1st 5 Pages October Workshop- Nelson

Kaylynn Nelson

Young Adult Fantasy

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 his 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 his jawline flex. Silas quickly turned back to the front and met his sparkling eyes with a smile.

They 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 when the doorknob twisted and a large woman wearing heavy make-up shuffled in. Her white pant suit swished as she walked toward them. Her perfectly manicured hand gripped a tablet as thin as a 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 chubby 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 her typing.

Silas glanced over at Dustin who was waiting for his attention. Dustin stuck his tongue out and poked it into his right nostril. Silas countered with his own gruesome gesture of pinching his face, so that the red sockets of his eyes and pink gums of his teeth were exposed.

The clerk suddenly 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 apart of these next steps on your journey,” she began in a monotone voice.

“As you know, we here at Pathways wish to place you in the best territory that will 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 finished.

She 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 first and then Dustin. “A screen is going to pop up in between you two. A series of images will then appear on the screen. These images are meant to instill a psychological reaction, so try and relax and let your mind wander freely. When the examination reaches its end, the screen will disappear and a diagnostic report of your goodness levels 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 when he heard the words ‘goodness levels’.

“Great,” the clerk said apathetically, 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 it’s 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. The clerk’s matte pink lips had spread into a smug smile. This was clearly the most enjoyable part of her job. 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.

“You boys ready?” the clerk asked as the room’s lights dimmed. She had already waddled to the door and had her hand pressed against the handle. “Remember, just relax,” she repeated, before swishing noisily out of sight.

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 each were, but neither he nor Dustin knew for sure. Silas hadn’t given much thought to it. He didn’t like to think of being separated from Dustin. Besides, he would have to do what the results said either way, so what was the use of wishing for a particular outcome?

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 disappeared. Dustin sat on the other side, grinning.

Silas felt his helmet’s grip on his head begin to slacken. He breathed a sigh of relief, happy to be nearly done with the process. The twins took off their helmets and set them on the table in front of them. Silas looked at his contemptuously, and slid it further away.

The clerk pushed her way through the door, tablet still in hand. She stared at it for a few minutes, tapping her fingers quickly over it. “Hmph,” she grunted.

The twins shared a confused glance before turning their attention back to the clerk.

“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 responded curtly.

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

The fat clerk raised her thinly drawn on eyebrows. “You two will have to come back here and retake the test. I’ll have our people call your people when the machine is fixed,” she said.

“Great. Thanks, Miriam,” Silas huffed, rising from his chair. “C’mon, Dusty.”

“Can I keep this?” Dustin asked, placing a hand on the helmet. The clerk glared at Dustin through squinted eyes. “Where are my manners? Please?” Dustin added.

The clerk shook her puffy gullet and pressed a button of her tablet. “Yowch!” Dustin yelped, pulling his hand off the helmet it had been resting it on. “What the—”

“Buh-bye now,” the clerk said with a smile and a wave.

“You have a little lipstick on your chiclet,” Dustin informed her, pointing to his front tooth.