Exile of Innocence

News of the hanged boy traveled fast among the crowd waiting outside of the grand auditorium. Inside, children were wrapped up in thought and preparation for the evening’s ceremony; unaware of the loss of one of their peers.

Backstage, ties were straightened, blouses smoothed, and fingernails bitten. “Since birth, you have been equally matched,” Wilena Reed, counselor and ceremony organizer, said. “The Eden Corporation has perfected this system many years ago, and it has successfully provided our colony with generations of perfectly matched life partners. Today is YOUR day. The day you find out who you have been matched with.”

Jennifer Watts played with a tiny piece of paper in her sweater pocket. She had written Brian Oldham’s name on it weeks before the ceremony, and made a habit of slipping the piece of paper under her pillow at night when she slept. Brian was oblivious to her as he was any other girl waiting patiently backstage. He looked green, and unlike most of the boys, he had lost his cool in a trash bin outside the auditorium while they waited. This did not phase Jennifer’s desire to be his match.

“Jenn, can you believe it?” Emily whispered, “It’s finally our turn.” Jennifer just smiled and wove the piece of paper in her pocket between her delicate fingers.

“I hope I get a good one,” Rachel said as she eyed the boys in their suits, “Where’s Jared?”

“Probably out back getting sick like Brian,” Emily laughed and Jennifer shot her a nasty look. “What?”

“May I have your attention?” Counselor Reed asked. “We have learned from past experiences, that it is better you learn who your match is BEFORE you get on stage. When I call your names, please line up together against the wall: Stephen Anders and Emily Briggs…”

Rachel laughed and elbowed Emily in her side before she hurried off to take her place next to her future spouse. Jennifer stared at her feet and pressed “Brian Oldham” flat against the palm of her hand.

“Excuse me, Counselor Reed, may I have a word?”

“Absolutely, Doctor. Children, will you please excuse me?” Counselor Reed said as she followed the short, balding man out of the waiting area.

“Emily and Stephen… that cracks me up,” Rachel waved at Emily standing silently next to Stephen, “What about you Jenn, who do you think you’ll be matched with?”

“I dunno…”

“I think you and Andrew Davies would make a cute couple.” Jennifer rolled her eyes and stopped listening as Rachel continued to talk to herself about her ideal matches.

Moments later Counselor Reed returned and reviewed her clipboard. “Jennifer Watts,” she said, “May I have a word, dear?” Jennifer nodded and followed the counselor out into the hall where the doctor was waiting.

“Jennifer, this is Dr. Markum, he needs you to go with him…”

“But the ceremony?”

“I am sorry, but you will not be attending today’s ceremony,” said Dr. Markum, “please accompany me back to my office and I shall explain.”

Jennifer’s heart sank as she followed the doctor down the hall. She would not be attending today’s ceremony; Brian would be matched with someone else. Tears began to well up in her eyes, as she began to place him with each of her classmates. “Please not Rachel,” she muttered under her breath.

“What was that?”

“I’m sorry… how much further?”

“This is it, on your left here. Please have a seat.”

The walk had winded Dr. Markum, so after resting heavily in his chair, he took a moment to gather his breath. “Miss Watts, you were to be matched with Jared Dalton today. Yesterday morning he was found dead in his living quarters.”

“Oh,” Jennifer breathed. She wasn’t sure what to say. She had classes with Jared, knew him fairly well, but never once thought she would be paired with him. Brian was the only boy in her thoughts, and to her the most suitable life mate.

“Eden has requested your services to be effective immediately…”

“Excuse me?”

“You have been selected for a special job.”

“Job? I don’t understand... “

“Miss Watts, since your intended match is no longer alive…”

“Can’t you match me with someone else?”

“Your match has been planned since your birth, no exceptions. You are property of the Eden Corporation and your service is requested. It is your responsibility to the colony… your civic duty.” Dr. Markum stood up from his chair and pushed his meaty hands into his jacket pockets.

Jennifer closed her eyes and gripped the arms of the chair. After a couple of deep breaths she opened her eyes and said, “When? When do I start?”

“Now,” Dr. Markum said as he pushed the syringe into the side of Jennifer’s neck. She barely raised a hand up to her chest before she slumped forward and was out.

…

Jennifer opened her eyes to the twinkling of distant lights. Millions of them, tiny and sparkling, further away than anything she had ever imagined. Quickly she sat up and glanced all around her. There were no corridors, no hallways, no living quarters, no… people.

Panic rose in her chest. The desire to run was overpowering, but Jennifer did not stand. Tears began to flow down her face as she lay back down on the dusty ground. Slowly, Jennifer slipped her hand into her sweater pocket, pulled out the fragment of paper, and released it into the night. Through watery eyes, Jennifer watched as “Brian Oldham” vanished into the darkness.

Pippa Thinks I'm Kreativ, Sweet!

Thank you, thank you!

That sweetheart, sometimes referred to as The Old Bat, sometimes @battypip (Twiter), or sometimes just Pippa Hennessy, was kind enough to send me a Kreativ Blogger Award.

Thank you for reading, commenting, and just being awesome.

So...

I suppose this means I have to pass this on to seven other blogs AND list seven favorites. I am not sure I can list seven blogs, as Pippa and Laura Eno have swiped several of my favorites already (and those seem to be #FridayFlash bloggers too... I love the #FridayFlash!), but I will try. (not in any order)

1. TheDarkEagle.com - Chris Chartrand @chrischartrand, an extraordinary #FridayFlash blogger and excellent RT'er

2. Fabulous F**king Fiction - Dana @ywdana another #FridayFlash blogger

3. jentropy - Jen @jentropy, beautifully written... intricately woven GOOD stuff and another #FridayFlash blogger

***notice a trend here***

4. Eric's Personal Diary - Eric Marier probably the funniest freaking blog ever. Sadly, he has been rather busy, so there hasn't been a new post in a while BUT I STRONGLY suggest going back through his archive. It's totally worth it.

5. Kemari Blue - Kemari @Kemari, while quite the gypsy, when she posts (whether it here or someplace else) it's always wonderfully written.

6. Yummy Lolly - This is not a writing blog but it is a creative one. I love her templates for blogger here(they are free - donations accepted) and on her other site http://www.acornglue.com (inexpensive templates -- I got the template for InspirationUnderground on AcornGlue)

7. Whole in My Head - Morgan is a good friend and a beautiful poet. It's been a while since she's posted here, but when she posts again, I am sure it will be worth the wait.

WOW! I was able to come up with 7 - I better post before someone steals them. As for Favorites - Pippa wrote it can be anything, so I am going totally random and just listing some of my favorite things.

Favorite things:

1. The rain

2. Strawberry Pez

3. Halloween (Candy)

4. Birthdays (except my own)

5. Brand new socks, fresh out of the package

6. Blue ink pens

7. Getting mail (snail mail)

Forgive me for not going into great detail about those favorites. I think they can probably speak for themselves.

Thank you so much, Pippa, for the award. It was very sweet. I am incredibly lucky to have friends like you.

Gotta run; tomorrow's Friday and I've got some fiction to finish up ;-)

~2

Remnants of War

Scattered rays of light reflected off the corpses of machinery. The twinkling metal lit a path from the depths of the destruction away from the setting sun. While the smoke gave the illusion of cloud cover, the desert was as relentless as ever.

Lucas Warrington emerged from the smoky darkness; his head held high and his pace steady. He pushed on, a true soldier, leaving the graveyard behind him.

A tall stranger fell in step with Lucas and asked, “May I walk with you?”

“Absolutely.”

“What was that back there?”

“That… was a truce”

“A truce? Does that mean the war is over?”

“For now.”

“Do you think there are survivors?”

“Sure, I do. There were millions of people living on Earth. I have a few theories.”

“Theories?”

“I mean, the scientists, they are the smartest, right? They are practically modern-day fortunetellers; they had to know this was coming. I see them planning… carefully planning this for years; maybe in caves or underground somewhere.

“Then there are those political types... probably hidden in some old nuclear fallout shelters from the 1960s… feasting on spam and pork-n-beans, reading charts on when it will be safe to surface again.” Lucas glanced at the stranger out of the corner of his eye, trying to see if he was still following.

“I can even see people being totally oblivious to what is going on… on some island; some native just fishing off the coast like he always does… clueless.” Lucas smiled at that thought.

“You’re just being optimistic…”

“Well,” Lucas said, “there weren’t too many large scale nuclear drop sites.”

“Still there’s radiation in the atmosphere…”

“There’s always been radiation in the atmosphere.”

“You’ve got blisters all over your face and arms”

“I’ve been walking in the desert for THREE fucking days!”

Several moments of weary footsteps passed before the tall man spoke, “So this truce?”

“We were the last pilots left on our sides. We decided we should stop fighting before we destroy everything… ”

“So what happened?”

“He went one way, and I went the other.”

“Why not stay together, if you’re the last?”

“I have been training to fight this guy since I was eleven. His family killed my family… his friends killed my friends. He better hope I never see him again,” Lucas said through gritted teeth.

“So where are you headed now?”

They stopped and Lucas surveyed the land ahead; he breathed in a deep breath and answered “Not sure. I guess I will just keep walking until I find survivors.”

“If there ARE any survivors” The tall man reached his dark hand toward a tree and melted into its shadow. “Good luck with that,” he whispered as he vanished.

“Thanks… ”

The first few stars began to twinkle on the horizon, but Lucas walked on.

Expecting

“Emily, we need to go,” Walt said as he paced from the living room to the bathroom door.

“I know!” she shouted between sobs.

“It will be fine, you look fine… let’s just go.”

“Give me a second…”

“We’re going to be late”

“I change my mind… I don’t want a baby,” Emily sniffled.

Walt suppressed a laugh. “It’s a little too late for that.”

“Walt…” Emily whispered through the door “Walt, I am so scared. I don’t know how to be a mom. ”

Walt eased the door open, “You’re being ridiculous. You’ve read all those books…”

“Books? I don’t think a book is going to help me here. What if…” Emily looked away.

“What?” Walt asked.

“What if I don’t love her?” Emily’s lip began to quiver and tears began to trickle down her swollen face.

“Oh, Em.” Walt embraced her. ”How can you say that? She’s going to be the littlest, tiniest thing. How can you not love all those little toes? You’ll be a brilliant mom, stop worrying.” He kissed the tears on her cheeks and breathed reassurance into her mouth as he brushed her soft lips.

“Let’s just go,” Emily said. Walt grabbed her hand, her bag, and led the way out the door of their living quarters.

Slowly, they made their way to the elevator. The trip up twenty-three floors lasted an eternity, and Emily buried her head into Walt’s shoulder. Trying to be patient, he just rubbed small circles on her back and shoulders.

The corridors were long, and they stopped several times to rest, while Emily continued to try to pull it together.

They were a few minutes late when Walt pushed open the heavy wooden doors. The woman at reception was all smiles as she pointed the two through the waiting room and down the hall to the right.

“Please have a seat,” The voice played into the room. Once they were comfortably settled into plush armchairs, the voice continued “Congratulations, new parents! The Eden Corporation is happy to welcome your new bundle of joy into the world. Relax and enjoy the soothing music while you wait; your doctor will be in momentarily.”

They sat quietly and waited a few short minutes before Dr. Williams bounced in with chart in hand. “Mr. and Mrs. Salk, Congratulations… Congratulations! Today is the big day.” He glanced at his clipboard and continued, ”You pre-registered in the office weeks ago, so there is no need for additional paperwork. We are about ready to take you down; we are just waiting for the nurse’s OK.”

The doctor looked the couple over, “Nervous?” he asked. “Of course you are. You wouldn’t be human if you weren’t. I assure you everything is going to be fine. Now do you have any questions for me?”

The couple shared a look, and Emily shook her head no.

“Very well; very well! Oh, that is Nurse Melrose now. Ready to do this thing?” He smiled.

Emily stood up a bit wobbly even with Walt by her side. “Yes” they said in unison.

“Let’s go, shall we,” and he led the way out of the room and down the corridor. “You two look a bit old for new parents, what are you Walt, nineteen?”

“Eighteen actually,” Walt said.

“Any reason for the wait?”

“We weren’t sure we wanted children…”

Doctor Williams stopped abruptly and turned to Walt, “No children? No children?” he stumbled.

“We thought it cruel to raise a child in today’s society,” Walt said.

“My boy, it is your civic duty to raise a child!” Dr. Williams fumed.

“Doctor Williams,” Emily interrupted softly, “we are… doing… it.” His anger fizzled and he turned and proceeded down the hall, “right, right,” he whispered.

Walt squeezed Emily’s hand as they rounded the corner and entered another room. A nurse was waiting for the couple’s arrival and smiled as she gestured toward a pink basinet to her left.

Walt pinched Emily; she wasn’t breathing. She gasped, elbowed her husband, and stared at the pink basinet. The tears she had attempted to hold back began to stream down her face once more.

“Before you view the child, I am going to ask that both of you use this.” Doctor Williams pushed a small bottle into Walt’s hand, “It’s EU46; it’s specially formulated to aid in parental bonding. Just two squirts under the tongue before the first handling and before feedings, and you can eliminate those new parent jitters.”

Emily breathed out a sign of relief, and all the tension drained from her body. Walt turned to Emily with bottle in hand; he sprayed two quick squirts under her tongue, and he nudged her toward the nurse.

Emily looked down into the small basinet at the tiny girl wrapped in soft fabrics. Her little eyelashes fluttered as she slept. She softly ran her fingers across the baby’s brow, down her nose, and over her pink cheeks. Walt had moved in beside Emily as she leaned in to kiss the child on the crown; she lingered for a moment to breathe her in feeling her tiny pulse against her lips.

Walt rolled tiny toes between his fingers and tickled the bottoms of little feet as he watched his wife stare dreamily at the newborn.

“Well,” Dr. Williams said, “What are you waiting for? Go ahead and take her; she’s yours.”

Emily slowly reached down, gracefully lifted the child into her arms, and smiled at her husband. “Mine,“ she mouthed.

“Ours,” Walt corrected.