Page 38 of Calico Descending

It’s not really my sister, though. I know this. Days in isolation can do horrible things to the mind. I know this, too, because it isn’t the first time I’ve been put in The Box, as it’s called. My punishment is seven days, but I have no concept of time in here, to know the difference between a minute and an hour, night, or day.

“It’s your fault.”

The hallucination of my sister has grown stronger, to the extent I’m beginning to question moments when I’m awake, or asleep. Without light, or evidence of life around me, save for the skittering of mice and other small critters I’m glad I can’t see, it’s hard to discern things like time, or consciousness.

Curled into a ball against the wall, I tuck myself tighter, squeezing either side of my skull to drown out the sound of her voice. “Please wake up,” I whine to no one.

No one hears me, and if they did, no one would care. This is my punishment for attacking Medusa, and if I survive, I’ll be one of few who got dragged off and returned.

“If you hadn’t been so selfish, I wouldn’t have died that day.”

“Please, Bree. Please leave me be.” Rocking back and forth, I slam at my ears, in hopes that maybe I’ll blow my eardrums out and go deaf. Maybe then the voices will stop. “Leave me alone!”

“Like you left me alone? Cold. Alone. Rotting in a pile of ash and bone?” Her chuckle tears at my heart, how real it sounds in this place. “It rhymes. Remember we would make up songs to rhyme?”

As if she can read my mind, she begins to chant the first rhyme that pops into my head. One we made up a couple of years back, before getting swiped up by Legion.

“Little Suzie got the Dredge. Threw herself over the ledge. When she hit the ground, and splat. She got back up and ate her cat.”

As much as I don’t want to, I can’t help but laugh at the words we thought were so funny back then.

I whisper along to the next one, as it chimes inside my head. “Mother, Mother, please come quick. Sister, sister fell quite sick. Bit brother, brother on his head. And father, father now is dead.”

“They’re all dead, except for you, Cali. All of them.”

It isn’t possible, after nearly a week of sobbing, that I could possibly muster more tears, but the wetness sliding down my cheek is proof that the body never tires of misery. No matter how much it suffers, there’s always more.

“It’s your turn, Cali. They’re coming for you.”

Before I can say anything to shut her up, the door clicks, and a blinding light strikes my eyes. I lift my hand to shield my face, too dazed and disoriented to make out the dark figure standing in the doorway.

“I think you’ve suffered enough for your actions. I’d like to try a new approach with Valdys,” Doctor Ericsson says.

Valdys.

I haven’t even given much thought to Valdys.

“Up, up. On your feet.” His too-chipper voice cuts like a blade, and I’m very much aware that if I don’t do as he says, he’ll close that door on me again, without a second thought.

Palms to the floor, I push forward on weak arms that buckle beneath me, catching myself before my chin hits the floor. Muscles trembling, I try again, and manage to pull my knees up just enough to stabilize me. Using the wall for balance, I straighten my legs, knees knocking together, and stumble forward a step. Once upright, I ignore the ache deep in my bones, the tingling in my feet and ankles, and hobble forward, pushing off the wall. My feet get in front of me, and I tumble into Doctor Ericsson, who half-heartedly holds me up, until I gain my footing.

My throat is scratchy and dry, my lips burning and cracked, as I look up at him. “Thirsty.”

“We’ll get you water soon enough, my dear. First things first.”

Offering no more than his arm, he walks me out of The Box and down the hall, until we come to a stop in front of double doors. He opens one of the doors, ushering me into a large, empty room, with shiny white floors that reflect the dome ceiling made up of windows. Lifting my gaze toward them, I turn to see the dome spans the entire length of the room, with a ceiling beyond the glass.

“What is this place?”

“Back in its heyday—well before the Dredge—this was a surgical observation deck used by academics. Now, it’s where we observe behaviors.”

Not a minute later, movement draws my attention toward the corner of the dome, where bodies filter in, staring down through the windows at me.

“Why are they here?” I ask, my voice still raspy from thirst.

“To observe, of course. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to brief them.”

Just as when we sat around the table and watched Valdys behead Dean, many of the faces are those I recognize from my treatments. Scientists in lab coats. Medusa. And when I turn just a bit more, I catch sight of Valdys, as always, flanked by Legion soldiers. Though he wears his helmet, I’ve come to recognize him from the scars, and the way his left shoulder is slightly lower than the right, as though it’s been broken a few times.”

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