Page 32 of Calico Descending

A cold, hard smack smarts my cheek, and I set my hand to the tingling flesh there.

“Watch your tone, girl,” Medusa snaps.

“Your sister is a very agreeable young woman. She works hard. Doesn’t complain. Has a number of friends with whom she’s become very close.” His description of Bryani brings more tears to my eyes, and my heart aches with how much I miss her. “I would hate to see something happen to such a fine worker.”

The implications embedded in his words slices through my conscience, as I stare back at him. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying obedience follows a delicate chain. To reach Valdys, perhaps we need to ensure your loyalty first.”

“Please don’t hurt her.”

“Promise me you’ll try harder with Valdys. That you’ll make more of an effort.”

Lowering my gaze in defeat, I nod. “I will. I swear it.”

Chapter 17

Four years ago

“Hey.” The voice draws my attention to where Bryani stands, holding out a bowl for me.

I dip the ladle into the beans and water, filling it more than the last one I dished out, and spoon it into her bowl. “Hi.”

“I lost a tooth today.” She smiles and tips her head to the side, showing me the gap where one of her last baby teeth should be. “Pulled it out myself, and Doctor Wyatt gave me a piece of candy. Peppermint.”

“That’s great.” It’s hard to push a smile out while my eyes are examining her, noticing the lack of bruises and cuts, but the prominence of her bones. I’m certain I look a mess in her eyes, even if the meat I’ve been offered with my soup keeps the sharp curves of my bones from poking through.

A nudge from the girl beside her kicks her to the side a step, and she moves on to grab a spoon. “I miss you.”

Ladling soup into the next bowl, I feel the first sting of tears at the rims of my eyes and clear my throat. “I miss you, too.”

It’s the most I’ve interacted with my sister in weeks. As I become more and more consumed by this place, she grows busier, more distant. Her visits to the Commissary have shifted beyond my lunchbreak and into my working hours. Where once upon a time, she was my closest confidante, my whole world, now we’re nothing more than passing strangers. Aside from these small encounters, where she offers random bits of her life here, I no longer know much, at all, about her. If she cries at night the way I do. If she thinks about our mother as frequently as I do. If anything from before still matters to her.

The sound of approaching footsteps breaks my musings, and I look up to see two soldiers at either side of Neela.

The girls in the food line part, giving them space, and it’s then I notice tears in Neela’s eyes.

“This subject was found hiding food in her bed!” The guard’s voice thunders through the Commissary, and the chatter dies down around us. He points a finger toward me, and I feel a grip on my shoulder.

Tight knots of dread twisting in my gut, I turn just enough to see the kitchen leader standing behind me.

“Is this who supplied you with the bread?” Head tipped toward Neela, the guard bends forward, practically in her face in one of their intimidating moves.

My chest turns cold, hands sweaty, and my pulse rate struggles to keep up with my nervous breathing.

Neela shakes her head, to my surprise. We’ve grown to be friends, but perhaps I didn’t quite gather to what extent she values our friendship. “No, Sir.”

“I find it a little convenient that the two of you share the same barracks. Sleep in close proximity of each other.”

“I swear it wasn’t her.”

“Then, how exactly did you manage to get your hands on the bread?”

“I took it.”

“Is this true?” His question prompts me to lift my gaze, and when I do, his eyes are drilling into me, tearing up my conscience in small bits.

A quick glance at Neela, and I catch a subtle nod, so slight, I question if she meant it for me. Still, my gaze flicks from her to the blade he slides out of a holster at his side, and whatever courage there might be left in me fizzles away, at the visual of him pressing that blade down into my fingers and slicing them away from my knuckles.

---