BackTrek (32 page)

“What?” Rebecca demanded. “Tell me!”

“He was just lying there.” She cried. “Lying
there like he was broken.” She hugged Rebecca as they both
sobbed.

“I’ve got to tell dad!” Rebecca broke away
from their embrace, and almost in shock she started to walk towards
the far wall of the tiny room.

“Wait!” Gabrielle exclaimed, louder than she
intended to, still all too aware that his dad was asleep. But the
sudden rise in her voice was enough to stop Rebecca in her tracks.
She turned slowly back to face Gabrielle.

“No.” Rebecca said, as fear crept into her
face. “No. Not the plague!” She said, the tremble of fear
reverberated in her voice.

“No.” Gabrielle said as she realized what
Rebecca had implied and tried to console her. “He was controlled
because of a fight.” She sobbed. “But it wasn’t his fault.” She
asserted.

“What happened? What did he do?” Rebecca
asked, as she stepped closer to Gabrielle. She calmed slightly and
dropped her voice to that of a whisper.

“He didn’t really do anything. It really was
Donovan.” Gabrielle said as she began to explain to Rebecca what
had happened, and her tears slowly subsided. She left out the part
about the old man having been quarantined earlier, but then most
stories that were told left those parts out. Some things you didn’t
want to know until it affected you directly, at least that’s the
way Gabrielle saw it. When she finished her story she could see the
mutual concern in Rebecca’s face, whom still seemed to be under the
effects of shock, but whose tears had subsided as well. A concern
that together they would have to tell her dad. Rebecca respected
her brother deeply, and was often worried that she would never be
able to find a man as good as him in her eyes, and ashamed that if
she did, that she wouldn’t be good enough to keep him. She hoped
beyond hope, as did Gabrielle, that he was okay. That he was still
alive. As this thought passed her mind, once again the tears began
to well up. And in just that glance, as Gabrielle saw this in her
trusted friend, her tears began again as well.

“Does he get up soon?” Gabrielle asked, as
she sniffled again.

“Huh?” Rebecca asked, deep in thought as she
tried to digest what she had just been told. She tried to put
perspective on the idea of her brother being in danger, even
thought she did not know where he was, or if he was even alive.

“Your dad. Does he get up soon?” She asked
again.

“Yeah.” She said, as she stepped away. “But
it doesn’t matter. I have to get him up now.” She said, heading
over to the opposite wall.

She placed her hand on an indentation to the
right side of the wall narrow, and suddenly the wall split
horizontally at waist height. The top slid silently into the
ceiling, as the bottom slid into the floor. Inside the cramped
space were two bunks, one over another, each just large enough for
a single person to occupy, and bare except that the bottom one held
the form of a sleeping person. Seconds passed as they watched the
man began to stir. Sleepily, he rolled over and looked up at her
from the bunk. He blinked his eyes in the light as he climbed out
and stood next to Rebecca in the small room. The sleeping chambers
were just that. They were a place to sleep. Not a room, so much as
a closet, with shelves to hold the thin worn mattresses.

“Is it eight already?” Her father asked,
yawning.

“Almost.” Rebecca replied, not sure how to
tell him about Jericho. For the moment, she had her emotions in
check.

“Almost?” Her father asked, irritated. “Then
why am I up?”

“It’s Jericho-” Rebecca said, as she began to
lose her struggle to control her emotions.

“What about him?” He said looking around the
tiny room. “Where is he?” He saw Gabrielle, and said. “Hi,
Gabrielle. Where’s Jericho?” This was too much for Gabrielle, who
instantly melted into a blubbering sob.

“He’s-” She tried to begin.

“It wasn’t his fault.” Rebecca chimed in, as
her tears began to flow again. “Oh, daddy!” She exclaimed and threw
her arms around her father, who was looking more bewildered by the
moment, both from just waking up, and from what he was hearing.

“Not the plague!” He exclaimed, the fear
suddenly noticeable in his voice “Not Jericho!“

“No, daddy. No. Not the plague.” Rebecca
managed to get out, as she drew back from her father.

“He was controlled.” Gabrielle said quietly,
still on the other side of the small room, as she tried her best to
shrink into nothingness.

“Controlled.” Rebecca quietly echoed.

“Controlled?” Her father asked
disbelievingly. “Jericho? For what? What could he have-” He
began.

“It wasn’t his fault.” Gabrielle said, as she
crossed the tiny room to them.

“What happened?” Jericho’s father asked.

Gabrielle, stifled her tears, and as she had
done with Rebecca, told him what had happened to his beloved son.
Jericho’s father loved Gabrielle. He felt as though she was one of
their own, even though every family must have two children, and no
more, he was still as proud of her as he was of his own daughter.
As he sat quietly on the seat that ran along the far side of the
cramped room of the tiny living area, Gabrielle told him all that
she knew, mostly between tears.

“Well it doesn’t sound like it was his fault.
At least there is that.” Jericho’s father said to Gabrielle,
noticeably shaken from the story.

“When the Guardian stepped in, Jericho was on
top and had just knocked out Donovan. I’m sure it used the control
stick to stop the fight. But he was just lying there…” Her tears
began again in earnest.

“Do you know where he was taken?” Asked his
father. Gabrielle shook her head, no.

“That’s why we woke you up.” Rebecca spoke
up. “We thought you would want to go by the control center and find
out before you had to go to the factory.”

“Good. I’m glad you did.” He said, as he
quickly regained his composure. “Yes, you did the right thing,
Rebecca.” He turned to Gabrielle. “Thank you.” He said.

“Can we come with you?” Gabrielle asked.

“Aren’t you supposed to be home? It’s almost
eight.” He said.

“I know my parents will be worried if I’m not
there when they get up, but I’ve got to know about Jericho.” She
said.

“I understand, honey, but we don’t need to
upset your parents, either, and you do not want to be out after
curfew. You’re morning shift.” The look of disappointment in her
face must have been response enough. “I tell you what. I’ll come
back and let Rebecca know what’s going on, and she’ll let you know
first thing in the morning.” He said, wrapping his arm around her
to comfort her. “Now, get your butt moving, and get home before
curfew kicks in, or you’ll be the one getting controlled.” She
nodded, and stepped towards the door.

“Thank you.” She said.

“Now, hurry home, before your parents wake
up. We don’t want them upset at all.” He said as he unlocked the
series of locks on the door. “And don’t worry. I’m sure everything
will be okay.” He said and opened the door for her. She stepped
into the narrow hallway and thanked him again, gave a quick look to
Rebecca and headed back towards the stairway. She knew that she
would have to hurry to make it home before her parents got up, so
when she hit the stairway, she took the stairs two at a time. As
she passed the landing where the children had been playing earlier,
it was deserted. No one wanted to be caught out after curfew, and
she was glad that she didn’t have to slow down to go around them.
She hoped that if she really hurried, she might still make it in
time.

As she ran through the narrow streets of the
village, she ignored the few passers by. Gabrielle was careful not
to talk to anyone that she didn’t recognize. But she was even more
careful not to run into anyone and knock them to the ground. She
was all too aware what the punishment for hurting another could be.
Death. And not a quick silent death, a horrid public display. To be
carried out in the square, of course, for all to see. It didn’t
happen often, but it did happen. She thought about the story that
had been passed down over the years about the man who had thought
that he had the plague. He had run through the streets and stabbed
several people with a homemade knife. When they caught him, the
story went that he had been controlled, and the very next day his
punishment had begun. A Guardian had slowly, patiently, and
systematically disemboweled him at the center of the village square
over the course of two days. And at last, near the end of the
second day, he had screamed his last breath and could hurt no one
else. She shuddered at the thought of such a painful death, and
hoped beyond all hopes that Jericho would be released without any
punishment. Deep in thought she almost ran into a young man as he
stepped in front of her.

“Excuse me.” He said, as he hurried past her.
“Curfew, you know.” She glanced back at him, and quickly lost him
as he rounded the corner between buildings. She thought how
everyone looked the same. How everyone wore the same thing, the
same drab color. Even the stone buildings were made of the same
dull hue. But Jericho had changed that. He had taught her that
there was color in the world. So much more color than she had ever
seen before.

The way to Gabrielle’s building took her
right past her assigned mealtime building. Already, those that
worked the dark shift were in line for their early meal. She wished
that she had not skipped her evening meal. Her stomach was already
knotted with worry, and not having eaten just made it that much
worse. But there was no way she could enter now. It was not her
assigned time, and she had to make it home before curfew. But as
she passed the multiple lines that led inside the building, she
waved to those that she knew, and smiled as if everything was okay.
At the front of each of those lines was a scanner, much like the
ones at the factory that were used to detect the plague. As she
passed the building she rounded the next corner, and now she was
only a block away from her building. She thought that she might
make it in time after all as she picked up her pace. She was almost
out of earshot of the mealtime building when she heard a commotion
behind her.

“Be calm.” A mechanical voice said. “The
plague has been isolated. You are in no danger.” She closed her
eyes briefly as she continued to walk briskly. She did not turn
back to see who had been diagnosed with the plague. At this moment,
she didn’t want to even know. As she opened her eyes and continued
her journey, sadness melted over her face. She began to run, not
because she was afraid of being late any longer, or even because of
the announcement about the plague. She ran to distance herself from
everything. She had begun to hate her existence here in the
village, and deep down had begun to dream of a better life. There
had to be something more than this, but what it could be, she had
no idea.

That was why Jericho meant so much to her. He
could show her the new, the wonderful, the amazing, and the
beautiful things about what they had here in the village, and she
loved him for that. Her mind raced back to the glorious colors of
the sunrise this very morning. She could once again feel the wind
in her hair. She could smell the air of the beach. She could feel
the sand between her toes, and the softness of his tender kiss. His
hands on her. Those memories brought butterflies to her stomach and
warmth into her heart. That one moment could summarize all that was
between Jericho and herself. All that would ever be. The thought of
losing him was more than she could bear to think about, and knew
deep in her heart that she could never survive a life without
him.

She entered the stairway to her building and
ran up the stairs as if she floated on air. She smiled slightly as
she wondered at how the very thought of her love for Jericho could
make her feel so wonderful and light. She felt so alive and
energetic. Occasionally she passed others in the stairwell, as each
hurried either to their mealtime, or like her, to their compartment
to make curfew. She stepped aside in the narrow space as they
passed. And before she knew it, she rounded the platform to the
eighth floor, and entered the hallway that led to her compartment.
She ran to her door, and began to access the key unlock system
beside the door. She was nervous about the time, and she could see
the Guardian at the end of the hallway, as it slowly and
methodically moved towards her. At curfew she knew that the
Guardians were always out in force. They patrolled the streets, the
buildings, and the meal areas, to ensure obedience. She had trouble
with the last locking mechanism, and as the Guardian continued to
approach, she could clearly see the control stick in its hand. The
gleaming tip picked up bits of ambient light from the dimly lit
hallway, and it seemed to almost be on fire. She continued to
struggle with the lock, as her breath quickened, even as the
Guardian stepped up behind her.

by Kelvin Kelley

Release Date - July 4, 2015

A long time avid science fiction fan, Kelvin
Kelley loves to ask the question, what if? It is that question that
leads him to explore the amazing possibilities and then bring them
to life in his novels. He resides with his beloved wife, Charlotte,
their dog, Frazi, and two cats, Ittle Bit and Kitterpups, in the
nation’s oldest city, St. Augustine, Florida.