A Book, Alexie [microsoft ebook reader .txt] 📗

I

Awakening

Anton watched, from his vantage point under cover of the forest trees and shrubs, the figure swimming in the little pond just 30 meters ahead. Trying to identify the individual who swam there. Not sure of it's gender at this point as he had just stopped at the sound of splashing water. He often took his walks in the deep forest to think, it was always calm and peaceful here with the tall trees, waving grasses in the cool breeze off the mountains was glorious. It always helped him find the answers he was looking for. That peace was what was called for at this time as he'd been offered a promotion and wasn't sure if he should take it or not. After an hour of wandering the little path he'd made from his previous visits, he heard a noise that was out of place. The sound of splashing water coming from the pond just ahead. The sound was too big to be made by the water birds that frequented the area. He went to investigate to find someone there.

The little pond didn't have enough girth or large enough feed water access from the much larger lake 150 meters away to be a fishing hole. But it was always full and warm. He'd even taken a dunk on hot days to cool himself. As far as he knew no one else ventured out of the compound for fear of bug bights or getting dirty, so to find another person in the swimming hole was quite astounding to Anton.

Anton had grown up to the far south of the compound in a the village of Azten. Unlike the compound everyone lived in little homes outside the protection of the dome. The villagers grew and raised their own food and with this type of living came lots of getting dirty. This life style gave the compounders the quivers. They just couldn't understand living off the land. The mere thought of butchering ones own meat made most of them deathly ill. So when Anton took his little walks in the forest he was quite alone. He'd even tried to take dates for a stroll to find himself dateless. Since then he'd not much luck with the ladies of the compound as the tales of his attempted exploits spread like wild fire. He'd even heard some of the women commenting on him once or twice. They referred to him as dirty Anton. Dirty was not a state of mind of sexuality but of the one thing the compounders found most loathsome of all, physical outside dirt.

The figure made it's way to shore opposite of Anton. It was definitely female. The body curves were unmistakable. Her long wet hair streaming down her back, little trickles rolling around her round posterior and dripping back into the pond. She made her way to shore. “Who are you?” he whispered. “And where do you come from?” This woman was obviously not someone from the compound. Already she had captured his heart and he had no idea of what her face looked like, yet she was a kindred spirit and he was sold.

Anton tried to think of ways to casually meeting her but, didn't want to let her know he'd seen her swimming. That might put her off and he'd never have the chance to get to know her. Other than being dirty he didn't need the extra stigma of being a peeper. That would definitely set him up for a life in the religious order. The idea of being celibate and not by choice was quite depressing.

By this time the woman had vanished to the cover of the forest just beside the pond. Anton worried she'd seen him or had left. Just then he saw beside the pond some of her belongings sitting on the little sandy beach. He felt relief that she hadn't left, then anxious if she had seen him. He quickly retreated to deeper cover. He didn't hear any more noise so maybe she hadn't seen him. That would be good. He had an idea and started making his way slowly to the other side of the pond.


****

“Unbelievable, dimwitted, narrow minded, Cleanies!!!” Spat Cassie as she stormed out of the compound. Her lunch under her arm, she was headed out to get away from these people. She needed to clear her head and gain prospective. The only place for her to achieve this was obvious, the forest. She was certain that no one would ever think of following her there. That way she could be alone with her own thoughts. The ideas of leaving this retched place or making the better of it swirled around and around her thoughts. She struggled with the pros and cons of either decision. Both had their benefits and drawbacks and at the moment she couldn't make up her mind.

Frustration was taking over and she needed to escape. She'd seen a little path going into the forest from one of the observatories when she had arrived just 3 days prior and thought it'd be nice to see where it went. Well, today was the day she would find out. After about an hour of following the faint path she was hot and hungry and started looking for a place to cool off. She heard water birds squabbling near by and discovered the perfect spot for her needs to be satisfied.

The water of the pond was perfect. Not too cold or too warm, it was perfect for a little swim. She was confident that she wouldn't be discovered as the compounders would never think of following her out here. But, something kept nagging in the back of her mind, who or what made the path. It wasn't warn down enough to be a game trail, not like there was much if any game around in these parts. Still, who could have been here enough to warrant the path she'd been following. She still felt comfortable she wouldn't be discovered as the path curved away from the pond and didn't lead up to it so no-one had visited it as frequently as the path itself.

She had found the perfect little patch of sand for her pick-nick under a big gnarled shade tree. She'd set her belongings down and striped down to the buff for a swim. She had enjoyed swimming in the ocean when she was little, except for the salt residue that would cover her body when she was done. This fresh water was entirely new to her. There were no fish to speak of as the water was too warm for them, The natural acidic content of the water made it impossible for plant life to grow in or on it so no agile or weed like growth to worry about either.

After she had circumnavigated the little pond for a dozen laps her stomach was reminding her about the late time of day. She had to quit paddling around and get to shore to eat. Her stomach was acting like it hadn't eaten in days. She was famished.

Grabbing up her cloths and the little blanket she'd brought to sit on she toweled dry and dressed. 'This little trip was just what the doctor had ordered', she thought to herself. 'I think I'll visit here every chance I can. This definitely added a little more weight to the stay category rather than leave.'

****

Anton came to the turn in the path where it turned away from the pond and started to make his way there. He saw the back of the woman sitting on a little blanket digging through a basket as he approach.

“Well, hello there...Where did you come from? I've come here now for the past 2 years and have never seen another soul before.” He though that was casual enough not to elicit a bad reaction from her. “I'm Anton.”

At the sound of his voice Cassie jumped startled from rummaging through her lunch basket to find a man approaching her. She had no idea who he was let alone what his intentions were. She was curious but cautious. No telling what type of person he was to have ventured from the Compound, but at least he wasn't a cleanie.

“Hold on there, I'm not going to hurt you,” Anton was surprised by her reaction to his approach, it was like a frightened animal trying to decide weather to freeze or run and hide. He stopped his approach and held his hands out palms toward her “My name is Anton, I work at the compound, I heard your splashing over here from down the path and wanted to see what was here. You see no one ever comes out here, so you can imagine my surprise to find another person other than myself.”

Cassie relaxed a little but couldn't find her voice. Not sure if he was for real, or some person who had been exiled from the compound due to disease. Just then her stomach overruled her idea of running away with a loud growl.

“What was that?” Anton reacted to her stomach “Was that you? Please don't let me interrupt your dinning, I just wanted to meet you.” Anton sat down on a small patch of grass at a safe distance from the woman. 'Wow, she is pretty', though Anton, 'I sure hope I haven't messed up too bad approaching her like this.'

Cassie watched as the man sat down. She decided he was far enough away from her meal to not pose any real threat so she went back to her basket. “I'm Cassie,” she said “I just started working at the compound and not sure I'm going to stay here.” She looked up and eyed him with curiosity “Your not like any of the other cleanies, just being here tells me your not a lifer like the rest. Why are you here?”

“A job” said Anton, “much like yourself I'm not a lifer either. I know what your going through I've been here several times myself trying to decide to stay or go. I've always managed to find good enough reasons to stay. The money is too good to leave, seems to be the primary reason.”

Cassie nodded in agreement, “yeah, I know what you mean. If the money wasn't so good I would have left the day I arrived. People here are way too extreme about being so clean for my liking.”

Anton snickered.

“What's so funny?” shot Cassie at Anton's apparent amusement at her expense.

“My nick name among the ladies is dirty Anton.”

This elicited a full belly laugh from Cassie. “I think that tag will follow me soon enough too.”

Both Anton and Cassie enjoyed a good laugh at the idea that they were non-conformists with the cleanies and proud of it.

****


Kaymore was not a happy man, and especially today after hearing the news. Again he had to deal with the incompetence of others. This did not amuse him one bit. He'd given explicit instructions and expected them to be handled with ease of the individual he'd assigned them to. Yet again, disappointment in the average human's ability to get the job done right had him fuming. Now he was going to have to remove this individual and fill the open position they'd vacate.

Kaymore passed his finger over a lighted display being careful not to