tablet and starts typing. “What did you see?”
I look at the floor.
“ Bad things? Terra, anything you
tell me helps. There might be others who can benefit from what you
tell me.”
I know there are others. I heard their cries all
night long. I grab his hand again.
The soldiers were scorpions. We were all cattle in a
cattle chute.
Dr. Benedict rubs his chin and then types.
“Thank you for telling me, Terra. I don't think the agents realize
how important it is to provide the best care to all our citizens.
Too often I feel like they don't listen.”
He does genuinely seem like he wants to help, but as
I study his face, his skin turns pallid. His black eyes flash at me
and then swirl. His smile—meant to comfort a moment before—now
arches up to an obscene angle, and his teeth elongate. He's a
monster. I shrink back from him and hug my knees to my chest.
“ Another hallucination?”
My hands tremble as he steps closer
to me. The sweat breaks out on my forehead again, and I don't want
him to touch me. I don't want that thing anywhere near me. I shove his arm away.
The monster grabs the syringe and it looks tiny in
his hand. He pulls the cap from the needle with his huge teeth. I
want to kick him and run away, but the thought of putting one of my
limbs anywhere near him sickens me even more. I've shoved myself up
against the wall as far as I can; there's nowhere else to go.
Then a sharp prick focuses my thoughts, and his
monster face slips back into his normal concern. The long teeth are
gone, his eyes black, his skin golden. He pulls the needle from my
arm and slips on another stupid smiley face bandage. Now I have a
matching set.
“ I'm sorry,” he murmurs. Then he
reaches up and strokes my cheek. I might have let myself lean in to
the touch if I hadn't just seen him as something inhuman. He sees
the disgust written on my face. He clears his throat and steps
back.
“ That's all, Terra. This new batch
should be better.”
It better be. I slide off the table, and the nurse
escorts me out of the medical area.
Chapter Eight
Dinner is subdued. No one wants to talk about the
assembly or about those who had to go to the medical area. I push
dry bits of chicken around my plate. Kai shakes her head when I
offer her my applesauce.
“ The chicken's the worst. No one
wants to eat it. You need that for yourself,” she says. I put the
plastic cup on her tray anyway.
Even Madge doesn't have anything to say tonight. Her
eyes are fiery. The anger she usually keeps so well in check
bubbles over, and she doesn't dare say anything for fear of not
seeing a soldier in time. Jane scoots closer to me until our arms
brush. This startles me more than anything. I don't know what
changed, but she feels the need to comfort me even if she won't say
a word.
I am feeling better from the second shot, though I'm
not sure if I feel this way from the new serum or from being able
to see Jack if only for a moment. My anger starts to burn then,
just like Madge's. I can't help but wonder—and I'm sure it's the
same thought she's working through—if the government doesn't give
us contaminated shots on purpose.
I wish I knew more about medicine. I don't know
enough to puzzle through this, to even understand if they did do it
on purpose, why they would. I need to talk to Jack. I need to talk
about the serums, but also about so much more. We have so many
unfinished conversations, and they've been nagging at me. The
glance this afternoon wasn't enough.
I get Madge's attention and point
out the doors. Do we have time outside?
“ Once a week.” Her voice comes out
in a hoarse whisper. None of us have talked much since the
assembly.
When?
“ Chicken jerky tonight means yard
time in two days. Guess that's the good thing about a meal
schedule. It's something to base your days around.”
Do the men come out too?
“ We overlap by five
minutes.”
Five minutes. Such a short amount of time, but I'll
take it.
Madge is so lost in thought
I look at the floor.
“ Bad things? Terra, anything you
tell me helps. There might be others who can benefit from what you
tell me.”
I know there are others. I heard their cries all
night long. I grab his hand again.
The soldiers were scorpions. We were all cattle in a
cattle chute.
Dr. Benedict rubs his chin and then types.
“Thank you for telling me, Terra. I don't think the agents realize
how important it is to provide the best care to all our citizens.
Too often I feel like they don't listen.”
He does genuinely seem like he wants to help, but as
I study his face, his skin turns pallid. His black eyes flash at me
and then swirl. His smile—meant to comfort a moment before—now
arches up to an obscene angle, and his teeth elongate. He's a
monster. I shrink back from him and hug my knees to my chest.
“ Another hallucination?”
My hands tremble as he steps closer
to me. The sweat breaks out on my forehead again, and I don't want
him to touch me. I don't want that thing anywhere near me. I shove his arm away.
The monster grabs the syringe and it looks tiny in
his hand. He pulls the cap from the needle with his huge teeth. I
want to kick him and run away, but the thought of putting one of my
limbs anywhere near him sickens me even more. I've shoved myself up
against the wall as far as I can; there's nowhere else to go.
Then a sharp prick focuses my thoughts, and his
monster face slips back into his normal concern. The long teeth are
gone, his eyes black, his skin golden. He pulls the needle from my
arm and slips on another stupid smiley face bandage. Now I have a
matching set.
“ I'm sorry,” he murmurs. Then he
reaches up and strokes my cheek. I might have let myself lean in to
the touch if I hadn't just seen him as something inhuman. He sees
the disgust written on my face. He clears his throat and steps
back.
“ That's all, Terra. This new batch
should be better.”
It better be. I slide off the table, and the nurse
escorts me out of the medical area.
Chapter Eight
Dinner is subdued. No one wants to talk about the
assembly or about those who had to go to the medical area. I push
dry bits of chicken around my plate. Kai shakes her head when I
offer her my applesauce.
“ The chicken's the worst. No one
wants to eat it. You need that for yourself,” she says. I put the
plastic cup on her tray anyway.
Even Madge doesn't have anything to say tonight. Her
eyes are fiery. The anger she usually keeps so well in check
bubbles over, and she doesn't dare say anything for fear of not
seeing a soldier in time. Jane scoots closer to me until our arms
brush. This startles me more than anything. I don't know what
changed, but she feels the need to comfort me even if she won't say
a word.
I am feeling better from the second shot, though I'm
not sure if I feel this way from the new serum or from being able
to see Jack if only for a moment. My anger starts to burn then,
just like Madge's. I can't help but wonder—and I'm sure it's the
same thought she's working through—if the government doesn't give
us contaminated shots on purpose.
I wish I knew more about medicine. I don't know
enough to puzzle through this, to even understand if they did do it
on purpose, why they would. I need to talk to Jack. I need to talk
about the serums, but also about so much more. We have so many
unfinished conversations, and they've been nagging at me. The
glance this afternoon wasn't enough.
I get Madge's attention and point
out the doors. Do we have time outside?
“ Once a week.” Her voice comes out
in a hoarse whisper. None of us have talked much since the
assembly.
When?
“ Chicken jerky tonight means yard
time in two days. Guess that's the good thing about a meal
schedule. It's something to base your days around.”
Do the men come out too?
“ We overlap by five
minutes.”
Five minutes. Such a short amount of time, but I'll
take it.
Madge is so lost in thought
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