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“Or?” I didn’t ask because I cared what the answer was, but simply to show Cross that I wasn’t scared even the tiniest bit. There was nothing Cross or his brother could do to me that I hadn’t already experienced. Torture, mind games, starvation, sleep deprivation—I had gone through it all. Nothing intimidated me. Nothing at all. I had one fear in life, and that was losing my sister. Now that she was gone, Cross and Pike had no power over me at all.
“Or you won’t like the outcome. I can only protect you so much. So before you decide to do anything to test what I’ve said, I suggest you give it some serious thought.”
I was going to continue down this road of taunting, but decided I wanted my unanswered question from earlier met more than I wanted to see his discomfort. “So what is the planet of Canary, and what will I be doing there?” I asked.
He cleared his throat and paused for several moments. I simply stared and waited patiently. There was a part of me that enjoyed this little bit of control I had. Although minor, I felt like he knew he couldn’t frighten me.
“It’s a small planet that solely survives from the export of ilium. The precious metal is in high demand.”
“So, they bought me to become a miner?” It seemed like a long journey to just be a miner, and why was the planet only in need of a few Pallid Slaves? Wouldn’t a mining planet need a large workforce?
“No. Well, not exactly,” he said. “They buy Pallid Slaves to become their canaries.”
“Canaries? What are canaries?”
Cross shifted his weight from one foot to the other, avoiding eye contact. “Centuries ago there was a type of bird called a canary. Long extinct, but plentiful at one time. Anyway, canaries were once used to go into mining shafts to test the level of methane and carbon dioxide before they would send in human miners. If the canaries died, then the miners knew it wasn’t safe.”
Narrowing my eyes, I leaned forward and placed my hands on my knees. “So they bought me to go into mines to see if I die from deadly gases?” I concluded from his statement.
Shaking his head, he said, “No, not exactly. At least not the same gases. They buy canaries,” he pointed at me, “to go deep within the mine to see if the air is toxic. Ilium can put off a highly toxic gas that—”
“Kills miners,” I interrupted.
Cross shook his head. “No. The gas will mutate the body. If a person comes in contact with the gas, a mutation happens that is far worse than death.”
“What type of mutation?”
“It’s hard to explain. The body mutates to a decomposed state. Walking dead of sorts. Cannibalistic, vicious, rotting creatures.”
“So if I mutate, I will have a rotting body for the rest of my life and want to eat you?”
“You won’t live to find out. Mutated slaves become deadly. They attack and kill anything and everything on sight. So if you do mutate, you will be shot immediately.”
Shaking my head and smiling, I said, “So basically what you are saying is that I am going to the planet of Canary to die.” I actually felt laughter bubbling up inside of me at the absurdity of my new situation. I went from being a soldier of war, to a slave, to now being a suicidal bird.
Cross took a deep breath, but did not answer the question. “It’s late, and you seem tired.” He turned to leave, but then stopped and looked over his shoulder at me. “Are you hungry? I’m not sure the last time you ate. Or do you need to use the head?”
“I’m fine,” I replied. I actually was starving, but exhaustion overruled my decision.
He nodded. “Goodnight then.”
I didn’t say another word as he exited my chamber.
When the sliding door closed shut, I realized that for the first time in my entire life I was truly alone. I had never spent a night without my sister until she died, and then after that, I remained locked up with large numbers of Pallid Slaves. I had never sat in a room with the only noise being my own breathing. Looking around, a sense of terror washed over me. The walls seemed to be closing in. I was alone. I was alone! My breathing turned ragged, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t regain a normal staccato. Panic attacked my body. I was alone! Nothing but metal around me. Nothing but the thick white of my skin to remind me that this was my new life. 720 hours of being alone in a small metal box. 720 hours until I became a canary. 720 hours until I mutated. 720 hours until I died.
The memories returned. Memories of fear. Memories of death. Memories of being attacked.
