The Inheritance

Jenaye shot up from her sleep in a cold sweat. She had another dream about when The Sickness first happened. Jenaye was only four when The Sickness hit the people of her town. The whole country was affected by a slow chemical leak into the water supply. By the time the health organizations and government realized the leak was happening, it was too late. People were falling ill and dying at extremely fast rates. Many of those who did not die remained sick and disabled. Other survivors were able-bodied but became grossly disfigured, experiencing lesions and discoloration on their skin. But a very small minority, like Jenaye and her sister Jina, remained unaffected. Those who had paler skin were more likely to be affected by The Sickness and Jenaye’s skin was smooth and dark. She inherited it from her mother, who disappeared after volunteering for a new medical trial that everyone hoped would be successful in reversing The Sickness.

Jenaye wiped her eyes and was quickly reminded that she was not in her own bed. She was in a small, windowless cell. That’s where she had been staying since she was caught. There was no telling what would happen in the next few hours. She prepared a speech explaining why she should not have to participate in these medical trials-- these experiments. Jenaye sat at the side of her bed. The cell had no windows. It was dark except for a small red light that hung over the sink with a mirror. She had no idea of the time.

Jenaye sat at the side of the bed thinking. She couldn’t help but think about her mother. Jenaye was reminded of her mother’s strength. Her mother was a “by any means necessary” kind of woman. After Jenaye’s father died, her mother took up odd jobs to provide for Jenaye and her younger sister. They moved to a shack on the edge of the town. When things got too hard, she signed up for the medical trials. They told her, and other unaffected people, that they would make a lot of money by giving their time and bodies to science. However, one day, she never returned. The people in charge of the trials never contacted Jenaye or Jina, and they were never paid for their mother’s service. All that remained of their parents was a heart shaped locket that carried photos of their parents-- a gift given to their mother from their father. Jenaye was only 14 when her mother disappeared, and Jina was only 12. Jina loved that locket, and wore it every day.

Their mother’s disappearance happened a year before The Law. After the mysterious disappearances of those who volunteered for the clinical trial, The Unaffected began to refuse to

volunteer for the trials. The Law said that those unaffected by The Sickness were mandated to attend a hearing and make an argument about why they should be spared from the medical trials.

The government began to hunt The Unaffected, which is why Jenaye was in the cell, imprisoned against her will. Jina had disappeared a few weeks before and Jenaye could only assume she was taken. Even though Jenaye and Jina were careful, and used make-up to camouflage their skin to fit in with those who were affected, there was always a chance they could be caught.

Jenaye was unsure about how long she sat at the side of the bed when the door to her cell slid open. A tall man in all black appeared at the door. He wore a mask, gloves, and boots. He pointed to the shower in the cell and suddenly the cell lit up with bright white lights. “Shower,” the man commanded. “Get dressed. We’ll be back to get you shortly.” He exited the cell and the door slid closed. Jenaye felt a lump in her throat. She lived in fear for so long that she could not be afraid anymore. She only felt weary. She knew that nothing good was to come of this.

Jenaye showered and redressed herself. Two men returned to the cell and handcuffed her. They walked her down a hall and into a large, sterile white room. Five elegantly dressed people sat in a row at a table on a stage. A podium stood about 10 feet in front of them.. They called themselves The Council. The men walked Jenaye to the podium and Jenaye looked down at the floor. “My, my,” a voice spoke from the table. “She is indeed quite beautiful. Oh, look up, dear. Don’t look so somber.”

Jenaye felt a tear roll down her face. She looked up at the row of people and immediately vomited. The one closest to the end on her left was wearing Jina’s heart shaped locket. She had elements of Jina. One of her eyes was large and light brown, like Jina’s. The other was dark brown and unfamiliar. Her hair was patchy. She looked like a hybrid human. She was monstrous. Next to her sat an older woman. Her skin was pale and flaking with red patches all over.. She had very clearly been affected by the chemical spill and was horribly disfigured. Both of her eyes were red. In the center sat a beautiful dark-skin woman. She was regal and had a large afro of white hair. On her other side sat two handsome darker skin men. They were all well-dressed. “Can someone clean this up,” asked the woman in the center, referring to Jenaye’s vomit.

Jenaye looked at the woman wearing the heart-shaped locket. Tears ferociously rolled down her face. “Jina,” she cried. “Jina, what’s happened to you?”

“Oh, dear,” the woman in the center sighed. She was already becoming weary of Jenaye’s tears and devastation. “That isn’t your Jina.” The woman said Jina’s name with disgust.

Jenaye sobbed.

“Your sister, Jina, has made the ultimate sacrifice that people of your kind can give to the less generically fortunate. She has sacrificed her beautiful smooth skin to the less fortunate people of our town—those of us that were horribly impacted by the sickness. Misa here, was horribly disfigured by the chemical spill. The poor dear had the most horrible tumors and bloodshot eyes. But, thanks to your sister, and others who volunteered, Misa can now live a normal life and be beautiful again. Misa paid a lot of money for this,” the woman in the center explained. “Unfortunately, Misa is still in her transition but luckily she is well enough to make it here for your hearing!”

Jenaye began to wail. She collapsed to the floor and hung her head. The two men dressed in black grabbed her by each of her arms and pulled her back up to her feet. “Is she dead?”

“Who, dear?”

“My sister. Is she dead?”

All five members of The Council erupted in laughter. The woman in the center snorted.

“She’s not dead. She has been reborn. We found a way to combine her genes with Misa’s. The original Jina did not survive the process, unfortunately. But soon, Misa will transform into a version of your sister. So, in a way, Jina will be immortalized through Misa. Isn’t it wonderful? We couldn’t use her genetics if she didn’t keep her body in such impeccable condition. If she had a single blemish on her face, Misa would have inherited it. We were very fortunate to have found Jina just as we are fortunate to have found you.”

Jenaye cried harder. Jina was only 16. “You’re going to kill me, too.”

The man on the other end of the table spoke, “You will not die. You will be reborn. But of course, we cannot start the procedure without your permission. But our friend, Genevieve” he pointed to the flaking woman, “she could really use your skin. You spent 18 years in your perfect body. You should be grateful for the opportunity to help someone like Genevieve. She paid a lot of money to inherit your perfect looks! You should be honored. This procedure is revolutionary!”

Jenaye wondered if she heard correctly. We cannot start the procedure without your permission. “So, I can refuse,” she asked.

“You may choose not to comply,” the woman in the center stated, grinning.

“I am choosing not to comply,” Jenaye blurted out. She couldn’t believe she was getting out of this so easily. Why didn’t Jina refuse? It was all so simple.

The Council slowly turned their smiles into frowns. The woman in the center said, “take her back to her cell. She can come out when she has reconsidered her decision.”

“NO,” Jenaye screamed. The two men in black dragged her away and placed her back in her cell. They uncuffed her and tossed her to the floor. Jenaye fell to the floor crying. The lights shut off and Jenaye laid in silence. She cried quietly. Her sorrow turned to rage as she thought about Misa wearing Jina’s heart-shaped locket. Jina must have been so afraid.

She screamed.

Jenaye screamed for two minutes straight. She paced her cell and found herself in front of the mirror with the red light above it. Who did they think they were? Who gave them the authority to make these decisions? One thing was clear- Jenaye would be their prisoner until she decided to be the next experiment.

Jenaye looked at her perfect, blemish-free face. Why couldn’t she have caught the sickness, too? She became disgusted by her reflection. She punched the mirror, which broke, and the shards fell into the sink. She stared at her reflection in the broken glass. The woman’s voice echoed in her head. If she had a single blemish on her face, Misa would have inherited it. It was clear. The solution that would lead to her freedom was as clear as her reflection. Jenaye picked up the sharpest piece of the glass and put it to her eyebrow. She dragged the glass across her skin from her eyebrow to her mouth, screaming the entire time. They couldn’t take her if she had blemishes. The screams turned to laughter as Jenaye continued to drag the shard, letting it deeply pierce her skin as she dragged it across her face. She dropped the shard into the sink when she was done. The blood from her face fell into the sink. It looked darker, almost black under the red light.

She sat in the middle of the floor, laughing.. Her cell door opened and a man in black appeared in the doorway. Jenaye looked up at him and cackled. “Ring the alarm,” he yelled down the hall. “We have another cutter!”

“You can’t take me,” Jenaye yelled between laughs. “You can’t steal my face!” She laughed harder as she heard footsteps running toward her cell. “You’ll never take my face!”