The Unspoken: Book One in the Keres Trilogy (15 page)

“
Don
’
t pick on him,
”
chirps Doe.
“
He
’
s doing the best he can.
”

Frehn changes his expression of indignation to one of saintly innocence.
“
I am, as I do in everything put before me.
”

“
Oh, eat your lunch,
”
I say laughing.
“
No one is buying that, not even Doe.
”
As I speak, I reach for my glass of water with my left hand. There is an audible gasp around the table.

“
Isn
’
t it nice?
”
Frehn says,
“
She still can
’
t talk about it, but I found out that we can.
”

Doe is rigid in her chair, watching my chest.

“
It
’
s true, watch,
”
he turns to me,
“
That
’
s a really nice addition to your arm there, Keres. The floral pattern on the top part is especially artistic.
”

What floral pattern?
I think. Trying to glance at my arm
without anyone noticing. Yes, the blue extended wings have morphed into a complex circular pattern of dots and lines in a deep brown color with a flower leading at the top. It looks like the same style as all the other Unspoken tattoos I
’
ve seen.

I look up at Doe and see she is stiff with fear for my life.
“
Try the artichokes, Doe,
”
I say trying to signal to her that I
’
m fine.
“
They are really good today.
”

I can see everyone release their tension.

“
It
’
s going to be a lot of fun talking about her like she
’
s not here,
”
says Wex with a wicked grin.
“
I can
’
t wait for tonight.
”

Now I am in for it.

The muscles in my legs are on fire. Not even the cold shower I took right after dinner has displaced the heat. Abbot
’
s method of working out my aggression in sweat has done more than that. It has left me completely void of the ability to move without painful reminders of my tantrum shooting through my limbs. To add insult to injury, when he finally let me stretch to cool down, he dropped a heavy volume on my stomach with the command to
“
read it.
”

I don
’
t know if he meant read it all tonight or what, but I stuck it in my pack and brought it to the block. I also brought my uniform because it was beginning to smell. The Keepers showed me some cleaning technique basics when I told them Abbot sent me for something to use on the dust gathering in my place of Service. They seemed over anxious that I understand their art perfectly before I left their hall with a fully stocked bucket. Some of them even walked me to the building entrance and waved me goodbye and good luck. Cleaning must be harder than I imagine if I need a sendoff like that.

I have never washed anything before, but I figure washing clothes can
’
t be that different from washing me. I fill the sink with hot water and add some of the soap the Keepers packed in my bucket. I stick my suit in the water and swish it around a little. It
’
s got several hours worth of sweat trapped in the fabric so I just leave it to soak for a while. Grabbing Abbot
’
s assigned reading and my notebook out of my pack, I head to the table in the common room.

Only Doe came back to the block with me after dinner as the others opted to join a field game on the Quad. Doe and I sit at opposite ends of the table and try to focus on our own work. She has a set of books in front of her that appear to cover everything from using plants for disinfecting cuts to performing complicated inner ear surgery. Looking down at my book, I discover Abbot has given me reading material on the management of emotions, several chapters on anger taking up the majority of the pages.

I suppress the desire to rip the book in half and try to remember that I have to get through this in order to move forward in my training. Being able to control my rage and perhaps even to have a serious discussion without bursting into tears might be helpful. So I press on through the chapters until the others come in from their game on the Quad.

Once we make three passes searching the room for anything The Mothers may have left, we settle down to a long discussion on other people
’
s potential usefulness in our plan. After one day, it
’
s clear that it is still far too early to tell if anyone will actually be valuable to us. But we certainly know who won
’
t, and so far, that
’
s everyone.

“
It
’
s going to be a lot more difficult than I thought to feel people out,
”
Wex says,
“
I would not have guessed no one would respond to an open invitation to discuss The Mothers, even if it was completely harmless. I tried to ask someone if they thought The Mothers keep snacks in their headdresses as a joke and you would have thought I had suggested we team up to murder them.
”

“
People aren
’
t used to us, or us them. We
’
ve been away too long. I have no idea how to talk to anyone in Fauna Management,
”
Merit says.
“
Besides, I
’
ve been thinking we should keep completely to ourselves. The more people who are familiar with us, the more likely they are to figure out what we are planning. And that will only lead to two results. Either they will inform on us or they will be visited by the five when we leave. Neither of those options are worth what little potential help they might offer.
”

Harc pipes up,
“
I
’
m with Merit. There
’
s nothing anyone can do for us that we can
’
t manage on our own. It will only make it harder to leave them behind when the time comes. We can
’
t take everyone.
”

No. We can
’
t take everyone. It would already be hard to walk away from Zink and Abbot, especially after today. Zink repaired everything I smashed without a single word of rebuke. He didn
’
t even ask what happened. He helped put everything back on the shelves and set the den back in order. He even showed me how to clean without just moving the dust around. And I
’
ve only known him a couple of days. What
’
s it going to be like in a few years when it
’
s time to go over the outer wall? I don
’
t want to leave Chelon anymore.

“
Harc is right,
”
I say.
“
We can
’
t build up friendships with people and then leave them to The Mothers. Better not to know them. It will be easier to forget that way.
”

“
Can we really just leave everyone behind? You know The Mothers will be so enraged that restrictions and punishments will increase tenfold,
”
Doe whispers.
“
I don
’
t know if I can do that.
”

“
Think of what The Mothers did to you, Doe. Think what they did to us. Think what they are going to do to us in the years to come. Can you really stay?
”
Merit asks.

We all know the answer. We can
’
t stay. Not even if it means increasing the suppression of everyone else in Chelon. We have to leave.

“
If we all aren
’
t going, then none of us go,
”
says Wex.

Doe is silent for a few minutes, then says quietly,
“
Alright, we all go. But we do what we can to make it clear to The Mothers that no one else knew anything about it. If anyone uncovers the plan, we take them with us whether they want to go or not. I won
’
t leave anyone to the five in black. I won
’
t.
”
Her eyes flash at Merit with a hard determination I have never seen in them before.

Before any of us can answer her, the bell tone for the common room door sounds and three Mothers bustle in. Apologizing for interrupting our free time, they begin fussing around the room. Straightening the mess from studying on the table and cleaning up the grass tracked in from the field game. It makes me uneasy, as The Mothers generally wait to execute the nightly clean up until after power down. They move into our rooms, smoothing and cleaning and even turning down the beds.

“
Oh!
”
gasps one from my bathroom.
“
Oh! What have you been doing!
”
I leap to my feet, remembering I
’
ve left my suit to soak in the sink, fearing the dye has bled out or I used too much soap and suds have covered the floor.

When I see The Mother holding up my soggy suit between two fingers, I have to chew the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling at her dismay. She truly looks disgusted.

“
I was doing a little laundry,
”
I say with a shrug.

The other two Mothers are now at the bathroom door behind me. They raise such a noise over the scene, pushing past me to join their fellow at the sink, simpering over the mess.

“
Oh, and it
’
s black, too, such a nice piece of fabric!
” “
And she
’
s ruined it! Such a shame!
”

“
Perhaps we can take it to the laundry and wash it properly. Maybe steam?
”

I start to feel the pressure on my chest. I want to snatch the suit out of their hands and yell at them to get out of my room. Just seeing them in possession of something that belongs to the hall, something that has nothing to do with them, something that was wholly free from association with them makes my blood run hot. I walk toward them slowly, forcing myself to stay in control. I firmly, but gently, take hold of the suit and remove it from their hands.