The Gardener

  “No.” I looked from one to the other. Neither came close to being my size, and despite their anonymous bravado, they seemed content not to confront me and test my physical strength. “I’m carrying her or she’s not going in there.”

  They looked at each other for a moment, then turned back to me. One stepped aside and motioned that I should walk in front of them. That first step seemed to take about an hour, but then I found myself moving toward the door, escorted by one of the green people. And I heard my mom squawk.

  Whipping around, I saw the other green person with a hand in her chest, shoving her back toward the gate.

  “Let her go!”

  Mom’s arms windmilled as she fell backward on the ground with an “Oomph.”

  “I said let her go!” But with Laila in my arms, I couldn’t help. My escort stood next to me. Could be that he, or she, was waiting for me to decide, maybe knowing I was torn between helping my mom or helping the girl in my arms, maybe thinking it was a way to get me to hand her over.

  I swallowed as I watched my mom get up and try to fight her way back toward me, past the green person. My arms tightened around Laila as I wondered what would happen if I set her down. She might be snatched up, taken out of my sight as my mother and I were shoved out the gate.

  “Mom!”

  Her hair had fallen out of its ponytail and hung around her face as she stood with her hands on her knees, panting from the shoving match. She was overpowered, but as she looked at me, the message in her eyes was clear: She wouldn’t give up.

  Never before had I been forced to choose who to help. And now that the choice lay before me, I realized it was a type of triage I’d never planned for. My eyes rested on Laila’s peaceful face, which seemed even paler than before. Her life was at stake.

  Then I looked at my mom. How long since she’d put up such a fight? I’d never seen it before. For the first time in my life, I knew she had it within her to save herself.

  “Mom, it’s okay. I’ll be okay.”

  Still breathing hard, she cried, “Please don’t go in there. Please just hand her over out here and we can go home!”

  “Mom…” I shut my eyes for a moment, giving myself the opportunity to change my mind. But when I opened them and took in the green suits, my mom looking fierce and disheveled, and lastly, the limp beautiful girl in my arms, my choice was solid.

  Then suddenly, Mom ripped free of the green person’s grip and ran toward me. “Just set her down! Let’s go, she doesn’t need you.”

  A flash of green beside me intercepted my mom and threw her to the ground.

  “Stop! Leave her alone, I’ll do what you want.”

  The green person released my mom and stepped back. Waiting for me?

  I pleaded with my mom. “Please, I don’t want them to hurt you. Just go. I need to do this.”

  Mom yelled, “Wait! I need to tell you something! Mason, please…”

  And I stepped through the doors of TroDyn.

  The person in green didn’t say anything as the doors shut behind us, so I didn’t even notice I was standing alone until I turned around. I was in a hallway with white walls, white tiled floors, and only one set of doors in front of me. As I started toward them, suddenly they were flung open and a woman stepped through, marching toward me. Wearing a pair of khaki pants and a white button-down blouse, she was fairly tall, sturdily built, and her blond hair came to her shoulders. She could have been anyone on the street, but for her face. She had this look. I mean, put a black-and-gray wig on her and she was a ringer for Cruella de Vil.

  “Well.” She halted a step away from me, shaking her head as she looked at Laila. “I didn’t appreciate the last twenty-four hours.”

  Did she want me to apologize? Because I wasn’t about to. I opened my mouth to speak, but she held up her hand. “I wasn’t talking to you.”

  Laila moved in my arms and I saw she was awake.

  The woman said, “I was talking to my daughter.”

  My mouth dropped.

  The woman raised one eyebrow.

  Was she the Gardener? No wonder Laila had been so frightened. And then I saw a faint resemblance, same blond shade to the hair, the height, and the eyes.

  Straightening up to make myself as tall and imposing as possible, I said, “She needs help.”

  “Oh, I know, I know.” The woman patted me on the shoulder. “How nice of you. It would have been nicer to just let your mother handle it at the Haven of Peace, but now you’ve brought her back, so all is fine.”

  “You know my mother?”

  “Of course. And I know you. Too bad she chose to take you out of here when she did. You’d still have your face and who knows? Maybe you and Laila would have been coupled.”

  Trying to take in the implications of that piece of information, my eyes narrowed. “Laila needs help.”

  She shook her head slightly. “No, she doesn’t. Not help. She needs to return to where she belongs, that’s all. And she’ll be fine.”

  I heard a click on the tile behind me, and I turned just in time to see a hand coming toward me, holding something silver. Stars burst in front of my face as I started to fall.

  FOURTEEN

  ALTHOUGH I DIDN’T REMEMBER HITTING THE floor, the throbbing in my head certainly served as proof. I groaned as I cradled my temple, and my eyes fluttered, trying to focus. I’d watched reality cop shows a couple of times and was pretty sure I’d just encountered a Taser. A lump had definitely sprouted on the right side of my head, and I checked out the rest of me. I was still dressed, boots on my feet. As I sat up, I looked around at my surroundings. The small room was well lit, with wood-paneled walls. I was on a bed with a soft white down comforter, but there was also a desk and matching chair, and a blue recliner that faced a small television.

  The lock in the door clicked, and I retreated to the edge of the bed.

  Laila’s mother walked in. She smiled. “You’re awake.”

  “Where’s Laila?”

  “She’s fine.”

  They got what they wanted, they had Laila back. “Why am I still here?”

  “You wouldn’t be, if it were up to me. I’d have put you outside with your mother and sent you on your merry way.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Because the Gardener would like to see you.”

  My jaw dropped. “I thought you were the Gardener.”

  She tossed her head back and laughed. “Me? Oh no. I’m Eve.” She held the door open and tilted her head. “Come on, Mason. Everything will be explained.”

  Eve waited for me to go through the door, then followed me into the hallway. “This way.” She started to walk.

  I followed. What else was I going to do?

  The hallways were bright. The low ceilings were lined with fluorescent lights, the walls were white. Her heels clicked on the tile floor. We walked about a hundred yards before we came to a door. She held it open for me and I entered a room painted green, but this one had a couch and was covered with bookshelves, filled from end to end with books.

  “You must be hungry.”

  Before I could stop myself, I said, “Starving.”

  “Well, some of us still eat around here. What can I have the cooks make you? A sandwich?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “You can have anything. Tuna, bologna, chicken salad—”

  “Yes, chicken salad.”

  “Wheat? White? Rye?”

  Was this Denny’s or what? “Wheat.”

  After she left, I tried the door. Locked.

  I looked around and started reading spines. The Jungle Book, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Charlotte’s Web, Oliver Twist, every volume of the Oz books. Even the Five Little Peppers series, one of Mom’s favorites. She’d read to me from her ancient copies when I was little. Then I stopped browsing and looked around, trying to figure out how many books the room housed. A lot.

  “I have many books.”

  I spun around, expecting someone to be sta
nding there. But I saw no one.

  “Sorry to startle you.”

  The voice sounded canned, laced with an echo, almost disembodied, so that I couldn’t tell it if was male or female. I followed the sound to a window near the side of the room. But when I got there, I saw it wasn’t a window but more like a mirror on my side.

  “I’m sure you have many questions. I’d like to answer them all.”

  My hands touched the glass. “Who are you?”

  “Some call me the Gardener.”

  My breath caught in my throat as I struggled hard to not show my fear. I swallowed. “Why can’t I see you?”

  “You will. You will. I just … prefer this way for now. My assistant will return shortly.”

  “Eve?”

  “Yes.”

  It occurred to me that it was probably Eve herself on the other side of the glass, screwing with me. So I screwed with her. “She’s scary.”

  “Yes, she is.” I heard a low chuckle. “But don’t worry, she answers to me. She’ll be coming to show you around, then she’ll bring you to meet me. I’d rather you see everything first, then I can explain.”

  I wasn’t sure any of this could be explained, by Eve or whoever it was behind the glass. “Why? Why do you want me to know?”

  “Will you ever stop wanting to know about the girl?”

  That question was easy. “No.”

  “So I can only assume you won’t stop seeking the truth. Seekers are dangerous. And now I must go.”

  “Hello? Are you there?” I banged my fist on the glass, but got no response. The door clicked open behind me and a guy in khaki pants and white shirt set a tray on the table, then left.

  I pulled out a chair as I slid the tray over. A huge chicken salad sandwich sat on a white plate next to a large glass of milk. My stomach rumbled. I knew I should be cautious. They could have done something to the food. But why? They already knew a Taser knocked me on my ass. They had ample opportunity to get rid of me if that was their plan.

  Reaching out with one hand, I hesitated, but only for a second, before grabbing the sandwich and taking a massive bite. Delicious. I devoured the sandwich and drained the milk, even licked the plate clean of wayward patches of chicken salad. There was room in my stomach for about three more of those sandwiches, but I shoved the tray away just as Eve returned and motioned for me to follow her.

  “Nice timing.” I was pretty sure she had been behind the glass, but I decided to play along.

  As we walked down the hallway, I tried to orient myself, keeping track of lefts and rights. Not that it would do me a lot of good, other than getting me back to the green room with the books. I had no clue where to go from there.

  Eve walked fast, but I had no trouble keeping up. A humming grew louder as we reached a pair of double doors so tall I would have had to jump to touch the top, and wide enough for a good-size car to drive through. She set both hands on the silver bar, like she was ready to push, but she paused. Turning just enough that her profile was visible to me, she asked, “Do you frighten easily?”

  Now, there was a question I’d never been asked. “No,” I replied, although I had to work hard to keep my voice steady.

  “Excellent.” She pushed the door open and stepped forward. “It would be best to stay very close to me.”

  As the door opened, the humming intensified into a buzz as a rush of warm, moist air hit me, along with a bright, blinding blast of light and the smell of flowers. Shielding my eyes with one arm, I stepped inside the room. The surface under my feet was cushioned, almost bouncy. Squinting up, I saw the ceiling was about twenty feet high, made of bubbled glass. And as my eyes adjusted, I saw the room was easily the size of a football field. But the sheer enormity of the room wasn’t what stopped me in my tracks. The occupants of the room did.

  I held my arm closer to my eyes as I blinked, trying to figure out if what I saw was real. Rows and rows upon more rows of kids—some looked my age, some younger—all sitting on the floor, their eyes closed and their necks bent back, faces turned upward toward the light. Small monitors sat in front of each one, a brilliant blue emanating from every blank screen. Each kid wore some sort of tight green bodysuit that covered almost all their skin. But the material was thin, so thin I could almost see through it, but not quite.

  Were these people?

  Eve stepped closer to the first row of them, beckoning me to follow. Peering at the kid nearest me, my eyes ran gradually from his face, pale in the sunlight, but luminous, almost sparkling. There was no expression, yet he seemed placid. I gazed at the other faces around him, all bearing the same expression, sort of a blank serenity, an outward satisfaction that didn’t seem to go any deeper. My gaze left their faces and went back to the first kid, down to his chest and arms and crossed legs—

  And then I saw it. Each kid was on a raised platform, about six inches off the floor, with a hole beneath. Snaking up from the hole were clear, shiny tubes that showed a green liquid inside. And the trail of the tubes ended inside the back of the kids’ legs, into holes the same circumference as the awful scars on the back of Laila’s legs.

  I was in a garden. A garden of humans.

  I must have gasped. Eve grabbed my arm and squeezed, shushing me, but I couldn’t help it as the words fell out of my mouth in a near shriek. “What have you done?”

  Slowly, as one, every kid in every row as far as I could see turned their heads toward me. Their eyes were so dark they seemed black, even in that bright light, and the buzz of the room became louder and louder, making me cover my ears as I started to back away. With an echoing click, the light went out. All those eyes, still focused on me, shone in the dark, their skin reflecting enough light to reveal movement as each kid, again in unison, reached out an arm toward me.

  Something brushed my ankle and I screamed like a girl.

  The buzz filled my head.

  Eve yanked on me, her nails digging into my arm as she pulled me toward the door. Her whisper was vicious. “Shut up, will you!”

  And I managed to keep my mouth shut as she backed us through the doors and closed them, cutting off the buzz and turning it back into a mere hum.

  She let out a deep breath before turning to me. “Did I not ask you to be quiet?”

  “No, you didn’t!” My hands were shaking and I leaned against the wall to keep from falling. “You asked if I frightened easily. You could have given me a few details before you showed me that—”

  With one trembling finger, I pointed toward the door, half scared it would open up and those kids would start piling out, one after another, hands reaching out for me. “That place. Holy crap, what is that place?”

  “The Greenhouse.”

  My hand flew over my mouth. The Greenhouse. Was that where Laila had been before Haven of Peace, the place she could remember only in snippets? My knees bent and I slid down the wall, slumping on the floor as I sank my head into my hands. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think, as I imagined Laila in there among those kids. But I had to know. I had to know everything.

  “What are those kids doing in there?”

  Eve’s hands fluttered a bit before she said, “Essentially, they are saving the human race. In fact, they are the future of the human race.”

  “How can you say that?” The picture of them all turning to me in unison, eyes dark, faces expressionless yet sinister at the same time … “They’re not human.” They couldn’t be.

  Eve tsked. “They are as human as we are. They simply have enhancements that we do not. Enhancements that will help them survive the disasters that are sure to leave you and me as dead as dust.”

  “But how could you do that to Laila?” My eyes narrowed. “Your own daughter. How could you?”

  “How could I what? Do all I can to ensure that she survives what the entire current human race cannot?”

  “No.” I put a hand on either side of my head and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to get a grip. “No.” Eve was insane.

  Opening
my eyes, I asked, “How could you put her through that, make her live like that?”

  Eve shook her head. “You don’t understand.” She gestured at the closed door. “You see only the surface, the outside. Clearly, you have no idea what’s going on underneath.”

  “Yeah, clearly.” Getting my feet under me, I stood up. “I may have no idea what’s going on underneath, but the outside looks pretty frickin’ messed up. How many kids are in there?”

  “These are all questions you should save for the Gardener.”

  “Bull! You’re the Gardener! That’s why Laila was so freaked out by The Runaway Bunny. Her own mother is the Gardener.”

  Eve rubbed her neck as she watched me, and her expression changed from defensive to something else. “I’m not the Gardener.”

  “Prove it.”

  “Fine.” She turned and headed back the way we had come. When I didn’t do anything, she stopped. Without looking back, she said, “You may want to follow me.”

  Glancing at the double door, I shuddered as I caught up to Eve and followed her down the hall. On the way back to the room with books, she took a left where we should have taken a right, and I lost my bearings. But there was nothing to do about that, so I quit trying to remember the lefts and rights. Which gave me a chance to ask questions about what I’d seen. “In the Greenhouse, what is that light?”

  “Sunshine, perfectly replicated.”

  “Their faces looked like they sparkled.”

  She stopped before a door and turned to me. “Their clothing covers everything but their hands and faces, and for those we use a sunscreen, made of calcium carbonate crystals. Ultraviolet and infrared rays are deflected, but photosynthetic ones are not. A form of it is used in Australia for fruit crops that get damaged by the sun. Once testing is done in the U.S., it will be a big seller for TroDyn.”

  Nice, use humans as guinea pigs before fruit. “How handy for you.”

  Her hand rested on the silver knob. “Here we are. The Gardener is waiting for you.”