Dark Friends (5 page)

              “How long have you been here?” Amelia ventured.

              “I thought you didn't want to talk to me.” Lily replied, mocking Amelia's earlier tone.

              “I didn't then. Now, I do.”

              “I've been here for as long as I can remember. I know every square inch of Lisson and every counselor's shoe size.” Lily said, trying to impress. She seemed on the verge of saying more, but instead she turned to the weeds, pulling them up viciously by their roots. A counselor walked by at that moment, nodding approval at Lily's diligence and frowning at Amelia, who immediately turned to prying up the stubborn plant life. How had Lily known a counselor would walk by at that moment? Amelia hadn't heard a thing.

              As the girls worked, Amelia found herself watching Lily with fascination. Lily's pace never seemed to slacken and her face never revealed any fatigue. On the contrary, Lily worked faster and faster as the ravine was picked clean. Amelia matched Lily's pace, and soon, the girls were working at a fever pitch, racing to fill up their bags. When they were done, they looked at each other, covered in dirt and roots, sweating and exhausted. They hadn't spoken since the counselor had walked by an hour before, but they didn't need to. They were thinking the same thing, that they had found a kindred spirit.

              After the ravine was cleared, Lily led Amelia to a nearby compost heap and the girls emptied their bags. Then, they returned to the outdoor patio and waited for their next assignment. The girls seemed to be on a rotating shift, and Amelia memorized the various assignments from the ugly male counselor: Weed picking, watering, planting trees and flowers here and there, and digging. Amelia didn't understand
why
they were occasionally digging six foot holes at linear intervals, but she would do her job nonetheless. There was one other job that Amelia heard on her first lawn day, though she was thankful that she was not selected for it; Ellis duty.

              That evening, the girls ate their meals in their dorm, which was situated outside the front lobby, nearest to the counselors offices. Compared to the kitchens it was a nice dorm with clean floors and no bugs, but counselors walked by constantly, causing Amelia to experience a wave of nostalgia for the socialization of the kitchen.               As the girls prepared for bed, Amelia and Lily caught themselves staring at each other often, trying to make eye contact. Overjoyed at the speed with which Amelia had found an
intelligent
friend, she made every attempt to communicate with her. Amelia mouthed words to Lily and was rewarded with a bewildered expression. She tried to get close to Lily to whisper something, only to have someone get in the way. As the girls got in their bunks, Amelia looked at Lily and made a pillow with her hands, then she simulated laying down on the pillow. She then made a “C” with her left hand and pointed at Lily, then made a fist with her other hand that she slowly rose up to eye level, simultaneously spreading her five fingers. Lily understood the message “See you at sunrise.”

                           
Chapter 8

              Amelia once again astounded her co-workers. After two months in her new posting, she had become the unspoken leader of the lawn crew. There were eight girls total, and they were each smart and pretty in their own way. But Amelia was
smart
. If any of the other girls were to be put in the kitchens, or the laundry, they would have drawn into themselves and merely existed. Amelia, however, made everywhere she went brighter. Counselors asked her questions about organizing work groups and the best way to arrange plants for optimum growth. She had even handled requests to tutor certain counselor's kids' in their respective academic disciplines. She was a problem-solver, and in the light of the day, she held a position of respect.

              Obviously, Amelia could not talk with the other kids openly. Talking was against the rules and the counselors feared that she could incite unrest. Instead, Amelia developed a complex form of sign language that every girl learned after a day of working with Amelia in the ravine. The signs could mostly be made with just fingers so as not to attract attention, and they could be done very quickly. Amelia had signals for food, clothes, counselors and all sorts of tools. She could instruct girls to work slower or faster, what to do when called upon by Ellis, and even excuses for why certain tasks took extra time. None of the other girls developed Amelia's mastery of signing, however, so she oftentimes would pass a message from one girl to another, going so far as to hold various messages in her mind for days at a time.

              For this reason, Amelia was trying to get Lily's attention at the main gates' flower garden. Amelia was at a nearby cluster of trees, trimming branches, while she frantically attempted to catch Lily's eye.

              A small circle was made by Amelia's left hand, similar to an 'OK' sign, then she closed her hand quickly into a fist. The message was simple and clear: “Shut up”.

              A counselor was approaching Lily and Dana from their blind side, and he would be upon them at any moment, blundering upon their conversation. Amelia could see him, but Lily and Dana were oblivious as they chatted peacefully.

              With less than a minute before the counselor arrived, Lily looked up and saw Amelia's signing, she nodded to show her understanding, then resumed her conversation. Amelia watched with horror as the counselor reached the girls, and they stopped talking as if on cue the moment he arrived. He watched them for a minute and continued his tour of the workers. Amelia's heart rate slowed down and she cursed Lily under her breath. Her relationship with Lily had become a huge disappointment after such a promising start. The girl did more than live on the edge, she
created
new edges for other girls to fall off of. She constantly pushed the limits of the counselor's patience, causing herself and others occasional beatings. And Lily was a
liar
. When Amelia and she were alone, she told the most unbelievable, ridiculous stories about palaces that she had lived in and places she had been. She often would contradict her own stories from previous weeks, though Amelia was too polite to make a fool of her.

             
              * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

              The following day, Ellis announced that the orphanage would be getting inspected. He expected everyone to go about their normal business, and if there were any mishaps, well, then knew what to expect from him later on.

              The inspectors entered through the front door and spread out quickly, checking every nook and cranny of the facility. Amelia watched them, though she couldn't be sure how many there were. They all had the same official uniform and clipboard, but they moved fluidly, blending with the environment and each other. They made secret handshakes with Ellis and the staff, and Amelia knew they were all corrupt. Ellis would crack jokes about how he abused the kids, then he would slip them some money and they would all laugh at their great fortunes in life. Amelia was shocked. Was the whole world evil? She knew that even for orphans, their treatment was abominable. The kids were beaten, overworked, underfed and psychologically abused on a regular basis. They had no rights, no possessions and no one to help them. Where was the justice in the world? Not here, Amelia thought, not with these crooked inspectors making a mockery of their own profession. Amelia thought Ellis was the most evil man in the world, yet everywhere she turned
he
was in charge. Was there no one above him? Maybe being evil was the real path to happiness and prosperity; Ellis certainly seemed pleased with his lot in life.

              The closer that Amelia watched the inspectors, the less she could be sure of what they were. Their faces gradually turned into animal faces; angry bulls, goats and birds returned Amelia's staring with slanted eyes and drooling mouths. The monsters licked their lips as they surrounded her, their sulfuric stench overwhelming Amelia's senses. She felt a razor sharp claw caress her neck and Amelia spun in time to see the The Beast looming over her. He was ten feet tall and as wide as two doors, and his eyes were solid red orbits, burning through Amelia's skin. He picked her up around the waist with one hand and opened his maw while the other demons laughed, then Amelia was in his mouth, being ripped apart by gnashing teeth...

              “Get off me!” Amelia screamed as she woke up, slapping Lily hard in the face. Lily fell back in pain and Amelia leaped out of her bed, ready to fight.

              “What's your problem, you freak!” Lily screamed, a faint bruise already rising on her left cheek.

              “Why were...you...” Amelia stammered, realizing that she had been having a nightmare.

              “I'm sorry” she offered pitifully.

              'You have issues, bitch. If you ever hit me again, I'll kill you” Lily said in anger, rising to her feet and scampering away.

              Amelia was left alone, realizing that Lily was only trying to wake her for the morning headcount. She felt bad that she had struck Lily, but she also felt a small
release
. It was as though a small box of tension had traveled from Amelia's heart to her fist, then from her fist into Lily's face. Releasing that tension had felt good. Sometimes, she thought, people should be punished for doing something stupid. As she dressed and prepared for the day, Amelia wondered if that pleasure was how Ellis felt all the time.

              That morning Ellis got a telephone call. A couple had been approved to take a girl of their choosing and raise her. Ellis hated it when this happened. It came once a year and he was powerless to deny the State's mandate. When a couple completed the rigorous screening and application process, they were permitted to take any girl that they wished from any orphanage they wished, and they had chosen Lisson. He knew exactly how it would all play out, as well: A happy, middle-aged couple would show up the following day and smile to Ellis, the man would shake his hand and the woman would smile nervously at Ellis' dark glare. They would ask him about all the girls education, their dispositions and their histories. They would want to tour the facility. Ellis would politely decline, claiming that he didn't want to get all the girls' hopes up that they might be chosen. He would suggest, rather,  that maybe they could
describe
what kind of girl they were looking for, then he would select several girls who fit that description and present them in the main lobby. He would pre-select the girls himself, obviously, and they would be cleaned and oiled, to appear healthy. They would be under the strict belief that Ellis was in total control of the situation, so they would not say anything that he didn't want them to say. One girl would be chosen, she could be seventeen years old, which was rare, or she could be three to five years old, which was far more likely. Ellis didn't care how old they were, all that mattered to him was that they kept their mouths' shut once they left his guardianship. In truth, he thought, the girls would never speak of the things that happened at Lisson, so strong were their beliefs that they were dirty and at fault. If they made any disturbances with their new family, they could be sent right back to Lisson. After planning out the best way to deal with the State's
intrusion
, Ellis felt considerably better.

              That afternoon, Ellis got another telephone call. It was the couple, who had been given his number. They would be arriving in fifteen minutes. He waited.

              Once the couple were there and the niceties were over, Ellis asked them what they wanted; they wanted a girl no younger than eight but no older than thirteen. They wanted a girl who was sweet and smart. She had to be a blond, they insisted, because they were both blond. She had to have deference to authority and a sincere work ethic. Ellis nodded to their stipulations, then sat them in his office while he gathered the girls who fit the description. He had not expected them to be so specific, so he dismissed the girls who he had already gathered. Instead, he went to the laundry room and selected six girls who he thought might get the couple to leave, then he marched them to the lobby. Along the way, a wave of blond hair caught Ellis eye from a window, so he instructed the girls to continue to the lobby and that he would catch up. Ellis went out to the flower garden and saw the blond. He told her to follow him.

              The couple selected the blond girl from the gardens, surprisingly so, because she was a little older than they had specified. Still, they were gone, a girl was gone, and life could go back to normal.

                           
Chapter 9

              Lily was gone. After Amelia had finished her day's work with Anne, she immediately noticed Lily's absence, the girls were together so often and their routine was so well-established that it was impossible to not notice a missing girl. Lily didn't show up for the evening meal, either. A few girls signaled to her that Ellis had taken her, though she should have returned by now. After the evening headcount, Amelia was distraught. Lily could likely be gone forever, and she had not had the opportunity to apologize for slapping her. It was all so sudden that Amelia could hardly grasp the gravity of the situation. Lily was absolutely gone. Just like that. She was waking up Amelia, she was slapped, she was taken on a whim by Ellis, and now she was probably in a grave somewhere. The injustice of it was unfathomable. Amelia pulled her woolen blanket over her head, relaxed onto her stiff, stained mattress and listened to the rhythmic breathing of all the girls in the compartment. They all breathed fast and shallow and it sounded to Amelia like they had all just run a marathon. One girl must have had a lung problem, Amelia thought, because she snored like a bear. One of the younger girls shivered in her bunk, she had lost her blanket privileges after over-watering a tulip in the garden. Amelia stood up and went over to the girl, half-asleep, and laid down next to her. The girls knees were drawn up nearly to her chin and her the goosebumps on her legs were so rigid that they felt like some sort of medieval battle armor, rather than human skin. Amelia couldn't be caught sharing her blanket and warmth with a girl who was being punished, so she would have to wake up extra early and go back to her own bed. But for the moment, she was protecting the weak. God didn't give me my brain so that I could spend my whole life in an orphanage and be killed on a madman's whim, Amelia thought. She decided that she would utilize her mind in a much more practical way; she would destroy the counselors.