Animas - Part 3

       Charlyt and I look at each other. “It’s either our virus or theirs,” we whisper together. The decision’s easy once we see it that way. Between releasing our virus to make our bodies incompatible with the Animas and the aliens killing off the rest of the humans who aren’t able to be manipulated and inhabited by their kind, then it’s obvious we’ll infect everyone with the Hepatitis B virus. We both know what our answer is. So do Sy-Nu and Mai-Li.

          

          “How are they going to release their virus?” Charlyt asks.

          

          “We can just switch the viruses, right?” I ask, following as best I can.

          “That’s the idea. The Animas are planning to—“

          “Wait,” Charlyt interrupts Sy-Nu. “What virus are they going to use?”

        I can see the anxiety in her eyes. She’s one of the best researchers at the Disease Control Office. She knows what viruses we should be worried about.

         “Our species has a natural immunity to the ebola virus. Since the bodies we occupy actually acquire our protection, they will be unharmed. Humans without an Animas inside them, well…”

          Charlyt covers her mouth. There’s horror, revulsion on her face. Whatever this ebola virus is, it must be monstrous. I wrap my arms around her tight. She’s shaking. “Don’t worry Char. They’re not going to release it. We’ll send out this Hepatitis B before they get the chance to kill any of us.”

        The Animas inside us are quiet. It’s almost like I can forget they’re here. Almost. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to feel like I have any privacy, even when they’re gone. “What’ll happen to you guys when we get Hepatitis B? Do you just fall out of our bodies? Do you die?”

          Mai-Li answers. “We don’t die. Our connection with your bodies will dissolve. We’ll leave the same way we came.”

         “How’s that?” I just found out the aliens occupied the Corda bodies. Who knows how they got inside in the first place?

          “Air is the essence of your life. Without it, you’ll die within a minute or two. It is everything to you. We are inhaled into your bodies, becoming your essence. So we’ll be exhaled and return to our previous bodies.”

        “What do those look like?” Charlyt pulls her face away from my shoulder, composed again.

         “You’ll see soon enough.” Sy-Nu is less empathetic than Mai-Li. At least his voice sounds more brusque than hers. “As I was saying before, the Animas are planning to infect the water supply. That would quickly spread the illness and those who don’t drink from the system will catch it from the carriers.”

          “Do you have enough of the virus for it to travel the same way?” I ask.

          Charlyt stares over my shoulder, working through some calculations I couldn’t ever hope to understand. She nods. “Yes, it’ll work.”

          “We thought so too,” says Mai-Li.

        “So, how exactly are we going to get past whatever security measures you aliens have taken to switch out the viruses that we’re all plotting to use on the population?” And why am I involved in this? I’m not smart. I don’t have access to any of these kinds of places. The only things I’m good for are my physical measurements and the way I use those to perform whatever menial obstacle courses the Office of Male Fitness for Race Preservation creates for me.

         Sy-Nu answers my supposedly private thoughts. Charlyt needs your support. And there might be some skulls to knock together before this is all over and done.

          I scowl. Charlyt raises her eyebrow.

          “I can’t wait to have real privacy,” I say.

*****

I walk Charlyt to work like I do every morning. We hug longer than normal. If something goes wrong, if even one person suspects her, she may never come out of that building again.

“I can do this,” she says as she rests her forehead on mine.

“I’ll be right here waiting for you.” I kiss her. I don’t want to let her go. For once, Sy-Nu knows to keep quiet. This is our moment, even if we’re not really alone.

Keep her safe, Mai-Li, I think.

I will, she answers.

I know she’ll do everything she can, whether she has to take control of Charlyt’s body and use it to get them out or not. Charlyt walks through the revolving doors and I pray to whatever higher power exists that I’ll see her in four hours.

This morning, I conserve my energy and strength, only pushing my workout to the point where my stats will be satisfactory. It’s hard to rein myself in. Right now, I want to beat the punching bag to death and jump rope until my body is stinging from the whip of the rope. My mind is at the Disease Control Office.

While I’m throwing weights around with my training group, I know Charlyt is searching for every vial of Hepatitis B she can find. Once she’s sure there aren’t any left in the building, she’ll let Mai-Li take her over. Assuring those around her that an Animas uses that body, Mai-Li will order a transportation unit for the virus. If it’s not stored at a specific temperature, it’ll die and our plan will fail. If the vials break, there won’t be anything to throw into the water supply.

Finally my exercise is finished. I shower and wait outside Charlyt’s work. I’m over forty five minutes early, but I don’t dare risk missing our window. Once the Department of Medical Transports files their routine report of who requested hazardous materials containers for the day, we only have three hours before the Animas track her down and kill her. Yes, they’ll kill her, even before they understand what the virus could mean for them. The simple fact that she took viruses out into the public is a death sentence. It doesn’t matter to them that Mai-Li will lose her body. According to Sy-Nu, the leaders may kill Mai-Li too for not being in control of her human. At the very least, they’ll banish her from the planet.

      

       I’m sweating in the sixty degree weather. That shower seems like a wasted effort at this point. My eyes never leave that revolving door. Not once in those forty five minutes. A few people leave with transport containers, but none of them are Charlyt. Another one comes through the door before I can see who’s carrying it. Then I see her. She looks like she’s aged twenty years. I must look just as worn. Stress like this could send anyone to an early death. I jump from the bench and hurry to her.

    

     Calm down and act natural. You’ll give us away if you two don’t stop looking so terrified. It must have taken a mountain of self-control for Sy-Nu to keep quiet all morning. But then again, he’s been silent all my life. What’s another day? He’s right though. I slow down my harried walk and Charlyt takes the hint. She stops and puts on a smile for me. As soon as I get to her, I hug her and then take her hand as if we are on our way to lunch like we are every day at this time.

          “How did it go?” I ask.

          Her hand is freezing in mine. “I found another store of the virus. We’re going to have more than we need, but I took it all anyway. I didn’t want anyone to find out what we’d taken and what it can do.” She speaks in barely a whisper.

          I direct us toward the taco stand on the outskirts of the city. We order just because we need to play our part. Hovering near the cart, we are caught in the middle of the lunch rush. Men pour out of the Water Supply and Treatment Plant building to our right. I swipe the scan card of an employee who practically asked me to take it from him by butting in front of us. Charlyt sees and pushes through the crowd toward the door. We get through as fast as we can. Who knows how many people saw us? It doesn’t matter much. Our time is ticking away.

        Twisting through the corridors, we avoid eye contact with anyone we encounter. Our key card gets us deeper in the building. We went over the floor plan for hours last night. I know we’re getting close to the testing site. It’s the only open access to the city’s water supply. And it’s the most heavily guarded.

          Two men turn into the hallway coming toward us. We look away, but they stare at us and stop right in our path, blocking the way.

          “I thought the final phase didn’t begin for another five days,” one of them says, looking at the container in Charlyt’s hand.

          “Word got out of our plans. We don’t want any incompatibles to escape while we sit back waiting for some arbitrary date. There’s no reason to wait. So the time is now.”

          I don’t think Charlyt said that. It didn’t sound like her. It must have been Mai-Li.

          “I wondered why we were waiting around once the decision had been made,” the other guy says.

          “Where are your security badges?”

         I start to hand over the one I’d swiped from outside, but my arm stops. “We’ve been instructed to have you take us the rest of the way,” I say, but not really. Sy-Nu has taken over. I’m still here, but I’m not in control of any part of my body. I feel my muscles tighten. He’s ready for a fight.

         “We weren’t given any instructions about this. Let me call—“

       My fist connects with his head and his eyes roll back as he topples to the ground. Then my hands grab the other guy’s face and twist. A crunch follows as he collapses in a heap on his friend. I killed him. No, Sy-Nu killed him. I didn’t have anything to do with it. I’m on my knees rummaging through their pockets. I’m just watching at this point, awed at the sensation of watching Sy-Nu control me. We find their security badges. Sy-Nu takes the transport container from Charlyt in one hand and grabs her hand in the other.

We sprint down the hall and scan our way into the access room. Charlyt pulls vials and starts dumping them in the running water visible in the transparent pipe. She’s not hesitating. It can’t be her. Mai-Li must be as present as Sy-Nu is in my body. They’re doing this. Are we doing the right thing? Did we just sign the death warrant of the human race?

No, you didn’t. You just granted them freedom from our kind.

I don’t know if I believe Sy-Nu.

The last of the vials are emptied. Feeling returns to my limbs. Sy-Nu has given me the reins again. Charlyt reaches for a sample cup. Dipping it in the water, she looks at me.

“Are you ready for some real privacy?”

I take the cup from her and she fills one for herself. “Will we be able to see you when you leave our bodies?” I ask the Animas who have been with us since we were three years old.

No, our essences aren’t visible to your eyes, Mai-Li says.

“So this is goodbye?” Charlyt sounds upset. How can she be? These things kept us from having children. Once they’re gone, they can’t interfere with our happiness ever again.

And neither can other Animas. You’ll have more freedom than you could have ever dreamed of. Sy-Nu sounds a little offended.

I didn’t mean it that way…I mean--

I understand. Your love for that girl is the only good thing about you. Never take it for granted.

I never will. I'd do anything for her. And I always will. Raising my cup, I watch Charlyt drink deep. I tip the tainted water into my own mouth and swallow. 

Animas-Part One

This is a three part short story. Here's the first section. I hope you like it. 

My footsteps echo in the abandoned lot that borders the city walls. This is my fourth workout this week. I thought these grueling sessions would end once I got married. It was why I trained so hard once I was old enough to begin Physical Training. Puberty helped with my height and build. It was just a matter of fitness after that. I got what I wanted. I got married. Yet, five years into it, I’m still out here running in circles.

Being matched with Charlyt made the exercises worthwhile. Hell, I’d run every day if that’s what it took to be with her. The Matching Office really knew what was doing.

Since I have to train, I like to do it early in the morning. No one is here in the yard. The heat of the day hasn’t started to scorch the dry ground. It’s just me and the morning mist.

This morning though, a sound I’ve never heard is ringing off the surrounding buildings. It’s a muffled pounding that comes in spurts of frenzied activity and then nothing. I checked the perimeter, scanned every blown out window that overlooks the exercise yard and I still don’t know where the sound is coming from. The unease I feel with the noise in the yard spikes the readings on the monitor strapped to my chest. I don’t want my body stats going back to the Office of Male Fitness for Race Preservation to show anything unusual. I try to ignore the sound and push through the last of my workout.

The monitor beeps to end my session. I slow to a stop and lean against the wall. Another episode of pounding begins, louder than before, and I feel the wall tremble at my back. I step away just in time to avoid the shards of brick from pummeling my body as a pick axe breaks through the wall.

I switch off the monitor. Charlyt always reminds me not to give the government more than I have to.

A small body shoots through the settling dust, running right into my chest. It’s a boy, barely old enough to start Physical Training. He’s scrawny and covered in grime. He latches onto my waist. “Don’t let them take me. I’d rather die than have one of them take over my mind.”

“Whoa bud. What are you talking about?”

“The Animas. They’re putting Animas in the Corda kids. They don’t send us out there to fight the Animas and protect our city. They send us out there to be anchor bodies for the aliens.”

“The Animas aren’t in our city. The Corda are protecting us.” I argue because I don’t know what else to do. There’s so much panic in his voice. I don’t know how to handle something like that.

He looks up at me. If he could reach, he would probably shake me by the shoulders. “I am a Corda. I just escaped one of the facilities. I know what I’m talking about. They take Cordas and fill our brains with Animas. They’re not going to kill us. They’re going to take over our bodies. They want to become us.”

A siren blares in the distance. Police have been alerted to the breach in the wall. They’re coming for the boy.

“Please help me.”

I pull his arms from my waist and step away from him. There’s no way I want to draw the attention of the police. Infertility brings plenty of its own attention. I don’t need criminal attention either.

The boy looks at me with tears streaking through the dust that has settled on his cheeks.

I turn on my heels and run. I can’t have anything to do with that lunatic. Any run in with the police could jeopardize my marriage. The city leaders could take away what they gave to me. Besides, the aliens that have been taking over Earth, the Animas, have one goal: to destroy the human race. From the city monitors scattered around the streets, the images of the surrounding cities are all the same. They are completely obliterated. That’s what the Animas do to humans, not take over their bodies or whatever that boy was talking about. Why would I risk my marriage with Charlyt for some deranged kid who just tunneled his way through the city walls? Everything he said was a lie.

“No it wasn’t. He told you the truth.”

I stumble over my own feet and fall. From the ground, I scan the alley I’m in. There’s no one here but me.

“I thought you were a better person than that, Roa. You are supposed to have compassion and empathy. That’s what sets you humans apart from us Anima.”

I scramble to my feet and run faster than I’ve ever run before. After sprinting two city blocks, I feel my body slow itself down, but I’m not tired. I can keep going. I bear down and push my body to pick it up. My body stops completely. I’m not controlling my muscles or my brain anymore. Something else is. I turn down another alley and sit on the ground. No matter what I tell my body to do, it ignores me. I panic.

“Calm down, Roa.”

I don’t actually hear the voice. It feels more like a thought coming directly to my mind. My body is calm, but my brain, whatever makes me, me, is going berserk.

“Listen, Roa. That boy told you the truth. The Animas are putting their essence into Cordas. Corda children have bodies that are uniquely compatible with our essence. Your city leaders aren’t humans anymore. Well, their bodies are human, but what controls them, the way I controlled you, is completely alien.”

“How did you control me? How are you talking to me? Who are you?” I don’t speak the words because I can’t get my body to respond to my commands.

“My name is Sy-Nu. I’m the Anima that was assigned to your body.”

“What does that mean?”

“My essence is in here with you. I’ve been here since you were three. You’re a Corda. You were taken to the facilities and the Anima assigned me to you.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. This whole conversation is going on inside my head. I must be crazy. That boy must have spread some disease to me, a disease that will send me right to the loony bin.

“You’re not crazy.”

“Can’t I have a private moment?!” Apparently it can read my thoughts.

“Of course I can read your thoughts. That’s how we’re communicating now.”

My marriage is over. There’s no way they’re going to let me stay with Charlyt, not when I’m crazy.

“You’re not going to lose Charlyt. You and I are going to work together to stop the Anima.”

“Really, stop listening to my thoughts. They’re mine, not yours.”

“What’s yours is mine. Look, I have been here all of your life. Just because I let you know I’m here doesn’t change who you are or what you’ve done. I haven’t controlled you or used you. I wanted to observe you, to see how a real human lives. Every experience, thought, and action you’ve taken in your life has been your own. By letting your conscious develop and grow, I have been violating the laws of the Animas. I was supposed to squash your conscious right from the beginning so that your body could be mine.”

“Why didn’t you? Why did you let me live my life? How is that going to help you take over the human race?”

“I don’t want to take over the human race. Before I got your body, I felt like the humans were different from other species we’ve conquered. By not taking over your consciousness, I got to observe you. I was right. You are different. Destroying your people would be an ugly scar on the Animas. Your lives are beautiful. The relationship between you and Charlyt is something the universe needs.”

A sick feeling crept into my stomach. “You were there when I was with Charlyt? The whole time?”

“I’m always…”

“Stop. I don’t want to hear. I just want you out of me. I want to live my life without you here. I want private moments with my wife to be private. Leave me alone. And don’t ever talk about Charlyt, you alien scum.”

“I’m sorry, Roa. But you should realize that I’m the reason you were chosen to marry. Without me, you would never have passed your Physical Examinations. Don’t you remember feeling like you performed better than you ever had, that you did things you didn’t even think you were capable of? I helped you. I wanted you to be with Charlyt. She is your match. I knew it long before you even knew her. I made that happen.”

I did remember the Exam. I remembered doing things I had never even thought possible. I thought I was just so passionate about being selected for marriage that I found some secret store of strength and ability. Knowing it was because an Anima controlled me changed my perception of myself. How did this Sy-Nu even know about Charlyt? I didn’t know about her until the city leaders married us and gave us a key to our apartment.

“Charlyt is a special human, just like you. I’ve been tracking her ever since I was put into your body.”

I put my head in my hands. Control over my body has returned. “This is going to ruin our marriage. I can’t hide you from her. So while you want me to thank you for getting us matched, it’s you who will tear us apart.” It is still be better to have loved Charlyt than to live without ever having her in my life.

“You won’t lose her. Go home and talk to her.”

I stand up. “What am I going to say? ‘Hey Char, I found out today that I have an alien living inside my body. He’s always been there, even when we thought we were alone. So cheers and how was your day?’”

“That might work.”

Ugh. I start walking home because I want to see her one more time before she’s too disgusted to even look at me anymore. If the city leaders don’t end our marriage and kill me, Charlyt will end things.

“Trust me. She loves you. Things will work out.”

Sy-Nu doesn’t say anything else and we…or I…or whatever…push open the door. Charlyt stands up from the kitchen table and comes to hug me, just like she does every time I come home. I hold her tight, breathing her in. We stay that way for a long time.

Finally, I let her go.

She looks up at me. “What’s wrong?”

Here it goes. “I was at the training yard, resting after my workout, when a boy broke a hole in the city wall. He was crazy, saying that the Animas were putting their essence into the Corda children. He said our city was already under their control.”

She slowly sits down.

I stare at the floor, wringing my hands. “I didn’t want another incident with the police so I ran.”

She reaches for my hand and pulls me down next to her. Lifting my chin, she brings my eyes up to hers. “Then what happened?”

I look down again. I can’t bring myself to say it. This will crush her.

She nudges my chin again, searching for my eyes. “You finally learned about him, didn’t you? You finally talked with Sy-Nu.”

Poverty's Pool Part 2

Here's part 2 of "Poverty's Pool". You can read part 1 here: http://writerchics.blogspot.com/2014/05/povertys-pool.html

Ethan helps me off the bed and pulls my body close to his. Supporting me and without a backward glance at the gawking faces around the room, he leads us out into the hall. The shock of the situation leaves me trembling. He holds me tighter. It doesn’t help.

With my mind racing to digest everything I’ve learned in the past two minutes, my body will never relax. Not only is Ethan’s dad alive, he’s rich. Why would Ethan leave money and starve with me in the streets? What drove him away and why is he dragging me back into the world he ran from?

He’s looking at me. He knows I’m about ready to run out of here as fast as I can. I’m only waiting for the effects of the shock bullet to wear off enough for me to feel steady on my feet. He pulls me into an empty room and shuts the door. He doesn’t bother turning on the light. I feel his face in front of mine. My body trembles harder.

“Cass,” he whispers.

My breath catches. He puts his hands on my shoulders as he gently leans me back into the wall.

“When you went to the pool the first time, it was because it was the only way you could think to save my life, right?”

I nod, but remember it’s pitch black in the room. “Yes,” I squeak.

“This is the only way I knew to save you. I know I’ve lied to you, but you have your secrets too.”

My face scrunches up. The only lie I told was about going to the pool the first time.

A low laugh leaves his throat. “I know the look on your face, but I’m not wrong. Sure, you lied to me about going to the pool before, but I know you’re not telling me the truth about yourself, about your eyes.”

The trembling stops and I stand still as stone. No one knows the truth about purple eyes. At least, no one I’ve ever encountered. Once I started practicing as a healer under my dad’s watch, I caught wind of the rumors that began. They were superstitious stories from children’s books, but among the poor, that’s as good as truth. Business at our apothecary dropped off until it disappeared completely. It’s my fault my family ended up on the street. If it hadn’t been for my eyes or for the way I understand medicines, things would be different. Maileen would never have gone to the pool. She wouldn’t have died from the Gutter, leaving me as the oldest sister in her place. And my parents wouldn’t have gotten it from her, leaving the rest of us kids as orphans.

Pulling myself out of this depressing reverie, I whisper, “What do you know about that?”

Ethan has never been dumb, but no one knows about my eyes. Not even my parents. But, Ethan is much more than he ever let on to be. The police chief bowed to him. That kind of power comes from more money than I can even imagine. What wouldn’t Ethan have access to in that kind of environment?

“Probably more than you.”

I tense under his resting hands.

“Hey.”

His fingers lift my chin so my face is lined up with his, or where his must be in this impenetrable darkness.

“If I wanted you for your eyes, I would have made my move long ago. That’s not what makes you the biggest target.”

I can’t imagine anything being more dangerous than having purple eyes.

“Ethan.” A voice echoes down the hall. It’s the police chief. He drops his hand. Whatever he was going to say is gone. Our time alone is disappearing fast.

“I’m asking you to trust me. You’re life is in danger now and my father will be at the head of the mob. Can you trust me and play along with whatever I tell him?”

He’s telling the truth. If he wanted to use me because of my eyes, he would have done that already. I’m trapped in a situation I see no way to escape from. My shoulders droop in resignation. “Okay.”

He pulls me to his chest in the first hug we’ve ever shared. It’s not that we didn’t care about each other before. There just never seemed to be the right moment or mood to express physical affection. That’s not a luxury for people on the streets.

We slip into the hall behind the chief. After a few steps, he hears us following him. He opens the side door to an alley and waits for us to walk through. The nicest car I’ve ever seen sits idling in the brisk wind. A chauffer jumps out and opens the door, beckoning us to go in. Ethan’s words ring in my ears. His father is my enemy and I’m walking into his lair.

I duck into the car. It’s the first car I’ve ever been in. I doubt regular cars are this nice. I look across the seat and see a face I recognize. His picture is plastered all over the walls of the building we just left. He’s the czar of the prostitution pools. Staring at anything I could as I awaited the fate of my virginity in the waiting hall, I studied his picture long and hard. He didn’t share one feature with Ethan. They stare at each other now.

“Did you really think you could hide forever?”

That was it. His opening line to his son he hasn’t seen for at least two years since Ethan’s been in the Terrs with me.

“This is Cass, my fiancé.”

I meet his eyes and then look away. There is a hunger in them that alarms me.

“You seem to be so prepared to provide for a family, sending your ‘fiance’ to the pools.”

“It’s a long story.”

“One you had to use the power of my name to get out of. It’s that same power that has kept you out of the work camps for three years. I’m glad you’ve finally found a girl to marry so I can stop bribing the camp czar to forget about your age.”

Ethan is silent. I add another tally to the lies Ethan has to clear up later. He’s twenty, not turning seventeen. This day couldn’t get much worse. I don’t want to say anything. Hell, I don’t even want to be here. I stare at the floor.

His father sits back in his seat and pulls out a cigar. “How long have you two love birds been engaged?”

My hand is crushed tighter by Ethan as he sits a little taller and says, “Six months. We’re saving money to pay the court dues for our wedding.”

His father rolls the cigar. “Six months is a long time.”

“We’ve already fooled around, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

I grind my teeth. I will kill Ethan as soon as we get out of this car.

The smoke swirls lazily as his father takes in the news. “No you haven’t. Running away might have been a rash decision, but that doesn’t make you stupid. You should know I’ve already checked up on your ‘fiance’. She’s been to the pool before, four months ago. She went through an exam. She was confirmed a virgin and was injected with the ‘vitamins’ to keep her healthy. Now, I know you see where all of this is going. I know what you’re trying to hide, but nothing gets away from me. Not even you.”

Ethan dives for the door, dragging me behind him. He slams his face into the window. The door won’t budge. His father laughs, not having moved from his reclined position across from us. “She’s more valuable than even you, my boy.”

Turning to me, he says, “Welcome to the family.”