A list with names
Seventeen years earlier
–
“GET OUT OF HERE! ALL OF YOU! NOW!”
The young woman is not only naked, she is furious. The sheet she grabbed from the bed sways violently in her hands before she drops it altogether. The young man sitting on the bed next to her quickly draws it over himself. In contrast to his wife, he isn’t so much angry as stunned.
For good reason. Three minutes ago, two men and two women burst into their bedroom like a SWAT team in a movie. But these weren’t law enforcers—they were teachers from the high school they had left only two years ago. These were people they called friends. Even their former science teacher, Mr. Kwant, looks extremely uncomfortable.
“Sorry, Marianne, we have to.”
“Have to? What do you have to do?”
“It’s the list.”
“What? You barge in here like a bunch of paratroopers because of the list? We know we’re on the list. I’ve been on it since I was four. Jack since he was six. You know that. We all know that.”
“No, not because of you or Jack. A new name... Your daughter.”
“We don’t have a daughter! We’ve just gotten married!”
Instead of answering, Kwant reaches into his bag and pulls out a big stack of paper filled with long columns of handwritten names, the bottom severely scorched as if it had been saved from a burning fireplace. He flips to the last page where the very last name is clearly readable: Maxime Kwintens. “An hour ago, this name appeared on the list, setting it ablaze in the process.” For the first time, the woman is at a loss for words, sinking back onto the bed.
“Do you mean the name appeared while we were having sex? At the moment of, uh... impregnation?” The young man’s voice is softer and calmer than his wife’s, but he’s no less upset. Kwant looks thoroughly embarrassed now.
“Yes, so it seems. Never happened before. You both know the procedure. Everyone who appears on the list with this much force has to be neutralized.” The young woman clenches her fists.
“You have to be kidding, right? I don’t even know if I’m really pregnant.”
The four teachers shuffle restlessly on their feet. “The list doesn’t lie, you know that,” one of the female teachers adds softly. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime event. There’s no procedure for this. We have to figure it out ourselves. Believe me, we are not enjoying this.”
“I fucking hope so, but I will not go to school, nor will my daughter. Never ever. You know what happens to people with too much talent. They need to be ‘erased.’ But not my... our... daughter. I want to speak to Mastro. Where is he, if this is all so important?”
“Right here.” The voice floats melodically through the doorway, in which a young man appears.
“Mastro, this must be a mistake.”
“I’m afraid it’s not, Marianne. The list is always right.” For the first time, the young woman looks more desperate than furious. Four teachers she can handle, but Mastro is a different story. She sinks back onto the bed, her voice hardly a whisper now.
“What do you want to do?”
“As Zebedeus pointed out, this has never happened before in all the centuries of the Guild’s existence. We have to figure it out ourselves.” The woman on the bed scoffs, rekindling some of her fighting spirit.
“If you want to kill her now or after she’s born?”
“No, actually, I think it’s much more interesting to let this play out.”
“But,” interjects Kwant, sounding quite alarmed, “someone with this much power can disrupt Egalpezzo completely. It can destroy the balance of the world.”
“That’s true, Zebedeus, but then again, this is not some undetected evil growing in the dark. We are aware of it now. We will be able to monitor it. We will have the chance to gain invaluable new insights into the workings of Egalpezzo itself.”
“Not dead?” Jack stammers.
“No,” Mastro concurs, “I think we need to see how this... your daughter... develops.” Marianne flares up in a last protest.
“She’s not one of your science experiments. She’ll never have a normal life in your school.”
“Probably you’re right. Maybe we should keep her out of our school to ensure that her development is as little influenced by us as possible.” He ignores the growing protests of the teachers. “As long as it’s responsible, of course. And yes, we will monitor her. We need to. The consequences will be too severe if we don’t. So, this is the deal. You can keep your daughter out of school, but when things get out of hand, we will bring her in immediately.”
“I can live with that,” Marianne agrees after a short silence. Jack nods. Mastro turns to Kwant.
“You need to agree too, Zebedeus. You’re the keeper of the list.”
“Only if you take full responsibility.”
“Of course. It will be my head when things go sideways.”
He looks each of them straight in the eye before he concludes in a soothing voice, “That’s settled then. Sorry we barged in so rudely, Marianne... Jack. Maybe we should have taken a moment longer to think this over.”
All five leave in silence. They’re alone again. Marianne starts to tremble. Jack pulls the blanket over her.
“You’re pregnant,” he stammers, looking at her belly in disbelief.
“Yes, so it seems. What a way to find out,” she answers with a stunned smile. “Congratulations.”
Finally, he smiles too, gives her a kiss, mumbles, “This will not end well,” and kisses her again.