Fermentation

T oday marks the ten-year anniversary of when General Loch Snow and his totalitarian regime took over M-city. I was thirteen at the time and lived in a normal neighbourhood where kids played in the streets. My mom was an accountant and my dad was a doctor. We were an ordinary family until a motorcade paraded through our town with a fleet of large vans. They rounded up everyone and separated the adults and children. My friends Dexter, Winnie, Vinyl, my dog Hoax, and I secretly rode our bikes to the next city over to play in the creek. We all heard the sirens and bombs go off. A grayish brown smoke filled the air and neighboring towns had to evacuate. We fled to take cover in our secret hideout.

M-city was once a highly bustling industrialized city. It is now dilapidated and barely inhabitable. The specialized gas bomb exterminated the remaining of the adults that were not captured. The gas created a low oxygen environment. The government distributed gas masks to the strongest of the children. The weak ones were left to breathe the toxic air. Over time, some of weak children died and some began to face hypoxemia, foam at the mouth, and mutated into something unexplainable. We call them ferments. They never grew and had harmless supernatural abilities. Some can camouflage into the environment, some had increase speed, and all had tiny gill-liked cuts above their nose or extra nostrils used for storing oxygen. They are not seen often and usually hide in clusters within the city walls. The kids were brainwashed at a young age into serving General Snow and his regime. Now as young adults, they worked in the factories creating weapons and ammunitions.

Two days ago, Winnie fell off the dive and hit the rocks in the creek. She broke her leg and her bone is protruding out the side. It is infected and our natural remedies are not working. She is nodding in and out of consciousness. We have no choice but to penetrate the gas barrier to enter M-city to find some antibiotics…preferably penicillin. Penicillin is rare to find and it has a high cost. I think I know where to get it. The only item I have of value to trade with is a gold locket that my parents gave me on my thirteenth birthday. It is heart-shaped and has a family picture on one side and a picture of Hoax as a puppy on the other. It is always risky when you enter M-city. You never know how the inhabitants will react. You must wear a gas mask and distain from ever saying anything profane about General Snow or you would be met with death.

The crew and I got up at dawn to make the two-hour journey into the city. We grabbed our masks, food, water, small concealed weapons and I hid my locket in my shoe. When we arrived at the entrance, which was a stack of crushed sedans, algae, bamboo, and caked mud, we encountered the Gate Keeper. The Keeper was a tall slender woman with thick brunette hair. She called to me, “JoJo. Whatcha got for me?” It’s funny that she said, “for me,” because she had a crew of twelve men. You could not see them, but they are hiding among the rubble they call a gate. The keeper looked at me and said, “What’s your business here? What are you offering?” Dexter, as brave as he is, approached the Keeper and said we were looking for medical supplies. I try to cough over Dexter’s response, but she heard him. I knew she would double the price.

“It must be an emergency. Is someone from your camp sick. Let me see or don’t see. I don’t see Winnie. Is Winnie Pooh in trouble?”

“No. We are just low on inventory.” One of her croonies whispered to her. “It seems that Vinyl was here weeks ago to get supplies. So, try again.”

“Winnie needs medical attention. She has an infection and we are looking for penicillin.”

“PENICILLIN! You must be going to see him. In that case the fee is doubled.”

“I brought some food we recently harvested. I know nothing can grow in this suffocating environment. Apples, pears, walnuts, and nectarines.”

“I’ll take that and more.” Her eyes widened insatiably.

“Take it. This is all that we have to give.”

“I don’t believe that. Jooney, pat them down. You should be happy that we are letting you keep your masks. You wouldn’t last twenty minutes behind these walls without it.”

Jooney took the harvest and proceeded to frisk us. He took our lunch, dinner, and water. I was praying that he did not search my shoes. Without this locket, this entire journey would be in vain. They allowed us to enter M-city. I turned around and asked how do we find him. She replied “Follow the red clay dirt path. He will find you.”

We set off through the city to the ruined woods. I remember the red clay path from my childhood. We arrived at the beginning of the path. Hoax started to bark at a tree. I grabbed him by the collar. I saw the bark of the tree flinch. I reached out to touched it and it grabbed my arm. I screamed for Vinyl and Dexter. They pulled me, trying to release me from the tree. As they pulled, the tree was separating from itself. Out from the tree was a child like figure. It shimmered and came into skin form.

“He is a ferment!” said Vinyl. “I never seen one up close before.”

“Yep, I’m a ferment. A twenty year old man in a body of a ten year old boy. Gotta love the hand that life dealt me. What brings you to the woods? People don’t travel through here unless they are a soldier. General Snow’s Command is deep within here. They call me Wind. I can run like the wind, I can blend into it, and I can break wind like no other.” Wind laughed and disappeared and reappeared behind Hoax.

“I’m Dexter. This is Vinyl, JoJo, and that furry creature there is Hoax. We are looking for him. We would give you something. Unfortunately, the Keeper took our harvest.”

“I want the dog!”

“You can’t have my dog! You’re insecure because you look ten. I will make you look seven if you touch my dog.”

“No worries. I’ll take you to him. No charge. Follow me.”

We walked about an hour into the woods until we came upon a graphite cave. We literally took five steps into the cave when Wind told us to hold on. He pulled on one of the hundreds of vines that lined the cave. The ground opened and swallowed us whole. We landed on some fluffy cotton candy type of fabric. Wind pointed ahead and said that if we followed the drips of water, it would lead us to him. “You don’t need your mask underground. The gas never affected below soil level.”

We took our mask off and took a deep breath of fresh air. I opened my mouth wide to collect the drips of water while we followed its path. After walking a mile, we came across a fork in a road. Both paths were dry. “JoJo, which way do we go?” Dexter said with a sigh of exhaustion. “Look…follow the red clay path.” Vinyl pointed to the right entrance.

While holding our lanterns, we treaded lightly into the cave. Vinyl clumsily tripped over a rock. We heard “OUCH!” The rock trembled and took form of a little girl. She had red hair, four nostrils, and looked around five years old. “Nobody goes beyond this point. If you are coming to see him, state your business and I will relay the message.” She blocked the path. Vinyl try to pass her and she let out an electrical current that knocked Vinyl to his knees. “As I said before, no one is allowed pass this point!” I bent down on my knees to talk to her. “My name is JoJo. What’s your name?”

“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child. My body didn’t develop pass the age of six, but I’m all woman!” Dexter and Vinyl giggled. I hushed them because I didn’t want to offend her. “My name is Marilyn.”

“Marilyn, we are looking for him. My friend is sick and she needs some antibiotics. I heard that him might have some or can make it. Do you know if he can do that?”

“I will let him know why you are here. He will ask for something in exchange. What is your payment?”

“I have a golden locket. It means so much to me. My parents gave this to me when I was a little girl. They used to say love brought us together and love will keep us together.” I began to weep uncontrollably. “I see that it means a lot to you. Things will move quicker if I get the payment up front. I will have to make only one trip instead of two. I will take care of your locket.” I could not part with it. Dexter took off my shoe and handed the locket to her. “What do we do in the meantime? How long will it take?” Marilyn pulled a vine and a wall opened. “Wait in there. There is food, water, and beds. It will take a few hours. Just rest.”

I was awakened by a familiar hand. When my vision came to, I saw my father sitting on the bed beside me. I quickly fumbled out of bed. “I must be dreaming or hallucinating. I knew I shouldn’t ate those mushrooms”

“JoAnn, it’s me. You are not dreaming. Marilyn gave me this locket and immediately I knew.”

“Dad, DAD, DADDY!” I forgot my age and weight and ran into his arm. He kissed my cheek and rubbed my hair. “I have been underground this whole time trying to find a cure for the children, hoping to one day find you.” His voice gurgled with cracked emotions. “Where’s Mom?”

“Sweetie…she…she didn’t…” I knew.

Vinyl and Dexter woke up. “Mr. Johnson…OH MY GOD! Is that really you?”

“Dexter and Vinyl.” They hugged and shook hands. “Thanks for taking care of my JoAnn.” My dad looked to me and said, “I’m assuming the medicine is for Winnie. I have the penicillin. I know time is short and I arranged transportation for you guys to get back. Where do you live, sweet pea?”

“Sioux City. I don’t want to go without you!”

“You have to. Winnie is counting on you guys. I am a dead man if I go up there. It’s not worth the risk. The children are depending on me. I feel like I am on a merge of a breakthrough of reversing the fermentation process. Follow me, I will take you as far as I can.”

“Can I see you again?”

“Yes, you will. I must move around frequently. General Snow is aware of what I am doing. Go!” He kissed me on the forehead. “Love brought us together and love will keep us together. I will get in contact with you.” Marilyn showed us the way out and a vehicle was waiting for us with a nine year old driving. We arrived at camp just in time to give Winnie the penicillin.

I did not sleep the entire night. Vinyl woke up and asked me, “JoJo, why are you not sleeping? You are so lucky to see your dad. Winnie, Dexter and I don’t even know if our parents are alive.”

“What would you do if your parents were alive somewhere in M-City? What would you do? I know what I would do. I know what I’m going to do. I have a plan.”