“Why don't you take Karine to the stables or better yet the caves. Show her around the camp.”
“I have a whole list of repairs for today. I can't take the time. This is only my second stop so far,” The exasperation in Ezekiel’s voice was hard to miss. Violet shot him a cold stare.
“No, that won't do. I'll let your brother know you're busy today. He can handle things. Go take Karine, show her around.” Violet left her coffee on the nearest table and darted out the door. “Things to do today. I will see you later, Karine.”
Ezekiel put his toolbox on the floor and tucked it under a table out of the way. “I guess we are going to visit the camp.” The man serving the coffee nodded in agreement and motioned for us to head outside.
“Wait, I need a second, let me just sit here. It's finally quiet.” Both men laughed. I got the impression I was not the only one who noticed Violet's constant chatter.
I finished my coffee, and we headed for the door. “So, you’re new here, do you have a sponsor family?” The happy tone he used led me to believe he really didn't know how I had been acquired.
“Noah kidnapped me from my town square a few nights ago. Does that make his family my sponsor?” Ezekiel looked shocked.
“Oh shit, you're that girl.” I put my hand out to shake his. Ezekiel grabbed my hand and shook it firmly. “Abraham was talking about you at the supply tent this morning.”
“The man with the great apple juice,” I commented. “Yeah, yeah. Abraham.”
“Yep, I remember him.” I chuckled.
“He remembers you too. I think you scared the hell out of him. Just to clear the air, I don't agree with the old customs. I wouldn't want the topsiders kidnapping me, although you folks don't have to work. So that might be a fun change.”
“Where would you get that idea. We all have to be productive in society through work or community service or both most of the time.” I explained as the bullet points from my civics in practice class popped in my head.
“So, what about metal suits. You guys never go outside without a suit because you are afraid of the sun,” he asked, contorting his face with disbelief.
“We have sun suits or day suits as we generally call them, for protection from solar radiation damage. There are no shadows like these to shield us in the cities.” I motioned towards the shadowed sky. “You will suffer solar burns if you don't wear protective gear. After dark, we don't need to wear anything extra.”
“We have the same problem here. We wear hats and long sleeves and try to stay in the shadows of the sea walls. But we wear thick fabric shielding in the open desert.” Zeke explained in a serious matter of fact tone.
Violet brought me to Zeke for a reason, he was easy to talk to and quite handsome in a pedestrian, burly sort of way.
“This one sounds almost too stupid but is it true that you need a government-issued license for each child you have?”
“That is true. You need to license each child to receive medical care and their breeding rights, plus a progressively larger tax is assessed for each child in a family,” I explained, thinking of my family's composition.
“Wow, now that is the rumor, I thought was total bull. Have you ever heard any wild stories about lowlanders, sorry, Reds?” Zeke asked.
“Noah pretty-much covered everything for me on the way here. You don't eat people, and you can't fly, you aren't all inbred as we have been told.”
“Not all of us, but in some camps. I wouldn't bet my life on the bloodlines being completely clean,” Zeke laughed.
“Telling people, they are a big fat liar upsets some of your population. To be fair, it might upset some topsiders enough to choke somebody too.” I lifted my head, exposing my bruised neck to the light.
Ezekiel stopped and examined my neck. “Is that where you got those bruises?” His face twisted in disgust. “Noah and I are old friends. I’m so sorry he did this to you.”
“Thanks, it’s nothing compared to the citizens they killed when they took us. We are told that Reds are blood thirsty savages. I can see that doesn’t apply to everyone here, but Noah reinforced the governments narrative. This place is nothing like I would have expected.”
Ezekiel nodded in agreement before pulling a hat from his pack. The sun was rising high. The peak afternoon heat found us. He tugged on my hat securing on my head and pulled the chin strings tight.
He held out his hand and bowed down until his eyes met mine. “Let’s go find us some water.”
TAKE OUT
Traveling home from the Eaton estate, the driver stopped in front of a busy oriental restaurant located in the town center. A small woman in a new slim-fitting style day suit entered the transport through the back-passenger door.
The driver glanced at the woman briefly and waited for her to get situated. By his reaction, I assumed the woman was another employee of the Eaton estate. Still deep in my own thoughts about everything discussed with Pricilla, I wasn’t paying much attention. The large box of food containers the woman brought with her smelled like a savory oriental dinner. I smiled at her and nodded politely while helping her close the transport door.
Once we started driving again, the woman took off her dark amber faceplate and looked me up and down.
“You are Beryl, the new Eaton breeder?” The woman asked.
“I haven't given Mrs. Eaton my pledge yet,” I answered, confused how this information would have left the estate so quickly.
“Hmm,” she growled. “your younger sister is well. So are the other three girls. They are all well. Your girl is convinced the Fuller army will bomb the camp rather than see her
