Savage Run (2 page)

My stomach clenches with anger.

He demands that she clean it up and to go
get another platter with the crumpets. Gemma apologizes, cleans up
the mess, and scurries back inside the mansion, her face as ashen
as the scattered clouds above.

Right when Gemma found out who she was being
sent to work for, we joked that if things got too bad, we’d run
away and miraculously gain our freedom. I never dreamed that one
day I’d actually find a way to make it happen.

It’s not only Gemma who needs to get away,
though. This morning my father woke me, shouting from the living
area, asking where his lazy good for nothing daughter was. While I
served him breakfast, he continued to lecture me about how it’s not
like I can skip a day’s worth of work and sign up for the Savage
Run or anything. I’m just a girl—the wrong gender. And besides, the
hospital needed me to make an “emergency” prescription delivery to
Master Douglas by 7:00 a.m. Yelling after me as I left, he said
he’d pray that I’d swiftly repent of my irresponsible ways.

Like my father, Gemma has
no clue about my plan, and I’m not even sure she’ll go for it—it’s
kind of like jumping from the lion’s den into the valley of death.
However, being dead can’t possibly be worse than enduring the life
I’m living now, or the life I’ll soon be forced into. When I turn
eighteen next week, I’m supposed to, like all Laborers of age, be
assigned to my own Master. My father says he’ll miss me, though he
won’t miss having another mouth to feed. What he’ll soon realize is
that he doesn’t even have to wait until next week to be rid of
me.
I should be well on my way when he
finds the note I left for him under my pillow, explaining that I
won’t be returning home.

Birds sing freely around me as I wait for
Master Douglas to finish pigging out on the sausages. I peruse the
forest, making sure no one’s around. If caught straying from my
responsibility, I’d receive a harsh punishment like solitary
confinement or beatings. Though these types of reprimands are
fairly common, they’re still dreaded among Laborers. Not to mention
degrading. But once in a while there’s a Laborer who for whatever
reason openly defies their Master or tries to run away. In those
instances, the retribution is much worse. It’s always a heavy day
when we’re forced to Skull Hill to watch the beheading.

Sitting here is awkward and my leg is
starting to tingle. I shift a little to get comfortable and to
prevent it from going completely numb. I peer over the wall again,
but still no Gemma. What could possibly be taking her so long?
Doesn’t she know that Master Douglas will ream her out again if she
doesn’t hurry? And the longer she takes, the more likely it is that
my plan will fall apart completely. Finally, Gemma comes out with a
new tray overflowing with pastries and crumpets and sets it on the
marble table. How much breakfast does the man need? Even for a
Master, he has an exquisite taste for gluttony.

From studying Master Douglas’s routine, I’ve
figured that the best time to get Gemma and make a run for it is
right after he leaves for his hour-long walk. During that period,
the front gates will be left open for about ten minutes to let in a
shipment of goods. The Unifer guarding the gates will be busy with
the delivery and will take time to chat with the delivery driver.
With a little luck, Gemma and I will slip behind the truck
unnoticed.

I lean my head back onto the tree trunk, and
let out a soundless sigh. This is taking way too long. Then
suddenly, a lighthearted laugh catches my attention. I peek into
the courtyard and see Master Douglas’s seven-year-old daughter
hopping onto his lap and planting a kiss on his pudgy cheek. She’s
always smiling and laughing, especially around him.

“
Hi, sweetheart.” His
black, round eyes fill with adoring love for the child. “Will you
be coming with me this morning to go horseback riding?”

“
Not today, Dada,” she
says, hanging on his neck and stroking his graying hair. “I want to
go swimming.”

“
Swimming?”

“
It’s so hot, and Gemma
promised she’d take me.”

“
She did, did she?” He
twirls her golden braid around his finger, while staring at Gemma.
“I’ll make sure I tell Gemma that she needs to take extra good care
of you.”

“
See you later, Dada.” She
slides off his lap, and skips back into the house.

Master Douglas gulps the rest of his tea,
pushes his palms against the armrests, and rises to his feet. He
flicks his wrist toward Gemma. “Get lost!”

Gemma bends her head lower, and without a
sound, she shuffles back into the house.

Heading inside, Master Douglas lets out a
loud belch. I’m not quite sure, but I almost think I can smell his
beer breath all the way from over here. I cover my nose with my
hand and feel pressure rising at the back of my throat. Well—at
least he’s on the move.

I hop down from the tree and shove my feet
into my cold, wet sandals. When I arrive at my bike, my whole body
is shaking. This is it.

I heard once that if I run toward my fears
as fast as I can, my fear will transform into courage—and courage
will lead me to freedom. But as I sit down and wait with my bike
behind the thick hedge in front of Master Douglas’s property, my
whole body is quivering. Where is the courage now?

I have a heightened
awareness about everything—from the soft rushing sound of the
leaves to the squirrel in the tree, chewing on a chestnut, to the
damp spot on the back of my legs.
The pit
in my gut is growing wider by the second, festering like an
untreated ulcer.
Is this a ridiculously
bad idea? After all, it isn’t called
Savage
Run for nothing. I shouldn’t
even be considering signing up. If I’m discovered, as a female
Laborer—the lowest ranking citizen in our nation—I’ll immediately
be taken to Skull Hill.

No. I can’t second-guess myself now.

Hearing the whirring sound of an aircraft
above, I look up. It roars loudly as it makes its final descent
into Culmination. Red, yellow and white stripes—the official colors
of the Savage Run—decorate the tail. My father says billions of
newkos have been spent on the Savage Run program and it disgusts
him. I’m sure if he had a son who could honor him in becoming a
Master citizen, he’d think differently.

Suddenly, I hear the gates creak open and my
arms brace my chest, right above my racing heart. Master Douglas
jogs past me in a green jumpsuit and continues down the road. I
undo my ponytail and pull back my black, wiry hair, looping the
elastic band around so tightly that it tugs at the edges of my
already slightly slanted eyes. I wait until he disappears around
the bend, and when I’m sure he’s gone, I push my bike out onto the
road. Grabbing the concealed knife from the basket—just in case I
need it—I slide it up my sleeve and head straight for the
gates.

A transporter zooms by me, and I pretend
that I’m just doing my job as usual, here to deliver medicine. I
stop at the entrance feigning to pant, like I just climbed the long
hill, and nod toward the heavily armed Unifer. Recognizing me, he
punches in the code and the tall steel gates open. Clutching my arm
against my abdomen to keep the knife in place, I walk the bike
across the courtyard and rest it against a fountain. I pick up the
prescription bag from the basket and step up to the
stained-glass-encased silver door. I ring the golden doorbell. A
few moments later, the door swings open. I’m ready to greet Gemma
with a warm smile, but when I see that the entire left side of her
face is red—bruised—I gasp.

She quickly lowers her eyes.

“
What happened?” I whisper,
barely able to speak.

She shakes her head. When I reach out to
touch her, she takes a step back and wraps her arms around her
abdomen.

“
You can’t stay here
anymore.”

Gemma’s bottom lip trembles, and her brows
draw heavily over her eyes. “Go—before he comes back.” She holds a
pale hand out to receive the medication.

“
No, listen.”

Her eyes cautiously flick to mine.

“
When the truck
comes…follow me; I have a plan and I can explain on the way.” But
standing in front of her now, I somehow know she’ll
object.

She shakes her head again, her blue eyes
wide and fearful. “He’ll hunt you down and kill you,” she
whispers.

I step closer to her, eyeing the Unifer
behind me. He’s talking on the phone. “If we make it downtown,
we’ll be safe. I promise.”

She closes her eyes, and a tear rolls down
her cheek. “Please—just go.”

“
No—come.”

Opening her eyes, they wander side to side
like they always do when she’s thinking. Just as she opens her
mouth to speak, her gaze focuses behind me. Gasping, she brings her
hand to her lips.

“
Heidi!” Master Douglas’s
voice trills.

The hair on the back of my neck spikes as I
slowly swivel around to face him. I notice the sweat beads on his
tall forehead, a patch of moisture on his chest. Instantly, I lower
my eyes, and as my inferior class dictates, I wait to speak until
he invites me to.

“
How are you, dear?” he
asks.

“
Well—thank you. Did you
go…running this morning?” My vocal cords feel like sealed
clams.

“
Yes, well, normally I go
for much longer, but this morning I seem to have a bit of
indigestion.” He shoots Gemma an accusing glare.

“
This is for you,” I say,
handing him the prescription bag. I hope he doesn’t notice how my
arm shakes.

Master Douglas steps into the doorway and
shoves Gemma behind him like she’s nothing but a rag doll. “Thank
you for coming on such short notice.” He signs the flap on the bag,
tears it off, and hands it back to me. “But I ran out of a very
important medicine, and I simply can’t live without it. It’s life
or death.”

I eye the green label,
which means the content in the bag is a supplement,
not
a
prescription.

“
It was no problem.” I nod,
looking for Gemma, but she’s vanished back into the house. He takes
my hand in his and strokes it, my skin feels like it has a hundred
slithering snakes crawling beneath the surface. All I want to do is
rip my hand away, but infuriating him would be
dangerous.

“
I just thought I’d let you
know that I’ve considered the possibility of you coming to work for
me when you turn eighteen—next week, right?” He touches my cheek
with the back of his lotion-scented, smooth hand, his fingernails
immaculately manicured.

I close my eyes and try not to let the
revulsion show on my face.

“
I wanted to let you know
that, Heidi.”

I nod and smile, although my smile probably
looks more like a frown.

“
You are at liberty to
leave.” Then right before he closes the door, he adds, “Oh, and say
hello to your father for me. He’s such a wonderful man—righteous.
Honorable. God-fearing. It was his idea that you come and work for
me. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.” He slams the door in my
face.

I blink. This isn’t what was supposed to
happen! Gemma was supposed to come with me…and…and…we were supposed
to…and my father? What is he thinking? Doesn’t he see through
Master Douglas? Maybe he does and that’s exactly why he recommended
I come here—to punish me. Get the devil out of me. For a moment, it
feels like my heart is sinking into a bottomless pit, and I am
unable to take a breath. I should leave now—I delivered the
medicine—but my feet feel as if they’re fused to the cobblestones
beneath them.

The Unifer grunts at me, startling me back
to reality. Forcing my feet to move, I drag myself away from Gemma,
swallowing again and again, stuffing the tears deep down. I pick up
my bike, and passing the Unifer I nod to show respect. Even though
there is none. Just as I exit the gates, the delivery truck pulls
up and parks in the middle of the driveway.

Chapter 2

Pausing outside the gates, my eyes sweep
across our deep valley, the soaring mountains surrounding it, and
the glistening river that I’ve swum in countless times. It must
have been an amazing country when it was free.

After the S1-P1 virus
killed ninety percent of our inhabitants, an army of Unifers
arrived in their blue and green uniforms. Unifers, as everyone
knew, were soldiers from the Eastern Republic, a super nation
comprised of most of Asia, Russia and Europe—a society built around
goodwill, liberty and peace
.
However, the Eastern Republic didn’t send the
soldiers; these soldiers were a rogue Unifer army led by the
power-hungry General Volkov, and they were looking for a land to
make their own. Finding us in a defenseless state, they immediately
seized control. General Volkov Sr., was elected president, our
nation was renamed “Newland,” and citizens were categorized into
three classes: Laborers, Advisors, and Masters. That was sixty-six
years ago, and now, President Volkov Sr.’s son, President Volkov
Jr., rules the nation.

I discreetly place the knife back into the
basket, reenter the woods, and return to the same spot I was
earlier. After I park my bike by an acorn tree, I kick the trunk a
couple of times.

Plan B.

I lean my back against the rough, damp bark,
and stare at the pale wall. Climbing over it and getting into
Master Douglas’s property won’t be a problem. Not getting noticed
will. Suddenly I hear Master Douglas yelling obscenities from the
other side of the barrier. I grab the knife, quickly climb the
tree, and carefully peek my head over the edge of the wall. My
blood boils when I see Master Douglas hauling Gemma outside. By her
hair.