I recently wrote a short story and wanted to share it with you! Hope you enjoy. :)

Cloned Chapter One

“Apparently clone is synonymous with slave,” Ecko said as she filled in the final boxes of her crossword puzzle.

With a huff, Treyu poked the little x in the top corner of her electronic Quad. He shot it a foul glare as the puzzle disappeared and returned to her home screen. “I told you to stop doing those. They’re filled with propaganda against low classers like us. I’ve known you for months and I know you’re more than a slave.”

His fingers curled back around the jade handle of his favorite knife. He dipped a gray rag into the metal tin of polishing cream before rubbing it against the blade. His tongue peeked out at the corner of his mouth as concentration overtook him. Each swipe against the blade came with strong, but gentle strokes. A promise that he would always care for this little knife in the best way he could.

Looking away, Ecko forced her back into the bookshelf behind her. She couldn’t be making analogies like that in her head. Yes, Treyu would always care for the things he loved. But he was leaving for the far away city of Kraybanic tomorrow, and she’d never see him again.

Not to mention, she’d never be on that list of things he loved. Not her. Not a clone. A grimace overtook her face as she turned her head away.

Her sister was named Aurora, after a fairytale princess. And she was named Ecko, after the lesser version of a sound. A reminder that she would always be lesser because she had copied DNA. She was only created to provide for her sister’s every need. Maybe she had dreams, but dreams were all they would ever be. How could any dream come true when she lived in a world where clone was synonymous with slave?

No, not even an incomplete like Treyu could care for a worthless clone.

A ragged breath shuddered out of Treyu. A breath that was as familiar as the knife in his hand. If he was allowed to nag her for doing crossword puzzles, she would nag him right back.

“Take off your boot, Treyu. No one is around.”

His look of relief was immediately masked by fear. He looked over his shoulder past the bookshelf. “What about in childrens? They sneak around in there and pop out all the time. If they see my foot, they’ll tell everyone they know.”

“It’s an hour until curfew, the children are gone already. Go on,” she said, letting the words glide out of her mouth to coax away his fears. “Lyndrea won’t say anything.”

The tension in his muscles eased at the mention of the librarian’s name. She may not have been great for conversation, but Lyndrea was perfect for discretion.

Treyu dropped his knife onto the polishing rag before easing the boot down his leg. The soft leather bounced as it fell to the floor. A gentle sigh escaped his lips as he wrapped his fingers around the stump at the end of his ankle. After running around on a wooden prosthetic all day, his ankle was always sore.

He leaned into the bookshelf and dug his knuckles into the stump. The freedom from his poorly made prosthetic always turned his lips into the sweetest grin.

“Let me massage it.”

“No,” Treyu said as he turned his shoulder at her.

Ecko rolled her eyes. “Why do you always do that? It’s just me. And I happen to be great at massages. Aurora makes me give her one at least once a day.”

“It doesn’t hurt,” Treyu said as he turned his back to her again. He dropped his ankle away as a huff escaped his mouth. “Why do people care about missing limbs anyway?”

She eyed his ankle, considering whether she should force the massage on him or not. At the last second, she decided not. With an exaggerated sigh, she said, “It’s about money. That’s what everything is about, isn’t it? Well, money and tradition. You’re only incomplete because you can’t afford the surgery to get a permanent prosthetic. If you can’t afford the surgery, then you’re obviously not contributing financially to society the way you should be. Therefore, you should be treated like a drain on the economy. A bloodsucker to all the hard workers who make more than enough in one week to pay for a simple thing like prosthetic surgery.”

“Bloodsuckers?” he asked with a playful grin. “I think you’ve been reading too much propaganda.”

“Maybe I have,” she said. She stretched her back until the little window over the bookshelves was in her sight. Now, she could watch the clouds. Such a simple pleasure and soon that would be taken away from her when Treyu left. She grimaced. “It’s the same with me, isn’t it? I was created to serve my sister. It’s selfish to want my own money and my own life. No one wants to free the clones because then who will take care of everyone? Maybe it’s not a great way to treat people, but this is the way things are. This is what clones were created for. If things are really so terrible, the clones can emancipate, can’t they?”

“Yes, Ecko, they can.”

He gripped his ankle while his jaw flexed. His eyes stared back at her with an intensity that wasn’t quite anger, but it was close. Now she’d done it. She’d gone and mentioned the one word that should have been omitted from every conversation between them in the last week. Yet, somehow, it seemed to be the only thing they talked about.

Emancipation.

His jaw flexed again as he dropped his ankle. He took up his polishing cream and knife and swiped the blade with short and heavy strokes. “You turned eighteen a week ago from today,” he said. “That means you have until midnight tonight to do the paperwork. Just emancipate and come with me to Kraybanic tomorrow. I already bought you a ticket.”

Bought her a ticket? Why would he waste his money when she already told him she wasn’t going to emancipate? It was hard enough that he was leaving, but to spend their final hours together fighting? It was even worse knowing that going with him was her deepest dream. But she couldn’t. And she couldn’t tell him the truth about why she couldn’t. Sometimes a lie was kinder than the truth.

“I’m staying with Aurora.” Her voice sounded like a wisp of cotton in a heavy breeze. No. It sounded like an echo. Just a quiet, insignificant sound with no purpose at all. “What could I do in Kraybanic? No one would hire a clone anyway.”

Treyu’s blade started humming with the force of his strokes hitting the blade. He wrinkled his nose and said, “The clone academy is there. You can work in exchange for education. And they’ll help you find a job.” His face suddenly softened and he dropped the knife a few inches as he looked into her eyes. “Kraybanic is different than here. They don’t despise low classers as much.”

“You’ve only been there once. How do you know it’s so different? I’m not willing to take that chance.”

She didn’t think it was possible, but somehow his nose wrinkled up even more. He shook his head, a touch of anger coming to the surface. “I don’t understand. Aurora beats you and controls your every move. Even if people look down on low classers, it can’t be worse than you have it now.”

Ecko stood up to release the anxiety tingling through her limbs. Her frown deepened as she said, “I can’t emancipate, Treyu. Stop asking me to.”

He banged his fist into the carpet with a huff. “Yes, you can. You have until midnight.” Hopping up to his foot, he moved toward her. As he inched closer, she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying something she’d regret. Namely, something that involved the hot blush filling her cheeks. A frown etched onto his face matched with a pair of disappointed eyes. “You…” he started. But then he quirked his head to the side. “Wait. You can’t? What do you mean you can’t? You’ve always said you won’t, but now suddenly you can’t?” His eyes grew dark as he started to guess at the truth she was keeping from him. “What did Aurora say to you?” he asked.

She turned away and waved her hand casually. “I didn’t mean it like that,” she lied. “I just meant I already made my decision. It’s too late. Look,” she said pointing to the window. “That cloud looks exactly like a dragon.”

Treyu’s eyebrows knitted together as he took a short hop toward her. “You’re trying to change the subject, but it won’t work. I’m not giving up until you decide to emancipate. You deserve freedom. You have to—” The words came to abrupt halt as he glanced toward the window. “Wow, that really does look like a dragon.”

Ecko propped her elbow onto the bookshelf in front of her and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. “I know,” she said. “You can even see the teeth in its mouth. And that tongue looks downright treacherous.”

His tongue peeked out the corner of his mouth while he sat deep in thought. He leaned into the bookshelf, and closer to Ecko, then finally said, “He doesn’t seem treacherous to me. I bet he has a castle somewhere that’s just for him. I bet he’s flicking his tongue because he’s in danger, but deep down, all he wants is freedom.”

He gave her a pointed stare, but she folded her arms in front of her chest and turned away from him. She wasn’t about to take his bait. He was angry, but there was nothing she could do about that. It would be even worse if she told him the truth, so a lie was all she could give. She needed him to think she wanted to stay with Aurora.

A puff of air escaped from his nostrils. “You deserve freedom, Ecko. Freedom and happiness.”

“I won’t emancipate,” she said as she tipped her chin up.

Treyu grabbed her shoulder, turning her to face him. He pushed the fabric of her shirt sleeve up to her elbow until the purple and green bruise covering her forearm was in full view. “Not even to avoid this?” he asked. The bruise was not a pleasant sight. He had been horrified to find out Aurora put it there simply because of some spilled water and a broken plate.

At least he hadn’t discovered the one on her back. That one was bigger and fresher. But Aurora knew how to keep the worst injuries hidden. He let out an exasperated sigh and turned away from her. In a quieter voice, he said, “You deserve better than this.”

A trickle of guilt crept up Ecko’s spine. Her lips dove into a deep frown as she pushed her shirt sleeve back down. After placing her hand on his upper arm, she said, “Please, Treyu. We have so little time left; I don’t want to spend it like this. I want to remember the cloud watching, not the fighting.”

The tension in him melted away in an instant. He turned to face her, but she stared hard at the ground. She knew he was trying to catch her eye, but it would be dangerous to look up now. Especially when he stood so close. “That cloud looks like a book,” he said, pointing toward the little window. “Normally that wouldn’t be very exciting. It’s just a rectangle, right? But that one looks like an open book, with some of its pages flipping. It’s actually pretty impressive.”

A smile inched onto her lips. She braved a glance at his face. His usual gentle demeanor had returned and he was clearly trying to make the most of the dwindling minutes they had until curfew. She brushed a hand along the side of the bookshelf and flinched when she almost touched the security button. When activated, it shot out knives at whoever had pressed it. Supposedly, it was meant to discourage people from activating security except in the greatest emergencies. In reality, it was a barbaric system which Lyndrea and several library guests complained about loudly.

Once her hand was safe from the button, Ecko propped her elbow back on the shelf and dropped her chin onto her palm. She pointed out the window and said, “That one looks like a sword. It’s just like the long one you have with the blue hilt.” She glanced back at the polishing rag resting on the carpet. Only four small knives lay next to it. “Where is that one anyway? You usually bring your whole collection of knives and swords, but you only brought your favorites today.”

Treyu’s shoulders stiffened, but then he stood up straight. “I sold the rest of my collection.”

It might have been comical how fast her mouth dropped, if it weren’t because of something so grim. “What?” she asked.

He gulped and looked to the side, suddenly interested in a tiny piece of lint on his cotton shirt. “I needed the money to buy the train tickets to Kraybanic.”

She covered her mouth as a lump simultaneously took up residence in her throat. It took every bit of willpower she had to force her mouth shut. How could he sell them? He loved those stupid things. Her heart thumped as she remembered what he had told her earlier. “But you bought me a ticket, too, and I’m not going. Can you get a refund for one of the tickets? Then at least you’ll have some money when you get to the city.”

“No.” He clenched his jaw as he shook his head with a jerk. “I’m not getting a refund.”

“Why not?” she begged. It hurt bad enough that he was leaving. Why did he have to overwhelm her with so much guilt in the process?

“I’m keeping the ticket,” he said with even more determination than before. He gave her a single glance, and then turned back to the window. “Just in case you change your mind.”

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