Chapter 6
Exhibition
It turns out all they wanted to do was make us look presentable. Apparently we’re not. In any case, the woman who attacked me was holding something called a hairbrush. Apparently everyone uses them, not that I would know that.
The woman looks even more freakish than the purple lady did. According to her badge her name is Jaz and she is a Design Consultant, whatever that means. Anyway, Jaz had green hair. That’s right, green hair. The colour of moss, and not nearly as pretty as Holly’s. It was also in the shape of a beehive, and paired with green stuff on her lips and eyes, it looked hideous. I have no idea about fashion in the city right now, I had no idea even what fashion was up until a few minutes ago, but I’m sure that is not fashionable. How can it be?
All Jaz seemed to do was brush my hair, and it bloody hurt. What she was doing felt like she was pulling the hairs from my head. It is now officially free from tangles though, which is kind of a relief because I was sick of it being so hard to control all the time. She tied it back in a ponytail, so I know the silver parts of my hair are showing. She also made me wash my face. That’s all. Apparently washing your face makes you look better, but I washed it this morning, so I don’t know what all the fuss is about. The only thing different was the amount of stuff she made me wash it with.
Throughout this entire ordeal she was chatting at top speed with the man on our left, who had hair that was the same shade of the sky. He was also styling Crow, who looked at me like he was terrified. I just think he didn’t want the same hair as his Design Consultant.
Jaz was a fast talker, and truly terrifying. Especially with her hair.
I’m just glad she didn’t attack me with the stuff she put on her lips. Then I most definitely would have looked like a freak.
When we look ‘presentable,’ we are shoved into the next room by the Design Consultants, who wave goodbye to us, weird people. This room is a lot darker. Waiting here are eight guards, who also seem to have been assigned to us, meaning each of them grabs us. The guard who grabs me pulls a tag from a box on a stool by the corner as we go past. He pins it to my slim suit, and it lights up. I peer down at it and attempt to read it upside down.
‘Storm-BOI - Subject no. H03’
‘Status - Sold’
It was an identification badge.
The guard shoves me towards the centre of the room. I hadn’t noticed before now but there are eight glass tubes. One for each of us.
I am shoved in one from the far left. The guard unlocks my cuffs from behind and slips them off. I rub my wrists, which are raw from being in cuffs so many times, both in my pod and at other times. They are red, now, a mark of my imprisonment in the labs. While I am doing this, I can hear the glass opening behind me slide shut.
That’s when the panic sets in.
I hate small spaces, I can’t stand not being in the open, where I have room to move around. It’s not as bad in the cages, because I can reach my hands through the bars, but glass cages I cannot stand. I feel like the walls are closing in on me and I cant breathe.
The open air is my home, and I do not like feeling confined. I can feel the fear pressing down on me and I try to calm myself, reminding myself that I am going to escape and never have to go through this again.
My breathing slows and I look around. On my right, the others are being placed in the tubes too. Directly beside me, Mondi is looking at me concernedly. Great! She saw my little panic attack. I smile at her, letting her know that I’m okay, and she smiles back sweetly.
All the others are now in tubes too. Some of them look fine, like Finn. God that boy is a strange one. Others are just holding it in, I can tell. I can see Holly taking deep breaths with her eyes closed, she’s probably having the same problem as me, she loves the open air.
Something is going on above our heads. I can hear footsteps hurrying across the ceiling, and excited voices. A whole lot of people have entered the room above, and they are looking forward to something.
I look up. The tube goes right to the ceiling, probably goes through, but I can’t see because of the gloom. I think I know what’s happening, they’re going to lift us up into the room above.
I look at Holly, who has now opened her eyes, and she gives me a brave smile, I try to look reassuring, but I’m not sure it’s working. She mouths something to me but I don’t catch it. I look at her, confused, and she gestures towards me, but I still don’t understand. She throws her hands up in frustration. I smile apologetically at her and she runs her hands through her hair, which is also green, like Jaz’s.
However, Holly’s hair is naturally green, as a result of her mutation, and it looks a damn sight nicer than Jaz’s did. It’s the colour of Holly leaves, or that’s what she tells me.
All of a sudden, the chatter of voices dies down over head and the floor moves from underneath me.
It’s like the lift from the labs, a platform, only slower. We all rise silently through the ceiling (I was right) and into a dark space above us. When we slow to a stop, I realise I am standing on a platform on some sort of stage. In front of me are people. Hundreds of people, just like when I found out I had been sold. Hundreds of people and they are all staring at us.
I freeze. What is happening? I have no idea what I was expecting but it certainly wasn’t this.
I closed my eyes, willing myself to calm down and think about freedom.
A spotlight comes on my right, past Mondi’s tube, revealing Stein.
“Welcome,” his voice booms out over the crowd through the speakers, “to the exhibition of the creations of the NLIB. This morning we will be showcasing the mutations we have creating and auctioning them off. They must be sold so that we have room for our new creations once they turn sixteen.”
There is a huge roar of applause and the flashes of cameras. The floodlights come on the audience and even though I am still in the dark, I can see the people leering at us. Those words are ringing in my ears, They must be sold.
I already knew I was sold, but how were the others taking this? They too were to become possessions, passed on in exchange for money to live a life of slavery.
I hoped to God that they were coping.
All through my internal debate, Stein had continued addressing the crowd, and he was now mentioning words I recognised.
“Our youngest mutant goes by the name of MondayChameleon-BOI,” he begins, as a spotlight lights up Mondi’s Tube. She looks terrified. “As you can probably guess, it has been cross-bread with a chameleon, the reason for the Monday is the fact that the first few attempts of the week were not successful.”
Poor Mondi. Her hands were clenched in fists by her side and her eyes were wide, making her look even more vulnerable than she normally did.
“She has the same famous abilities as a chameleon, but as she is only eight years old, they are not fully developed.” I hadn’t heard this before, it looked like it wasn’t just me who had been keeping secrets about my new found abilities.
Stein is still talking, talking about all the ways in which Mondi might be useful to a potential buyer, and some of them were just horrible. He’s talking about her sneaking into peoples homes and killing them while she was hidden. My Mondi, killing people! It was unthinkable, not to mention disgusting.
“So, Lot number one is starting at five million pounds, any takers?” Stein asks, and fifty numbers rise in the air, glowing in the dim light. Stein grins like I would expect the devil to.
“Good, good,” he murmurs, then, “Five and a half million!” Several numbers disappear, but there are still heaps. “Six Million!” Again, some fall, but there are still willing buyers.
Stein is in his element. He is selling his creations to the world and it’s like he’s getting high on all the attention he’s getting, “Six and a half.... Seven Million.... Seven and a half.... Ten Million!” Now there are only three numbers left. Number 32, number 68 and number 102 are glaringly obvious in the see of faces before me. I stare wide eyed out over the audience, I can’t bring myself to look at Mondi, but I have to see how she’s coping.
Mondi has her palms pressed against the glass of her tube, and is staring into the audience, like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming truck. Her arms are tense and I can see her starting to go pale. The colour slowly fades from her skin and she starts to disappear.
I look at her in shock and there are murmurs in the audience. Mondi has never done that before, not that I know of, anyway. She really is a chameleon. It’s amazing.
Stein looks triumphant, by now the bidding has reached 15 million and there are only two buyers left. He’s getting a lot of money today.
“Seventeen point five million!” Roars Stein. His voice rings out through the hall, silencing the murmuring. There’s some movement in the back corner, and number 68 falls. “Going once, going twice... Sold! To number 102! I thank you Sir!” There is a mass of cheers as the buyer is congratulated by the people around him.
“You can have it as soon as it turns sixteen, in eight years time. By then it’s abilities should be fully developed. What you saw today is only a mere shadow of what the subject is capable of!” Stein addresses the man who bought Mondi. He’s getting better, I think, Starting to speak in sentences. I chastise myself for thinking that when I should be worrying about the others.
Mondi is back in the world of the seeable, though she looks visibly shaken. I watch as she sinks to the bottom of her tube and leans against the glass, her head in her hands. She looks like she’s crying, and there’s nothing I can do to comfort her.
I bite my lip. Stein has gone over to a table next to his microphone to pour himself a drink of water. For the moment, it seems, he is giving the crowd some time to get over the excitement of the first mutant being sold.
I glance at Crow. His eyebrows are scrunched together and his eyes are shut, as if he’s trying to get away from here, be anywhere but here. I know the feeling. I’m feeling the same way. If only we could get out now, then none of us would have to go through this.
I lean against the glass. I’m still very aware of how small the tube is, and how confined a space this is. I inspect the top, but it’s solid. The only gap is a small breathing hole in the very top of the tube, through which the sound is coming through. I can’t even reach it. So there goes that plan.
But what was I thinking? Trying to escape while under the eyes of thousands of potential buyers, scientists, journalists and members of the general public. It wouldn’t work. Not a chance in the world.
“Our next subject, Dolphin Boy, has been cross injected with Dolphin DNA and can swim faster than any regular human...” Stein has found his next victim, poor old Finn. He too is staring wide eyed into the audience, from which is coming the flashes of hundreds of cameras.
I sink down and hug my knees to my chest. I don’t want to listen to any more of this, and we’ve only just started.
My attention is focused on my hands, which are clenched tightly around my knees. It feels like every second takes an hour. I am trying to steady my breaths and calm down but I can’t.
It’s the tube more than anything. Being able to see everything but not get out. It’s killing me.
________________________________________________________________________
Finn was sold for 18 million to number 48. His face when it hit him, it broke my heart inside to see him like that.
Ta, the fabulous Cheetah BOI was sold for 30 million. Her ten year old face was expressionless, and that was worse than anything. I can see her now, standing stiff as a board in her tube with her eyes closed. It’s like she can’t believe this is happening.
What must this be like for them? I ask myself, They’re coping better than I was. I don’t understand! I just don’t. How can this be real? Even the prospect of us existing is questionable. How am I here and why am I going through this?
I rock slowly back and forth in my curled up position, not going far because of the restrictions of the tube. I want this to be over so I can get out of here and leave this behind forever. I don’t even care where we go anymore, just as long as I never have to go back to those labs.
Doc’s auction has finished. I have no idea what he was sold for or who to. I really don’t care. It doesn’t matter anymore.
Now Stein seems to be growing in his euphoria. It’s horrible how much he is enjoying this, selling our lives away. He takes a deep sip of water and smacks his lip, I look towards Crow who staring right back at me, but it’s more like he’s looking through me, as his eyes are glazed over. I’m not going to get reassurance from him.
“Our next subject,” booms Stein into the microphone once more, and I snap my head round to look at him, “was a rather risky move, but a highly successful one. It’s name is Holly BOI and it is 12 years of age. It was created in a test tube and it’s DNA was fused with that of Holly tree.”
The crowd gasps and I know why, fusing different types of animal DNA is one thing, but merging animal and plant is another league entirely. I listen intently, I have no idea what Holly’s story is, only that she’s part tree.
“This sort of thing had never been done before, merging plant with human, but the subject turned out brilliantly. You can see the tree characteristics in it,” a bright spotlight suddenly swings round so it is focusing on Holly. She is hunched slightly over, because of the size of the tube, but has her arms crossed over her chest defiantly, “The skin, as you can see, has a faint green tinge, while the hair is the exact colour of the holly leaf. She does possess the ability to photosynthesize but can also eat.
“Her hair is quite thick, as it is like a very thin vine, and grows at a very fast rate. She is as strong as a tree, and can lift incredible weights,” at this, Holly smirks and pulls her hair behind her ears. I can see a glimpse of red behind her ear but it disappears behind her hair, “And she breathes in both carbon dioxide and oxygen, we are not entirely sure how yet, but she can.”
Holly grins and her teeth gleam under the light. The crowd murmurs appreciatively and Stein smirks.
“Her potential really is magnificent, she could do many things. And this is why we are selling her. Holly BOI’s starting price is 20 million pounds.”
That’s where it escalates. I don’t know what’s different this time, but the bidding seems more sinister, like wherever Holly ends up going, it can’t be good. My eyes flicker over the glowing numbers in the audience, every so often locking onto Stein as he announces a new price. It’s like she’s the miracle girl, but I suppose she is, in a way.
Stein has reached 40 million, and there are still at least fifteen numbers in the air. The tension is high, and one by one the numbers fall, until there are only two left. Sixty million pounds and they’re still battling it out. Seventy million, eighty and numbers 22 and 65 are still glowing brightly through the dim light. How much longer will it go on for, I wonder, as they reach 1 billion pounds. How can a single being be worth that much?
“One Billion and 7 million pounds,” yells Stein, and all of a sudden, Number 65 drops. The crowd is suspended in silence, until the penny drops. “Going once, going twice, Sold! I thank you ma’am!” I look up, and it is indeed a woman that the spotlight is resting on, holding the glowing number 65 and looking almost as ghastly as the purple lady with her powdered blue hair and electric lips.
Stein is talking about something, but I’m not sure what, as I look at Holly. Her head is held high and she has a small smile on her face, like she’s trying to be brave. I’m proud of her, she’s doing better than me.
What can possibly top that? I think as I wait for Stein to turn his attention to Crow, the next in line.
***
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