War and Money Read online

  Was Manti treated like this, too? She was my best friend and it hurts to think she might have been teased or called a smudge. When the weekly announcement came that she’d been killed, I cried at night for days. Although since she’d volunteered, maybe her fellow recruits were nice to her. I really hope they were. I squeeze my eyes closed and imagine I’m snuggled in bed, with Ma singing the little song she always did when I was sad.

  Sleep well, sleep well, my sweet baby,

  Dream well, dream well of dead aliens,

  They die, they die, and we live,

  It’s them or us, them or us,

  So get ready to advance proudly,

  Save the human race and sleep well my baby.

  I dozed off at some point, for how long, I have no idea. But the shuttle is descending and everyone seems anxious. After a few minutes, we touch down. The other kids are smiling and Lenora and Tablon look giddy with joy, but joy is the last thing on my mind. We all get up when ordered and step into the aisle; I’m one of the last, behind Tablon and in front of Lenora, not a good place to be because they decide to crush me in between them.

  Tablon is enormous, I know I have no chance of moving him, so I haul back with my elbow and catch Lenora right in the ribs. She grunts and I finally find something to smile about.

  She whispers in my ear, “Better watch yourself, smudge. You’ve got no friends here.”

  “Yes, I know. I got your message loud and clear.”

  I’ll have to be my own friend. Nobody else is standing in line for the job.

  Chapter Three

  We disembark and walk single-file down the ramp to where Viteri is standing on a small platform with his arms folded across his chest. It’s incredibly hot and humid, with green trees and tall grass all around the perimeter of a large open area with rectangular buildings surrounding it. I’ve never seen anything like this. My outlier only has half-dead trees, with shriveled grass growing in small pitiful clumps from the six-year drought we’ve had. I’d love to walk through the grass here, but I’m sure it’s off-limits.

  I follow along as everyone lines up in front of Viteri’s platform and salutes. I take my place in the second row when it’s my turn. Nobody drops the salute.

  Viteri hops off the platform and walks back and forth in each row, checking us out one-by-one. “End salute and stand at attention.”

  I don’t know what ‘at attention’ means, but I carefully watch Tablon. In one quick movement, he slaps both arms against his legs and presses his palms to his thighs, shoulders back and head held high. Everyone makes the movement, but we’re not together. Of course, this makes Viteri angry.

  He gets up on the platform again. “Salute and repeat! As one! Senior Lead Neemiss, instruct the recruits.”

  Tablon steps out of line and takes a position in front of the platform. He’s arrogant, and orders us to follow his lead like he’s a commander. For several minutes we work hard, sweating, until we’re all in rhythm and Viteri is finally satisfied. My thighs sting and my shirt is soaking wet, but I now know how to do the perfect salute and stand at attention.

  Viteri says something to Tablon and dismisses us. Nobody talks as we once again go in single-file, this time with Tablon in front. He’s already the leader. I will not be happy until I see him fail. We go to a long, rectangular building with ‘Holding Dormitory’ written above the doorway, head to a ramp and stop when Tablon turns and holds up his hand.

  With an irritating smirk, he throws his shoulders back and clears his throat. “Listen up! This is your temporary quarters until you receive your permanent dorm assignment. Take the first bunk you see and change into the training camp uniform. Be prepared for inspection. I’ll be right outside. Go!” He stands aside, with Lenora next to him. We go up the ramp and enter the dormitory. When I make it inside, I’m met with a blast of cold air that feels like winter. I wasn’t expecting air conditioning.

  There are two rows of bunks with an aisle between them. The greenish paint on the walls is faded and peeling and sort of reminds me of my bedroom back home, except mine is pale yellow. I’m glad I won’t be staying here because it smells musty. It’s half-full with recruits, most already dressed in the uniform; a bright red short-sleeved shirt, black pants, grey socks and black lace-up boots. Everyone ahead of me grabs a bunk, making my choice limited to a couple of bunks at the far end of the dormitory; a bunk next to the wall or one in between two frowning boys. I take the one next to the wall so I only have one pimple-faced boy on my left. He stares at me like I’m intruding on his space.

  I give him a casual smile. “Hi. I’m Dax.”

  He doesn’t smile. “Nikko.” His uniform is still neatly folded beside him. He motions to my uniform at the end of my bunk. “That’s yours. You pick out your boots over there.” He points to some shelves with stacks of different sized boots.

  “Thanks. Nice to meet you, Nikko.” I sit on my bunk and look around for somewhere to change. It looks like the uniform shirts are one size because some of the shirts on the kids who are dressed are stretched tight, like they’ll rip any second, and the skinny kids have baggy shirts, as if two kids could fit in them.

  How come nobody is doing or saying anything?

  There’s a whistle from outside and a second later, they kids without their uniforms on all strip off their clothes and get dressed without a second thought. How can they do that? Boys and girls together, undressing. I don’t want to take my clothes off in front of anyone. They probably all have brothers or sisters and are used to changing in front of other people. I suppose it’s not that bad, we all have underclothes on and we’re all recruits, sort of brothers and sisters when you think of it. So why do I feel awkward?

  Nikko’s already dressed and kicks my bunk. “Put your uniform on. If you get us disciplined because you refuse to obey orders, I’ll be the first one to break your spine.”

  Nikko isn’t interested in being my friend either. Is there no one who wants to see me for who I am? I’m just an ordinary girl and I don’t want to be here. Can’t one person say something kind? Of course they can’t, kind words seem very scarce around here. I nod to Nikko, turn away and take my shirt off. I look over my shoulder and see that he appears satisfied because he fiddles with his boot laces, keeping an eye on me the whole time. I want to get dressed quickly since my underwear is old and worn, but Lenora rushes over before I have the chance. She’s wearing a dark blue shirt. Where’d she come from?

  She grabs me by the arm, pulls me to the middle of the dormitory, laughs and tugs at my old undershirt. “Ew! Smudge has dirty underclothes!”

  I pull away. “They’re not dirty,” I mumble as I wrench my arm until she lets go. “Leave me alone.”

  Stomping down the aisle, Tablon claps his hands together for attention. He’s fully dressed in his uniform, which also is a blue shirt instead of our red, but his has a white stripe around the middle. “What’s all the noise? You’d better shut up because the Commander is coming for inspection.” He glares at me. “Why aren’t you dressed, smudge?”

  He puts his meaty hand on my shoulder and pushes me backward so I fall onto a bunk. I get up fast and ignore the jeers. “I was trying to get dressed, but…”

  “No excuses, smudge!” he bellows. He thumps his way to the doorway and looks out. “The Commander is here. Recruits, get to your bunks and stand at attention.”

  I hurry to my bunk with no time to dress. Viteri has already entered the dormitory and is walking down the aisle slowly as the recruits stand up straight at the foot of their bunks. I do the same, wearing my regular pants and my undershirt. I can hear Nikko muttering under his breath that my spine will be snapped in half as soon as Viteri leaves. Breaking spines certainly seems to be a popular threat.

  Viteri announces, “These are open-gender dormitories. There will be no sexual activity tolerated. You are here to train, not engage in sex. Control your urges. Anyone disregarding this rule will lose their subsidy forever, your family will be disgraced and you will
be sent directly to the front lines without further training. It is your duty to report any sexual activity you might witness. All those accused will be examined by the verity-probe. For you uneducated vaporous nebulas, the verity-probe taps into your mind and detects deceit. If you report a verifiable incident, you will receive an extra ration of food and your family will receive a one-time bonus. If you falsely accuse someone, you will lose your subsidy for a month and receive half-rations for the entirety of your training. This is your only warning.”

  He continues on his way, screaming at a couple of recruits who evidently hadn’t tied their boots correctly, but praises Tablon, of course, for his excellent military behavior. Now it’s my turn.

  “Orwan. I should have guessed you’d be the one to cause problems.” Viteri’s so close to me that I see the hard, deep lines etched into his face. He shakes his head. “How difficult is it to change clothes? I would have thought even you could manage that. Is this another of your rebellious traits?” He feels the fabric of my undershirt between his fingers. “This is the most pathetic thing I’ve ever seen. You might be a lowly Status 2, but in this camp, you’re a recruit and will look like all the other recruits. Senior Lead Neemiss! Dress this pathetic waste of oxygen.” He steps back and waits for Tablon.

  I automatically back away. I don’t want Tablon to touch me. Ever. I turn around and reach for my uniform shirt but Tablon grabs me, throws me to the ground on my back, straddles me and pins my arms down. He’s so strong, I can’t move. He looks up at Viteri.

  “Stop!” I shout.

  Tablon slaps his hand over my mouth.

  Viteri frowns and leans down. “Do I have to reiterate that a recruit does not argue or speak unless spoken to? When you are dressed in your regulation uniform, you will come to my office.” He straightens and motions to Tablon. “Dress that recruit. And burn those underclothes. This is my camp and I have an image to uphold.” He spins around and struts from the dormitory.

  Nobody is talking or laughing, just staring at me, helpless on the ground. Tablon sneers and rips at my undershirt while I struggle. After a few seconds, he tears it off. “Well, at least you look like a girl under that filthy shirt. But you’re nothing. A smudge. A trouble-making piece of galactic dust. You’ll die so I can survive. Understand?”

  I want to cover myself and scream out and push him off me, but I’m powerless. He works at my pants and underwear and with help from Lenora, gets them off me as well. I’m lying here, completely naked with everyone in the dormitory watching. Tablon finally gets off me, gives me a half-hearted kick and throws my uniform on top of me. Lenora is laughing and pointing, and tosses a pair of boots right at me.

  Tablon chuckles. “Worthless smudge. Get dressed and go see the Commander.” He peacocks around like he’s just accomplished the greatest feat, and when he laughs, the other recruits follow suit, although a few hesitate, but ultimately join in.

  I sit up with my shirt covering my chest, turn my back to everyone and dress faster than I ever have before, even with my hands shaking. Once I have my boots on, I rush from the dormitory as everyone laughs harder. I hate them all. Not one of them came to my rescue. Well, if they have no time for me, then I have no time for them.

  Once outside, I take a few deep breaths and wipe my sweaty face with my new shirt. It’s a bit loose and scratchy, but at least it’s clean. The boots are a good fight, but I’m sure Lenora was hoping they wouldn’t be. With my head clear again, I can see how the camp is set up in a semi-circular wheel-spoke pattern with the dormitories radiating out from the commander’s offices, with the clearing at the center. It’s similar to how our outliers are positioned around the city. It must be a popular planning design.

  Viteri’s is the nicest building in the camp, with a fresh coat of greenish-gray jungle camouflage paint and a precisely printed sign above the doorway that says Viteri, Senior Commander. The other commander’s offices are located on either side of his and are much smaller.

  I need to calm down before going in, or my mouth might blurt out something I’ll regret. Just a few minutes to check out the camp and make Viteri wait. My personal rebellion. What’s he going to do to me at this point if I don’t rush to bow down to him? Deny me food, electro-shock me again? Sweat is dripping off my face, no matter how many times I wipe it on my shirt. Since there’s no one in the area, I’ll sneak around the back of the offices. That’s amazing, ten fighter ships lined up in two rows of five each. They’re beautiful ships; shiny silver and sleek with a main cockpit window located at the nose and smaller portholes on either side. Their wings are graceful, delta-shaped, and seem to be made of a solid piece of metal, no seams or rivets anywhere that I can see, and the ships are hovering off the ground without anything supporting them.

  Across from the fighters are several small camo-colored buildings close together with an armory sign on them. I’ve never held a weapon; not a knife, not a laser gun, nothing. And I’m expected to fight against the enemy and kill as many as I can, while protecting the likes of Tablon?

  I wait a few more seconds, but I know I can’t delay any longer. Back to Viteri’s office I go, and give one knock.

  “Enter!” he shouts.

  I walk in and salute. He paces back and forth behind his large, ornate desk, clicks his tongue and comes to me, looking me up and down.

  “At attention, recruit. You’re late.”

  “Yes, sir.” I press my lips together to stop from smiling, drop the salute and slap my hands to my thighs. At least I can salute perfectly.

  He shakes his head and mumbles, “Can’t even salute or stand at attention right. This only proves I was right to bring you here and get you away from prospective recruits. You’d have them questioning everything, wouldn’t you? You’re only good for one purpose.” He lets the words hang in the air. “Senior Lead Neemiss and Lead Averlowes have already formed an opinion about you. And I agree with them. I can’t justify wasting time and money on someone like you. You’ll receive minimal training in weapons only.” He goes behind his desk again, places his palms flat on his desk and leans forward. “Your sole purpose is to serve my will and protect the lead soldiers when necessary. Got it?”

  The last thing I want to do is protect Tablon, but I nod. “Yes, sir.”

  I don’t plan on dying, no matter what he thinks. Ma and Da need my advancement subsidy, so the longer I stay alive, the more money they’ll get. This isn’t fair though. Nobody lasts long on the moon fighting the Katarga, but I have to find a way so Ma can save enough subsidies to get fertility treatments and have more children. It’s kind of ironic though. She refused the government-sponsored fertility treatments because she wouldn’t sign the waiver that the resulting child would automatically be advanced on their Date of Fate. And now, here I am, a soldier.

  Viteri continues, “I called you out privately for a reason.” He straightens, walks around me and runs his thick, stubby fingers through my tangled hair. “I’ve come up with a practical way for you to serve the Global Forces regardless of your continued non-conformity. You’re going to be an example and you’ll be famous for it.”

  “Famous, sir?” Famous for what? Dying faster than any recruit in history?

  He smirks like he read my mind. “Hopefully you won’t die right away because I have plans for you. Being a Single, your sacrifice for the greater good will stand out and show other families that are as selfish as yours that they need to produce more children to keep their subsidies coming in, and to provide more soldiers for the wars. Nobody wants to lose a war. And for a Single to be a casualty of the enemy, well, it’ll stir up the outliers. Parents will scramble to produce more kids and advance the ones they already have to keep the subsidies rolling in. We’ll get a bump in advancements.” He pauses for a moment and as an afterthought, mumbles, “And as a bonus, with you out of the way, there will be no more anti-Global Forces rants.”

  What does he mean? I’ve never ranted about the Global Forces. “I don’t understand, sir.”

>   “I didn’t expect you to. You tested well, but you’re really quite a simpleton, aren’t you? Well, let me put it in words you can understand. You ask questions you have no right to ask. I have a way to shut you up. And you’ll like this, your death will help the Global Forces grow. Your mother refuses to accept the fertility treatments we can provide free of charge, so when you die, your parents will have no subsidies at all and will be driven from their home, financially destitute. Living on the streets is a tough life and most people don’t survive long. They’ll starve or become victims of the roving scavenger gangs. Their demise will be broadcast to everyone on Earth, especially in the outliers.” He nods to himself. “Oh, I didn’t forget about you. Your death will be broadcast first, all over the planet. So, Orwan, you’ll be famous for providing the world with proof that reproducing frequently and advancing children is a matter of survival. Families need money and we need recruits.” He has a full-on smile now. He stares off into the distance. “Advanced kids equals money.”

  I’m not going to be his propaganda. If I had the chance, I’d run from his office and wouldn’t stop until I’m back home. My life means nothing to him, but my death is going to be used for his purposes. Am I supposed to react, to beg him not to let me die? If he expects me to crumble, he’s in for a surprise. I throw my shoulders back a bit more and look straight ahead, willing myself not to break down.

  He sits behind his desk and brings up a projection in front of him. “Tell Senior Lead Neemiss to report to me right away. Dismissed.”

  I salute, even though he’s no longer looking at me, turn and leave the office. Once outside, I can’t hold it in and run around the back of the building, crouch down and scream into my hands. Sweat drips down my face and mixes with my tears. I don’t want to cry, but I can’t stop myself. My life is over before it ever really started.