Shatter (28 page)

Looking for another amazing read? Try this excerpt from
All We See or Seem
by Leah Sanders
, published by Astraea Press.

Chapter One

Gryff
’
s orders lay unopened on the table.

The silent tension caused Gem to bite her lip. She tucked a loose strand of auburn
hair behind her ear and shifted uneasily in the chair. Wide-eyed, Gryff sat stiffly
beside her, regarding the envelope. He was like a statue
—
hands on his knees
—
staring interminably at the table.

Finally, Gem cleared her throat. Gryff jolted as if in a daze and turned to her. A
look
of uncertainty hung in his eyes. She swallowed the dry, sticky taste in her mouth
and reached for his hand. It felt cold… clammy. Gem could feel the faint tremor of
his fear radiating through his fingers. She took Gryff
’
s hand between her own and squeezed, trying to infuse heat and reassurance at the
same time.

“
Sometimes they come back,
”
Gem
’
s voice was barely a whisper. It was a feeble attempt, but she was grasping at straws
here.

Everyone knows.

They don
’
t come back. Never whole, anyway. Most likely, this was goodbye. Gem knew it. Gryff
knew it.

“
Yeah. Sometimes they come back.
”
She knew it was his effort to reassure her, but there was a storm behind his green
eyes, betraying his fear. He smiled weakly at her and pulled his hand away reluctantly
to reach for the envelope instead. With a heavy sigh, he leaned back again in his
chair, staring for just a moment at the sealed envelope in his trembling hands. Then
in one gust of determination, he tore open his orders and read them.

“
When?
”
Gem couldn
’
t wait any longer. She hated how badly she wanted to know. Her eyes scoured Gryff
’
s face for the answer. When he met her gaze, he was pale. Gem
’
s heart fell into her stomach, but she waited for Gryff to swallow the emotion she
knew was caught in his throat.

“
Tomorrow.
”

“
Code Green.
”
It was a statement rather than a question, but Gem whispered it hoarsely. Green, a
tremendous honor. The only thing higher was an immediate mandate — a Code Violet.
An honor. An honor.
She repeated it in her mind — enough times and she might start to believe it.

“
Code Green,
”
Gryff affirmed. He turned his gaze back to the crisp white paper and the neat, black
print, which Gem knew was blurring through the barrage of moisture she saw welling
up in his eyes. He seemed suddenly so far away, and a strange emptiness swelled in
the pit of her stomach. In that moment she needed… she couldn
’
t put her finger on what, but somehow she felt as if Gryff was the only one who could
fill the void. She reached out uncertainly, but he stood abruptly, leaving her without
an antidote for the pain.
“
What time is your appointment? You do have benchmarks today, right?
”

“
Yeah. Um…
”
Gem put her hand down quickly and shook her head slightly to clear the haze.
“
It
’
s at ten. It
’
s a level three, so I
’
ll be a couple hours.
”

“
Level three? You won
’
t be eating lunch then… I
’
ll meet you at the gym for the afternoon session. You
’
d better get going. Don
’
t want to be late again.
”
Gryff still hadn
’
t looked at her. She knew he was struggling for control.

“
Gryff? I
…”
She hesitated and changed her mind.

“
Yeah, yeah. I know.
”
Then he turned his back on Gem and walked out.

Gem looked at the wall clock. Yeah, she had better get going. It was a good ten minutes
to the repository clinic. If she was late again there would be disciplinary action.
Her record was bad enough as it was.

****

“
Gemini — Stem 6418C.
”
The attendant was distant, cold, as usual.
“
Exam Room Seven. Level Three Testing. When did you last eat?
”

“
Oh-six-hundred hours.
”
Gem
’
s voice was equally emotionless. No one at the clinic appreciated any sign of personality.
They expected dry, mechanical responses. Anything else raised eyebrows and, more often
than not, earned comments in the permanent record like
Uncooperative
,
Troublesome
, and
Aggressive Tendencies.
Too many of those and you could guarantee a disciplinary action. Gem was determined
to meet expectations today.

“
Fine. The chart says you were tardy for your last appointment. I remind you another
offense will earn you a referral to the disciplinary clinic.
”

No answer was expected.

Gem followed the attendant down the hallway to the exam room. It was a long, silent
walk. The only sound was the rhythmic clatter of the attendant
’
s heels echoing off the white tiled walls. When they reached Exam Room Seven, Gem
stood quietly and awaited further instruction.

“
Change into the gown. Sit on the
table
.
”
The attendant gestured toward the folded gown
sitting there
then promptly left the room, closing the door behind her.

Gem knew she had very little time to do what was asked. The staff at the repository
clinic was nothing if not efficient, so she changed quickly and sat in the designated
place, folding her hands neatly in her lap. As if on cue, the door opened again and
through it strode three attendants and a clinician. Each had a specific task that
they set about doing immediately. One worked on her right side to draw blood; another
worked on the left to insert an I.V.; the third took saliva swabs and checked vitals,
while the clinician reviewed Gem
’
s chart for a moment and asked her periodic questions without looking at her.
“
Any pain or discomfort lately? Any body changes? Physical traumas?
”

Gem answered curtly as was expected, though in her mind she had to laugh at the timing
of some of the questions
.

“
Any pain or discomfort lately?
”
and the attendant on the left jabbed the I.V. needle into her arm.
“
Physical traumas?
”
and the third attendant banged a metal cart into her kneecap. Nevertheless, Gem answered
“
No
”
on all counts. Everything was normal as far as the clinic was concerned.

Gem
’
s mind began to edge toward Gryff. He was leaving. Probably for good. But if she thought
about that now, she wouldn
’
t pass the tests, so Gem forced it out of her mind and focused back on the clinician.

“
Brain activity nodes. Logic. Physiological Response. R.E.M. Requested procedure 11B
via 7217. Alter consciousness for that one. We
’
ll do it last. No Chem Response today. Confirm schedule changes in the database.
”
He was talking to the attendants now. Each one input a note on her board then scurried
off in a different direction to prepare the tests.

Gem knew the drill. Monthly appointments at the Repository were by the book. Rarely
a change in the agenda. Sure, Level Three was usually more strenuous, often left her
exhausted, always made her lose her appetite. But it was nothing she hadn
’
t done before. It was easy to let her mind wander while the clinician spouted instructions
to the attendants. But what was that he just said? Something different. Gem
’
s heart rate increased ever so slightly. One of the attendants looked up at the heart
monitor then at Gem.
Breathe, Gem. Calm down. It
’
s nothing. You
’
re fine.
She attempted to control her own heart rate, to bring it back down to normal.

“
Sir.
”
The attendant watching the heart monitor drew the clinician
’
s attention to the change.

“
Hmm... Static therapy, maybe. This one is observant. I
’
ll make a note.
”
He keyed something into Gem
’
s chart. The beep on the monitor increased frequency again, causing the clinician
to look up suddenly.
“
Wow. That is amazing.
”
Then he nodded at the attendant and indicated Gem with a dart of his eyes. The attendant
quickly retrieved a pair of earphones from the cart and fitted them firmly in Gem
’
s ears then set the volume and station. Immediately Gem was flooded with soothing
musical tones. She relaxed
and
allow
ed
the music to wash over her. Around her the attendants went about their duties briskly.
The clinician returned to his work in Gem
’
s chart. The heart monitor registered a steadily stabilizing rate.

****

When Gem walked out of the clinic three hours later, she had only a vague recollection
of going through the tests. She felt like she was walking out of a cloud, and her
mind still swam in the remnants of the fog.

Robotically, Gem somehow found her way to the gym and to her afternoon calisthenics.
She scanned her wrist and entered the room, panning the group for Gryff. She did remember
he was going to meet her. She did remember
—
with clarity
—
he had received his orders, and he was leaving
…
tomorrow.

She spotted Gryff in the back row and
made
her way to him. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her elbow. With a start, Gem spun around
to find herself face to face with a uniformed staff person.

“
Gemini?
”
Recreational staff were less formal than the clinical staff.

“
Yes?
”

“
Your exercise assignment has been changed today. You
’
ll be joining a different group. Will you follow me?
”

Gem glanced at Gryff. He stared
back
questioningly. Gem shrugged helplessly and followed the attendant out the door and
down the hall.

This has happened before, so it wasn
’
t cause for alarm, but Gem couldn
’
t help but feel disappointed about the timing. Next week would have been better
—
tomorrow even. She needed to spend every moment possible with Gryff, and this unexpected
change truncated the precious time she had left.

In spite of her emotional turmoil, her desperation for control in a situation that
was out of her control, she followed obediently
.
B
ecause
that
was what was expected.