Indentured Read online

  As he moved closer, he could see that Juliet was lying covered up in a fetal position, her eyes opened and her gaze falling on nothing in particular. If she saw him standing there, she gave no evidence of it. He knelt down on the floor next to her, resting his arm on the bed near her chin.

  “Hi, I never got a chance to introduce myself. I guess none of us got that chance really. I’m Declan.”

  She didn’t respond. A long strand of hair fell across her face, but she didn’t even respond to that. He watched her, looking for any sign whatsoever that she was even behind those eyes, but she granted him nothing.

  “I know they told you your name was Juliet, but that’s not really you. Who are they to tell us who we are? I’m not ‘Foxtrot’. Heck, I don’t even know what a Foxtrot is,” he said, reaching over with a finger and drawing the strand of hair out of her field of view and tucking it behind her ear, “What’s your name? Your real name?”

  He looked down at both of her fists that were gripping the blanket to her chest. Her knuckles were turning white because of how tightly she grasped it.

  “You don’t need to talk. I know what it feels like when people try to reach out to you and you just want them all to go away. I lost my three-year old son. He was shot in my own driveway and I held him while he bled to death. No one should ever have to lose a child. No one,” he started, then resigned that thought with a sigh, “I wish we had access to the internet though. I’d like to have a picture of him at least and maybe it’s out there somewhere on the web.”

  He opened up the package that contained the burrito-like sandwich and took a cautious bite. As he chewed, he smiled and nodded to her, noticing in that moment that some tears were welling up in her eyes.

  “Your family never lost you, you know,” he said, setting the burrito down on the bed, “I think our minds somehow want to think that since we have no memories after the MRI, then that means we physically left at that point and showed up here in this hell. But that’s not what happened at all. You went home after that MRI. You went to PTA meetings for your kids. You watched them walk down the aisle to get their diplomas. You were there for-”

  “Stop, please,” she croaked, the tears streaming onto the pillow, “I get it. Really, I do.”

  He watched her, wishing there was something he could do. That vacant stare of hers finally shifted, catching his eyes. After a moment, she looked down at the bitten burrito on the bed between them.

  “I actually brought you one,” he said, reaching behind him and grabbing the remaining food, “See, hell comes with bedside service! First class all the way.”

  She cracked a partial smile, strictly for his benefit, but he accepted it. He set all the food and drinks on the bed between them.

  “My guess on the burrito-thingy is that it’s turkey, chicken, or cockatiel with either provolone or mozzarella cheese, and a tangy sauce similar to ranch dressing, but a little spicier,” he said, making a point of opening the wrapper of hers, “And we’ve got water to drink.”

  She finally sat up and wiped her eyes, offering no more conciliatory smiles for Declan. He turned away from her, leaning back against her bed and taking another bite of his burrito.

  “You know, it could be worse. They could have given us 21st century bodies. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I was getting the starting of a pot belly thanks to a little pizza shop that opened right next door to my workplace,” he said, taking another bite and chewing it slowly.

  He could hear her take the burrito he left on her bed near the pillow. They sat in silence for minute, her taking nibbles and Declan starting on his second burrito.

  “Why are you here?” she muttered.

  “Same as you,” he shrugged, “Just an innocent bystander abducted by these clowns.”

  “No, I mean why did you come into my room? Why did you bring me the food?” she asked.

  He took another bite, then rose from the floor. He turned to her and then seated himself at the foot of her bed.

  “I heard about your loss and I couldn’t even imagine being in your shoes,” he said, pleased to see that she was still eating, “And it just seemed unfair to me that my load is so light while you’re being forced to carry an enormous one.”

  The door opened, drawing their attention to Ensign Rowe who was standing in the doorway. By the ensign’s expression, Declan suddenly worried that he should be feeling guilty for some unknown transgression.

  “There’s no fraternizing allowed while aboard the ship,” Ensign Rowe stated.

  “Fraternizing?” Declan chuckled, gesturing toward the food wrappers near the bed, “Did you even realize one of your Indentured wasn’t with us in the cafeteria? Do you even care about the emotional health of your Indentured?”

  “We know where everyone is at all times,” she replied, signaling for him to leave the room, “Nothing goes unnoticed aboard this ship.”

  “So that’s why you located us so ‘quickly’ after you watched me leave the cafeteria,” he said, rising from the bed and shoving the rest of his burrito into his mouth, “I mean, if Juliet and I were lovers, we’d of had enough time to ‘fraternize’ twice before you showed up.”

  Ensign Rowe gasped, then pointed firmly toward the corridor behind her.

  “It was a pleasure fraternizing with you, Juliet,” Declan said, reaching down to shake her hand.

  Juliet managed a smile, shook his hand, and handed him his drink.

  “Ellie,” Juliet said, stopping him just before he reached the door, “My real name is Ellie.”

  “It’s truly nice to meet you, Ellie,” he turned to her and smiled.

  He stepped past Ensign Rowe and shuffled quickly down the hall toward his room. She beckoned him before he even made it halfway.

  “I know your intentions were good, Foxtrot,” she said just as Declan stopped, “The point is, we don’t want any boundaries to become confused before we begin our mission. There will be plenty of time for all that later.”

  Declan turned to the ensign, examining her from a distance.

  “If someone doesn’t take care of the true needs of these Indentured, then there won’t be ‘plenty of time later’,” he said, “Perhaps Ellie is stronger than I gave her credit for, but if I was in her shoes, I’d probably have taken one of those swords to myself by now. Do you get what I’m saying?”

  She observed him for a moment, then gave a subtle nod. He turned away from her and continued on toward his room.

  . . .

  They trained offensively with both types of swords for an hour after dinner, as opposed to all the defensive training they received before. After the training, the Indentured were permitted to return to their rooms, remain in the hangar and practice, or they could check out the recreation room on the lower level.

  Declan felt very comfortable with the sword, which wasn’t all that different from any of his other martial arts training. He was one of the last Indentured to leave the hangar. Without realizing what he was doing, he stuffed his hands in his pockets while he walked down the corridor. His left hand immediately enveloped a folded sheet of paper in his pocket. He drew it out of his pocket, discovering a printed yellow receipt or something similar.

  He unfolded the sheet of paper. A bunch of crazy computer jargon was printed down the page, meaning nothing at all to him. On the other side however was what seemed to be a frantically scribbled message:

  They can’t read cursive handwriting – must have been lost on them over the centuries, so we’ve no need for code. I believe they can hear everything though, so that’s why we need to write. Your bedroom is the last in Corridor 18, which puts your bathroom up against Storage B. I made it so the back panel in the cabinet under your sink comes off and gets you into Storage B. This gives you access to the command portion of the ship – something completely cut off for the Indentured. It gets you beyond the wall that divides us. I need you to meet me in Storage B tonight, your first night here. Don’t let anyone including your roommates know about this. I
have something to show you.

  He read the message again, wondering who would have known he’d get this particular room. Who would have been able to slip the note into his pocket? Who was watching him?

  Paranoia stopped him where he stood and forced the paper back into his pocket. He checked the passageway for anyone that might have witnessed his reading, but he was comfortably alone.

  . . .

  The recreation room was located down the stairs and just a few meters away from where the cafeteria was above. Declan decided that after seeing the anonymous note, it would probably be beneficial to take a deeper interest in those around him. He needed to find out why the mystery writer chose him out of the many identical clones.

  The first thing he noticed upon entering the room was the unsettling way his fellow Indentures were adapting to their new lives. Two Indentures were currently hovering over some hi-tech billiard table with holographic balls, laughing and joking as if they were hanging out at a local club.

  Declan quickly maneuvered around Echo as he lined up his cue, then watched curiously as Echo’s real life stick actually tapped the ghostly cue ball. The ball rolled leisurely toward the corner pocket, lightly skimming the six-ball as he probably intended, sinking it into the side pocket. The cue ball stopped a breath away from dropping itself into the corner, bringing a sigh of relief from Echo.

  “You’re lucky, man,” Romeo said, stepping back so Echo could line up his next shot, “You want to play after this, Foxtrot?”

  It took Declan a moment to realize Romeo had been talking to him. He shook his head quickly, then turned to check out the rest of the room. There were unrecognizable pieces of equipment throughout the room, some of which he assumed were used for exercise. In the corner of the room, he saw the back of a few heads gathered around something of apparent interest, so he headed over there to see what it was.

  He discovered Kilo and Papa sitting on a sofa playing a large screen game system not much different from the various Xbox and Playstation systems of his own time. The game itself involved racing a vehicle through a three-dimensional world, but neither Indenture seemed to have the hang of the controls. Declan joined Oscar who was leaning against the back of the couch watching.

  “Who’s winning?” Declan asked.

  “I don’t think anyone knows,” Oscar replied, “I thought Papa was ahead, but now it looks like they are in completely different worlds, so I’m confused.”

  “You’d think we would have sword fighting games so we could prepare for these alien swordsmen,” Declan said with a chuckle.

  “Oh, that was just one day. Tomorrow we’re learning the crossbow in the morning followed by ‘Fishing 101’ in the afternoon,” Kilo added, never taking his face from the screen, “I heard Ensign talking to Mike about it.”

  “What kind of crazy planet are we going to?” Papa asked, inadvertently leaning as he steered his vehicle through the maze, “And how do they know what kind of lures will catch these alien fishies?”

  “And would we even want to catch these alien fishies?” Kilo added, twisting the controller in his hand as he tried to steer around Papa, “I mean, these could be ‘Loch Ness Piranhas From Space’. Who knows what they could do to us.”

  “Which is why we’re learning the crossbow on the same day. If you reel in a ‘Loch Ness Piranha From Space’, you just grab your crossbow and shoot it,” Papa said, “Then you cut off its head with your long sword for good measure.”

  Declan and Oscar just looked to each other and shook their heads. The story of the alien piranhas continued on between the two on the couch while Declan headed toward the presumed exercise equipment. He examined an odd looking device with multiple handles and foot pedals.

  “We all lose hope sometime. It could be the hope that we somehow get a date that pretty cheerleader in high school or maybe it’s the hope that we can overcome the rampant cancer that’s destroying our body,” Oscar said, settling onto the machine in front of Declan, “Some people keep a hold of that hope for a long time, but there comes a time when even the strongest of us lose hope. It’s what you do when you get to that point that actually defines you.”

  Declan watched Oscar as he leaned into a seat, then pulled down on two of the handles, effectively demonstrating how the device worked.

  “Did you lose hope?” Declan asked.

  “No, nor do I plan to,” he said, releasing the handles and leaning toward Declan, “And I don’t think you plan to either. I may not be able to go back to my life, but I have no intention on living the life they have planned for me.”

  “Me neither,” Declan whispered, glancing over at Romeo and Echo spinning their cue sticks around like weapons, “They’ve lost hope already. It seems like they almost accept our new situation as a good thing.”

  Oscar watched the two Indentures dodging each other’s blows before finally returning to their game of pool.

  “Yeah, but we don’t know what kind of life they had before this. Maybe this is better compared to what they had in our world,” Oscar said, “Or maybe they truly believe there’s nothing they can do to.”

  “What do you think is really going on? Do you think we’re really going to colonize a planet?” Declan asked.

  He continued to watch Echo and Romeo for a minute before turning to Declan. He simply shook his head.

  6

  He had to lie in his bed for nearly an hour, waiting until his roommates fell asleep. Delta was asleep probably five minutes after he went to bed, but Charlie shifted around for more than a half hour, muttering complaints persistently that his body was the wrong size.

  Declan waited an additional ten minutes after Charlie settled down before heading toward the bathroom. He closed the door behind him, then turned on the light. The bathrooms of the future were very similar to the bathrooms of the 21st century. The toilet didn’t change much at all other than the conservation of water. He’d be surprised if it used more than a ½ liter of water per flush.

  He turned his attention to the sink. The cabinet below held spare towels, washcloths, and toilet paper. He had checked this earlier, but didn’t risk pulling everything out for fear that he might raise undue suspicion if stumbled upon.

  Now, he had nothing to worry about. He knelt down and pulled all the supplies out of the cabinet and set them on the floor near the shower. He tapped the back panel and indeed, it sounded hollow and loose. He pressed his hands against the panel, feeling for something to grab a hold of. Finally when he slid it about an inch to the left, if fell forward into his hands. He pulled the whole 3-foot panel out from inside the cabinet and peered at the wall beyond.

  To his pleasant surprise, there was indeed a large oval hole in the steel wall. Whatever method was used to cut this hole, it definitely wasn’t a typical saw or cutting torch from his time. The edges of the metal and the plastic-like coating on both sides were perfectly smooth.

  He tucked his head under the sink and into the hole, peering into a semi-dark room loaded with tubular and rectangular containers. It was becoming more and more evident that the author of the note was telling the truth. He pulled himself through the hole and into the storage room, trying to make as little noise as possible.

  He glanced back at the hole, listening for any noise in his own bathroom. Finally he stood up and stepped over the two containers that appeared to have been placed there to hide the hole. He moved cautiously through the storage room, looking for whoever had written the note. He was just about to step over a large crate when a small hand clamped over his mouth from behind. Another hand came around as though to slap him, but stopped 6 inches in front of his face. The flat palm had been scribbled upon with a marker and now seemed to be presented before him waiting for a sign of acknowledgement. It simply read: “stay silent until we leave this room.”

  He wasn’t sure if he should trust the person, but then he noticed something odd about the hand. It was a thin female hand. Whoever had their hand clamped across his mouth must have realized that he
could probably overpower them. The hand pointed forward toward a door. He decided to go along with it, pretending she had the advantage over him. Nothing was more disarming than allowing someone to believe they have the upper hand.

  Once outside of the room, she removed her hand from his mouth and allowed him to turn around. His eyes widened in recognition, forcing him to take a step back defensively.

  “Ens-”

  “No names,” she interrupted, “Make up a name if you must, but don’t say the name you know me by. I also won’t say yours.”

  Declan didn’t know what to make of it all. Ensign Rowe had led him to escape from their “prison,” and brought him straight into the warden’s home. As if his jaunt through the hole wasn’t risky enough, now he was faced with the enemy herself on her own playing field.