Fall of Venus (16 page)

“What
is Gate 23?” I ask.

“Pollen,
I know you are determined to leave. You’re probably planning something as I
speak,” says Glenn.

“Gate
23,” I interrupt. “Where does it lead?”

“Gate
23 is a dead gate right now. They’re not letting anyone through. Not even
Enforcers. Don’t even try it. You’ll –“ but I won’t allow him to finish.

“Where!”
I demand.

“It’s
down a hallway in the atrium. It’s one of the exits that leads to the docks.” I
can’t believe I had forgotten about that. One side of Crimson has access to a
canal that leads to the East Venusian River. Glenn continues, “Even if you were
to get through Gate 23, there’s still one more gate with scanning devices.
You’d never get through. If you tried the alarm system would go off and you
will be captured.”

But
the wheels have already started turning in my head. There’s still hope. Glenn
can see it burning in my eyes.

“Pollen,
please listen to me. I know I have hurt you beyond words. Nothing can make up
for what I’ve put you through. But whatever has happened between us, I still
care about you and I don’t want you to get hurt. If you do escape again they
will hunt you down. And next time they won’t put you in the hole. They’ll
execute you. They’ll make an example of you.”

Those
words ring out in my head. “Execute me? Just for trying to escape? Isn’t that a
little overkill?”

“It’s
not about you escaping, Pollen. It’s about control. And fear. They’ll execute
you to scare everyone else into submission. To tell them that this is what
happens to people who defy them. I know I can convince them you’ve changed if
you let me. I can get you on the guard. That’s the only way you’ll be safe.”

“And
what about Evie? What will happen to her?” I ask, unable to look him in the
eye. Glenn remains silent.

“That’s
what I thought,” I say. “We’re done here.” I turn away from him to lean on the
washer.

“Please,
Polly,” he says as he walks toward the door. “Just think about it.” I nod so
that he will leave. For a brief moment I entertained the thought of joining the
Enforcers. I’d have easier access to the world outside of Crimson. But I
couldn’t allow them to put that thing on my eye. They probably have some sort
of tracking device implanted in there as well; otherwise they wouldn’t be able
to keep them all here. No. I have no intention of joining them. I’ve already
got my plan in place. And tomorrow Evie, Marcus and I will be free.

Chapter
20

Today
is the day. I haven’t slept a wink all night with all my crazy thoughts running
a triathlon through my head. I think about what Glenn told me,
“Even if you
do escape again they will hunt you down. And next time they won’t put you in
the hole. They’ll execute you.”
But I’m
suffocating in this place and I have to get out, even if it kills me. Death
would be a welcome release to living the rest of my life like this. I’ve
managed to come up with a plan to get us out again. It’s not foolproof, but to
me it’s worth the risk. And the sooner I put it into motion, the better for all
of us.

When
the Enforcer comes in with Evie I’m going to take her out. She’s a big woman,
but I’ll catch her off-guard, and in doing so I’ll disarm her. My escort, Dana
421, will hear the ruckus and come in to see what’s going on and that’s when
I’ll take her out as well. I’ll change into her uniform and remove the Hulky’s
uniform for Marcus. While in disguise, I will escort Evie to Marcus’s wing and
give him the uniform to change into. I will leave first, making my way to Gate
23 where I will take over duty from one of the Enforcers and knock out the
other. Marcus will escort Evie to join me and, if we need to, we will use the
comatose Enforcer’s eye and hand to get through the second gate. I don’t think
the canal gets much use anymore so hopefully we’ll be able to get out and swim
our way to safety before we get caught. I know this will work. It’s our only
chance.

I
eat lunch by myself as usual. Good thing it’s burger and fries day, so I take a
couple extra packets of ketchup and mustard, along with some packets of pepper.
They are small enough for me to slip into my pockets with nobody noticing. I
also ball up the plastic wrap that covered my salad and shove it into my other
pocket.

When
I get back to my cell, I produce a small tube of toothpaste I snagged from the
shower room and arrange my ketchup and mustard packets on the bed. I’m glad to
be at the end of the cellblock with no roomies and no intrusive eyes spying on
me. I cup my hand and use it to mix the toothpaste, mustard and ketchup into a
pale flesh colored paste. Using the inside of my arm to test the color, I
adjust it to match my skin tone by adding more ketchup or mustard. In the time
since I was recaptured, my lightly tanned skin has faded from the lack of
sunlight. For once I’m glad my skin is pale. Once I’ve finally got the color
matched as closely as possible, I scoop a dollop of the mixture onto the sheet
of plastic, roll it up and slip it inside my bra. I won’t need much. I slip the
packets of pepper into the other side and wait for the Enforcer to escort me to
the room for my weekly visit with Evie.

She
shuts the door and I nervously sit down on the chair. While I wait for Evie to
be escorted here, I tear open the packets of pepper and sprinkle them into my
hand. I realize this is the last moment that I will be safe, in some sense of
the word. If I go through with this and don’t succeed, I will be executed, or
at least that’s what Glenn said. I still don’t know if I can believe him. He
could have been trying to scare me into joining him for all I know. But the
idea still holds on in my mind. Part of me is holding back, letting the fear
take over. I struggle to push the fear down and bury it, complete with a
granite tombstone, knowing that this is the only way I’ll ever be truly free.

The
door handle turns and my heart beats with the force of a hundred galloping
horses. I try to remain calm and put on a smiling face for Evie. This is the
moment, my last chance to turn back. I have to move forward.

Evie
walks into the room, looking pale and weak as ever. I’ve never seen her this
sleepy in the middle of the day. She’s been through too much. Any second
thoughts I had have been tossed out to sea with the receding tide. I need to
get her out now. I approach Evie and wrap my arms around her while the husky
female Enforcer shuts the door.

I
whisper in her ear, “Evie, I need you to trust me and do everything I say, do
you understand?” She nods.

In
an instant I push her behind me, stand up and throw the pepper, which has been
cupped safely inside my fist, into the eyes of the Enforcer. She gasps, drops
her baton and claws at her eyelids. I grab the baton and begin pummeling her in
the head before she has a chance to reach for her firearm. I keep giving blow
after blow until she is knocked out, lying face down on the floor.

“Everything
okay in there?” the Enforcer asks from outside the door. I instruct Evie to
stay where she is while I hide behind the door. She steps inside the room and
as she discovers her cohort’s body lying on the floor I slam the door shut and
swing the baton down on the back of her head, striking her just in the right
spot to bring her down in one blow.

I
strip the blue jumpsuit from Dana 421 and put it on over my clothes. Evie is
standing in the corner, wide-eyed and much more alert at this point. “Don’t be
scared, Evie,” I say, zipping up the suit. “We’re getting out of here this
time. And I’m not leaving without you. Come here, I need your help with
something.” I sit at the table and pull out the plastic containing the
flesh-colored concoction. Evie stands next to me.

“Evie,
I need you use this to cover up my tattoo,” I say sliding the mixture to her.
She dips her finger in it and rubs it between her forefinger and thumb, playing
with the squishy texture. The pungent odor of vinegar and peppermint diffuses
into the air.

“It
smells weird.”

“It’s
okay, just put it on,” I command.

Evie
reaches up with her other hand, pulls my hair to the side, and gently dabs the
mixture onto my temple. I expect it to be cold, but it’s comfortably warm after
being next to my chest. When she finishes I ask, “Is it completely covered?”
Evie nods.

“How
do I look?”

“You
almost look like one of them,” she says.

“Almost?”
I raise my eyebrow.

“You
don’t have that picture in your eye,” says Evie.
That’s right
. I had completely forgotten about that. I guess I’ve
just gotten so accustomed to seeing it that it didn’t even occur to me.

I
search the women on the floor. Neither is carrying a pen, but I remember there
is one attached to the clipboard outside the room. I crack the door a bit and
see an Enforcer marching in my direction. After he safely passes I reach out
and grab the clipboard. The pen is attached to it with a thin chain. I rip the
pen off and bring it back to the table, tear off a tiny piece of plastic wrap,
and draw the triangular design on it, placing the pen in my pocket when I’m
finished. I flatten it out as much as possible and very carefully place it in
my eye as if it were a contact lens. It stings at first and it’s hard to stop
blinking because it feels like I have a million eyelashes in my eye, but I
force myself to keep it open so it won’t bunch up. Then I ball up my hair and
place the cap atop my head.

“How
do I look now?” I ask Evie.

“Perfect,”
she smiles.

“Okay.
Evie. When we go out there, you need to act like you don’t know me, like I’m
just one of the Enforcers. Do you understand?” I’m not sure if I really need to
explain the plan to her, but since she’s so young she won’t understand the
depth of what we’re about to do. She nods and I know she will cooperate. Before
we leave I take off the other Enforcer’s jumpsuit, fold it up tight and place
it inside my suit, giving the appearance of a slight beer belly. I fasten the
belt around my waist, complete with baton and gun. I hate having this gun on me
and sincerely hope I don’t have to use it. I remember when Glenn took me to the
shooting range on a date once. That ended badly. Plus, I don’t want to put Evie
in any more danger than necessary.

I
poke my head out into the corridor, checking to see if it’s clear. There’s an
Enforcer down the hall walking away from where I am. Nobody else. Placing my
hand on her shoulder I guide Evie toward the north wing, walking stiffly and
staring straight ahead. We pass by many doors on either side, the Enforcers’
quarters, most of which are closed and locked I’d assume.

Finally
we approach a huge rotunda with a glass-domed ceiling. This is the atrium, the
heart of Crimson. Men and women, most of whom are in blue uniforms, fill the
room, some going this way and that, others pausing to chat, and a few sit on
benches along the rounded walls.

There
are six corridors that emerge from the atrium. I visualize a bird’s eye view of
Crimson. The entrance is on the south, with prison wings on the west, east, and
north. I think the northwest corridor leads to the yard, although the Enforcers
always used a different path to escort me. That leaves three corridors. The canal
is on the east side, so I’ll either take the northeast corridor or the
southeast corridor. I lurk slowly through the atrium to make my observation. It
seems the Enforcers are steering clear of the northeast corridor, so I assume
that it leads to the dormant Gate 23.

But
first, I must reach Marcus. I turn left to proceed down the northern corridor,
which should take me to the north wing, where Marcus is supposedly staying.
Everything looks identical to the corridor we just came from.

There
is an overwhelming sickness in my stomach as I approach the Enforcers at the
entry to the north cellblock, a fear that they’ll discover my ruse and I’ll be
caught. I remind myself that I am an Enforcer. I am one of them.
I am an
Enforcer at Crimson, taking a survivor to visit the north wing. I am an
Enforcer at Crimson
.
 
I hold my head up high and force myself
to make eye contact.

 
“Visitor from the children’s wing,” I
state. One of the Enforcers pulls a scanner from his belt and proceeds to scan
Evie’s tattoo. It never dawned on me until now, but is she allowed access to
Marcus? She was part of the escape party, she might be denied as well, and then
we’d be caught. She writhes under me as my hand tenses around her shoulder.

“Access
permitted,” says the Enforcer, and the other opens the barred gate. I blow out
the restlessness that had built up within me and my shoulders slump slightly
with ease. I gently push Evie forward as we enter the cellblock.

“What
is your business here?” demands one of the Enforcers behind me. I think
quickly, knowing that the wrong answer could give me away.

“I’ve
been given orders to collect Stygma, Marcus for medical collection,” I say.
Damn! I’ve already screwed up! I had intended for Marcus to already be in
disguise when we left the cellblock. Now I’ll have to take Marcus
and
Evie out of here. As if
that
doesn’t look suspicious. And I’m going to have to
find some place outside the cellblock for Marcus to change. The two Enforcers
look at each other briefly. “Proceed,” he says.

I
scan the cellblock. It looks identical to mine, but with different people. Evie
and I walk down the stairs to the lower level where the common area is. We pass
by tables where people are playing board games, a TV screening area that is
showing movies, and an open area, just as it is in my wing. There are too many
people around; I can’t see Marcus anywhere. I’m about to start checking room to
room when Evie shouts out, “Marcus!

I
turn and there he is, coming down the steps. He looks much cleaner and well
groomed than I remember him. But he’s lost some weight and looks sickly. An
area around his left eye is yellowed with a dark outline, like a large healing
bruise. His eyes seem to hide some kind of deep pain that I just can’t
understand. But I’m so happy to see him.

Blissful
titillation climbs up my spine and diffuses into my limbs. I fight the urge to
run to him, to fall into his arms, with so many people around. Instead I march
over to him as an Enforcer.

“Evie
doll!” He wraps his arms around Evie and swings her around like a father would.
Those two look so happy together. “I missed you so much.”

“We
missed you too,” says Evie, smiling back at me.

Marcus
turns to me and the happiness on his face melts away into a bitter frown. In
fact his face echoes the look Respa gave me when I returned. My smile fades. I
remind myself that I haven’t seen Marcus in weeks. Not since the car crash. Who
knows what’s happened to him since, what they’ve told him.

“You’re
one of them now,” he frowns.

“No,
Marcus,” I whisper. “Take me to your room so we can talk.” He doesn’t budge,
but instead narrows his eyes and scowls at me. I don’t think he’s going to give
me a chance to convince him. As he sets Evie back down I can see her whisper
something in his ear. He looks at her intently and then nods.

“This
way,” he says and I follow Marcus back up the steps. I see that he has a room
almost identical to where mine is in my wing, except one floor up, at the end
of the cellblock, away from prying eyes.

He
turns to me, his eyes demanding answers. After I’ve peered around to make sure
nobody is close by, I remove the plastic from my eye. It’s such a relief, my
eye tears up and I blink to allow them to fall out. It takes a moment to
register the disguise, and then Marcus grabs me and plants his lips firmly
against mine. Evie covers her eyes and giggles at us, reminding me that we are
not completely alone. We embrace each other, neither willing to let go. I
whisper into his ear, “Marcus, I’m getting us out.” He pulls away from me. His
eyebrows curl up in concern. From the look on his face I expect him to talk me
out of it. “What’s the plan?” he asks.