Brave Fear (boyxboy)

Chapter 8

Marcus was an excellent cook.

In New Vancouver, there was no need for special skills or hobbies. You learned only what was needed for your job, and only after you had been chosen. Looking back, Zane realized his childhood had been very bland. He had never learned to cook. He had never done anything particularly memorable. He had only done what had been asked of him and only what was ordered by the Governors.

Apparently, in other cities, Governors were far more lenient. They allowed children to learn other skills along with what was required. Marcus, Mallory, and Daisy had been allowed to have a hobby, something they were truly passionate about. Zane did not know what he was passionate about. He felt as if he were a machine created by society; he had no pleasures, no skills, no hobbies, no strengths or weaknesses. He was simply a human being of the most primal sort.

But Marcus. Dang, that guy knew how to cook. Even though Zane had probably gotten diabetes from his own breakfast, he could not turn away the eggs benedict and english muffins Marcus prepared. Even though there was no stove and he was required to use the trashy microwave, he made do. And it was delicious.

All five of them consumed Marcus's cooking within minutes. Daisy, even after eating a whole box of Froot Loops, was ravenous. She ate like a wolf, spooning food in her mouth nonstop. She was only focused on one thing; food. Zane rolled his eyes and finished off his breakfast.

"What do they hope to accomplish by making this place so comfortable and homey?" he asked curiously, posing the question to the table as a whole.

Mallory cocked her head, thinking. Her blue nose piercing caught a beam of artificial light and threatened to burn out Zane's retinas. "Obviously, they want to discourage escape and rebellion." There was a piece of bacon in her curly black hair.

"Isn't rebellion what they want from us for this experiment to work?" he asked quizzically. He definitely remembered Wawrzynski saying something along those lines. But just picturing Wawrzynski's face made him want to punch a hole in the steel wall.

"The first phase of the experiment is done," Daisy chipped in through a mouthful of eggs benedict. She reached across and plucked the piece of bacon from Mallory's hair. The other girl never batted an eye as Daisy popped the small flake into her mouth. "They thought the rebellion and anger made us more susceptible to the serum and gave us a higher probability of not dying." She went back to inhaling her food.

"And now they're trying to take the rebellion away and make us compliant," Marcus said.

After what Wawrzynski had done and what he had cursed Zane with, it was going to be a long time before he got compliance from Zane. And if he had told his parents Zane was dead, it would be even longer. The others seemed to be thinking the same thing.

Joseph looked up from his empty plate. "I've been fed up with this wretched society for years. How does Wawrzynski intend to make us compliant?" The question was a good one. Zane had only seen the cruelty of the Governors for just over a week, and already he had decided he would never go back. New Vancouver had seemed perfect for many years. Zane had never known a life outside of it. Now that he knew he could have chosen his own life path and become anything he wanted to be, it didn't seem so perfect. He recalled Joseph's love of comedy and entertainment. Could it be that Joseph had been secretly hiding a hobby from the Governors? If so, why had he been inclined to tell Zane right when he met him?

Perhaps Joseph had seen the shred of prejudice and rebellion inside Zane, and decided that he could be trusted. Zane felt a new respect for Joseph.

But, nonetheless, if Wawrzynski had known Joseph was such a rebellious person, why had he chosen the boy? There had to have been far better suited candidates within New Vancouver with the right amount of prejudice. Zane had had very little and had managed to survive the procedure. Wawrzynski had another motive. Zane just couldn't figure out what.