Botanicaust (61 page)

Movement at the stairs drew his attention. A group of Blattvolk entered the room. Official-looking Blattvolk, with jewelry like that Vitus fellow wore. None of them looked like Vitus, though. Among them stood Tula, the nakedness of her breasts barely hidden by a swath of necklaces. Levi
’
s heart leapt along with his groin and he flushed again. Why had God given women such power over him?

The rest of the Old Order rose, gathering children against them, watching the Blattvolk warily. Levi moved to the bars closest to the visitors.

Tula glanced at him, her face impassive. Cold dread settled into Levi
’
s soul. Speaking to the entire room, Tula used Levi
’
s language.
“
The Protectorate would like to offer peace between our people.
”

After a few heartbeats of silence, Brother John spoke.
“
They
’
ll leave us in peace?
”

“
They
’
ll leave your people in peace in return for
…
occupancy rights.
”

Unsure he
’
d heard correctly, Levi asked,
“
Occupancy?
”
He longed for her to make eye contact. To silently reassure him things were going to be all right.

But she continued to address the group as a whole.
“
They want to establish a Protectorate Burn around your Holdout.
To expand their territories.
The Protectorate will offer protection from the cannibals. And any of your people who choose to convert will also be eligible for DNA repair.
”
She shot a look to the children and then to Brother John.

“
It is against the Ordnung.
”
The muscles of Brother John
’
s jaw bulged.

“
They
’
ll force no one to convert. The terms are quite reasonable.
”
Tula
’
s brows pinched a little in worry. She met Levi
’
s gaze directly for the first time.
“
If you don
’
t agree, they
’
ll do what they want.
”

He knew what she meant.
Full conversion or death.

Brother John sighed in submission.
“
We have to return to the Holdout. To consider the Scriptures and vote in unity.
”

She nodded and said something to the other Blattvolk. Then she turned back to John.
“
They
’
ll give you three days to decide.
”

They turned and disappeared up the stairs without looking back.

The autumn sun heated Tula
’
s dark lab coat across her shoulders, while the exposed skin of her arms tightened in the coolness of the breeze outside Confinement. A duster waited on the pad, loaded with dignitaries seeking a trip to the archaic settlement called the Holdout. A Protectorate Liaison building had been erected almost overnight, and Haldanians were clamoring to visit.

Tula would not be going.

She had to maintain her distance from Levi, although she served as a translator between the Protectorate and the Elders at the Holdout. There were those on the Board who wanted to force the issue of conversion, and she could not allow her perceived impartiality to be compromised.

Instead, she kissed Eily and then released her to board the duster. They
’
d located the child walking along the fence, and Burn Ops brought her in for examination. Thank God testing proved her free of foreign fungi or other Fosselite manipulations. But her existence had cemented the verdict against Vitus and the Fosselites.

The Protectorate dismissed Eily to return to the Holdout, if she wished. The girl did not want to live in the city, and Tula couldn
’
t blame her.
“
Ana needs to be able to find me,
”
she whispered after she told Tula her choice.

Sinuses stinging with unshed tears, Tula didn
’
t refute the girl
’
s hope.
“
Be good for Levi.
”

“
Levi is sad.
”
Eily pulled on Tula
’
s hand, her dark eyes pleading.

“
You
’
re both safer if I stay here.
”

Eily gave Tula a last squeeze around the waist and darted up the loading ramp. Her black Old Order bonnet flapped from its strings behind her.

Levi is with his people, with his son, where he belongs
. Tula missed him more than she thought possible. And now, Eily was gone, too.

Jaw aching with repressed sadness, Tula waved until she could no longer see the duster. She turned back to the Conversion Department and descended the stairs into Confinement. Her access privileges had been restricted
—
captured cannibals were not exempt from imprisonment and euthanization, and the Board was still unsure of her loyalty
—
but they needed her to translate. During negotiations, she hadn
’
t translated the Elders
’
assertion that no one would be making any conversions. Translator prerogative. She still didn
’
t trust the Protectorate to respect the wishes of the unconverted.

With the new symbiotic fungi technology gleaned from Tula
’
s bloodstream, the Protectorate was making plans to spread even farther into unconverted territories. Burn Operatives would soon be free of the secondary medical complications of overdose. The outposts would be temporary stations, threatened by cannibals and unsafe for children who still required protection from UV radiation, but there was talk of building permanent structures once sufficient territory had undergone the Burn.

The fungi in Vitus
’
s system had caused his ripening to progress and damage his chloroplasts beyond repair. With autoimmune suppressants, he would survive, but he would live out his days with skin as pink as a newborn cannibal
’
s. In the past, Tula might have been happy to see him euthanized, but no longer. It seemed fitting the Protectorate forced him to be a consultant in the Conversion Department due to his knowledge about Dr. Kaneka
’
s work. He would watch while others reaped the benefits of the Fosselite research.

Tula reached her office and settled into the pool of fiber-optic light at her desk. The light had once been a welcome relief from the fluorescent lights in Confinement, but now it only teased her with memories of real sunlight. She adjusted her new black lab coat around her legs and reached for her gamma pad. A small box rested next to it. Attached was a card from Mo.
“
I know you don
’
t want it, but take it anyway. Love, Mo.
”
Inside, a plain gold ring, the color of his eyes. Closing her eyes, she sighed. She would return it as soon as her shift was over. Mo was
…
not Levi.

From the cages below, the wail of a lonely cannibal child echoed from the brick walls.

The Holdout

Levi stirred the thin porridge and fed another bite to his son. Josef had grown worse as winter progressed. The geothermal heat exchange units could not hold off the cold seeping into the brick houses. The Blattvolk fires had collapsed several tunnels and destroyed a lot of their food stores. The pasture fire had spread to the hog barn and killed over half their stock, which meant not enough pancreatic enzymes for the sick children. As they moved past the winter solstice, the children at the Ward began to wane from hunger.

In the next bed, Rachel Hulse helped her son to dress
;
another young one succumbing too early.
“
Maybe next Meeting you will be well enough.
”
She spoke in a bright voice, but Levi heard brittleness behind the words. Her oldest son had been buried three weeks ago. Levi would have comforted her, but he didn
’
t have anything to give, and she likely would have rebuffed him anyway. The Blattvolk were here because of him.

The burned out pasture near the school was now a duster pad. The Blattvolk had erected a large building nearby, out of place amidst the austere homes of the Holdout. Mirrored walls gleamed in the weak winter sunlight, and the Blattvolk could be seen parading in and out of the transparent common room half naked.

Students were as infatuated with the mirrors as they were with the naked Blattvolk. To shield their children, the Brethren relocated classes to a home on the other side of the common, and many families didn
’
t let their youngsters go outside alone at all. Blattvolk strolled the streets and fields from sun-up to sundown. The Holdout had become as much tourist attraction as new territory.

Levi
’
s people endured them without being overly friendly. The language barrier created a convenient wall between them. When a Blattvolk asked a question or initiated contact, the Brother or Sister would shrug and say,
“
No Englisch
.
”
Levi was the only one with a smattering of Haldanian. He attempted to keep to himself, but as Eily
’
s guardian, it was difficult. She had become an attraction in her own right
—
the Blattvolk child in the Old Order dress. Tourists stood outside their home with cameras at the ready.

In spite of Elder protests, Eily had a room on the south end of Samuel
’
s house, and the three adults endeavored to bring her to the Lord. She and Gid struck up a strange friendship of opposites; either ignoring one another, or giggling over some inconsequential bit of news one of the adults brought up at the supper table. Gid attended school, but Beth taught Eily her letters and numbers at home. To half of the Old Order, the child was still a Blattvolk. The other half tolerated, but didn
’
t welcome her.

Scraping the last bits of porridge from the bowl, Levi had Josef lick the spoon clean, waited for a coughing spasm to ease, then wiped him clean.
“
I
’
m going to Meeting now, Josef. Rest. I love you.
”
Levi
’
s belly clenched in hunger.
He
’
d been giving the majority of his portion to Josef.

“
I will pray, too. I love you, Papa.
”

He gave his son
’
s frail shoulders a final squeeze before donning his hat. Rachel wrapped her cape about her shoulders and didn
’
t object when Levi held the door for her, then walked at his side into the driving wind. They merged with another huddled group walking to Meeting. Ice particles made everyone
’
s exposed cheeks ruddy with false health. The hungry hollows below their cheekbones told the true story.