What if Christina never recovers? Would they kill her too?
I stare at Christina’s dull eyes, slumped position. If it wasn’t for the slight rise and fall of her chest, I would think she was dead already.
Is it right to kill for the safety of everyone?
Michelle says, “Don’t worry too much about Christina. A lot of Eekes are like this when they first arrive. They are in so much shock, mental and emotional pain, they don’t know how to react. They retreat into the safety of their own mind. There’s also a drug in the food the messes with your emotions. It basically boosts every emotion so you feel extreme pain, fear, regret, hatred, desperation. The drug makes it a lot harder for your body and mind to function.”
“They drugged us?”
“They did a lot of horrible things to you. The effects have worn off by now, though.”
“How do you know there were drugs in the food?”
“We’ve always been a little suspicious that there might be drugs, but an Eeke happened to smuggle a piece of food with them when they disappeared. I don’t think they meant to, they just got lucky. We ran some tests on the food and found the traces of the drug in it.”
I’m silent. The Ecru were apparently not terrifying enough, they had to double our fear by messing with our emotions. Everyone I met there could act entirely different without the drug messing up their thoughts.
Had the drug not been in their blood, the two kids who murdered Tooth might have let him go. The Distress might be less controlling and humbled without the serum in his veins. Tooth might have allowed me to escape from The Distress if his emotions had been clear.
Michelle says, “We should probably be getting back to your room. You need rest, too. Harry will come to talk to you sometime today to tell you about the Unknown. Other than that, you have to do nothing, just sleep.”
“Can I see other parts of the Unknown?”
“Maybe tomorrow, when you’re in a wheelchair I can give you a short tour. Rolling these cots around is a pain. Once you get entirely better, Charlotte will be your R.I.”
“R.I.?”
“Rivie Introducer. You’re a Rivie, a new ar-riv-al. An R.I. is a person who takes you around and shows you the Pros, or professions, of the Unknown. She’ll explain everything in more depth and you’ll get to try each Pros a day.” Michelle rolls me out the door.
“When can I do that?” I want to learn as much about the Unknown as I can. Piper is crazy enough to say that I’m going to escape the Unknown. I want to learn whether that’s possible. I still don’t understand where we would escape to.
“We normally wait to do Rivie Tours until the Eekes have healed. But, if you really want to do it, I’m sure Charlotte would be fine with you still in a wheelchair. You might not be able to help as much with some of the Pros, but you could still learn.”
“I would love that.”
“You could probably start the day after tomorrow at the earliest.”
“Do you think I could start then?”
“Sure, I’ll contact Charlotte today or tomorrow.”
We arrive in my room. Michelle brings me a small bowl of delicious oatmeal. She explains that people in the Unknown make the food, and they add extra flavor.
Michelle fixes wires before dimming the lights and leaving the room, demanding that I get some rest.
I don’t think I’m tired, but fall asleep within minutes.
˚˚°˚˚
I awake in the darkness, pain ebbing slowly into my head. Keeping my eyes closed, I try to ignore it. My jaw hurts horribly when I accidently brush my fingers against it.
The door slides open. I turn my head to see Harry enter the room. He smiles lightly at me, turns the lights on brighter, and carries in a chair. He presses the button on my cot that makes it fold so I am sitting up. Placing his chair a couple paces from me, he sits down.
He explains everything about the Unknown answering most of my questions. The black straps on their wrists are Notices, a way of communication. There are ten Pros, each with a separate Council. The Council and the Leader meet together, voting to make important decisions. The people of the Unknown do all the difficult work for the Heads. Growing food, cooking the meals, caring for the Eekes, and replicating some technology.
The people of the Unknown have created their own rules, which most people follow. There are still Teachings for the younger children. You get to choose your Pros and can change at any time. Every decision is decided by votes.
It almost sounds too perfect to be reality.
Harry adds at the end of his explanation, “There are really only two major problems about the Unknown. One is that when you are twenty years, you are sent to your death. There is no way to avoid this without severe repercussions of the Heads. The other is that there is no known way of escaping. Except for the group of children that escaped, no one has been gotten away.”
“I thought that story was just a myth?”
“Some people believe it, others don’t. I personally believe it.”
“Why?” It comes out harsher than I mean it to be. I’m just wondering what his reasoning is.
He shrugs, “I just do. I refuse to believe that there is no way out of here. A Reb taught me there are always two exits to everything. They may not be what you expect, but they are there. It’s only a matter of finding it.”
I don’t know how to respond. Were there two exits out of the Ecru and I just didn’t find them?
Harry sighs, “Well, I better be getting to the other long list of errands that I need to do today. I’ll have Michelle bring you some Late Meal.”
“Late Meal?” I just ate Morning Meal before I went to sleep.
“You slept all the way through Mid-day Meal. It’s actually almost time for people to be going to sleep. It’s normal, don’t worry. It’s just the effects of the exhaustion, starvation, dehydration, and the medicine.”
Harry exits the room. Michelle enters later with a small bowl filled with crackers. I hungrily begin to eat them. Each bite sends a needle of pain into my jaw, especially when I chew on the right side.
I’m chewing as I normally do when a spear of pain stronger than the rest slams into my teeth, branching into my jaw. I cry out, my hand flying to my cheek. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth. I gently prod my teeth with my tongue. The tooth wiggles beneath my touch.
Michelle asks, “What’s wrong?”
I don’t say anything as I put more pressure on that tooth. It gives way, popping from my gums. The tooth slips on to my tongue, more blood seeping from the now empty hole. I pluck the tooth from my tongue, staring at in awe.
My voice wavers as I say, “I’ve already lost all my baby teeth.”
“I’m sorry to say this, but that’s not a baby tooth. It must have loosened when you feel or were hit on your jaw. Your other teeth must have held it in until you ate the hard crackers. I’m sorry, but another tooth will never grow back.”
She says this gently, like she’s afraid I might be angry or start crying. A large grin fills my face.
I’m just like Tooth.
Other people will probably think it strange or unnatural, but I don’t care. It can be my way of remembering Tooth.
Michelle holds her hand, “Would you like me to take that from you.”
I set it in her hand, apologizing for the blood and saliva coating it.
She shrugs, “I’m a Nurse. I’m used to this kind-of thing.”
She carries it out of the room to dispose of it. My tongue presses against the rugged and torn flesh around the hole. I can’t keep a smile from turning up my lips.
I wasn’t able to save Tooth. The least I can do is remember him. I gingerly chew the rest of the crackers.
Michelle returns and takes away the empty bowl. After fiddling with the dials at the other end of the room, she leaves me to sleep for the night.
˚˚°˚˚
When I wake, Michelle is bustling around in my room. She smiles at me, “Good morning. How are you feeling?”
I can tell that most of the numbing has faded. I feel grounded, no longer floating. Besides a small aching in my skull, I have no pain. Although I still feel exhausted and drained.
“Good, I think. My head still hurts a little, but it’s bearable.”
“Just what I wanted to hear. Sadly, I’m not going to be able to take you for a tour of the Unknown today. We just got a couple of new Eekes and I have to help with them. But, Charlotte just finished up with her last Rivie, so she can help you.”
I’d rather have Michelle give me a tour. I know her much better than Charlotte. Even though Charlotte and I were roommates, I only have dim memories. Michelle and I have had multiple conversations and I know what Michelle is like. But I want to see the Unknown too much to ask to reschedule.
Michelle says, “Let’s get you in a wheelchair. Charlotte will be here soon. She can take you to breakfast, too.”
My eyes scan the room, finding a small, black wheelchair.
Michelle strides over to my cot, pushing the button so I’m sitting upright. She forces me to move agonizingly slowly as she helps me lower myself to the ground. My knees buckle beneath me, unused to the sudden weight. Michelle holds me up, stronger than she looks. She sets me carefully on the seat.
She untangles the cords left in my wrist. Most of the wires were gone this morning when I woke up. They must have removed the unneeded ones while I slept.
Charlotte appears seconds later, the same bright smile on her face, “Morning Rebbies.”
Michelle laughs and pushes my wheelchair over to Charlotte. Charlotte grabs the two handles and pushes me down the hallway, chattering all the way. She pushes me into a room that is the exact replica of the Eating Hall. Tables with metal stools in perfect rows and a counter for food.
Except, where the Officials would normally hand us the food, there’s simply baskets full of our meal. A big pot of steaming oatmeal sits at the end. Charlotte rolls me over to the counter, handing me a tray to balance on my lap.
Laughter and loud talking echoes around me. The Eating Hall isn’t very full. People lean across tables deep in conversation. Grins, teasing, and even some anger play across people’s faces.
She overfills a bowl of oatmeal for me, showering it with other food items I’ve never seen before.
I ask, “What are you putting on my oatmeal?”
“Deliciousness. There’s a variety of different things we’ve stolen: sugar, raisins, other dried fruits, and a whole bunch of others that I don’t know the names to. Just try it, it’s amazing.”
We move to a back table. She puts my wheelchair at the end of a table so that I can still put my food on it. We begin eating, the oatmeal delicious, when the dramatic clearing of a throat catches my attention.
Charlotte and I raise our eyes to see the same boy who was talking to Miranda yesterday. Christopher.