Here Skies Surround Us Read online

  “I’ve been so worried about you,” Evan explains. “When they took me, they tied me up and tested me for the virus. As soon as I was cleared my mother showed up to grill me about what happened back at Dome 1618. I refused to answer her questions and kept screaming to let me see you, and she finally had them inject me with something to knock me out. When I woke up, Nico was there. I begged her to help me find you.”

  “When I saw you with her—I didn’t know what to think.”

  “I’ve known Nico since I was a baby,” he says. “Our dads were good friends. We’re just friends, always have been. She was the one who found you. Her mother, Nora, runs the Health Center. She told us you were taken away. I ran here to get Alec’s help, but he was already gone.”

  “I think your mother told Alec where I was,” I explain. “She’s already been here to see me.”

  “How on earth did she know you were here?”

  “She seems to know everything. She asked me about the Axis and why I stopped you. I don’t understand how she could be so angry over that. She made it clear that what she says goes around here. I’m afraid she isn’t going to like me no matter what I do.”

  “What’s not to like?” Evan manages a smile. “She’s just under a lot of stress and I think it’s making her paranoid. She’s worried that your dome poses a threat. I tried to explain it to her, but she’s just always preparing for the worst. We’ve taken in some people from other domes; it’s a lot for one person to feel responsible for the wellbeing of everyone. She shouldn’t blame you for your dome’s mistakes; she just needs to get over it. Dome 1618 would be a great ally for us.”

  Evan distractedly rubs my bandages. “Can I see?”

  I peel apart the tape and slowly uncover my wrists. Nora cleaned them up well; the swelling is gone, which makes the sores look much smaller than before. The bruising is still apparent, but that will heal eventually.

  Evan’s body goes rigid and I can see the muscles in his jaw twitch. “I know who those men were. I’m going to talk to them about this.”

  I quickly cover my injuries back up. “How’s your little brother?” I ask, trying to keep the conversation light. “Was he excited to see you?”

  “He was,” Evan says, leaning his head back and sighing. “He’s learned so much in the last month. He can read a little and even do some math. I told you, he’s so smart. When I told him all about you, he got so excited. He can’t wait to meet you.”

  “What did you tell him about me?” I ask, feeling a blush crawl across my face.

  Evan tilts his head back down to mine. “Oh, just that I met this great girl from another dome, and she’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen. When I told him that Alec is your uncle he said he knows he’ll like you for sure because we’re family.”

  “You told him I’m the prettiest girl you’ve ever seen?” I smile. “He might call you a liar when he sees me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Nico is way prettier than me.”

  “Nico?” Evan scrunches up his nose. “She’s like one of the guys. Plus, Quinn doesn’t think any girls are pretty—he’s four. He believes whatever I tell him.” Evan winks.

  I lay my head on his chest and close my eyes as Evan kisses my forehead. This is the first time I’ve felt like I could relax since we slept under the stars. I feel my consciousness get heavy, and then drift off to sleep.

  My dreams are silent, allowing my mind to rest, and for the first time in weeks, I haven’t seen the infected in my sleep. I’m not sure how long sleep lasts, but when I wake up, I can tell we are not alone.

  “Look at you two love birds,” Alec says cheerfully from the kitchen as I shift on the couch. “Glad to see you’ve made up. Life’s too short to get angry over the little things. Nico will take you back home now, Evan. I’ll meet up with you tomorrow; we need to go out on an expedition. We can talk more then.”

  “I’ll come by when I get back tomorrow,” Evan says to me as he runs his thumb across my cheek, tucking my hair behind my ear. He kisses me softly on the lips and I close my eyes, savoring the moment—they are too rare. When he stands up, I see Nico standing in the doorway watching us. Her face is emotionless. Is she jealous, or does she really not care? She nods at me, then turns and walks out the door.

  “Do you feel better?” Alec asks me.

  “I do.”

  “Good. I’ll be away most of tomorrow with Evan and Nico. I don’t want you getting into trouble, so I’ve arranged a little outing for you if that’s all right?”

  “What sort of outing?”

  “Evan’s good friend Remy is going to hang out with you,” Alec explains. “He takes care of Quinn while Evan’s gone. I hope that’s okay?”

  Quinn and Remy: two important parts of Evan’s life that I get to meet tomorrow. I’m excited to learn more about him by getting to know these two people. Hopefully, they will be easier to get along with than Evan’s mother and Nico. “Sounds good to me.”

  “Great,” Alec says. “Here’s some money. You only use this if it’s absolutely necessary. Money can go a lot further here than back home. Now, let’s get out of here. I’d like to take you out for something to eat. It’s time I showed my niece off a little.”

  We leave the house and I notice a man leaning against the side of the house across from us, a dark hood covering his face. My heart skips a beat, but he moves and walks away in the opposite direction.

  We walk along the dirt roads that run between the rows of homes. I see the same pattern here that Evan was helping Samson develop back home: a row of five houses and then the street intersecting with another; homes back to back, separated by narrow alleyways.

  The dome reaches far above, looming ominously over the Outer Colony. As we get closer, the homes end and the commercial district appears, which doesn’t surprise me, being so close to the dome. I know inside there are shops lining the entrance, reaching all the way to the Axis. It’s the same back home, and I imagine every dome was designed the same way to be the most effective.

  The peace of the city is lost when we pass by a bakery where the owner is holding a kid by the arm, yelling at him for stealing a loaf of bread. The shopkeeper raises his hand, holding a belt, and starts to hit the kid on the back with it. “No!” I cry out, as I run over to try to help.

  I barely hear Alec protesting behind me.

  “What are you doing?” I yell at the man. I grab the boy by his other arm, pulling him toward me.

  “Mind your business, girl,” the man says, holding the belt in mid-air.

  “Let me help,” I say, seeing the fear in the boy’s eyes.

  “Are you willing to pay five dollars for the bread this kid stole from my shop?”

  “If I do, will you let him go?”

  The man shrugs, so I grab five dollars from the bills Alec gave me and thrust them at him. The man hungrily eyes the bills and rips the money from my hand, letting go of the boy. The kid pauses for a moment, I think to thank me, but before he can say anything the man cuffs him so hard across the back that he stumbles and then runs away. I don’t blame him for running. I turn toward the shop owner and glare at him.

  “Was that necessary?”

  “Your loss. You can’t have the money back.” The man disappears back into his shop.

  “Nat,” Alec says from behind me.

  “What was I supposed to do?” I ask. “I can’t believe you didn’t do anything.”

  “You don’t understand this place, yet. Come on, let’s keep moving.”

  As we pass through the main doors of the dome, I notice a huge difference. Outside everyone was carrying a weapon, either slung across his back or holstered to her hip; it gave the impression of a need for protection. Inside the dome, things are more peaceful: music plays while people greet one another and go about their day. It reminds me of what home used to be like.

  Alec takes me to a tiny restaurant and orders two burgers. I grab a booth agains
t the window and wait for him. Hanging in the dome are telescreens, and instead of being lit up with the familiar Peace. Love. Order. Dome. I grew up seeing, these have an entirely different message: Strong. Proud. Protect. A shiver runs across my skin as Caroline’s last words to me ring through my head. I’m not surprised by what a person is capable of when it comes to protecting one’s own.

  I continue looking out the window and my heart skips a beat. The hooded man is standing down the street, staring at me. As a crowd of people passes by, he disappears. I shake my head; I must be going crazy. In the distance, where I saw him, I can see the Axis; it’s only half lit up. When Alec comes with our food, I ask him about it.

  “It doesn’t run at full potential,” Alec explains. “That decreases the load on their generators, which allows power to be rerouted to the Outer Colony. At the Axis, they keep essential services only: Engineering is there, working on a water filtration system; Microbiology will be working on duplicating the immune serum you brought; and Communications runs the telescreens and other notifications.”

  “Where’s the New Order?” I ask, biting into my food. The burger practically melts in my mouth. I devour it as Alec talks.

  “Outside. That’s where Caroline feels they best serve the people.”

  When we finish eating, we leave the dome but walk a different route home. I’d call it the scenic route, but it’s just the same-shaped houses and people carrying weapons. On one of the turns, we walk into an open market lined with carts filled with all types of food and goods. What gets my attention is a large platform in the center. On one side is a desk with three chairs and on the other is a large post with a noose hanging from it. I took history; I know exactly what stands before me.

  “Why did you bring me this way?” I ask. My chest tightens at the thought of why gallows are required.

  “I can tell you to be careful as many times as I want, but if I don’t show you what the consequences are around here, you won’t believe me.”

  “They actually hang people?” I step back and try to swallow past a lump in my throat.

  “Among other things. It’s not the same as back home. People there have been protected for a very long time. Here, when you commit a crime you’re brought before a board of three of your peers to make your case, and they vote. If they find you innocent, you are free. But if you’re found guilty, well, first offenses can be anything from community work to a public whipping, depending on what you did.”

  “Whipping? What about repeat offenders?” I ask, staring up at the noose that now sways in the wind.

  “They don’t get a chance to repeat again.” His voice is stern.

  “What about that kid at the bakery?” I ask, shocked. “Could he have been hung?”

  “Could have, yes,” Alec says, “if he was brought to the Court. But they would have sentenced him to somewhere, like Laundry. Trust me, you think Laundry was bad, there are worse places, but they’re all better alternatives to starving. At least when people are assigned duties they are fed two meals a day and get a place to live.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t think it’s fair that the baker was allowed to beat him on top of the possibility of Court.”

  “The baker did that instead of reporting him,” Alec explains. “You can’t do both. In a city where people from multiple domes cohabitate, this is how you get people stay in line.”

  I shudder in disgust. For a place that was supposed to be so much more advanced than home, it seems more backward each time I learn more about it. Jak would be appalled.

  We walk away from the gallows and make our way back to my uncle’s house. I notice the same hooded figure is behind us. Now I know I’m not going crazy—it’s Wheezy, one of the captors who pushed and dragged me to the Health Center; the one who thought it was funny to put my cuffs on so tight that they cut into my skin. He’s going to make it easy for me to get some payback.

  In the morning, I see a bouncing blond boy running up the street with a much taller bouncing blond boy. The little one laughs as he races his lanky counterpart to my doorstep. His reward must be getting the first knock, as the larger one holds back and presents him the doorway. A quiet rat-a-tat-tat ripples through the air.

  I open the door with a big smile. “You must be Quinn!” I’m surprised to see the little one’s large brown eyes grow even wider as he apprehensively looks me over.

  The taller one grins in a shy and charming way as he holds a hand out to me. “I’m Remy.” His smile reveals tiny dimples in his bronzed cheeks, and his hair holds a wavy curl. I shake his hand—it’s strong and firm. What else should I expect from Dome 569?

  “I’m Nat,” I say and look back at Quinn. “What are we going to do today?”

  The little boy looks down at his shoe and kicks some dirt. Remy smiles at me from behind Quinn and says, “Hey, Quinn, we could show Nat some of our secret hideouts.”

  Quinn squishes up his nose. “But she’s a girl.”

  “Where do you think I should go then?” I ask.

  “Hmmm,” Quinn ponders. “Maybe the park? There are girls there sometimes.”

  “Great idea,” I say.

  As we leave the house, I notice a dark shadow disappear around the side. I run to the edge and peek around, but no one is there. Patience, Nat.

  “Everything okay?” Remy asks.

  “Just my imagination.” I offer a fake smile.

  We weave our way through the streets as Quinn and Remy run about. Remy makes a quick stop at home to grab something for our visit to the park. He comes out with a long bag he straps to his back.

  The park is a small patch of grass in the middle of a bunch of houses, with a few swings and a slide for kids to play on. We sit on a patch of cool grass and Remy opens his bag, pulling out a guitar. I’ve never seen a musical instrument up close.

  Remy strums his fingers across the strings and the music tickles inside my ears. Once, Waldorf had found an old music player, and I thought that was incredible; but compared to real live music, the sounds from that player were scratchy and muffled. I beg to differ with anyone who thinks musical instruments are not necessary.

  The music rings through the air as Remy plucks at strings. I lean back on my hands and listen. He even lets Quinn play a little, the large instrument overtaking the boy’s small stature. Still, Remy’s patience is a great attribute. It is no wonder Evan trusts him to care for his little brother.

  “How long have you played?” I ask.

  “This was my father’s,” Remy explains. “He started teaching me when I was Quinn’s age. That was about the same time we moved outside the dome. Both he and my mother were musical. She would sing, he would play, and people would pay to watch them perform.”

  “You are so lucky you grew up with music.” I run my hand along the guitar’s smooth surface.

  “You act as though you’ve never seen one before.”

  “The Learning Institute made sure our educations were well rounded and we got to see a variety of musical instruments on a school trip to the Hall of Records. But they weren’t allowed to be used”

  Remy frowns. Even his dimples frown.

  “Our dome was strict about the rules.” I shrug. “Only that which was necessary for survival was utilized.”

  “Rules can be funny like that,” Remy says. “I can’t say I always agree with them. Things aren’t quite the same since my parents died. But the music makes me feel a little nostalgic—like when I was a kid and life was simpler.”

  “What happened to them?”

  “They were killed when our dome was attacked.”

  I look away. This dome lost a lot in that attack. “I’m sorry,” I say, not knowing what else to say.

  Remy continues to strum his guitar and hum. “They taught me to appreciate life.” He smiles. “I make sure to do that each day. What sort of things did you do back at your dome?”

  “We had movies,” I say, “but they were mostly propagand
a. Honestly, I spent most of my years in the Outer Forest of my dome, dreaming of what life outside would be like.”

  “Evan told me your parents were killed in an attack outside your dome as well,” Remy says.

  “Mine were part of a cover-up.”

  “Sounds important.”

  I laugh aloud unable to help myself. “I didn’t mean to sound like I was bragging.”

  Remy puts his hands up and smiles. “No judgment here.”

  “I just meant yours died during an attack. At least it was—”

  “Justified?”

  “That’s not what I’m trying to say either.” My words aren’t coming out right. I shift uncomfortably on the grass.

  Remy stops playing the guitar and puts a hand on my arm. “Don’t worry, Nat. I get it. I learned when my parents died that no death is fair. I tried to justify it, and yes, they did die defending our dome. They died protecting me. I spent about a year hating everyone because of it. Thankfully, I had good friends like Evan and Nico; they helped me to refocus my attention on life. I’ve been trying to make things better around here ever since.”

  “What do you do around here for fun?”

  “I work with inner city kids,” Remy says. “The ones left without parents after the attack, and the ones who roamed into our city from other domes that have been attacked or fall on hard times. There are things on the outside you don’t always see when you’re protected behind walls. I try to make their lives better.”

  “Are you a teacher?”

  “Kind of,” Remy says. “Some call me teacher, some call me mentor, and some just plain ignore me. I met up with Jess and Shell, two friends of Nico’s; we created a youth center where kids who need help can come. There we teach them survival skills, give them a safe place to sleep, and feed them as best we can until they can get on their feet.”

  “We never had anything like that in our dome,” I say. “I guess we never needed it.”

  “When you peel away the layers of control and give people their freedom, some take paths you would never have imagined they would,” Remy says. “But that’s freedom, you know? The choice to live life whatever way you please, whether it seems right or not. This dome is all about freedom. Within reason.”