The EXCHANGE

Chapter 8

It had been a week or so after we returned from Sector 2. When I wake up, I am in my bed. I get up to look around the house to see who is asleep. I come out to see daddy and momma watching the news they looked like they slept hard. I jumped when the television started talking, 'This morning five ships came back carrying Military officials from earth. The Program was badly wounded and asks you to follow any orders that the military ask of you.' That was when they stood up and rushed around gathering suitcases. "Gather the kids while I get their clothes." I walk over to momma; I make grabby hands to her when the door has a loud knock on it. "Open up we are the American Special forces here to take the author and language professor Willow Becca Lloyd in your care."

Daddy shook as he opens the door. "Please hand the child over we will be deciding what to do with the children once we have gone through testing." I was pulled out of their hands, "Momma!" Momma stops them, "Wait she needs me! I can't let my pup go without me." They handed me to a military officer these people were not only big and large but dressed in black suits. "Of course, you are not the only mother who requested to come along." She grabs a bag full of our clothes and a cooler of food for us. She follows the men who hold on to me as a few older kids meet in the lobby with their parents. They lead us out to the school where Zander was standing with other adults. He noticed me and walks over to us. "Are you alright?" he asked momma as she nods.

I was put in my class room where the suited men and women stood at the door as Zander stood at the door, I couldn't help but cry. A woman picks me up, "Poor thing we are going as fast as we can, but there are so many of you." Zander pulls out his rocking chair, "Come here kids I'll read a story." We all cram ourselves onto the rocking chair the door opened and Ms. Gold rushed in with her own students. We spent most of the morning in the room as a doctor comes in with a team of nurses. "Alright, let's get these kids ready before we decide. We are stripped into nothing, but our pull-ups.

The doctor takes two of us at a time and into the next room Momma saw me and rushed over, "Oh sweetie!" The doctor welcomed the parents into the room as they hook us up. "Alright, Ms. Lloyd can you tell me what you see in this book?" I look at the children's book before me and read the page. Momma clapped her hands, "Good job baby." The doctor looked at my brain reading, "Alright, now then Ms. Lloyd read what is on this page. I scan the page out of a Korean text-book. I read it off for him as writes down some more information. "Good, now Ms. Lloyd I want you to tell me all the numbers you read here in Japanese." I look across the row. He points to the first number, "Ichi, ni, san, yon, go, rokyu, nana, hatchi, kyu, ju." He nods as I follow the rest of the numbers. By time I read through the little test he handed me a phone. "I want you to talk to the person on the other side and answer all the questions."

I nod as momma took the phone, "What are you giving my daughter this might hurt her." After calming her down he hands me the phone. "Hello, what's your emergency?" I look at the doctor, he handed me a paper; "Yes I need help." The woman and I go through the lines for twenty minutes. The doctor showed me a screen which could only be seen by me I look at the incident and watch a horrible wreck. "Alright sweetie what do you see on the screen that the doctor is hold?" I explain the picture to the woman as we wrap up, she hangs up and the doctor write some notes down.

"Alright looks like you are done Ms. Lloyd. We are going to be return soon." I was picked up by momma who held me close. I had to stay on the hospital bed as a nurse brings me lunch. "Here you are dear." I look at the soup and apple slices before me. Momma hand it back to the nurse. "I packed her a lunch thank you." I watch her open a jar of meat leather. The nurse looked uneasy, "We were told that the children must be put on a light diet of soup and the apples to give them some vitamins they need." She smelled the food, "What is this soup even made of?" the nurse smiles: "Mostly a chicken broth some soups were a tomato soup too." Momma looked displeased.