Page 47 of Kraken the Seal

Without giving us a chance to say no, Norris herded us into a nearby car. Dale was in the driver seat, and Norris opened the back door for Nina. She put pressure on my wrist, indicating I should get in first.

Grinning at Norris, I folded myself into the small car. “Thanks, Andy.”

I watched him fight to keep from snarling at me. Fighting a smile, Nina got in after me. I knew why she had me do that. If she got in first, we ran the risk of Dale driving off without me.

Dale refused to look at me as he pulled away from the curb. I noticed a piece of paper taped to the dashboard. It reminded drivers to use the colony card when they needed to fill the gas tank and report any mechanical issues immediately to the mayor's office.

Nina must've noticed it also because she spoke up. “Is this a communal car?”

Norris beamed at her. “Yes, it is. There are ten cars for anyone in the colony to use. Keeping a car can be expensive, and many of our people don't need to travel much. Having these cars means they don't have to worry about paying for a car themselves. At first we only had four, but the schedules were so jam-packed that I kept adding a car until there were finally open spots during the week. That’s when I knew there was enough for everyone.”

“That's actually a good idea,” Nina murmured.

Norris chuckled. “Don't sound so surprised. Being a member of a colony might put limits on personal freedom, but it also means being taken care of and protected. Ah, here we are!”

I was sure they didn’t need to subjugate women to provide cars for everyone, but I kept my opinion to myself.

Dale pulled over on a quiet street. There was a row of small houses, all with simple but well-maintained gardens. As we got out, Norris told Dale to wait for us. Then he led us up the path of a house.

There was a toddler playing in the front yard of the neighboring home and a baby crawling around on a blanket. The woman watching over them looked up and waved.

“Hello!” she said, moving to the waist-high fence separating the yards. Her eyes focused on Nina. “You'll love this house. They just updated the bathroom, and the backyard already has a sandbox and a little play area. It's absolutely lovely.”

Nina's mouth dropped. “Uh no, I think you've got the wrong idea. I'm here with Norris to see something.”

The woman nodded. “Yes, you're here to see the house. It's the only one open in the colony right now. You're so lucky. When Patty and Saul got married, they had to wait almost three months for a house.”

“Because they couldn't get a bank loan?” Nina asked.

The woman laughed. “No, for the colony to buy the house for them.” When Nina continued to give the woman a confused look, she explained. “If you're the firstborn in a family, then you inherit your parents’ house. That means other siblings don’t get anything. It makes it hard for young couples to marry and start a family. Norris started a program where the colony would buy the house and then couples could rent it for a minimal amount. If the couple has three or more children, then they are gifted the house.”

That sounded nice to me, but Nina’s next question made me realize the downside.

“The colony provides cars and houses. Both of those are expensive. Where does the money for all this come from?” Nina asked.

The women looked over at where Norris had paused in the doorway of the house. He gave her a nod. “Go ahead, Nell, you can answer her.”

“Half our profits go to the colony,” she explained. “If you don’t own a business, then half your net pay goes to the colony. But it’s a good thing. If anything goes wrong, the colony has the ability to fix it, especially for our businesses. ”

“Why don’t you guys simply invest in insurance?” Nina asked. “That can provide a good safety net for some things.”

“Mayor Norris handles all that,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. “He makes it easy for us to focus on our families, job, or business.”

I wasn’t sure what to make of all that. I could tell that Nell liked her life, but then there were women like Abby who were very obviously abused.

This selkie colony reminded me of the Amish documentary I'd watched once; both caring and strictly controlling.

Nell’s toddler tumbled to the ground and started screaming. Nell gave us a bemused look.

“I think someone is ready for a n-a-p,” she said. “Come over for coffee if you want to chat some more.”

“It was nice meeting you,” Nina said as Nell turned to lift the baby, then took the toddler by the hand and led him into the house.

“As you can see, we take good care of our families," Norris said as Nina finished walking the short path to Norris at the front door.

“What if someone doesn’t want to have kids?” Nina asked.

“There are some brujas that can help with fertility,” Norris said. “If that doesn’t help, there are some colony members willing to act as surrogates. I’m proud to say that some families took a while, but everyone has children. It’s a blessing to be such a healthy, growing colony.”