One Season

I only read about a time when something called seasons existed. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. That's what they called them. Now, it was always just Winter. It was always just cold. The type of cold that gets into your bones. This cold, we were used to. The ground always hard. and covered with snow. The sky, infinitely gray. Smoke from fires to keep warm filled our noses. Our bodies weighed down with layers and layers of cloth to protect us out in The Elements.

The chattering teeth, the uncontrollable shivers, it was how we knew we were alive. I couldn't remember being truly warm, but I know I must have been at some point. I knew the difference between what I felt now and what I once felt when my parents were alive. Maggie, my little sister, was lying next to me, curled up in a ball, clinging to her favorite teddy bear. She called it Louie. We had found it in a garbage can one day, when we were digging for dinner outside The Wilkes Estate.

I remembered that day well. It was an easy day. The Wilkes Estate was the largest in all four quadrants. They always had the largest amount of garbage. We did well there.

The Estates made up whole sections of land under large constructed, climate-controlled bubbles, keeping the occupants safe from The Elements we endured every day. Enormous, hulking, honeycomb structures sat like large bugs, guarding what we called home. A monorail system connected The Estates, creating a perimeter around us.

Those who were lucky enough to live inside, we called Staties. The rest of us, the unlucky ones living out in The Elements, we called ourselves The Community. We spent most of our lives hating them and their luxuries while depending on their wastefulness to survive.

We were an overall peaceful society of people, living just to stay alive. There was some order established before I was born. People once took charge and tried to organize life out in The Elements, but it had since broken down to the simplest instinct of survival.

I looked around our campsite. The glow of our fire cast moving shadows on the concrete walls that surrounded us. I was able to take a couple of layers off, as long as I sat dangerously close to the fire. The heat warmed my cheeks. I could feel them flush.

Glancing from the orange flames, I looked at Maggie. She looked peaceful. Three heavy, tattered, wool blankets covering her. I didn't want to wake her, but I knew I would need to soon. It would be time to get dinner. I got up to stretch and get ready for my food run.

I peeked outside to see old broken-down buildings and rubble, no signs of life. It was hard to believe this was once a thriving metropolis. I knew only what I was told and the pictures I found from the past. History called it “the city that never sleeps”. Now, it was basically dead.

“Annie? I'm hungry.” Maggie looked up at me, rubbing the sleep out of her big brown eyes. She was ten years old. Our parents died when she was a baby, and I was only eight. I still remember the moment I was told. The oldest Pride member, I don't remember his name, we referred to him as one of The Elders. All the oldest Pride leaders were called that, out of respect, I guess. He brought me into his quarters. At the time, I couldn't imagine why. Then my whole life changed in four words, “Your parents are dead.”

He said it without pause, without much feeling at all. Then escorted me back out to the main area where the rest of our Pride stared at me. Their eyes full of what I understood now was pity. They felt bad for us, a toddler and an eight-year-old, left without their parents. What would happen to us? I think my mind was too young to truly understand the horror of our situation, or to fully grasp what happened to them.

They had been shot by Statie Guards for trying to break into the Faulkner Estate, the only estate with a proper hospital, to get to a pharmacy. They needed medicine for Maggie. I remembered her being sick. I remembered how upset my parents were. But my memory of them faded every day. It was mostly just feelings now.

Most people ran in packs made up of three or more families. We called them Prides. There were thirty or so Prides in The Community. After mom and dad died, we stayed with ours for a while, but with our parents gone, we were always an afterthought when it came to food or water, or a place to sleep.

There was a nice man there we called Uncle Joe. We weren't his family, but he treated us like we were. He was gigantic to me. Broad shoulders deep-set almost black eyes with a hint of sparkle when he smiled. His hands were rough, knuckles damaged and raw. He kept his hair short, but his beard long. His voice was deep and gravelly, and his laugh, the rare times we heard it, hearty and full.

We adored Uncle Joe. He taught me how to read, how to fight, how to scavenge for food. I spent hours learning from him, every moment I could. He took me exploring every day. We walked miles through the ruins. Our favorite spot was The Great Library. He told me it was once called The New York Public Library. We dug through hundreds of piles of books. Dirt covered, tattered, torn, water damaged, and crumbling. Still, we would spend days reading and learning.

He gave me a locket once. A small heart-shaped locket. I didn’t know why at the time, and he didn’t tell me. He put it around my neck and told me to keep it safe and only open it when the time was right. I had no idea what that could mean. He made me promise and I swore I wouldn’t open it. I asked him how I would know it was the right time and he just said I would know.

And then one day he was gone.

Not long after we realized he wasn’t coming back. Maggie noticed me playing with my locket and asked, “are you going to open it?”

Her eyes wide with anticipation.

“I can’t, I made a promise.”

“He’s gone. Maybe this is the time you’re supposed to open it.”

I thought about that for a moment. Is that what he meant? To wait until he was gone and then open it.

“I don’t know, Mags.”

I stared at it; it was too small to hold anything useful. The color had worn away. It was old and tarnished. I wasn’t even sure it would open anymore. I rubbed it between my thumb and forefinger. It was smooth. The latch seemed to almost glow in the light from our fire.

“Okay, I’ll open it,” I announced.

I pulled the tiny clasp holding the two sides to the locket closed. It moved easily. Slowly I tried to pry the two halves apart. Nothing happened at first then it popped open. A small piece of folded paper fell out of it into my hand.

I unfolded the tiny paper. It was small but not fragile. It unfolded to much larger than I expected.

“What does it say?” Maggie asked excitedly.

I read it aloud, “You are one of the seven Chosen Ones. You hold the key to saving the world. Go to The Tyson Estate and find Dr. Madeline Kelly. We are all depending on you.”

Maggie’s eyes went wide, “what does that mean?”

“I have no idea. But I’m gonna find out.”

* * * * *

The next morning. Maggie and I headed straight for the Tyson Estate. We moved swiftly with purpose. I had planned to case the entry points to see where we could get in. Much to our surprise, they were waiting for us when we got there.

A door opened as we reached it, and a very large black man stood outside, with a distinct “don't even think of trying anything” look on his face. His name tag read “Tiny”, and I chuckled. Maggie saw it too and joined in my chuckle. We both saw how unamused he was, and our eyes went to the floor, as we followed him down the hall.

We passed endless unmarked doors. The hallways looked like they were made of stainless steel. The walls, the ceiling, and floors all reflected haunting images of ourselves back to us. Our shoes squeaked along as we made turn after turn down blank hallways. I tried to pay attention as best I could, but it seemed impossible. It was as if he was purposely taking us in circles to confuse us.

Maggie held my hand as we walked. We were ushered into an office where a woman sat behind a metal desk. She stood up to greet us.

“Hello, Anne. Hi, Margaret. My name is Dr. Kelly.”

We stood completely still.

She dismissed Tiny and brought her attention back to the two of us.

“Can you please both close your eyes, and describe the room to me?”

“What? Why?” I questioned.

“Please, indulge me. Close your eyes and describe the room.”

We both did, and I squeezed Maggie's hand to signal her to go first. She understood and spoke first.

“There are no windows and only one door. There is a metal desk that you are sitting at, in a clear rolling chair. A metal, two-drawer cabinet sits in the corner behind you. There are cameras in the right corner behind us, and the left corner behind you. The floors and walls are made of stainless steel. A speaker of some sort is in the ceiling, next to the bright white dome light above our heads. We are standing approximately four feet, no wait, now five feet away from you, and you are wearing a white coat that covers your whole outfit, which suggests you're wearing a skirt. Your hair is red, and up in a tight bun. Your glasses are framed black, and your lips are artificially colored mauve. You have silver metal earrings on. Annie and I are holding hands with our eyes closed. Anything to add Annie?”

“Only that Dr. Kelly smells of lavender, drinks coffee flavored with roasted nuts out of the cup that's hidden in the two-drawer cabinet behind her, and she had sausage and eggs for breakfast.”

With our eyes still closed, unplanned but extremely effectively we said in unison, “how did we do?”

“You can open your eyes. You two are truly extraordinary. How long have you been on your own?”

“Wait, before you start interviewing us, we have questions. Like, what the hell are we doing here?” I didn't care for the compliment, I wanted answers.

“Okay, that's fair. The earth has changed, as you know, and it is going to continue to evolve. We are running out of resources. Our climate-controlled Estates are going to start to fail. We need to figure out how to survive when that happens. You and your sister are part of a very important project. The Savior Project.”

“So, you're going to study us?” Maggie asked confused.

“Yes, Maggie. Your bodies have evolved to adapt to your environment. We intend to study you, and see what it is that has happened, to you and your sister in particular.”

“Why us? Why are we so special?”

“Well, first of all, you were born after the earth changed. Your parents had already spent quite some time evolving and adapting to The Elements. You're very special you see. You're a First Gen, the first generation born out in The Elements.”