Aftermath: Yesterday, Episode 1

  *****

  “Where’s Logan?” Beth leaned closed and whispered to Anna. The two girls sat on one bench in a narrow room, facing both sets of parents on a bench across from them. Shiny gold Chosen pins, shaped like lightning bolts, now adorned their uniforms.

  It was time for the final step, the signing of paperwork. The Domers referred to the contract as the Articles of Agreement. It was an ancient name, very traditional, dating from old Earth, back when ships floated on water instead of through space. It was the agreement between a captain of a ship and the members of the crew, and in some cases then it was only the tiniest step removed from slavery. Burbans weren’t supposed to know the origin, but Anna had come across it in an advanced study class. She hated the term; it made it seem like her parents were selling her into service. Anna thought of it as renting her womb for a few years with specific goals in mind. But whatever benefit her parents could get from it, Anna was all for it.

  “I told you, I don’t know where Logan is,” Anna said. She was picking up Beth’s anxiety.

  Where is that sporn anyway?

  Anna leaned her head back against a window. She heard a light tapping right behind her ears. It was Logan’s, aka the sporn’s, secret knock. Pretending to be adjusting her uniform, she twisted her head a bit. She saw him gesturing toward the end of the skimmer, the end with the fresher.

  Clasping Beth’s wrist tightly, Anna stood up. “We’re going to use the fresher.”

  Her mother nodded. Her father said, “Why do girls always have to go in pairs?”

  Beth had caught on, and followed Anna eagerly.

  “What’s going on?” Beth said when the fresher door was locked behind them.

  “Logan’s outside.”

  Beth’s excited look froze on her face. “Oh, moon! What’s he doing outside?”

  “Let’s find out.” There was a small exterior door in the fresher used for servicing. After a moment fiddling with the latch, Anna opened the door. Logan stood there, his face lit by the dual moons.

  “Hey,” he said, reaching out to grasp her hands.

  “Hey, you.”

  Beth shoved her roughly aside, stepped out, and slipped into Logan’s arms. “What’s happening?”

  He clasped her tight against his chest. “I failed, Beth. I’m not going to the Dome.”

  “Oh no! That can’t happen! We’re going to get married!”

  “How did you flunk, Logan?” Anna asked. She was imagining Vass doing something to sabotage his test.

  “Failed the psych test. Turns out I’m too independent to be a Defender. Rated ‘Unwilling to Follow Orders’.”

  “Logan, you sporn! We went over some of the questions you might be asked.” Angrily, Anna punched him in the arm. Hard.

  He took it. “Well, I guess my true nature won out over all the preparation. I’m sorry.”

  “What are we going to do now?” Beth raised her teary face to his.

  “I don’t know, Sweets. I just can’t come.”

  “Let’s run away!”

  “You can’t do that,” Anna said. “You’re Chosen, Beth. You’ve got to go to the Dome.”

  Beth rounded on her. “Says who? You?”

  “Shh. Keep your voice down,” Anna said. “There are Defenders around here. They’ll make you go.”

  “I haven’t signed the contract yet.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” Logan said, sadly fingering her Chosen pin. “That’s only so your parents get their reward. We knew this could happen.”

  Beth slumped against him. “I love you, Logan.”

  “I love you, too,” he said. “I always will.”

  “Hey, you two,” Anna said. “Even if you went into the Dome together, you weren’t going to be married right away. You’d each have program obligations. So why don’t you just postpone the wedding? For, uh, five years, just like in the Dome?”

  “I’ll be a Domer by then!” Beth wailed.

  “Shh,” Logan said. “Think about it. It might work. Can’t Domers do whatever they want? Including leave the Dome?”

  “I’ve heard of Domers traveling to other Domes,” Anna said. “Once you left the Dome, you and Logan could get married and move to another Burb. No one would know or care. You fulfilled the program.”

  “Maybe it could work.” Beth wiped her eyes. “I’ll wait for you.”

  “You know I’ll wait for you. As long as it takes. I’ll be here when the program is over.” Logan held Beth at arm’s length and stared at her, as though he could burn the thought into her. Or as though he was burning her face into his mind and heart.

  Anna turned her face away. The intensity of their emotions, shared inadvertently with her, was just too private. Too much information.

  Logan pulled the Candidate pin from his uniform. “Here,” he said. “Take this. It’s my promise.”

  Beth took off her Chosen pin and handed it to him. “Here’s mine.”

  They kissed. Anna looked around, expecting Defenders to come upon them any moment. She’d just witnessed their impromptu Pledge ceremony.

  Logan clutched Anna’s arm tightly and whispered in his sister’s ear. “Take care of her. Bring her back to me.”

  Anna nodded, tears swelling in her eyes. “Yes.”

  Back in the fresher, both girls took a moment to clean their faces. No amount of cleaning could take care of Beth’s red-rimmed eyes, though.

  When they stepped out, Anna’s mother’s eyes widened. She knew right away what had happened. She placed a hand on her husband’s arm, since he was about to raise his voice over the delay.

  “We’ve been called once already,” Sapphire said. “It’s time to go in.”