shortest chapter in the original manuscript, I decided to combine it with chapter ten.