1st 5 Pages October Workshop- Nelson Rev 1

Kaylynn Nelson

Young Adult Science Fiction

In Sheep's Skin 

Silas stared into a pair of hazel eyes identical to his own. Flecks of green in orbs of warm brown gazed back at him. He let his focus fall to a long nose, slightly hooked at the end. It suddenly twitched as though preparing to sneeze, but Silas didn’t feel the urge to. Turning his head slowly to the side, he watched a smooth jawline flex. Silas quickly turned back to the front and met the sparkling hazel eyes with a smile.

The twins had been seated at separate ends of a glossy, pearl table and instructed not to speak. The white walled room was barren, so they passed the time waiting for their assigned clerk by mirroring one another’s movements. The game ended with the jostling of the doorknob. Silas snapped his head toward the door and felt his mouth dry. A frowning woman entered and swished toward them purposefully in a uniformed white pant suit. Dustin flashed her one of his charming smiles, but for once, it went unnoticed.

In her perfectly manicured hand, the clerk eyed a tablet as thin as as sheet of paper. She held it up to her face before peering over it. “Dustin and Silas Grey,” she droned.

“Present,” Silas said.

“You got Dusty,” Dustin chirped.

The clerk lowered the tablet and began typing with her free hand. Her fingers moved deftly over the screen, but her gaze remained disinterested. “Alright, so here’s what we’re going to do,” she trailed off. The twins looked at her attentively as she continued typing.

Silas glanced over at Dustin who was waiting for his attention. Dustin stuck his tongue out and poked it into his right nostril. Shaking his head, Silas tried his best not to indulge him with a smile, but Dustin had caught the corner of his lip twitch. He had just flipped his gums back when the clerk continued talking as though she had never stopped.

“Thank you for coming in today, and happy sixteenth birthday. My name is Miriam, and I’m thrilled to be a part of these next steps on your journey,” she began in a monotone voice.

“We here at Pathways wish to place you in the territory that will best benefit your overall happiness and comfort over your lifespan. It is our mission to accommodate both types of people and provide fulfillment. So, without further ado, let us reveal the pathway to your new, destined life. And remember, there can’t be any good in this world without evil.”

The clerk set the tablet on the table and placed her hands on either side of it protectively. She leaned forward and blew her wispy bangs out of her face. “Alright boys,” she said, eyeing Silas and then Dustin. “A screen is going to pop up between you. A series of images will then appear on the screen. These images are meant to instill certain reactions, so just and try and relax. When the examination is over, the screen will disappear, and a diagnostic report will be sent to this,” she tapped the tablet with an acrylic nail. “Pretty straightforward stuff. Any questions?”

Silas watched Dustin shake his head in unison with himself. His brother didn’t appear to be nervous at all, but Silas felt his stomach churn.

“Great,” the clerk said, pushing herself into a standing position. “When you’re both ready, place the provided helmet on your head and look forward.”

Silas was just about to ask where the helmets were when he noticed his had mysteriously appeared beside his elbow. He thought it looked a lot like the ivory salad bowl his mom used at dinner time. Silas glanced up at the clerk to make sure she wasn’t kidding, but her stern gaze met his as if to say, “just test me.” Silas averted his eyes back to his helmet. Warily, he reached for it and placed it on his head. The helmet was too large, and tipped forward over his eyes. Silas was still adjusting it when a cold wave of nerves washed over him.

The helmet had begun to move on its own, tightening itself to the grooves of his skull. His hands shot up to remove the headgear, but a new layer of helmet was now stretching down over his cheekbones. He tried to burrow his fingers underneath, but the helmet was too tightly fixated to the nape of his neck.

“Relax,” Miriam advised. Silas peered at her bitterly through the two eye slits of the helmet, noticing how her pink lips had finally spread into a smile.

Silas took a deep breath. The helmet had stopped tightening and now sat comfortably conformed to his head. He tried to look at Dustin, but the screen between them had already appeared. Rubbing his sweaty palms on his pants, Silas reminded himself that the test was painless and, more importantly, brief.

“You boys ready?” the clerk asked as the room’s lights dimmed. “Remember, just relax,” she repeated, using the same tone a cat might use on a cornered mouse.

Silas stared at the blank screen. He wondered for not the first time what he was; good or bad. Their parents had begun to ask them as they grew older what they believed they were, but neither he nor Dustin knew for certain. Not that any of their speculations mattered. It was the test that concluded where they belonged, and, after tomorrow, Silas would be headed for either Haylos or Malos.

The screen before him suddenly flickered to life, and a colorful image appeared. Silas tried to identify it, but he had never seen anything like it before. Silas blinked and the image changed to another unidentifiable picture. This process continued for ten more minutes, until the screen went lifeless grey and then vanished. Dustin appeared, grinning cheerfully as though they had just finished a game instead of a life-altering examination.

Silas had long ago given up puzzling over Dustin’s ability to retain his happy-go-lucky demeanor in the face of adversity. He had tried practicing it himself without success, and it was still the trait he both envied and loved most about his brother. He looked over at Dustin who was now prodding his helmet curiously. He’d miss him when they got assigned to their territories and separated. Dustin was always keen to share, prone to laugh, affectionate; he was the epitome of… good.

A trickle of sweat rolled down Silas’s neck at the realization. Of course, Dustin would be sent to Haylos. The kid was as friendly as a kitten, unlike Silas, who embodied more of an old, aloof cat. Malos had always been his future.

Silas barely felt his helmet’s grip begin to slacken as he processed his fate. How had he not known this before? He knew there was nothing wrong with being sent to Malos, but still, Silas didn’t feel evil.

The twins took off their helmets and set them on the table in front of them as the clerk pushed through the door, tablet still in hand. She stared at it for a few minutes, tapping her fingers quickly over it. “Hmph,” she grunted. “Something seems to be off with the machine. Your reports are inconclusive.”

“What does that mean?” Dustin asked.

“It means I need to call Raymond from maintenance,” the clerk replied.

“But what does that mean for us?” Silas asked.

The clerk raised her thinly drawn on eyebrows. “You two will have to come back here and retake the test.”