Eli squinted into the sun. Welcome to Wyoming. The billboard featured snow covered mountains and a cowboy on a bucking horse, the words Forever West underneath. It approached quickly as they sped along the empty highway.

“There. You saw it.” Winter lowered him back to his resting place (more like a fleshy prison) on her lap. Parker would’ve made a better travel companion, but she was grounded after doing something to upset her father (something she wouldn’t share with him). Even Ally would’ve shown more interest than Winter, but she was stuck in summer school.

At least his mom was in high spirits. “It’s beautiful out here,” she said.

“Looks boring,” Winter said. “There’s nothing but hills, trees and dead grass. I can’t see why anyone would want to live out here.”

“Wait till we get to Premoria,” Eli said.

Winter made a retching sound.

“Alright, enough of that attitude,” Mom said. “This is your brother’s trip. If you didn’t want to come, you should’ve stayed home.”

“That would’ve been even more boring,” Winter said. “Especially since you would’ve hired Cece again.”

“What’s wrong with Cecilia?” Mom asked.

“Nothing I guess,” Winter said. “But I’m old enough to take care of myself and Eli.”

“We’ll see how mature you act during the rest of this trip,” Mom said. “Then I’ll consider it.”

Eli wasn’t sure what would be worse: stuck at home with Cece or Winter as a babysitter. Either would be bearable if he could simply hide out in his apartment, but Winter would be less likely to allow it.

“Are you hungry or thirsty?” Winter asked.

“No!” he said.

She giggled. “It’s OK. There’s lots of gas stations and rest areas.”

“I’m not taking any chances.” He could use a bite to eat, but then he’d have to drink. And if he drank, he’d have to piss. He’d rather starve then be subjected to a repeat of last week’s urination episode.

“Suit yourself.” Winter sucked on the straw for her juice drink, slurping the dregs to annoy him.

“Could you be any more disgusting?” he asked.

“Yes.” She burped.

“Not very mature,” Mom said.

“Everyone burps,” Winter said. “Eli does it all the time. He’s just so small, you can’t hear him.” She poked him in the stomach.

He batted her finger, but she poked him again, leaving it there as he struggled to push it away. Determined, he grappled it’s length and bit into the weblike skin between her index and middle fingers.

She giggled and scissored her fingers, trapping his arm in between. He slammed his knee a few times against her bone and twisted, but she reoriented her attacking hand and speared him with a finger against each shoulder. With his back against the palm of her other hand, he was immobilized and breathing hard from the exertion.

“No roughhousing,” Mom said.

“He started it,” Winter said, finally releasing him from the pin.

“Did not!” Eli said.

“Remember what I said about babysitting, Winter,” Mom said. “You’re supposed to be the watcher.”

“I know.” Winter’s hand, the one his back rested against, gave him a warning squeeze.

***

“Wow.”

In spite of this being the last place Winter wanted Eli to see, she couldn’t help but be amazed as they approached the entrance. A miniature version of an air traffic control tower stood before a shiny gate and a tall barbed wire fence. Armed guards flanked the tower, each slightly taller than the tower itself and each wearing a scary black gun on their shoulder.

“I wanna see.” Eli called out from his portable apartment.

“Shhh,” Winter said. He had a window but she didn’t want to aim it to the side, not with all these people watching.

“License and proof of vaccinations, please ma’am.” The nearest guard leaned over and extended a gloved hand.

“Here.” Mom handed over the paperwork.

The guard scanned the license with his handheld computer and examined the readout. “Visitation granted by one Natalie Parker. Is she with you?”

“No, she couldn’t make it,” Mom said. “But we were told we’d be able to show my son the city.”

“Is your son a premie, ma’am?”

Did the guard see him sitting anywhere in the car? Winter wanted to say something smart that would likely get her in trouble but she kept her mouth shut.

“Yes sir,” Mom said.

“We’ll need to ID him.” The guard extended his hand again.

“Yes, of course.” Mom carefully unlatched Eli’s carrying unit and handed it to the guard. The man inserted it halfway into a square slot near the top of the tower. “How long will it take?” Mom asked.

“If he’s wearing a tracking necklace, it should just take a moment, ma’am.”

“He is,” Mom said. “He always wears it.”

“Is this Winter Kincaid?” The guard nodded toward Winter.

“Yes, she’s my daughter,” Mom said. “She’s a trained watcher.”

“Rank three.” Winter didn’t hide the pride in her voice. Most stopped at rank one, the base rank and the one needed act as a watcher in everyday situations. She’d spent a lot of time progressing to rank three. In fact, training beyond her rank didn’t exist outside of Premoria, nor was it needed. Rank four consisted of handling activities in urban microenvironments, something she’d never need.

The guard pressed a finger to his ear. “Two human. Female. One premie.” He paused. “Affirmative.”

The man removed Eli’s container from it’s slot and handed it to Mom. “You can proceed. Follow the signs to the visitors center.” The gates slid open.

“Will we be able to see the city?” Mom asked.

“Follow the signs to the visitors center.” The guard pointed with one hand and waved her along with the other.

Jerk.

Winter glanced back at the line of cars as they drove through the gates. Hopefully everyone in Premoria would be like that guard — Eli would hate it.

They followed the signs as directed, veering from the main road onto an exit labeled Premoria Visitation Center. How could they be ‘in’ Premoria, yet still see none of the city? Obviously the buildings were smaller, but not that small. She’d seen pictures. Many, like the traffic control tower, were taller than her.

“Here we are.” Mom pulled into an empty spot in the parking lot.

“Joy,” she said.

It looked more like a military installation than a visitors center. The tan building was normal sized, three stories with a helicopter pad on the roof. On it’s eastern side, barbed wire surrounded a vast field consisting of mostly flat terrain with low grass.

“Can I get out now?” Eli asked.

“Not a chance.” Winter disengaged the carrier latches and exited the car with Eli still secure in his seat. She followed her mom to the center’s entrance, careful not to swing Eli’s carrier too much.

Another guard, this one lanky and unshaven, scanned them at the entrance. His handheld device beeped as it hovered near Eli’s carrier, but he waved them through without saying a word. She’d read about the heightened security measures after recent anonymous threats, but this seemed a bit ridiculous. What harm could people cause in the visitors center?

Her question was answered as soon as she stepped inside. Against the far wall, panels of glass enclosed a terrarium-like area. Inside, more premies than she’d ever seen in her life (must’ve been two dozen) gathered as if at a picnic. Around the outside, people of various ages mingled, some pointing at the glass, kids crouching to observe the small inhabitants better.

A middle-aged woman with a Premoria 4 logo on her shirt greeted them.

“Welcome to Premoria!” she said, a bit too cheerily. “My name’s Elona. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Yes, um…” Mom glanced at the terrarium.

“My brother wanted to see the stupid city,” Winter said.

“Winter!” Mom said.

“Is this your first time here?” Elona asked, not appearing the least bit upset.

“Yes,” Mom said. “Please excuse my daughter. She’s just a little reluctant to let her brother go, if you know what I mean.”

“I know exactly what you mean.” Elona said. “I take it her brother’s in the carrier?”

“Obviously,” Winter said. “I’m a rank three watcher. I know how to take care of him. Better than any stupid premie city.”

She wasn’t sure why she was feeling so hostile to this stranger, but Elona was the first ‘face of Premoria’ she’d met, other than the scary guards. Whether she liked it or not, her mixed feelings were bubbling out.

“Rank three, wow!” Elona placed a hand on Winter’s shoulder. “In a few minutes, we’ll be starting a microenvironment training session for premies and rank threes or higher. If you want, you’re welcome to join.”

That sounded interesting.

“We really wanted to see the city.” Mom said.

Elona’s smile faded a bit. “I’m afraid you won't be able to do that today, unless you’re a rank four watcher.”

“What?” Mom asked. “I’m only rank two. I didn’t know we needed additional training just to visit.”

“It’s a new requirement after some recent incidents,” Elona said. “The good news is that we provide the training at this center. If you’d like, you can begin working toward rank three while your daughter attends the microenvironment session.”

“What about my son?” Mom asked, clearly flustered by the information. “And how long will it be before we’re ‘trained enough’ to visit? We drove seven hours to get here.”

“Hmm,” Elona’s eyes narrowed. “Well, if you can reach rank three by tomorrow afternoon, entirely possible by the way, you can hire an escort to the outer limits of the city. As for your son, he can join the microenvironment class with his sister.”

Now that sounded like fun.

“I guess we don’t have a choice,” Mom looked to Winter. “Are you OK attending the class Eli?”

“Sure,” his voice came through the container’s speaker. “As long as I can get out of this cage.”

***

Eli sat at a plastic desk that fit him perfectly. Other premies, male and female teens, sat with him in the glass-walled room listening to a bearded instructor. The man’s name was Mr. Powell, and he commanded attention with his piercing, thick-browed gaze.

“This is a binding free zone,” he said. “Anyone know what that means?”

A boy near the front raised his hand.

“Lucas,” Mr. Powell said. They all, including Eli, wore name tags.

“No bindings during training.”

“Correct.” Mr. Powell said. “The premie terrarium and the fenced microenvironment are binding free. Receiving a binding will result in failure of the class. Your choices and performance must be entirely self motivated. Understood?”

“Yes.” Eli nodded with the rest of the class.

“If any of you do eventually move to Premoria, you’ll be able to choose if you wish to live in a binding free zone or not,” Mr. Powell said. “The population is rather evenly divided on the topic, and it gets political, so it’s best to keep your opinions to yourself.

“Regardless of which zone you choose, premie independence is central to Premorian life. If you wish to remain dependent on human caregivers, Premoria is not the place for you. There are far better ways you could spend your money, since as you’re all well aware, it’s not cheap to gain entrance.”

Another round of nods. This guy seemed to know what he was talking about. Though his tone was rough, his words hit home with Eli, relieving an ache he didn’t know he had. An ache for freedom perhaps?

“That being said, survival would be impossible without our human watchers. We acknowledge it. The difference between Premorians and other premies is that we work with humans. We do not let them do the work for us. We share responsibility.”

“What if we need to go somewhere?” A red haired girl asked. She appeared slightly older than Eli and sported a bruise on her right arm. “We can’t just walk outside.”

“Of course you can,” Mr. Powell said. “You’ve got two legs, don’t you?” The girl bowed her head, her freckled face reddening. “First and foremost, residents of Premoria are independent. If it’s something you could and would do as a human, and if it’s not breaking any laws, do it!”

“What about bug alerts?” A pudgy boy asked. He too had red hair and sat to the right of the girl, most likely related. “I read about the ant alert the other day.”

“Ah you did did you?” Mr. Powell asked. “Then I assume you also read no one was injured during the event. Yes, we have laws concerning pest invasions and proper behavior during them, but so long as you keep your head straight, you’ll be fine.”

“What if we break the law?” The teenaged boy wore torn denim jacket and sunglasses.

Mr Powell smirked. “Well Ethan, if you break the law, you’ll be arrested. If you stop drinking premie powder and walk into an ant bed, you’ll die. Any other brilliant questions?”

***

Though the hard hat and orange vest seemed like overkill to Eli, he wasn’t complaining. No, he was walking — walking outside, in real dirt, in the real world. Even Mr. Powell’s gruff command to get back in line did nothing to remove his grin.

The earth — the first time he’d set foot on it since becoming a premie — and it felt like he remembered. Except for the occasional rock of unusual size, it was dirt, nothing more nothing less. Yet, he could kiss it, and he might’ve if not for Powell’s watchful eye.

Grass, more foreboding and eerily tall, sprouted to either side of the well worn path they followed. It looked well maintained, but not somewhere he wanted to venture. Though he treaded across some greenery on the path, it had long since been stomped flat and posed no obstacle whatsoever. If there were bugs, he didn’t see any, though he kept his eyes open as if on a lion safari.

They reached an area demarcated by a wide circle of marbled rock. He followed the instructor and the other students into the center and sat as directed, facing the visitor center from which they’d come. He couldn’t help but look behind, leering at the unusual collection of machines and structures. Unusual not because he’d never seen an unfinished building or a bulldozer, but because they appeared to be his size. Perhaps they were simply distant, his vision playing tricks.

“Eyes over here, soldier.” Mr. Powell, his face a wall of stoicism, nodded to Eli.

“In a moment, you’ll be joined with your watcher,” Mr. Powell said. “They’ve been instructed to provided protection and limited assistance but nothing more. Failure on your part or your watcher’s in following of the rules will result in failure this class. You are not allowed to retake the class more than once a month. Understood?”

Everyone nodded, but Eli zoned out as the center’s side door opened and the humans marched toward them. He couldn’t see Winter, but they walked in a single file line, led by Elona. At least it explained the well trodden path. They probably held this class daily.

Mr. Powell continued talking about safety protocol as the giants gathered and sat in concentric circles around the rock formation. Winter, he finally saw her, stole the last spot on the inner circle. Her eyes scanned the premie class until they met his and her smile appeared.

The girl beside her, her brown hair shaved on one side, reached into the class, her dark nailed finger coming straight for Eli. It stopped, gave a quick pat to the boy in front of him, and retreated to her lap.

Mr. Powell stopped talking and turned to face the girl. “Lindsey, please take your brother and exit the grounds immediately.”

“Aww, what’d you have to do that for?” The boy jumped up and stormed toward his sister. “Now I gotta wait a whole month before I can come back!”

Lindsey merely rolled her eyes and gathered her brother in her hand. “So. It’s a stupid class anyway. I’ll give you a binding and we’ll go get Starbucks. How’s that sound?”

“Any flavor I want?” The boy’s voice was more distant now, but he could still hear it.

“Yup.” Lindsey, clearly putting on a show by trying to break as many rules as possible, stuck her tongue out at Mr. Powell and got up. The circle parted so she could exit, followed closely by Elona, the latter remaining mysteriously quiet throughout the episode.

“Anyone else want to pet your premie?” Mr. Powell’s steely gaze fell upon the humans.

Eli looked straight at Winter, mentally reprimanding her in his head. Her eyes narrowed and her fingers thrummed on her exposed shin (they apparently didn’t make humans wear protective clothing), but thankfully, those same fingers made no movement in his direction.

***

Winter considered her options.

It would be so easy to end the class. Just a single reach toward her brother, perhaps even a single interruption, and they’d be out. Of course, she’d never hear the end of it. Besides, this class counted toward meeting a requirement for rank four. By nature, she was a completionist, and she wanted rank four.

She wasn’t sad to see Lindsey go. Before class started, the girl jabbered on about how she’d just gotten her driver’s license, and how she could go anywhere she wanted. She’d talked about her little brother as if she owned the kid. How she’d bind him and he’d happily paint her nails. If he became sour after the binding wore off, she’d simply bind him again or give him a piece of chocolate. Since Lindsey’s brother had acquired the shrinking mutation, he’d gone from ‘loud and annoying to quiet and adorably subservient’.

Winter wanted to snap at the misguided teen, but Lindsey was older and a little scary so Winter didn’t say anything. Plus, guiltily, it made her think about how she treated Eli. She’d never forced Eli to paint her nails, nor given him candy, but she did bind him, sometimes unsolicited. Often unsolicited.

Still, she had her reasons, and they were far more honorable than Lindsey’s. She loved her brother. Any bindings she gave him outside of his requests were out of love and care for his wellbeing — not to take advantage of him.

She refocused her attention. The premies really did look incredibly cute gathered there, as many of the girls (and some boys) had commented on the walk over. As watchers, their primary duty during the class would be to ensure protection from outside influences. This included defending against bugs, small animals, and harsh weather — standard stuff that she’d learned a long time ago.

The new training, new to her at least, included microenvironment awareness. They were erecting premie structures (houses, pools, warehouses, etc.) and as humans, they needed to learn how to handle themselves in such developing environments in addition to providing assistance when called upon. The last part, ‘when called upon’, was of utmost importance, at least according to Elona.

The knowledge would benefit her in Premoria (not that she’d ever need it), since the city was always expanding. Premoria relied on premies to initiate and do many of the construction activities, therefore it expanded slowly, far more slowly than if humans did the work.

It didn't make sense to Winter. Sure independence was important, she guessed, but humans could get it done so much faster. It just seemed ridiculous, especially since premies could hurt themselves in a million different ways. Still, it wasn’t the first thing she’d ever disagreed with when it came to premie handling, and it wouldn’t be the last. So she simply memorized the rule as usual.

Mr. Powell finally stopped lecturing and they were on the move. Move wasn’t the right word. More like stand still while the premie class walked toward their buggies. Thank heavens they had motorized transportation. Even at premie scale (the buggies looked like remote controlled cars), it would allow her class to walk at a normal pace.

Though the landscape was nothing more than large back yard, the variety of vehicles and construction material scattered about made her feel like a giant. It was all to scale, premie sized. Scaffolding frames not much larger than the popsicle houses she made as a kid. Dump trucks indistinguishable from Eli’s old toys, missing only the Tonka stickers on the sides.

She couldn’t help but smile as she watched premie workers pile into the vehicles and drive to various locations in the field. The motors sounded electric, faint high pitched whines, no puffs of smoke. In fact, no exhaust pipes noticeable on any of the machines. Sure, they were green, but what could such little vehicles really accomplish?

She split from her class and followed Eli’s buggy toward a site that bordered the higher, greener grass. She’d have to keep her eye on the grass and surrounding area. In spite of all the precautions, it made her uneasy, Eli being exposed like this. She didn’t care what Mr. Powell said, if Eli was in the slightest danger, she wouldn’t hesitate to collect him and walk right out.

They reached the site, nothing more than a small expanse of ground that sloped inward, a shallow bowl shape. She didn’t know the names of the machines, but one had a pair of scoops, the other a metallic rolling pin. And of course there was the buggy.

Donald (according to his nametag) and Eli stepped out and surveyed the area.

“After you get the thickness of the foundation, you need to prepare the ground.” Donald pointed to the slightly concave area. “First clear it of any disruptive objects. Stones, branches, and leaves, shit like that.”

“Can I use the front loader?” Eli asked.

“Not yet,” Donald said. “Work up a sweat first. Get dirty. Then I’ll consider it.”

“Isn’t it dangerous?” Winter asked. It seemed crazy they’d let her brother drive construction equipment without even having a driver’s license.

Donald turned around and craned his neck to look at her. She bit her lip and lowered herself into a cross legged sitting position nearby. Far enough to be out of El’s way, but close enough to rescue him should the need arise.

“You’re here to observe and protect,” Donald said. Though he spoke sternly, he wasn’t as angry sounding as Mr. Powell.

“I can help a little though, right?” she asked.

“Once every ten minutes,” Donald said. “And only if Eli requests it.”

Eli struggled with the first branch he’d encountered, dragging it behind him as he fought his way toward the edge of the earthen depression.

“OK,” she said.

Insane.

She could clear the entire ‘foundation zone’ with a few swipes of her hands. If this was how they approached everything, no wonder Premoria had no room for more occupants. Not that she minded, Eli had no business in Premoria, but it was silly nonetheless.

She spotted a few grasshoppers and a beatle, but nothing threatening. The bugs would live so long as they kept their distance from Eli. But if they came close, she didn’t care if it was a harmless grasshopper, she’d squash it flat. Killing insects didn’t make her happy, but when it came to protecting her brother, she wasn’t taking chances.

Aside from monitoring the ‘wildlife’, she checked her phone at least once a minute. After ten minutes finally passed, she asked, “Need any help Eli? It’s been ten minutes.”

“I think” — he huffed and puffed, waddling with a pebble in his arms — “I’m doing OK.”

“C’mon you’re gonna hurt your back,” she said. “At least let me get the big one.” She pointed to rock which, while far from ‘big’, would certainly be too heavy for him to carry. She doubted even his little scoop machine could manage it. It looked heavier than the entire vehicle.

“Nope.” Eli dropped the pebble and heaved deep breaths, in and out. “Doing just fine.”

“Fine.”

So stupid. The only good thing was that Eli would be too sore to move tomorrow and she’d get to carry him around.

“Can I use the front loader now?” Elia asked Donald.

“Have at it,” Donald said without looking up from his magazine. “Gas is on the right, brake on on the left. The controls — ah, you’ll figure it out.”

“What do you mean?” Winter asked, not masking the irritation in her voice. “You’re not going to show him?”

“He’s a smart kid.” Donald leaned back in the rolling pin machine’s chair. “He’ll figure it out. Worst case he veers off into the grass at which point you can help him out.”

“I guess,” she said as Eli, his energy somehow restored, bolted toward the machine. She didn’t fight the situation because she didn’t want them to be kicked out (yet). And because, honestly, she could simply lift the entire vehicle and rescue him at a moment’s notice.

Winter winced as the vehicle lurched forward, but relaxed as Eli ran a few circles around her, apparently getting used to the speed. He slowed as he approached the rock and worked the front scoop, shifting it up and down, tilting it forward and back. She assumed the controls were simpler than a real ‘front loader’, but she wouldn’t tell him that. He seemed happy operating it. Maybe she could get one for him at home.

Finally, he lowered the scoop, angling it slightly downward and bumped it against the rock. The scoop raised, but merely slid against the side of the rock, so he returned it to it’s previous position. Then, he backed up.

Was he going to ram it? Idiot.

She could hardly watch as the vehicle accelerated, slamming into the rock, but barely moving it. Thankfully, Eli seemed OK, his foot still on the accelerator. The vehicle’s tires, all four of them, spun in the dirt, digging little ruts until it bottomed out. Still no progress on moving the rock and now he appeared to be stuck, the wheels spinning in the reverse direction but going nowhere.

She wanted to say ‘told ya’, but she resisted. Even from this angle, he seemed crestfallen, and stupid Donald wasn’t doing anything to help. She had half a mind to reach over and thump the older man in his helmet.

Eli stepped out and circled his machine, inspecting the tires. Then he gave the rock a push — a sight so comical she almost burst into laughter. Heck, even she’d have to use two hands to lift it. Either that or kick it away. Of course he wouldn’t be able to move it. Heavens! It would be so easy for her to fix everything and make him happy again, but he had to be the one to ask for help.

Finally, as if reading her mind, he turned and asked “Can you get the loader unstuck?”

“I can move the rock too,” she said, already reaching for it.

“You can help with one thing every ten minutes,” Donald said.

“That’s not fair.” Her hand froze in the air. “It’s been over twenty minutes so I can help with both.”

“No,” Donald said. “This isn’t a phone plan. Your minutes don’t roll over.”

She grumbled to herself. He seemed to be making up rules as they went along. “Let me move the rock,” she said to Eli. “You’ll be able to drive forward to get unstuck.”

He shook his head. “No, I’ll take care of the boulder. Just help me back the loader out.”

He hopped in the cab, shifted into reverse and spun the wheels. As if that would help. She rolled her eyes, but played along nonetheless, carefully gripping the rear of the vehicle. The smaller scoop on the back made for a good handle. She had to give it a little tug (the machine was heavier than she thought), but it came free of the rut without a problem.

Perhaps she could ‘accidentally’ roll the rock too. She glanced at Donald. Drat — he’d stopped reading his magazine to observe the operation. Reluctantly, she drew her hand away and checked her phone.

Ten more minutes.

Eli charged at the rock again, this time from a different angle. Wheels spun. The engine emitted a high pitched whine. The rock remained in place.

She grit her teeth.

Nine more minutes.