Savage Run (7 page)

“
But my friend—”

He interrupts me. “Dead.”

His words sink deep down into that part of
me where there’s no return. It’s where the hope of my mother being
alive lives and where Gemma’s and my friendship lives.

“
Where did you get this?”
Nicholas asks, examining my ID.

“
From the government.” My
voice is as hollow as my chest. “I think I want to sign up
anyway.”

“
I don’t think you should.”
He looks at me and raises his eyebrows.

“
I’m signing up!
Okay?”

“
Then you’re in,” Mai says.
She grabs a stack of papers and waves for me to follow
her.

“
We’ll talk later,”
Nicholas says to me. It sounds more like a threat than a
suggestion.

Arthor places his hand on my shoulder and
gives me a sympathetic nod. “I’m heading home for a bit.”

“
Thanks for vouching for
me,” I say.

“
Yeah, what are friends
for?” He waves as he walks away. Outside of the gates he embraces
his mother. All the way from here, I can see her entire body
shaking.

I look back to the spot I last saw Gemma,
and there’s a red splotch of blood on the flat gray rocks. I’m a
horrible friend! If I hadn’t convinced Gemma to come with me she
would still be alive. If I hadn’t chosen to run toward the booth
instead of toward her, she might still be…

Mai tells me to come sit down by the table.
Without really wanting to, I walk over and take my seat in front of
her.

“
I’m Mai, and both Nicholas
and I will be your representatives from now on.” She holds out the
contract with page upon page of fine print. She doesn’t read it,
only explains that if in the very unlikely event I complete the
obstacles in Savage Run (she sighs heavily when she says it), I
will be considered a Class-1 Master citizen of Newland, with all
the rights and privileges as outlined in the Master Citizen
Handbook and will be considered a free citizen until the day I die
of natural causes or relinquish my rights to them, whichever comes
first. There are three ways out of the obstacle course, period. The
first one is by dying, which a few of the participants most likely
will, maybe even up to fifty percent.

I interrupt her. “Fifty percent? They said
in the paper that only twenty to twenty-five percent might
die.”

“
The obstacles are a little
harder than initially publicized. Only the strongest individuals
will be allowed into the Master Class.” She continues to tell me
that the second way out of the course is by quitting, in which case
I will be brought back to my city of residence and expected to live
out my days as a Class-3 Laborer citizen. And the last one is by
completing the obstacle courses in their entirety.

“
Raise your right hand,”
she says. I do. “Do you consent to joining the Savage Run of your
own free will and do you understand
all
the risks involved?”

“
Yes.”

“
And do you understand that
your family has no right to any compensation on your
behalf?”

“
Yes.”

She explains something about the top three
contenders, but I hardly hear a word she says because I start to
think about where they took Gemma.

Mai taps me on the arm, waking me up from my
reverie. “Do you have any immediate family?” she asks.

I look over at Nicholas who seems to be
listening in on our conversation. “No.”

“
Well, as a male Laborer, I
suppose if you don’t have family, you don’t have much to live for,”
she says.

I nod and think of Gemma, the tears
pressing. “Something like that.”

“
Any questions?” she
asks.

“
No.”

“
And you are certain that
you understand the dangers and still want to proceed with signing
up for the Savage Run?”

“
I said yes.”

“
Very well.” Mai’s eyebrows
rise. “Sign here, here, and here.” She points her hot pink nails to
the lines and I sign. “This is your uniform. Extra Small. It will
probably be more than baggy on you.” She hands me a shiny, black
box with a golden Savage Run logo on it. “You have to be at
Culmination airport in thirty minutes. You can go change in there.”
She points to a row of white stalls.

How should I get there? The airport is at
least an hour and a half biking distance. And walking? I lock
myself in one of the booths and open the Savage Run box. Inside
lies a neatly folded, black Savage Run uniform identical to the one
Nicholas and Mai are wearing. The only difference is that mine has
a gray collar and doesn’t have the registrar badge with my name on
it. The shoes are sleek, black, and lightweight, and when I slip
them on it’s as if I’m not wearing anything at all.

I wash my hands in the sink and try to
remove some more of the gravel that’s embedded beneath my skin. My
father makes me wash my hands at least ten times a day—usually
between each delivery, before I leave the house in the morning and
the second I walk in the door at home. After what I’ve done to my
father, it’s strange how I feel no sense of loss. No sadness. No
guilt. No regret whatsoever. I’m abandoning him. All I’m worried
about is what my father will think when he reads my letter. Surely,
he’ll go raging mad and believe I need to repent from this ungodly,
lunatic behavior at once. I can already hear him saying a woman
must know her place in the sight of God and in her community, and
she’s required to submit willingly. Maybe he’ll think I’ve turned
to cross-dressing—now that would drive him completely over the
edge. The ridiculous thought makes me chuckle, but my laugh is more
of a desperate attempt to drown out the feeling of panic rising in
my chest than an expression of humor. What will he really do when
he finds and reads my letter? Will he turn around and reveal my
identity to everyone? Probably not—that would mean he’d be putting
his own life and reputation in jeopardy, which is something he will
never, ever do.

I throw my clothes in the trash and head
outside. Should I go back to the booth? Try to find a way to get to
the airport by myself?

Noticing that I’m still hanging around,
Nicholas says, “You need a ride?”

“
Uh…yes,” I say.

Nicholas bobs his head to the side and I
trail after him. Immediately, two Unifers follow after us. We
arrive at the red, yellow, and white Savage Run transporter, and
they get into the vehicle behind us. My door opens automatically
and I get inside. The dashboard has illuminated blue, yellow and
white buttons, and by just pressing a few of them, I hear one could
drive or fly anywhere in the world.

Nicholas enters on the other side. Sitting
so close to him, I notice his strong jawline and dimples. He’s not
stunningly handsome, but I can see why other girls might find him
attractive, with those blue eyes, the chestnut hair and
well-defined lips—not to mention his broad shoulders beneath the
black, silky Savage Run shirt. I’ve seen him in the papers quite a
few times—always with a different girl on his arm. Whatever. The
heavy gold chain around his neck and wrist catches my eye. In the
back of my mind, my father’s words echo: “The root of all
evil.”

“
Why did you do something
so stupid?” he growls.

His sudden change in mood makes me tense
up.

“
Do your parents have any
idea about what you’ve done?”

I look down at my fingers in my lap, hoping
he doesn’t notice how my dirty, scraped-up hands can’t seem to find
a comfortable place to rest. “No.”

“
Do you really think you’re
serving them by doing this?” His voice is harsh.

“
No, and in fact, I’m sure
my father will hate me for it!” There’s no use in trying to explain
any of this to him because he wouldn’t understand. “Please,
don’t…”

“
And your
mother?”

More uncomfortable questions. My father
explained it like this: When my mother went into labor, she hid in
the Lavender fields from the Unifers sent to exterminate the
elderly and female infants. The “cleansing” was a method President
Volkov Sr. used to control the Laborer population to prevent them
from becoming so numerous they could overpower the Masters. The
Unifers seized the babies, and threw them in the icy Culmination
River, and the aged were burned in gigantic furnaces right outside
each city. My father said he went to notify her the Unifers were
gone. She informed him he had a son. I can imagine my father was
proud. Three days later, when her maternity leave ran out, my
mother vanished without a word, leaving me—a good-for-nothing
girl—with my father.

But what I say is: “My mother left when I
was a baby.”

“
Listen,” he huffs. “I
didn’t want to blow your cover in front of everyone back there, so
I let Mai sign you up. But I can’t let this madness continue. I
don’t know where you got your fake ID or the idea to dress up as a
guy and sign up for the Savage Run, but I need to put a stop to
this.”

“
Fake…ID?” I try to laugh,
but no sound comes out.

“
I know about Sergio, and
listen, I know a girl when I see one.”

He probably does. Images of all those girls
in the newspapers pop into my mind. “I’m a boy!”

“
I’m not stupid. And even
if everyone else believes you, which may or may not be the case,
there’s no way you’ll ever make it past the first phase. These
obstacle courses are deadly. In fact, I think we should just delete
your registration and…”

I sit up straighter, my back like an erect
board. “No!”

“
Listen.” He leans in a
little, and I hold my breath, finding his presence overwhelming. “I
want to help you because I don’t think it’s right that you should
be the victim of a man like Master Douglas. He used to work for my
father as his deputy advisor and I saw him destroy girls like you.
But I have to tell you, to continue on this path is
suicide.”

“
You don’t know what I’m
capable of.” I stare boldly back at him—I won’t be treated like a
subservient any longer.

“
It doesn’t matter; I know
what the obstacles are made of.” He runs a hand through his thick,
dark hair and his cologne stirs into the air. A privileged
individual like him would never understand the desperate
circumstances that forced me to do something like this. He breathes
heavily for a moment, and when he speaks again, his voice is low.
“How did you get in trouble?”

I might as well tell him everything. “It was
like Master Douglas said. I helped Gemma escape because he was
beating her up…I couldn’t just leave her there.”

He pauses for a moment, and it feels like
his deep eyes see right through me. “Of course you couldn’t.”

He agrees with me? I’m not used to someone
validating me and don’t quite know how to respond, so I look out
the window.

“
There must be some…” he
starts.

I place my hand on his arm, and it’s as if
the tension in the air surrenders. “I’m not asking you to help me.
All I’m asking is that you keep my secret.”

His gaze goes from my hand to my eyes. “You
don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.”

“
I’ll take my chances,” I
say, although having learned that the obstacles are more dangerous
than I initially thought, I’m not as confident as I was just a few
hours ago. And with Gemma dead…I stop myself from finishing that
thought. Nothing good will come of it.

“
Fine, I’ll let you
continue. And I’ll keep your secret. I just hate to see you give up
your life so easily.”

So easily? He doesn’t know me—how
exhaustingly obstinate I can be once I put my mind to something.
“Thanks.”

“
Maybe I can help coach you
a little, and...” He shakes his head without completing the thought
and commands the transporter to the airport.

Chapter 5

The airport runway is crawling with
reporters and curious citizens. The protesters are here, chanting
that same chant as loudly as ever. I’m surprised President Volkov
hasn’t had them arrested yet.

I wipe my hands on my silky pants and close
my eyes, trying to think of something that might calm me. When no
such thought emerges, I reopen my eyes. The vehicle slows down and
forces its way through the crowd. People plaster their faces
against the transporter’s windows as we pass.

Mai stands on a platform in front of the
red, white, and yellow Savage Run aircraft. Is it the same one I
saw earlier today up at Master Douglas’s house? I wonder how Mai
managed to get here before us because when we left Pavlova Yard,
she was still packing up all the registration forms.

Eighteen participants are lined up behind
Mai. Seeing how some of their necks are as thick as tree trunks,
their arms as broad as my waist, it causes me to shrink in my seat.
Arthor is one of the strongest Laborers I’ve met, but he looks like
a wiry twig next to some of these guys. I don’t even want to
imagine what I’ll look like beside one of them. Other than Arthor
and me, the rest of the participants look like they’re Advisors—a
Laborer would never receive enough food to grow those kinds of
muscles.

At first thought, it doesn’t make sense to
me why a Class-2 Advisor would risk death when his life is already
pretty good. I suppose if I were an Advisor, I’d still feel trapped
by not being able to own land, to vote, or to run for office.

One second. That’s exactly how long it takes
the reporters to swivel around after Nicholas has stepped out of
the transporter. But he doesn’t even blink an eye, just walks
calmly around the vehicle and waits for me to get out. The two
Unifers that followed us here—I’m now convinced they’re his
bodyguards—walk on either side of Nicholas and me up to the
podium.