The Forge: Fire and Ice

ALL THE KING’S MEN Katie Lewis

The Mechs said we’d be Paired for a while: me, to grow the genetic augmentations, and her to unlock them for the Supergrown. The first day was tests, to ensure we were compatible. They started the extraction and implementation process on the second. It was always bad for the Carriers. Indeed, when the Mechs went for their break, she was sweating, shivering and, notwithstanding the ban on music, singing at an increasingly loud volume. Even her curly red hair seemed limp.

‘Hey,’ she croaked when she saw me looking. ‘Th-this kinda sucks. F-Fancy distracting me?’ I hesitated. ‘Please?’

I walked towards her. ‘Someone,’ I said, ‘didn’t wash behind her ears today.’

She gasped as I pulled my memento from her ear. ‘You do magic?’

‘I used to.’ I reached for her other ear but she grabbed my hand, and promptly dropped it.

‘You’re freezing!’

I smirked. ‘Never touch a Donor before?’

‘You’re all like that?’

‘Keeps the augmentations stable.’

‘Huh.’ She hesitated, looking at my hand longingly. ‘Did me grabbing it hurt?’

‘I’m used to it.’ After a second, I held out my hand, ignoring the burning sensation as she took it.

‘Thanks.’ She sighed in relief. ‘I’m Ivy, by the way.’

‘Ellis.’

‘Ellis,’ she repeated, low voice melodic. A spasm wracked her. Fingers branded my flesh.

‘That song you sang,’ I said quickly. ‘What was it?’

‘Hu-Humpty Dumpty.’

‘What’s it mean?’

‘D-dunno. It’s from before.’ She took a breath. ‘It’s kkinda sad though. Everyone failing like that.’

‘At least they tried.’

‘True. B-But I always imagine the king’s men, having to decide he’s beyond saving and moving on.’ She licked her lips. ‘H-how d’you make a decision like that?’

‘Maybe they had others to save?’

‘Maybe.’ Blue eyes darkened for a second. Another spasm. ‘W-why do they have to torture us?’

I stilled, heart thumping. ‘That’s dangerous.’

‘S-sometimes, I don’t think I care. Supergrowns are monsters.’

‘I… maybe.’

She smiled. ‘You’re not as party-line as you pretend, are you?’ When I shrugged, she surprised me by bringing my hand to burning lips and kissing it. Blue eyes looked at me, feverish.

The door opened.

I made it on to my gurney in the nick of time.

We passed in the Exposure later. She smiled, which my minder noticed. Quickly, I said it was my fault: I’d pulled a funny face. It earned me a baton to the back. When I straightened, she’d gone.

‘That coulda gotten you a worse punishment you know.’

‘I know.’ I knew better than to rub my back.

Jeb grunted. ‘Don’t blame you. Pretty, that one.’

I looked at him sharply. ‘I’m not–’

‘Not accusing you. Just commenting.’

I said nothing.

The feeling of burning lips on flesh haunted me all night.

She coped better with the injections the next day but when the Mechs went for their break, she held her hand out. I took it; she smiled.

‘You,’ she croaked, ‘aren’t as mean as everyone says.’

I shrugged, though I felt uneasy.

‘Why’d you take the blame yesterday anyway?’

‘Jeb’s a softy,’ I said. ‘He’s been my minder for years.’

‘Lucky. Sara’s mean.’

‘I know.’

She seemed surprised. Then she laughed and tugged me forwards, this time to brush my cheek with her lips. It added to my dreams that night.

We continued that way for weeks – soft conversations in breaks of varying lengths, fingers entwined, heat brushing skin. I realised quickly that she was brash and open, to the point of danger. She was kind and cheerful but beneath her laughter, there was a deep well of bitterness. Sometimes, I thought she grasped for me simply to anchor herself.

I let her talk, but I was concerned at the statements she made. She felt especially strongly about the frequent Donor and Carrier arrests. Sometimes, she talked of escape.

People listen, I said, to explain my reluctance to discuss it. People tried to trick others.

She laughed it off and squeezed my hand.

‘You can trust me.’

I just shrugged.

‘But why don’t the arrests upset you?’ she asked once, fingers walking up my arm. It hurt, slightly. Her strength augmentations were very effective.

I shrugged.

‘They’re your friends,’ she said. ‘I see you in the Closure.’

‘They talk. I listen.’

‘What about in the lab? With other Carriers?’

I shrugged again.

She frowned. ‘Have you always been so cold?’

I shrugged. Suddenly, she lunged and tickled me, making me laugh. When she let go, she looked so proud of herself that I chuckled.

‘See,’ she said. ‘You can laugh.’

Feeling bold, I kissed her cheek. ‘Only because it’s you.’

She rolled her eyes but I could see her smile.

‘You seem happy.’

I shrugged.

‘It’s that girl, isn’t it?’ Silence. ‘C’mon, Ellis.’

‘…gonna stop it?’

‘I should.’ My lips tightened. Jeb sighed. ‘But I won’t.’

‘But it–’

‘Would damage you more. I won’t be responsible for that.’

I had nothing to say to that.

‘If you could have one thing, what’d it be?’

‘That’s–’

‘Dangerous. Noted. Answer.’

I grinned. I did that more often, with her. She grinned back as she jogged around the room. The augmentations had given her excess energy. The extraction had taken mine away.

‘Dunno.’

‘Ellis.’ She stopped jogging. ‘Is it so bad, to want?’

I shrugged.

‘C’mon,’ she said. ‘There must be something.’ She jogged over and sat next to me. ‘You can trust me. I promise.’

I hesitated.

‘My brother,’ I said finally. ‘He’s outside.’ I swallowed. ‘If I mess up, he’ll die.’

‘Oh, Ellis.’

‘It’s fine.’

She pulled me gently towards her. ‘It’s not.’

I leaned my head against her shoulder.

‘It is,’ I whispered. ‘It has to be.’

Ivy slept, the procedure that morning being particularly exhausting. I tried to slip as many items into her pockets as I could.

‘Ellis?’

‘Shh. Sleep,’ I said soothingly.

‘OK.’ I reached for a pen. ‘I like you like this,’ she murmured sleepily. ‘I wish you could always be this free.’

She fell asleep before I could reply.

And then one day, she kissed me.

I was so startled, I fell backwards, hitting my head on the floor. It hurt more than usual. The extraction had taken a lot from me.

‘Ellis?’

‘I…’ I tried to push myself up without looking at her. ‘We can’t–’

‘Why not?’

‘You know why not.’ I rubbed the back of my head and winced.

‘So?’ Her voice was harsh, a strange contrast to the vulnerability on her face. ‘You…’ She swallowed. ‘I see how you look at me.’ I said nothing. ‘I… you can feel, you know.’

I didn’t trust myself to speak. I pushed the gurney into place instead.

‘Ellis…’ She sighed. ‘Escape with me.’

‘What?’

‘We could save your brother.’

‘Ivy, the moment they can’t find me, they’ll go for him. Why can’t you just stay safe here?’

‘Safe, huh?’ She looked away. ‘Know how they’re gonna impregnate me with that Supergrown?’

I frowned. ‘Artificial–’

‘No.’ A pause. ‘I hear Councillor Evan has first dibs.’

I stared at her. ‘Ivy…’

‘And there’s a reason nobody’s birthed more than two of ‘em.’ She swallowed, fingers twisting together. ‘I can’t go through that.’ Her breathing quickened. ‘I’ll, I’ll break, Ellis. I’ll break and nobody will be able to put me together again.’

‘Ivy–’

‘No, Ellis. I–’

My fingers were beneath her chin, tilting her head towards me. She stilled as I leaned in and softly kissed her.

‘I’ll never let that happen to you,’ I said quietly. ‘Never.’

‘Ellis–’

‘Never.’

Blue eyes met mine. And then, suddenly, our lips were together and all else was forgotten.

‘So,’ Jeb said as we walked into my cell. ‘You two had fun.’

‘Huh?’

‘Spare a thought for those who monitor the screens. They could be traumatised for life.’

I stared, speechless.

‘Luckily for you,’ he said, ‘I looped the video feed so nobody else would need to illegally buy alcohol.’

I actually blushed. ‘You gonna–’

‘No.’

‘You, you’re not?’

He grunted. ‘I’m fond of you, kid. I want you to be happy. So, just this once, I’ll let it sli- oof.’

My hug clearly startled him, but he patted my back. ‘Just don’t do it again, alright?’

It was a stupidly innocent thing for him to say.

‘Ellis?’

I looked at her, tall, striking, hand burning on mine.

‘You OK?’

We both knew it would end.

‘Did you think about escaping with me?’

I twisted my other hand in my pocket.

‘Ellis?’

It was time.

‘I did,’ I said.

‘And?’

‘I can’t.’ Her face fell. ‘They’re gonna find out.’

‘What? How’d they–’ She stilled. ‘Ellis, you’re not–’

‘Well, it is my job.’

Her eyes widened; her hand flew to her mouth.

‘You… but you… You accused me of spying.’

‘I didn’t, actually. I just let you believe that. It made you talk.’ I stood. ‘You’re an idiot for not guessing you’d be listened to. Don’t expect to live past tomorrow.’

‘How can you be so, so cold?’

‘It doesn’t pay to get attached. I told you.’

‘So everything… everything you did…’ She looked as though she were trying not to cry. ‘Everything we did…’

‘Oh, Ivy.’ I reached out, holding her tight. ‘We could never be together. You know that.’

She pushed me away. I stumbled backwards, hands catching on hers. ‘I can’t believe you,’ she said. ‘They’ll torture and rape me. Don’t you care?’

‘I only care about one person.’ I walked back to my gurney. ‘This way, he survives.’

The door rattled open.

‘I hope you die,’ she hissed.

I shrugged.

The next morning, Jeb put his head to my ear as we walked to the lab.

‘You,’ he said quietly, ‘are one ice-cold bitch.’

I said nothing.

‘Seriously. That was the worst thing I’ve ever seen you do. You broke her.’ He shook his head. ‘I honestly thought…’

‘Would you have let her escape?’

‘I…’

‘Exactly.’ I opened the lab door. He followed me in silently, glaring at me all the while.

We were so focused on each other that we didn’t see the guards until they’d shoved me away and grabbed him.

‘Where is she?’

‘What?’

‘The girl. Where is she?’

‘What?’ He looked at me.

And understood.

He knew exactly what I was capable of.

‘I did it,’ he said, eyes never leaving mine.

‘What?’

‘I did it.’

‘OK,’ said a guard. ‘That’s–’

‘He’s lying,’ I said quickly, loudly, clutching Ivy’s memento – a ring. I wondered if she’d realise I’d taken it when she’d pushed me away. ‘I picked his pocket and planted his spare keys on her, along with instructions for her escape. I did it.’

I didn’t look at Jeb. I couldn’t.

‘But how d’you know how to escape?’

I rolled my eyes. ‘I’ve heard plenty of good escape plans.’

‘Then why are you still here?’

‘Ellis,’ Jeb said quietly. Now, I looked. His expression was heartbroken. ‘Where’s Michael?’

A guard said, ‘Michael Laska? His tracker’s malfunctioned but…’

A second.

Everyone turned to me.

‘At some point,’ I said quietly, ‘all the king’s men decided Humpty couldn’t be saved.’

‘Then–’

‘I made sure she chose someone who could be.’

Jeb looked horrified. ‘She thinks you let her go–’

‘As a game. So she wouldn’t come for me but wouldn’t wanna owe me.’ I shrugged. ‘It was the only way to save ‘em. She’ll forget about me eventually. Meet someone better. Someone less broken. Someone not perverse. And he’ll be safe. It’s for the best.’

‘Ellis…’ He shook his head. ‘How can you sound so, so calm? Don’t you care?’

I shrugged. A guard stepped forwards and handcuffed me. I turned away from Jeb.

‘Ellis?’ I started to walk. ‘You’re wrong, you know.’ He sounded desperate. ‘She’ll never meet someone as good, as loving as you. Never.’

I said nothing. I just kept walking, expression as calm as always.

In fact, it wasn’t until we were in the corridor outside that I finally let the tears I’d been holding back slip down my face.

the end