Sonata in Orionis (Earth Song Cycle Book 2) Page 7

  The Chosen finished handing out clothes. The only sounds in the room were rustling fabric, snapping snaps, and tearing velcro. Minu noticed the snaps were plastic but wasn’t surprised, considering the cost of metal snaps. She decided not to rely on them too much. Inside the package were three ‘shit-brown’ jumpsuits, three pairs of underwear somewhat smaller and stretchier than boxer shorts, three pairs of wool socks, a simple linen backpack, and a wooden box. There was also a pair of very simple tennis-like shoes, but with thinner soles. With as much dignity as possible, she quickly dressed. As she gratefully secured the velcro tabs on the front of her jumpsuit, she realized the kit didn’t include a bra. Not having a large bust would work to her advantage. For Cherise, though, it would be a problem. As Minu finished dressing, she glanced over and saw the other girl squeezing her much larger breasts into the jumpsuit, then she struggled to fasten it. The velcro tabs barely kept her bosom contained. Not only was she larger in the breast and hips, she was also taller, and the jumpsuit legs only reached the middle of her calves. Cherise looked very uncomfortable.

  Minu looked around the room and noticed the jumpsuits were not all one size. There were short boys in very long suits, and there were average-height boys in uniforms that barely came to their knees. The Trials were underway. Minu decided her own jumpsuit was adequate. The arms were a bit long, but that could be useful in some situations. Minu excused herself and got up to walk around. Her shoes didn’t fit at all, so she kept them under her arm as she moved among the bunks. It only took her a minute to find someone whose shoes were way too small.

  “Wanna trades shoes?” she asked and showed the boy her pair, which were several sizes too big.

  “Why should I?” he asked belligerently.

  “Fine, I’ll find someone else.”

  “Wait,” he quickly reconsidered and reached for her shoes. Minu handed them over and they were a good fit.

  “Now, let me try yours.”

  “What if I don’t want to?” he asked mischievously.

  “Then I just might have to kick your ass,” someone said behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Gregg standing there, peering down at him. Gregg was easily ten centimeters taller, and the look on his face made it obvious he meant business. The boy handed over the shoes without further comment.

  “I didn’t need your help,” Minu mumbled as she tested the shoes’ fit.

  “Who said I was helping? Maybe I was looking for a fight.” He fell in behind Minu as she trolled the room. “What are you looking for? Your jumpsuit seems to fit well.” She glanced over her shoulder and saw him looking at her butt. She cleared her throat, and when he realized she’d caught him, he turned bright red. “Sorry.”

  “You boys,” Minu said with a shake of her head. “I’m looking for another jumpsuit for Cherise. In the one she’s wearing, she looks like a ham packed for shipping.” She spotted what she was looking for, a boy about her size and build, wearing a jumpsuit that was easily five centimeters too long and quite baggy in the chest. There was little doubt it was a woman’s jumpsuit.

  “Excuse me, would you switch jumpsuits with my friend?” she asked him, “hers should fit you perfectly.” He shrugged and followed Minu back to Cherise, who was trying on her shoes. “I found you a better jumpsuit,” Minu told her.

  “Wonderful,” Cherise said as she grabbed her blanket to cover herself while she changed.

  “No, I want to watch you change.” The boy stood there with a bold-faced smile.

  “Piss off, pervert,” Cherise said and draped the blanket over her shoulder.

  “If I can’t watch, you can forget it. This fits me well enough.” He eyed her bulging chest and licked his lips, “you’re the one with more to lose. What would it hurt letting me get a good look?”

  “You didn’t get enough earlier?” The boy shrugged and wouldn’t give in.

  “Listen, Jerk,” Gregg said.

  “No,” Cherise cut in and stepped closer to the boy. “You want to look at my breasts?” She unsnapped her jumpsuit, and her full breasts jumped out. She stripped completely and stood naked in front of him, her nipples level with his shoulders. “Is this what you want, to see your first pair of naked breasts? Do you want to see my vagina? Do you have something to trade that would make that worthwhile?” Minu gaped, and the boy’s jaw dropped. He took a step backward and unconsciously looked down at her thick patch of pubic hair. He suddenly panted hard, grabbed his crotch, and shook slightly. Cherise put a hand to her mouth to cover a laugh, then barked at him again. “Where are you going? A deal is a deal. Take that jumpsuit off, now!” The boy was hastily retreating.

  He tried to run, but Gregg was right there, and Aaron appeared at his side. They grabbed the boy by both arms, and Cherise stepped forward to strip his jumpsuit off him. In a moment, he was as naked as she was. As he moved his hands to cover his groin, Minu could see a wetness covering his pubic area. Nearby boys roared with laughter. Gregg and Aaron shoved Cherise’s old jumpsuit into his arms and set him free. He ran for the restrooms as fast as he could. “Can one of you guys get the other jumpsuit from his package?” Cherise asked Aaron and Gregg. They smiled and happily left in pursuit

  “I don’t understand,” Minu started. Apparently, there was some sort of joke she didn’t comprehend, so she let it drop. It was hard to be the odd one out when everyone else seemed to get it. Cherise held up her new jumpsuit like a victory trophy, then took a closer look. A damp stain covered the crotch.

  “Good lord,” she laughed and headed for the bathroom. Minu quickly followed.

  The bathroom was a large communal facility with toilets in the front and shower stalls in the back. There was no privacy, or toilet paper, for that matter. “Oh shit,” she groaned.

  The boy was in a shower stall washing his groin. Cherise headed for the shower, causing him to cry out, grab his new jumpsuit, and run past them through the door.

  “At least I didn’t make a mess in those new clothes,” Cherise yelled after him. Then they were alone. Cherise walked to the shower, turned it on hot, and began washing the jumpsuit.

  “Cherise, what happened?”

  “He made a fool of himself.”

  “No, I mean, did he pee on himself when you took your clothes off? I know men get all excited when they see us naked, but I can’t imagine getting so excited you piss on yourself.”

  “He didn’t piss on himself, dear, he came in his pants.” Minu looked confused when Cherise turned to look at her. “You know, lost control?” Minu looked more confused. Before Cherise could explain further, someone came in. “You here to look at me, too?” Cherise growled. Minu turned to see who it was.

  “It’s okay, he’s a friend.” In came Pip, followed by Aaron and Gregg. Pip smiled at Minu, then noticed Cherise, still naked, cleaning the uniform. He turned red and looked away. Minu’s respect for Pip increased; he’d been the first boy to look away from the naked girl. He was a gentleman!

  “Is everything okay?” Pip asked, still looking at the wall.

  “Yeah, we’re fine,” Minu answered. Gregg, obviously successful in his mission, handed Cherise a clean uniform and tried not to look at her nakedness, but failed. At least he only took a quick peek before walking over to wait with the other guys.

  “I’ve been talking with the others, and we decided we need to work together,” Aaron said.

  “I’m not interested in working with most of those boys,” Cherise said, wringing water from the cleaned garment.

  “Not all of them, just us. The five of us.”

  “There’s strength in numbers,” Gregg pointed out.

  “I’m not sure they want us cooperating,” Cherise said.

  “I think there’s little doubt,” Minu countered, “they purposely gave us mismatched uniforms, so we’d have to trade with each other or wear poorly fitting clothes. Or they were just trying to cause trouble.”

  “Maybe both,” Gregg suggested. They all agreed there might be some truth to that. The Chos
en were trying to turn them against each other.

  “There is some risk in becoming allies,” Pip said, still facing away from Cherise. “They might try to use that against us later.”

  Minu nodded and spoke. “Then we must agree that if it’s a choice between passing and failing, we do what we have to.” They all looked at Minu and considered. She knew it was a harsh statement, but it was the only way it would work. She liked these people, but she wouldn’t sacrifice her chance of being Chosen for them.

  “I guess that’s a good arrangement,” Cherise decided. Everyone chimed in, and they became a team.

  Cherise had put her underwear and the clean jumpsuit back on, and was just closing the velcro. Minu eyed the fit and nodded with approval. Cherise’s breasts were still too large for the top, but at least they didn’t strain the fabric, and the uniform’s legs reached her ankles. She grabbed the still wet jumpsuit and walked with Minu to the toilets.

  Minu asked the boys, “Will you watch while we go to the bathroom?”

  “Certainly,” Aaron said right away. The others agreed, and the boys stood guard at the door. Though Pip wasn’t very intimidating, Gregg’s bulk and Aaron’s steely stare more than made up for Pip’s lack of size. The three boys were a formidable force. Minu and Cherise quickly used the bathroom. As it turned out, there was toilet paper, a grand total of two rolls for almost a hundred kids. That was enough for about one good crap each. When they finished, the girls met their friends by the door. Minu was quite thankful for the three boys.

  Back out in the barracks, relieved and comfortably dressed, Minu hopped onto her bunk and picked up the bundle of materials she’d received. She lay the items on her bed and considered each in turn. They probably wouldn’t get any other supplies during the Trials. She knew from the little Jovich and her father had told her that they would have to find most of what they needed as they went. With that in mind, she evaluated everything. She wound the cord used to tie the package and stuffed it in her pocket, then she examined the fabric wrapping. It wasn’t just wrapping; that was obvious. There were plastic grommets and snaps in places, and it wasn’t perfectly square or triangular. Plastic coated the material on one side.

  “Cherise, look at this,” she said to the girl in the upper bunk. Her friend’s head appeared over the edge a second later. “I think this is more than just wrapping.”

  “I was looking at mine, too. Have you looked at the mysterious box?” Minu hadn’t gotten to that yet.

  “Is there a garbage can in here?” she wondered aloud.

  “Why?”

  “Just a suspicion.” She got up and walked toward the only exit. There was a large, moliplas garbage barrel next to the door. Cherise followed her, and they leaned over and looked inside. There were at least twenty discarded wrappers and twice that many bundles of cord inside.

  “Amazing,” she said. The two girls quickly collected the ‘garbage’ and headed back to their bunks. One or two of the other candidates looked at them curiously, and one laughed. They examined the discarded wrappers and quickly determined there were four distinct shapes. The four shapes didn’t seem to fit together, but the sections did hook together smoothly in twos and threes.

  After fifteen minutes of experimenting, one of the shapes created by combining two pieces struck a chord with Cherise. “It’s a tent half!” she said suddenly. She sorted through the pile and found two more, assembled them, and joined that half to the first. The result was a modified triangular tent, complete with a fly and a ground cloth. And it was big enough for two.

  “I’ll be damned,” Minu laughed as they spread it out next to their bunks. A dozen boys were watching them in wide-eyed amazement, which quickly turned to horror.

  “Oh shit,” one said and ran to the garbage can. It only took moments for the panic to spread across the room. Minu jumped onto the top bunk and looked across the barracks. She could only see two other groups assembling shelters. She suspected they’d just earned their first ‘victory’ in the Trials.

  “You got those from the garbage,” a red-faced boy said, running up to their bunks. Minu jumped down and stood next to Cherise, between the boy and the pile of parts on the bed.

  “Very observant of you,” Cherise said with a wry smile.

  “Too bad your powers of observation weren’t working when you threw away your shelter,” Minu added.

  “Give it back, you little bitch.”

  “Screw you,” Cherise said, her voice low and threatening.

  “I’d love to,” another boy said. More boys approached, and Minu began to get scared.

  “Look,” Minu explained, “we found them fair-and-square. Others have been getting them from the garbage, too, so unless you can prove—”

  “Fuck this,” one of them said and tried to dive between the girls. All he got for his effort was Cherise’s knee in his chin. He yelped in pain and hit the floor hard, his hands holding his injured face. A second later, a large group of boys charged them, and Minu found herself in her first real fight.

  She learned two things very quickly. First, she wasn’t very good at fighting. She didn’t really want to hurt anyone, so instead of swinging her fist at her opponent, she slapped him across the face as hard as she could. It didn’t stop him, but it did make him as mad as hell. Second, Cherise was good at fighting, and she seemed to enjoy it.

  Cherise kicked, punched, chopped, and generally abused anyone within her reach. She used her hands, feet, knees, and elbows with equal facility. Minu rolled around on the floor with the boy she’d slapped, trying to keep him from pinning her. Finally, in desperation, she punched him, aiming for his stomach. She connected with something squishy, and he let out a cry of pain and released her. She jumped up and left him holding his crotch, curled up in a fetal position.

  Minu was worried the tide of boys would overwhelm them when Gregg, Aaron, and Pip swooped in like an old-Earth cavalry. Gregg picked up one kid and threw him into an advancing trio like a sack of laundry, while Aaron swung his leg into someone’s head with enough force to knock the boy out. While Pip seemed just as unschooled in fighting as Minu, he didn’t lack courage. He used his body as a battering ram. Holding his head low and his arms in front, he attacked over and over like a raging bull.

  The Chosen trainers appeared out of nowhere and began yanking them off each other. The fight ended with a Chosen holding Cherise in the air by the back of her jumpsuit, the girl spitting and kicking in rage. Minu was in of awe of the other girl.

  “You kids never fail to disappoint,” the Chosen laughed while keeping Cherise’s feet and fists away from his face. He didn’t try to sort things out, he didn’t accuse anyone of starting the brawl, and he didn’t give the girls a chance to explain the circumstances. Everyone who was involved in the fracas received a drag. When he finally left, Minu sat back on the bed with her friend. They had seven tent parts, having lost the rest in the heat of battle. Still, they had more than most of the others.

  The Chosen left them alone for a time. Gregg, Aaron and Pip traded bunks, so they could be near the girls. It wasn’t difficult. Many of their former neighbors sported black eyes, bruises, and drags and didn’t want to tangle with them again. Minu wasn’t sure they would have time to get comfortable. Cherise was still mad and didn’t want to talk about the incident.

  It was night, and their Chosen announced he was turning off the lights. No one offered them a meal, and no one complained. Minu climbed between the thin sheets of her bunk. She used part of the shelter halves as a pillow, having distributed the rest among her friends. After the fracas, none of them trusted their fellow candidates very much. The lights went out, and they plunged into darkness. The first day of the Trials was over.

  * * * * *

  Chapter 6

  Julast 5th, 514 AE

  Chosen Headquarters, Steven’s Pass

  Minu fell asleep. The world drifted away into the smoky haze of half-formed dreams as her subconscious attempted to help her conscious mind deal with
the trials and tribulations of the previous day. A Chosen does not need a full night’s sleep. They were always alert, aware, and ready to respond to any situation. The sound of a one hundred milligram charge of high explosives detonating in an empty garbage can startled her awake.

  Screams and outrage filled the room as smoke billowed from the scattered moliplas fragments that had once been the garbage can. Minu was pretty sure she hadn’t screamed, and she had no idea how she wound up under her bunk, lying on the ice-cold floor. For that matter, she had no idea how Cherise had gotten down there with her. As it turned out, their hiding place was a good choice. Their Chosen appeared, bringing a fire hose in case the aftermath of the explosion posed a danger to the candidates. To ensure no further fires broke out, he opened the valve and sprayed the stunned kids with high pressure ice-cold water.

  “Non-stop fun, this trial thing,” Cherise said with a yawn. Minu was about to agree when the hose crossed just in front of their bunk, drenching them with an icy spray of water. They squealed and gasped from the cold. Those running for cover fared much worse as the Chosen used the fire hose like a weapon, bowling kids over and upending bunks.

  After making sure there were no lingering fire hazards, the Chosen left the room full of dripping cots and dazed teenagers. Minu and Cherise crawled out from under their bed, dripping wet, and saw that a few of their neighbors had succeeded in flipping over their mattresses to fend off the assault. While righting their bunks, those that avoided the hose’s icy water realized they’d traded dry clothes for wet beds. Minu and Cherise’s friends fared much as they did, but to varying degrees. Gregg was barely damp while Pip was drenched from head-to-toe.

  “He hit me square in the stomach with that damn hose,” Pip spluttered.

  “You should have seen him,” laughed a kid heading for the bathroom, “he flew like a leaf blowing across a yard!”

  Eventually, everyone settled down and, wet or dry, tried to get more sleep. The sheets were synthetic, and once wet, they felt colder.