Botanicaust

arm wide for Levi to precede him.
    “ I need to get Tula, ” Levi said.
    A familiar bubble of laughter caught his attention from the cafeteria and he caught sight of Tula already at a table with the big man who had carried her away when they ’ d first arrived. Two Down ’ s Syndrome people sat with them. Ignoring his guard, Levi rushed toward Tula, his chest light with relief.
    She looked up, her teeth a brilliant white in the deep jade of her face. Around her neck, a filament strung with feathers and baubles didn ’ t so much cover her as draw attention to her nipples. “ Levi! ” She patted the seat next to her.
    “ Why didn ’ t they give you clothes? ” he said in a low voice as he slid into the seat.
    “ You like? Color is … blue? ” She stretched the fabric of her new skirt over her thighs.
    He glanced at the table companions gaping at him. If she was going to fit into his world, she ’ d have to learn modesty. But this was not an argument to have right now. “ What is that? ” He pointed to her necklace.
    “ Michael gave to me. ” She stroked the long feathers. Levi gathered the big man sitting across the table must be Michael by the way he flushed and squirmed like a nervous child. The other two didn ’ t speak, just alternated between staring at Tula and ogling him.
    The rest of the room was either oblivious to the guests or working hard to contain their curiosity. Most tables had at least one Down ’ s Syndrome occupant, and now that Levi knew they were Fosselite children, the groupings made sense. These were family units. He furtively surveyed the occupants of his table, wondering where their parents were. Tula was completely comfortable with them, and they with her. Would her children be green? He hadn ’ t considered it until now.
    “ Tula, let ’ s leave. Now. I want you to come home with me. ”
    She squinted like she didn ’ t understand him. “ House? ”
    He laced his fingers with hers. “ I have nothing to trade. I want to see my son. I want you to meet him. He needs a mother. ”
    They stared at each other for several heartbeats before she bowed her head. “ Oh, Levi. ” Tears dripped into her lap. “ I trade for you. ”
    He ran a hand up her arm to caress away a tear. “ What do you mean? ”
    “ Dr. Kaneka ask me to stay. To help them. They help Josef. ”
    He stilled, throat tight. She wanted to stay?
    “ Is good choosing. They have medicine for me. ”
    Medicine . He remembered how sick she ’ d become outside, how excited she ’ d been to reach the Fosselites. The trip here had nearly killed her. “ But I want you with me. ”
    “ Is my only way … live. Medicine for me. ”
    For a long time Levi only looked at her, hand against her tear stained cheek. He wanted to burn her face into his memory forever. She could not go with him. He could not protect her outside, from the sun, the plants, the cannibals. He nodded slowly a single time, his heart cracking like ice falling from the eaves. “ Gotte ’ s Wille be done. ”

T ula sat cross-legged on the bed and stared at her hands while Levi watched the monitor set into the wall of her room. The image was live — a camera looking over the wide plains below the mountain — but the landscape was lifeless. This would be her only contact with the outside for the rest of her life.
    Levi had been arguing with her for ten minutes. “ I can build you a house like you had in your city. A greenhouse, we call it. You ’ ll be protected. ”
    Her hands were folded so tightly in her lap, her knuckles gleamed. The idea of travelling through cannibal territory under the sun ’ s UV rays made her bones ache, but she would go to be with Levi. However, there was his son to consider. “ Is only way for Josef. ”
    He scrubbed both hands through his short hair, as if trying to rub new ideas into his brain. “ I want the cure for Josef, but not at the cost of your future. At the very least, they should put a time limit on your indenture. ”
    “ What is in-den-shur? ”
    Instead of explaining the word, he opened the door and looked into the hall. Holding out a hand, he said, “ Come with me, Tula. I want to find Dr. Kaneka. You need to talk for me. ”
    Together they marched opposite the cafeteria, the direction their escort had gone after leaving them at the room several hours ago. The doors on both sides of the hall had placards next to each handle. All of them had numbers , some had names . Levi scrutinized each.