Forgotten

Chapter 14

          "HAYLEY, THERE'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO TELL YOU," I say, folding my hands nervously in front of me and trying, without success, to look calm and collected. "About a week ago, a bureaucrat came while you were at school. You remember Sarah Jacklin, the one we met before? Well, she came and told us..."

            I stop short at the sight of Liana resting an elbow on the kitchen table, her head in her hand. "What?" I demand. "I'm trying! This is hard!"

            "No, I get it." She straightens and runs her hands through her hair. "It's just...it's stupid, practicing this. It's not going to make it any easier when she comes home."

            "Do you have a better plan?" I slump into the chair next to her and stare miserably at the door that a jubilant Hayley will soon come dancing through, completely unaware of the bad news we have for her.

            "Okay, let's go over this," Liana says, all business. "When she comes in, we don't force the news down her throat. We'll wait for her to put her bag away, get settled, and we'll bring her to the table. We don't tell her about the surgery or the brain dissection—that's much too terrifying for a child of her age. We'll just say that the Federation wants to take her away from us. Then..."

            "We tell her to keep quiet about this whole thing," I continue on for her. "She can't breathe a word about this to anyone, but we're telling her because we trust her and we want her to know that we won't let them take her. We'll keep her safe, but it might be dangerous and we want her to be prepared. We remind her that she'll get to safety quickly and easily as long as she doesn't spill the secret."

            "She won't," Liana assures me.

            "And if she does? She's only four," I say doubtfully. "I don't know if this is a good idea. If the Federation gets even a whiff of what we're planning..."

            "They'll kill us. I know." Liana nods seriously. "But I trust her. Don't you?"

            "It's not Hayley I don't trust," I say under my breath.

            "What do you mean?"

            "They've got eyes on her everywhere she goes. They're probably afraid that we'll try to do exactly what we're doing right now—plan escape. I'm surprised they're letting us keep her as long as they did. If they take her suddenly, like they did for the MRI, and interrogate her, she'll crack easily."

            "We don't have a choice," Liana argues. "We can't lie to her."

             I sigh. "You're right. Okay, let's try this again."

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            Hayley says nothing, just stares at us with wide, disbelieving eyes. "They want to take me away?" she asks fearfully. "Where would they take me? To another homestead?"

            I just gaze back at her, unable to form words.

            "No," Liana says quickly, glancing at me with a stern look. "They would take you away from...everything. Away from us. But that doesn't matter. The point is, we're going to help you escape."

            "Escape? How?" Hayley looks even more scared. "But they'll punish us!"

            "Only if we're caught." I look up, surprised at my own words. "That's why you can't say anything about this to anyone, Hayley. Not your friends, not your teachers, no one. If the bureaucrats find out, they'll take us all away, and we'll never see each other again."

            "I won't," Hayley says, but her eyes are unfocused.

            Liana gets down on her knees and takes Hayley's hands, looking her directly in the eye. "Hayley, you have to promise me you won't tell."

            Hayley looks up and meets her gaze. "I promise."

            "Good." Liana stands up. "Now, I want you to go to your room and finish up your homework. When you've done that, you can go outside and start on your chores. Okay?"

            "Yes, Liana," Hayley replies obediently, and starts toward her room with her backpack.

            As soon as she's gone, Liana collapses into a chair, and I take a seat next to her.

            "Well, that's that," I say, pursing my lips. "I hope she's okay."

            "She'll be fine. We'll be there for her the whole way." Liana looks up at me. "That boy—the one you talked to—what's his name?"

            "Rowan."

"You're going to the marketplace tomorrow. Tell him we've agreed."

            I nod. "You know what this means, right?" I take a deep breath. "We'll never go to the east. We'll never have the new life that's always been promised us. We'll be outcasts forever."

            "They promised us lies." Liana's voice is surprisingly vehement. "They killed Janelle, even though she was only eighteen. They plan to torture Hayley like a lab rat. Who knows what lies on the other side of the border?"

            "Hush," I say, suddenly fearful, however irrational, that someone is listening in. "I don't want anyone to hear us. These are dangerous things you're saying. Very, very dangerous."

            Liana smiles. "I think I was telling you the exact same thing just yesterday."

            I glare at her.

            Smirking, she changes the subject. "So, this Rowan...what's he like?" I can tell she's trying to bring a lighter mood to the conversation.

            "What does it matter? He's all right, I guess. Kind of a rascal." I pause.

            "Nothing else?"

            "What?"

            "Oh, come on, Stella. He went out of his way to help a girl he barely knew. Don't you think...?"

            "No. Not even. Don't you dare go there." I hold up a warning finger, but my tone is lighthearted.

            She stands, holding up both hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Backing off."

            But as she turns away, I see that a secret smile is turning up the corners of her mouth, though for the life of me I can't understand why.