Greenhaus Part 1: A Storm Brews (6 page)

Suddenly the man who had to be coaxed into speaking for the last five years would not shut up. Jasper dropped a bombshell
that shattered Jacob’s world. The announcement was somewhat ironic to Jacob as it both confirmed his worst suspicion, that foul play was involved with his father’s death, and also gave some credence to his greatest wish, one he wished for during his nightly prayer, that his father was somehow still alive.

For the next three hours as they attached rod after rod, Jacob hoped Jasper would tell him everything he had been holding in all these years since Harvard
’s death. All the information Harvard and Jasper shared and the things they had seen, as well as what else Jasper knew about his father’s disappearance. Jacob had a million questions to ask.

Jasper had already shared some things he and Harvard had sworn to secrecy and Jacob couldn
’t wait to hear the rest. They could talk through lunch, all the way to the end of their shift. Jacob was excited that something had changed in Jasper. All of Jacob’s questions likely would have been answered if not for the rude interruption, a loud buzzing alarm that could not be ignored. The conversation was on hold, the men had to act fast. There were lots of verbal signals in Jacob’s world, but none more terrifying or louder than this one. Everyone in the Annex 23 could hear this and knew what it meant. An intruder had been spotted; New St. Louis was on lock down.

T
he thick glass kept the topics of the Oppressors conversations’ from Ella’s ears. The tools they used were also undetected, but Ella expected they were loud given the power they seemed to generate. Those on the Inside couldn’t hear the rocks she threw trying to create a diversion when they hit the glass, but when the alarm sounded she heard it loud and clear. Inside she watched the workers get lowered from their perches on high. Some shouted, others pointed, but all were scrambling about.

Ella knew she had been discovered, at least she suspected it to be the cause of all the commotio
n. Finding it odd that no one had come to look at her, she remained still, sneaking peeks at the men who moved about in a hurried state.

The workers tied down their precious materials with ratchet straps, and locked tools in cabinets. As one worker quickly
approached the bundles of steel beams nearest to her, his foot became caught in a loose strap, causing him to stumble over the beams and crash into the glass, falling just inches from her face. His pain delighted her. Lying in the shallow ditch pressed against the glass, she was mere inches from this man. Ella closed her eyes briefly, hoping somehow that would keep her hidden. Separated by only the glass, the fear gripped her again. As he pushed himself off the glass, she noticed his face had been damaged by the fall. Their eyes locked and though she wanted to run, her brain could not overpower her fear mechanism and trigger her body into motion.

As Ella stared through her mask into his eyes, she noticed something else, something unexpected.
Compassion, or at least her best guess as to what it would look like from a man, since it was a foreign emotion to her except the little she saw from her mother and Elder May Stone.
What kind of Insider trickery is this?

He didn
’t have an evil stare. Or the beady eyes she suspected all her counterparts on the Inside did. As he stood up ever so slowly, he never unlocked his gaze.
It’s all over for me, he’s gonna turn me in.
Ella was sure he would expose her position and knew she should flee, but the fear still held her frozen. Besides the compassionate stare, there was something else that trapped her gaze, an oddity that fascinated her. Something she missed at first, but now she couldn’t look away.
One brown eye, one blue.
Looking into his eyes transported her to a faraway place, where no Masked and no Insiders existed. In this place, her disdain for him and his people disappeared. Ella warmed and breathed easily. Her body buzzed and felt a strange, out of body sensation, like she was floating. 

As he was rising from his
fall, he broke the locked gaze briefly, glancing cautiously beneath his arm as he remained hunched over, before returning to Ella’s frightened eyes. He subtly motioned for her to stay still, before running in the direction of the newly arrived Rangers. She could not hear what he was saying, but now the trance was broken and Ella believed he was giving away her location. Her hate for the Oppressors returned and she waited for his betrayal to bring the Rangers running to her. She twirled one of her braids nervously while watching his actions closely.

He pointed briefly in her direction, before slowly swinging his pointed finger in a slight arc towards the small tunnel Ella had found the night before, the only exit out of the Glass City she knew. She tried to
keep one eye on the Rangers, but they disappeared into the tunnel. Gone from her limited line of sight, which was restricted by her cumbersome mask, Ella expected them to come running around the corner. Fear replaced the hate and she stiffened up again. Ella’s preconceived notions led her to believe that the stranger on the other side of the glass betrayed her position, but soon he returned to the glass without them, pretending to strap down his supplies as he clearly mouthed to her, ‘It’ll be OK’.

She kep
t watch at the end of the city, waiting for the Rangers to appear, but they never came.
Are we wrong about those on the Inside or is this stranger setting a trap?
Ella expected a net of Rangers to fall all around her at any moment, as if they were waiting patiently until conditions were right before apprehending her. But they never came. For the first time in her life, her convictions were being tested.
Was this stranger a friend, and not a foe?

Ella rolled over on her side, with as little movement as possi
ble to avoid catching the gaze of another on the Inside, a person possibly less compassionate than this man, the man with one brown and one blue eye. A man she had already taken to calling her ‘Stranger Friend’, a man she hoped she could trust.

She rolled
her head back to the Inside as another group of Rangers appeared and Ella watched him give the same set of instructions. The red and white stripes down the sides of their navy skin suits made her skin crawl. The gold stars on their left pectoral muscle were the ultimate symbol of oppression, a target all on the Outside had practiced attacking time and time again. Hitting the gold starred bulls-eye meant instant hero status to any in the Masked camps and resulted in a ‘notch’ somewhere on their mask. As of yet Ella had not attained this ranking, but heard gruesome tales of death from others who did. There were also tales of those who witnessed attempts that failed, resulting in capture or death. It was not that she was averse to killing one of them; Ella just preferred living through the encounter. Despite the horrible living conditions and the trouble she was in with her Elder, Ella still wanted to live, to get away, safe and sound, even if it meant making a new bunker in the hills.

Still frozen, partly by f
ear, partly by instruction from her Stranger Friend, Ella watched another group of Rangers exit the build site. The alarm stopped, a welcome relief to any within earshot of its ear drum popping buzz. Inside she noticed some pulling plugs from their ears, while everyone else, including Stranger Friend, rubbed their ears, something she would have loved to do if not for her mask. After a brief discussion, Stranger Friend waved off his coworker before he once again approached the glass.

Oddly, Ella welcomed his
presence, although he was still the enemy and likely tomorrow when the rage returned she would want him dead. In this instance, though, they shared a bond. An unexplainable, but definite bond.  Ella was sure the Stranger felt it too, why else would he have helped her by sending the Rangers astray? She could not talk to him, not with words anyway, but Ella did not need him to say anything. His eyes said plenty.

Ella tried talking with hers, but her previous exposure to the use of facial expressions as a fo
rm of communication was limited, almost completely nonexistent. Hers was a world of verbalization and action, not passive communication or subtleties and she doubted the message sent was properly received.

A foreign emotion was running through her. The co
nstant hate, anger, and rage that plagued her mind every waking minute, feelings that tortured her soul and haunted her dreams, had subsided. Maybe it was the fear that left her frozen in this spot for the better part of half a day, a fear that exponentially grew when the alarm sounded, but this new feeling had her
wanting
to stay.

This new emotion was light and the grumbling in her stomach was replaced by a flutter within. When she looked into his eyes, her body relaxed. The ever present tension in her he
ad and neck disappeared. Her breathing became less strenuous. She felt unburdened, and that if she wanted to float, she could. Ella enjoyed this euphoric feeling, much better than her previous emotions. If it was up to her she would have stayed here forever, in his presence where everything felt different and new and… better.

But she knew the Rangers would eventually return for her. Ella knew these feelings would pass and the next time she removed her mask and took a breath of the poisoned air--- the rage
would consume her once again, as it had so many times before, for so many different reasons.

With the fear now removed and the area clear of all but Stranger Friend, she pushed herself up, but stayed in a low crouch. She took a quick look right, then left
and right again; to make certain no other eyes were on her. Ella brought a finger toward her mask where her mouth would be to ask for his silence, one of the few gestures she was familiar with. Then Ella stood up completely, turning her back on him, and running with her half of the newly formed bond all the way out of sight, never once turning back to watch Stranger see her off with his gentle stare. With each step the light and euphoric feeling faded and the rage quickly filled the void. Her legs, and her heart, felt like they were made of stone, both hardening with every stride.

The alarm jolted the men from their deep conversation. The talking may have ceased, but the words were embedded at the forefront of Jacob
’s consciousness. He had a million questions to ask Jasper as soon as the intruder alarm was handled. At present, the task for the entire crew was to secure supplies and evacuate Annex 23 until given the all clear.

Jacob, Jasper, Virgil, and Brent Lee, desc
ended from their heights as quickly as the contraptions would allow. After touchdown, each disconnected their harness and joined the other workers securing the unfinished Annex. Jasper and Jacob stayed together, just like they practiced in drills, and took to securing their assigned area.

Jasper shouted instructions as Jacob removed his face guard and took a long, deep breath, listening as best he could over the alarm as the dirty air tickled as it entered his lungs. “
Jacob, secure everything along the glass, I will lock up the tools and cabinets.” To be sure he understood, Jasper explained it with nonverbal commands, pointing toward Jacob, then pointing to the piles of beams along the glass.

Jacob nodded his head in affirmation. In a full sprint, he bolted
toward the pile closest to the tunnel. Before reaching his destination, an errant strap became entangled with his feet and the resulting spill was magnificent. He braced for the crash, but momentum threw him with enough force to render his extended arms useless, collapsing them, causing a head over heels tumble that cleared the stack of beams after initially crashing into them, bringing his face to rest against the glass.

After a rough kiss he would have preferred to avoid, the sound of flesh streaking dow
n glass left his face on the cold concrete, a smear of blood left behind. The skin below his eye, at the height of his cheekbone, split ever so slightly, the area around it swelled instantly. His suit was torn in several places, as was the skin beneath it. Toxins entered him as the blood trickled out and though the toxicity of the air was much lower in the annex because it was partially enclosed, the sting reminded him this would still require an extended stint in Decon, another thing he would prefer to avoid.

Decon was in the back of his mind, the stinging pain from his cuts and the smacking of his face on the glass, kept him from removing the thought completely. The alarm reminded him of his top priority. Jacob pulled himself up and felt the bumps that wer
e forming, in the process smearing a trickle of blood with his 2nd Hands, staining them red.

As he shook the cobwebs and prepared to resume his duties, Jacob spotted an Outsider
lying in the shallow ditch on the other side of the glass. Presumably frozen with fear, she wore a dingy suit, similar to what he wore, except made of cloth and layered with dirt. While he had a new custom suit prepared daily, this one had quite possibly never been washed and was ill fitting. The filth hid her well enough, camouflaging her with the terrain. Jacob made a downward motion with his hands, telling her to keep still.

Her eyes were wide set, large and round. Jacob watched her eyeballs flitter back and forth nervously. He felt sympathy and wanted badly to help her escape th
is predicament, but was powerless to do so. He tried to speak to her with his eyes and passive body language, hoping he could calm the Outsider who had obviously gone astray.
But how did she slip past the defenses? Is this what I saw up in the hills earlier?

Had this been any other day, Jacob would have instantly called in the Rangers to remove the threat, but the bombshell dropped by Jasper changed things. They locked eyes for just a few seconds, but he would have sworn it was much longer. Jacob wiped ano
ther trickle of blood with his sleeve, and then broke the enchanted stare, checking behind him briefly before returning his gaze to the hazel eyes on the other side of the glass.

He wished for a way to silently tell her things would be okay, that he was t
here to help her. He moved away from the glass, so as not to draw attention to the area. She was hidden from view by the stack of steel, but if anyone else came close, they would see her.

He shook the cobwebs from his fall before addressing the Rangers tha
t were questioning Jasper.  “Ranger Wells, Ranger Bragg, I saw something,” exclaimed Jacob, yelling loudly over the alarm. “It started out in the flatland, about halfway between here and the hills and was moving east at a pretty good clip. It ranged out of my view, but it definitely headed due east of here,” he continued as he pointed out into the wasteland and showed them the direction the nonexistent entity moved.

The Rangers contingent, led by Rangers Bragg and Wells, vacated the area, exiting in a singl
e line through the tunnel into the barren land. Then, Jacob turned to Jasper and said, “You had better get to decon, I saw what triggered the alarm, and this could take awhile, we might be done for the day. I will finish the tie downs and lock ups and see you there.”

He didn
’t like lying to Jasper, or the Rangers for that matter, but his guilt was lessened by the fact that Jasper had kept so much from him for so long and caused Jacob’s mind to wonder what else was being hidden from him. Nonetheless, Jasper was a close friend of his father, the last to ever speak to him, a mentor to Jacob himself and deserved the truth, which Jacob planned to tell him once they both entered decon.

“
You need to get in there too, Jacob,” Jasper yelled. “Look at your face. You’re cut.” Jasper attempted to examine the cut as Jacob pulled away.

“
It’s nothing,” he assured Jasper. “Just a little slip is all. You go on ahead. I have to explain what I saw, when they get here,” Jacob explained, pointing to the next set of Rangers about to enter Annex 23.

“
Okay, but hurry up, you need treatment,” responded Jasper, his voice more upbeat than ever. “I have something important to tell you,” he leaned in and whispered, “But I can’t do it in there,” he said pointing at decon. “Might have to wait till we are on the beams tomorrow. It’s safe up there.”

Jacob fed the second group of Rangers the same story he gave the first. They trotted into the tunnel, headed east to hunt a ghost, while Jacob watched and waited until he could return to the glass
. As instructed, the thin framed girl with the strange hair, braided to look like rope, lay motionless, presumably scared out of her mind. He could not see much else about her physical appearance, much of it hidden by her mask and baggy clothes, but the pain in her eyes struck him. He saw the host of demons haunting her. He did his best to ease her mind, to remove these threats even if just for this fleeting moment. He would return to his easy life and if she was lucky enough to escape, would return to whatever horrific life she was living.

Jacob wanted her to stay forever in this safe zone and wished he could bring her Inside, to save her from her misery. He knew that was impossible, but he did his best to help her avoid capture by the Rangers, who were lik
ely somewhere far to the east of the ‘Haus by now. Thinking the coast was clear, he was about to shoo her away, when she did something unexpected. She hushed him with a single finger to her mouth before turning and running away; her back hunched and arms flailing as she made her escape.

He knew he would never see her again, so he watched her as long as he could until she disappeared into the hills. Those eyes made an indelible impression and even though the mask hid most of her face, he created one in his m
ind. Her olive skin was layered with dirt, matching the grime on her strange attire, but he removed it, making her clean and pure. Her black hair was long and separated into thin braids when their eyes conversed through the glass, but Jacob unwound each of them, letting her hair rest on her shoulders, healthy and voluminous. He filled in the rest of her features, creating a beautiful and sleek body. No matter what else he imagined about her, Jacob kept returning to those hazel eyes, wishing he could have done more to help, knowing the pain he saw would haunt his dreams.

His brief encounter with the Outsider over, he completed his task of securing the area, then he left t
he unfinished Annex and entered decon. He wanted to find Jasper, first to apologize for lying, then to ask the unfathomable questions. After the door whooshed closed behind him, Jacob removed his torn rubber suit before discarding it into the haz mat container. His application for lifetime employment into the Department of Engineering fell to the floor as he disrobed, reminding him that amid all the confusion he still hadn’t turned it in yet. Slightly crumpled, it matched the state of his once firm commitment. Now he was having second thoughts, wondering if some unknown danger could possibly lurk amid the ranks of Engineering.

After getting sprayed, Jacob proceeded to the next chamber where Medical would tend to his wounds. The final chamber, the blood clean
se, was next and he rushed in, hoping to catch Jasper before the transfusions made him lose consciousness. Jacob entered the chamber, to take his usual end-of-the-day seat next to Jasper where they received their clean blood. When he finally sat down, Jacob couldn’t believe his eyes. In his haste and distracted state, assisted by the fog of completing his daily mind numbing routine of detox, Jacob missed the signs. Now that he had settled into his chair and had a chance to better observe his surroundings, he could tell there had been a terrible accident.