It was just past dawn on an early spring morning. The sky was gray and a misty rain was falling as Lauma approached the Lumber yard. Cheerful bits of green could be seen peeping out cautiously, as if to check that Winter was truly gone for the year. The ground was clear and flat, covered in a perpetual layer of saw dust. Bundles of large logs stood waiting for the crane to lift them onto the train car. There was a dingy building beside the tracks. The sign was hanging lopsided from a single hook and most of the letters were illegible. It didn't matter though. Everyone knew the District Office of Forestry and Silviculture. It was there that Lauma was headed to get her assignment for the next two months of state mandated labor. A few people had arrived early for work and were lounging about, eating breakfast and chatting.
"Hey Xy!" One of the men called out to her. "I heard that you're going to be doing some pro bono work around here."
"Shut up, Haup, before I give you a better reason to keep your mouth closed." Lauma eyed her opponent menacingly until he dropped his gaze and she continued on to the OFS.
"What are you going to do, kill him?" This comment came from a stocky middle aged woman who was cutting chunks off an apple with her six inch serrated pruning knife. "You're the one who better watch yourself, or you'll be going to the Games this year as sure as logs roll downhill."
Lauma gritted her teeth and kept walking, curling her hands into fists as she went. She knew her odds were worse than most. With one hundred and seventy three eligible girls, one out of every fifteen slips would be hers. Still, she had only one more reaping to escape, then she would never have an entry again. She could live her life in peace. She could ensure that her baby brother never had to receive Tesserae.
"I give her five years before she takes to the bottle like her old man and starts beating the family herself." Haup took a long swig from his canteen to emphasis his point. Lauma's foot stilled on the step to the office. Her hands began to shake with her desire to turn around and ring the man's neck like the worthless chicken that he was. She was beginning to turn when she felt a gentle restraining hand on her shoulder.
"Ms. Xylander, I believe you have an appointment with me." Lauma nodded mutely at the Director of Silvan Affairs and pushed past him to the door. "As for the rest of you. You are not paid to lag about tongue wagging like the village sewing circle. I will not tolerate trouble-makers. I suggest that you finish your meals quickly and get to work." There was a flurry of activity as everyone in the group hurried to be somewhere else. Doing something that appeared productive. The DSA followed Lauma into the office and sat behind his large, ornately carved wooden desk. He motioned for his parolee to sit in one of the dilapidated chairs in front of the desk.
"Ms. Xylander, I must repeat to you: I do not tolerate trouble-makers. If you cause any sort of disturbance to the operation of this facility I will have you remanded to the state for further punishment. I will make every effort to ensure that you are not unduly tempted to break the terms of your release, but the ultimate responsibility falls to you. I can show no leniency in this matter. Do you understand the severity of your situation, Ms. Xylander?"
"Yes, sir." Lauma's eyes never left her feet. She had no desire to disappoint this man. She knew that his intervention at her trial, his commendation of her hard work and diligent attitude, had swayed the court to allow her a work release rather than a prison sentence. The very idea of being locked in a stone room, away from the sky, and the birds, and the trees, it made her shudder just to think of it. She allowed herself briefly to wonder how her life had gotten to this point. What it would have been like to grow up without the constant terror of her father.
"Lauma?" The gentle voice which called her out of her musings was nothing like the stern voice the Director had used moments ago. This was the voice of her Uncle Franz Kaiser. The family had officially disowned Ulrike Kaiser when she married Klaus Xylander, but Franz had always held a special place in his thoughts for his unfortunate niece. "It really is for the best. You know what they would do if they thought I was showing you the least bit of favoritism. Please, get through this for me, for your mother and little Wulf."
This time Lauma did look up. "I will do my best, Uncle Franz. I don't know where the temper comes from. I used to think all of my anger was about him, but now he is gone and the anger is still with me. There is so much wrong with this world, so much pain and misery and cruelty. Every little thing sparks a rage within me. I lit a fire to destroy my monster, and I have caught myself in the fire as well." Lauma looked back down to her hands twisting in her lap and spoke in a near whisper. "If you kill a monster, do you become a monster in its place?"
"No. But fires are not easily put out if you keep throwing on fuel. Find something that gives you peace and cling to it." With one last encouraging smile, the moment was over. Franz Kaiser was once again Director of Silvan Affairs and began to rummage though a stack of papers on his desk. "Your assignment is in Quadrant 9 with team Delta. Your team leader is Avery Witcombe, you will answer to her for the first month of your detention. You are dismissed, Ms. Xylander."
"Yes, sir." Lauma stood and headed out the door. She walked over to the Transport hub and looked around for the car labeled Delta. The car was hooked to a trailer carrying hundreds of saplings. That meant that this month she would be on planting detail. District 7 had 35 rotating quadrants of 25 acres. Each year one was harvested and another planted. Delta would not be the only team planting this month. Four other team cars were also sporting long trailers full of baby trees. Each team would be have 10 members and be required to plant five acres. A tall, wiry woman in her mid-thirties was counting the saplings in the trailer and checking something on her clipboard. There was no smile on her stern face, though there must have been one at some point to create the laugh lines around her eyes. Her long, dark hair was tied back into a tight braid and streaks of silver-gray were visible at her temples. She looked up as Lauma approached and nodded curtly.
"Are you the new recruit?" She waited for a nod and then continued. "I'm sure the DSA already read you the riot act, but no one ever died from hearing a thing twice. This is a team. We work as a team or we can't meet our quota. If we don't make our quota, our pay will be docked accordingly and I will personally see to it that you are placed in the stocks for a week. Is that clear to you, Logger?"
"Yes, Ma'am. I don't want to cause any trouble."
"Good to hear. Hop on the tram. We'll move out in ten minutes, as soon as I've cataloged the seedlings." Avery Witcombe had a reputation for being tough as nails, but completely fair. Lauma knew that her only chance of making it through the next two months would be to prove herself to this woman. She sat in the last seat on the tram and looked back over the delicate little saplings. They had so much promise going into their new lives. They would be carefully planted by her team. Painstakingly guarded against disease and pestilence by team Alpha, the horticultural specialists responsible for the growth of trees to maturity. Then, when the axe finally fell, they would be transformed to take on new lives as tables and chairs, beds and wardrobes. Lauma wondered what would become of her after her cannon fired.