Greenhaus Part 1: A Storm Brews (10 page)

Twelve men in matching black outfits stood across the table with their arms folded. Each wore a black mask, with red eye lenses and filters painted to match. Ella largely ignored them and first noticed the blood from the failed coup att
empt still soiling the fabric of its walls. She walked to the table, flanked by a ragtag assortment of mix matched soldiers, and stared at the line of men in black. Red accents completed their uniforms and Ella eyed each and every one of them individually, and then observed them as a collection. One of Ella’s escorts, the old Cloud camper who had given her the letter began the introductions, “Elder Jeremiah Blood, this is Elder Ella Storm.”

Jeremiah laughed and removed his mask. It continued to stare at her
after Jeremiah placed it on the table that separated them. His gray eyes scanned her up and down and he rubbed the black stubble on his neck while laughing a little more. “Hmmm I was expecting someone who was more… man,” he said, in a clear attempt to mock Ella. “Thought you’d be bigger too, your reputation has preceded you. I built you up to be more.”

This was a common tactic used by larger individuals to establish a physical dominance. A tactic Ella had much experience in dealing with because of her smal
lish frame and slender build. A tactic that would not work on her.

“
So sorry to disappoint you,” she shot back. “But for what it’s worth, I did as much as I could do to make myself bigger last night, but to no avail,” she said as she stretched her arms out in front of her. “Also in anticipation of a random meeting with some rude shithead, I really tried to grow a cock and some facial hair,” chided Ella. Her backers chuckled, his bristled.

“
Ah, spunk, I like that in my allies,” said Jeremiah, in his scratchy voice. “I guess I will refrain from pointing out that you are younger than I expected as well. Just how old do you have to be to make Elder around here?” The question brought a chorus of laughter from the large man and his contingent on the other side of the table, which only further irked Ella. Staring at the masks of these men, she recognized some of the designs on their masks matching those she saw in the welcoming procession.

“
Well around here we don’t
make
Elder, we
take
the position.” Ella knew this was false, but she also knew Jeremiah was clueless on the inner workings of any camp but his own. Ella was also certain he had no idea how she ascended to the position of Elder, partially because she did not even know herself. It made no difference that she held the position for a matter of about twenty minutes; he wouldn’t be privy to that knowledge either.

It mattered little to Ella that she didn
’t know how she got to be Elder, she had arrived. The sound of the words ‘Elder Storm’ was pleasing to her ears. Her everlasting dream of making Elder had come true and there was no way she was going to let it slip through her fingers now that she had it in her grasp.

“
No offense, but where is this person you took Elder from?” laughed Jeremiah. “And how did it happen? Seems incredible that you could best someone, anyone, in any sort of contest for a position of such power, there must be over a hundred people in this camp, the largest I have seen for some time and we are supposed to believe you eat at the top of the table? That you and that skinny little frame forcefully took power? I’d like to see what you really had to do to get Elder,” the laughter on the other side of the table continued at the innuendo.

Ella
’s next statement would determine her future and that of her camp. It would either cement a bond between Elder Blood or disintegrate any chance of an alliance. Not wanting to be completely transparent with her potential allies, she offered as full a disclosure as needed, with a bit of embellishment for dramatic effect. “Not
a
person, Elder Blood. Five. I took command of five camps and though I would love to add Allies through diplomacy, I have no problems using other means when necessary,” Clearly offended by his inquisition, she continued, “Need proof, ask anyone here. All of their Elders are dead, bodies still warm, the tears of the grieving not yet dry.”

This was not entirely true, as she did not take command of them as much as she simply wanted to unite them. Never did she think she would arrive today and
have the title of Elder with her name behind it. She had not personally met most of the campers who pledged support to her; they must have been swayed by her perfectly chosen words. She had seen them around the fortress, this was true, but could not pick out more than a handful of them if they removed their masks. Everyone had duties, and there was not much interaction between them, especially for a spotter like Ella.

Her fiery display continued, a short blade appeared from a hidden sheath and was jammed wi
th considerable force into the plywood sheet that served as a table top in the Elder tent. “Some died at my hands, some at the hands of others. But I have no qualms about adding to the death count, there is plenty of dirt to bury bodies.” This was not how she wanted things to continue. She wanted peace among the camps, but a mere twenty minutes into her position of Elder; she could already see how this would be difficult at times. “How dare you insult me, on my turf, in front of my people,” she said, her blood boiling and her anger rising. After finishing, she slammed both hands forcefully on the table and leaned across it toward Elder Blood, glaring at him with a cold, steel stare that told him that despite her size, gender, and age, all things she had no control over…she was for real.

The sudden noise startled everyone in the tent, but in truth, Ella was startled as well. He was an extraordinarily large man, especially for the typically malnourished Masked. Ella didn
’t miss that the rest of the Blood camp also carried more heft on them than those in the Storm camp. Jeremiah could have grabbed her and broken her neck. He could have choked her or taken the knife from the table and stabbed her. And there was nothing she could really do about it. Sure, he would not leave the fortress alive, Ella’s loyalists would see to that, but she would likely perish as well.

As they were locked in a bit of a staring match, Ella saw a twinkle in his eye and knew that she had broken him even before he knew it. Silence filled t
he tent as the two engaged in this silent stand off for an extended period. The tension thickened. Elder Jeremiah Blood was the first to back out, and offered a quick apology. “I truly meant no offense little lady. I have come in peace, seeking brotherhood and allies in our quest,” his voice was softer, less gruff than before. “We wish to ally with you and yours, not make enemies. Plenty of those exist on the other side of the glass; none need be sought out here. I’d like to start this whole sequence over. If it pleases Elder Storm, could I have a word or two with you?”

Ella smiled on the inside, hoping the
latter and not the former of the two personalities shown by the large man was his true persona. It would be great to have a commanding presence whose ideals were in tune with her own. Unite the Outside. Whether she eventually chose to attack the Inside, she knew they shouldn’t be fighting each other.

After asking for a word with Ella, he whispered something to his contingent and waved them from the tent, then clarified himself, “
Alone.” The Storm camp was hesitant, but after a nod of approval from Ella, they filed out behind the supporters of Elder Blood.

Once they were gone, Elder Blood addressed Ella. “
Elder Storm, I am sorry for offending you, I truly am. I have been Elder only a few short weeks and things could not be going any worse.”

“
Oh?” she replied, clearly puzzled by this latest tidbit as much as his latest change in demeanor.

“
We have been walking. Sometimes running. Nonstop for four days, with little food or water. We attacked a Glass City to the south and punctured its wall, but that is when things started to go wrong,” explained Jeremiah. “Our Elders were killed or captured by the counterattack at our base. Six separate camps were fighting as one, but we were decimated.” He paused and stared blankly as he recalled the events, obviously still rattled. “We were caught off guard. Out in the open. We had no fortress such as this to fall back into, just rows and rows of tents. The weapons the Rangers used were very advanced, they shot the same sorta stuff that’s in them large coils guarding the city, kills anything it touches. Looks mighty painful too, with all the shakin’ and convulsin’. Even still, we held ‘em off for a long time and started to turn the tide in our favor.” Jeremiah paused and took a giant swallow before finishing, “That’s when
they
came,” Jeremiah paused again, staring blankly while he lowered his head slightly and closed his eyes.

“
They?” asked Ella. “You mean someone other than the Rangers came?”

Eyes still closed, Jeremiah tensed his lips and shook his head in disbelief, then took a deep breath befor
e continuing, his voice trembling as he responded, “These were no Rangers. They were dressed in white suits, puffier than what the Rangers wear and had shiny reflective face masks on their helmets. And there were so many of them Ella. Uncountable. They had different weapons. Shiny. Metal. Powerful,” he paused briefly between each adjective. “They killed everyone they came into contact with, including the Rangers, all of them…” he trailed off again.

“
What?” she exclaimed. This bit of news was particularly troubling to Ella. “They killed the Rangers? You know for a fact they killed them?”

“
I can only assume. The White Army moved slowly and carried tanks on their backs. Their weapons discharged a substance that froze anything it touched in its tracks. We had the Rangers pinned down and we could have made an escape, but the army in white came from the rear and eliminated them. Our guns had no effect on these suits. We fired several rounds from the Beast, which disrupted their formation, but they kept coming. We were forced to flee, lucky for us, they were slow. This weary band is all that remains. A wall was breached, but a huge price was paid for the attack in terms of lives lost.”

This hit home for Ella. She spent her whole life ready to go full bore at Glass Ci
ty, but recent events had softened her stance. Now that there were other lives at stake riding on her decisions, she felt the weight of that responsibility. She now understood why her Elders were so careful in their planning. Jeremiah’s cautionary tale reinforced this feeling. “Go on.”

“
We’ve been following the muddy river for four, maybe five days when we came to the ruined city near the tall steel arch. Something in the ruins there made several become ill and I don’t think they will make it much longer. Several are coughing blood. Some have a fever, others suffer from muscle pains and sudden weakness. The symptoms are growing.”

It was clear to Ella that Jeremiah had no business leading a camp. He put his followers directly in harm
’s way. Everyone knew the toxins were much higher in the ruined cities and the adjacent surrounding areas. The radiation was still so great that spending any period of time, however short, could bring upon the Sickness and its associated symptoms quickly.

“
I am not fit to lead, never prepared myself for this position, because I never wanted it.”

Ella agreed, especially with the first half of his statement.

“Truth is, I am large and people are intimidated, so the leftovers of the old camps, those that escaped, naturally turned to me when the attack failed. All I could think of…was to run away.”

Cowardly, but smart.
Seeing his true colors revealed, Ella noticed he was completely devoid of the bravado and superiority he displayed upon their introduction. He was scared of dying, just like Ella. They shared that emotion, though she was not going to let him know that any time soon.

“
My people are tired from their travel. In return for your hospitality, we would like to join your camp and fight alongside you.”

“
Under one condition,” Ella responded.

“
You name it,” Elder Blood quickly quipped.

“
We fight under the name of Storm. All of us. And….”

“
Done.” Elder Blood could not agree fast enough, gladly dropping an Elder status that he never sought in the first place. Jeremiah did not even need to hear any other part of her demands. He did not care that she wanted to lead the large camp; he certainly did not want the chore. Nor did he care that she was young. Or female. Or smaller than any Elder he had ever met, because she was more ferocious and fiery.

“
Well good,” a relieved Jeremiah started to say, “Now that this is settled, it’s time to break the news to the troops. Once that is finished, I’m takin’ you to meet the Beast.”

When Jacob
’s eyes finally opened, the bright lights of decon were waiting. The whiteness of the room was intensified by having stared so long at his eyelids. He squinted and used his arm to shield his eyes. It was painful, headache inducing light, but Jacob was grateful to be awake, which meant he either fooled the Medic or he was crazy for thinking he had to fool him in the first place.

Gone was any trace of Jasper
’s ‘accident’. The crimson stained cover on his chair replaced with a new one. The glass floor scrubbed clean. As were the walls and anywhere else the blood had run, even the drain cover looked shiny and new. A new Medic, would could have been mistaken for Med Tech Rogers if not for his brown hair, was finishing Jacob’s cleansing. Decon looked so fresh and new, Jacob wondered if it was all just a dream.

Another worker from Medical came to Jacob
’s side after seeing him awake and whispered in his ear, “I had to use the pillow, you were close to causing your own demise.” After stepping away from Jacob, he continued the conversation at a normal volume, “OK Mister Niles, you are set and ready to go. I ran the final test and you are clean, but be sure to keep those wounds covered up. You may return to your home zone. Oh and Jacob,” he started to say before he paused, looking to his left and right, “You stay safe.”

Jacob gathered up his things from his locker and jumped into a stock beige Nu-Skin, hurrying as fast as he could. He thought he might be paranoid, but the Med Tech
’s last statement seemed odd. There was a lot to sort out; the grogginess from his blood depleted nap certainly didn’t help. Jacob tried to get a look at the name on the badge, to start putting a face to the names of Med Techs, but the he was gone.  

While Jacob
’s body scrambled to get out of decon,
‘You stay safe,’
remained embedded in his brain like the print on his thumb. Of course he was planning to stay safe, who doesn’t? ‘Stay safe’, as odd as it had seemed for the Med Tech to say, was certainly something Jasper had not done. Jacob would never believe what happened to Jasper was an accident or a suicide. He seemed happy telling Jacob all the details of his father’s disappearance and the events that transpired immediately beforehand. Had the intruder alarm not interrupted them, he would have said more. Jasper appeared to be relieved to let it all out, not like a man on the verge of suicide.

He stuffed his application in his Nu-Skin, then stopped at the first kiosk and ordered a new orange Nu-Skin to replace the one that had been torn.
Whoosh.
The circular door opened, allowing Jacob to walk through it. The flat screen above it scrolled, ‘No citizen may take up arms in a dispute against another.’

Bullshit
.
Someone is playing with my mind, what are the chances of that specific message would be playing? Or are they just reminding me they are watching?
Jacob fumed as the placard mocked him, as clearly someone had broken the rule with Jasper, but he ignored the cruel joke and continued on his journey home. On the other side of the door was a long, circular corridor. Several doors blocked his view forward, while the view all around him was open and clear. He saw bundles headed in all directions within the elaborate pneumatic tube system. Things going to and coming from Recycling or one of the other departments. People were going places in pods and he remembered how dizzying it could be to watch everything zip around the ‘Haus. Now he knew why it was all there, out in the open, to be seen by all. And he also knew why decon was surrounded by solid walls, to keep things hidden.
What happens in decon, stays in decon.
This made him become suspicious of the few other places around the ‘Haus that also had solid walls.

Jacob shook off his suspicions and temporary dizziness from his stimulus overload, but he
couldn’t lose the overwhelming feeling that he was being followed or at least being watched.
I am watched just as I watch the bundles; only difference is that I am aware now.

As he walked the tread, he nervously glanced over both shoulders, behind him, dow
n any perpendicular hallway that opened, or any other nook and cranny of the ‘Haus. He saw the same people he normally saw on his daily trip home, but now eyed them more carefully.
Paranoia has gripped me, just like it did my father
.

The walking tread sped
him along, though he normally just skipped it for the exercise, taking the walking path instead. Today he felt drained, physically and emotionally. It was bad enough to have lost Jasper, but concealing his emotions, something Jacob was having trouble with, was sapping his life force even more. And since he was not sure from whom he should be hiding these feelings, he suspected everyone and kept it all in, allowing things to brew and manifest into darker thoughts. He just wanted to let it all out, to scream, to vent to anyone, but he knew they were watching.
Am I paranoid or is this a new reality?

Due to his exhaustion, for now at least, Jacob would take advantage of all the conveniences his life allowed. When he saw the regulars on his way home, he adorned
a fake smile and waved like it was any other day. But today was not the same, he wondered to himself who among them were spies, placed in his path to keep watch. 

If they weren
’t spies and just ordinary people living pointless lives, then Jacob felt sorry for them, just as he felt sorry for his past self
. All living in oblivion, distracted by the beauty and pristine conditions surrounding them, with no one to open their eyes
. Jasper had opened Jacob’s, just as Harvard had opened Jasper’s.
And look what happened to them.
Jacob would allow those he passed to continue living in their clueless little bubble.

He left them alone, not because he was scared to die, although that was true enough. It was because he did know how to begin such a conversation. Or who to
blame. Or how to explain it all without sounding like a lunatic, just as Jasper had sounded to him. One thing was for certain, he was no longer oblivious and though he did not know which department, if not all of them, was to blame, he was certainly going to be paying more attention from now on and taking better mental notes of his surroundings.

After the walking tread brought him through the three circular swooshing doors, each with the same Article III message scrolling across the panels above it, Jacob
made a ninety degree turn into another corridor, which he took all the way into Central, the Gardens to his adjacent right the whole way. He now understood their purpose as well.

An escalator, flanked on both sides by glass stairways, invited him up. The
elevators at the base would have been quicker and a minipod the fastest method of all, but both would have given him less stimuli to soak in on his way home as well as cost him more gredits, something that no matter how tired he was, he still couldn’t bring himself to waste. 

He opted for his usual method of transportation, though it was more difficult than normal. His feet felt heavier, like someone placed lead in his boots. One step after another, his 2
nd
Feet slapped the glass. The resulting noise was somewhere between a squish and a squeak and the rhythm to his pace was only broken when he hopped a walking tread. The sound was different on the softer tread, more of a slapping thump, but the rhythmic pace remained. 

Everything in the
‘Haus seemed new to him, at least he was observing it all as if it was new to him, to see if he missed anything in his previous glances. And now, with the blinders off, he saw much more than he ever had before today’s revelations. Every plant, every sculpture, every placard, kiosk, was rechecked. Every inch of space in the ‘Haus was reexamined, placed on probation, Jacob was now suspicious of everything, much the same way his father was just before his death.
Paranoia, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

Jacob was certai
n someone, somehow had heard what Jasper told him earlier. He also pondered what else they were listening to. Or watching. The mostly interior glass walls, floors, and ceilings allowed for that. He reached Zone 2 and looked through the glass floor to Zone 1 below, watching the oblivious scurry about their day. He again stopped to watch dozens of deliveries zip around the tubes. Its constant activity kept people fed, clothed, delivered parcels and messages and took refuse back to Recycling where it could be made anew.
What else are they shipping through the tubes?

After finally arriving at his home level on Zone 5, he noticed the entrance into Annex 6 was blocked, yellow
‘caution’ tape stretched across its door while it was being repaired. The work was happening on the other side, so Jacob buzzed a man he recognized through the intercom, “Can I get through?” he asked Drew, a former schoolmate now working in Maintenance, dressed in an orange Nu-Skin with the lowercase ‘e’ for Engineering on his pec and bright yellow hardhat.

“
Not today,” Drew answered back. “Gonna have to pick up a pod or hop a tread if you’re heading north. This door locked up.”

That was not unusual, it happened al
l the time, given the amount of the doors located throughout the ‘Haus. They were there to create seals and keep out toxins in case of a breach, but he always thought there were too many doors. Rerouting was never much of an inconvenience, getting around the ‘Haus was rather easy.

“
K, thanks,” Jacob replied as he examined at the project, wondering all the while if the door had indeed broken, or if the blockage was placed there specifically to detour him.

“
No problem, I will have it working as soon as I can”, he said before adding, “And Jacob, I’m so sorry to hear about your friend Jasper, I always liked him, I hope he makes a full recovery.”

“
Yeah, me too.” Word sure traveled fast in the ‘Haus.
Too fast,
thought Jacob.
Recovery? That man is dead, I saw the blood, and it was enough to kill two men.
Jacob remained at the glass wall that the broken door was centered in. The shiny metal placard with its raised black lettering relaying the message of Article III glared at him, but he no longer was under its spell.

He peeked again at the project, the entire stainless steel assembly above the door was disassembled,
and wires jutted in all directions, the placard that doubled as its cover lay on the floor. The job to this point had taken some time, possibly all day, and with no interaction except random encounters like this Jacob thought, ‘
How could Drew know so fast?’

Jacob shrugged off the coincidences, asking questions could be a fatal mistake. “
See ya around the ‘Haus Drew,” Jacob said as he waved him goodbye and went on his way.

“
Yeah for sure man,” replied Drew. “You stay safe.”

That froze him in his tracks, and he almost returned to question Drew, but after his brief pause, he continued on his journey.
They are watching.
As Jacob made the detour, he thought about the strange words of the Med Tech, repeated by Drew.
You stay safe.
His path brought him close to his mother’s apartment in Annex 6, so he stopped to tell her the news, but expected her to already know.

Jacob rang
the buzzer. When she looked at her only son and saw the anguish on his face a look of concern came over her. “Jakey Blue Eye, is everything alright?” she asked, using a childhood nickname she never let go. “You looked like you have seen a ghost or something.”

“
Long day, but there is something I need to tell you, it’s about Jasper,” he started before suspiciously looking quickly in both directions. “Quick, inside,” he instructed her as he gently guided her into her studio.

“
Have a seat and tell you dear ole mom what the trouble is,” she said in a comforting tone. “That old grump giving you trouble again on the beams?”

Jacob could tell the news hadn
’t reached her. He took a seat in one of the sleek, round red stools situated around her high, marble topped table.

“
You should sit down too, mom, because I have bad news,
really
bad news actually,” he informed her, his voice dropping. “Jasper was…” Jacob swallowed hard and caught himself before saying ‘killed’. “Jasper had a terrible accident.” It hurt Jacob immensely to say it, to smear Jasper’s name with a lie, but it would have hurt her even more to hear the truth, she was one of the oblivious. Jacob trusted his mother with the truth even if it would have shaken her beliefs; he just couldn’t trust the air and the walls around them to keep his true suspicions a secret.

She sat silently, the tears welling up before she said, “
I’m surprised it took this long, honestly. He always felt responsible for your father’s death. It was eating him up inside. There was always something I think he wanted to tell me, but whenever he had the chance, for whatever reason, he just couldn’t say it.”

Jacob stayed to console his mother over the loss of one of her oldest friends. After leaving, he pushed the button on nearest kiosk to su
mmon a pod. Moments later, one appeared beneath the floor, which opened to allow access to the single seat pod. Jacob’s apartment was close, but he felt completely drained, so he sacrificed the gredits and stepped into the pod. He punched in the coordinates, a few twists and turns later, he arrived at his doorstep.