Botanicaust

sleep. The latest food canister brought a little while ago sat untouched at the edge of his cage.
    He paced, both yearning for Tula ’ s return and dreading it. Surely, she had bewitched him in some way. He should pray for guidance, but his knees refused to bend. Mixed messages from God were not something he could handle today.
    The sound of movement on the stairs drew his attention. Two Blattvolk hauled in a bald, naked child and placed him in a cell at the far end of the room. They glanced Levi ’ s way, murmured to each other, then retreated up the stairs. The child stood in the center of his cell and stared at the bars. Then he started crying.
    “ Little boy. ” Levi called softly. “ Little boy. Shhh. It ’ s okay. ” It wasn ’ t okay. No one in this prison was okay.
    The boy sniffled and halted his sobs. He stared, dark eyed, in Levi ’ s direction. Levi struggled for basic words the boy might understand. If only he could give the little boy his canister. Food always made Awnia more content. Levi flinched at the memory. He hadn ’ t thought of Awnia in days.
    More footsteps on the stairs made him hopeful someone was bringing the child food. But instead, an entourage of Blattvolk marched down the path between the cells without a glance at the boy. At the head of the group, the bald man, Vitus, palmed the lock on Levi ’ s cage. In his other hand, he held the device he ’ d used to subdue Awnia.
    This didn ’ t look good.
    Two other Blattvolk entered, larger than most, but still several inches shorter than Levi. They held a set of chains between them. Levi backed against the cell wall.
    They ’ d finally come for him. He ’ d lost his chance at escape forever. Should he fight them? Being transformed with the Mark would be the worst possible fate.
    The Blattvolk jabbered too fast for Levi to understand. But he caught one word — the same word they ’ d used with Awnia.
    Euthanize.
    Relief flooded through him so quickly he nearly dropped to his knees. They were going to kill him. Not turn him into a monster.
    “ Thank you. Thank you. ” He held out his wrists without a struggle. The two Blattvolk approached warily, flicking glances at Vitus, who only scowled more deeply. They expected him to fight back. Tula must have told them about his earlier attack.
    A tiny niggle of betrayal squeezed him. He ’ d done as she asked and retreated back into the cell. How could she turn him in?
    The men shackled him hand and foot, then Vitus took the lead and jerked it forward, urging him out of the cell. At the stairs, Levi looked up and locked eyes with Tula. Her brows pinched as she stepped in front of the escort.
    She and Vitus argued, and when Levi ’ s entourage tried to pass, she blocked the way, refusing Vitus passage. Her frantic tone confirmed Levi ’ s suspicion, and in his core, he was glad. She hadn ’ t told them about his attack.
    Vitus threw back his head and laughed, and Levi recognized the word “ please ” on Tula ’ s lips. The evil man shoved her aside, causing her to lose her balance on the top step. Levi lunged forward, arms extended in case she fell.
    The Blattvolk on both sides of him shouted, and Vitus swung around. The last thing Levi saw was the stunning device aimed right between his eyes.

    Tula sagged against the steps and sobbed. Over the last few weeks she ’ d lost more patients than during her entire first abysmal year as a genetic psychiatrist. Even Bats felt like a failure, since he was now forced to work at the protein production tanks instead of as a Burn Operative.
    In the morning, Levi would die, and there was nothing she could do about it. The Board had approved immediate euthanization. Violence would not be tolerated. She should have erased the video footage after he attempted to escape.
    Stupid, stupid, stupid.
    She should forget about Levi. A new little boy waited for her in Confinement. But Vitus ’ s words on the stairs stung. “ There ’ s another mongrel down there waiting for you to fuck up. ”
    She rose on unsteady legs and stared down the steps. Her feet would not obey her command to descend. Maybe Mo was right. She should take a leave of absence.
    Turning the other way, she proceeded to her lab. The euthanization chamber was only three doors down. Prisoners were given a real bed, a last meal of protein sludge flavored with agave syrup, and a night of solitude. She sat at her desk and pulled her gamma pad close but didn ’ t activate it. She knew