Vanquished (5 page)

 

7

 

“Hana, wait!” Ava calls after school a few days later. Jamie and I walk out of the school doors, but we stop. Ava and I haven't spoken since that day in the hospital lobby. Why does she want to talk to me now?

I turn, and Ava almost runs into me.

“Sorry,” she says, tucking her short black curls behind her ear.

I laugh. “It's OK. How's Markus?”

Her face clouds over. “Actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Are you going to see your mom at the hospital today?”

“Yeah, sure,” I say. “We were going to do meditation first, though.”

Ava glances at Jamie. “Do you mind if I tag along?”

The request surprises me. Ava's nice, and we've known each other our whole lives, but we've never been what one would call friends.

“It's OK with me,” I say. “What do you think, Jamie?”

Jamie shrugs. “No problem.” But her eyes dart away, and I wonder if it actually is a problem. Jamie's been acting strange today. I almost wish Ava wasn't coming. Then maybe I could try talking to Jamie again.

We walk the four blocks home, the sun glaring down on us. It's finally chased away the rain from yesterday. I look toward the eastern sky, where I saw the lights the night before. Nothing's there but blue sky and white clouds. I haven't mentioned the lights to anyone. I'd have to explain being out at the levies by myself. In the rain.

We don't talk during the walk, but the silence isn't awkward. One after the other we head upstairs to my room.

“Do you have a meditation mat?” I ask when we get to my room. Some people meditate more than others, and they carry their mats in backpacks. “You can borrow one of my parent's if not.”

“I don't have one,” Ava says.

I smile. “That's fine. I'll be right back.”

I return with Mom's black mat and we roll them out in a line of three across my floor. It's a tight fit, but I don't mind. It feels cozy. Comfortable. Safe.

I work to clear my mind. No thoughts of cancer. No thoughts of Keegan's brief letter. No thoughts of flashing lights in the sky or Jamie's odd behavior.

I am a seagull drifting over the calm, quiet ocean.

I am an eagle soaring over majestic mountain tops.

I am a cheetah running scared through the trees.

I snap out of my peacefulness and glance at Ava and Jamie. They still have their eyes closed. I close mine again, but I can't meditate anymore. I know that last image is truer than the first two. My life has become more scary and confusing, and less peaceful and calm.

We finish and roll up our mats. I wave to Jamie as Ava and I split from her in front of her house. “I'll see you later.”

“Bye guys,” she says. “See you around.”

Ava smiles but doesn't say anything. At first we walk in silence, and I wonder why she asked to come with me in the first place. Step. Step. Step. Step. The lack of talking starts to feel strange.

“So, Markus is still in the hospital?” I ask.

She frowns and nods, but keeps walking silently.

“When will he get out?”

“I don't know. I keep hearing my parents whispering about it, but no one talks to me about anything.”

That explains why she's so out of sorts. Secrets are never good things, and I wonder exactly what's going on with Markus. “What floor is he on?”

“The second floor. We haven't even seen him since the accident.”

“Really?” That's definitely odd.

“No one will let us in. That bothers me as much as my parents' whisperings.” She hugs herself, never looking at me.

“I'm sorry, Ava. That sounds really awful.” And it does. At least I have an idea what's going on in Mom's body. Ava doesn't have any reassurances or hopes. She doesn't really know if he's even alive.

“Do you want to come with me to visit my mom? Then I can go with you to Markus' room. Maybe they'll let you in today.”

She stops and stares at me. “Really? You wouldn't mind if I came with you?”

“Of course not.” I know why she thinks my kindness is so strange. Most people really aren't that nice. Fischer must have rubbed off on me a tiny bit, or maybe it's just that when you've been through something pretty awful you want to help other people who feel awful, too.

In the hospital, we climb the concrete stairs in silence, and the heavy metal door clanks shut behind us as we enter the third floor.

“Hi Hana,” Fischer says. He glances up from his stack of folders and stops what he's doing when he sees Ava. “Hi there.”

Ava smiles and gives him a small wave. “Hi.”

I glance back and forth between them. Does Fischer know Ava? “This is my friend Ava. Her brother is on the second floor. He fell out of a tree.”

Fischer frowns, but only for a second. “I'm sorry to hear that. I'm Fischer.” He doesn't hold out his hand to shake Ava's hand, and I'm glad. I had wondered if there was a reason he didn't shake my hand after the doctors had done it. Obviously, he just doesn't shake.

“We're going to visit my mom,” I say. “Is it OK to have more than one guest?” I don't know why I didn't think of that before, but Fischer nods immediately.

“Absolutely. Go ahead.”

He smiles at Ava again, and we walk down the hall.

My mom is awake today. She has an extra big smile for Ava. “Who's this?”

“I'm Ava,” she says. “I came with Hana. I hope you don't mind.”

“I don't mind at all!” Mom says. “I'm so tired of these walls, and seeing the same four people every day. Not you, Hana, the medics and doctors. Thank you for coming, Ava.”

I tell Mom who Ava's family is, and why she's here.

My mom frowns. “I know your mom. We were friends a long time ago. I'm sorry about your brother. I hope he's OK.”

Ava smiles. “Thank you.”

We talk and laugh for about an hour. Ava turns out to be even nicer than I knew. She wants to help Mom in any way she can and is always adjusting her pillows or getting her more water. I ask her if she's going to try and test for a medic.

She blushes. “I don't know. I guess I'll just see what the Test shows.”

A lot of kids do that. They don't really know what they want to do, and it's not like there are that many choices.

“You'd make a really good nurse,” I say.

We finish visiting with Mom and then head to the second floor. Medics rush through the hall, and families lounge outside of rooms. “This floor is so busy,” I say.

“I think they keep people with injuries and sicknesses on this floor,” she says. “You know, things like broken bones or pneumonia.” Sicknesses are common since we don't have many medicines.

“His room's this way,” she says. We go to the right and come to a closed door. Ava knocks and tries the knob, but it's locked. “Same as yesterday.”

After a moment a medic opens the door from the inside. We can just see her face through the crack she's opened up. “Can I help you?”

“I'm here to see Markus. I'm his sister.”

The medic shakes her head. “You can't see him. I'm sorry.” She begins to close the door.

“Please, just for a moment,” Ava says.

“I have orders to let no one in. You'll have to leave.”

Ava's bottom lip quivers and her eyes become glossy.

My gaze darts back and forth between Ava and the retreating medic. This is just so strange, and with the chemotherapy and flashing lights in the sky, Ava not being able to see her brother for no reason is too much. “Wait!” I say.

The medic freezes.

I can't believe she's giving me a chance, but I don't want to blow it so I step forward. “How is he? Can't you at least tell us what's going on? Is he even alive?”

Ava cries harder.

The medic glances between the two of us. She bites her lip and shakes her head. “I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to say anything.” She shuts the door.

Ava covers her face with her hands, and I offer a hug. It's strange to hold her this way, but it seems to help. Her crying quiets some.

“I'm sorry,” she says. “I'm so worried about him, and I keep imagining all the horrible things that might be wrong with him. And you're right, is he even alive in there?”

I swallow hard, not sure what to say. “Do you want me to walk you home?” I finally ask.

She sniffs. “You don't mind?”

How could I? “No. It's no problem.”

It's already twilight when we leave the hospital, and I just hope I get home before dark.

 

 

 

 

8

 

The sun sets a few minutes after I leave Ava at her doorstep, and while she only lives a few blocks from me, there isn't time to make it to my yard before a guard stops me.

“Do you have ID?” she asks me. She towers over me, and her dull, brown hair is pulled into a ponytail at her neck. She wears standard issue police gear—a brown shirt and pants, with a police insignia sewn on the shirt pocket.

“No ma'am. I just came from visiting my mom in the hospital.” I can hear my blood pumping in my ears. What will she do to me?

“Where do you live?”

“Three houses up. My name is Hana Norfolk.” I look longingly at the dirty white house I call home. What if she takes me to the guard station and Dad has to come pick me up? If I have a mark on my record will it hurt my chances of getting into the government occupation I want? Surely they don't demote you on your first infringement.

The guard punches a few buttons into a small machine she carries. I've never seen anything like that before. Of course, I haven't been stopped by any guards before, either. “Daughter of Miles and Maya Norfolk?”

“Yes, ma'am,” I say.

“This is the first time you've been out after curfew?”

That I've been caught? “Yes.”

The guard nods tersely. “I'm going to let you go this time, but I won't be so nice if I catch you again. We'll be watching, Hana. Don't let it happen again. Strange things can happen in the dark.”

No kidding. I nod and smile apologetically. “Yes, ma'am. It won't happen again.” I can't keep the relief from my voice.

Her authoritative face transforms into a smile, and she punches a few more buttons. “OK, you're free to go.”

I hurry the few steps to my house and step inside. My dad is pacing the floor.

I bite my lip, afraid of what he'll say.

“What happened, Hana?”

“Sorry Dad, I—”

“You're sorry? You could have been attacked or caught by a guard. You know the laws, Hana. Would you like to tell me what you were doing?” His voice rises with each sentence.

I grit my teeth together, trying not to say something stupid. I do know the laws of the city. Don't break curfew. Stay within your allowances. Meditate every day. I've barely broken any of my parents' rules in my life, let alone broken a law. It's not fair for him to yell at me the first time I get in trouble. I take a deep breath and make myself talk in a calm voice. “I walked a friend home from the hospital. She was pretty upset because her twin brother is in the hospital and they won't let her see him.”

My dad seems surprised by this. “Really?” But then his scowl is back. “You didn't get stopped, did you?”

“Actually, a guard stopped me. She let me go, though. She said not to let it happen again.”

A worry line forms on Dad's forehead, but he finally nods. “OK.” He leans against the couch and sighs. “No harm done.”

I'm not sure what he means by that. What would happen if it
did
happen again? What would happen if there was harm done?

I race upstairs to take off my shoes, and my mind goes back to the guard. What was the machine she carried? How did she know who my parents were? I know in the Early Days they had all kinds of crazy technology, but all that was lost. Wasn't it? Why would it be kept from us if it was still around?

But maybe it isn't kept from us. She had it in the open, didn't she?

I press the heels of my hands into my eyes. This is so confusing.

After supper I dig through my stuff to find my ID. The next time I'm asked for it, I want to have it available. I find it in an old backpack and stare at it. The girl in the picture seems foreign to me. This ID was made when I turned thirteen. I will be issued a new one after I take my Test and am assigned a status. I slide it into my pocket.

My gaze goes to Jamie's window by habit. Her room is dark. She must be in the living room with her family. I suddenly want to test the limits of this city. I want to find out how far I can go.

Hidden chemo drugs? Denied access to hospital visits? Foreign blinking lights in the sky? Something feels off. I look out the window toward Middle City 3, and I wonder if I'll ever know what it is.

What would happen if I went out the back door and visited Jamie in her living room? Would her family even let me in? What could be so wrong with trotting across the yard? Surely no one lurks in my vegetable garden.

Of course, there is always the danger of a Lesser on the loose. They mostly stay in their own communities, but sometimes they sneak past the guards and end up in our city, or even Greater City. They always commit crimes when they're on the loose. Thefts, vandals, even murders. This is why we're supposed to stay in after curfew.

But after the strange blinking lights, I'm not sure I fully believe it. What if the Lessers aren't the only reason we have a curfew?

So the question begs asking, if the Lessers aren't the reason, what is?

I try to go to bed then, but my mind is restless. I have too many questions and no answers. Too many problems and no solution. I'm a natural problem solver, and it kills me that I can't solve these issues.

I glance again at Jamie's house. I won't go, of course, but I would like to.