Vanquished (25 page)

She opens the door to let me in, and then closes it behind me. The sound of the door clicking into place behind me sets my veins pumping and I spin around to clutch at the knob. Locked.

That really, really stinks.

The room is quiet, and I move like lava to see what awaits me. I expect a table or at least a desk, and then the test giver, of course. There's a clock on one wall, and it's set to the wrong time. It reads nine o'clock.

There is one chair—a hard, metal chair—and a podium with a woman behind it. She's wearing glasses and a dark business suit. Her dark hair is pulled into a tight knob at the base of her neck, but her hair is unlike any I've seen before. It sparkles, almost like fire but more dancing, more glimmering.

I stand glued in place watching her glittering head.

“Won't you sit down?” Her voice is flat and stern, not welcoming and inquisitive.

I clear my throat and look away. Strange or not, it is probably rude to stare at your tester, not to mention kind of stupid. I hurry to the chair and slide into place.

“State your name.”

“Hana Norfolk.”

“Proposed occupation?”

“Government work.”

She makes marks on something she has on the podium, but I don't see a pen in her hand so I'm not sure what she's writing. I lean forward, trying my best to see.

She glances at me and narrows her eyes. “Did you need something?”

I get the impression she isn't as open to questions as other people I've met. I sit back. “Not really.”

She frowns, but keeps speaking. “Tell me about a usual day in the life of Hana Norfolk.”

It's something in her eyes that sets my pulse to throbbing again. An iciness. A chill. An implied knowledge.

I take a deep breath. I can do this. “Well, before graduation I went to school every day, and after school I went to visit my mom in the hospital. She has the mutation.”

Tap tap tap
on whatever she's got on that podium.

My tester doesn't even glance at me.

“Go on.”

I force my eyes away. “After visiting her I go home and cook dinner for me and my dad. School has only been out for two days, so I haven't really had a chance to change my routine much.”

Tap tap.

Finally, she looks at me. Right in the eye. “That's it? There are no special friends you spend time with?”

Heat floods my face and chest and stomach. I don't know for sure, but it feels like she's baiting me. Who does she want me to talk about? Jamie?

Maybe she's referring to Ava or Fischer or Keegan.

I swallow hard. “I have a handful of friends I do things with every now and then.”

She rolls her eyes and sighs. “In case you haven't figured it out yet, I would like you to elaborate.”

Tap tap tap.
Only this time it's my toe tapping the floor in a quick rhythm. “My best friend Keegan is home on break, and I've spent the last few days with him. Before that I hung out with a couple of other friends—Jamie and Ava. But not very often since my mom got sick.”

“And how are Jamie and Ava?”

My anger simmers and boils and erupts. She was baiting me. “I couldn't say for sure, as they've both been taken away.”

She watches me, not confirming or denying or seeming to care one single iota.

I keep eye contact until I can't take it anymore.

A tiny smile turns up the corners of her mouth, and she glances back at her podium. “Tell me why you want to work in government.”

I tell her about my ideas for helping the Lessers, and the reasons I think this will benefit our country.

She
tap tap taps
again.

I fidget fidget fidget.

“Did your mother ever speak with you about her military work?”

My hands still. “What?”

“Your mother was a top military official before she became a professor at the military academy. Did she ever tell you about her time in that position?”

My mom became a professor sometime around my eighth birthday. I don't remember much about her job before then, and I definitely didn't know she was a top official. “No. She never mentioned it to me at all.”

She watches me, studies me. Finally, she nods and goes back to tapping. Obviously, she's decided I'm not lying.

“Tell me about all the times you've been caught out after curfew.”

Thankfully, she looks away, letting me bask in my shock in peace. I wasn't expecting to talk about that. I could deny it, but what good would that do? “I was caught out once when I came home from visiting my mom at the hospital, and another time when I—I snuck out to meet a friend.”

She nods and taps and then looks back to me. “Any other times you want to elaborate on?”

I refuse to look away. “No.”

She gives a sharp nod. “Very well. You know we don't take kindly to lawbreakers, correct?”

Swallow. “I'm aware.”

“Excellent. I think I have all I need for now. You may go.”

I stay in my chair, unsure if she means it.

She glances up from the podium. “What are you waiting for?”

I stand, my knees wobbling. “Sorry,” I say. I hurry toward the door.

“Oh, Miss Norfolk? Don't speak of your test with anyone.”

Now even my hands are shaking, but thankfully, the door has been unlocked. I hurry into the hall and rush back toward Keegan.

That didn't go well. I may be seeing Jamie again after all.

 

 

 

 

45

 

Keegan grins at me when I rejoin him in the lobby. “Didn't I tell you it would be fine?”

I smile and shrug a little. I don't know what to say. Confiding in him isn't an option, and it's not like I have much to discuss. What would I say? I blew my shot at a decent future? I never thought about that as I sneaked out to meet Fischer all those times.

We walk into the bright sunlight. It warms my arms, but not my shaking nerves.

Kids skip down the side walk, sweaters tied around their waists, laughing and smiling into the sun.

I shiver and wrap my arms around my chest.

“Are you cold?” Keegan asks.

“Just anxious, I guess.” We're on our way to the hospital now. I'll get to see Mom and tell her the things I've learned about God.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. The warm air feels good in my lungs and calms me. I have to push the Test out of my thoughts for now. Being able to tell Mom about God makes the thought of being demoted easier to take.

Besides that, at the hospital I'll get to see whether or not Fischer was captured last night. What if he isn't at the hospital?

I can't voice my concerns to Keegan. He won't understand. In fact, it will be the opposite. He'll be angry. Jealous.

Confusion swirls around inside my head. Keegan or Fischer? Fischer or Keegan? Last night I was so sure I wanted Keegan to kiss me. I've imagined what it would feel like a thousand times. But Fischer has made me all but forget Keegan. I think about Fischer all the time now, but do I ever dream of him kissing me?

“You look awfully sad for someone who just aced her Test,” Keegan says with a smile.

I force a smile and look away. I don't want him to see my watery eyes. “Aren't you at all affected by last night?” I ask. It hits me that if the Greaters know about everything I've been doing, what about the others? Do they know about Keegan's involvement last night?

I shiver again and glance at him as he answers.

“I'm trying not to think about it too much. Not yet. I'll think about it when it's quiet, and when I can find my own answers.”

I gladly let my mind switch gears. “How will you find answers like that on your own?” What if he doesn't choose the right way? According to what Mr. Elders said, not choosing God means rejecting him.

My stomach twists at the thought of Mr. Elders. Dead.

“Don't worry about me, Hana. I'm a big boy.”

We reach the hospital and Keegan stops short. He looks up at the tall building. “I've never been in a hospital before.”

“It's not so bad,” I say. “Of course, it's not as fantastic as lights on a stage or a speaker that blares music to everyone for miles around, but there are actually lights that stay on all day. It took me a while to get used to that.”

He smiles tightly, clearly uncomfortable.

I lay my hand on his arm. “It'll be fine. It's just Mom. She looks different, but she's the same. We told her you were here, and she's thrilled to see you.”

I'm still holding his arm, and heat rushes to my cheeks and ears. I pull my hand away.

He doesn't even pretend to not see my embarrassment. Instead, he watches my eyes. His are open, wide, hopeful. He smiles a little. “I know. Besides, I'd follow you anywhere.”

My heart stutters, but to cover it up I push through the doors.

We jog up to the third floor and immediately chaos hits me. Medics run through the hall grabbing things. Someone yells from down the hall.

I frown and glance toward Mom's room. A crowd has gathered.

I cry out and run as fast as I can. My heart pounds in beat with my footsteps. I haven't told her yet. She doesn't know about God. She can't be dead.

“What's happening?” I demand.

Dr. Lane looks distraught as she flips through Mom's chart spastically, like she can't believe what she's seeing and is looking for what will clear it up.

“It's for the best,” Dr. Bentford says. He moves to put his hand on Dr. Lane's shoulder.

She pushes him off and keeps flipping through the chart.

My dad stands to the side, tears streaming down his face.

“What's going on?” I say again.

“They're taking her away,” Dad says.

“What?”

My dad covers his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking. “Her medical allowance ran out.”

Dr. Bentford moves forward and puts his hand on my back.

I jerk away from him like he's on fire. “Don't touch me!”

His face turns to stone. “Her medical allowance has run out. The word came a few minutes ago, and that's all there is to it. She will be moved to the Lesser hospital, where she will receive further treatment.”

A few minutes ago? The breath rushes out of me. I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe all these years I've bought into their lie, always believing that the Greaters took care of us.

“She's a faithful citizen,” I say. “A loyal citizen. How can you do this to her?”

My dad cries silently, tears slipping down his cheeks, his shoulders shaking.

Two medics prepare a fresh bed for her in the hallway. My mom lays lifeless in her room, and I rush to her. Her cheeks are sunken in, and her eyes have dark circles around them.

“Mom?”

Her eyes flutter open, but it looks like they'll close again any second.

“Mom, you have to listen to me,” I say. Everyone has backed out of the room, giving me privacy I guess. If only they knew what I was going to say. “I know about God, Mom. I found out what happens when you die. Can you understand me?”

She watches me closely and squeezes my hand. It's so weak it feels no firmer than a butterfly's wings.

“God is real, and He loves us. All of us. He wants us all to have eternal life with Him, in Heaven, but we have to ask Him for it. Can you do that, Mom? It's called praying.” The words still feel foreign on my tongue, and I stutter over the last sentence.

Her squeeze is more forceful this time. She nods slightly.

Does she really understand so quickly? But then I remember that she was already looking for answers. She knows things from what she's heard over the years. Relief chokes me, and tears swell in my eyes. “Just ask Him, Mom. Just like that. I'll pray with you.” I try to reword the prayer Fischer prayed with me. My mom's lips move almost imperceptibly, but she does it. She's praying with me.

I can't stop the tears that spill over my cheeks. I did it. I got to her in time. After all the struggles, the chemo rejection, the arrests, I've helped her in some way. “Thank you, God,” I say.

Fischer steps into the room and pulls me aside. “You have to let them go, Hana. We can't stop them.”

“Why not send her home?” I ask. I work to control my voice. “She won't live in the Lesser hospital long—you know that as well as I do. Why can't she come home and spend the rest of her time in peace?”

Dr. Bentford steps in and shakes his head. “I'm sorry. That's not the way things are done.”

The way things are done? What does it matter if she dies in the Lesser hospital or at home? And then it hits me. They can do whatever they want with her in the Lesser hospital. We can't visit her. They will be accountable to no one. If she comes home, they'd have to give her allowances. Sending her to a Lesser hospital is sending her away to die quickly.

My anger snaps as cleanly as a fishing line. I charge into the hall. “You're liars. You're all liars. Give her the chemo drugs, you monsters! I know you have them. I saw her chart! I heard you talking about them!”

My dad stops crying and stares at me in shock.

Dr. Lane's head snaps up and her eyes are wide. Dr. Bentford watches me warily.

Fischer puts his hand on my shoulder, and I shrug it off. “I know what you do. You're monsters and murderers! I won't stop. I won't stop until the truth comes out.”

Fischer drags me away, but I don't stop. “You kill anyone who is no longer profitable to the Greaters. Human life doesn't matter to you. Money does. You're monsters! You'll be accountable to God one day. You'll have to answer for the souls you sent to hell! Give her the chemo drugs. Give them to her!”

I'm around the corner now and Fischer shakes me by the shoulders. “You have to stop, Hana. You have to stop
now
! You've said too much. Way too much.” He rubs a hand over his face.