After Earth

Chapter 9: Fear In Your Face

        We all got on the transfer bus in silence and stayed in silence for along time until we all were dropped off at the lab and had to face each other for the first time this morning. Orgeti mentioned to us that they were sending Ashlit's family back to California in a few days, and, yes, he actually spoke those words instead of keeping his mouth shut. We wanted to ask more about it, but Nolam came out of the front doors to greet us, his clothes more wrinkled than usual.  Something was... off about him.
     He gave us the run down about our swimming lesson today, but no one really cared. We needed to test endurance and our ability to hold our breath and blah, blah, blah, no one was really listening besides maybe Nashi, but even that was a stretch. No one actually cared because we already suspected this. We began to head inside through the ornate glass doors, but Agitit grabbed my wrist before I could head inside. We waited until everyone else was at a far distance, and then he let go of me.
     "What?" I spat. "You can say what you want in front of them, Nolam."
     Agitit eyed me. "Listen, Tayas. Your son is on his way. He'll be here when the lesson is over."
     Lesson... We weren't in school. "Yeah. What's wrong with that?"
     "Just make a good impression on Arbelin Karsk. She's a stickler for rules and regulations, and she might try and keep you at an eye's distance from your son."
     "It doesn't matter." I started to walk inside. "But thank you for the information."
     I caught up with everyone else as we walked into the locker rooms to get dressed in the swimsuits provided. No one paid me any mind as I walked in and fell into the background of lockers and steam, and I just put on the swimming trunks and headed back out towards the pool. There was still that odd air about everyone, the feeling of regret and displeasure that seemed prevalent in everyone's faces. Kagre, who was always embarrassed, seemed to want everyone thousands of miles away from her right now as her burns and scars had completely faded from her scaly arms, but Neltmat and Tores were creeping in on her with their inability to keep their shit out of other's business. While I was going to head over and stop them, a siren blared. Agitit appeared again from some place entirely new.
     "Please head to your assigned nurse for your administered shots," he announced, staring through my bare chest. I took in a breath and followed him up the staircase and back into his office. My eyes focused on the remnants of some attempt on an experiment from the night before, but Agitit clearly pleaded for me to sit. I did.
     I still didn't like Nolam. There was an air about him of malice, but then again, that could have been the fact he ran the whole operation that changed our bodies in drastic measures.
     "You excited about today?" Agitit asked, preparing the needle.
I was zoning out. "Hm."
     "You seem to be the strongest of the eleven, you know. I see your body has gone through minimal changes compared to your friends out there."
     He wiped away the area he was going to shoot the chemicals in, but I found no interest in watching him do it. Before I knew it, I felt the ping of the needle go in and come back out with ease. It didn't even feel like anything at first, but then it burned a little. Agitit didn't comment on it.
     "I won't be observing today," Agitit told me. "I'm studying skin samples."
     Again. I wondered who's body they belonged to, but I didn't ask and headed down the stairs to start our great swimming lesson.
     The doctors observing explained that we had to test how long we were able to hold our breath for first, so we all jumped in the heated water. Yes, heated. Not only was it a luxury, but I heard that Attas had the hottest water in the solar system, which made it spew toxic gases only we could stand. We had already done the gas test, though, so we were all pretty capable of keeping our breath where it needed to be. We all spread out across the edge of the large pool, and we waited for the signal.
     "Hola, amigo!" Basha shouted across the pool to me. "Wanna make a bet?"
     I smiled, leaning against the edge. "Think you can last longer than me? Sure, I'll bet."
     "If I win, I get to have some of that amazing breakfast Nashi always gushes about."
     Nashi covered her face. "Fine!" I shouted back. "And if I win, you'll have to make me some of your famous food, eh?"
     The loud ringing occurred as the signal. Basha giggled her last words before diving under.  "Usted esta en."
     I fell under the warmth, staring at everyone else as they kept themselves on the ground of the pool. We all kept to ourselves as if not to distract ourselves from one another, and I just waited.  Five minutes passed and non one had moved up or down or even closer to each other. I clung to the wall and waited for more time to pass before anyone moved at all, but no one wanted to do anything. Farther away, I saw Basha staring me down as if to intimidate me. Whatever.
     "Hey."
     I nearly jumped at the sound of someone else's voice, and I felt the brush of scales against my arm. Kagre started at me, inches away from my face, and she giggled at my surprise. It was as if the water was not being sucked in as she spoke, not even messing up her speech.
     "Don't answer me, you'll lose time," she whispered. "I love it down here."
     Her scales were beyond her arms now, down to her feet and up to her neck. Her eyes were glistening a vibrant blue that matched the pool.
     "It's like its own world, you know," she told me, swimming on her back. I heard the rush of water and the dangling feet of Nasekin. "I once wanted to be a marine biologist when I saw a documentary on the deep sea, but... Well, the marines seemed like the better fit when I got older."
     Another woosh of water. It was Nekip. I nodded along to Kagre's words, surprised to hear speaking so much about herself. There were a few more splashes of people reaching the surface. By now, we were reaching fifteen minutes.
     "I..." Kagre's eyes fell. "I hope Vannor's okay."
     I mouthed. 'It was an accident.' More splashes. If I counted them right, only three of us were left.
     "Well, you know when you do things impulsively, it's instant regret," Kagre muttered. I focused on her. "I didn't want to hear another lecture, but I took it too far."
     I opened my mouth, but I could not reply. Another splash.
     "No one else is here," she whispered. "You wanted us to be open about what's going on, so now I can tell you the truth about what I did."
     I placed a hand on the ledge, but Kagre pulled me back down.
     "He cheated on me," she cried out. "I... I fucked up and broke the stove! W-we didn't even remember that I broke it, because he went and tried to use the stove again. I-I-I feel like I did the worst thing! I... I know I did."
     I was losing air. I couldn't breathe. I pushed myself up into the oxygen above and gasped.    Kagre followed after me shortly, her scales disappearing. Everyone else was cheering us on, but we were still.
     "I'm sorry," she whispered.
     I grabbed her hand, her eyes staring into mine. "Go to the hospital before it's too late."
     Something in my gut told me Vannor wasn't going to make it.