Zeb – Part 1
“I’m not going to change,” promised Zeb.
He paused mid-thought to cross a stream, stepping smoothly over a series of slick, dark stones with an air of agility surprising for his chubby appearance.
“I think I’m slated for work forever,” he resumed as he helped Ghillian cross after him, her foot splashing into the cold wet as she jumped the last gap to the bank.
They made their way along the forest path past the old stone quarry and towards the freshly excavated living chambers, just visible in the distance through the branches and dust haze.
As they emerged onto the main dirt road the young couple passed throngs of Workers and other Drones like themselves milling about en route to or form various work sites across the colony’s vast expanse. Some were carrying baskets of food or tools and others pulled carts teetering with construction materials or piled high with freshly pulled vegetables – rich, black earth dripping to the road from tangles of roots as every pothole reverberated through the wooden wheels. It was nice to walk in the late summer sun and Zeb was finally starting to enjoy working outside although he still felt exposed and vulnerable without the earthen tunnels around him.
“Well, I’m worried I’m going to be left alone somewhere unpleasant while all of my friends start changing or get sent to the new colony,” said Ghillian quietly.
She shielded her eyes against the sun as they moved on towards their work site for the day and she cast her eyes about, surveying their surroundings. Ghillian had eyes the colour of pecans, and dark curly hair that always seemed about to engulf her face. Her soft features were not unpleasant but hardly beautiful, although Zeb was oblivious to her physical appeal as he was not a Breeder and free from those sorts of thoughts. She was a kind, sensible girl and Zeb enjoyed their conversations and her non-competitive, agreeable nature. They walked in silence past a few fields and a lumber camp, watching the bustle of industry.
They were both thirteen and had worked together since they were eight years old. At their young age both males and females often worked similar tasks and were capable of equal measures of work. Currently they were both assigned to harvesting and loading carts and baskets with freshly picked vegetables and grains for transport to the storage rooms. Lately Zeb had been eating more and more and his appetite seemed to be insatiable. He didn’t feel like he was growing though, just getting fatter. Still, all he could think of was food and by the time he made it back from each day’s work he was always painfully hungry. It was all he could do to stop himself from eating the produce as he handled it. Vegetables had never looked so tempting.
Abruptly Ghillian spoke. “I don’t think I’m going to be a Breeder,” she admitted quietly. “Or even a nurse.”
Zeb knew she was disappointed, it was palpable in her voice. This was the first time she had spoken of her future and he knew it must have been growing in her mind for some time. He felt sorry for her and told her that things would turn out okay.
“Yeah,” continued Ghillian without hearing him, “I’ve always worked so far from Her, I just don’t think there is any way it could happen.”
They turned to a lighter topic of conversation as they moved slowly along the paths to their assigned field and passed numerous tanned, sweat-drenched Workers. The adult Workers, Drones who had pupated into a mature, working form were strong, sturdy and blessed with endurance. Large, lean muscles on a broad frame allowed them to labour throughout the long days of summer. Members of the Worker class were far from creative and the modest development of their brains allocated them extra energy to spend on more important tasks like pulling, pushing and digging. Scholars, and particularly the few that were selected to the secretive Tacticians, were the antithesis to Workers. Their feeble bodies were a sacrifice for the power and cunning of their potent minds. Zeb was dead sure that he wasn’t bound to join their ranks.
Suddenly, Zeb inhaled sharply and Ghillian looked up just as a shadow passed over them and two enormous, grotesque Soldiers marched by. She shuddered and quickly lowered her eyes to the dirt just as Zeb did the same. The Soldiers were big – easily seven feet tall and each was a terrifying mass of muscle and bone. Much more heavily muscled than Workers, Soldiers were the powerful defenders and enforcers of the colony. Armed and armoured with a partial exoskeleton of dense bone, they were terrifying to behold and much worse to deal with.
Ghillian hated Soldiers and reviled them in their absence. They were cruel, rude and vicious, and took pleasure in terrorizing Workers and Drones. Zeb detested them as well and had no interest in joining their ranks. He was quiet and timid, even for a thirteen year-old, and considered himself the furthest thing from a good soldier.
The two young Drones let their breath out slowly as the hulking warriors continued past them. They had learned early on that it was best not to draw attention to yourself when Soldiers were about. They had passed many an afternoon working in silence not daring to raise their heads while under the watchful eyes of a Soldier. Thankfully, their current work detail was close to the centre of the colony where life was much safer than the fringes or the new colonies and Soldiers rarely lingered for long.
