Aberrant (11 page)

Joshua frowned. "What are you talking about?"

I paced the length of the room. "They're giving me
three years to find someone to have a child with. And they don't care who,"
I paused, stopping to stand in front of him. "As long as it's not
you." I let the words hang in the air as I gauged his expression. He
seemed more than slightly taken aback by the news. "They think if I chose
you it would only help the government's cause, because the government chose the
match."

"You're not going through with it, are you?" He
stood up, his gaze refused to waver.

"How can I not?" I threw my arms up in the air,
frustrated. To the best of my knowledge, I had nowhere else to go. "I have
three years to decide. Three years to come up with another solution or
leave," my voice faltered. "This place could actually be my home,"
I told him seriously. "I like it here. Everyone seems nice enough."

Joshua sighed. "How can you say that when they're
demanding you have a child with one of them!" He nearly wore a hole in the
rug, growing more irritated with each passing second. His hands were balled in
fists at his sides as he tried to hold the raging anger inside.

I sat down on the side of the mattress, my feet dangled over
the edge, grazing the floor. "Well, they're giving me time to choose. In a
few weeks they'll make arrangements for me to meet some men, get to know
them." I glanced towards the window. This conversation went beyond
awkward. I knew Joshua didn't want to hear any of it. "This wasn't my
idea, Josh. What other choice do I have? Maybe I can make a difference. Maybe
it's time I grow up," unsure I could even convince myself in saying it.

"What happens if you don't choose someone in three
years?" He stopped walking and stared at me again, the slightest bit of
hope forming in his eyes.

"They'll choose for me." I sighed, glancing down
at my hands in my lap. "They made it perfectly clear. It's better I do
this. Follow their rules. Maybe it won't be so bad." It felt terrible.

Joshua shook his head, repulsed. "Why didn't you tell
me sooner?" he demanded.

I shot him a glare. "I came by your room to tell you,
but you had company. After that it didn't really seem important."

Joshua looked sheepish. "Her name’s Rane, and I swear
to you, she doesn't mean anything to me." He paused thinking it over.
"I wonder if that's why she insisted on helping me study. Do you think the
council put her up to it?" He waited for my answer.

I nodded faintly. "It's possible." Perhaps she'd
been sent to distract him from any thoughts he had of me. Or maybe they foresaw
an argument with the intention of tearing us apart.

"Mind if I–" He didn't finish the sentence as he
came to sit down beside me on the mattress. His eyes landed on the book I left
open when he came by my room. "Have you been reading the history
texts?"

"I read about the history of Cabal. Also a little about
the Red Plague." I studied his face and could see dark circles beneath his
eyes. I wanted to reach out and touch him, but I couldn't bring myself to do
it. Not after he hurt me.

He fingered through the book on my bed – the one I'd barely
touched. It took him only a minute to find the page he was searching for. His
shoulders hunched forward, the muscles straining against his metal gray shirt.
I realized he was dressed in a t-shirt, black jeans and barefoot. He looked
comfortable, like he fitted into Haven even with the mess we'd found ourselves
in. I couldn't remember seeing him outside of a school uniform, except recently
at our marriage ceremony. Now though, something else about the way he looked held
my stare. I couldn't take my eyes off him and couldn’t pinpoint what it was. He
didn’t seem to notice.

"I read about the Red Plague, too," he explained. "I'm
beginning to think there's more than just a history lesson in that book."
I gave him a look, urging him to elaborate, and he continued. "If the
vaccine truly caused infertility, then how is it then – even in a lab – the
government can create a child?"

"I don't know." I frowned. "Maybe they bypass
something that's broken inside?" I was never very good at science. It
didn't help that our science lessons always seemed to leave something out, just
like our history lessons had done.

"I think the government has been lying to us, and I'm
not sure the council is any more forthcoming with information either," Joshua
remarked. "Have you visited the technology center?"

"Jacqueline pointed it out to me," I admitted. "But
there's no way to get inside. You need a badge to enter.” Was Joshua suggesting
we check the place out? I didn't think I felt comfortable breaking in. If we
got caught, we had too much at stake. I’d spent one day in a prison in Genesis.
I didn’t want to find myself in a prison ever again, no matter where I lived.

Joshua sighed glancing down at the text, "I tried to
walk in there. Being new and all I thought I could at least get away with
wandering into a place I didn't belong." He paused for a long while.

"What happened?" I asked, my eyes widening and
heart leaping. “Did you get inside?”

"I didn't get far. In fact, Landon spotted me and
whisked me right off the premises. He threatened to send me back to Genesis if
I ever tried that stunt again." Joshua rolled his eyes with a sigh. “They’re
hiding something in there.”

Unsure what to think or feel, I said, "You're right,
they probably are. We’re not going to find out what’s inside without the
council coming right out and showing us."

“You’re not suggesting what I think?” His eyes widened in
horror.

"They made it sound like I'd be more involved in the
council after I adjusted to the news. I’m hoping, after the first two weeks
they'll involve me a little more with the town. Once I agree to have a child,
and do as they've asked, there's no reason they shouldn't trust me."

"You don't have to do that, Olive." Worry lines
etched his forehead.

I nodded and sighed. "I do, Joshua." I felt this
to be my least dangerous option. "This is the only way."

"You'll take me with you." It wasn't a question. Joshua
stared at me, and I took his hand.

"If that's what you want. Of course," I couldn't
believe he'd choose the unknown all over again. He at least still had his
mother in Haven, and his sister, too, even if he hadn't reconnected with her.

I felt his other hand find the small of my back, and I
shifted on the mattress to look at him. “We should study together.”

"Study?" I repeated. Was it the same studying he'd
done with Rane? I couldn't bring myself to ask him. I sighed and changed the
subject, "My real question, the one I can’t wrap my mind around is how did
your mother get here before we did?" It was an honest and simple question.

"I've been wondering the same thing," he admitted,
"but I haven't been able to come up with how it's possible. Maybe by
vehicle," he suggested. "But I'm fairly confident that the guards at
the border wouldn't just let her go and come back. There's more to it," he
admitted. “But I can’t figure it out, either.”

He shut the book on his lap and stood up, putting it back on
the shelf. "I am sorry, Olive, for how I've been acting. I think it's nice
you're trying to meet people and settle into this new life," he reasoned. "But
I miss you."

"I miss you, too," I confessed. "But if I
remember correctly you were the one who appeared to be moving on." I
stared at him with a slight smile, unable to voice her name. "Just because
I'm trying to follow the rules the council set doesn't mean I care any less for
you." It was the truth. "I promise, my feelings for you haven't
changed."

"Okay," he replied, taking my words in. "Can
we still hang out? I mean I did come to Haven to be with you," he reminded
me. I knew he’d risked everything to help me escape from Genesis and was glad
he hadn’t stayed behind.

"Of course." I wrapped my arm around his shoulder.
"We're friends, and that will never change. I promise you, Joshua, no one
can take my best friend's place." I wouldn’t allow it. I owed him that
much after all he’d done for me.

CHAPTER 9

A little over a week had passed since we first arrived in
Haven. I still had a few days until the council meeting and hoped I could
further delay dating other men. Joshua was all I could think about.

"Find anything interesting?" he asked, sitting
down with me as I curled up on the bed and perused the texts.

"In the books or the town?" I glanced up at him. He
looked tired and worn. I wondered what was going on with him. I reached out,
brushing my thumb across the slight stubble on his jaw line. I smiled when he lazily
kissed my palm.

"Either?" His eyes watched mine as I studied his
lips. I shook my head, trying to push those thoughts aside. It was the one rule
neither of us could afford to break.

"No." I couldn't remember seeing anything that had
been important. "What'd you come across?" If he was asking, he must
have found something.

"You sure you're ready for it?" His face lit up. I
couldn't remember the last time I'd seen him so happy.

"Go on," I encouraged, eager to hear about his
discovery.

"A museum," he emphasized, and I raised an eyebrow.
"There are all sorts of old artifacts from before the Third and Fourth
World War, even photographs from present time dating back to the early nineteen
hundreds."

“I know. I was at the museum a week ago.” I remembered
Jacqueline showing me the old artifacts and cameras from generations before our
time. I couldn't help but laugh. “Well what then? What’d you find that I
didn’t?” I knew he was ready to brag. That bright smile on his face was telling
me he’d struck gold.

"I found a series of maps behind glass."

"So did I," I didn't see what the big reveal was. I
gave him a curious look. It wasn't a secret there were maps of Cabal in the
museum.

"No," he stared at me seriously. "I found a
map hidden in the museum. Okay, so I might have been snooping. Did you know the
cases aren't locked?"

"What?" My eyes widened as I sat up in bed. "You're
not serious?"

Joshua laughed, watching me grow restless. "I guess
they trust everyone here."

I couldn't believe it. "You stole a map?" I didn't
want to think about the repercussions if anyone had caught him. In Genesis he'd
have been banished for theft. I didn't know the punishment in Haven and didn’t
want to find out.

"Borrowed is the precise term," he corrected me.
"They won't notice it was gone because it was hidden behind the giant map
with the rebel cities. The map on display is a forgery."

I didn’t buy it. "Come on, Josh. Why would they put a
fake map in a museum?" It sounded ridiculous.

"Technically, the real map was there, just behind it.
The map on display is a larger replica, but they removed a city from it."
He frowned at a loss for why Haven would have done something like that.

"I never took you for a thief." I still couldn't
believe he had the nerve to steal from the museum.

"Are you kidding me?" Joshua laughed. "You'd
have done the same thing. You can't tell me you're not curious about a town no
one knows about."

I shrugged, not wanting to reveal too much. Of course I was
curious! Why had they wanted to hide it? What secret did it possess?
"Maybe it's a ghost town?" I laughed, lying back on the bed, staring
up at the ceiling. "Do you think they'll notice it's missing?"

"I doubt it," Joshua was confident in his
decision. "Unless they start looking behind maps for smaller duplicates,
no one will be the wiser. I bet most people don't even know it exists."

 "Well, someone does," I reminded him.
"Someone put it in the case, and someone had the forethought to create a
duplicate."

"Then I guess they should have locked the glass
case." He showed no remorse for his actions, and I didn't exactly blame
him. They’d put us in a tough situation, and the map could be our key to our
survival.

I sat up. "Let me see it," I practically begged
and felt him shift against the mattress, his grin growing. The thought of a map
with a city not tied to Haven sounded promising. Perhaps Joshua and I could one
day travel there and make a home for ourselves.

Joshua grinned and stood. "It's in my room. You have to
come over if you want to see it. I can't risk taking it out and getting
caught."

I agreed, "Smart thinking." I got up and followed
Joshua out of the room, when I glanced down the stretch of hall as Landon
swiftly approached. Already I'd shut the door behind me, and I had nowhere to
hide. I swallowed the lump in my throat as the gentleman approached us.

"Olivia. Joshua. I take it you both remember the rules
of Haven? Staying here, you must abide by all our rules or you will be asked to
leave," Landon reminded us.

I opened my mouth first to speak. "We were just
talking," I quickly explained.

Joshua nodded. “We thought it would be a good idea to study
our text books together.”

"If you wish to study together, the best place to do
that would be the library," Landon answered forcefully. "You are not
to enter each other's rooms. Is that understood?"

I felt like a child being scolded for jumping on the bed. I
hadn't realized the rule had been that strict, but I nodded once. "Yes,
sir." He looked to Joshua and Josh nodded, as well.

"The council will be requesting your presence in the
morning. Olivia, I require that you come with me." Joshua gave me an
apologetic look. I frowned and wondered where Landon was taking me. I didn't
object and followed him down the stairs.

"Where are we going?" I asked as we walked
outside. I knew I'd made a mistake and been caught. I was grateful they hadn’t
escorted Joshua out of his room, but I wasn't crazy about it happening to me. I
knew Landon wouldn't hurt me. He couldn't. I meant too much to their cause. I'd
gathered that much already in the past week.