The Woodlands

Joseph spoke.

“Apella had developed a way to synthesize genetic material in order to artificially impregnate a woman. She was teaching us this process and getting us to synthesize our own DNA and other kids from the Classes. We were to collect samples from every male we could. Just a strand of hair was enough. Soon we had about three hundred samples. I wish I had known what they were pla

“So you did this?” I aimed my accusation at Apella. “You’re responsible for what they did to me, to Clara?” I was disgusted with her. She was obviously brilliant but had no morals.

“You say it like I had a choice, Rosa,” she appealed.

“You always have a choice,” I said.

“Even if the choice is dying, or someone you love dying?” she said, looking to the man next to her.

“Yes.” I knew what I would do. I would never have done what she did.

“That’s what I love about you. You are nothing like anyone else in Pau, you do believe in a choice. You always do what you want and to hell with the consequences!” Joseph said. I was offended. I didn’t think that was true, but I would like to think that I would make the right choice, if I had to.

Apella looked devastated by my response. Clara shuffled over and patted her back. It made me sick that she would even touch her after what she had done to us. I felt like I had heard enough. But Joseph continued.

“Shortly after the samples were created, we were told that they had been destroyed, that someone had left the fridge door open and they had all expired. We were moved onto another program and we were told Apella had taken a leave of absence.”

“Pretty stupid to believe that,” I snapped.

“I know,” he admitted, “but I swear we thought it was all for practice. We never dreamed that they were going to use them for anything.”

I was starting to put it together myself, “And then I disappeared.” I felt cold. Worn down to a point, a speck. Was there ever any end to it?

“Yes.” He looked at the ground, tracing patterns in the dirt with a stick. “You disappeared; you stopped walking to the construction Class with your friends...” he stopped on that word, setting his mouth in a hard line, like it was difficult for him to say. “You weren’t exploring the Arboretum.” So he was watching me. “You were gone without a trace. Every day I snuck into the lab after hours and searched for any information that might lead me to you. Every day for about a month I would type your number in, or your name, but there was nothing.”

“It’s true!” Deshi chimed in. We both shot him a look.

“Then one day I typed in your number and all that came up was ‘matched’. That’s when Apella caught me. She found me sitting, staring at the computer. I had just about given up hope when she leaned over and typed in a password. There was your name Rosa Bianca matched Joseph Sulle. Apella explained it to me. Although I think she had to explain it about ten times. The Superiors had taken you and used my sample to create a baby. Our baby. She told me that they had taken her technology and were using it to begin a repopulation plan for the Woodlands. They would eliminate the need for families. They could control the genetic mix this way. So we were matched to create a particular genetic composition.” He sounded like a scientist, like one of them.

I yawned, stretching my arms. The leech kicked me and I jumped, instinctively touching my belly. Joseph looked at me longingly. “Did it…” he didn’t finish. “You’re tired. Maybe you should sleep and we can finish tomorrow.”

“No, keep going. I want to know how this fantastical story ends,” I said sarcastically.

He ignored me. “Apella asked for my help. She said she would help me find you, if I helped her and Alexei escape from their life also.” So that’s why she was helping us. To protect her love. My opinion of her lowered further.

“I’m sorry it took so long but we had to make sure the plan was perfect before we tried. There were so many things that could go wrong and we only had one shot at it. I’m sorry for…” he said, leaving it hanging.

This was a lot. It was too much. A wave of sadness for all that I had been through, for what I was yet to experience, crashed over me. What did I do now? The question was foolish and pressing. I was exhausted. All I said was, “So a computer chose us and now you’re here.” It was ridiculous, but then so was everything else. I laid my head down and cried, while the others stared into the fire, orange and yellow flames dancing in their eyes. For all my bravado and ‘attitude’, as Joseph put it, I was still a scared sixteen-year-old girl, pregnant and confused.

He moved closer and I let him. He gently put his hand on my head and stroked my hair until I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up feeling uncomfortable and cold. My back was sore and I was all twisted. Noises I had never heard before punctured the morning, birdcalls, fire crackling, and wind through the massive trees that surrounded us. I had imagined these sounds before, fantasized about how it would feel to be out in the forest, but hearing the real thing was a strange experience.

I turned to the sky, realizing that I was still sitting next to him. He had fallen asleep sitting up, his hand still in my hair. I lifted my head and his hand fell with a thud, startling him awake.

“Morning,” he said croakily, stretching his neck. He locked eyes with me and I saw it. That look. Somewhere in the back of my memory I heard, ‘like you’re the only girl in the world’. I looked away.

Everyone else was up. Clara, Alexei, and Apella were huddled together, examining a flimsy piece of colored paper. On the side that I could see was printed ‘Travel the Great Trans-Siberian Railway’. There was a picture of what looked like an antique train on the front, with the phrases, ‘trip of a lifetime’, and ‘family friendly’ written in yellow bubbles.

“What are you looking at?” I asked. Curiosity was getting the better of me, even though I really didn’t want to talk to Apella.

“This is the map we are going to follow,” Apella said.

“So this is your plan?” I said, hoping to God it wasn’t.

Apella patted Alexei’s arm lightly and turned to me. “Alexei used to work in the archives. He found a map in a folder marked ‘Pass Times’. When he noticed the railroad led all the way to Mongolia he, well we—” she gazed at him adoringly, “thought this would be the perfect plan.”

“And then what?” I said, folding my arms across my chest.

She avoided my eyes, looking to the side of my face. “When we find it, if we can make it to the mountains, we might find a safe place to hide over winter.”

I laughed bitterly. It sounded ludicrous. No, suicidal.

Sensing my not-very-well-hidden skepticism, Alexei added, “We can find the railway tracks and then we can follow them. Since we can’t use the reader’s GPS for risk of being tracked, it is the best way forward.” It was the first time he had spoken and it didn’t help my impression of him. His voice was wobbly like he wasn’t used to speaking. He sounded unsure and defensive.

What could I say? I was their captive at this point so I went for an attack. “Yeah, well, if you two don’t stop gazing at each other like that, you’re all going to remember what I had for di

Joseph chuckled. “Well, let’s get some breakfast into you.”

Deshi walked over and sat next to me. I shifted away from him a little. He just shrugged. He was holding a grey box. He opened a drawer, tapped a small pill from a jar he pulled from his pocket into the tray, and dripped some water into it from his flask. He replaced the tray and waited. A light on the top of the box turned from red to green. He pulled out the tray to reveal grey mush filled to the brim.