Rowan [NaNoWriMo 2018]

Four

"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." H.P. Lovecraft

Laurel bounced her right leg up and down as she sat in the back seat of the van. She wanted to ask the men in suits where they were going, but she didn't want to be the first person to break the silence. The men didn't seem cruel, just very focused and business-like. She watched the scenery pass by, and before long she realized that they were heading to the airport. When they arrived, they were met by more men in suits standing in front of the terminal. Laurel noticed that there were at least 15 vans lined up in the drop off lane. The man who did all the talking asked her to wait in the vehicle until someone came back to get her. While she waited, she fidgeted with the Rowan tree necklace and thought about how much she already missed home.

The van door opened, startling Laurel. It was the main suited man.

"Grab your bag and follow me," he commanded.

Laurel quickly did as she was told. She followed the man into the airport and to the Icamera Air counter.

"Ticket to Seattle for Laurel Wise, it should be with the Icamera testing group 3," said the man.

"I have it right here," the woman confirmed. "Proceed to security."

They walked to a nearly empty security line where everything went off without a hitch. The man led her to the gate.

"Have a seat," he motioned to the chairs. "We have a bit before the flight leaves."

Laurel sat down and so did the man, putting an empty chair between them.

"By the way, I'm Matthew. I will be your point person throughout your testing journey. I'm sorry that it took me this long to introduce myself," he stated.

Laurel gave him a small smile. "It's fine. We were both rather busy. Thanks for not making this seem as frightening and like a punishment."

"Testing is not a punishment, while it will be challenging, you should look at it as an honor," Matthew replied.

Laurel nodded and waited a moment before speaking again. "Am I going to be in solitary confinement while I'm there?"

Matthew scowled. "Why would you think that?"

Laurel stared at the floor wondering how to best answer the question. She was afraid she was going to implicate her family for not being loyal. "I don't know this whole thing has been such a secret. I have no idea what to expect."

Matthew studied her before answering. "It will be like going to school. You will have classes which will be reviews of different subjects. You will live in a dorm and eat in a dining hall. You will be assigned a roommate. Again, this isn't a prison."

"Well, thank you for shedding some light on what's waiting for me," Laurel replied, breathing a sigh of relief.

"You're welcome, Miss Wise," Matthew responded. "Let's go get on this plane."

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Rowan trudged home from the bus stop her mind replaying some of the whispered conversations her classmates had regarding siblings having gone to testing. One guy said his brother went last year and never came back. They told his family that he was assigned to work in a factory somewhere. Another girl said her cousin was able to come home once, and that was to graduate, and she was taken away to college that evening. Rowan's eyes filled with tears; this is not how it was supposed to be. We were going to take a sister trip together after her graduation. There was something amiss with the situation, and Rowan was going to figure it out one way or another.

When Rowan made it home, she called out a hello to her mother and went upstairs to her bedroom. She opened the closet door and pulled out the forbidden history textbook. As Rowan flipped through it, she struggled to remember the last election. She had never really paid attention to politics, but who could blame her; she was a kid. Rowan also thought it odd that no one had ever seen President Many. The last president she remembered seeing on television was President Wood, who just disappeared. Rowan guessed that she began to pay attention when significant changes started occurring such as the country's name change and the end of democratic elections. Rowan reminded herself to ask her dad for details at some point when it would be safe to do so. She continued to thumb through the book, stopping to read about checks and balances. If only.

"Rowan, it's time for dinner," Rebekah called from downstairs.

"Okay," Rowan yelled back.

Rowan stood up and put her book away. As she was walking downstairs, she heard a voice she didn't recognize, wrinkling her face, she slowly walked into the dining room. A woman was sitting in Laurel's seat that Rowan had never seen before.

"And here's our daughter, Rowan," Samuel announced with a tight smile on his face.

Rowan glanced at the woman and back to her dad. "Who is this?"

"This is Ashley Johnson, she's an Official who's  assigned to our neighborhood, and she's visiting families."

"Yes, I'm visiting families and making sure that everyone is adjusting to Icamera the way that President Many would like," added Ashley.

"And how would that be?" Rowan asked almost sarcastically.

"Now Rowan, don't be rude," Samuel intoned.

"It's perfectly fine Mr. Wise," Ashley replied brightly. "What President Many is looking for in the residents of Icamera is a willingness to embrace the new ways and not denouncing the country in a private home or public places. The President demands allegiance."

Rowan nodded, feeling sick to her stomach. "Thanks for the clarification, Mrs. Johnson."

"Tonight's visit will determine how often I will visit and how many of my visits are unannounced," Ashley stated.

"Excuse me, could you possibly tell me why there would be a need for unannounced visits?" Rebekah implored.

"Just to make sure that every family and family member is loyal to our nation. If anything feels suspicious to me, that would be a reason for random visits. Now have I been clear enough?" Ashley asked with an edge to her voice.

"Absolutely," Samuel answered firmly. "Now, I think we should eat."

Rowan pushed her food around on her plate barely eating. "May I be dismissed? I have homework I need to finish."

"That's fine," Rebekah answered. "Do you have homework, Alder?"

"No, I finished mine in study hall," he replied.

Rowan stood and grabbed her plate to clear. "Have a good night Mrs. Johnson."

"You do the same dear," she replied her voice laced with something Rowan couldn't put the finger on.

Rowan took her plate in the kitchen and cleared it and placed it in the dishwasher. Once she ascended the stairs, she turned and faced toward the bottom of the stairs and stuck both of her middle fingers in the air.

As she stood there, she whispered, "Screw you, Icamera and Ashley Johnson."