"Your task is to give these three flowers exactly what they need to survive. You have five minutes to complete your exam. Beginning now." I'm instantly looking to the long clay pot, surveying the different species of flowers. One is bright and wide like a lion's mane and I instantly recognize it. Marries. I wrack my brain at what is required for a strong Marrie. I look at the petals, how they're slightly wrinkled and dried. Water? Marries were like cactuses in a way, not requiring much water to survive at all. They were quite incredible that way. So too much light? Not possible for marries. They were often nicknamed as Sunblooms for their high need for sunlight. So maybe not enough light? I look at the roof, for the inevitable windows that covered the roofs of every gardenhouse. How convenient that the Marries just happened to be in a shadow. I push the entire pot containing the three flowers over a good foot on the clear table, into the light. It will take a few moments to take effect, so I move on to the next flower. It looks strong, though I do not recognize it. It has wide silver leaves and small white flower the size of a pin. I skip it, thinking to come back to the flower when I finish with the last one. The next is obvious. Simple daisy. But it looks sick, no flowers blooming at all, rather a sickly stem with a single drooping leaf. I feel the soil. It's moist and is in direct sunlight. But I know that daisies don't work well with other plants. I look back to the Marrie. It should have been brighter by now, but it didn't look any different. Marries were tough flowers. There wasn't much that could damage them except maybe…
"Occide." I whisper to myself. I jump away from the table, suddenly excited and run to the supply shelf. I'm short for a six-year-old so it takes me an extra moment to pull a chair over and climb onto it to reach the extra pots and large trowel.
I climb off the chair carefully, knowing I don't have time to be clumsy now.
I drag the chair over to the table to get better access to the strange plant and scoop out extra soil from the borders of the larger pot and filled my smaller one halfway. Gently using the trowel to carve out the Occide and lowering into the new pot, packing the soil down gently. I step back and look at my examinators.
"Time's up." The suntracker says and I nod, content with myself. Professor Kia looks me over, obvious pride coating her face. She made it quite obvious I was her favourite student.
But Headmaster Adais only nods to me, "Thank you, Hayara. You may go."
∞ ∞ ∞
I wake to the sound of metal screeching, the sun barely moved from the last position I remembered seeing it at.
Instantly, I'm trying to get to my feet. But my legs are drowsy, my entire body shaking from… I wasn't exactly sure.
"You poor thing," a gentle whisper touches my ears and I look up into frozen white eyes. Freezer, I think. I'm shocked into silence- I'd never seen a Freezer before. Not to mention a Freezer in the same vicinity as another lander. We did not mix species. It was punishable by death.
"You're starving." Her hair is cropped around her face, the delicate ends curling under her sharp jawline. Her skin is flawless, the palest thing I'd ever seen, almost like ice. But despite the cold air she carries into the room with her, her gaze is warm, comforting.
She smiles perfectly, showing a flawless line of straight teeth, "Yes, I'm a freezer, sweetheart."
I realise I'm staring. I shake my head, "I'm sorry, I just…"
"Don't worry, sweetheart." She glides further into the room. "I brought you something to eat." She shuts the door behind her and locks it with one hand before putting down a glass plate in front of me.
I watch her carefully, skeptical at how perfect she seems. I'm definitely dreaming.
She sits across from me and when I narrow my eyes at her in confusion, she pushes the food towards me, setting down a glass of water.
"I thought you could use some company." She says with another smile. It instantly make me feel more comfortable. How could a woman with such perfection hurt anyone?
"I'm not hungry." I don't even bother looking at it.
"You're going to get too thin, and you need your energy here, now eat up. I made sure everything was the way Enviros like it."
That make me curious enough to glance at it. Sure enough, there's a mix of steamed carrots and potatoes, with a lean strip of fish dripping with a thick red sauce.
"It's a beat sauce. Grew them myself." She said, proudly. I refrain from criticizing the small, wrinkled carrots and overgrown potatoes. I felt like I would break her heart if I mentioned the evidence showing she had no idea how to grow vegetables.
"Thank you." The words feel justified, even though the door is still locked and I'm still sitting on the cold stone floor of a cell.
"I'm Talori, by the way. I'm in charge of the medical stuff around here." I don't answer, but my hands unconsciously flutter to the gauze wrapped around my waist.
Her face brightens at my movement. "It was harder the second time," I remember the perfect line of stiches I had seen when I had awoken in what I assume was the medical room. If the second time was harder it sure didn't show.
"How do you feel?" Her eyes narrow, glancing over me with expert focus. Her fingers twitch by her side as if she wants to reach out and check for herself, but, thankfully, she remains still.
Scared, annoyed, angry, exhausted… "Fine."
Her lips purse in thought. "What about your head? You have quite the concussion."
I nod. In reality it didn't feel that horrible, I barely felt it.
"Your lung was what really scared me, but," she smiles brightly, patting her thighs, "lucky for you, I've had a lot of practice with collapsed lungs. The guys are always being careless." She laughs lightly, obviously sharing a joke with herself. But it fades quickly, sadness hesitating on the features of her face.
"How long have I been here?" Talori bites her lip at that.
"Awhile, we had to keep you under anesthesia a short time after you opened your stiches, you were pretty weak from your other injuries."
My eyes thin at her answer. She bites her lip again, "Eight days."
It doesn't surprise me, but anger rushes through me at her answer. Eight days I have been away from my family, my home. From school? How was I supposed to catch up after missing so much?
"We kept you on parenteral nutrition, through your IV, but you should really eat some solid food."
When I don't touch the fork, her eyes flutter to the bed.
"If you won't eat, then at least rest in the bed."
I shake my head. "I can't."
She laughs, a melodic sound. "It doesn't take that much effort, I can help you over if you need?"
"No, I-" how do you explain this to someone who didn't really know us. "We don't like the wood. Murdering nature for your own benefit."
Her face falls. But only for a moment. Instantly, she's on her feet and striding to the bed. She collects the blankets in a pile in the middle and yanks on the edges of the mattress, struggling with its weight. I can't seem to find the energy to get up and help her.
She eventually gets the mattress onto the floor and shoves it into the opposite corner, rearranging the sheets neatly, spreading her hands over the final product to smooth the fabric. She leans back on her heels, surveying her work.
"There." She stands, "Now, eat, and then sleep." She walks over to the door, watching me carefully. I had no energy to run anyway.
"I promise, it's not poisoned." She shuts the door behind her but lingers. Her face crinkles, as if she's deciding whether or not to tell me something.
Apparently, she decides to say it, "You're safe here, we don't want to hurt you- none of us do."
I narrow my eyes at her. The Stormer seemed to think otherwise.
She smiles knowingly at the familiar look on my face, "I know Ileus can be a bit intense, but he's okay. He can be a good man." They're definitely together, I think. The Stormer seemed to be quite the opposite of her words. "He has a good heart, and in this world, that's all that really matters in a person." Her words are quiet, soft as if she's trying to convince herself too. As if something is weighing on her, pulling on her shoulders to the point where it pained her to talk about whatever it was.
Those beautiful white eyes fall back onto me,
"You can trust me, Hayara." I consider her words, but I'm not willing to trust anyone around this place. Wherever this place was.
But maybe I can make her think I trust her. "It's just Yara," I reply, forcing my voice to sound defeated, like I could trust her.
She beams at me, nodding before disappearing down the hall.
∞ ∞ ∞
The sound of my gate opening woke me from where I drifted in and out of sleep. I scramble up onto my feet, weak from shivering all through the night. As soon as the sun had gone down I had curled under the thin sheets, the tightly wrapped gauze not doing much to help me. My muscles were aching with soreness.
I hate the relieved feeling that washes over me with the sight of Talori, carrying a glass bowl and a glass of water. Maybe she wasn't as bad as the Stormer that took me, but she was still responsible for why I haven't been home for 8 days.
Her smile is annoyingly perfect and bright. There was no way this Freezer had witnessed anything bad in her life. "Good Morning, Yara." She opens the door but doesn't shut it behind her. That's when I notice the man standing right outside the entrance. He's wearing baggy dark rain pants, his chest bare to reveal ancient symbols over his left side. We learned the languages of the regulas and the other landers, but these symbols were a language I did not recognize. I had only seen these symbols once before and that had been the night I was taken from Enviro land. The Stormer attack.
Anger wells further inside me at the sight of those familiar goldish yellow eyes, stark against his dusted grey hair and tanned skin.
Talori looks between us, unable to tear my gaze from him. He took me.
"That's Kordell." She puts down the plate and glass beside the bed and points to him. She leans closer to me, "He's not really as scary as he looks."
My eyes run over those huge billowing muscles. I really doubt it.
"Unfortunately, no vegetable today, we're not that good at growing them and this year wasn't really the best." I look down at the food in the bowl. It's some strange smelling orange soup.
I look over to the plate from yesterday and wince. I hadn't really touched the vegetable. They were nothing compared to the rich flavours we grew at home.
"Maybe when you get more comfortable here, you could help us grow something?" She offers hopefully. Was that why I was here? To help them grow crops? It must have been. They needed an Enviro to help them through their growing season. If that was the case, then I had something they wanted, I could make a deal with them. Maybe I could help them for the rest of the season and they would release me when Autumn came…
"We've also come to show you to the washroom," she announces as if it's a great adventure, but something in her face says otherwise, something that makes me hesitate.
"I don't need to go." I respond. She was hiding something. She nods, not able to hide the conflicted feels on her face. Even Kordell looks confused.
I don't know what they're plan is but I'm definitely not about to fall for it, don't they know I am an Enviro? We're the most intelligent out of all the landers.
"Alright, oh! I also brought you a change of clothes." She leans out of my cell and takes the bag from Kordell. I had been so focused on my anger for him I hadn't even noticed him carrying it. Or the gun that stuck out from his waistline.
I swallowed uncomfortably at that. Kordell seemed to notice because he slid it around his waistband out of view.
"Here you go," She laid the bag on the end of my bed and looked around for anything else she wanted to address. Her hands perched on her hips. A shimmer of light at her hand catches my attention. It's a wedding ring, a delicate vine like band with leaves made of what couldn't be anything other than diamonds. Was she married to Ileus? Mixing was punishable by death so how was that possible?
She turns to look at Kordell who flicks his head in the direction of the door. She looks back at me.
"We'll be back for lunch." She turns and leaves, locking the door securely behind her.
She gives me a tense smile as she leaves, Kordell following close behind her. As they're footsteps fade down the hall, I hear their voices echo against the cold walls.
"What do we do now?" I hear Talori ask.
"We'll just do it at lunch, she can't wait forever in there." Barely able to hear his response, I pad towards the door, leaning against the cold poles to try and hear Talori's response. Nothing.
My stomach rolled at the thought of their words. Do what at lunch? I wasn't planning on waiting around to find out. My eyes fall to the bag Talori left behind for me.
I approach it slowly, as if it's going to explode if I scare it, surveying the outside. This was all making me nervous. There was too many variables in play; the strange confusion they both had, their conversation and now, the backpack.
But as I flip it open and appear inside, I'm relieved to find a long-sleeved shirt and a light sweater. Digging deeper I find a pair of light plastic rain plants and underclothes. They're all made of a light fabric that isn't familiar to me, but they're warm and that's all I really cared about after shivering all night.
As I'm pulling the zipper on my sweater, I pause. My fingers hold the cold metal, my mind thinking.
Metal. Metal can be shaped if it's thin enough. I'd never even thought about picking a lock in my life, but when I was younger, I used to bend metal and shape it into flowers or small creatures to give as presents to my parents. I look to the bed. Bed springs! My heart is thumbing wildly as I dig my fingers into the mattress, desperately clawing at it. Other than a few loose threads, however, I'm barely doing any damage. I reach out and yank the bag towards me, checking the strap to find it is attached like the end of a belt. A pin and holes to change the height of the strap. I can't help the smile that stretches onto my face. My parents would be so proud of me if they knew…
I use the pin to tear through the first thick layer of the mattress, before using my fingers to rip it wide open, the spring catches my skin, tearing it slightly. I barely notice the small stream of blood as I twist the spring from the mattress.
It's perfect, a thin wire I just might be able to use for picking the lock. My heart races, excitement driving through me like a Stormer's rain.
I pull the wire as straight as I can and bend it in half. I check the hallway carefully before approaching the lock.
I push my hands through the bars and blindly insert the wire into the keyhole. At first I try pushing up, closing my eyes to concentrate on the lock. I tried visualizing how the inner mechanism appeared, moving my wire with whatever came up in my mind.
I experiment for probably ten minutes before growling in frustration. I stand back, trying to yank my wire back. It didn't budge.
I hit my head against the bar in annoyance, but immediately wince. Right, concussion.
I leave the wire in the door and face plant on my torn mattress. Tears burned at the edges of my eyes but I refused to let them free. You are strong, Yara honey. My father's voice fluttered into my head. What would he do? He was the best at everything, having more medals of honour than any other Enviro I knew.
What would father do? First off, he would have remained calm. I take a few breathes to try to settle myself. My heart still beats furiously. Skipping the whole calm thing I thought about my father.
"This is impossible, father!"
"Math just takes time, Yara, it's not impossible. Nothing is impossible. Here, let me help. See this? This is the bottom number, he's the denominator, or, as I like to call him, the dominator. He likes to be on the top because he thinks he's the King, But this number on the top, she's the numerator. She's a powerful Queen and doesn't let the Dominator on top. So to keep him in control she puts him in the dungeon, that's what this line here is."
"That's ridiculous, father."
"Not it all, it's a true story. The King and Queen of the world of fractions. You can't rule a kingdom with a dominator King in the fraction world."
I grab the door and shake it, who was I kidding, I'm nothing like my father, who could take the most frustrating situations and turn them into a joke. Solving my biggest problems in a matter of moments. How unfortunate that this problem was a little bigger than grade 7 math.
A click sounds and I immediately stop, eyes searching my surroundings for the source of the noise. Then I look at my door.
My mouth gapes and I stare at it in shock.
Because it's open.
I jump up and down, silently celebrating my lock picking, but my excitement is short lived when something sounds at the end of the hall.
Footsteps.
Oh no. I desperately look around me for somewhere to hide and my eyes fall on the raised bedframe. I wince. But there isn't anywhere else I could go.
I dive underneath it, my sweater tearing against the rough stone floor.
The footsteps halt at my door and I glance from underneath my bed to see the Stormer I broke the nose of. His fingers hover over the wire stuck in the lock, his eyes finding the torn mattress before sprinting back down the hall.
"Kordell! Ileus!"
I roll out from under the frame and sprint to the door, right behind him. I wasn't wasting my time.
I race down the short row of cells and turn right into another row, finding a pair of stairs leading up into a dimly lit space.
"How the hell did she get out!" The familiar furious voice of Ileus floats down the stairs and I take a step backwards. Not that way.
I race down the other hall to a steel door, it's freezing cold, frost crawling up the corners in intricate designs. I pull it open using the sleeve of my sweater, careful to shut it after me and jog down the endless staircase leading further into the ground.
It's dark inside the room, only thin rays of light streaming through the cracks in the high ceiling from the midmorning light outside. And frigid. It feels like I just walked into a freezer. I squint into the darkness, trying to catch any signs of doors to the outside.
And then I'm falling, I put my hands out to catch myself and somehow land on my side. I can feel my stiches rip and I clench my teeth. Not again.
But it wasn't my biggest problem right now, because it wasn't the unleveled floor that I had tripped over, but a body.