Remainder (8 page)

It is twelve o'clock when we arrive back at the house. I go to Bailey’s room, her cupcakes in tow, and knock softly on the door. There is no answer, so I quietly let myself in. Bailey is still passed out in her bed, so I place her cupcakes on her dresser and take my leave.

With nothing to do, I go and find Zareh and ask her if she would like some help. She happily obliges and takes me to the library. She hands me a rag and shows me how to dust. She tells me what I need to dust and leaves me to it. The library is massive. From ceiling to ground, on every wall, shelves house thousands of books. I walk the length of a shelving unit, running my fingers along the spines of the books. I pull a book from the shelf and run my hand over the cover feeling the leather. The front reads
Anthem
by Ayn Rand. In that moment, I realize I can read. I have never actually tried to read something, but I can. That must be something else that was programmed into me. I open the book and begin reading. For a few moments, I am lost in a different world. I can forget everything that I have seen or felt since I woke from my cryogenic state.

“What are you doing?” A deep loud voice behind me interrupts my escape, causing me to jump and bringing me back to reality.

I turn around and see Killian standing in the room with a puzzled look on his face. I am numb with fear and cannot speak.

“Well….are you going to answer me?” he asks.

“I….Zareh...I…” He glares at me intently.

“Spit it out!” he demands.

“I was helping Zareh clean since Bailey is still asleep,” I manage to get out quickly.

“My clones are not permitted to read,” his says in a harsh voice.

“Oh. I didn’t know,” I say in a soft voice.

“Well now you do. Find another room to clean. If I catch you reading again, the punishment will be severe,” he threatens. His words pierce into me like daggers. He exits the room and I let out a sigh. With his absence, I can breathe again.

I find Zareh and help her clean other rooms. I don’t tell her about my encounter with Killian. I do not want to think or talk about it. When I think about it, I wonder what kind of punishment he would inflict on me. Would he cut my hand off so I couldn’t pick up a book anymore? Would he have Alec use his aleuron on me? I touch the back of my neck where the microchip is located. A shiver runs down my spine. I am thankful to be cleaning, to be doing something. It allows me to concentrate on my work instead of thinking about the kinds of punishment Killian could have inflicted on me.

Bailey doesn’t get up until four o’clock in the afternoon. When I go to her room, she is biting into one of the cupcakes I brought back for her.

“There you are!” she says through a mouthful of cupcake. “Aaahh...these are so good...I’ve been craving these for weeks,” she moans and throws her head back. “Did you drop the dresses off at the cleaners?”

“Yes I did. I thought Zareh does all the laundry?”

“Ugh! Every time she touches my dresses, she ruins them. I think the old bat’s eye sight is going.” Bailey shoves another cupcake in her mouth. “How did you know what kind of cupcakes I like? I never told you.”

“I ran into Felix. He helped me.”

“Of course he knows what kind of cupcakes I like. He’s always had a thing for me. For someone who is so smart, he can’t get the hint that I’m not interested. He’s such a nerd. I need to take a shower and get ready. Percy is coming over tonight.” Still naked, she gets off her bed and walks into the bathroom. She pokes her head out of the door. “You don’t need to be around tonight. We will want some privacy, if you know what I mean...which you probably don’t,” she says with a satisfactory smile that makes me want to slap her. I take my leave and head back to my room.

Around six, Zareh comes to my room and tells me that dinner is ready. We walk to the kitchen and take our seats. Milo places chicken, green beans, and potatoes on the table and sits beside me.

“Thank you, Milo. Everything looks delicious!”

“My pleasure. Just call me Chef Milo!” he beams a wide grin.

“What is it like living in the Labor district?” I ask. Since encountering the sick man and Felix telling me about unrest in the Labor district, I am curious for the perspective of someone who lives there.

“Well, I can only speak from the agriculture side. It’s pretty busy, but in a relaxed sort of way. There is always something to do. We grow and distribute all of the food for all of the sectors. There’s always vegetables to be picked, trees to be watered, livestock to be fed, food to boxed and distributed. The list goes on.”

“It sounds like a lot of work. What made you want to be a cook?”

“I didn’t have a choice. Our jobs are selected for us by a council. Luckily for me, I love cooking. It’s very therapeutic for me, like a stress reliever. I’ve never been interested in science like Alden,” he professes.

“Oh,” I say shocked at the fact that pure bloods are not allowed to choose their future. “So, Alden can never be a Researcher?”

“Unfortunately not. He and Rayna have a love for science and would have made excellent researchers.”

“Rayna?”

“Yeah, she’s our little sister. She is thirteen years old.”

“She’s lucky to have two older brothers looking out for her,” I say with a sense of longing. I wish I had a brother to look out for me and to be a companion. I just wish I had anyone to call my family.

“Yeah, but she’s pretty feisty. I am sure if anyone messed with her, she could hold her own.” He laughs out loud. I smile at him and then ask him the question I really want to know the answer to.

“What’s the sick population like in the Labor district?” I ask.

“You’re a regular Sherlock Holmes, aren’t you?”

“Who is Sherlock Holmes?” I ask, puzzled.

“Never mind. Way before our time,” he laughs.

“It’s really bad. Some of us who work with the food try to help them as much as we can, but it’s never enough. There are too many of them. At least we help the ones we can. The Researcher and Enforcer sectors look at the sick like they are insects that need to be squashed.”

My thoughts go back to the encounter with the sick man in the streets this afternoon and Felix’s treatment towards him. It makes me sad that people are treated like they don’t matter. It seems like the sick people are disposable as much as I am and people like me. Who is safe in this society?

“You should get plenty of rest tonight. I hear there’s a party at Red tomorrow night. Bailey always makes an appearance.” He smiles sympathetically at me and gets up from the table. I decide to take his advice and head back to my room for much needed rest.

I wake from a deep sleep. A hologram of Bailey has appeared in my room. Her high-pitched squeal hurts my ears and pulls me out of sleep fast.

"Wake up, 656. I want a sandwich! Go make me one!" she demands and disappears as quickly as she came.

I can tell she's drunk again. I get out of bed and put on my robe. I look at the clock and it reads two in the morning. I stumble out of my room still groggy from sleep and try to find my way to the kitchen in the dark. I must have taken a wrong turn because I don’t recognize this hallway. About halfway down the hallway, I see a light on. Who is still up at this hour? Maybe whoever it is can tell me how to get to the kitchen from here.

I walk to the room and I see the door is cracked open a little. Before I can knock, a young girl in red moves into my sight. I immediately recognize her as Enforcer-658. Why would she be here? She looks sad, like she wishes she was anywhere else but where she is. I start to say something to her when Killian walks up beside her. This must be Killian’s bedroom. He hands her a drink and she gulps it down quickly. Killian pulls off her shirt, so she is wearing just her pants. Her endowed breasts pop out of her red bra. He starts to kiss on her neck. Enforcer-658 looks like she is going to be sick. Not being able to stand the sight before me, I begin to back away.

All of a sudden, I feel an arm around my waist and a hand on my mouth. I am pulled backwards into another dark room and forcefully, yet gently, pushed up against the wall. I struggle and try to scream, but I can’t break free of the strong gasp. My heart is paralyzed with fear.

A hand is still on my mouth when I hear, "Ssshhh, be quiet."

I instantly recognize Alec’s voice.  He removes his hand from my mouth. "What are you doing here?" he demands in a loud whisper.  I can feel his anger coming off of him like steam.

"I....I....Bailey..." I stammer.

"Well?" Alec demands impatiently.  I am just as afraid now as I was earlier today in the library with Killian.  My mind floods with fear and panic...will I be punished?  What might that punishment be?

"Bailey wanted a sandwich. I got lost," I spit out.

"Don't EVER come to this part of the house again! Do you understand?" he is practically spitting out the words.

"Yes." I whisper.  He is so close that there doesn’t seem to be any space between his chest and my face.  I can almost hear his heartbeat. I stand there waiting for him to move...I can still sense his deep anger, and I am still pulsing with fear.  I don’t know what he will do with me.

"Come on. I will take you to the kitchen and then back to your room." With that he released me. I hadn’t even noticed that his arm was still around my waist.

We walk to the kitchen and I make a sandwich with him staring at me in silence. He leads me to Bailey's room. I walk in to find that she is already passed out on her bed. I put the sandwich on her dresser and leave.

Even though I know the way from Bailey's room to mine, Alec escorts me back to my room. I guess he wants to make sure I go back to my room instead of spying on Killian.  He still hasn’t spoken a word to me.  

We get to my room and before opening the door; I pause and turn to face him.

“Why...why was he doing that…. with her? She could be severely punished,” I say still shocked by what I saw.

"Some pure bloods rent their clones out for services. Not everyone is kind to clones," he states pointedly.

"That's funny, coming from an Enforcer. I've seen what can be done to people like me, what you can do," I say angrily. He frowns and looks stunned, like he doesn’t know how to respond. I've never seen him hurt anyone, but he has the power to. Just because I have yet to witness him using his power, doesn’t mean he won’t if the opportunity arises. He is an Enforcer after all.

He takes a step toward me. I freeze. In this moment, for the first time, I am intimidated by him. He is tall and strong. I am….me.  I have no power and there are no laws to protect me. He can easily hurt me and no one would care. In the overall nighttime silence, I am acutely aware of how fast my heart is racing. I mentally chastise myself for being careless with my words.  

"I've never hurt a clone," he says sharply.  He stares at me for longer that I can comprehend, like he is waiting to see something in me.  He looks slightly disgusted with what he sees, or is it disappointment?  Finally, he says, "You never have to be afraid of me. Good night, 656."  

His words have a strange and unexpected softness to them.  He takes a step back, turns around and walks away. His hands are balled tightly into fists. I wonder if I made him angry. I stand there, stunned, watching him walk away. Why would he tell me that I do not have to fear him? He is an Enforcer. They have power over us because they are feared. Why would he not want that power over me?

I toss and turn for the rest of the night thinking about Killian and Enforcer-658. What bothers me the most is that she was in a position where she didn’t have a choice. She was forced to be with Killian and from the look on her face, she was miserable about it. Then my mind wanders to a dark place. Is that going to happen to me? Am I going to be rented out to people for services? The thought makes me nauseated. I will never let that happen! I will run away before I allow that to happen to me. Running away could probably mean my death, but I would try to save myself. Where could I seek refuge? Alec? He said he would never hurt me. However, that doesn’t mean that he would put his job or his life in danger to protect me. I push the thoughts from my head. If I ever think that I may be “rented” out for services, then I will cross that bridge when I come to it. There is no point in dwelling on it. I try my best to stifle my thoughts and drift in and out of sleep.

I am aroused from sleep by screams. Am I dreaming? Am I the one who is screaming? No, someone else is screaming. I jump out of the bed and throw open my door. I run toward the screams and see other people running too. I find myself heading to the part of the house where I was last night, where Alec told me not to go ever again. Another maid is escorting a sobbing and shaking Zareh down the hall. I go to where a small crowd of people are gathered outside of Killian’s bedroom. I push myself through the people and stop cold. My eyes grow wide. I gasp and cover my mouth. I want to look away, but I am glued to what I see in front of me. Enforcer-658 is hanging from the top bedpost of Killian’s large canopy bed with a belt wrapped around her neck. Blood is dried on both of her pale wrists. Her pretty light brown eyes are open and bloodshot, all of the kindness and life drained from them. Blood has pooled on the floor under her from her slit wrists. And written in blood on the white wall beside the bed are two words: NEVER AGAIN.