X-Marks: Stealing Shadows

Born

Alger slept in his usual spot in the spacious nook of the window. His blanket wrapped around his body and his glasses lifted from his face as he snored.

The others and I had gathered our cots at the center of the room. We couldn't sleep. Not when there was so much at stake tomorrow.

With only the night sky to light the room, we whispered in the dark.

"What do you think they're like?" Evee said.

"Loud," Ocean said.

"Does it matter though?" Mat said, "It's not like they're going to let us stay."

"But, this is our home now!" Evee said, a bit too loud.

Behind, Alger's choked on his snore.

"What makes you so sure?" Mat said, "You heard Buggy, not even our source homes wanted us. Why would some stupid travelers?"

Source home. That was what the nurses called it.

It was where we came from before the center. Something many of us didn't want to think about. Although it came up often.

"I didn't have a source home," Ocean said.

I had heard how frightening some source homes were, unspeakable almost but every one had one. It sounded unbelievable.

"Then where are you from?" I asked and tried not to sound critical.

"I don't know," Ocean said and tucked her chin into her chest.

Mat was not as careful with his questions.

"How could you not know? Did you just, forget or something?" he said.

"The nurses told me, I was born there," Ocean said.

Born at the center. No one was born at the center. We all arrived there on number day. Or so I thought.

"That's impossible!" Mat said.

"What makes you so sure?" Evee shouted back.

"Shut up!" Mat said and swatted his hand towards her.

"Then stop being a know it all," Evee said.

No matter the subject, they always found a way to argue.

Evee leaned closer to Ocean, "I believe you," she said.

"I didn't believe it myself really," Ocean said, "But I can't remember living anywhere but the center."

"What was it like?" I asked.

"A nightmare," Ocean said in the smallest voice.

A nightmare. I couldn't imagine anything worse than living with my mother, but still I listened.

"They had no grade to put me in. I was the youngest in the whole center. The bigger kids would take my food. I was too small to stop them, and the nurses would put me in detention if I complained. The only place no one looked for me was in the library so I would bring any food I could find there."

I remembered her as the girl in the library with a book and cookies. I knew at least this was true.

"Then one day, my whole grade went missing. I got reassigned to a new one. The younger kids were too afraid to talk to me."

"A whole grade, missing? This just keeps getting dumber," Mat interrupted again.

"The only thing that's dumb is you," Evee snapped back.

Evee and Mat continued to bicker.

"But, where did they go?" I asked.

They couldn't have all disappeared? Could they?

Ocean shrugged, "I don't know, they just never came back."

"See! How can we believe her? She doesn't know anything," Mat said.

There was no limit to how rude Mat could be. Why would she lie about any of this?

"If you're so good at remembering," Evee said and pointed at Mat, "What was yours like then?"

"It was - it was great," Mat stuttered, "My parents wanted me, they just had no choice, you know?"

Evee nodded her head, "Same, here. They would have kept me if they could," she said and cradled her face in her knees.

"Me too," I said, it was the only lie I could tell, "Me too."

At the window, Alger choked again. This time it was powerful enough his body flailed off the ledge and landed halfway down.

"Why aren't you all in bed?" Alger shouted with closed eyes.

We scattered into each other and settled back into our cots.

"Just like I -," Alger mumbled and turned back into the nook.

I wrapped in my blanket and listened. I listened to the hinges of doors creak against the draft. I listened to the brittle bricks as they fell from the tops of the camp roof. I listened to the late winter wind that forced its way up the wide gaps of the floor.

Born at the center. Could it be true?

If Ocean's parents didn't give her away for rations, why did they give her away at all?

No matter how disappointing the truth, everyone came from somewhere.