Out There (21 page)

Once at the Bubble, we each ran through under the bark until we were back inside. We didn't stop moving until we were all the way back to the tram stop, running through the doors and falling into our seats, panting. It left the stop and I finally paused to breathe.

“What was that?” Jade asked through pants.

“Was that really a boy?” Bri whispered.

“I think so.” I couldn't believe what I was saying. The concept hadn't really hit me until then. Suddenly the image of the towering figure in the darkness was pounding in my mind, clogging any other thoughts. I felt faint with terror over what could have happened.

“I thought they were extinct!” Jade whispered harshly. “Apparently not.”

“Why are we whispering when there's no one here?” Lexi asked just as the doors opened and two women walked in.

“That's why.”

“Let's go back to my house,” Bri suggested.

“Good idea.”

Once we reached Bri's house, the four of us bolted through the door and up the stairs.

“You girls are back early, I thought you would be out late,” said Georgina O'Connell as she walked into the hallway.

We all stopped.

“Well, Ava had a little tumble in the mud,” Bri said and pointed at me, and I noticed how dirty I was.

“The mud?”

“We were at the park, remember?”

“Oh yes, of course. Well, you girls go on up and I'll bring cookies.”

“No thanks, Mother, we're not hungry.” Bri began to run up the stairs again, dragging me behind her.

“Speak for yourself,” I whispered to her as we ran over to her room.

She slammed the door and we all flopped on to the bed. “OK, what happened back there?”

“Well, I was chasing it then I fell so it turned and came back. So naturally I assumed it was going to eat me or something and shone the tablet in its face. Then it said something and I realised it was a man because it had such a deep voice.”

“What if it was a deep-voiced girl?”

“It looked like a man, it was really tall and just looked different. Also he was shirtless, I've never ever seen a person shirtless, it was embarrassing.”

“So it was a barbaric human,” Jade declared.

“Well, no, but he obviously wasn't from around here, no one ever walks around shirtless.”

“What if he was taking a shower?”

“In what?”

“Good point.”

“But men are extinct, it must have been something else,” Lexi stated.

“It was a man!”

Bri threw her hand over my mouth. “My mother will hear you.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled through her hand.

“But there's no way,” Lexi continued.

“We have to tell the Council,” Bri said and removed her hand.

“We can't do that,” I argued.

“Why not?”

“Because, what would they do?”

“I don't know, get rid of it?” Jade threw her hands in the air.

“Listen, I know you all think he poses a threat to the city but he doesn't.”

“And how do you know that? Did you have a cup of tea with him?”

“He didn't know what I was either. He looked at me like I look at broccoli when I'm expecting cake. Like this.” I tilted my head to the side and widened my eyes in shock.

“How does that make him OK?”

I was asking myself the same question. Inside I was terrified and completely shaken by the whole experience. I'd never been more afraid in my life. But with all things like this, it made me wonder. And wondering for me was never-ending; I had been bitten by a curiosity that I couldn't shake. I answered Jade's question, “If he didn't know what I was, then he won't know about the city or the Movement.”

“I don't know, Ava.” Bri bit her lip.

“The Council are already super stressed with Katelyn and everything, this would only make things worse.”

Everyone glanced at each other worriedly.

“Fine. We'll keep it secret,” Lexi sighed.

“But we have to promise to keep it between the four of us only,” I insisted.

“All right, promise,” everyone agreed and we all shook on it. “Let's also all promise never to go back there,” Bri added. “Yeah,” everyone said and nodded.

“I can't promise that,” I said and they all turned to look at me.

“What? Why not?”

“Because I want to go back.”

They all stared at me in shock for a second. Then, all at once, they started yelling at me about how I was out of my mind and going to get killed. We were all yelling back and forth over the top of each other, so loud I couldn't tell what anyone was saying. Then Bri burst into tears. She began sobbing hysterically and we all turned to stare at her.

“Bri, what's wrong?” I asked.

She calmed down and rubbed her eyes. “Oh Ava, please don't go back.”

Everyone looked at me. “Is that why you're upset?”

“It's just,” she sniffled, “when we lost Katelyn it was just so hard and it was only recently, so the wounds are still fresh. I just… I just don't want to lose you too. That would break my heart.”

I imagined Bri wailing hysterically as she sat at my goodbye ceremony and everyone trying to comfort her while she cried out her sorrow. I saw her sitting in her room staring out of the window like Katelyn did and losing herself, slowly withering away.

“Oh Bri,” I said and wrapped my arms around her and rocked her gently. “I promise nothing will ever happen to me.”

“That's not good enough, you need to swear to me that you'll never go back. Ever. Swear?”

I hesitated a moment, watching my hopes of learning more about the boy and his forest fade. “Swear.”

“Thank you, Ava,” she said and held me tight. “Trust me, it's for your own good.”

“You better be right.”

After Bri had calmed down and assured us that she was all right, we all went back home. As I walked through the door, I heard someone milling around in the kitchen.

“Mother?”

“Oh Ava.” I heard shuffling from the other room. “I thought you would be out late.”

“Change of plans,” I said and threw my jacket on the chair and walked into the kitchen just as she shoved some of her tablets into her bag. “What's all this?”

She looked around as if noticing the mess around her for the first time. “Oh this? It's just some work.”

“What's it about?” I sat down in the seat across from her at the table.

“Uh…”

I looked down and saw open an electronic document titled
Revised Reproduction Centre Schedule
, “Oh,” I said.

“I'm sorry but it has to be addressed.”

“No no, I get it… um… it's just.”

“Just what, honey?”

“Well, I was actually wanting to ask you about that. Am I still next?”

“Of course.” Mother went back to reviewing her documents. “Oh. So do I get the same surgery and all?”

“Well, it will be similar, but we've decided to adjust it for every person so we can accommodate.”

“Do I go in on my birthday?”

Mother looked up at me. “Actually no, things have changed a bit you see. You'll probably be called in a month or so, but I can give you an actual date later.”

“A month?” I gaped at her.

“Don't look so surprised, we need to monitor you separately without there being too many other people to deal with.”

“But that's so soon.”

Mother placed her hand on mine. “You'll be ready.”

“I'm just a bit worried, that's all.”

“Oh sweetheart, there's nothing to be worried about,” Mother said and smiled at me calmly. “The Council are working round the clock on this.”

“Why? Is there something wrong?”

“Oh no, of course not, it's just that we want to take extra precautions this time.”

“There's no chance that I would…”

“No,” she interrupted, “none at all. Ava, you will be absolutely fine, I promise you that. And the best part is that I'm going to be a grandmother!”

“I forgot about that.”

“You have no idea how happy that makes me.”

It was strange to think that I was going to be carrying a tiny little person inside me that I would call my child.

“Is there a way to know what it'll look like or be like?”

Mother thought for a second before speaking. “Each one is designed to suit the personality of the mother and grandmother and the lifestyle it will receive. However, Sylvia doesn't decide exactly what it's like, she just alters a few things to make sure there won't be complications.”

“Complications? Like what?”

“Like… say the child was very dependent and always wanted her mother and grandmother around, and we were both on the Council – that just wouldn't work. That kind of thing.”

“Isn't it weird to decide what a person is like?”

“It's much more logical if you think about it. Why not avoid problems if you have the capability to?”

“I suppose. Will I know what it'll look like?”

“That's most likely random, but any child of yours will be beautiful.”

“Oh Mother,” I said and nudged her playfully.

“Of course, she may not get our signature Hart black ringlets and periwinkle blue eyes.”

“Your hair is straight,” I said and twisted a lock in my hand. She sighed, “Wasn't always.”

We sat there for a moment and I stared at her in admiration. “Well, I'm off to bed. Night, Mother.”

“Goodnight, darling,” she said and reached over and kissed my cheek. “See you in the morning.”

Except I didn't see her the next morning. All I saw was a message that she had to run and would be out late. For the next few days all I got were messages that work was just too chaotic and I would have to find my own dinner or go over to the O'Connells. It later occurred to me that Mother was so preoccupied that she didn't notice I was covered in dirt.

The few times I did see her, she was too stressed to talk or too tired after her long day.

“Are you OK?” I would ask.

“Of course,” she would reply before hurrying off to her room to sleep.

But most times she didn't even sleep; I saw her light still on under the door and it didn't turn off until much later, sometimes not at all.

“Mother, you've been acting stressed, is everything OK?”

“Oh, is that what you think? It's so nice to see you so concerned, but honestly I'm just very tired, been having a lot of late nights. I promise everything is all good.”

“If you insist.”

This continued for several days, me asking her how everything was, her denying any problems. The other important thing circling around in my head was about the forest. I would think about the boy I saw and suddenly my mind would fill up with questions to ask him. I imagined sitting down with him to chat, carrying some sort of weapon as protection of course, and asking him who he was.

Then I would convince myself that the only way to get answers was to go back. But every time I stood to gather my stuff, I saw Bri crying her heart out at the thought of me being killed by a wild boy. So I would sit back down and try to talk myself out of it.