Experiment Number One

The aircraft dropped me off in a field similar to where I last saw my mother. The grass was long and swayed with the midday breeze. Across the way sat a black SUV with a woman leaning against it. Her rich skin, coarse dark hair, and black pantsuit leaned up against car. To me, she looked like someone from the government. My first intuition was that they caught up to me and would just take me away again. But it made no sense for Lieutenant Wallace to organize that as the drop-off. I knew he was a calculated man and I had to trust him. I approached the lady.

She didn’t smile upon seeing me, but she didn’t frown. Her face was frozen as she looked me up and down. Then she glanced behind me. Maybe I wasn’t who she expected me to be. Perhaps she was waiting for someone else.

“I’m Director Raimond.” If honey could accompany a sound, it would be her voice. “Lieutenant Wallace told me much about you, Emerye.” She stuck a hand out to me, and I shook it out of solace for Lieutenant Wallace. I knew he wouldn’t have sent me to somewhere dangerous. I trusted him enough for that. I would go with it if Lieutenant Wallace trusted Director Raimond enough to bring me home.

Before we left the field, I realized she kept looking over my shoulder because she was expecting Lieutenant Wallace to march right over. But he wasn’t there, so she lead me to the passenger seat of the car. I said nothing upon meeting her or even throughout the ride. She didn’t poke or pry. She understood.

We started off by driving back roads. They turned into towns, which turned into cities. I didn’t recognize any landmarks; but I knew we weren’t back in Lusha. I was too exhausted to find out where we were and I don’t think I cared too much. I didn’t know anything about my location for the past few months prior to that moment. Where I pinpointed on the map didn’t matter as long as the roads led back home.

Director Raimond stopped in an old diner off a freeway when night fell. She gave me a duffle bag and instructed me to wash up in the bathroom as she got us some dinner. I did what she said. In the bag was a new pair of clothes, a wash rag, soap, a toothbrush and paste. I made sure to scrub deep into the crevices of my skin and wipe down the wound on my shoulder. It glowed an angry red and made my arm as a whole hurt like hell when I tried to move it but I knew it was the price to pay for freedom. I made a mental note to ask Director Raimond for adequate medical treatment.

When I finished up, I met Director Raimond at the diner’s door where she sat with our dinner in hand. She told me we’d eat in the car to save time. I just nodded, and we went on our way.

After another hour in the car, the skyscrapers began to level into houses. We were no longer on highways but on traffic-controlled streets. I watch the road signs pass by, trying to determine where we might be. Nothing gave a clue.

Not long before entering the town, Director Raimond pulled into a random driveway. It was identical to the nuclear family homes you see in old films. It wasn’t large, but you could tell they spent a good chunk of money on it. I looked at Director Raimond with questioning eyes.

I never went over in my head where I would stay after I broke out of the compound. I knew I couldn’t go home because that would be the first place the government would search. I didn’t have any friends or family to run to. The best possible place I could come up with myself would be the streets. But with Lieutenant Wallace, I knew he wouldn’t let that happen. Most likely because if I were on the streets, it would make the government find me that much easier. But as I looked at the house before me, there was no way that was supposed to be where I’d be safe.

“They’re inside,” was all Director Raimond said. I instantly knew who she was talking about. I looked at the front window, watching shadowy figures dance along the pane behind the concealing curtains. After all that time and everything I’ve been through, my siblings were finally in reach. I looked back at Director Raimond, who cocked her head to the side, signaling for me to go to my siblings. I smiled and exited the car.

I ran to the door, excitement bursting throughout me. I couldn’t believe it was really happening. Every movement I made felt like a dream.

I stopped before I had the chance to touch the evergreen painted wood. I stood there with my fist raised, ready to knock. I swallowed the dry lump in my throat and took a deep breath as I inched my fist towards the door.

There was a scream.

My senses jumped before I could as a ball of lightning sparked in my right hand. I knew it came from Mariana. I thought… I thought they were in there hurting my siblings.

I was getting ready to force my way through the front door when I heard a cry.

No, not a cry. A laugh.

I heard footsteps puttering behind the door and a familiar voice calling out, “I’m going to catch you!” It was Amilio.

In a daze, I walked over to the bushes that lined the front of the house. I pushed myself through them and peeked through the sliver that the curtains failed to cover. At first, the room was empty. Then they came running by, which caused me to jump back in surprise.

Amilio and Mariana ran circles around the room, playing a game of cat and mouse. An older man, maybe in his forties, came in with a bowl of popcorn in one hand and a platter of drinks in another. In the midst of their playing, Mariana bumped into a man, causing the items in his hands to splatter to the ground. The kids immediately stop in their tracks.

Mariana looked down at the mess, and I knew immediately she would start crying. Her body began to shrink inwards, and she took several steps back from the man. Her eyes stared up at him and within a second, she tried to ran away. The man stopped her from getting far by grasping onto her arm and pulling her back to the mess.

“I’m sorry,” Mariana’s voice wobbled out. She turned her head, waiting for the blow. And when the man knelt down on his knees, getting his khaki pants full of red juice, I was half expecting him to slap her across the face too. I inched closer to the window, ready to shatter the glass and jump my siblings’ safety at a moment’s notice. Amilio stepped closer to Mariana, taking her arm to pull her away from the man. In return, the man put Amilio’s arm back to his side and took Mariana by the shoulders.

I was pressed against the glass, ready with my bolts.

The man raised his palms. Mariana flinched away. He continued to move his hands towards her face. And he creased it. He cupped her cheek smoothly and wiped away the tears. No, this can’t be right. But it was. He was soothing her cries.

“We all make mistakes,” the man said with a small smile. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore. You don’t have to hide. Not with us.” He reached over to Amilio and held his cheek just like Mariana’s. Amilio leaned into the touch. They calmed down.

A woman entered the room with a pile of blankets in hand. “I think we could build a blanket fort for our movie night. That would be fun, right?” She stepped on the popcorn kernels and moved the blankets from her line of sight to see what it was. She looked upon the mess on the floor with wide eyes, “And what happened here?”

“Just an accident,” the man rose to his feet and took the blankets from the woman and placed them on the couch. He gave her a knowing glance, and she responded with a nod. “Alright, let’s get this cleaned up so we can build our fort!”

She ran to another room in the house and returned with various cleaning supplies. She handed Amilio a bottle of cleaning solution and paper towel to Mariana. The man took the broom from her, and she knelt down beside the fallen popcorn with the dustpan ready. Together, the four of them cleaned up the mess. They smiled and laughed and accomplished it together as a family.

A heavy feeling in my chest put pressure on my heart. My siblings were right there; surely I could just reach in and snatch them, and we could be together again. We could run away and start over somewhere else, just the three of us. But as I watched them through the window in a space where they were finally safe, I knew I couldn’t strip them of that. My purpose from the moment my mother placed Mariana into my arms the night she was born was to protect my siblings and letting them live there with that family; it fulfilled that cause.

When I got back to the car, tears were streaming down my face and I was gasping for air. Director Raimond took one look at me and started the engine. She understood, and she drove away. I watched as the house dissolved in the side mirror, knowing that was probably the last time I would ever see my siblings.

“Lieutenant Wallace placed them with the Greene’s. He went through millions of catalogs of our Protection Families to find the perfect one for your siblings.”

I stared out the window, tracing the stars in the sky. I tried to cure my aching heart by telling myself it was for the best. But the tears didn’t want to stop.

“The Greene’s will take good care of your siblings,” Director Raimond continued. “Now, let’s focus on your safety.”