38

Three taps on the door.

Tired and sore, I fumble around for the remote and turn on the audio feed. “It is too early for this 35. Not today.”

“Nice try, 38. You are not getting out of this one. It’ll just be a couple minutes and then you can continue to roll around in bed and wallow in self-pity.” Even though I can’t see him, I can picture the smirk on his face.

“Fine. Give me a minute to get a robe on.”

“Tick tock, 38.” I grab my gray robe from my closet and braced myself for the horror of the day. 35 walks through the door and suddenly I am in his arms, his hand rubbing my back. “Happy birthday, Faye.” I pull him inside and slam the door.

“Shut up, Jake, before someone hears you. You are not supposed to know my name, let alone my birthday.”

“It’s 6:45 in the morning. No one is awake, and we have a few moments together before the ceremony. Can we please take advantage of this instead of fighting?” He kisses me gently.

“Ok, fine.” I let him hold me for a couple minutes and I can feel myself relax.

That’s when the memories hit me like a tsunami.

Shocked and overwhelmed by my own mind, I push Jake away and collapse on my bed. No matter how much I try, the tears don’t stop and I start shaking as pictures of my past flood my thoughts. Ten years have passed since I lost my parents, but the pain never numbed. We are taught to use our pain. It gives us strength to fight.

“You can get through this, Faye. I’ve seen you fight this before, and today shouldn’t be any different.”

“It’s memorial day, Jake. How could you forget something like that?”

***
Ten years ago, my family was taken from me. Everything I had ever loved was gone in an instant. My father gave me words that would save my life, knowing that his death was all too possible.

Those words led me to The Cell, a group of terrorists that were set on the destruction of the New Government and the return of the Government that once was.

President Shepherd was elected in 2032. He had dreams of a New America where the traditional values of what he called the Golden Age of America could return. He dreamt of a country where education and jobs abounded. For his first term, he was true to his word. He began to make the USA more self-sufficient. More jobs led to less crime. More education allowed the general population to be more successful. Shepherd’s success led him to be reelected in 2036.

That’s when it all went wrong.

The president based his second campaign on making America beautiful and united. This amazing country needs to reflect the success that we have made together. We are one people and we should fight the ugliness that we have regretted for so long. His inauguration speech brought tears to the eyes of the people and cheers could be heard wherever you went.

Shepherd started with the cities.

President Shepherd believed that the growing turmoil of Camden, New Jersey needed to be fixed. However, unlike presidents in the past, he believed the problem could be fixed by erasing Camden off the map. Thousands of people were killed and hundreds were forcefully taken from their homes for questioning. Shortly afterwards, President Shepherd issued Decree 39 for the Wellbeing of America,

“Any person not registered as a citizen of the United States of America will be immediately deported. Any child born in the United States of America is automatically a citizen. If the child is born to non-citizens, he or she will be put into the American Foster System, and the parents will be deported immediately after leaving the hospital.”

After Camden, there was Detroit and any other city with a low income or high immigrant population. Then he attacked the homeless. Massacres occurred more and more frequently. They are not true citizens. They have made no effort to change their ways and are drunkards and addicts. They do not deserve to live in this beautiful country. His goal was to deport the homeless. When they started to protest, shots were fired. They kept firing until the protesting stopped. When the homeless were dead.

The unthinkable happened.

Shepherd was reelected for a third term in 2040. No one really knows how it happened. The constitution was changed behind closed doors with little citizen involvement. Enough of the citizens approved of what was going on in Washington DC and very few people questioned it. Those who disapproved and were caught speaking out were deported or thrown in jail.

The founder of The Cell, 01, saw that the USA was losing its freedom and that it was only getting worse. He began to gather a wide range of followers. Lawyers, doctors, politicians, farmers, construction workers and stay at home mothers all began to follow his new philosophy.

Underneath the new America, a network of tunnels, shacks and houses appeared, unknown to the President. It was a new Underground Railroad befitting the new Civil War that was occurring. Each man, woman, and child was given a job. Slowly, they started gaining control of small towns and local government, gaining enough ground but staying quiet.

My mother joined The Cell in 2043. She was trained as a professional housewife. It might sound silly, but she was trained as a spy who gathered information from other housewives not in the Cell. She met my father in a supermarket on her day off from training. She was allowed to leave the underground tunnels once a month to go shopping and gather any information from store owners in the Cell. My father was aware of the Cell but was not a part of it. They married in 2044 and my mother was put on duty.

When I was 13, their cover was blown. A government spy had found evidence of my parents’ terrorist involvement. Before I even knew what was going on, we were on the run to Canada.

***
Now here I am. Ten years later, a trained professional nurse, ready for assignment. The love of my life rubbing my head as I slowly begin to calm down.

“I didn’t forget about Memorial Day. I just thought that maybe this year would be different. I thought that maybe we could get through it together instead of pushing me away again.” I can see the hurt in his eyes. “Today is important for us. Did you forget that?” He was getting assigned too. For years he was being trained as a monitor, but he recently requested a change in assignment. He wanted to be with me. I was to go to the surface, to gain information from a hospital.

“I’m sorry. Jake, I know how much this means to you, what it means for us. I want this, but if I focus too much on being assigned to you, I will be even more disappointed if it doesn’t work out. We have to be prepared for anything.”

“I know. I just want to be there for you. No one knows you like I do.” He squeezes my hand. “I have a present for you.” He pulls out a small piece of paper from his pocket.

It’s a picture of my parents.

“Where did you get this?”

“I did a computer search when you told me your name. The Cell did a good job in erasing all trace of you but they also trained me in finding information no one else can find. It was on a photographer’s website from over 20 years ago. You look just like them.”

“I don’t know what to say.” I just stare at their smiling faces, careful not to get any tears on the fragile piece of paper. “I love you, Jake.”

“I love you too, Faye.” For a what seems like hours we lie next each other in silence, thinking about our future together.

7:30am.

My alarm is the one to break the perfect peace, and Jake leaves to return to his room. I don my gray uniform, a button up shirt with my number embroidered on the sleeve and a knee length pencil skirt, and tie my hair up in a bun. It’s assignment day. A few minutes later, the intercom buzzer rings.

“38, time for breakfast.” Jake sounds more official. He’s nervous. In a few minutes, we will learn of our futures. I stick my new picture in my shoe and open the door. Faces neutral, we head to the cafeteria.

Gray.

After ten years of only seeing gray, the color sickens me. Dark and dreary, the members of my class filled the hall. Every face is solemn. Today we remember those we lost. Soft conversations can be heard, whispers mixed with tears. I can almost feel mine coming back, but Jake quickly squeezes my hand under the table. He does know me better than anyone else.

“38? Are you alright?” A voice from behind startles me and I turn to see 23. His golden hair looks strange in the cafeteria lighting, almost white. I feel Jake tense up next to me.

“She’s fine, 23.” The tension from years of stupid arguments builds slowly between them and I, once again, must be the bigger person.

“I am fine, 23, thank you for asking. 35 is fine as well. How are you?”

“Well enough, given the circumstances at the present. Are you ready for placement?”

“I think so, but like many, I’m nervous. I don’t know what to expect. Has your father told you of your placement yet?”

“No. He believed that I should be notified with the rest of our class.” He looks down at his feet, his face slightly red as if embarrassed. “I hope you don’t think that I receive special treatment because of my father.”

“Of course not. I’m sorry, 23, I never should have asked.”

“Well, if you can excuse me, I must go finish breakfast. 38, 35.” He walks briskly away, and I can see Jake’s shoulders relax in the corner of my eye.

“What the hell, 35. Why do you have to be such an idiot.”

“He just pisses me off. Him and his freaking entitled attitude.” He begins to mumble incoherently under his breath and I get up and head toward the ceremony.

***
I walk into the one room in this underground maze that I have never seen. Only those being assigned and full members are allowed in. My peers and I remain standing as the high council makes their way to the front of the room. The silence follows them.

01 stands in the middle.

Trembling, I stand waiting to hear my fate. No introduction is given, no heartwarming speech. 01 begins to read the names of the assigned couples to enter the surface. When the incident with my parents almost revealed the existence of the Cell, rules were drastically changed. The members of the Cell were no longer allowed to marry outside of the Cell. Instead, each member was assigned a husband or wife based on strict compatibility markers, placement and mission.

“45 and 78.”
“84 and 62.”
“83 and 94.”

A hand grasps mine as each couple makes their way to the front to receive the time and place of their assignment. “We’ll be ok, Faye. No matter what. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“23 and 38.”