Outcast: A Corporation Novel (The Corporation) (13 page)

Ethan

I watch her leave and my heart aches a little. As soon as the door shuts, Raj comes out of the shadows.

“That was disgustingly tender,” he says with a sneer, “and almost believable.” 

“What do you want?” I bark out, stacking the last of the chairs around the perimeter of the room.

“You get quite the turnout for these little things.”

I despise small talk. Especially from a man like Raj.

“Forgive me,” he lets out a small chuckle. “I need to introduce myself. I'm Raj Verna.”

“I know who you are. And who you work for.” I'm tired of playing around.

“Of course you do.” The smile slips from his face, replaced by the sneer from earlier.

“What do you want?”

“A man of business, just like your father.”

I try not to bristle.

“The people of Neech demand some sort of proof from you—”

“At
your
urging.”

“Regardless, they demand it before they risk their lives.”

“And let me guess, you have this proof? And at an exorbitantly outlandish price?”

“No, but I know where you can get it.”

“Not interested. You went missing from Neech in the company of Guards and you've probably been with my father this entire time. You can't be trusted. You've probably already told him everything about our meetings.”

“I haven't told him anything he didn't already know.”

I clench my teeth. “No, thanks. I'll do this on my own.”

“You don't have a choice.”

I bark out a laugh. “You think you can force me to do something? Please.”

Raj's nostrils flare as he takes an angry breath. “What you need is out in the Further. You're going to go out there and you're going to take me. And you'll bring that oaf, Dhevan, with us.”

I stare at him for a moment in unguarded shock. This is the last thing I was expecting. “What in the world could possibly make you think I would go anywhere with you, let alone out to in the Further?” The fact that he specifically requests Dhevan to go with us makes me even more nervous. I may not have the softest spot for the farmer, but I don't want him in danger, either. But him being requested to come means he's in already in danger.

I look Raj over. He's too clean for Neech. His clothes are too new, barely worn. His face has an extra layer of fat the other citizens of the Outer City haven't had in years.

“Karis has told me all about you. How the Corporation came in the middle of the night and dragged you away. But not before they killed your wife and little girl.”

He stiffens and his eyes go dark before he speaks again. “You're going to take me with you because
I
know your secrets. I know why you’re really here in Neech, and what brought you through the wall to begin with.”

“You're nothing but a crazy man,” I say, and dismiss him with a turn of my back.

His fingers dig into my arm as he tries to spin me around. “I know the truth of what led you to Karis.”

“And so do I. And so does Karis.”

“Karis knows your father’s special interest in her?” He gets a little less sure of himself, like the last few seconds were a shield that’s been knocked away.

“We found a file he had on her.” I don’t like where this is going.

“Yes, but you’d already seen that file. The information contained there was put there by yourself. And watching Karis was only part of the deal with your father.”

I still for a moment, my breath caught in my throat, trying not to let my eyes widen as much as they want to. There's no way he could know the truth. No way he could have found it out on his own.

“Get off me.” I shake his hand from my arm. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“What will Karis think when I tell her she isn't the only one making deals with Akin? That you don't truly love her?”

My head snaps around so quick, I feel a burning down near my shoulders. “What did you say?” I don’t even realize my hand has shot up to his neck until the strained pulse of his heartbeat thuds under my tight fingers and I have his back slammed up against the wall.

“I said,” he pulls my hand from his throat, “that I know about your little deal with Akin, and if you don't go with me, I'm going to tell Karis all about it.”

My heart hits harder behind my ribs. “She'd never believe you.”

“Which is why I would show her proof.”

“There is no proof because you're lying.”

“If you're willing to take that chance, then don’t go.”

The thing is, I'm not willing to take the chance. Because what he's saying isn't a lie. And Karis can't find out the truth. She wouldn't understand.

“I don’t think that would make your father very happy, though,” he says.

“What?”

“Akin said to mention something about a little note he sent you, should you be resistant at the idea of traveling together.”

I don’t feel any better about going with Raj, especially knowing it’s at my father’s bidding. I clench my jaw and squeeze my fists. My back is against a wall and there is no choice for me, except for the one my father is making me choose. I am going to the Further with Raj and Dhevan. 

“Tomorrow night, just past curfew. Karis’ house. That way I know you’ll show up.” I take a step back, wishing for more air and space between me and this parasite.

There's a creak that echoes through the room and my head spins towards the back of the small space. The swinging door that leads back to the kitchen has residue of movement clinging to it, and I swear I see a flash of someone getting out of the way.

“Who's there?” I pause for a minute, then, “I said, come out!”

“You're paranoid already,” Raj says with a laugh.

I grind out my next words. “It's just going to be you and me, Raj. I'm not bringing Dhevan into this.”

“He's into this more than you are, already. The farmer comes. That's not negotiable. So you'd better convince him that it's in his best interest. I don't want anything to have to happen to that beautiful Pair of his.”

“Get out of my face.” I shove past him and storm across the room, pushing through the swinging door towards the back entrance of The Tavern.

Karis

As soon as I get outside, I realize that I left my bag of filters hanging against the back of my chair. I turn around to fetch it. My hand is on the door, ready to push through, when I stop myself. Through the cloudy round window in the door, I see Raj and Ethan talking to each other, much in the same fashion as Raj and the Guard, earlier.

Ethan's face is red and I can see spit flying from his lips. Raj stands there, a slight smile spreading across his face. I risk pushing the door open far enough, I hope, to hear what it is they're talking about. All that comes through is a muffled conversation; I'm not able to make out many words. Ethan sounds annoyed than anything. Then he starts to get upset and both of their voices rise. Making out words becomes a lot easier.

“I know the truth...why you're in Neech.” I can hear the almost sing-song quality to Raj's words.

“You're crazy,” Ethan says and grabs the front of Raj's shirt and shoves him back into the wall, hard. My breath catches in my throat, and for a second, I forget it's Ethan I'm watching. I didn't think he was the kind of person to react that impulsively and aggressively.

Raj grabs on to Ethan's wrists but doesn't push him away. “You have no choice!” His voice has no real bravado to it, but he knows that his words will save him. Whatever he's told Ethan, that's where his strength is coming from.

The floor creaks as I shift my weight. The men snap their heads in my direction and I slam my back up against the wall and squeeze my eyes shut.

“Who's there?” Ethan calls out. “I said come out!”

I hold my breath and make a decision. I run through the back of The Tavern as quickly and quietly as I can. When I burst through the back door, I look around frantically. There's no way I'll be able to get off this street before Ethan gets here. I need to hide. There's a dumpster to my left and I dart behind it, crouching down and trying to quiet my breathing.

Ethan bursts out into the night shortly after I do, cursing up a storm. He kicks at the ground and lets out a yell before heading in the direction of Eta’s house.

Ethan

I can't remember the last time I've been this angry. I strongly dislike being forced to do something, and the fact that someone like Raj is the puppet master infuriates me even more. He knows more than he should, and I can't do anything about it. I need him for answers on what my father knows. More importantly, I can't let him tell Karis what he thinks he knows. She wouldn't understand. The thought of getting rid of him crosses my mind. I shake it away. I am
not
that kind of person. I am not.

“Aghh!” I kick at a discarded box sitting on the sidewalk in front of me. Its contents go flying through the air before hitting the side of a building, paper fluttering through the crisp air.

This is going to ruin everything. I can't risk going with Raj, but I don't see any other way. I could easily explain away the information that Raj has found, but I don't want to have to. Taken out of context, it sounds bad, and it isn't who I am, now.

Karis won't understand me leaving, and she'll understand even less why I'm taking Raj with me. She doesn't trust him, and neither do I. She'll be mad, but, that's been the status quo of late. I should be able to go with it pretty well.

Damn it!

७

“How did the meeting go?' Eta asks when I walk through the door, but she seems distracted, like I do.

“As I expected it to, with a little unexpected business at the tail end.” I sit down heavily in a chair.

“Oh?” Her voice piques.

“I'm going out into the Further.”

She glances up at me. “And how is Karis dealing with all of this?”

“I'm sure she’ll be none too happy about it. When she finds out.”

“Ethan William Hughes!” Eta slaps her hands down on her knees. “You mean to tell me that you have not told that girl that you are going out into the Further?”

“It was a last minute decision. I haven't had the chance to tell her about it yet.”

“And who have you found the time to tell about it, besides myself?”

“Raj Verna.”

“Och!” She throws her hands up in disgust. “Of all people!”

I hang my head and rub at my temples. “Please don't say anything to her about it. I have to recruit one other person before she can.”

“What is this nonsense you're speaking?” I have never seen Eta this upset. Her words are coherent, but they're not collected, like she's having to scramble through her emotions to pick the right ones. “Who do you possibly need to recruit before you can tell the woman you love that you're leaving her behind?”

“Dhevan has to go with us. Raj says there's no option.”

She stills at this bit of news. “This smells foul.”

“That it does. But Raj said if Dhevan doesn't come, he'll make something happen to Journey.”

She nods. “And what does he have hanging over your head that's making you go?”

“Truth he thinks he knows. And if he tells it, it could hurt a lot of people.”

She doesn't ask me to say any more. Her next question blindsides me, though. “Ethan, what is really going on between you and Karis? Why are you pulling away from her?”

“It's not just me, Eta. She's pulling away from me, too. I think she's hiding something from me.”

“Like you're hiding something from her?”

“It seems like we're constantly keeping secrets from each other. I thought that when you loved someone—truly loved someone—that you were honest with them, about everything. But our relationship has been like this from the beginning. She lied to me about her Mark, I lied to her about who my father was. Now this. I don't like how it makes me feel. I don't like where it leaves us.”

“And you don't think she feels the same way?” She doesn’t sound angry, she sounds disappointed. Which is worse. It's always worse. “She's going to be heart-broken when you tell her. Which you will do.”

“I was planning tomorrow night, when we’re all together for the Pairing dinner,” I say. “Since we’ll be leaving right afterwards.”

She sighs. “You'd better start packing. I'll gather up what I can spare.”

७

My packing is interrupted by a soft tap on the frame of my door. I look over my shoulder. Eta’s demeanor is off, she's...
soft
. Something that she’s normally not, on her own. It snatches my attention and I put my pack down.

“What is it?”

“I need to show you something before you leave.”

“Okay,” I say.

“Meet me in the kitchen when you're through.”

I don't have much to take, so I'm pretty much done as soon as I start. I pack the only other pair of socks I own and an extra mask that Eta took from her medical bag—a sacrifice that doesn't go ignored.

Pulled from a trunk that was tucked in the back of a closet, Eta gave me a couple extra pairs of pants, a shirt, and a light jacket. She had given me two bottles of water, which was completely miraculous. Who has that much extra water to be giving away? Along with a small bag of sturdy biscuits and a few things from her garden, that's the only nutrition I'll have for my journey. It will be up to us to find whatever else we may need. She put together a traveling medical kit for me—herbs for different ailments, bandages, a few medical tools, and of course a small supply of the tea. It was a monumental sacrifice for her to do, which made it my most cherished item.

I pull the drawstring tight at the top of the bag and fold the flap over, securing it in place with a buckle. I brush my hands off on my thighs as I stand, and head towards the kitchen, stopping just short of the table.

The rug in the living room is pulled back and the trap door to Eta's hidey hole has been propped open. I look around, nervously. I’m not sure why. I guess because I know what a closely kept secret of hers this is, and here it is, exposed and vulnerable. I go to the front door and make sure the lock is secure. I stand at hole in the floor, looking at it, not sure if she means for me to come down or not.

“Permission to come aboard?” I say into the bowels of her lab.

“Oh, for goodness sake! Just get down here, boy.”

I turn around and climb down the ladder. Whatever it is that Eta's going to show me, it has to be important; she doesn’t like me being down here unless I have to.

My eyes adjust quickly to the lower level of light, but even then, it’s surprising how bright it is down here. She was able to rig electricity for her experiments, which means lighting, too.

The closer I get to the bottom of the lab, the cooler the air gets, but the heavier it is with a rancid, but sweet, smell. Almost like something is going bad. I turn around and suck in a quick gasp of air. I shove my back up against the ladder, and my hand clamps down around my nose and mouth. “What the—Eta, please tell me that isn't what it looks like.”

“It is most certainly what it looks like. Here, put this on.” She throws me a mask and some protective eyewear.

“That’s the body we found from last night. On your table. Cut open.” I remember one of the things I saw the first time I was down here. The blood stains.

“This is for science, Ethan. A necessary thing to do.” The look on my face must be one of horror because she gets all huffy, reminding me of a wet hen and says, “For goodness sake, lad, it's not like I killed him myself to get him on there, he was already dead.”

“So you didn't Comm the Guards.”

“I didn't Comm the Guards.”

“You brought him here, instead.”

“I brought him here, instead.” She sighs.

“By yourself.”

“Yes, boy, by myself. Now that we're past the obvious elements of this situation, may I show you what I have found?”

“Can I just point out that that…man…is over two hundred pounds of dead weight and I’m supposed to just swallow that you brought him down here and hoisted him onto that metal tray, by yourself?”

“Insolent,” she mutters. The insides of her eyebrows dip down at a severe angle when she says, “You need to learn when it is best to stop asking questions.”

She holds my stare and after a somewhat dry swallow, I put on the mask and eyewear, still in a slight state of disbelief. I step towards the body. I'm not sure if I should be in profound awe or unsettling fear. I decide on reverence. I cast her a sideways glance as I settle in next to her.

She notices, because her cheeks turn a bit pinker. “I'm still the same person I was before.”

“I’m sure, but now I'm trying to figure out who that was.” Her apron is flecked with blood and globs of what I assume are a tissue of some kind. There's a scalpel in one hand and some sort of tool in the other. I have absolutely no idea what she's been using it for. It looks a bit like what she uses to turn meat over in the pan with. My stomach churns.

“May I start?” she snaps.

“Please.”

“We know the Corporation is up to something. We know they are using Maute as an experiment, but we don't know for what. We know that if you survive it, it grabs the Corp's interest and they take you. Presumably to study further. So we can safely assume that going through the sickness is a transformation of some sort and that if survived without the medicine, the transition is considered a success, which happens few and far between.”

I nod my head, letting her know that I'm following her stream of thought and to continue.

“Until now.”

“Until now?”

I can tell that she is attempting to hold back the smile eager to break through, but she can't. It explodes and lifts her cheeks up, creating a puffy ring at the bottom of each eye and folds of lines at the corners. “Until Sharabi, here.” She points to the man on the table.

He's very, very large. The fat on his arms and legs hangs over the edge of the small table. His stomach rises over the height of his chest, and it's cut open, peeled over the sides to create a cavern inside. His outward appearance shows no signs of the disease.

“How do you know Sharabi had Maute? We never made a house call, he was never sick, that we know of, and his….body…shows no symptoms.”

“The blood samples that I've been taking from the others all contain the same residue from the disease, a sort of marker.”

I look down at a tray of different vials, labeled with white tape scrawled with names.
Ajna
and
Sharabi
are the only ones I recognize.

“I don't think the Corporation knows it exists. Anyhow, his blood contains the same marker. I think the fact that he was the town drunk and three sheets to the wind all day, everyday must have helped, but I’m not sure how. I’m researching that, too.”

“But we found him dead. I thought it was only a success if they survived?”

“Maute wasn't what killed him. He died of hypothermia. But, liver failure would have got him in a few months anyhow. All that drinking is never a good thing.”

What a way to go—surviving Maute, only to be undone by the cold, and eventually one's liver. “So what did you find out?”

Her eyes widen in tandem with her smile. “What happens to the body during Maute. What makes the survivors so valuable and interesting to the Corporation. Come, look.” She motions for me to stand beside her as she steps up on a stool I hadn't noticed before. With its assistance, she’s tall enough to stand over the body and see what she's doing.

Sharabi’s skin is folded over like a split potato, the rib cage spread open, being held that way with an intimidating looking metal contraption. Inside is an array of pink and red masses of soft tissue. I see the lungs, heart, and intestines, but that’s all I can readily identify. The others I have no idea about. I may put on a brave front, but I have a queasy stomach. I swallow down my supper that’s trying to resurface.

A red light flashes in the top corner of the room along with a dull beep. Eta walks over to a little screen and turns a knob. I stand behind her, peering over her shoulder, and try to make out what the blurry, black and white picture is showing us.

A figure shifts back and forth, looking over its shoulder. Eta leans forward to get a better look and presses a button, bringing the figure closer.

I let out a puff of impressed air. It's a camera giving us a live feed of her front stoop. It must only turn on when someone’s there.

I lean in with her. “It looks like Kalaen's dad,” I say, a bit puzzled. “But what is he doing here at this hour?”

Eta turns on her heel and starts pushing me backwards. “We have to get to the door.”

I spin around and hurry up the ladder, reaching down to help her up the last few rungs. She gets out and smoothes her skirt while I carefully close the hatch and lay the rug straight. She opens the door just enough for Mr. Aboca to slide through. He's breathless and worried when he comes in, he doesn't even bother to remove his mask to talk to us.

“He's gone,” Mr. Aboca says.

Eta had been right, Kalaen didn’t last more than a day. But I don’t know why Mr. Aboca would risk coming to tell us this in the middle of the night when Eta was scheduled to see them tomorrow.