Pairs

Seven

Before I knew it, I had a bag thrown over my head and I was kicking and screaming while being dragged to God knows where. I did not sign up for this! I just wanted my normal life, not the one Atticus dragged me into. Why couldn't my pair be some normal guy like Garret? After awhile, I was set down and the bag was yanked off. The room I was in had metal walls, and was frighteningly bare except for Carmen, Atticus and a new man. He was older with grey laced hair, and slouched shoulders, like the world rested on him. His skin was the color of a chestnut, with all the wrinkles carved into it as well. His deep brown eyes were the color of dark chocolate, and they held an emotion I had never seen before.

"Kitten, meet my director, Phinneaus Brown. We call just call him Doctor Brown," Atticus stated, nodding to the man beside him.

"Director? So he's your boss?"

"More or less. Think of him as a manager of my division."

"What kind of division? What is this?"

"Ivory," Dr. Brown cut in. "I'm sure you have noticed the inequality in the world. How poorly recessives are treated. How they are considered weak."

I nodded my head. Me being a recessive is a dishonor. No body ever wants their daughter or son to be born one, and they are considered a weakness to the community in whole. A lot of parents refuse to take care of a recessive, so they're sent to orphanages or centers around the world. I was lucky with my parents that they were so loving. Recessives don't have a lot of the same rights as Dominants, and once we find our pair, we basically become accessories, but at least we're treated right. Most of the time.

"Don't you think that isn't right? That you can't legally own your own house, or car? That, in that society, now that you have Atticus, you will rely on him for everything?"

I shifted uncomfortably. These were not things we could say out loud. If anyone caught a recessive saying these things....

"Not only that, but if a dominant was to ever hurt you, steal from you, do anything harmful, you would not be allowed to do anything."

I looked away. That was how things were. The dominants protected and cared, and the recessives did as the dominants said. We were born weak. They are strong.

"And that's just only the beginning," Brown said, his dark eyes haunted.

"Our country is dying, Ivory. The people running it are very, very bad. And if they have their way, they're going to get rid of recessives all together."

I looked at Atticus, my eyes widening at that specific bomb shell. He nodded, and I believed him.

"How is that possible? Dominants need their Recessives," I aimed the question at Brown.

"Well, that's true, but that's only after the two meet. Before that, Dominants know nothing about how it feels to be in the presence of their recessives, so they don't feel like they need them."

"So what? The government is just going to go around killing recessives? Dominates wouldn't allow it," I point out frantically, the idea of the doctor being right strikes fear into my heart. A look passed across Dr. Brown's face, something dark, a shadow of some kind.

"They don't plan to start with this generation, but the next. When the baby is born, if it is a recessive, it will be killed immediately."

It was like I'd been punched.

"Now, before you go all drama queen and deny it all and call us liars, we have proof," Carmen said, rolling her baby blue eyes.

"But how would they get away with it? The parents would know!"

Brown shifted uncomfortably.

"Maybe we can discuss that later. Let's get you settled in first," He said slowly after a moment of thought.

I was silent as Atticus knocked on the wall and a seamless door appeared, a woman with a tight blonde pony tail standing behind it. She nodded in respect towards the three around me, then we went in. It was all a blur inside as my thoughts overcame me.  I was drowning in what they told me, I couldn't breath. My world was concaving into something twisted, all because I met Atticus.

"This is our room," Atticus mumbled in my ear, placing a hand on my back to guide me. I flinched away from him, wrapping my arms around myself. He looks at me, his hazel eyes blank. He wordlessly opens the door, holding it for me. I walk in, barely taking attention to the cream colored walls and the plain furnishings. I stepped farther, seeing that there was only one bedroom which had a conjoined bathroom. I walked back into the living room, where I could see a small kitchen.

"There's a closet in our room. I'll get you some clothes from the supply room by tomorrow," Atticus stated, dropping his bag by the door.

"I'll sleep on the couch," I said softly. It was quietly for a moment, but then I heard an odd noise. It was like a ripping noise mixed with a groan, and when I looked up Atticus was there.

"I can see it in your eyes, Ivory,"  He growled, a breath away from my form.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, unable to bring any sort of emotion to my voice.

"You're blaming me for this. But it was already going on. I just gave you a chance to change it," He said, grabbing my chin so that I could look in his eyes.

"How?" I whispered.

"That's what we are. We are the rebellion," He explained, letting go of me and walking away, shutting the door behind him with a defeaning finality.