the Compound?”
“I make it a point to know about my passengers.” He threw the comment over his shoulder, but there was a distant tone in his voice as if he were trying too hard to sound casual.
“When will the ship depart?” Allia asked again, but Captain Harrell didn’t answer. She knew they would need to leave soon if they were to escape from the Compound’s reach and she had been under the impression that they were leaving at 12, but the Captain sauntered across the bay as if he had time to spare.
She glanced up at the rafters again and then back at the door. It wouldn’t have surprised her to see Officials walking through it to get her, a vision that would be true sooner than later. She wasn’t sure when they would realize that Brian was missing. It could have been five minutes after she left or not until first dawn, but either way they would be coming for her. Hoisting Brian higher on her shoulder she walked faster and hoped this transaction would be over soon so that the ship could leave.
“Captain.” Three men approached from the back of the bay behind the ship. The one who spoke was in the middle and held a paper-sized handheld that was nearly translucent. Allia could see numbers and lines, but could not read them since they were backwards and not layered for her eyes.
“Not now Eph.” A slight warning flitted in the man’s name and the Captain didn’t stop walking.
Eph’s eyes were glued to the handheld as he slid information back and forth. He continued to say, “The ship’s departure has been rescheduled for next Friday, like you requested.”
The words hit Allia’s ears one by one and her feet stopped.
“Take your ear buds out, Eph. I said not now.”
“Sorry, sir. But they need a final signature from you on the contents of our cargo as of five minutes ago. Here.” Eph tapped a button making the handheld legible to all and offered it to the Captain.
Allia didn’t wait to see what happened next. She wheeled around and sped toward the exit. She couldn’t wait until next Friday. It was not possible.
Inside she felt like a fool. The Captain was obviously only interested in getting her money and if the Compound arrested her so much the better. One less hassle to deal with on a long space voyage. Her mind went over all the strange looks and tones the Captain had when he called and in the last five minutes. She should have known better and now it was too late to wait. Something had to be done to save Brian now or they would only catch her and take him back. He would never even know her or how she’d tried to save his life.
She weaved through the men and was on the other side of the building when she heard the Captain’s voice yelling for her to stop and let him explain. What could he say? Nothing he did would help her now unless he knew how to get her off the planet in the next five minutes and even if he said he did, she wouldn’t be able to trust him.
He must not have cared enough to come after her because she had time to strap in her son and wipe away a stray tear before starting the engines and he never appeared. The speeder didn’t move. Where would she go? All her planning wasted--worse--ruined. There was no where she could go. She would be parted from Brian forever. All she wanted was for him to live. If she went to prison or worse spent the rest of her life in a mental institute everyday would be a reminder that he was helpless and alone. And he probably wouldn’t even realize it because the Compound had a way of getting under your skin and convincing you that you are doing the right thing.
In that moment she knew where to go and what to do. She might never have the chance to watch Brian grow up, but she could make sure the Compound would miss that too. Brian was all that mattered. She hopped out of the speeder and ran to the nearby public phone station. It was at the end of the building and out of the view of all cameras. She made a quick call and rushed back. The speeder controls leaped to life and the speeder rose into the sky. She’d have to find a good, visible spot on the street with the rusty camera. It took one slow pass to figure out which way the camera was facing and then she landed the speeder, careful not to seem like she was trying to center it in the camera’s field of vision.
Then she waited. Brian was still fast asleep. So peaceful. So perfect. It occurred to Allia that this might be the best memory she had of him. She brushed back his hair and sighed. Without another thought she exited the speeder, strapped on the bag and wrapped Brian under her coat letting his face appear a moment before covering it up. Then she walked out of the camera range, her head high.
True to his word Father Merrick had rushed out of his bed and grabbed a taxi to drive him to the alley. And it was empty. She told him to wait by the nearest bar and for the driver to go with him. Opening the back door she placed Brian on the seat.
A thought hit her that he would have all sorts of questions and might even discover his connection to the Compound one day. A connection the Compound would insist remained and need to be continued. She picked up a scrap piece of paper sticking out from under the floor mat and wrote, Never tell him the truth. Anything more than that would contain a clue and Brian must never know where he came from.
Before she could change her mind or hesitate, she kissed his forehead and took off the bag wrapping it in her coat, like Brian had been. It was a good thing she had thought to take those vials. There would be DNA evidence to prove Brian was with her. The Compound would no longer be looking for a living boy and would chalk this up to the tragic actions of an unstable woman.
With slow, firm steps she walked back to the speeder. A small mist hovered inches above the street and the sound of her heels clicking echoed against the buildings. Every breath felt fresh with clean air. The overheated trash and tired concrete scents were gone. Even the dark sky seemed to signal that a new life was possible, one that was as free and deep as the universe itself.
The camera called for her to notice it but she stared at the speeder door like her life depended on it. With one hand clutching at the bag she opened the door and slipped into the driver’s seat. She fiddled with the ignition wires and faked three starts, enough to place the duel engines out of sync.
Down the street out of the camera’s range Father Merrick ran into view, his head revolving up and down the street until he saw her sitting in the speeder. His eyes connected with her. The engines grinded as they dropped out of sync and his eyebrows rose. He must have been around older models too.
Without a word he just nodded. He would take care of Brian and keep him out of the Compound’s grasp. She smiled at him, a sad, weary smile. She was still smiling when she punched the gas and started the speeder for the last time.
The Story Continues in
The White Lilac
From the day 15-year-old Caryn Tobin watched her best friend drown, she has carried two weights: a fear of water and the responsibilities of the oldest candidate in the Compound, a leading power on Beta Earth. Caryn is determined to live up to her friend’s memory, even if it means forcing herself to train in the water every day in order to protect the other girls so they can live and dream.
After nearly 3,000 years on the first colonized planet, there is still a deadly toxin in the air poised to wipe out the world’s population and it is the Compound’s purpose to train candidates from birth to gather the underwater cure. All the candidates compete for the chance to save the world, but only one can win and the winner will not survive collecting the cure. Caryn has to win. It is the price she must pay to atone for her part in the drowning.
Yet moments after sealing her own fate, Caryn is offered an opportunity to see the planet and leave the Compound for three days. In the city she meets Kai, a 16-year-old street kid, who is searching for answers to his past. They form an unlikely friendship and Caryn realizes she has dreams of her own. Her decision is further complicated when she discovers the Compound has been experimenting on the very people they are sworn to cure. Now she must choose between her sense of duty and her heart, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance.
Other Books and Short Stories by Christina J. Adams
Fadeout
And Carillians for the Machine
Book 1
Every Carillian only exists for one purpose: to provide a source of energy to the greater classes. Yet for thirteen-year-old Silas he does not fear the day the guards will come for him as much as he fears the day they will come for his older sister, Malina. And this day is rapidly approaching if her frequent bursts of emotion are not controlled.
Even though an escape has never succeeded before, Silas is determined to make it work and he begins to form a plan. However, just as Silas’ plan is about to start the owner comes to visit which throws all of his carefully memorized guard schedules into chaos. This is only made worse when Jamar, the owner’s bored son, picks Silas as a sparring partner.
Time is running out as the owner’s reason for visiting reveals a deeper threat to Silas from without and the growing fear and frustration of the other Carillians threaten to destroy his hopes from within. If they don’t escape soon he will lose all that he loves and this is not a result he is willing to survive.
Remembered
And Carillians for the Machine
Book 2
Available Summer 2013
Other Short Stories
The Stadium
&
Packets of Sweetness
About the Author
Christina J. Adams finds inspiration in the green rolling hills and farmland surrounding her home in Maryland. She loves writing and reading books for children and teens and is the author of dystopian novels The White Lilac (a quarterfinalist in Amazon’s Breakthrough Novel Award 2013) and Fadeout, the first book of the And Carillians for the Machine series. In addition, she has also written several short stories and posts for her blog: Writing, Editing and Other Adventures.
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