It won’t format my paragraphs correctly, so this is kinda hard to read. Sorry.
Chapter 1
She imagined she could feel the scar throb as they approached that cold grey building. The cruel slash of puckered skin that stretched across her stomach hadn’t bothered her in years. The pain only flared up at certain times. Times when she was feeling a complete loss of control. She knew it was mostly psychological, and the weather sure didn’t help, but she was feeling true dread at walking into that building.
“What’s wrong?” Jarrod called through the noise of the rain lashing about. She had stopped walking, and he turned back to wait for her.
A gust of wind whipped around and almost ripped the umbrella from her hands. She contemplated letting it go, since she was already soaked from the rain spitting in her face. It was enough to traverse the puddled parking lot without having to fight with the umbrella.
Jarrod held out a hand towards her. “Let’s get out of this mess. It’s probably warmer inside, so we can dry off.”
She made a face at him and leapt a few smaller puddles to catch up. She caught up with him but had taken her eyes off the ground long enough to miss the biggest puddle. Her foot plopped heavily into the center of the ankle-deep puddle, slashing both of them with muddy water.
“What good is an umbrella if you’re gonna splash around in the puddles?” Jarrod asked.
Diane rolled her eyes. “Not funny,” she said. She stepped out of the water and tried to shake the excess off her shoes before it soaked in. Jarrod reached out to steady her when the wind grabbed her umbrella again and threatened to jerk her off-balance. She looked up into his face. Such calmness, almost carefree, as if they weren’t about to walk in this building and have their lives ripped apart. “Doesn’t this bother you? Aren’t you the least bit worried?”
He sighed and put his arms around her. The cold of her wet clothes pressed against her skin made her shiver. “Of course I’m worried. I’d be naïve if I wasn’t. But I’m choosing to believe that either both of us will be positive, or neither of us will.” He bent down and kissed her. His lips slick from the rain. “Now let’s get in there and get this ‘appointment’ over with.” Jarrod took the umbrella, and he held it over both their heads as they trotted across the rest of the lot with his arm still around her. Diane felt safer, and Jarrod’s confidence slowly oozed into her from his body.
A woman whisked the door open as they approached. She smiled a large toothy smile and stood aside to let them pass. “Welcome to NuGen. We’re so glad to see you” she said. Dian smile and looked at the woman’s perfectly crisp uniform, perfectly made-up face, and perfectly styled hair that resisted all but the strongest of the winds that swirled around them. A little too perfect. Diane thought. Creepy.
Her smile looked permanent, like one carved in plastic. Jarrod guided Dian into the bright and warmth of the lobby. Compared to the chill outside, the place felt stuffy almost suffocating. “May I take that for you?” The woman asked nodding towards the dripping umbrella in Jarrod’s hand. Jarrod closed it and handed it to her. They shrugged out of their wet jackets, and the woman took those as well. She then directed them towards the line of people waiting to check in.
As Diane expected from the fullness of the parking lot, the line was rather long, but seemed to move quickly. She watched some of the people trying to gage the general mood of others in the same situation as she and Jarrod were. Many visited with one another; some looked fervently around, like they expected something horrible to leap out at them. Kind of the way Diane felt. Others shuffled slowly, heads down, dejected.
She heard the clerks at the check-in greeting each person with enthusiasm. And the techs who called on people from the waiting room were also annoyingly chipper, wearing immaculate and crisp uniforms. “Wow, everyone is so friendly here,” Jarrod said.
Diane didn’t respond. Sarcasm was her coping mechanism, and she didn’t want to spoil Jarrod’s mood. If she were to start spitting out retorts, he’d know just how bothered she was. He took and squeezed her hand, then leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Shall we get in line?” he smiled. Diane wished his mood was more contagious – even if it was just a false front.
The wall was decorated in pinks, baby blues, and yellows. Light fixture covers were large plastic blocks with glowing numbers and ABC’s. Teddy bears and frilly dolls sat on the tables, and the chairs in the waiting room were upholstered in a choo-choo train pattern.
But, of course, there were no children. Anywhere. Kind of depressing. “Is it me, or does it feel like we just walked into a nursery?” she asked Jarrod.
“Kinda does,” he said, “But the posters ruin the effect.” He pointed to one. An old recruitment type poster with Uncle Sam pointing out of the poster with heading “America Needs YOU.”
“Or that one,” Diane nodded towards a family scene. A small child sat smiling amidst an entire extended family. Every adult in the picture beamed at the child. Diane knew it was intended to symbolize how precious children are, and the gift they would be to any family. But, in her current state of mind, it just looked creepy. “Looks like he’s about to become dinner.”
Jarrod chuckled. “You’re right. I think they over did it.”
Another poster was white with huge bold letters – “Pray for Positive” and a big plus sign. Diane wished she had a can of spray paint to change it to ‘Negative’. She rolled her eyes as they looked at the others. Most were geared towards mixing the value of family with patriotic duty. She wanted to scoff at each one, but decided to keep it to herself.
The door opened behind them and allowed a cool gust to slip in. They both glanced back to see the door guard greeting a young woman. After handing off her wet coat, the woman she skipped up to stand behind Diane and Jarrod.
“Isn’t this exciting?” she asking, vomiting enthusiasm. “That some of us will be the most important people in the entire country?”
“So, I guess you’re ‘Praying for Positive’?” Diane asked with air quote fingers, then wondered if she had sounded too rude.
“Aren’t you?” the woman asked, she seemed genuinely shocked. Diane looked at Jarrod, who only shrugged and stifled a grin.
Just kidding
