Interference (ON HOLD)

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Davey stood in the laneway where she had dropped off Carly, staring at the home at the end of the sidewalk. It was not the same house Davey remembered from her first assignment. They used to live in a quaint little cottage style home with colourful rocks along the walkway and a rolling field stretching out behind it. Now they lived in the area known as the Dry Zone. The area designated for those who were not up to the standards excepted of the residents. The house wasn’t small or ramshackled or rundown in anyway, but the dull grey paint that covered every inch of the home, including the roof, was bursting with sadness. Just like every other house along the street. The grass in the yards was cut short and smooth, and there were no trees or gardens that coloured the lawns of the Parks Zone present in this area.

The buildings in this part of town looked utilitarian, meant for nothing more than shelter. These were houses; they were not homes. The lights behind the windows of the Perkins’ house were a simple, pale yellow. Just bright enough to highlight the dull, awful colour of the house. Carly had refused to let Davey walk her to the door. The red-head watched her friend slumped down the concrete slabs, her heavy boots weighing down each step. The rocks crunched beneath her feet, echoing back to where Davey stood.

The Dry Zone was smaller than she had expected. In a town with the expectations as high as this one, she had thought that there would be more that didn’t, or couldn’t, conform. But, Two-thirds of the town fell within the Parks, where the grass seemed to glow an unnatural green and the gardens were peppered with multitudes of colours. The houses there shone with bright, inviting lights waiting for people to peep through the windows and long for the perfection that lay behind the perfect panes of glass.

When Carly finally disappeared behind a door no one would ever want to see behind, Davey made her way back towards the hotel at the centre of town. An icon of all things desirable. Her new home was more than just a pretty building; she recognized that now in a way she hadn’t before. She couldn’t figure out why the Master Veils would put her there, somewhere that Carly would feel so out of place. Was it to force D to see the discrepancies in this town? Who were the Fenton? How did they keep the town under their thumb? Why hadn’t the Masters prepped her better for this engagement? Questions were swimming through her head. 

“Identification.” A voice sounded as Davey reached the sidewalk surrounding the Parks Zone.

“Excuse me?” Davey felt her ire beginning to rise again, but forced it down. She never wanted to find out what The Cage was. Never.

“Identification is required to enter the Parks Zone after sunset.” The voice sounded again on Davey’s right. She glanced around, looking for a speaker like the one she’d seen at the school.

“Um, let me see what I have with me.” Davey dug through her purse and pulled out the wallet she’d had no need to use since she arrived. With no idea what kind of ID was inside, she snapped open the flap and looked through the assorted cards. She found an orange card in one of flaps with her picture and name across the front, the words Parks Zone, Class C listed underneath.  “Will this work?” She held the card up to the air, feeling slightly foolish.

“Over here.” The voice sounded again as a yellow light illuminated a small booth sheltered within the shadow of the trees.

Davey stepped up to the window of the booth and placed the card on the ledge across the top of the half door. A man sat inside, dressed in a dark blue suit covering almost every inch of skin from head to toe. Only his eyes and mouth were visible through the openings in the facemask. The suit was so restrictive that the only indication that it was a man was the hint of beard surrounding his lips. For a moment, Davey thought about the sexless form she inhabited at The Commune and wondered if these soldiers felt the same detachment from the people around them. If they were just doing a job. If they liked it as much as she normally did.