Breeders (Breeders #1) (7 page)

“Jules,” my voice shaky.

“Show me,” he commanded. I sat gravely still. I had never
seen him this enraged before. He grabbed my wrist, yanking me towards my room. “Show
me, Ariet,” he yelled. I removed the vial slowly from its hiding place, my eyes
never leaving his. He watched me intensely. “Give it to me,” he demanded
angrily.

“No!” I responded firmly, surprising myself with that
answer.

“Give it to me or I will take it from you and report you to
the Elders and Evelyn,”

I hastily removed it from his hiding place and flung it on
the bed, collapsing to the floor in despair. Racing over to pick it up he
turned it around and around in his hands. “Dammit, Ariet. I could kill Jules.”

“Don’t, please. Don’t report her. She was trying to help me.
I wasn’t even sure what it would do.”

“It makes you compliant, Ariet, and then removes it from
your memory as if it never happened.”

“Jules said it was untraceable.”

“It is, but that is not the point. What if someone finds
this? Do you really need this to be with me?” hurt showed in his voice.

“No,” I stumbled. Fresh tears came to the surface. “I’m
sorry, Mason. I just didn’t know what to do, how to do it.”

“Ariet, you can’t use this. What if you become pregnant? We
don’t know its effects on the fetus if you continue to use it before you get tested
for the presence of an offspring.”

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking,” I stuttered through tears.

“I’m sorry you felt you had the need to use this. I should
have known, I should have known when you were…”

“What, when I was what?” I asked.

“When you were responsive. Tender even,” his voice hardened.
“I’m going out. You stay here. Do not leave the dwelling, do you understand?”
Without waiting for my response, Mason turned to leave the room, but not before
I caught the look of sadness and disappointment in his eyes.

It was late when he returned home. He was sweaty and tired
looking. I worried frantically that he would not be home in time to scan before
lights out. He stopped in the doorway, his shoulders stooping, as if the weight
of this burden, of dealing with me, was too much to bear. We stared at each
other for a few minutes, the silence deafening.

“I’m sorry, Mason.”

“You put us both in danger, Ariet. This is not just about
you anymore, but it is about me as well. Both our lives depend on this, and I
need you to make it clear to me that you understand this.”

“I do. I’m sorry. I made supper, please join me.” I gestured
to the table where a chicken and fragrant rice dish, one of my favorites from
home, awaited us. “It's cold,” I smiled apologetically.

He shrugged, wolfing his food down within a few mouthfuls. “I’m
going to wash.” He stalked away from the table towards his room. Clearing the
table, I chastised myself. I never realized how difficult this was for him as
well for me. I could hear the shower running. Awkwardly, I made my way into his
room, opening the lavatory door softly. Dropping my clothes into a pile at my
feet, I opened the shower door and stepped in. His face registered surprise and
distrust simultaneously. “What are you doing?” he asked.

“Trying,” I whispered, looking anywhere but at his naked
form.

“Thank you,” he whispered back.

Chapter 10

After that night, I made an attempt to trust Mason more. We
spent the days exploring the Medical Centre, meeting more of the Carers, and
trying to actively show our unity. Night times were a little more strained as
we hadn’t gotten used to copulation, but I performed it without resistance and
without any added help.

I had been in the Breeding Program for six weeks now. That
was six weeks away from my family, the fact never escaping my mind. Mason and I
were on more friendly terms, but I didn’t love him and I suspected he didn’t
love me. He remained a stranger to me, and I still felt like a science experiment.
Which, in truth, was exactly what both of us were. We had no more unexpected
invitations to see Evelyn, which relaxed me a little. But, at the back of my
mind, it worried me she had left us alone. Mason had seemed to withdraw from me
after his discovery of the vial. He was courteous but never as gentle and warm
as I had seen him demonstrate before. Sitting at lunch together, the silence
between us was drawing me more and more closely to the edge of despair.

“Should we have Thor and Jules over? It might be nice for a
change?” I suggested.

He raised an eyebrow at me. “Not before your next medical.”

Rolling my eyes, “I won’t do that again, Mason. Plus, you
have taken it away from me, so I can’t get my hands on it anyway.”

“So you would use Haze if you had it then, Ariet?”

“No, that’s not what I meant!” I cried in exasperation.

“Have your weekly medical, and then we can discuss this
again.”

The days dragged on until my scheduled medical. Mason bought
me a book from the Bookkeeper as I had expressed my love of reading. I had only
read a few pages of one book my mother had from the Old World, most of the
pages having been torn out. But here in the Great Tower they had gone to great
lengths to scour the Four Quadrants for books remaining after the Great Illness,
storing them in a huge vault underground. At least that’s the brief explanation
Mason gave me. The books managed to make the next few days on my own bearable.
Even though Mason was there, he wasn’t really there. And I had given up trying
to make him forgive me. After all, it was his family’s fault I was even here in
the first place.

On the day of my medical, Mason and I walked nervously down
the corridor. Paige led me to the medical room whilst Mason waited outside. The
Healer performed his examination, but half way through he asked Paige to go and
get the UST machine. I had never seen one before and the look of it scared me. “Lay
still, Ariet,” he commanded. This might hurt a little. I winced as I felt it in
my stomach which lasted for a few minutes. “Thank you, Ariet. You may get
changed now.”

Mason sat impatiently for me whilst Dr. Weler and the Healer
who examined me before flipped on the plasma. “Ariet, Mason,” Dr. Weler looked
at both of us. “You have successfully conceived.” Turning the plasma to face
us, I gawked in disbelief. You are three weeks pregnant.”

“What?” Mason gasped. “How could this happen so quickly?”

“Well, considering that we set it up that coitus took place
in Ariet’s fertile window, the chances of conceiving were high. The UST we
performed shows the presence of a fertilized embryo. Congratulations, the first
stage of the Breeding Program was successful.”

Mason and I sat in shock on the journey back to our dwelling.
We didn’t even stay for the lunch and our usual meet and greet with the Carers
after my medical. Paige came in after Dr. Weler and the Healer left, fluttering
about us in excitement, giving me all sorts of nutrients in little jars to
take. I barely remember her instructions. Both Mason and I couldn’t eat that
night. We just sat silently, side by side on the deck watching the stars.

Mason was the first to speak, “Well, Ariet. We did it. We
are going to be parents.”

“Parents of a scientific experiment,” I replied
sarcastically, but my hand instinctively went to my belly.

“You must know that we will be watched even more closely now.
Our conversations will be monitored. You need to make sure to take the
nutrients they gave you and eat at all the designated times. The Healers can
detect if you are not, or have not been, abiding by their rules with your daily
urine scans.”

I nodded in agreement. Fear, now, was all I felt. “What if,”
I whispered, “what if he, she, is not what they want?”

“We can’t think of that now, Ariet. We just need to do
everything by the book and hope that the project has been successful. We’ll get
through this, together.” He took my hand and rubbed my palm, slowly. We sat
there, the two of us for the longest time, side by side.

The next morning at breakfast, Mason hovered over me, making
sure I had swallowed the nutrients and had a good selection of fresh food
around me. Bumping into me every time I tried to have a sip of water or reach
for some food, I jumped, “Are you going to be like this the whole nine months?”
I snapped. “It is very irritating.”

He slumped in his chair, like a scolded child. “I’m just
helping.”

“Yes, well, it’s day one since we heard the news, and you
are not helping, you are hovering.” He rolled his eyes, which curled my lips
into an upward grin, despite myself. “So, what is on the plate for us today?
More tests?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t know much more about the Breeding Program
than you do now. Maybe we should look at the manual?” he suggested. “Be as ready
and prepared as we can be?”

“I think that’s a great idea,” I responded somewhat
positively. The mood shifted slightly into a more optimistic light, and we sat
side by side on the couch, almost comfortable with each other. Paging through
the manual, we highlighted what we thought were the most important points, the gravity
of the situation weighing heavily on us.

“So, for the next few weeks we can expect our routine daily testing
as per normal, and then the weekly medical, which will include scans of the fetus.
Your progress will be monitored, and should any issue be detected in your daily
testing, you will be confined to the medical ward for further testing.”

“Great, what if I’m just having an off day?” I joked.

“There are no off days here, Ariet,” he warned seriously.

“I know,” I whispered.

He continued to read aloud, “At two months the gender of the
fetus will be determined although, for the purposes of this breeding project,
that does not affect the genetic outcome. At three months, a sample of the
fetal material will be genetically screened to determine if the fetus is a homozygous
carrier of the required gene.” He snapped the book shut. “I don’t want to read
anymore. We have some idea of what will happen from this point onward. Let’s
just get to the three month genetic determination and take it from there.”

Chapter 11

“Right, Ariet, this shouldn’t hurt a bit,” Dr. Weler flicked
a long needle before me. “We are just going to push this through your belly and
down into the baby to get the sample we need.” I squeezed my eyes shut and held
onto the edge of the examination table. The numbing cream they had rubbed around
the testing site prevented me from feeling any pain but didn’t stop me from
feeling fear. Fear of the unknown. Of not knowing what would happen to us and
my son. I could hear Mason pacing nervously outside the room. After a few
minutes, the Healer addressed me. “Okay, Ariet. You can get dressed and join
Mason.”

Paige, always by my side, gave my hand an affectionate squeeze.
We had grown close over the last few weeks. She had been visiting daily,
bringing new variations of nutrients and instructions from the Medical Centre,
plus treats from the market, which I loved. “Paige,” I whispered, “Please let
me know what you can find out about the baby’s genetic profile,” I begged. She
held a single finger to her lips and shook her head cautiously, warning me to
be quiet. Stepping out of the room, Mason grabbed my hand and walked me slowly
out of the examination room into the Carers’ waiting room. “I want to go home,”
I whispered. He nodded and continued to guide me through the waiting area and
onto the platform.

Once at home, I tried to calm my nerves with tea. “How long
did they say it would take?”

“That’s the fourth time you have asked me, and the answer is
still the same. I don’t know,” Mason replied patiently. “Dr. Weler said they
would be in touch, and we would know the baby’s fate when it was time.”

I cringed as I repeated what he said out loud. “All we can
do is wait then?” I asked.

He sat beside me. “Yes, I guess we have no other choice.”

On the third day of waiting, we were summoned back to the Medical
Center. Dr. Weler had us sit before him at his desk. “We have had the
preliminary results back. There is little evidence to prove that the fetus is homologous
for the gene. But, we cannot determine that conclusively as the sample was
compromised by a mishap in the laboratory.”

“What kind of mishap?” I asked, clenching my knuckles so
tightly they had turned white.

“Your sample had been left under the UV sterilization light
accidently. UV light degrades genetic material,” he explained. “The Carer in
question has been dealt with accordingly. We do not tolerate any ‘accidents’ in
the Breeding Project. With that said, we will need to take another sample, as
before. You will need to come in two days from now. Please make sure you have
eaten a full breakfast and have done your morning scan. We will need those
results as part of the new analysis. The same as before, Ariet, nothing new
yet,” He stood up. “Oh, and before I forget, a new Carer has been assigned to
you. Eden.”

“What happened to Paige?” I asked anxiously.

“As I said, Ariet, we do not tolerate mistakes of any kind
in the Breeding Project. Paige has been dealt with accordingly.” I inhaled
sharply. Mason squeezed my hand tightly, warning me to hush.

“If that’s all,” Mason got up impatiently. “We would like to
get home now.” Without looking up, Dr. Weler gestured us out with a flick of
his hand.

Pacing our living room, I questioned Mason frantically. “We
need to find Paige. Find out what happened. There is still a chance that the baby
could be homologous.”

“No, Ariet. I could read it on Dr. Weler’s face. I doubt
that what happened with Paige was an accident.” Mason set about putting a long
wool coat over him, with thick boots.

“Where are you going? Are you going to find Paige?” I asked
frantically, concerned for the well-being of my only friend.

“No, I need to speak to Thor. Stay here. I mean it, Ariet.”
With that he disappeared to the bottom of our garden into a small alcove I had
not noticed before.
Why didn’t he take the train?
I wondered.

Mason returned a few hours later, appearing suddenly at the
kitchen door. He gestured silently down the path to the edge of the garden to
where he had disappeared earlier. “What’s down there? Where have you been?” I
whispered, stumbling after him.

“With Thor. I used a pathway that interconnects the
dwellings. We discovered it when we were children playing in the grounds.”

“Why?” I asked, afraid of the answer.

“I wanted to see what he could find out about what happened
to Paige.”

“And…?”

“And, it’s bad.”

“What?” I screeched.

“Shhh…” he clasped a hand over my mouth, pointing above, “…they
can hear us, there are satellites above us.” I looked at him confused. “Thor is
going to sneak into the Medical Centre and find out exactly what happened to
Paige. All I know right now is that they have taken away her Carer privileges
and her access is severely restricted.”

“Is she hurt?”

“I’m not sure, Ariet. But what I’m more concerned about is
if the incident in the medical testing facility was actually an accident.”

Inhaling sharply, I started to realize. “Paige could have
been protecting us.”

“Yes and no. This could also be a completely random event,” he
answered, as if thinking out loud. Poor Paige, my eyes welled up. She had been
so good to me in the last few weeks. Feeling weak and nauseous, the effects of
early gestation combined with nerves, I raced back towards the house to relieve
myself.

I slept restlessly that night, waiting for the feedback from
Thor about Paige. I could hear Mason pacing nervously outside my room. I had
one more day until the repeat testing was scheduled, which was also
contributing to my anxiousness. At exactly 1.45 in the afternoon, Mason excused
himself and dashed off down the path. An hour later he returned with an ashen
look on his face. I was already at the bottom of the garden waiting for him. “It
was no accident, Ariet. Paige deliberately sabotaged the tests. Which means…which
means that she was trying to protect us. The baby doesn’t carry the gene.” I
felt my legs crumble beneath me. Mason caught me before I hit the grass, and we
both collapsed onto the soft grass beneath us. Placing my hands instinctively around
my tiny bump, I closed my eyes.

“According to the manual, it means he is to be terminated,”
he said quietly whilst holding me tightly.

“We can’t let this happen, Mason,” I begged. “Can’t you
speak to your Grandmother, plead with her.”

“It won’t work, Ariet, she wrote the manual. After all, she
scheduled the termination of her own daughter,” he said bitterly.

“Why did your parents have to be terminated?” I asked fearful
of the answer.

“They wouldn’t give me up to the program,” Mason whispered in
such sadness.

“What do we do? I don’t want our baby to die.”

Placing his hands over mine on my belly, he leaned his
forehead against mine. “I’ll find a way to protect us, Ariet. I promise. I won’t
let anything happen to you two.”

“We don’t have long, Mason. The retesting is tomorrow and
then it’s two more days until the results are given. Even then, I’m sure the
Elders already suspect the answer. We have to run. We have to get out of here.
Go back to Quadrant Four. My parents will help us.”

“The Creators will find us, Ariet. The devices in our wrists
are also trackers. They can track us anywhere.”

Thor appeared later that afternoon, his usual demeanor
overtaken with something darker. “I’ve come for supper,” he announced at the
front door.

“Hello,” I greeted him cautiously.

Mason motioned us towards the bottom of the garden. Under
the protection of the trees, Thor was the first to speak, “I found Paige. I
spoke to her. She has been scheduled for termination.” He paused to let that
sink in for a few minutes. “When looking for her termination date, I found your
name listed, with the fetus Ariet, as the carrier. I’m sorry. I wasn’t able to
find out why you have been scheduled as well. They already know what they need
to from the original testing. This second round of testing is just to get you
back to the lab where they will drug you and send you for termination.”

“How do we get out of this?” Mason squeezed Thor’s arms
tightly. “There must be something we can do, Thor. I cannot let them exterminate
my partner and unborn child, help me please.” The desperation in his voice sent
shivers down my spine. We stood in silence for a few minutes, each trying to
grasp the severity of our situation. Tears streamed down my face.

“There is a way…maybe,” We both looked at him sharply. “One
of the underground tunnels connects the New World to the Old World.

“How long has this been in existence?” Mason looked as
though he wanted to strangle his childhood friend. “For always. It was created
by the Elders as a method of dumping any ill or undesirable humans to the
outside of the Four Quadrants. No one knows how long the tunnel is or where it
goes. All I know is that it is heavily patrolled.”

“How long have you known about this, Thor?” Mason growled.

“Only for a few months, since I went on the roster system to
guard it. From what I can gather, it hasn’t been used for at least ten years,
but is maintained routinely.”

“Can you get us to the tunnel?”

“No, Mason. It’s too risky. They can track your every
movement. Also, the location of the tunnel itself is risky.”

“Where is it?” Mason demanded. Thor said nothing. Mason
grabbed him pulling him by the scruff of his collar.

“Don’t fight me, Mason,” Thor cautioned. “We both know who
will win this.” Mason reluctantly let go, smoothing his uniform, the evidence
of Thor’s strength apparent. “It’s below the Medical Center, Mason. It’s off
the old train lines which used to run underground in the city. The door is
sealed shut and is only opened by scanning one of the recruited engineers who
work in the Great Tower. We will never be able to pull this off.”

“We can,” I whispered. They both looked at me curiously. “The
drug that Jules gave me, Haze. If we could somehow give it to the Guardian or
engineer, it could work.”

“That’s brilliant, Ariet. How do we get our hands on more of
it, Thor? We need a vial of it.”

“I can’t, Mason, it will put Jules at risk.”

“Please, Thor, you know what they have taken from us, from
you and Jules, and now from Ariet and me. We have to end this. Find a way to
survive.” A knowing glance passed between them.

Feeling tired and overwhelmed, I walked over to a garden
chair and sat down, just out of hearing distance of the two of them. Their conversation
went on for two more hours. A bear hug between them with a courteous nod in my
direction signaled the end of the discussion. Mason trudged towards me, sheer
exhaustion and terror enveloping him.

“It’s been planned,” he said softly. “Tomorrow we escape. Thor
can get us to the tunnel, but you need to follow my very instruction to the
detail. Do you understand?”

“Yes. Thank you, Mason, I know how hard this must be for
you.”

“Don’t thank me just yet. But we definitely owe Jules and Thor.
They are both putting their lives at risk for us.”

I nodded compassionately. “How will it work, tomorrow?”

“Because of my memory, I know the Great Tower like the back
of my hand. It will be an asset when descending down the levels. I cannot tell you
the exact nature of the plans, for fear they get wind of our escape and
question you. The less you know the better. All you need to know for now is that
the testing will go on as scheduled tomorrow. When necessary, I will tell you
the next stage of the plan. For now, pack a bag with a change of clothing and
something warm. We don’t know what it’s like on the outside.” He paused and let
out a low sigh. “Maybe we shouldn’t do this, Ariet. You will be alone, no
medical attention, nothing. How will you survive?”

“At least we’ll be free, Mason. Anything is better than
being held captive and being forced to take place in a science project. We will
find a way to make this work. For the sake of our child.”