Page 25 of Semi-Human

“You want some?”

I look up to see Buck’s busted face. He’s holding two bottles of beer. He wasn’t at the wall today, and I assumed they’d given him some time to recover after the fight yesterday. It’s evening time, and this entire day has passed by in a blur. The conversations I had with Mara and River keep playing in my head. I feel like there’s a clock following me around, counting the minutes until the New-Humans either break River or attack Unity. Maybe they’ll simply do both.

“I don’t drink alcohol here,”

I say, though the bottle looks tempting.

“You can be less sharp this evening, Hiver. I’ve got your back.”

I meet his yellowish eyes, one swollen shut. I’m reluctant to let down my guard by even an inch, but I feel that I owe him the benefit of the doubt. I take the bottle, cold against my palm.

Buck gestures for me to follow, and we go up to the last floor of the scaffolding, sitting with our legs dangling down. Even sitting, he’s a head taller than me. I take a sip of beer, not loving the taste but appreciating the change from stale water. In front of us are rows of black barracks, with tired slaves trying to unwind between them, knowing that tomorrow will be just like today. Farther in the horizon lies the shiny city, pissing down at us.

“Where did they take you yesterday?”

Buck asks. “It seemed like a trip to the city. Not many get to take that ride and come back.”

I understand his suspicion, but I’m not about to share the truth with him or with anyone I can’t fully trust. “Ask me no questions, I’ll tell you no lies.”

He smirks and drinks from his own bottle. “Fair enough. I don’t expect anyone else to try dragging you into a container anytime soon, but if you suspect that someone might, let me know.”

I stop myself from saying I can take care of myself, because he saw firsthand that I can’t. “Okay. Same goes for you.”

“That’s good, but I doubt anyone here fancies my sweet ass.”

“People have kinks.”

His booming laugh jolts me, but I don’t mind the sound.

“How many giants do you think there are around here?”

I ask, wishing I had asked River that.

“I’d say around thirty based on what I’ve heard, but it doesn’t mean they don’t have other bases with more giants. And there was that rumor a few weeks ago.”

“Which rumor?”

“A guy named Damien was sent to clean one of the buildings in the city. He said it was a big lab with soldiers and whatnot. When they weren’t paying attention, he started snooping around. He claimed he saw a chamber with giant pods.”

The beer in my stomach swirls unpleasantly. “What was in those pods?”

“Albino children; each one bigger than a grown man. He said there were about a hundred of them. Can you imagine fighting a hundred giants?”

“I fought just one, and it was bad enough.”

He frowns at me. “How the hell are you still alive?”

“I had help.”

I drink from my beer to wash away the taste of grief. “Where can I find that Damien guy?” Maybe he could give me information I might be able to use.

“Damien told too many people what he saw. Soldiers beat him up before taking him away. He’s either dead or praying he was.”

I sigh, not surprised. “Do you have a plan for escaping?”

Since the day I got here, I’ve been hearing slaves talking about how they were going to escape, but I doubt most of them even take it seriously by this point. Still, what else is there to talk about?

“I can probably escape,”

Buck says, “but I ain’t keen on living on sand. They’re also pretty good at tracking down whoever manages.” He downs the rest of his beer and burps. “That doesn’t mean I’m not considering my options, though. I didn’t escape the Raiders to be the giants’ bitch for the rest of my life. You just be careful not to follow anyone’s dumb plan.”

I wasn’t planning on doing so, and I doubt anyone here would include me in such a plan. People in my unit have seen me taken away by soldiers and brought back a few hours later. They all look at me funny now, and it feels as if I’ve been officially marked as an anomaly or a spy. I’m fine with that as long as people keep their distance—it’s the other option I’m worried about.

“I’d best head back if I want to shower before lights out,” I say.

“I can keep watch outside.”

I almost reject his offer, but I was confident in my safety the last time I was attacked. “Okay,”

I say, and we climb down from the wall.

*

An explosion tears me from sleep.

For a moment, I think it’s an old nightmare about Skyfall, but everyone wakes up as well, confused and alarmed. Gunshots follow, but they don’t sound close. People jump from their beds and run outside, I follow suit, fearing being caught in such a cramped space if the fighting reaches us. Bodies clash in panic on our way outside until we emerge into the chilly night.

“Over there!”

someone calls.

I focus on where he’s pointing. It’s another section of the wall, a few miles from us. Thick smoke rises to the sky, and it seems that part of the wall has collapsed. I put two and two together and figure out it’s an escape attempt.

“Stupid fuckers,”

someone says next to me. “It never works!”

Slaves run toward the breach in the wall, disappearing into the smoke. Some fire at the approaching guards, and people on both sides fall.

It’s a bloody scene, and I can only hope those slaves will make it out, but I’m doubtful of their survival chances out in the desert.

“Back to your quarters, maggots!”

Guards rush toward us, their weapons drawn. They fire a warning shot over our heads, sending us scrambling back into the darkness of the barracks. By the time I find my bed and try to calm my heart, the sound of fighting has stopped as if it never happened.

*

“Fuck me sideways,”

Buck grumbles as we watch the sky a couple of days later. “Where do you think they’re heading?”

I follow the ten choppers as they pass above us, disappearing behind the wall. They’re heading to the east, but I have no way of knowing if Colorado is their destination. I try not to panic, reminding myself of Mara’s offer to spare my Hive if I help her out with River, but I don’t trust that woman. Maybe she figured out I’d never help, or maybe she doesn’t think I have it in me to influence River. She could have also been lying about those armies in California.

Now that the New-Humans know the location of Unity and Mercy, what stops them from attacking? Choppers alone likely won’t destroy the Hives deep in the mountains, but a ground strike could breach our defenses.

“Maybe it’s a drill,”

I say, tightness in my chest.

“You two!”

A guard approaches Buck and me. “Unit C-2 is looking for more hands. They have a special assignment.” His smirk sends a chill down my spine.

Since our unit is C-1, we don’t have to walk far to reach the other group of slaves. They’re responsible for a different section of the wall, but they are currently working on something else.

“Got more working hands for ya,”

the guard who brought us tells another guard. “And a mutant no less!”

“You two, follow what the others are doing. We’re on a tight schedule.”

Still confused, I join the others as they put together what seems like tall crosses made of wood. There are already twenty of those standing in rows on both sides of the road, but based on the remaining number of beams, we’re meant to build many more.

“Is this for what I think it is?”

I ask as I lift one of the beams with Buck.

He nods. “We’re gonna build the final resting place for some unlucky fuckers. Guess we’re in for a show.”

I hope I won’t have to see the outcome of our work, but you don’t put up crosses unless you want to make a spectacle. We work for another few hours—assembling, then positioning, more than a hundred crosses across the road leading to the city. It’s a rather cloudy day with the sun being less punishing, but my muscles throb and my head is spinning by the time we’re finally ordered to stop.

I drink as much water as I can, wishing to be dismissed, but it doesn’t take long for the rest of my unit to join us, and with them, dozens of other slaves. I’ve never seen so many of us in one place, and that also means many more guards and armed soldiers. They order us to stand across the road between the lines of crosses.

Wherever I look, I see fear on people’s faces. I can’t help but picture myself being nailed to one of the crosses I’ve helped build.

“Here they are,”

Buck says next to me.

I tense at the sight of shackled slaves being marched toward us by soldiers and two giants. One of them is Solomon, the giant who flew here with River and me on the day that everything changed.

The arriving slaves seem even more beaten and scared than the rest of us.

“Are those the ones who tried to escape a few days ago?”

someone asks, but no one seems to know the answer.

“Shit, that’s my brother!”

A man close by tries to push his way toward the shackled slaves, but he’s pulled back by others who tell him he can do nothing to help.

When the shackled slaves come closer, I notice the haziness in their eyes, and how they sway like leaves in the breeze. I glance around, wondering if I could slip away unnoticed. I don’t need to see this shit.

“Don’t even think about it,”

Buck mumbles. “They can easily find a cross for you.”

He’s right. I take a deep breath, though the air is thick and unpleasant with so many unwashed bodies clustered together.

Solomon stands next to one of the crosses. He easily towers above the crowd, his dark armor glittering under the setting sun. “Flock!”

His booming voice brings all murmurs to a halt. “This is a difficult time for our community, but we have never promised a bloodless path to a new and better world.” He scans the crowd with his milky eyes, daring us to claim otherwise. When no one does, he continues. “Those you see in front of you have tried to abandon our community in favor of the hell beyond our walls.”

I wonder how much the New-Humans truly know about the world outside this city. Father has likely fed them horror stories to make them blindly follow his vision and justify their actions.

“There is no room for weakness and cowardice in our new world!”

Solomon roars. All around me, people shift uneasily. “You will witness our rightful justice, flock, and let this civil lesson put away any dangerous thoughts that might cross your little minds.”

Civil lesson. I try to disconnect from the chilling sights that unravel before me. Even drugged, the slaves’ instincts kick in as they are being raised by soldiers and tied to the crosses. Some try to fight, but they are easily stopped. They scream and beg for our help, but we remain silent and numb. I try to fill my head with any other sounds, but their screams cut through, fueling my shame.

Given how efficiently everything is handled, I have no doubt these soldiers have done this before and likely will again. They use barbed wires to tie the slaves to the crosses, wrapping them around their wrists, legs, and necks. The wires cut through tender skin, and blood flows freely, soaking into the sand.

The screams of agony will not fade anytime soon, and I hope those people find their peace quickly.

“Smart,”

Buck says as we start to leave the area.

“Smart?”

“The way those giants handled that. No sane man who will be planning an escape tonight.”

“You overestimate how many sane men are left around here.”

I, too, feel my sanity slipping as time passes, forcing me to remind myself why I’m here and what I might lose by giving up.

Buck chuckles. “Fair point, but whoever’s running this show knows what they’re doing. I can appreciate a good mindfuck when I see one. Even the sharpest minds can be manipulated if you go about it smartly.”

I walk slower, my brain buzzing with thoughts as Buck’s words circle in my head. Could it work? Could I be the one doing the mindfuck? I honestly don’t know, but something tells me it might be my only chance, and I’m running out of time.

“Go on without me,”

I tell Buck.

He grabs my hand. “Don’t do anything stupid, Josh. You can’t escape.”

It’s the first time he used my name, and I hate that I’ve grown to like this man, or at least tolerate him. “I’m not trying to escape, but there’s something I have to do.”

“Yeah, I can tell when someone’s about to try something crazy.”

He shakes his head. “Fuck it. Good luck.”

I walk against the crowd toward the same crosses I was so eager to leave behind a minute ago. I try to keep my eyes away from the horror and focus on Solomon, who’s talking with the other giant.

Soldiers move to block my way, and before I can speak, one of them smashes the butt of his rifle into my stomach. I gasp and tumble back, ending on my hands and knees.

“You were dismissed,”

the soldier says. “Get back to your quarters unless you want a spot on a cross.”

Damnit. I rise to my feet, holding my throbbing stomach. My gaze locks with Solomon, and a glimpse of recognition appears in his pale eyes.

“River’s prisoner. Causing trouble, I see.”

“Can we talk?”

The soldiers look from him to me in confusion.

Solomon sizes me up and nods. “Let him pass.”

I go to him, glad to see the other giant has already left. I raise my head to meet his eyes. “I need to speak with Mara.”

“About?”

“What she asked me to do. There might be a way for me to do that.”

He crosses his arms, and I can tell he wants to ask about what I’m talking about, but he says instead, “She’s too busy to waste time on might.”

“Maybe we should let her decide.”

He leans down, his milky eyes filling my vision. I hold my breath as he raises my head with a finger underneath my chin. “You have a big mouth for such a small skull. Maybe you should stay on a cross tonight to think about your manners. We can try talking again tomorrow.”

I glance nervously at the line of crosses, where most of the slaves have passed out while still bleeding. There are a few free crosses left, and I don’t know if I could survive a night out here.

“I’m sorry,”

I say, my throat tight. “If I can help Mara, it may change everything, but I’ll wait for you to call for me.”

He narrows his eyes. “Change everything, you say? You can tell me, then.”

I damn well can’t, and I don’t know what to do if he insists. Before I can mumble a shitty excuse, he huffs in annoyance and straightens. “Mara will speak with you now.”

Then she has been listening. “Thank you.”

“Hold on to that thank you,”

Solomon says as we begin to walk. “Mara will kill you if you don’t come through.”

I have no doubt.

*

I once again find myself dumbstruck by the sharp shift between the bleak life by the wall and the sparkling glamor of the city. Solomon leads me to the same skyscraper I was in before. Giants sit in the wide lobby while loud music is playing in the background. I’m caught by surprise seeing three Semi-Humans being served food by a female slave as they play cards. My skin warms in anger, and I wonder if they tried to influence River, to get into his head and pressure him into revealing his secrets.

“I can’t fit in the elevator,”

Solomon says. “Get off on the 30th floor. Mara’s office is at the end of the hallway. Go anywhere else, and we’ll have a problem.” His menacing glare is enough of a warning.

I ride the elevator and exit on the 30th floor. With every step I take in the eerie hallway, my doubts intensify. Maybe I should have waited to think this through, to better plan instead of succumbing to my impulses. The weight of a possible failure presses heavily against my chest.

“Come in,”

Mara says before I can knock on her door. I try to make my heart beat slower, but she must already be sensing it. I enter the office where Mara sits behind her large desk. She’s wearing white, but her scarf is black and made of fur.

She points to the chair in front of her. “Sit. Did you enjoy the show?”

“I could have lived without seeing a crucifixion,”

I say and take my seat.

“Everyone’s a critic.”

“Were the choppers I saw today heading to Colorado?”

“No. There are still pockets of resistance around Nevada, and a few dozen slaves managed to escape during that wall breach. I aim to get them back, or at least parts of them.”

She smiles. “Of course, I could be lying and those choppers might indeed be heading to Colorado.”

I’m aware of that, though I believe she’s telling the truth.

“You claimed to have a way of helping me with River.”

She cocks her head. “I do hope this isn’t some cheap attempt to see him again.”

“It isn’t.”

I take a breath. “I need to speak with Father.”

She laughs. “Do you now!”

“He’ll want to speak with me.”

She narrows her eyes. “You are an interesting little creature, I’ll give you that. But alas, Father does not speak with the likes of you. He hasn’t in decades, and it’s unlikely to change today.”

Hoping that Father is listening to this conversation through Mara, I shove aside my fear and say, “If Father wants the other half of the purifiers’ activation code, he’ll make an exception.”

I can tell she’s trying to remain composed, but her eyes tell a different story. She leans back as the silence between us stretches. Eventually, she shakes her head. “You might know of the code, but you don’t know what it is.”

“True, but I can get it.”

She sniffs. “Is this the stench of a desperate little liar?”

Worried that she might lose her temper, I say, “I spoke with Mother about it.”

Once more, her eyes betray her unrest and curiosity. “How did you speak with her?”

“At the Semi-Humans’ village, using a similar helmet to the one you have here. I know what Father—Dr. Ivan Volkov—wants from Mother, why he’s attacking the satellites.”

Silence follows, longer than before. I’m beginning to fear I’m about to pay dearly for my audacity when the door behind me finally slides open.

“If you’re lying, you won’t get out of here alive.”

I nod. “Then good thing I’m telling the truth.”

She smiles and gestures with her head. “Go on. Father is waiting.”