Lottery (Tales From The Beginnings Book 1) by Robin Roseau

Author:Robin Roseau [Roseau, Robin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-10-22T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

“We made it back,” Mercy said, standing at the balcony and looking out at the water. That had become our go-to place to think or talk about weighty subjects.

“Violet told us we would,” I replied. “God it’s beautiful here.”

“I’d miss things like this, out at the station,” she said. “But Cedar told me I almost certainly could demand trips back here.”

“I can’t imagine often.”

“How often do we take a vacation like this?”

“Once.”

She laughed. “True, but we’ve been other places.”

“Like this? Not this nice, but every few years. This is way better than a cruise though.”

“Yeah.” She turned to face me, leaning her hip against the railing. “You seemed quite taken.”

I rotated to mirror her. “I told Skye and Violet I felt like a slut, bouncing from Whiteblacks to Martians to Komodos.”

“Which one was the Komodo?”

“Did you see the one with scales? Petite. Very colorful when she gets excited.”

“Oh. Yeah. She was quite pretty. You shouldn’t feel bad, Cill. You’re just meeting them. It’s not like you’ve been sleeping around. Not that I’d judge, but you can be pretty self-judgmental.”

“I suppose I can,” I agreed. “What do you think, Mercy?”

“I think the Catseye was telling us that none of us are going home.”

“Even the couples?”

“Maybe half of us,” she amended. “But if they took all of us, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“I wish they’d just tell us.”

“Do you wish you hadn’t come?”

“No.”

“Good.”

* * * *

I slept poorly. At every sound, I worried it was someone coming to steal us from our beds. I got up three separate times to check on noises. Mercy wasn’t any better; one of the noises was her, and one of the times, I was the noise that woke her.

It was just growing light when we met in the kitchen. “I don’t want it this way,” I said.

“I know,” she replied.

“If they’re going to take us, I wish they’d just do it.”

“I know,” she said. “On the other hand, it’s maybe nerve wracking, but it’s exciting, too. I’m going back to bed.”

And she did.

I fell asleep on the sofa, and neither of us stirred again until well after nine.

* * * *

It was at breakfast we learned that Mercy had been partially correct, and we also learned that our restless night wasn’t entirely uncalled for. In the dark of the night, the aliens had come for someone.

The O’Connells had been taken together.

Details were sparse, but one report had Ms. O’Connell laughing the entire time while Mr. O’Connell was less amused.

After that, there were rumors, but the people who had facts weren’t sharing them, and at least by the end of my stay at Beginnings, I had no idea what became of them.

Over breakfast, Mercy and I discussed our choices for the day. “We’ve done the important things,” she said.

“I wouldn’t mind doing more sailing.”

“It was fun, but will you mind if I beg off?”

“No.”

“I want to buy a new dress.”

“We’ve bought three so far.”

“And I want to buy another one, and I want to pick one for you, too.

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