Immortal (5 page)

Silence. Darkness. The pain was now down to a
slow quieting roll. The minutes continued to pass with an agonizing
slowness. Finally the darkness began to dissolve as his eyes once
again began to adjust. He shifted his gaze, and once again tried to
look around. He could just make out the shape of the Guardian in
the gloom again, as it still stood motionless, right in front of
him. Silent and unmoving, it was just a dark shadow in his view. He
took a deep breath, and sighed. Maybe the worst part was finally
over. Maybe it would all be over soon and he could get out of here,
wherever here was, and just get home. To see Gabrielle. Or to get
something to eat. He hadn’t even realized that he was famished. Now
that things had calmed down, he could feel his belly rumble. Or
even back to his station. A few focused hours as he targeted
particles would make him feel much better. That would be a great
way to just forget about this.

A loud alarm blasted suddenly and assaulted
his senses. He jumped in his seat, as the chains that bound him
went taught, and though he was bound from behind, he involuntarily
lifted just enough for his chest to make contact with Guardian’s
control stick. His back arched in agony as the muscles throughout
his body tightened, and then his world exploded into brightness as
the light flashed on again. His body shook uncontrollably.
Convulsed. Then pain. Ears ringing. Eyes burning. And then,
thankfully, unconsciousness.

He convulsed over and over again, as his body
jerked uncontrollably in response to the slight touch from the
control stick. His eyes had rolled into his head, and showed only
the whites, as a steady stream of drool began to run out of the
corner of his mouth. She tried to reach towards him but could not
move. She yelled his name, but no sound came out. She tried to yell
louder, but still there was no sound. It felt like she could not
breathe. Her heart began to beat faster, as she gulped for air. She
opened her eyes and it was total darkness. She suddenly tried to
sit up, but banged her head on something above. She relaxed just a
bit, as she realized that she was in the sleeping compartment. She
quickly remembered her fear from last night. As the Guardian had
stood just behind her as she tried desperately to get the door
unlocked, with curfew just seconds away. How the door had opened by
itself, activated by her brother from inside the chamber. How she
had stepped across the threshold just as the red curfew light over
the door had activated. How she had stood there dumbfounded, and
stared back at the Guardian in the hallway. How it had simply
stopped, and then the door had slid shut. And now she was here. She
didn’t remember having gotten into the sleep chamber, or anything
else from last night for that matter. But she vividly remembered
about Jericho. Poor Jericho, she thought as the tears began.
Suddenly the darkness was shattered by a bright explosion of light
to her right. The wall to the sleeping chamber slid away, and
Gabrielle blinked her eyes, as she cried softly in the new
brightness.

“Baby, are you okay?” She recognized her
mother’s voice, and though still quite upset, she began to
calm.

“Mom?” she said questioningly.

“I’m here baby. You okay?” Her mother’s
comforting voice asked.

“I don’t know.” She said and began to
cry.

“What’s the matter, sweetie? What’s
wrong?”

“Everything!” She sobbed, as she accepted her
mother’s welcoming embrace.

“Hey there, girly. What’s the problem?” She
heard her father ask from further away. Her eyes adjusted to the
light as she saw his comforting face come into view.

“Yeah, Sis. What’s up?” She heard her
brother, Timothy sleepily asked from the bunk above. “You came in
and passed out right in my arms last night. I had to put you in the
chamber.”

“Hun?” Her mom asked. “Tell Mommy what
happened.”

“It’s terrible, Mom. Jericho…” She sobbed.
“He’s been controlled.” Her mother held her tighter.

“Jericho?” her father asked. “Our Jericho?
What could he have-” He began.

“He was protecting me!” She said in between
sobs.

“Protecting you, honey?” Her mother asked.
“What happened?”

And once again she began to tell Jericho’s
story, as she tried her best to control her emotions and just
deliver the facts as she knew them. Regardless of what she said
there was only one thing on her mind, and that was, where was he
now? Was he okay? When could she see him again? Would she see him
again? Finally, the story told, her mother offered her opinion.

“Hun, you’ve got to calm down. So far you
don’t know that he’s not okay. Maybe they released him afterwards,
and he just hasn’t been able to get over to see you yet.” She said
calmly. “He’s a good boy, sweetie. No harm will come to him. You
have to believe that.”

“But he was on the ground mom. Shaking
and-”

“Listen to your mom.” Her dad said firmly.
“We do not live in a savage world, and from what you’ve told us,
this was not his fault.” He took a deep breath, paused for a
second, and then continued. “The Guardians will sort this out, and
he will be fine. That Donovan is the one that needs to worry.”

“He’s an ass!” Timothy exclaimed from
above.

“Tim!” His mother yelled, as he slid down
from the bunk above into the tiny living area, and made his way
across the cramped room to sit on the board across the other
wall.

“But he is.” Timothy said quietly.

“That may be true.” Said her dad. “But for
now, Jericho is our concern.”

“When can you find out more?” Her mother
asked.

“I’m supposed to meet Rebecca for the morning
meal. And she will fill me in.” She brushed her hair out of her
face. “What time is it?” She asked.

“I think you need to get going.” Her father
said. Her mother nodded in agreement. Timothy sat with his knees
drawn up, arms wrapped around, and he too nodded in agreement. He
gestured towards the only blank wall in the compartment.

“You first.” He said. She walked over and
placed her hand into the indentation on the wall just to his left,
and the panel that covered the wash area slid sideways into the
wall. The room activated, its setting having adjusted automatically
for her use. As the door slid shut behind her, she began an
abbreviated version of her morning wash routine. She tossed her
dirty clothing into the small chute, quickly used the bathroom, and
then activated the cleansing mode. The small closet like room
quickly filled with a warm mist, and a fine spray enveloped her
entire body. Eyes closed, she began to rub at the spray that
covered her body, and then activated the next cycle. The mist was
replaced by a quick but powerful fine burst of water, and rinsed
her completely in a matter of moments. It was then replaced by a
powerful warm air burst from all around. Seconds later she was
clean, and dry. A wall panel slid down to reveal her clothes for
the day. She quickly dressed, and left the compartment, headed for
the meal building.

As she stood in line at the mealtime
building, she gradually moved forward as one by one, the people in
front of her were scanned. She looked everywhere for Rebecca, or
even anyone that she knew, but saw no one familiar. It was her turn
to be scanned. Absentmindedly she stuck her hand into the scanner,
and never glanced at the green light to see if it had changed. She
followed the line forward, and as she entered the building, she
instantly saw Rebecca at the far end, already seated. No matter how
much she wanted, she could not just rush over to her. The entrance
line had delivered her into the meal line to which there was only
one exit. Impatiently she approached the serving wall as her line
moved forward. Finally at the wall, she placed her hand on the
indentation, and after a seconds hesitation, a wall panel slid up,
revealing her tray. A meal tray specifically designed for her
nourishment needs. She grabbed it, exited the line, and rushed over
to Rebecca.

“And?” She asked, as she looked at Rebecca
expectantly.

“And…I don’t know.” She said.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” She
quickly seated herself, and looked nervously at the closest
Guardian that monitored the room. This was the meal room. You came
in, you got your meal, you sat and ate, and you left. It was not
permitted to just stand around. And though talking during meal time
was frowned upon, if it was done quietly while one ate, it was
mostly overlooked. But since the incident with Jericho, Gabrielle
wanted to be more careful than usual. She did not have any
intentions of being controlled. “I thought your dad was-” She
began.

“He did.” Rebecca said. “He came back but he
didn’t have any information, just that they still had Jericho. They
wouldn’t tell him anything else.” As this began to sink in,
Gabrielle looked down at her tray. Three molded compartments held
her meal. The same as each meal, the largest center compartment
held the grey mush, to the right the elongated compartment held the
flat white rectangular hard wafer, and to the left was the cup
which contained the flavorless red liquid. She absentmindedly
picked up the wafer, and scooped up a small portion of the mush,
and looked at it briefly.

“So we don’t know anything at all?” She
asked, as she put the mush into her mouth.

“Nothing.” Rebecca said. “But dad did not
seemed worried, he thinks it will all be straightened out today. I
didn’t see him this morning when I left the compartment, but he
probably stopped by again this morning after his shift to check on
Jericho.” Rebecca, had finished her meal, and drank the last of her
liquid.

“I don’t know if I can go the whole day
without knowing something.” Gabrielle said, as she ate her meal
faster now, aware that time was almost up. She had to be on the
road shortly in order to make it to the factory in time for her
shift. Rebecca finished the last of her liquid and replaced the
translucent cup into its compartment on the tray.

“It will be okay Gabby. You have to believe
that.” She said, as she got up. “Tray’s empty, meal’s over.”
Looking around, she picked up her tray and whispered, “See you on
the road.” And she briskly walked towards the exit, and deposited
her tray in an opening at the wall near the exit. Gabrielle,
quickly finished her mush, bit off chunks of the wafer, chewed, and
washed it down with her liquid. She knew she must hurry, but the
tray must be empty before she could leave. She glanced at the
Guardian closest to her again. It stood there cold and unmoving. An
empty tray. That was the rule. She finished and left.

Her mind had played back over and over the
scene of poor Jericho as he lay on the ground while she had walked
the road to the factory. Though surrounded by others during the
walk, she had ignored them. And as she approached the scanners at
the entrance to the factory, she barely remembered the walk at all.
She remembered it had been as crowded as it always was, and that
even if you did try to walk slow, like she had when she had when
she had passed the section of the wall where she and Jericho had
gone through just yesterday morning, you were quickly caught up in
the sea of moving bodies and pushed ahead. She also remembered that
she had not seen Rebecca, who must have been much further up,
having finished earlier. It was going to be a long day, she thought
as she approached the scanner and slid her hand inside. The light
glowed steady green as she passed by on her way inside. She never
even noticed. Her mind still reeled with thoughts of whether
Jericho was safe. Though she knew that there was nothing she could
do to help him, or even to find out about him, she could not help
but dwell. She spoke to no one as she made her way through the
hallways to her station. As she reached her area, she passed by the
Guardian at the entrance. She glanced at it out of the corner of
her eye as she passed, and felt a chill run up her spine. In all
the years she had seen them, passed them, been surrounded by them,
it was now that she realized that she had begun to fear them. Now
she realized that in a matter of seconds they could make decisions
that would take your freedom, and change your life, and you, and
every one around you would be totally helpless to stop it. Now she
had finally realized, that they were in control. She stepped up to
her station, and tried to forget the ominous presence of Guardian.
She began her assigned task.

Gabrielle worked diligently at her task all
day, and now late in the day, the mid-day meal had been over for
some time. It was not much longer before her shift would be over.
Gabrielle continuously adjusted the dials at her station, as was
required of her. The table top revealed a series of gauges, and red
needles that swung back and forth to indicate pressures within the
monitored streams. Her task was to adjust the adjacent dials
constantly to maintain the pressures indicated on each gauge within
the desired range. She had no idea or concern what the streams
were, or even what the gauges meant. All she knew was if this gauge
went too far to the left, turn that dial to the right gradually
until it began to come back. If it went too far to the right, turn
the same dial gradually to the left until it began to come back.
There were four gauges and four dials, and all must remain in the
proper range, which required constant and continuous observation,
analysis, and adjustment. Today had been a long day for
Gabrielle.

Twice before the mid-day meal, she had been
so withdrawn into her own thoughts, she had failed to make the
required adjustments before the needles went outside the acceptable
range, and the alarm buzzer had sounded. Both times she was able to
quickly make the required adjustments and bring the pressures back
in line, but not before she could see out of the corner of her eye,
the posted Guardian begin to move towards her. Not even a full
step, but a slight movement none the less. Movement for which she
was now highly tuned to perceive. Each time as the pressure was
corrected, the Guardian’s tiniest movement had instantly stopped,
and as she had glanced at it later, it appeared to not have moved
at all. As she adjusted her dials, she actually began to believe
that maybe the Guardian had not moved at all. Maybe it was all in
her mind. She had never had a problem on her station before, and so
she really did not know what the Guardian might do if somehow she
failed at her task. Would it really approach her? Would it stop her
from her task? Would it shut down her station? Would it control
her? She had no idea.