Here Skies Surround Us Read online

  In the last month, I’ve learned what I am capable of when I use a level head. I used to think I had no control over my life. My dome made most decisions for me: where I lived, what I learned, in the end even what contribution I made. Since I met Evan, I’ve learned I can make my own choices.

  Evan. Where did they take him? Is he having the same thoughts as me? Who do you think gave the order? That’s what the man said. Obviously, it was Caroline. How could a mother subject her son to this? Is she crazy?

  The door behind me opens and the woman with the bright red hair enters. This time, her hood is down and her mask is off. She smiles at me and starts to undo my straps.

  “You’re clear,” she says.

  “I figured as much.”

  “At least you haven’t lost your spark,” she says, as she helps me from the chair. She gasps as she sees my hands behind my back. I almost forgot about the pain, what with the needle and all. Now the numbness has taken over.

  “I don’t know why those boys have to put these on so tight … ” The concern in her voice matches her eyes.

  “You kidnap a lot of people around here?” I ask sarcastically.

  The woman looks boldly at me for a moment, and then I see her eyes soften. “I have a master key around here somewhere.” She rifles through some drawers and returns with a tiny silver key. My salvation.

  I instinctively rub my wrists when she releases them; my sensationless hands feel foreign against my skin. Rubbing was a mistake—those cuffs were on so tight they cut circles into my wrists, leaving lines of blood at the edges of the sores. The sweat from my palms stings my skin, and I quickly let go.

  She can see my pain. I know she can. She shows it in her eyes as she takes me over to the sink and dresses my wounds.

  “My name is Nora,” she says. “I’m the head nurse of our Health Center. We use this place to screen newcomers.”

  I don’t reply. Even if Nora is being nice right now, it doesn’t make up for the fact she just had me tied down to be tested on. These people are my enemies. They knew we were coming, and if this was standard procedure, Evan would have known it was going to happen.

  So, who told them about the unrest back at my dome? Alec? Yes, it must have been him. He left before us. I thought he was someone I could trust.

  “I’m sorry if we seem unkind,” Nora says. “This is how we keep our people safe. I’m going to move you into a room, okay? You will wait there until someone comes to retrieve you.”

  “How long will that be?”

  She shrugs. “I don’t know, dearie. I just know that’s the safest place for you right now.”

  “What about the boy I came with?” I ask. “We were coming to meet someone.”

  “I don’t know anything about that,” she says. “I do know that if you are meant to meet with someone it will happen once your duties are sorted out. That’s how you’ll get out of here.”

  “Duties?”

  “Yes, your contribution here.”

  I shake my head in confusion. What’s going on here? Does Nora know who I am?

  “I’m not here to join your dome. I came with Evan, Caroline’s son.”

  Nora’s eyes widen just before she furrows her brow. “Evan helps a lot of people relocate. Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll meet up with him again.”

  I bite my lip in frustration. Before I say too much more, I cross my arms and nod.

  She sees my defeat and pats me on the shoulder. “It could be worse.”

  I highly doubt it.

  I’m escorted out of the testing room and down the hallway. Could I be in a facility like B3? Back at my dome, that secret floor was only accessible from the Director’s office. Atrocities were committed on innocent people on that floor.

  But it’s not B3. Nora takes me to an open floor. It instantly reminds me of the Health Centre back home, with white walls and bright lights. Instead of curtained-off beds, a few private rooms flank the sides.

  “Here, dearie,” she says, motioning to a room. As I enter, I turn to ask her another question but a barred door slides shut behind me. Metal clangs on metal. No matter how nice it is, my room is my cell.

  “Wait, Nora,” I call out, grabbing hold of the bars. It’s too late. She’s already gone and no one comes running to my call.

  I walk over to the windows to see the layout of the place. In the distance, I can see Dome 569 lit up, reaching out into the night sky. Its Axis is still visible through the walls. All around the outside, the rest of the city glows like little beacons. I’m surprised at just how far out it reaches, shadowing my dome’s attempts to colonize.

  The Health Center looks to be about nine blocks out from the dome, and the homes flank it on either side. The houses between the Health Center and the dome are like those Evan helped us start setting up back home: simple wood constructions, neat and tidy, row upon row. To the right is nothing but a long stretch of wide-open fields.

  I turn back to my room and realize how exhausted I am. Sleep seems like the only sensible thing now, so I crawl on top of my bed, still dressed in my clothes, and embrace the pillow. I wonder where they will take me for my duties? Will Evan know where to find me?

  Evan’s hands slide against the bare skin of my back. His kisses are so eager it’s as if he’s out of control. I try kissing him back, but he’s too aggressive; I have to push his face away from mine. He stops and starts shaking me. “Why can’t you just play nice, Nat? Why can’t you just play nice?”

  “Nat? Nat, can you hear me?” Evan’s voice pulls me from my sleep. I force my eyes open and see him sitting on the edge of my bed.

  “Evan!” I sit up, embracing him with all my strength. I feel myself about to cry, but then I see a tall, slim figure leaning casually against the doorway. Her cold gray eyes stare straight back at me.

  “Who are you with?” I ask, letting go of Evan. I can feel my heartbeat quicken and my throat gets dry. The girl flicks her long strawberry-blond hair and looks away, yawning.

  “Nat,” Evan clears his throat, “this is Nico. She’s an old friend and she’s been assigned as my escort. It was the only way my mother would let me see you—”

  “Your mother?” I ask, still distracted by the girl. “You’ve seen your mother?”

  “Yes.”

  My finger twitches at my side. “When?”

  “Last night. She came and got me.”

  The same knot that formed in my throat the moment I saw his dome returns as my mind races to understand what’s going on. Suddenly I’m clenching my jaw, trying to keep myself calm.

  “She came and got you?” I repeat. “Did you think to come and find me? What the hell did you think I was doing?”

  “You don’t understand—” he begins.

  “No, I don’t. You’re the one who brought me here. This wasn’t my idea. Did you think that maybe a heads up about the security precautions was in order? It would have been nice to know I was going to be bound, gagged, and thrown around.”

  “Did they hurt you?” His brows are scrunched together and worry flickers in his eyes. But right now, I really don’t give a crap.

  “Are you kidding me, Evan?” I hold up my bandaged wrists.

  His cheeks flush, and I can tell he’s hiding something from me. He grabs my wrists, but I pull them away from him, and he quickly moves his hand to the back of his neck, rubbing it back and forth.

  “She promised—”

  “What the hell is going on here?”

  “It’s not his fault, you know.” Nico speaks up.

  “Pardon me?” I ask, shooting the girl a glare.

  She rolls her eyes. “I said—”

  “I heard you. I didn’t realize you were invited into this conversation.”

  Nico throws her hands up in the air. “I’ll be in the hallway.”

  Evan watches her leave then turns back to me and whispers, “You don’t understand, Nat. Things are different here now from when I
left. Everyone is paranoid since Alec and I didn’t come back right away to give our report. My mother wants answers. She’s had the security detail increased. She even wants to speak to you. I swear, if I knew this was going to happen I would never have brought you here.”

  “So, let me talk to her,” I say. “Just get me out of here.”

  “You don’t understand my mother,” Evan says, his eyebrows scrunching together again. “She does things on her terms.”

  “What about me?” I feel like I’m going to be sick. “You’re just going to leave me here?”

  “Right now, you’re safest here. Just trust me, please.”

  I look away from Evan, toward the windows of my cell. I want to trust him like I did back at my dome when he told me about my uncle. I want to trust him like he trusted me when he brought me into his plans to take down the Director. But what do I know about Evan? I’ve only known him a short while. Can I trust him to come back for me? Is this what Jak tried to warn me about?

  “Where’s my uncle?”

  “He’s gone on a job outside the dome,” Evan explains. “He should be back soon.”

  “Make sure he knows about me.”

  “I will. That’s all I’m waiting for. Once Alec is back, he’ll know what to do.”

  Evan leans in to kiss me on the lips, but I turn and give him my cheek. He pauses, his eyes showing his hurt, but right now, I don’t care. He should be fighting for me. He should be staying in this cell until I can go. I already hate his mother.

  I get out of bed and creep to the door to watch Evan leave. He stops at Nora’s station and points in my direction. Then Nico puts an arm on his shoulder and pulls him away. The image of the two of them running around, free, burns into my thoughts.

  I go to the washroom and stare at myself in the mirror. I look terrible. My hair is disheveled, and I’m dirty from the trip. My thoughts float to Nico and her perfectly straight, long blond hair. Why was she assigned to watch over Evan? Is she a spy? She’s tall and thin, and her features are so beautiful. Evan said they are old friends, but how old? And have they ever been more?

  In my frustration, I punch the mirror in front of me. Thankfully my wrists are still weak, so I only damage my pride. I quickly wet my face and pat my hair back into place. A banging on the door interrupts me.

  “Visitor 8421, please report to the door of your room,” a man’s voice calls out.

  “Are you talking to me?” I ask, popping my head out of the bathroom.

  The man clears his voice. “It’s time for you to report to work. Come to the door, please.” He dangles a pair of cuffs.

  Nora comes up behind him and interrupts. “I need to keep this one a few more days,” she says. “She was injured in the delivery process.”

  The man looks down at my bandaged wrists, then at his cuffs and frowns. “You cleared her of infection, did you not?”

  “She’s clear.”

  “Fine, then no cuffs. But she still needs to report to duty.”

  “I said I needed to keep my patient a while longer.” Nora purses her lips together and puts her hands on her hips. She stares down at the uniformed man.

  “I’m sorry,” he says, taking a step back from her. “It’s an emergency opening, and those take precedence. You know the New Order rules.” The man wipes his brow with his sleeve, still looking everywhere but in Nora’s direction.

  “Where are you taking her?” Nora asks, not giving up. “I need to know so I can follow up on her injuries, seeing as it was the New Order who injured her in the first place.”

  His cheeks flush as he says, “Laundry.”

  “How is that an emergency?”

  “Listen, Nora,” the man cuts her off, “I don’t make the rules. The people vote on them, you know that. Now, I’ve given you information so you can do your job, so let me do mine.”

  “Fine,” Nora says, throwing her hands in the air as she walks back to her desk, hitting a button that makes my doorway slide open.

  “Come with me, Visitor 8421.”

  I look nervously at Nora and wish she had tried harder to keep me here. I wanted out of this cell so bad just moments before, but the idea of going somewhere knowing Evan is walking around is worse. She looks at me with her brows pulled together, restlessly tapping her foot on the floor. I can’t tell if she’s irritated at the interruption or that her authority was overridden.

  I follow the man to an elevator at the far end of the hallway. As we enter, he hits the “B” button and I have a surge of panic. My stomach churns and my head gets dizzy as the elevator whirs, taking us down below the ground into the basement. The doors open and reveal a large laundry room, filled with workers. A grisly old woman comes over as we walk into the room.

  “Mae,” the man says, “this is 8421. She’s your new girl.”

  The woman looks me over, then sees my bandaged wrists, and spits on the floor. “How’s she supposed to work down here with those?”

  The man has already returned to the elevator when he turns and shrugs. “I just carry out the orders.”

  “Orders, my ass.” She spits again as the doors close. This time, it’s directed at the man.

  “What can you do?” the woman asks, crossing her arms against her broad chest as she looks me over. Stringy dark curls poke out of her bandana and stick to her reddened face.

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “What can you do? You know press, sort, or fold. Which area?”

  “I don’t know,” I say. “I’ve never done this before.”

  “What!” she exclaims. “Not only do they send me someone injured, they send me a newbie? What do they think I’m running down here, a Learning Institute for princesses?”

  “I’m not from here.”

  “No one here is.” Mae shakes her head. “You think they’d put their precious citizens down here? Now, go over there and talk to Ali. She’s new, like you—just came in five weeks ago. She can show you the ropes. Hopefully you’ll be a better worker than the last one we had.”

  “What happened to the last—?” I start to ask, but Mae has already shuffled off, disappearing into the clouds of steam that rise between the loud machinery that line the rows.

  I see a girl with short mouse-brown hair waving to me. Her frame is tiny, practically malnourished, and she’s skittish. I turn back to the elevator for a second and wonder how far I’d get if I made a run for it.

  “You need Mae’s key to open those doors,” the girl’s voice comes from behind me. It’s as though Ali can read my mind. “We aren’t going anywhere until supper time.” I turn back to Ali; she’s biting her fingernails as she stares at my shirt. “I used to have a nice shirt like yours.”

  I look down at my shirt then up at Ali. She’s wearing a plain white t-shirt, worn out and thin. She glances up at me before quickly looking away. This time she points to the room, while biting the nails on her other hand. “Over there is where we fold, over there is where we wash, and here in the middle they press the clothes before taking stuff back upstairs.”

  “My name is Nat,” I say, hesitating to offer my hand. “You’re supposed to teach me what to do around here.”

  She stares at me with narrowed eyes before she walks toward the washing area. “You coming?” she shouts back.

  I follow Ali through the steamy clouds, and a muggy film settles on my skin. The slam of the press machines makes me jump. By the time we get to the far corner, I’m acting just as skittish as Ali.

  “I thought they were trying to trick me again,” Ali says, looking around. “They’re always doing that down here: making little jokes and pranks at my expense to see if I’ll break. But I won’t, you know. Not me. I told my mother I’d carry this out and be strong.”

  “Your mother sent you here?” I ask, surprised. “I thought you were from another dome?”

  “I am.” She begins biting her nails again.

  “What are you doing here then?”
>
  “Not all domes are equal,” Ali says. “You should know, they got you too.”

  “I came here with someone,” I say, looking around. “He’s from here.”

  “Well, he isn’t here now, is he?” she asks, pushing a large bin of clothing toward me.

  Ali’s right, Evan isn’t here. He’s up above doing who knows what with Nico. I shake my head. I need to focus. I need to find a way out.

  The sorting process is simple, no different from when I washed my clothes back home just on a much larger scale. All laundry for the dome comes here in bags. The bags are marked with the names of whose clothing is whose. You keep the loads separate so no one’s things get mixed up. Simple.

  It’s hot down here, despite being underground. The heat of the machines combined with the steam and hard labor makes me lightheaded. I notice the lunch hour come and go with the growling of my stomach. About an hour later I’m dizzy again, so I try to distract myself with idle conversation.

  “What do you mean not all domes are—?” I start to ask Ali, but it’s too late. I feel my words slur together on my tongue. When was the last time I ate? This morning? No. Last night? No. I think it was yesterday in the late afternoon.

  I fall to the ground taking a bin of clothes with me. I can hear women’s voices gathering around as my vision begins to blacken around the edges. I’m not supposed to be here. This is all a mistake. I try to ask them for help but I can’t move, let alone say anything, so I just let the darkness take over.

  I slowly wake up and find myself in unfamiliar surroundings. I’m on a tiny bed in a dirty room. There’s a bunk above me, stained in multiple places from who knows what, flanked by set after set of bunks across the room. A loud voice startles me.

  “Who the hell authorized this?” Alec screams. “I want answers now!”

  Thank God, Alec is finally here. But where is here?

  “Sorry, sir,” Mae says. “They just bring the girls to me. I don’t ask questions.”

  “Wrong answer,” my uncle threatens. “Do you know who I am? It looks like you do. Do you know who she is? She’s my niece. Someone is going to pay for this.”