The Five Unnecessaries

Chapter 18

"Who is he?" I asked, still in disbelief. She wasn't just in hiding, she was hiding a baby. I pulled him up into my arms. He curled up, not ready to be woken. I cradled him, rocking him back and forth.

"He was discarded," she answered. "Some makeshift lab on Seventh Street. They perform medical tests that are still considered illegal. They want the baby for more testing. Black market, you know? They have a tub full of water in the alley, and they put the babies inside and close the lid. They all drown."

I forced myself to swallow, tasting the vomit in the back of my throat.

"I was only looking for scraps. I knew about the barrel, but I'd never seen them put a baby inside. They didn't see me. Something distracted them. But the baby cried before they closed the lid. They went back inside, and the thing is... when I pulled him out, he was breathing."

"Babies have a reflex that can keep them alive in the water," I explained. "They develop and grow in fluid, and the reflex stays, even after they're born."

"Oh. I didn't know that. Anyway, I brought him here. It's been about five months. A nice Sub-Terra from a café down the street gets me infant milk and diapers."

I desperately wanted to hug her, to reach out to her, but I remembered Collin said that signs of affection could scare an Unnecessary, since they've been alone so long. They could even have a violent reaction to a hug. I reached out my hand, my voice was shaky as I spoke.

"I think that's the bravest thing I've ever heard."

She looked up as if she had never pondered that, and her tiny hand reached out to mine, cradling it ever so slowly as the tiny shakes of nervousness melted into the gentle strength of my fingers wrapped around them. I wanted to ask her more about where we were, but from the pipes and wires along the wall, I guessed it was an old utility closet. The wall on the one side was lined with a giant collage. Her abilities and intelligence meant she had probably attended school at one point.

"What's your name?" I asked. "Do you remember?"

"Katerina. I used to live... that I don't remember. It was beautiful."

I instantly understood what had happened. Saw the scraps of Elite clothes and jewelry among the clutter.

"You were abandoned, weren't you? Because of emotional attachment?"

"Yeah. My mother kept pushing me away, left me alone for whole weekends when I was four. I would cry forever, and my teacher noticed. My dad would cuddle with me in the evenings, when no one watched, just... singing to me. I guess it wasn't my dad, but it was whoever mom was with at the time. They only stayed for about six months at a time. I made her a card once, when she was about to leave. It got stranger after that. He desperately wanted me to stay away from her."

"He told you... what would happen?"

She nodded. "But I had a nightmare one night. Got too scared to sleep. I could tell I messed up. My dad said he would take me to the lab. I guess that was good enough for my mom. He dropped me off in an alley and said he'd tell my mom he took me to the lab or a doctor. He gave me money. I was on my own."

"How old were you?"

"Seven. It was about a year ago. I was smart, which is why they held off on judging me, I think. They must have known in nursery school. With a 160 IQ, they were hoping I'd grow out of it. But teachers always notice if you're too clingy. Someone would have called me out in a week in secondary school."

"The man who dropped you off?" I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Do you know... is he okay?"

"No, I don't think so. Not anymore. He would leave things in the alley for me. But after only three months, he disappeared. And disappeared means dead."