instantly slaps Percy’s hand away and pulls Nadia up by her hair. The girl lets out a scream as her scalp is stretched by the pulling. She gives Percy a pleading look; but he looks away letting his gaze settle upon his own boots.
Thomas watches the dejected man and grins tossing the block of bills into Percy’s lap. “Get something nice for the wife and daughters,” he chuckles.
Percy lets his hands slowly graze over the bills which somehow feel filthy and slimy despite the fact that they are totally clean and regulation dry. The nausea returns stronger than before; but not as strong as the fear radiating from Nadia who stands trembling, her long black hair in the clutches of Thomas as the three strangers gaze at her as if she is a simple commodity.
The white robed woman reaches out to grab Thomas’ hand but she is stopped by his angry stare. “If you damaged her, I’ll expect a serious discount,” she warns him with a smile. He shoves Nadia down into the muddy slush and snatches his hand away. “Any damage there is damage done by someone else, not me,” he retorts.
“We’ll see,” she hooks her hand under the girl’s arm and pulls her to her feet.
Calcane City - Girl's Hostel – Night
Nadia walks through the door of the hostel bedroom wearing white pajamas and cradling folded sheets and blankets. Her hair still wet and now cropped above her shoulders, Nadia shivers not just from the cold but from fear. Her eyes travel along the two sets of bunk beds, to each girl, three sets of eyes peeled open and peering at her. Her gaze abruptly stops at the empty bottom bunk on the far side of the dimly lit room. Her feet are like heavy blocks of concrete as she slides them across the short distance from the door to the bunk. A space so confined she can’t even lie down completely on the floor if she wants to. Her head bowed now, she avoids further eye contact with the three girls in the room as she makes her way to the bottom bunk. The living unit’s door shuts and locks once. Her arms give way and the folded sheets and blankets tumble out of their cradle and onto the floor. Her freshly chopped hair cascades over her face and her trembling intensifies. Her lips flutter violently, a deep sob emanating between their vibrations. Tears cascade over her eyelashes and onto the bare mattress of the bottom bunk.
Nadia’s roommates remain silent as they watch her sobbing. Right above the empty bunk, 10-year-old Tira, who looks more like an 8-year-old than a girl on the verge of puberty, reaches out to touch Nadia’s wet hair as a way of comforting her. But on the top bunk across the room, 16-year-old Kyra scoffs and turns her back to the pair, “Oh shut it up, you ain’t the first and ain’t the last.” Dawning, a waif-like girl whose old eyes betray her 14 years on this planet, sighs gently and stirs on the bunk below Kyra, “There’s a towel…on the bottom rack,” she points to the nook where various toiletries have been arranged. Nadia gives her a look of confusion which is repaid with Kyra’s warm smile and sad eyes, “You’ll catch cold… it’s for your hair. It’s clean. They’re all clean. We wash once a week. Today was wash day, so you got lucky.”
Nadia gently touches her wet hair, “Where am I?” she asks Dawning.
Kyra laughs at Nadia’s question and turns in her bed to face her again. “Where am I?” she mocks the girl. “You’re in hell, heaven, fucking purgatory,” she huffs and then laughs again. “Look at this one,” she says to the other girls, “They get ‘em dumber and dumber every day,” she grins smugly.
Once again, Dawning sighs and tiredly slips out of her bottom bunk. She shuffles over to the toiletry nook and grabs a towel, “You’re at the girls’ hostel.” She hands Nadia the stiff white towel.
Nadia rubs the rough towel over her wet hair, “Where’s my sister?”
The room falls silent, not that there was much noise before; but this silence is even more complete.
Nadia looks at each of the girls, a slow wave of panic washing over her “What? Tell me? What happened?”
Dawning lays a calm hand on her arm, “We don’t know…we don’t know anything about your sister…sorry.”
Disappointed, Nadia slides the towel around her neck and flops onto the bottom bunk.
Tira hangs perilously from her waist to get eye level with Nadia, “Is she a big sister a little sister?’
“Be careful! I’m not taking the wrap for you getting hurt again!” Kyra yells at Tira. And then a loud siren blasts from the ceiling mounted speakers. Nadia is startled by the alarm, her heart pumps fast. Alarms are never good; they always mean something bad is going to happen. The other girls are also nervous, with the exception of Kyra, who doesn’t seem nervous at all; she simply smiles and then stretches. The siren blast which lasts for about 10 seconds is immediately followed by silence which in turn is followed by the sound of the loud, brash, and authoritative voice of a woman who not only seems arrogant but angry. “It is the hour of service and you have been called. You know who you are, step forward.”
Dawning takes a deep breath and opens a small cardboard drawer next to the bunk. She pulls out a tan robe and hands it to Nadia. “Put this over your clothes. I hope you got good shoes.”
Nadia shakes her head, she doesn’t have anything. She didn’t even have shoes on her feet when she was captured.
Dawning gives a sympathetic sigh, “I don’t have any extra…it’s too bad; but you’ll have to go barefoot…until you can get a pair.”
Kyra pipes up again, “She won’t last that long.”
Nadia gives Kyra only a side glare.
The alarm blares again.
Kyra shakes her head and grabs a red robe. “Hurry, we don’t have much time.”
Calcane City – Percy’s Living Unit
Christina opens her eyes and grins at her father as he stands over her bed. “You’re supposed to be asleep,” Percy says to her in a fake scolding tone. She playfully pouts at him, “But I wait for you,” the eight-year-old whines as her father leans over and kisses her forehead, “I waited for you, waited sweetie, not wait,” he smiles gently. “How was your day?” he asks her in a way few parents do, a genuine question.
“Good! We saw a picture show of trees!” she says.
“Yeah? They looked nice didn’t they?”
“Yep, they did,” she says, her innocent eyes showing they have never seen even one day of hardship.
Percy’s wife stands in the doorway, her arms folded over her chest, clasping her night gown closed and her gaze impatient. Percy turns towards his wife and gives a weak smile. The smile brightens a little when he looks back at his daughter. “Daddy’s going to give mama a kiss goodnight, okay?” he says to his daughter. Christina nods, “Okay daddy. I love you daddy.”
“I love you too, sweet pea.” Percy lifts himself from the edge of the bed, once again turning to his wife. He sighs and steps towards her. She doesn’t look too happy. She looks tired and a little sad. They step into the hallway.
“How long is this going to go on?” she begins to ask even before Christina’s bedroom door is closed.
“Until I can pay the debts,” Percy responds flatly.
“The debts? You’re gone for days on end. The debts are controlling our lives.”
“Yeah, right,” Percy looks down at the floor and walks past her, making his way into the master bedroom.
“Is that all you’re going to say?” She follows him, closing the door behind her.
“What is it you want me to do, Claudia? I’m doing everything I can. It’s not like I can say no to them.” He begins to take off his uniform.
His wife huffs, “Who was it this time? When’s the trial. You know what happened after the last trial. I don’t like this.”
Percy tenses. “Look, I don’t want to talk about it.”
But Claudia continues, “I just need to be prepared. I don’t want a bunch of surprises this time. We need to protect the girls.”
“There isn’t going to be a trial,” he says gruffly and then pulls out the wad of money given to him by Thomas. He throws it onto the bed.
Claudia looks at
the money and then at Percy. “What’s that?”
“What’s it look like?”
“Where did you get that?”
“Where do you think I got it?!” Percy’s voice rises in anger. He looks at her, his eyes hostile now, in some ways he blames her and her incessant wants and desires for their predicament. But he knows she can’t take all the blame, not even most of it. But still she is supposed to be the better half and in Percy’s eyes she has failed in her obligation to take the moral high road.
Claudia falls silent and then quickly sits on the bed, gathering up the money. She counts it, licking her lips like a fat kid counting her slices of cake.
“Can you do that in the other room,” he asks her; but it’s not really a question, more like a command. He refuses to look at her.
She laughs and grins and smiles and playfully nudges Percy on his back. He jerks away. She looks stunned. “Hey, this is a good thing, right? Now you can pay off some of the debts and maybe get a few nice things for your wife.” She winks. Percy comes to his feet and goes into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him.
Claudia deflates a little, sighing in exasperation. She feels sympathetic for Percy because she knows it isn’t easy. Carefully laying the cash on the bed, Claudia approaches the bathroom door and knocks gently, “The day of service…it’s okay if you go.”
Percy grips the washbasin and shakes his head, “No it’s not.”
“It is…it really is okay. If you don’t go…well, it might not look so good. There are rumors…”
Once again the familiar stomach churning seizes Percy’s body, “What rumors?”
Claudia hesitates, her mouth hanging open, the words there but refusing to come forth. She shakes her head as she speaks through the closed door, “Stupid rumors…it doesn’t matter…”
“It does matter! What rumors?!”
“People are talking…”
“To you? To who? Talking to who, Claudia?”
Claudia lets out a long, tired sigh and then says in a hushed tone, “Keep your voice down, I don’t want to upset the girls.”
Percy swings open the door, “This city runs on rumors, they count!” He doesn’t care to keep his voice down, some days he feels like he wants the girls to know, to prepare them for the worse. “Now I need to know so I can…” He doesn’t know what he will do. How does one combat rumors in Calcane City? It depends on how vicious those rumors are.
“That you’re not showing proper enthusiasm for your job. I just tell them that you’re tired,” Claudia says, not letting his angry tone frazzle her. She tries to stay even toned and reassuring. “That you got kids and a wife to satisfy.” She draws closer, trying to wrap her arms around his waist. He pushes her away. The action stings Claudia.
“That’s what they say today…but tomorrow…tomorrow, now that could be different…worse,” Percy says. He steps out of the bathroom and back into the master bedroom.
“That’s why you have to go….prove that you’re committed.” Claudia follows him, and from behind she again tries to her arms around his waist. “Thomas is already on his way,” she softly whispers into his ear.
He spins out of her grasp, his eyes wide with alarm, “He’s coming here?”
Claudia nods, “Yes, I couldn’t say no.”
Calcane City – Grand Ballroom - Night
The girls pour into the ballroom two at a time, each of them wearing a different color robe. Girls wearing red walk into the ballroom escorting girls wearing tan or blue. Some faces are stoic and serious while others are sad and nervous. The tiered balconies bulge with chattering guests from all parts of Calcane City. The lower balconies are filled with the well dressed upper-classes and as the balcony levels go up, class status goes down so that the very top level is filled with the underclass of society.
Nadia enters the ballroom holding Dawning’s hand. She’s overwhelmed by the magnitude of the place. Her tan hood partially obstructs her field of vision, but that doesn’t stop her from peering around, searching every face.
“You won’t find your sister here,” Dawning says. “Keep your eyes forward.”
Nadia looks forward, “I think I’ve heard of this.”
“Heard of it?” Dawning is surprised.
Nadia fidgets with her robe as Kyra and Tira enter behind them.
“I woulda’ figured you’d been on the first level and all, being a level five,” Kyra smirks. It’s a look that Nadia is beginning to resent.
“It’s a lot more to a level five than you think, and anyway I’m not that….” Nadia is cut off by Dawning’s hushing.
The girls make their way to the far flung wall which faces the balcony where Calcane’s most elite mingle. Nadia glances up at the masses of people and takes in the roar of excitement. Despite her former life as a member of the elite, her parents had never taken her to an event such as this. A matter of fact, they were quite against it. She once again looks around for Mila and catches the eye of a girl she doesn’t know.
“Tough luck you got, ending up here on your first day,” the girl says.
Nadia swallows hard and turns away, eyes forward again. “So what is this exactly?” she asks Dawning.
“Day of service,” Dawning answers.
“I think I got that part,” Nadia says, a bit snippy.
“Everybody has to earn their keep.” Dawning adds, but her lips are barely moving.
“Even you level five,” Kyra adds her two cents with a crappy giggle.
Dawning sighs as if she’s a tired parent and turns to Kyra, “You aren’t helping.”
Kyra smirks; but she doesn’t speak again. Dawning faces forward.
“Tokens are money for us, not cash. We don’t get cash like a level…” Dawning’s voice trails off. “Like some others,” she corrects.
Nadia can feel a lump in her throat, she had always wanted to be more than her level but she is beginning to realize that her level follows her everywhere, even here.
“You and Tira will need to get as many tokens as you can,” Dawning quickly adds. And for the first time since they stepped into the ballroom she turns to Nadia. “And if you don’t mind, if you could look out for Tira, we’d appreciate it.”
Nadia’s eyebrows raise, she hadn’t expected that type of request. She gives a quick, jerky nod, the only response that seems appropriate. She sets her eyes forward again taking in the vivid display of humanity filling the balconies.
Thomas, Percy and Claudia mingle on the first level of balconies. The leaders of Calcane City are also there with the Mayor and his city council. The various department heads weave in and out of the crowds of people. Subtle hints dropped to the right person at the right time can get them the funding and favors they need, especially since there is a copious amount of liquor being served.
Percy is an obvious outcast. His lips etched into a frown, he stays to himself with Claudia tossing a passing smile and hello to those who dare to venture to their corner of the balcony.
Claudia smacks Percy’s arm, “Just stop it.”
“What?”
“You know what.”
“I told you I didn’t want to be here.”
“Well we’re here, now act the part. Geesh.” Claudia quickly plasters on her smile when Thomas approaches. Percy straightens up a bit, but it’s still obvious that he’s not happy to be there.
“You alright chief?” Thomas smiles as he questions Percy.
“Fine, just tired,” Percy lies.
“Not use to this level of style, is ya’?” Thomas pops a squishy cube of protein into his mouth and washes it down with a glass of spirits.
Percy tenses and struggles for an answer. He isn’t a level five, but when Thomas grilled him about never attending a day of service event, Claudia came up with an ingenious lie. According to her, they failed to attend any day of service because they were embarrassed by their low-level status. Ingenious! But there’s just one problem – Percy ha
tes the upper-classes.
“You can thank me later,” Thomas says and then gulps down the rest of his drink.
Percy gives a strained smile, “Right…of course.” He reaches for his own drink and takes a huge gulp coughing on the strong liquid.
“That’s the good stuff.” Thomas grins and sends up a toast. He turns to Claudia, “Maybe next time you’ll bring the girls. I got strings I can pull if you know what I mean,” he winks.
Claudia gives a coy smile. She likes to flirt, especially with powerful men.
“Girls are pretty busy nowadays…I mean with their studying and chores, and plus we wouldn’t want to inconvenience you. I figure you have more pressing matters to spend your favors on,” Percy says fearing that he may have overstepped just a tiny bit. But Thomas’ grin gives him a small sense of ease.
“You always been a stick in the fucking ice Percy. Don’t know how you keep the pretty ladies.” Thomas gives Claudia another wink and sticks out his elbow, “Speaking of pretty ladies, I’ll be borrowing your wife.”
It takes everything in Percy to not outright sneer at Thomas and Claudia. “Sure,” he says feeling like a complete coward. It isn’t like Thomas is asking. Claudia hooks her arm around Thomas’ elbow and they take off, melding into the schmoozing crowd of socialites.
Left to his own devices, Percy peers across the expanse of space between him and the crowd of girls. He is unable to see their identities as their hoods cast heavy shadows over their faces. It feels impersonal, inhuman, unjust. He steps closer to the balcony ledge. If only he can get closer, he figures he can make out which one is his, the one he captured.
“Tokens sir?” a young boy asks. Percy hadn’t noticed him until now. He turns and faces the boy who is holding a golden mesh bag. Does he have to really participate? He hadn’t thought that far in advance. He glances around and sees that everyone else is grabbing a handful of tokens from the golden mesh bags carried by a dozen boys. He doesn’t want to stick out even more than he already does, so he scoops up a handful of tokens and murmurs a thank you.
“Welcome ladies and gentleman,” Madame Sister Rezzie speaks into the old-style microphone, her white robe sparkling under a spotlight. “Welcome to the day of service.”
The hum of activity slowly dies down and the attendees take their seats. Returning to Percy’s side, Claudia wraps her arm around his shoulders. “Did you get anything good?” she whispers as Madame Sister Rezzie begins the night’s introduction to the festivities.
“Huh? Oh, uhm…” Percy opens his hand and looks through the tokens as his wife keeps her eyes on Madame Sister Rezzie. She wants to make a good impression, let everyone know she too belongs to the level fives and beyond.
“Well, hun?” she asks, her eyes never leaving Madam Sister Rezzie.
Yellow token, white token, blue and a whole lot of green; but then he sees something. He squints and nudges a green token aside. There it is…the holy grail of tokens, completely black with a hint of gold around the edges. His eyes widen for a moment; but then he remembers his surroundings and puts on a poker face. Closing his hand, he looks around to see if anyone had noticed. He’s confident they didn’t notice. “Bunch of green,” he tells his wife as he palms the black token in his left hand.
“Awww, too bad. I was hoping we’d get lucky,” Claudia says as they stand for the pledge.
Arranged in 50 rows of 20, the girls on the main level push back the sleeves of their robes and place their right hand over their heart. It’s just the same for the level fives, and sixes and all the levels above and below. It’s mandatory.
“I pledge allegiance to the fraternity of Calcane. To our brothers and sisters and in the path that has been laid I pledge my duty and honor and obedience. I pledge to become a watchdog and a guide for our brethren and a protector of the laws and the ways of our city’s forefathers and mothers. I pledge my love to our gods and goddesses and to our city now and forever.”
Nadia mouths the words; but no sound comes out of her mouth. It had been her act of defiance for a least a year; but that defiance gives her little comfort as her mind once again wonders to thoughts of her sister. Everyone takes their seats again except for the girls on the main level. The girls roll down the sleeves of their robes and fix their eyes ahead as one girl after another speaks of how she is grateful to be of service, grateful to follow the path laid by those who came before.
A nervous looking 17-year-old wearing a red robe tentatively approaches Madame Sister Rezzie’s side. She peers down at the girls and looks around at the crowd of spectators. Her hands tremble. And even from a considerable distance, Nadia can see that the red robed girl is nervous. She glances at Dawning only to find her stone faced and fixated on the speaker.
"It has been an honor to serve the elders of our great city Cal…," the girl hesitates, her chest rises. She peers over at Madame Sister Rezzie who peers back with fierce eyes. "One day, you too will have the honor of serving our elders,” she continues. “Do good obedience, do good thoughts and remake yourself in the image of our gods and goddesses."
The attendees only partially listen to the girl. More focused on their meals of squishy protein and spirits, the attendees’ rising chatter nearly drowns out the girl’s words.
"Thank you, daughter," Madame Sister Rezzie says. The crowd offers a conciliatory round of applause.
A trumpet blares and a hush sweeps over the room. The boys who carried golden mesh bags now collect the discarded food and other trash as the attendees prepare for the main event.
Madame Sister Rezzie leans closer to the microphone. “Agility, fitness and toughness are all requirements of the fraternity. This is their test and your chance to see how we keep our pack with the forefathers and mothers of this great city,” she says.
The throngs of spectators push forward and towards the balcony ledges, jostling each other for a prime spot to view and participate. A young boy carrying one of the golden mesh bags extends it to Madame Sister Rezzie. She immerses her hand and pulls out a handful of tokens. The girls on the main level edge towards the bright yellow line drawn on the floor.
“Remember, get as many as you can,” Dawning whispers to both Tira and Nadia. Nadia gives another quick, jerky nod while Tira stares ahead in terror.
Madame Sister Rezzie lifts her token filled hand and extends it out over the ledge of the balcony. Percy can’t help but frown, wanting to disappear in his little corner of the balcony. But that’s hard to do since he has prime front row seats, just like Claudia wanted. He glares at her despite his best efforts not to. He shifts his gaze to Madame Sister Rezzie as she opens her hand and the rainbow colored tokens plummet towards the ground.
“Let the festivities begin,” Madame Sister Rezzie says.
But before even one token hits the floor, the girls are running, pushing, shoving, and punching, doing all they can to get their share of tokens. Most assume that it is the Madame Sisters who have the most valuable tokens; but it has never proven to be true. However, some myths simply never die. More chips are thrown from the balconies and the violence and savagery escalate. Blood is everywhere. People are injured. Some girls are just sitting off to the side crying while others cower, bodies bowed and stiff like trees stuck in a shit storm of red, blue and tan. And the crowd roars. Standing on the other side of Claudia, Thomas laughs and roots for his favorite girl. Percy doesn’t want to watch so he turns away; but then thinks better of it. He clutches the tokens tight and peers out at the tangle of girls battling it out for their sustenance. His eyes widen and his back straightens. There she is —his capture—