Chapter 21 (Aronade: age 16/ Mark: age 18 — Mitchell)
Things have gotten worse; the number of people taken off the trains, for example, has increased.
Mison has been cut off from the surrounding communities. Only those who are working on the outside of the boundary are bringing anything in. There is some money from the government, but it seems to flow at the whim of the bureaucracy. I don’t see how this can be sustained. After all, the community is not self-sufficient. They aren’t able to produce anywhere near the amount of food they need to support the community. There is more cement there than dirt. Maybe if they were able to produce some sort of product and sell it or trade it on the outside — but they aren’t. Instead, they have become dependent on the mercy of the government to meet basic needs. The results of this dependency, however, have proven to be largely inadequate.
There are constant shortages of food, clean water, hygiene products, and medical care. Of course, people want to leave, but where can they go? The outside world has become increasingly hostile towards the people living there. If they do succeed in leaving, they are usually brought back or placed in the local jail for vagrancy and then brought back. Nobody outside wants to be associated with them for fear that their own social status will be reduced. What’s more, the people on the outside seem to have developed a vested interest in having the people in Mison stay at the lowest level of the social hierarchy. No one wants to occupy that lowest spot, and there seems to be a general feeling someone has to occupy it, even if few will admit that that’s the way the world-system operates. A permanent underclass has to be maintained. The question is who has to be among the ones singled out for it.
It seems they find it easier when they can identify the selected group visually. Once they can find a way to readily identify the unfortunate members slated for the underclass position, then it’s simply a matter of putting them in their place and making sure they stay there.
Nothing happened when I returned to school. I wasn’t caught. Perhaps, Isabelle has more pull there than I realized. I haven’t even seen the floor matron since that day before the party.
Today I’ve been summoned to see the Instructor. So, apparently, he’s back. I go into the room Nan shows me to. I am surprised the room has been remodeled into an exact replica of the office that the Instructor had at the complex, replete with fireplace.
I am also surprised by the Instructor’s mood. He seems very pensive — possibly even angry. Why would he be angry? If anyone should be angry here, it should be me. Seriously, how did he think I would react to the decimation? How would anyone react if they saw their brother about to be killed? I had no way of knowing that my brother was in no real danger — that it was a scam of his and Kurt’s to get money — at the expense of the other men, I might add.
“Won’t you have a seat, Puppet?” the Instructor directs me in his — mostly — usual manner. Though, there is a distinctive edge to his voice. I look at him warily before sitting down.
“You have quite the attitude now.” he chastises me.
I look at him in disbelief. Is he picking a fight with me? He must be, I conclude, for I have done nothing to him.
“What did you need me for?” I ask him.
He just stares at me with intensity. If he’s trying to unnerve me, it’s certainly having the desired effect. I am flabbergasted. I don’t know what to say to him. I haven’t even seen him in quite a while. And now this? Clearly, he believes I’ve done something wrong. But what? Whatever the slight he thinks I’ve made, I’m unlikely to agree with him that I’m the one who’s wrong.
I swallow. Obviously, I’m going to have to say something. I can’t take this silence much longer.
“You’re the one who sent me there.” I tell him. “Without any warning, I might add. How did you think I would react? If you don’t want me making a spectacle of myself in public, you need to give me advanced warning. I’m obviously not like you — I’m obviously not as in as much control of my emotions.” I spell out my case. Let him make of that what he will.
The Instructor arches an eyebrow and looks at me in disbelief.
“You are being awfully dramatic about the store, Puppet.” he lets me know.
“The store?!”
“What’s with you today? You’re talking nonsense.” He waves his hand dismissively. “Granted I was going to send you to the store, but I hadn’t gotten around to it yet. No, you pretty much did that on your own … for your own purposes. Come now, you can at least own up to that!”
I sit back in my chair and consider. My heart is pounding. The store … I repeat the word in my mind. I had been referring to the decimation. How could he not see that that would be the bigger trauma? Once again, as with Mark’s attempted murder at the complex, the Instructor appears to be clueless as to what’s going on. This is either a game … or, like the last time it is Kurt’s doing. But how could that be? I need to think … but I can’t … not here. I don’t want the Instructor to guess what I am thinking: that Kurt had made a fool of him again.
“Don’t insult my intelligence, Puppet!” the Instructor rages.
I look up at him, devoid of emotion. I am too absorbed in my own confusion to react.
“Well, aren’t you going to own up to what you’ve done?!”
What? What could he mean? I wrack my brain but can’t seem to answer that question. What is he wanting me to say? My confusion only seems to rile him the more, and he begins to pound on the desk with his fists.
“Well, let me spell it out for you …” he spits. “I know what you’ve been doing!”
That makes one of us.
“And I resent it. I thought better of your judgment, Puppet. I had to leave town, and you took advantage of that.”
Leave town? Obviously, his frustration has built up to the breaking point and is now being unleashed.
“You could have ruined everything with your behavior! Fortunately, I was able to find out before it got out of hand, so that I could make excuses for you at the store. But still … it won’t do!!” the Instructor states with venom in his voice, his eyes black as coals. “If you’re going to hide him here, he’ll have to be hid in plain sight … like you.”
I look upon him with horror. I can’t believe this is happening. He knows about Mark! I brace myself in order not to shudder.
“People notice things, Puppet. You may think you’re being careful, but you’re not. And suspecting will eventually lead to informing … and then, where will you be? So your brother will be enrolled with you in school …”
I freeze. My brother? He thinks Mark is my brother?
“What?” the Instructor asks with irritation in his voice.
“Don’t you know Mitchell is older than I am?” I remark, thinking that will end the matter.
“Well, I’m sure he can pass as younger.” the Instructor counters with irritation in his voice.
“What — what about Kurt?” I stammer.
“What about him?”
I looked at the Instructor skeptically before quickly looking away. I become evasive. I’ve said too much by bringing up Kurt, and I know Kurt is soon to become even more of an enemy to me now.
“I’ll talk to Kurt.” the Instructor seethes, undoubtedly cueing in that there’s something to my reaction. “I trust you can handle the part with … Mitchell, is it?”
I nod.
“I hope so.” I mutter.
The Instructor stops short as he is turning.
“See to it!” he screams. I look at him blankly then watch as he leaves.
So, now what? Mark will have to pretend to be Mitchell? Kurt would have to go along with the cover-up. And the two of them would have to share the same roof.
I decide to head to my bedroom, so that I can think. Then, moments after I arrive, Kurt just walks into my bedroom and quickly shuts the door behind him. His face is red with rage.
“What were you thinking ?!” he shouts at me.
“And I suppose you had nothing to do with the Instructor finding out I was hiding someone here?” I counter.
Kurt’s silence seems to confirm my suspicions.
“So, what do you think you’re going to do now?” He sneers. “Actually bring Mark to the school?”
“I’ll just tell the Instructor my brother refuses to go.”
“There’s no way he’ll go for that. Listen! I just talked to him. He’s suspicious of me — he knows I’m hiding something. He’s going to push this thing until he finds out what it is.”
“Well, isn’t that your problem …?”
He wrenches my arm.
“It’s a problem for both of us.” he corrects me.
Of course, he’s right about that, but I wish it weren’t so. Just once it would be nice if Kurt had to face up to what he’s done. Maybe then he’d stop. Kurt finally releases me, and a smug smirk crosses his face.
“I’ll tell you what we’re going to do! I’m going to get Mitchell to enroll in that school after all. Ha! Then, there will be two of us to look after you!”
My face falls. Kurt is triumphant.
“It was great talking with you as usual … Puppet.”
Kurt finally leaves. I am grateful for that at least. But my brother being at the same school as Kurt and me? I don’t know what to make of that.
Friday finally comes, and, without the floor matron hounding me, I am able head straight off after my classes to the Instructor’s house to meet up with Mark. I am optimistic that everything will turn out all right on that front. Mark is waiting for me at the fence again. I let him leave the area first; then, I follow him.
“I wanted to tell you something.” Mark informs me when I catch up to him. “I’ve been part of an underground resistance movement.”
I look at him questioningly, trying to determine if he’s serious. He seems to be.
“What? What do you mean?”
“I wanted to do something. For one, they are restricting the food supply.” Mark mentions in an exasperated tone. “That is their way. It’s a double bonus — insatiable greed coupled with killing people … through starvation no less. And you know how people get when there’s not enough food. It’s a great way to control and manipulate people. It would be easy to convince most everyone to go along with the depopulation — the eugenics. Apparently, it’s not enough for them to live longer; they have to kill off the rest of us, too.” Mark pauses. “And they want to make all of us into slaves — those they haven’t already killed off that is.”
“Is that why the authorities took you in?”
Mark averts his eyes.
“Could be …” he tells me.
“But Kurt knew … where you were taken …”
Mark’s eyes grow dark, and I realize that Kurt probably isn’t a subject I should breach. Yes, he would probably end up being discussed eventually, but I would have preferred to delay talking about him all the same.
“Possibly it was him then.” Mark allows. “Strangely, they didn’t bother to tell me why I was being held. Maybe they just enjoy beating people up.”
I consider.
“You’re not suggesting it was random?”
“No.” Mark responds. “I just don’t really want you involved any further with Kurt’s games.” he confesses.
“I think we both recognize that it’s too late for that. Plus, Kurt’s obsessions aren’t restricted to just you. He’s gone after my brother, too.” I speak gloomily.
“Yeah, well …” Mark breathes. “I guess he’s got quite the game going.”
“So, this resistance group … is that why you were in Mison the day I ran into you? It seems, in retrospect, someone must have sent you to guide me out.”
“Someone from the group had been assigned to do that for money. Sneaking in and out of there is an income source plus a chance for rebellion. But when I heard your name — I went instead.”
“My name?”
“Yes, it’s very distinctive.”
“But I’m not known by that name around here.” I tell him breathlessly. “They call me Liesel now. That’s the name I gave at the police station … but you didn’t know my new name, which means they must have called me Aronade. There are only a handful of people who would have called me that.”
Mark is stunned into silence … but only for a moment. Then, it seems obvious. It suggests what I had suspected, Kurt had set him up. But how did Kurt find out about Mark’s underground involvement?
“Does Katie know about your underground involvement?” I ask Mark.
At first I am afraid of how Mark will take the question, but he seems to handle it well.
“Not from me …” he responds.
Then, a thought seems to occur to Mark.
“What is it?” I ask him.
Mark’s eyes appear to be shifting.
“What?” I ask him again.
He continues to avoid eye contact with me.
“I met someone today.” he tells me.
My eyebrows furrow.
“No, it’s not like that.” he assures me. “Your brother.”
“Mitchell? Really? Where?”
Mark again hesitates.
“He was at a meeting of the underground groups.”
My jaw drops.
“Seriously?”
The possibilities of what this could mean whirl through my mind. How does this mesh with the decimation … with Kurt’s influence over him? Is his friendship with Kurt real or an act — an underground assignment? Or, maybe his underground activities are an act — something Kurt came up with for some reason. And which underground group is he associated with … and is that group even reputable? Is there hope that Mitchell has changed his attitude since the decimation?
“Aronade.” Mark recalls my attention.
I look up at him.
“I’ve been thinking. It seems your brother has been around these meetings before, though I never made note of him until today.
“Yeah?”
Mark sighs.
“Do you think he was the one who turned you in to the authorities? Or, at least told Kurt, and Kurt did it?” I ask Mark.
When Mark doesn’t answer me right away, my face falls painfully. Try as I may, I cannot deny that it is probably true.
My brother. Somehow I feel as though he is the one who is important. Then when I couldn’t save him from himself, it was as though I thought: what use am I? When I saw him at the decimation, he seemed to have this limitless emotional need — this empty hole inside himself. And I blamed myself that I couldn’t even begin to fill it.
“So, you think my brother joined the underground because of you?” I ask Mark, barely above a whisper.
“I don’t know. That would be an odd thing to do. But then, Kurt is odd.”
“But let’s not kid ourselves; Mitchell approves of Kurt. He chooses to hang out with him.”
“And Katie, too.” Mark reminds me. “Lest we forget.”
“But Mitchell is a grown man.”
“Still …”
“And Katie was traumatized by the kidnapping.”
“You are kind, Aronade. I appreciate that about you.”
I manage to smile slightly.
“Still, Mark, Mitchell obviously has some issues. And this whole underground thing — I have enough reason to worry about your safety. Quite frankly, with Kurt involved, neither my brother nor the underground can or should be trusted.”
Mark just looks at me with sympathy.
“Don’t look so sad.” I console him. “It’s not like I lost anything that was real anyway.” I pause. “Just think about what I said.” I then put forth.
When I happen to divert my eyes away from Mark and toward my surroundings, I become aware that we have made it to the train station. Could it be merely a coincidence that we happened upon here?
I stand in front of the train … he is leaving, I conclude. I can tell it by the look on his face; he just doesn’t want to say the words. My eyes drift downward. I am deep in thought. Then, I can feel Mark staring at me. Obviously, he wants to say something now … now that I’ve finally figured out what he’s up to. Reluctantly, I eventually return his gaze. I know that once I give him eye contact, it will start a chain of events that will eventually lead to his leaving. He is looking upon me with sympathy again; that annoys me.
“Why are you leaving again?” I charge him.
I am flustered.
“It won’t be forever … God willing.” he reassures me.
“That’s not an answer to my question.”
“I have to see my parents. I have to talk to them about Katie. I can’t hide it from them anymore, and there’s nothing more I can do for her. I only seem to be making things worse …”
“Not for me.” I remind him. “My life isn’t going to get better by having you leave.”
Mark looks down. Then, he swallows hard.
“Unlike the other girls, Katie got lured away by Kurt.” Mark seems to be struggling with the words. “He seduced her. Apparently, Kurt found out about the Instructor’s kidnapping scheme. I figure he wanted to try it out for himself, so he started stalking various girls. And he settled on Katie. It turns out she had an interest in him. So, he lured her away and left the kind of things the Instructor did behind at the scene. When he saw me at the complex, he probably recognized me from the times he had been watching Katie. I imagine the Instructor wouldn’t have been thrilled about Kurt’s copying him and that Kurt’s behavior had led to my tracking the Instructor down. So, I guess that’s why Kurt wanted me dead — though it seems he had his own peculiar way of going about it.”
“And that’s why the Instructor didn’t seem to know anything about you …”
“Yeah, maybe.” Mark agrees tentatively, seemingly unconvinced.
“But then there were the girls who died …” Mark reminds me. “Who knows who’s responsible for that.”
“I think the elites were sending the Instructor a message.” I tell him distractedly.
“Aronade.” Mark recalls my attention. “Let me do this with your blessing. I need to do this. Then, I’ll come back. I promise you that I’ll do everything in my power to come back …”
I look off to the side again.
“And we both know that it may not be in your power to come back, don’t we? Not anytime soon.”
Mark is quiet for a minute. Travel has become difficult these days. Everyday there seems to be a new restriction on movement. It’s true that if Mark doesn’t leave now he soon won’t be able to. I don’t want him stuck in Mison. And yet, I also know that he may not be coming back despite his intention to. It could even take years for him to come back if things continue on this way, though I won’t allow myself to believe that.
“I have to give my father the chance to come here and retrieve Katie himself if he wants to. He still has legal authority over her. I don’t. The way she is now, she’ll probably just have me arrested if I try to compel her to leave with me. And my tante has lost all control over her as well. The only one Katie listens to now is Kurt. Anyway, if all that was something I could just write in a letter, I would. But it isn’t. Not to mention, with the mail so unreliable these days, it could be weeks before my parents would even hear about Katie’s situation that way. By then, it could be too late.”
I agree with him, but I feel torn up inside about it all the same. I am tempted to run off with Mark. But just as before, I can’t. The Instructor wouldn’t allow that. I can’t do that to Mark. If I’m ever going to escape from this trap of a life, I’m going to need a solid plan — and I haven’t come up with one yet.
I breathe.
“All right.” I say, looking at him directly again. “The train is about to leave anyway. I’ll try to hold on until you return.”
I’m only half-joking. I reach out my hand and grab on to his. I squeeze his hand.
“Take care of yourself.” I tell him.
He smiles. Then, he steps toward me. I am amazed when he cups my face in his hands then leans forward and kisses me. I can’t breathe for a moment. He releases me, smiles, tells me once more he’ll return … then he’s gone.
Weeks pass, and I hear nothing. There’s nothing unusual about that, I tell myself. The mail is bad these days; I know that. I expected that. And still … it’s hard. Mark is my only friend … besides God.
It takes awhile for Kurt to follow through on his threat to enroll Mitchell in our school. In fact, I had convinced myself that Kurt had been bluffing. But then one day, I run into Mitchell in the hallway. The hallway is mostly deserted as I am running late for class.
Despite the fact I had seen him at the decimation, I stand there in amazement. Now that I can see him up close I can definitely recognize him. My brother! He is a young man rather than a child now, but his features are the same — only most of them are, of course, larger.
“How did you come to be here … around me?” I utter. Then, I hear a snickering behind me. I whirl around to find Kurt standing there. I can tell that my facial features have begun to distort into a twisted mask. I can’t seem to control the impulse.
“You!”
“Funny how you are never grateful … Liesel… not to me anyway.” Kurt’s voice mocks at being hurt.
“What is with you, sister?” I hear my brother’s now deep voice ask me.
I turn slowly back towards Mitchell; a crushing blow seems to hit me in the chest. Mitchell is taking Kurt’s side over mine. Then again, why should I be surprised? Mitchell had hardly treated me well at the decimation.
“You don’t understand!” I hear myself lamely protesting.
And he doesn’t — not if he is seriously taking Kurt’s side — he couldn’t. Kurt has already done enough in the relatively short time I have known him, and none of it has turned out well. More significantly, none of it had been intended to turn out well … not for anyone but him. If Kurt has brought Mitchell here, it isn’t for my benefit — it is for the opposite of my benefit. And yet, I know if Mitchell instinctively believes in him there will be a gulf between him and me that I can’t possibly breach. That is the way it always seems to be between me and people who just don’t get it. Only people who have a spiritual connection to God seem to get it.
“Do you know the things Kurt has done?” I whisper.
A grotesque look crosses Mitchell’s face.
“Save it!!!” he shouts at me.
I conclude Mitchell may not know everything about Kurt, but he knows enough to make him not want to hear anything I have to say about him before I can even get a word out.
“And what if people find out what you’ve done?” I remind Mitchell. “Not even that you cheated, but that you were seemingly willing to throw your life away for the chance to be rich. Don’t you see how that plays into their hands … makes it seem that your life has no value if you don’t even value it yourself?”
“Well, I guess you’d know more about how the elite think than I would given you’ve been spending all your time with them.”
Mitchell makes a sweeping motion with his arms to remind me where we are.
I flush with indignation. That isn’t exactly true. And to the extent to which it is true, it certainly isn’t by choice.
“But now you’re no better than they are!” I protest.
I am stunned when Mitchell hauls off and slaps me — hard.
“And if you hadn’t said what you did and interfered, that first guy might still be alive!” he seethes. “They may have just allowed all four of us to live … and I just wouldn’t have gotten the money!”
Mitchell seems to take pleasure in torturing me with this possibility.
“None of you seemed to be willing to walk away from the money!” I protest. “I was hoping …”
“Save it!!!” he repeats.
Mitchell then walks over to Kurt, and they walk away together.
I think on Mitchell’s violent reaction to be confronted by what he had done. I guess the thrill of getting away with eating day’s old meat is soon replaced by the repulsion of the taste of the rot.
After this episode, I am infuriated. So, I head back to the Instructor’s house to see if I can dig up dirt on Kurt … to find proof of Kurt’s machinations in order to get him in trouble with the Instructor. I know the Instructor won’t believe me otherwise. His ego won’t allow it.
Then, in one of Kurt’s bureau drawers I find something. Inside a box are stacks and stacks of cards — all in the Instructor’s handwriting — all giving me directions of what to do in various circumstances.
“What?!” I utter.
They are just like the one I received directing me to ride the tram rather than the train and the one telling me to go to Mison the day of the decimation!
“So, it was Kurt!” I utter.
“Yes, it was Kurt.” I hear Kurt’s voice confirm.
I whirl around as Kurt slams the door. He then begins to tell me what he is planning to do in the long run. He tells me he may as well let me know now as I am to be a part of it. He is intending to take up where the Instructor leaves off. It is the perfect cover. No one will suspect me of being a carrier. After all, why would Kurt, an elite, hang out with me if I could kill him? That is what the Instructor had reasoned … but with Kurt there is an additional piece.
Kurt is going to use me to blackmail the elite for actual money. While part of the effect of Instructor’s plan had kept the elite from unleashing their viruses against the general population, Kurt wants more for himself. This scenario of Kurt’s would doubtlessly prove even more dangerous for me. Even if Kurt can conceal his identity as the blackmailer, chances are the elite would find out eventually and realize it was all a bluff — that I could kill Kurt, too. And that Kurt of all people would never risk going through with destroying himself.
“But it’s not like they can live forever anyway.” I point out. “You can only take it so far.”
Kurt turns a glistening eye onto me.
“Still, what if we could live that long — or at least so long that it seemed that way?” he counters.
He grins.
“But that’s where you come in. That’s their incentive to do what I want. You change the equation back. You make them fear death.”
He laughs.
“Oh, but we do have far too many other ‘people’ taking up our space, don’t we? I won’t allow this scheme involving you to hinder humanity’s progress. I actually want these other ‘people’ to die. Unlike the Instructor, I can see the beauty in their philosophy. I’m fine with their killing people off to reduce the population. I just want to be paid. It’s much more fun to spend other people’s money!” Kurt exclaims.
I roll my eyes. He glares at me.
“But really what’s the point of money if you can’t control life and death?” Kurt asks me with amusement in his voice. “And what’s one less of these ‘people’?” Kurt laughs. “Whoops, sorry.” he says to me with absolute insincerity in his voice.
“That’s sick and demented.” I say.
“Hello, Fraulein Holier-Than-Thou.”
“Why should you care what I think?” I counter.
“You know, you’re right.” he laughs again. “I don’t really care what you think. Who are you to me? Just be glad that your being spared … for now … is the one thing the Instructor and I agree upon. Of course, since you won’t live as long as I will, I’ll have to find a replacement for you eventually.”
It is a great strategy really … as far as the Instructor goes. Kurt is the puppet master but pretends to be the Instructor’s puppet. After all, who would destroy a puppet you could use?
“Well, I guess war can kill off people just as well as anything.” Kurt shrugs. “So, maybe I can keep the Instructor’s ban on using the viruses against the masses, and ‘people’ could still die.”
“Why does everything with you always seem to lead to murder and death?”
“When you see the other guy get it instead of you … I don’t know. It’s like at that moment, and for some time after, you’re immortal. You’ve escaped death, and you feel you’ll never have to face death again.” Kurt enthuses.
He snickers awkwardly, and I just stare at him in disbelief. I then notice he is still standing purposefully in my way and doesn’t appear to have any intention of moving. Next, I realize I am still holding on to the box of the Instructor’s cards. Kurt will probably not allow me to leave with it. So, I sigh and place the box on the ground. I am surprised when I look up again and find Kurt still standing there in front of me.
“What’s with you? I don’t want anything to do with you. I want you to leave me alone. You don’t own me.”
I try to walk past him, and he grabs me by the arms.
“You’re enjoying this!” I accuse.
“So?” he responds suggestively.
I am disgusted.
Suddenly, Kurt manhandles me towards his bedroom door and shoves me into the hall. I know then there won’t be any more evidence against him kept in his room.
Copyright © Jennifer Alice Chandler 2020
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