CHOSEN: A Paranormal, Sci-Fi, Dystopian Novel (3 page)

“We
don’t have much time. The serum only works when the babies are in the womb and
have at least a few minutes for the serum to work through their system,” Dr.
Lima said.

“We
are cutting this really close. These babies are already in position to come
out.” Mave looked at her watch and waited as a few more seconds went by. 

The
ideal situation would have been to wait until the babies were fully developed
at thirty-nine weeks, but for Zura and the twins, the ideal wasn’t an option.
The twins were coming six weeks early. They could only hope that there would at
least be those few minutes after the serum was injected for it to process in
their bodies before they left the dark cramped safety of Zura’s womb.

“Okay.
Go now!” Mave yelled. It was finally time to begin administering the serum.

Dr.
Lima and her team watched the infants on the monitor. They would inject the one
closest to coming out with the serum first. Just as they were about to place
the needle, they paused as Zura let out another scream. A few more of those and
they would be out of time.

The cries of new life sounded through the
halls as tears streamed down Zura and Johan’s cheeks. The sound of Mave’s long
sigh was eclipsed by the twins. Dr. Lima smiled as she wiped her brow. They’d
done it.

The screams given from Stella’s strong lungs
overtook the light whimpering of her brother Stephen. She reached for him
instinctively as his eyes searched for her. He struggled with the overwhelming
stress, lights, and being dragged by Stella into the strange place.

Both lying against Zura’s chest, Stella
found his hand and wrapped hers around it.

Rift Valley in Southern
Year: 2165

“
Do you feel
that?” Delia shouted out to her mother, Marie. She jumped up from where she sat
against the white headboard of her extra-long twin bed. The headboard banged
lightly against the wall, partly from her and partly from the tremor. She
looked at her off-white walls.
Was that hairline crack there before?
The
royal blue and white bedspread lay rumpled underneath her.

For the past hour, she’d been putting
information into a small tablet she used to enter data at least once a month
for the past six months. Still carrying it, she strode into the living room
unable to ignore the persistent shaking.

“Of course I do. It’s almost over,” Marie
said coming into the living room. Delia stood there looking out the window at the
buildings surrounding theirs and thinking of all the people living around them.
The old buildings made from stone and cement were now painted brilliant shades
of purples, blues, greens, yellows, and clay reds dotted the city. 

Direct sunlight rarely graced their unit
because of the buildings that surrounded them that partially blocked it from
view. Her neighborhood was filled with tall residences, apartments, and condos,
all overflowing with people. The purple high-rise across the street from her
had a finger wide crack that ran along the side. Although the crack had begun
when the building settled naturally, she’d noticed it continue to spread over
the ten plus years they’d lived there.

Her building was newer, with windows that
stretched from her waist all the way to the aqua blue coffered ceilings, framed
in eggshell white. From those windows near the top of the skyscraper, she had
an enviable view of the city’s aging but colorful skyline.

She was high enough to see the rooftops of
most of the buildings around them. The hills in the distance were even visible
from where she stood. She saw the same hills that hid the site of one of the
larger pump holes, built years before, despite the overwhelming citizen
protests that in the end hadn’t mattered. 

She loved the Rift Valley with the mountains
and hills that greeted the rising sun and the colors that had made her home so
attractive to millions of people. If she got up early she could go to the hills
and look east to catch the sunrise. Dotted with trees, grass, and dirt they
were filled with the beautiful green she loved. It was a luxury in the city to
have the trees and grass anywhere in view.

“They’re getting more frequent,” Delia said
to her mother who sat down on the orange sofa and turned on the news. 

“I don’t remember it being like this other
years, at least not as long as we’ve lived here,” Marie said.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Delia said
as she sat down next to Marie.

“Every time I look at the news coming in,
they keep talking about these tremors and small quakes. They keep saying it’s
just the season,” said Marie. 

She scanned the channels until she found a
woman in the media blue uniform and an artificial tan talking about the tremors
before turning it over to the local newsperson. Marie waited expectantly to
hear what was being reported for the city this time.

Marie was struggling to remain patient with
all that was going on. Delia looked over at her as she pulled at her chin. She
could feel her mother’s worry and could tell her mother was thinking hard about
something. 

“I thought last year things were worse than
normal, but this is even more than last year.” Delia was trying to separate her
mother’s discomfort from her own.

“No, it’s not normal. It’s gotten worse and
it’s not getting better,” Marie said looking out the window and back to the
screen.

The local newswoman from the northern part
of Southern Liberty appeared and started reporting on the tremors happening as
being normal. A perfect white smile greeted the billion plus viewers before she
began.  

With practiced confidence she said,
“Citizens of Southern Liberty, please know that there’s nothing to worry about.
According to some of our best scientists, this type of seemingly increased
seismic activity happens every so often. Sometimes it takes a few generations,
sometimes less, but don’t be concerned about the small tremors. We have it on
authority from those in the highest branches of government that all is well.” 

Her big brown eyes and long dark lashes
batted at the camera as she smiled again. She turned to her cohost who then
moved on to other news about productivity being down because of a forced shut
down of some of the active emissions pumps, including one in Southern Liberty.
Delia shook her head as the reporter spoke about how negatively it was already
impacting the economy and the long-term impact on employment if it continued.

Marie snapped the news off, shaking her head
back and forth in disbelief. She began pacing around the spacious kitchen and
living room before stopping in the kitchen - she needed some tea. She pressed a
button on the refrigerator before taking out her favorite ceramic mug with drawings
of green creeping vines on it. 

She rolled the cup in her palms waiting for
the water to heat up. The lemon ginseng tea would help calm her for now. As
Marie poured the hot water into her cup she felt the vibrations rolling beneath
her feet again, just as Delia felt them under hers.

“I don’t think we are going to get better
answers, at least not from where we’re supposed to look,” said Marie as her
eyes followed the small circles forming at the top of her tea as the tremor
went through her to the water.

“What do you mean?” Delia asked, now curious
about what her mother might not be telling her.  

“You know exactly what I mean Delia. We hear
what they are saying but what we really need to hear is what they aren’t
saying.”

“Do you think we are going to have an
earthquake like the ones they’ve had on the coasts of Southern Allegiance?”
Delia asked with deep concern.  

“I don’t know, Delia. I keep thinking that
the one we heard about may just be one of many others we haven’t heard about. I
just don’t have a good feeling about what we are being told or about any of the
information reported. It makes me wonder how many others haven’t made the main
news. What I do know is that we keep getting more tremors like the ones we are
getting now and more of these small quakes. Eventually, it will lead to
something bigger. It’s just a matter of time. I just hope we aren’t here when
it happens,” Marie said.

“Where would we go?” Delia wondered aloud.
“We don’t have family anywhere else.”

“That’s a good question,” Marie said,
letting her eyes fall back to the tea cup where the water had now settled. “I
don’t want you to worry about that right now.” She placed the tea pod inside
the mug avoiding Delia’s questioning eyes.

Delia could feel her mother’s discomfort.
She wanted to ask the questions that sat at the tip of her tongue, pressing
against the back of her lips, longing to be spoken but thought better of it. Something
else was already weighing on her. Delia never wanted to be an extra burden or
cause her more stress.

“How do we find out what’s really going on?”
Delia asked.

The moment the question came out another
tremor, much stronger than the others shook their apartment. The cup of tea
Marie had now placed on the table to steep shook, spilling over the sides, and
Delia could hear something fall off the shelf somewhere at the back of their
unit. 

“Are we supposed to just sit here and wait
for this to get worse?” Delia stood up and asked her mom. “I’m sorry Mom. I
didn’t mean it like that. They are evacuating us but still feeding us these
lies? They keep reporting it like it’s all separate and isolated. It’s not just
here. It’s happening in other places too. Everywhere that’s along a ridge or
one of those tectonic plates is getting more of these. They may only register
as between twos and fours on their Richter scale but still someone should be
talking about it. No one is! I think they’re full of bull,” Delia said, her
voice rising.

“Watch your tone, Delia,” Marie said out of
habit.

Delia shook her head. She wouldn’t argue
with her mom, but she couldn’t be sorry about how she felt.

“I know it doesn’t make much sense but I
still need you to try and respect that we are under the World Consensus. We
will know the things we need to know, the things that are important, when the
time is right. In the meantime, there may be other things you can figure out. I
can’t answer it for you. At the same time, I don’t want you stirring anything
up or asking the wrong people questions. You understand that Delia? You can’t
afford to be considered disloyal,” Marie said, grabbing her arms to make sure
she understood.

“Okay. I got it - as always,” Delia said
backing away, trying not to show any more of her resentment at the whole
situation.

“Delia, one more thing. Whatever happens, no
matter what happens, keep asking questions. Keep searching for the truth. It is
there. It’s not always popular to go after it, but look around you and you will
find out the truth.”

Delia grabbed the door handle. “It seems
pretty pointless asking questions, Mom, when no one is willing to give you an
answer.”

“I love you Delia,” Marie called out as
Delia pulled the door open.

She walked out the door, tempted to slam it
but instead closing it softly, her tablet still in her hand.

***

Lyn heard the
familiar ‘knock knock knock’ on the door and knew immediately who it was. Delia
stood just outside the sterile looking white door marked with the silver
numbers 32-11 in script. She leaned against the silvery metal frame with a look
of frustration written all over her face, waiting for Lyn. 

“Hey Lyn, what do you think about all those
tremors we just had?” Delia asked as soon as she saw Lyn’s face around the edge
of the cracked door. Delia sauntered in and sat down on the simple wood-framed
sofa. 

“I don’t know. It’s more than we had back
home,” Lyn said, moving away from the door.

“They seem to be coming a lot. I nearly fell
on that last one. Of course, I was standing on one leg,” Ms. C chimed in with a
shrug. 

Ms. C and Lyn had been in the living room
practicing their Tai Chi. Their large unit was inspired by their other home in
the Eastern Way. What had been traditional art from the Orient lay in Feng Shui
inspired groupings and patterns around the few small tables. 

A large bust of a man who’d been called
Buddha sat in the corner of the living room near a plant that had clearly been
well cultivated and loved. Ms. C had brought it with them from the Eastern Way.
She’d gotten bold and even painted a large yin yang symbol on the wall opposite
the door. She called it her inspirational centerpiece.

Ms. C and Lyn had just relocated from the
Eastern Way Region a year earlier. Lyn’s father was an executive at one of the
larger corporations manufacturing recyclable clothing and had been relocated to
expand the business in the Southern Liberty Region. He divided his time between
the Eastern Way and Southern Liberty. He was back in their home region now and
Lyn and Ms. C would be joining him there for the evacuation.

Lyn spoke softly to Delia, “It wasn’t that
bad though right? I mean you get these all the time here, right?” Lyn asked
looking for reassurance.

“No, we didn’t used to. You haven’t been
here long, but this is not normal,” Delia paused. “And here we go again. It’s
like a slow but continuous ripple,” she said.

“It is happening more often, and not just
here,” Ms. C said to Delia and Lyn.

“We’re going out for a walk, Mom,” Lyn said
before walking towards the door.

“See you later, Ms. C,” Delia said following
Lyn out the door.

Rift Valley, Southern Liberty

Delia and Lyn
walked down the brightly lit hall towards the expanse of windows without
speaking. Everything was white - from the doors to the marble lined walls and
floors. Delia pressed the down button to call an elevator and as they waited there
was still silence.

Floor by floor they rode down, the only
sound being that of the elevator chiming as they reached each level. Surrounded
by mirrored images of themselves in the twelve by twelve alternating marble and
framed mirrors, Lyn could see Delia’s curiosity. They exited into the lobby
that buzzed with activity as people came and went, or simply sat in the white
molded chairs and sofas that intersected at unusual angles on white and grey
striped rugs. 

The coffee bar was still busy with a line
that wrapped around one side of the lobby. Every table had either white roses
or white lilies in clear glass vases. The floral scent coming off the elevator
always made Delia smile, and reminded Lyn of their garden back in the Eastern
Way. 

Once outside, Lyn and Delia walked down the
sidewalk along the back of their building, and headed towards the park. Lyn was
trying to keep up today with Delia’s much longer strides, but didn’t want to
start a conversation about why Delia was in such a hurry, lest Delia return the
question with a question. Their friendship was as good as it was because they
both understood the need to give each other space and not push too far, both
having things they’d rather leave unsaid.

It was comfortable for Lyn to walk with a
friend without talking and yet still enjoy her company. Both of them being only
children because they were first born girls in the family made the bond even
stronger. The institution of the rule of only one child if the first born was a
girl was made as a way to manage population growth.

The rationale that a female can only bear so
many children and fewer males in the population would mean fewer possible
partners to procreate. The law had only passed twenty years prior and after two
years of lawsuits that failed due the World Consensus’s support of the law, it
went into effect

Although there was nothing that could be
proven scientifically, many argued that nature fought back, and in the years after,
there was an unusually high percentage of first born males, restoring balance.
Additional lawsuits were brought forth in the years that followed, and a decade
after the law was passed, the World Consensus ended enforcement.

It was never removed from the legal records,
leaving the door open to restore it if they ever deemed it necessary. Delia and
Lyn had been born during the years the law was enforced and by the time the law
had been put on indefinite hold, most parents of female children had already
gone through their fertility restriction treatments. 

***

The park was
just a few blocks away and it was one of the few places with green grass and
real trees. There were hand-carved benches from salvaged wood, playgrounds for
the younger kids, and a massive swing set everyone could use. However, it
wasn’t Delia’s intention to go to the park, not just yet.

As they walked along the side of the
building, the Security Enforcement and Protection Agents, whom everyone called
SEP Agents, followed them briefly with their eyes. They recognized the girls
from their regular walks in the neighborhood. 

“I want to check something out, Lyn,” Delia
said once they got around the corner and out of hearing range of the agents.

“What is it?”

“There is a spot I have been watching for
the past six months and I want to show it to you. If you are up for it,” said
Delia, hoping Lyn would agree to come.

“Is it about the tremors and quakes?” Lyn
asked.

“Yeah.”

“Alright. Let’s go and check it out,” Lyn
said with a smile.

They walked towards the neighborhood park,
passing several families with young kids and couples. A young man had drawn an
audience around him as he performed magic tricks to the oohs and ahs of the
crowd. His black top hat and cape were his magician’s adornment, and both had
seen better days. The top hat had frayed from his fingers grabbing the rim so
often. It also doubled as a tip jar which he passed around after every act,
storing the lubles in a secret compartment.

An older man seeming to take a nap sat on a
bench near the edge of the park - an apple in one hand around which his grip
would tighten every time it was about to fall to the ground.

Lyn traced the path of a green balloon that
floated towards the clouds as a little girl pointed at it and cried. Delia and
Lyn continued walking, choosing a side street that backed up to a small
man-made hill, which was a former dump site long since covered over with layers
of dirt and grass.

The hill had a well-worn path in the dirt,
beaten by the treads of those who used it as a shortcut to other parts of the
city. Lyn and Delia followed the narrow path with low creeping roots, dried and
dead. They could easily lose their footing if they didn’t follow the narrow
strip that had been worn over time. They climbed up to the top of the hill and
back over, moving carefully as they leaned with the hill to keep from falling
and sliding.

Once down the other side, Delia strode
purposefully over to a round piece of metal. It was at least three and a half
feet wide and flat, with orange rust around the two handles that were soldered
to the top. On Delia’s first trip, it was the rust that told her it had been
there a while. Delia squatted beside the large cover, grabbed the handle on one
side, and pushed against it. The large cover slowly slid out of the way,
exposing what looked like a cement tube that quickly disappeared into the
darkness of the earth.

“What is this?” Lyn asked.

“It’s something I found one day last fall
when I was out running. I’d been going up and down the hill, doing a few reps
and when I stopped to rest up there on the top, I saw the metal cover and was
curious, so I came down. This is what I found,” said Delia, happy to finally
show it to someone.

Lyn tapped the top of the metal circle with
her foot and pulled it back, suddenly uncomfortable with the sensation. “Are
you sure we should be over here Delia?”

“No, but we’re here now.” Delia ran her hand
over the surface of the covering she’d handled several times before. “I am not
one hundred percent sure, but my guess is that it’s one of the emissions pump
holes. Obviously someone made it and now it’s not being used, and hasn’t been
for a while.”

Around the circle was evidence that a
structure of some sort had once stood nearby, but had been demolished. Loose
stone and concrete were still scattered about, now partially covered by dirt,
weeds, and grass.

The large factory in the area that made
regional uniform emblems had closed a few years back, the business having been
consolidated with other larger factories making emblems closer to the western
coast. The emissions pump was no longer needed and the pipes that ran
underground from the factory had been sealed and abandoned. The hole, however,
had only been covered.

“Maybe it was abandoned because it was
dangerous,” Lyn said, stepping back another foot, but not able to get rid of
the odd feeling.

“That might be true, but it is also
interesting. Something real is going on and I think this hole is a clue. I
checked it out the day I found it and noticed that when I came back after a few
tremors the cracks in the cement looked worse. I couldn’t be certain though, so
when I came back the next time I brought something to measure them. I’ve been
measuring them ever since. I have proof those cracks are getting bigger and I’m
measuring again today,” Delia said with a serious look in her face. Her mom and
dad would probably tear into her if they knew what she was doing, but she had
to find out.

Lyn stood near the gaping hole while Delia
got down on her knees then her stomach. She leaned against the side to measure
the size of the cracks along the walls in the hole. As she lay against the
ground, a light rumbling started again. Lyn’s eyes opened wide. She didn’t know
what was going on. Her body was tingling as the rumbling was happening. The
rumbling in the ground ended and then the tingling in her body did too.

“That was strange,” Lyn said, half to
herself, half to Delia.

“Unfortunately, that’s pretty normal. We are
getting those rumblings all the time. What’s strange is the smell that came out
this hole when the rumbling was happening. It was horrible. Ugh,” she said
shaking her head, “and still is. The closest thing I can think of is the smell
of rotten eggs and sewage. Bad combination. I’ve never smelled anything like
it.” Delia fanned her nose as she leaned back away from the source of the
accosting odor. After a few moments she leaned back in, looked at the markings
and entered them into her small tablet.

“Not that. I mean that too, but my body was
tingling while it was rumbling. Probably nothing. Just strange.”

“Or it’s something,” Delia said pausing to
look at Lyn. “Maybe you are just…sensitive…”

Lyn shrugged, ignoring the question. There
was something Lyn wasn’t saying but Delia wasn’t in the mood to question more
than she already had. So far, she hadn’t gotten any good answers from anyone
today. Everyone seemed to only have half answers and those answers didn’t feel
right to her.

“Let me cover this back up and we can get
out of here.” Delia crouched down to a squat again and began pulling the metal
plate back over the hole. 

The earth shook again, this time much
stronger. Lyn fell onto Delia who landed on the metal plate that wasn’t quite
covering the hole, banging her elbow on the edge. She let out a yelp before
quickly closing her mouth to stop the gagging odor from entering and reaching
her tongue.

Delia’s upper body went into the hole and
Lyn struggled to get up as the ground continued to shake. Delia was stuck
between the edge of the hole and the plate now. 

“Help me out of here before my nose burns
off!” Delia yelled out to Lyn.

Lyn grabbed the handle on the edge of the
metal plate and tried to pull it back. She wondered how Delia had made it look
so easy. Squatting down like Delia had, she tried pulling again, this time
getting it to move just a few inches. It was just barely enough for Delia to
get her hand up for leverage.

“Thanks,” Delia said with a push to the
cover, effortlessly sealing the hole again. “Let’s go.” 

“What do you think it means? With the cracks
getting bigger and that horrible smell coming out?” Lyn asked Delia once they’d
gotten back over the hill and were trekking back towards the park.

“Nothing good. I can’t prove it but those
cracks seem to get bigger with the tremors or quakes. And that smell only came
out like that when the ground was rumbling. I doubt that is a coincidence,” she
said, her eyes narrowing in thought.

Delia and Lyn approached the park which the
last tremor had shaken up as well. Now the benches, swings, and playground were
nearly empty. The magician was gone and the kids too. Delia supposed those
tremors must’ve jostled everyone out of their false sense of comfort and back
into action. It was another reminder that they were evacuating and needed to
get ready.

The nonchalant attitude towards the tremors
and earthquakes characteristic of nearly everyone she saw or talked to
surprised her. It was as if they’d suspended reality to continue believing the
lie that this was normal and just a precaution.
How could they be so blind?,
Delia wondered. They’d managed to turn off their common sense to feel safe and
maintain their false sense of security. 

Delia and Lyn walked again in silence until
they were in the middle of the park. The SEP Agents walked along the outer
walls, scanning the center occasionally but not leaving their assigned beats to
come in.

“My dad used to work for a small private
company, as an environmental scientist, before it was bought by one of the
UniCorps’s companies,” Delia shared with Lyn as soon as they were out of the
range of the agents. “When they were bought out they were asked to do things
that he wasn’t comfortable with.”

“Did he use to work with the pump holes?”
Lyn asked curiously.

“He never told me what he was working on and
still won’t talk much about it, but I know that whenever he hears about these
emissions pumps and the holes like what we just saw he gets mad. I mean cursing
under his breath, storming out of the room mad. After about a year working
under the new owners he quit and took a regular job where he couldn’t be at
risk of giving away secrets or being told he was possibly committing treason.
He’s retired now but I can’t ask him about it. He flat out refuses to talk
about any of this with me. Says it’s better that way,” Delia said in a hushed
voice, checking the surrounding agents.

The SEP Agents’s suits were so enhanced that
she was never certain how much the agents might hear or if the park might have
microphones planted around it.

Delia and Lyn stood up to leave the eerily
empty park. Lyn’s body was still tingling even though there was no shaking or
tremor that anyone else seemed to feel.