Chapter Five: The Threat

"James. Follow me." 

And just like that, my chest re-inflated with panic. The General's voice was sharp and cold, and I recognized the tone. The last time I heard it, he broke my wrist for standing up to him when he was about to punish Ace. I was 12. 

I walked behind him to his office, a million thoughts fighting for dominance in my mind. If the General had suspicions about my loyalty, he would have brought it up before the induction, surely. Of course, if he had suspicions, he would probably just have me quietly killed. 

His work office was as sleek and modern as his home office was warm and rich. There were no books, just bare stone walls and metal tables. The chairs were hard metal, recycled from old automobiles. 

The door closed behind us. Before I could say anything, the General grabbed me by the throat and slammed me into the wall. It might as well have been his signature move, but it was terrifying each time. Years of similar experiences prevented me from attempting to fend him off. Anything like that would make everything… much worse. 

His dark green eyes were fierce and his expression was all hard edges and scowl, inches from my face. 

"I think you're not taking me seriously when I say you need to produce more offspring. This is not a joke, boy. This colony won't survive without proper levels of reproduction." 

The Moore family was so large I felt I couldn't throw a rock without hitting a cousin. Most families expected three to five children, as only 70% tended to make it to thirteen. The Moores expected five to eight, and our wealth meant more survived. 

When I tried to speak, the words wouldn't come out. His grip was so tight the edges of my vision darkened. 

Struggling, I said, "I do take it seriously." 

"You're putting her aside. Preacher Everett will annul for a barren wife." 

The last of my breath left my lungs in a rush. Alaina meant the world to me, and I would die before I did anything of the sort to her. Not only could I not bear to be separated from her, but if the church declared her barren, no man would marry her. She would have to hope her father or a brother would take her in, or she would end up homeless and disgraced. 

He jerked me forward and slammed me back. My eyes crossed for a moment as my head cracked into the wall. When everything came into focus, the General's face was nearly crimson. 

"You want to say no. I see that mutinous little expression." 

"No, sir, I—" 

His free fist slammed into my abdomen with so much force that bile shot into my mouth. I doubled over and tried to breathe. A large hand yanked the back of my collar, momentarily cutting off my air again. He shoved me toward the door. 

"She has one week to be out of the house. Figure out what you're going to tell my grandson." 

He meant I needed to decide how to tell my son his mother had died. It was considered merciful to the child to do so, because once set aside, women could never see their former husbands or children again. It was rare, but when it happened, the blame fell on the wife. Husbands were often considered the victims of deception. 

I think I nodded. "Yes, sir. Of course." 

"If she's not gone, I'll have her removed. And you really won't like that." 

"I understand, sir." 

I did understand. I had seen what happens to people who stand in the way of my father. 

I fled the office. The compound was a maze of office buildings, barracks, classrooms, gymnasiums, and cells. Everything passed in a blur as I moved by instinct. Finally in my cramped office, I dropped into the deteriorating desk chair with shaking hands. Once my heart rate and breathing were manageable, I opened the top drawer of the desk, then my mind wandered. 

I just wanted the world to stop for five minutes so I could figure out what just happened in my life. When I had woken up, I did not think my day was going to involve my father telling me to cast out my wife and take another. Looking back on it I should’ve seen the signs that this is what he intended all along. 

“Sir?" 

Watchman Edwards stood in the doorway. The General had assigned him as my assistant, likely knowing Edwards would report my slightest error. 

I stood to address him. "I have a matter at home to attend to. I will be back in the morning. Take care of things here." 

"Yes, sir." Edwards was a typical watchman on the cusp of receiving his profession: brash, arrogant, and wearing adulthood like a costume. The colony said boys became men at thirteen, but I had to disagree. Looking at Edwards, who could barely grow a mustache, I wanted to slap sense into him. But I would have to leave him to the colony with everyone else. 

Taking the file I needed, I returned home in a daze. 

Alaina greeted me in the entryway with a look of alarm at my early arrival. "What's wrong?" she asked. 

"It's time."

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