“You’re like a child on Christmas morning,” Jacqueline joked. “The way your face lights up,” she mocked, but I didn’t care.
“Christmas morning?” I asked her, perplexed.
She shook her head. “Forget it.” Together we walked across the street and took a sharp turn as we found our way onto another parallel road housing both a museum and library. The buildings were several stories tall and loomed over Haven.
We walked into the library first, and my eyes widened at the sight of all the books sitting on the shelves, untouched – thousands of them, older texts, some of them novels, others reference books. “Wow,” I breathed turning in a circle and taking in the entire room.
“Come on.” Jacqueline grabbed my arm, leading me further inside. “What types of books do you like to read?”
I stared at her. “Genesis forbids books.”
She laughed with a knowing nod. “Yes, but you’re in Haven now. You can check out any book you like.”
“Check out? You mean read?” I asked curiously. I darted through the library, my eyes scoured the shelves as I danced between the aisles, my feet incredibly light. I poured over the books, eyeing each title, deciding which one would be mine. It was so hard to choose! I’d read romance novels and a few adventure stories in the cellar during my teen years. I hadn’t read anything new in ages and I found it overwhelming to have so many choices.
“Here.” Jacqueline pulled a book from the shelf. “I’ve read this one. It’s got a bit of mystery and romance, but you will never guess the ending.” I eagerly read the back cover.
“Can I take it back with me?”
“After you check it out.” She smiled with a nod. “Come on, I’ll show you how.” We walked to the front, and I showed the same card I used for dinner to check out the book. I knew I wouldn’t have time to read it while reading the history texts, but I didn’t care. I wanted something to take my mind off what was going on. I wanted to escape my current reality.
Together we walked from the library across the street to the museum. She studied her watch as I carried the book I borrowed with me. “We have about an hour until it closes.”
“Curfew?” I assumed she meant.
“Well, I have curfew because I’m under eighteen,” she replied. “But you’re an adult. Adults can stay out as late as they wish, but the museums and town closes by nine,” she explained. “People want to go home and be with their families.”
I nodded, trying to understand these new rules. “Right.” I followed Jacqueline up the main stairs and into the museum. My eyes moved over the glass cases and the artifacts buried inside. There were tools from thousands of years ago and as we walked through the museum, we moved forward in history towards the beginning of Cabal.
“Are those–-” my voice trailed off.
“Photographs.” Jacqueline nodded. “I haven’t seen a camera outside of this museum,” she mused turning around and walking to the opposite side of the wall. I glanced behind me noticing another glass case and a series of antique cameras mesmerizing her. It was no wonder.
“Does anyone in Haven have one?” I asked. I knew in Genesis it was illegal to take pictures, to document anything, the same reason why books were illegal and our newspaper was written by the government. They told us only what they wanted us to know. They showed us only what they wanted us to see. Slowly, I started to see the government for what they really were.
Jacqueline shook her head. “I don’t know anyone who owns a camera. They’re so old.” She beamed with excitement. “No one makes the equipment anymore. There’s no reason to,” she mused with a shrug. “Come on, I’ll show you the maps.”
“Maps?” My eyes widened as I followed her down the corridor into another room. My gaze tore over the glass cases, taking in each map, memorizing every detail possible. “Wow,” I breathed, seeing how many breeding camps there were. They were all situated north and south of where I had lived all my life. Everything west was marked “Gravelands” on the map. Another map detailed the local rebel cities, the closest ones to Haven. “Have you ever been to Torv or Spade?” I asked noticing they were the nearest towns to where we were.
“I don’t remember much other than Haven,” she admitted. “I grew up in Livery.”
“What happened to your home?” I knew it was a touchy subject, but the council had briefly mentioned it. I wanted to know more.
Jacqueline sighed, eyeing her watch. “Come on, I’ll tell you on the way home.” She offered as we headed out of the museum. It had already grown dark outside and I followed her closely as we walked back towards the dormitory. The road was dark but the moon helped light our way back. “I was three when my town burned down.”
“Burned down? The entire town?” I asked, astonished. I knew she’d been rescued from a fire in her home, but I hadn’t realized the extent of what the government had done to the people.
“I don’t remember much. There was an uprising. The people were fighting with the government. My adoptive parents were seamstresses. Most of the town worked in some way to create clothing for the entire population. I remember my father yelling at our neighbor one night. He’d come into our home, which was forbidden, and he was seeking asylum. I don’t know from what, I guess the government. He wanted to hide in our home. My father refused to let him. He was a rebel after all, and although my adoptive mother was a rebel sympathizer, our neighbor asked the wrong person,” Jacqueline sighed. “I was too young to understand what was going on. The government came, dragged my neighbor out in the middle of the night and shot him. The other members of Livery rebelled. They weren’t happy. They were hungry. Very few had children and felt like they should be rewarded for their hard work.”
“Rewarded with children?” I was appalled.
“Breeding camps are that for a reason, Olivia,” she informed me with a heavy sigh. “My mother went outside to join the fight. My father ran after her screaming obscenities. I stood by the window, crying because they’d left me behind. Someone took a torch, threw it in the house through the window. It missed me, but the house lit up in flames. I didn’t leave. I was too young to understand what was going on, and I was hysterical. I don’t remember much after that, except for waking up in Landon’s arms. He rescued me, saved my life and brought me to Haven.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “Do you know what happened to the town of Livery?”
Jacqueline shook her head. “There’s no way to know for certain. People still have clothes. The government is still in charge. Our town didn’t win,” she admitted as we entered the dormitory. “I guess they found a way to control the rest of the town and end the uprising as quickly as it started.”
She led me to my door, stopping for a moment as we approached the room. “Do you think we have a fighting chance to win this war?” I asked her.
“If what they say is true about you, then I think we do.” Jacqueline smiled at me with a mix of curiosity laced in her expression.
I wondered what it was they said about me. Was it the fact they all assumed I could bear a child because my mother had? What if they were wrong? “Have a good night,” I offered in return, heading into my room and closing the door behind me.
CHAPTER 8
I had already tired of the history lessons. The words bored me as they floated off the page. I never did terribly in school, but something about Haven and the council disgusted me. Probably the fact they expected me to have a child with someone in town, and I had no choice in the matter.
A knock at my door startled me. When I pulled it open, I was surprised to find Joshua on the other side. I didn’t let him in. “What?” I crossed my arms and did my best to look tough. I didn’t want to let him see he’d hurt me. He lost the right to see that side of me when he’d betrayed me.