The Other Earth (18 page)

Vanessa just smiled, "Thanks" she said, turning and walking out of the door with me quick
ly following behind her like a puppy dog with its tongue rolled out.

"So tell me about this place we are going to eat" I said, trying to change the subject as I watched her hip sway from side to side mesmerized by movements that were foreign to my own smal
l hips.

"Well, honestly there isn't much to tell, they just have good food. Most of the food around here is very bland, including a lot of the food they give you for the house as well" she said, turning her head slightly to look at me.

I walked faster so that we were standing side by side, "Yeah, I've been eating pretty bland food since we got here" I said.

She looked over at me, "We? Who did you come with?" she asked.

"Oh, I came with my brother, Brandon" I lied, hoping she wouldn't ask too many questions about him.

She nodded, "That's good that you could come together. I always wished I had a brother or a sister growing up. Someone who I could talk to about how unhappy my parents were" she said.

I sighed, "It's so sad that they were forced to have a child, though in a way it's good since you are here now" I said, trying to catch a peek of her again as we continued to walk down the street and to the left of the government building, hoping to mimic her graceful movements.

"Here is the place" Vanessa said, poi
nting to a small building that had nothing distinguishing it as a restaurant.

"Wow, I would have never even guessed it was here" I said, looking inside at the tables that had a few people sitting and eating, mostly alone.

"Yeah, it's mostly just for government people so they don't really let others know that they are here, though most everyone who lives in this sector are some form of government worker anyway" she said, pushing the door open and walking inside.

I walked through the door behind her and looke
d around, noticing that it looked very similar to the little deli inside the SSE headquarters back home. I looked up at the menu and for the first time since landing on this planet saw food that I was used to having back home. They had hamburgers, fries, pizza, and even chicken fried steak.

"What are you going to get?" I asked Vanessa.

She smiled, "I always get the same thing when I come here. A slice of pizza and a beer" she said.

I looked up at the counter as an older man stepped up to the counter, he was
an attractive older man with perfectly coiffed silver hair, tanned skin, and a smile that showed off his perfectly straight white teeth.

"Hey princess, the usual?" he asked Vanessa.

Vanessa nodded and smiled at him, "Yep, you know it pops" she said.

I looked over at her as she said pops and wondered if he was really her pops or if that was just a nickname that everyone called him.

"Well, who is this pretty young thing here?" he asked, holding his hand out for my badge. I dropped it into his hand and he looked at it and then back to me.

"Randi huh?
Nice to meet you Randi, what will you have?" he asked.

"I would just like to get a cheeseburger with fries" I said.

The man smiled, "Look at that Nessa, a girl after my own heart. Would you like a beer as well?" he asked. I normally didn't like beer but I didn't want to seem unusual any more today that I already had so I just nodded and smiled.

I followed Vanessa over to a small table in a dark corner and sat down, facing the kitchen where a woman was working
in the kitchen. I could only see her dark hair pulled away from her face, but since her back was to me I couldn't actually see her face.

"Is that your dad or does everyone call him pops?" I asked.

Vanessa laughed, "No, that is my dad. He runs this place with my mom" she said, smiling at a pretty waitress that looked to be in her mid-forties with medium length platinum blond hair came and handed us our beers.

I watched as she walked back behind the counter and spoke to Vanessa's dad. I smiled slightly as sh
e leaned forward and kissed him gently, lingering for a few seconds.

"Is that your mom?" I asked, nodding my head toward the blond waitress kissing her father.

Vanessa looked quickly and then turned back to me, "Um no" she said, her cheeks slightly reddening.

I looked back over at the kitchen, "Oh okay" was all I could think to say.

Vanessa looked at me closely and then leaned in to whisper, "Can you keep a secret?" she asked me quietly.

I nodded, "Of course" I answered just as quietly.

My mom is the one in the kitchen with the black hair. The waitress is Laura, my dad's girlfriend" she said.

I shook my head, "I thought that wasn't allowed" I said.

She shrugged, "Well, legally it's not. Remember how I told you my parents were not attracted to each other?" she asked.

I nodded, remembering our conversation from just earlier in the day, "Yes" I said.

"Well, they both each have their own person on the side. You see, Laura and her husband Tommy were matched about twenty years ago, but didn't have an emotional connection either. About ten years or so ago, they moved in next door to my parents and they each hit it off with each other and sort of swapped spouses. I know that sounds crazy, but they each love each other so much. They all opened this place together about seven years ago." She said.

I sat back, "Wow, it's ironic that two matched couples would actually find their own perfect match in each other like that" I said.

"You don't think it's weird?" she asked.

I shook my head and put my hand over hers, "No I think
its romantic" I said.

She smiled and looked down at my hand on top of hers for a few seconds until pulling it away quickly when Laura brought our food to us.

Chapter Eighteen

I
laid in bed, thinking about Vanessa and her family. It was good to see that her parents had managed to actually find that person that would make them happy, but shouldn't they be able to live their lives with the person that they loved and not have to hide it and hope they aren't ever found to be breaking the law just by being with someone that they love.

I sighed as I realized it was already fairly late and I still hadn't heard from Brandon. When I had gotten back from work I had quickly found Flora and
asked her if he had called. I had been happy and disappointed at the same time to hear that she had not heard from him. After only being away from him for a few hours and I already missed him more than I was willing to admit to anyone but myself. I actually felt my body ache for him.

I turned over onto my side when I heard a phone ringing downstairs. My heard started to pound as I jumped out of the bed and ran down the stairs as fast as I could.

I grabbed the phone after only the second ring, "Hello" I said, trying to catch my breath.

"Randi? It's Brandon"

I smiled, "Oh I'm so glad you called. Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. I can't talk long, I just wanted to tell you that I made it in, and found someone to stay with while I'm here. A guy named
Freddie, I was given his name by James. I ran into him on the way to the ship and he told me about an underground guy that was here. He lives alone and actually pretty much runs the entire sector. They don't have houses here like they do in sector one. There are nothing but apartments here in buildings that are about six stories tall, and the apartments are very small from what I can tell. There are actually more people here than I thought there would be" he said.

I sighed, "I miss you, but it's good for you to find out everything you can there" I said, trying to be supportive.

"I actually won't be here for long. I called work to check in and they told me that early next week they are fairly sure they are going to have a shipment of people that will be going to sector six and that I will have to be one of the ones to transport them, since I'm the extra and the new guy" he said.

I shook my head, "So you would have had to go there anyway" I said.

"Yeah basically. Look, I can't talk, I have to go but I will be back tomorrow by the time you get back from work. I will see you then" he said.

"Okay. Be careful and see you soon" I
said, hanging up the phone before I said something I would regret.             

"Was that Brandon?" I heard behind me.

I turned quickly and saw that it was Flora behind me, "Yes, he made it there and should be back tomorrow" I said.

She nodded, "The previous two peopl
e who were here with the underground never even learned of sector six, so in just a few days you two have made more progress than most" she said.

"Did you know about sector six already?" I asked her, running my fingers through my hair and realizing that I
hadn't cut it in long enough that it had already grown out past my ears.

"Yes. We all have our own missions though. My mission is to give the people from the underground a safe house and the documents needed to start their mission. It is not my place to fi
ll in fighters what should have already been told to them" Flora said, motioning for me to sit on the sofa.

I sat down and she sat next to me, "Do you know someone who lived in sector six?" I asked.

She sighed, "Yes, my brother is there. I speak to him regularly and he is happy, probably happier than most everyone else I would guess" she said.

I looked at her for a few seconds, "What about you? Were you matched?" I asked her.

She nodded, "Yes I was matched to a wonderful man. He was actually a true perfect match for me and over the years I came to care for him deeply. We have two children together and they have already both been matched as well. My daughter is the oldest and she lives in sector two with her one child and husband. My son lives in sector five with his wife, who is a professor at the university. They have two children together, one of which will be coming here soon to be tested." She explained.

"What happened to your husband?" I asked her, wondering where he could be.

She smiled, "He went underground. He worked as a code enforcer and after all of the people he saw in his life get the raw end of the deal, he was determined to do something to make a difference, and so he left me here and went underground, offering up our home to the cause" she said, patting my hand.

"If you cared for each other why did he leave you here?" I asked her, wondering why he didn't take her with him.

"Well you see, he didn't care for me as deeply as I cared for him and he thought himself to be better suited to helping the underground" she said.

I frowned, "That's horrible. Do you speak to him often?" I asked her.

She shook her head, "No, I haven't spoken to him in about three years."

"Do you miss him?" I asked, knowing what her answer would be.

She smiled a sad smile, "Every day. I just hope that one day he will realize that he misses me and when all of this is over he will come home to me." She said, a small tear glistening in her eye.

"I'm so sorry" I said, feeling my own eyes start to burn.

"Don't be sorry. You are here to help, and I have a very good feeling about you and Brandon. You are going to be the key to our freedom, I just know it." She said, standing up from the couch.

"I hope so" I said, realizing for the first time that I wanted to help this planet find the fre
edom it so deserved, freedom that we took for granted back home.

She smiled, "Okay enough of the sad talk. Let's make some dinner okay?" she asked.

I just nodded and followed her into the kitchen, already scheming in my head ways to help the underground people overthrow their own government.

***

I looked up at Flora as someone knocked on her door. She looked up from her food and frowned, "I wonder who that could be" she said, standing up from the table to answer the door.

I sat quietly and listened as she opened the door but could not hear what she was saying, so I stood up and walked toward the door. As I turned the corner I was surprised to see Vanes
sa standing in the doorway talking to Flora.

"Vanessa?" I asked.

She looked up at me and smiled, "I'm sorry Randi. I looked up your address in your file, I just wanted to talk to you about something" she said.

I nodded and Flora stepped to the side, lettin
g her walk in before quietly shutting the door behind her.

"I just need to put up my plate and I'll be right with you" I told Vanessa.

"Don't bother dear, I'll get it for you. Why don't you two go into the living room and chat" Flora said, patting her arm.

"Thanks Flora." I said
, pointing toward the living room, hoping the forging equipment was cleaned out of there.

I looked around as we walked in and sighed with relief that it look like nothing more than a normal, though bland and gray, living room.

"Have a seat" I said, sitting on one end of the couch.

"I'm sorry to barge in on you like this, especially during dinner time" Vanessa said, sitting down next to her.

"What's on your mind?" I asked her.

She looked at me for a second before speaking, "Well you se
e, I've been doing some thinking and there are things starting to click into place that I needed to ask you about" she said.

I leaned forward, my heart pounding, "What is it?" I asked, knowing that my lack of knowledge was sure to give away my outsider sta
tus.

"Well. First thing, your file says that you came from the university. But it doesn't have anything else about you before that. I can't find any files where you have been tested for matching, and it's almost as though you didn't exist before coming to
work with me" she said.

I sat quietly trying to think of something to say to her that would ease her mind about me, "Vanessa" I began.

She held her hand up, "Hold on. Let me get this all out before I lose my nerve" she said.

I just nodded at her and sat ba
ck, waiting to hear everything that I had done wrong in the few days I had been here.

"Second. You seem very interested in how the matching process works, but it's almost as though you didn't grow up around the rest of us and have no idea about our history
." She continued.

"Third, you live here, in this house. That leaves me with only one conclusion" she said.

"What is that?" I asked her, trying to keep a straight face.

"You are part of the underground coalition" she said.

I sat and looked at her for a few seconds, almost tempted to tell her the real truth, but knew that it was not in my best interest. I nodded.

"I knew it. I know Flora, and I know she is a part of the underground, so I finally pieced this together
. How long have you been underground?" she asked, flushed with excitement.

"This is my first time here" I said honestly.

"You were born there? Wow, no wonder you don't know anything. What is like?" she asked.

I looked around, hoping Flora would come in and
save me from lying too much to a person I had come to respect in such a short amount of time.

"It's different" I said.

Vanessa looked down at her watch, "Okay listen. I don't have much time left, I have to be in a meeting soon." She said.

"At this time of
night?" I asked her, looking over at the clock above her head.

She nodded, "Yes, it's not exactly for work, I can't really talk about it yet. I will tell you more tomorrow at work. I just wanted to confirm my suspicions while I had them all in my head. Bu
t listen, there is a small group of people going over to sector six the day after tomorrow and I convinced them to let you come along with us to transport them. There are some things in the works that I will fill you in on tomorrow as well." She said, standing up.

I stood up and simply nodded at her, not wanting to dig any deeper into my past than was already said. I already had a bad feeling that she was going to try and get me to talk more about an underground city that I truthfully knew nothing about the
next day. I would have to try and come up with something to say to appease her enough to get her to stop asking. I sighed, wishing that Brandon was here to talk about this with.

I walked with her to the door and watched as she practically ran away from th
e house, down the street and into the darkness, more animated than I had seen her to date.

I turned and walked back into the room when I nearly screamed. Flora was standing partially in the shadows watching me wave as Vanessa left.

"Flora, you scared me" I said, clutching my heart.

She smiled and stepped out of the shadows, "I'm sorry dear. I am just worried." She said.

"What are you worried about?" I asked her.

She looked back into the darkness behind me, making me realize that I hadn't yet shut the door.
I shut the door behind me and looked back to Flora.

"Well, I do know Vanessa, and while she is pro-underground she is still very high up in the government, being the programmer that matches us all. She has also been known to get a little over zealous and a
ccidentally turned in one of the previous coalition members that lived here."

I frowned, "How did she do that?" I asked, suddenly afraid.

"She is a very trusting person, and she trusted in the wrong person, who in turn came to arrest that person." She said.

I put my hand over my mouth, "Oh no, what happened to them?" I asked
, picturing them chained up in some kind of dungeon, too weak and thin to even stand.

"Luckily, one of the code enforcers that were told to come arrest him were with the coalition and ga
ve us enough of a head's up that they managed to get out and back underground before they found him." She said.

I sighed in relief, "Well that's good. I would hate to see what they would do if they actually captured him."

She nodded, "Yes, he would surely have been tortured for more information. However, that action set us back for nearly a year. I played the part off well, acting like a stupid old woman that had no idea where the boy that was staying here had gone off to. It wasn't until you and Brandon that I even trusted anyone else to come and stay here" she said.

"I'm so sorry. I will do what I can to make sure she doesn't tell anyone about me. I will sit her down and have a talk with her, and let her know that if she so much as tells her teddy bears th
at I will have to leave, just like the guy before me" I said.