by Eliza Green
A sharp clanging noise rattled Anya’s eardrums. June and Tahlia jumped. The metal door rolled up and the first of the wolves walked out. Jerome, Frank and Warren smiled when they saw the half-machine, half-animal contraption.
‘Wow,’ said Jerome.
‘I’m right with you, man.’ Frank grinned and slapped Jerome hard on the back.
Everyone lined up.
The remaining three wolves followed, examining each participant with bright yellow stares. The lead wolf’s eyes looked more orange than yellow.
‘New recruits, welcome to Arcis,’ said the lead wolf. ‘Your role here is simple: work hard and you will be rewarded. The floors are designed to challenge you, so you will leave this place with the skills required to be productive human beings. You will begin your work immediately.’
It was the same speech Anya had been given a month earlier by the same wolf, but in the lobby. The lithe and natural way the wolves moved their bodies mesmerised her. She still couldn’t believe they were machines.
As the busy day commenced, the last of her thoughts about rotation faded, thanks in part to her new friends. She caught herself giggling at Jerome and Frank, at their rough play. She wished she had brothers like them. Jason was far too serious these days. The tension pooled in her stomach at the memory of their last fight.
Ω
Mid-morning, Anya pulled out the apple from her pocket, took a few quick bites and put it away. She hated touching food for too long. Even though her hands were clean, she remembered the slick feel of the girl’s blood on them.
She looked up at the first floor to see the giddiness of the newly promoted participants had been short-lived. An anxious-looking girl she didn’t recognise ran across the walkway from Tower A to Tower B with a file tucked under her arm.
Then she saw Dom Pavesi.
Her breath caught in her throat. Last night, Dom’s dreadlocks had been snipped off just below his scalp. But this morning, his hair was short, tight to his crown. He now looked the age she guessed he was: older than the maximum age for the emerging adult skills programme.
Anya stared at his serious expression as he walked on. Then he stopped, looked down, and locked Anya in his gaze.
Her heart almost stopped. Did he know she’d followed him?
Of course he didn’t.
He nodded at her, but his body was too stiff.
Anya forced a smile and ran a hand over her hair. ‘I like the new look.’
Dom smiled crookedly. ‘More practical this way.’
When he walked on her fear tripled, but her thoughts remained clear.
She had no desire to stay on the ground floor.
She didn’t want to see another dead body.
And the longer she stayed put, the further away she got from Dom.
11
Anya barely saw Dom for the rest of the week, but her new friends kept her occupied. Tahlia and June had become her lunch companions, but her appetite had waned since rotation. She refused to admit it was because Dom had left.
‘I was just looking at how you clean your section, June,’ said Tahlia. ‘You really should use long, broad strokes across the entire section. You only waste energy by tucking the mop in to your body.’
‘I’ll keep it in mind.’
‘I’m only saying. Before I learned how to draw, I painted walls. It’s the same principle. Think of the mop as a brush and your section as a canvas.’
June stayed silent, but her mouth was set into a tight line. Anya knew who had the softer personality before Tahlia even opened her mouth. Would she, June or Tahlia have been friends before the radiation attack and Arcis?
She wondered the same thing about Dom. Would she have given the bad-tempered boy the time of day?
‘So what was Oakenfield like, Tahlia?’ said Anya. The tension between the pair bordered on ridiculous.
Tahlia rolled her eyes. ‘Boring, like all the other towns.’ Her eyes lit up. ‘Did you know Praesidium has a really good art programme? ’
Anya nodded. Apparently, Tahlia had lived with her parents in Praesidium for a year before returning to her town. ‘At least you were allowed to study art in school when you returned.’
They’d all had to choose a skill in school, something to master above all else. For Anya, it had been sport.
‘Yeah. But I didn’t even have spare canvasses to practise on. Paints, yes. I had lots of those.’
Anya wished she had known Tahlia a week ago. She would have asked her to design a birthday card for Jason.
Anya wanted to know how the girls had ended up in Essention, but asking would only lead to questions about her own situation. She pressed her fingers against her ribs to stem the ache. She felt her emotions slip again. June watched her, so she forced a smile and asked another question.
‘What did you do in Goldenvale?’
June returned the smile, but her eyes remained wary.
‘I took up needlepoint at my mother’s request. She said it would come in useful in the factories if they ever needed small hands to do delicate work.’
Anya could easily picture June sitting in front of the fire with her patchwork quilt, and glasses perched on the end of her nose.
‘How did you get into sport, of all things?’ said June.
‘My father wanted me to learn. He said it would make me physically strong, and independent, and give me skills to cope with life.’
June frowned. ‘How so?’
‘He said sport was less about the game, more about building character. Working in a team involves knowing when to pass to your teammate. Working alone is about knowing how far to push your body and when to quit. It also made me stronger for a while.’
‘What sport did you do?’
‘A bit of everything, I guess. I didn’t play in any tournaments or competitions. I just learned the skills. But I’m not very good. And I stopped when... you know.’
‘What about your brother... Jason, right?’ said Tahlia. ‘Did he do sport, too?’
Anya smiled at that image. ‘No. Jason’s more... intellectual.’ She almost let slip he was also Grace’s favourite. ‘Dad encouraged him to learn basic mechanics. Taking apart machines, putting them back together, that sort of thing. But he drifted towards electronics instead. He doesn’t like sport so it was easy for him.’
‘A boy not interested in sport?’ said Tahlia. ‘Well that’s weird.’
‘And a girl who’s interested in sport is just as strange,’ said June with a grin.
Anya studied June’s delicate features: her fine hair; her small oval face and light-blue eyes, which were partially dilated; her petite frame. A delicate flower. She couldn’t picture her doing manual labour for long. But she was the hardest worker among the participants on the ground floor. Anya wondered if she was motivated to progress, like Dom.
Tahlia was the opposite of June: shoulder-length brown hair with pink streaks; stocky frame; round face with brown eyes darker than her mocha skin. She was a foot shorter than both June and Anya. Tahlia would probably rotate first.
She looked further down the table to where Jerome, Frank and Warren sat. They played a game involving dinner knives. Jerome had his hand splayed out in front of him while Warren stabbed the table with his knife, barely missing Jerome’s fingers. Jerome looked terrified but Warren smiled.
She turned her back on the boys, ignoring June’s inquisitive gaze. Tahlia played with her food. Anya wondered if Dom and Sheila were hanging out on the floor above.
‘Are you thinking about your parents?’ said June, her elbows on the table.
Anya’s face burned hot. A new guilt ripped through her.
‘I’d taken off to do some painting that day,’ said Tahlia. She picked up her sandwich and stared at it.
‘I was in the next town over, trading vegetables for fabric and thread,’ said June. Her voice wavered a little.
Anya placed her hand on top of June’s. June wiped away a tear and nodded as if to say she was okay.
/> ‘I...’ Anya faltered, pulling her hand away.
She didn’t want to tell them that she’d been there and had seen it happen and that she felt guilty it had happened, and even guiltier she hadn’t done something to stop it.
‘I was asleep. I didn’t hear a thing until Jason came to get me.’
‘My God, Anya. You were lucky. What if they’d seen you?’
Yes, what if they had? Would I have been next?
Anya coughed to stifle a sob. She glanced at the boys, eager for a distraction, but they paid no attention to the girls’ conversation.
‘What about them? What’s their story?’
‘Frank and Jerome are from Goldenvale, like me,’ said June.
‘Yeah, Warren came from Oakenfield,’ said Tahlia.
June went on. ‘Frank and Jerome are like brothers. Jerome came to live with Frank and his dad when Frank found him stealing food from their garbage.’
‘What happened?’
‘Dunno. His parents died years ago. He was a walking skeleton when Frank found him.’ June leaned in closer. ‘Frank never knew his mother and his father died of radiation sickness.’
Anya glanced at the boys again. ‘Are they, you know...’ Were they a mess like her? Did they wish they could have saved Frank’s father?
June’s smile was kind. ‘Coping? I think so. Frank tries to be all cool about it, but I think he still misses his dad. It’s not the same for Jerome. He’s had more experience with loss.’
‘At least they had each other. And did Warren lose his parents, too?’
Tahlia’s expression hardened. ‘His parents abandoned him to join the rebels.’
‘What? That’s awful.’
‘Don’t feel too sorry for him. He’s always been a bit strange, even in school.’ Tahlia leaned forward. ‘He’s so competitive. I remember after school we used to race each other, you know, just for a bit of fun. But one girl started to overtake him. Well, you should have seen his face. He looked like he was going to lose it with her. But then he just flicked his foot out to the side...’
‘What happened?’
‘She fell and broke her nose in three places. He apologised after, but you could tell he wasn’t sorry he’d done it.’
‘But he seems so nice.’
‘Yeah. We were a lot younger then. I guess people can change.’ Tahlia didn’t sound convinced. ‘I don’t really talk to him much.’
Anya stared down at her uneaten meat-paste sandwich, wishing she could change, wishing she cared more about progression. Dom was right. She needed to move on. Staying put wouldn’t bring her parents back or change how she felt about the rebels.
Her guilt weighed her down and made her chest feel tight. She stood up, desperate for air.
June’s gaze on her forced Anya to smile. ‘I’m just going to the bathroom before lunch is over. See you back in there.’
She wrapped up her lunch and took it outside, passing by a group of boys sitting on the grass playing poker. Dom and Sheila huddled together in another area. Sheila talked while he leaned in, obviously interested in what she had to say.
Anya held her head high and strode past them to an isolated spot, hoping they wouldn’t see her.
But Sheila stood up, twisting a section of golden hair around her finger. ‘Hey, skinny girl. It’s Anya, right?’
Anya stopped and gave her a fake smile. ‘Sheila. So nice to see you again.’
‘Sorry you can’t sit with Dom anymore. You obviously weren’t good enough to make it to the first floor.’
Anya glanced at Dom who stared at his hands. Anger bubbled inside her.
She glared at Sheila. Her eyes were set a perfect distance apart and her nose was small enough not to overshadow her face. She was tall like Dom and her body seemed to have curves in all the right places. Anya’s body was stockier because of her years of sport.
Sheila laughed as she inspected her.
‘You know you only got into this programme because your parents are dead.’
‘Sheila, that’s enough,’ muttered Dom.
‘Your parents were killed and you’re here because they had nowhere else to put the ugly kids.’
Anya made two fists and ground them into the sides of her legs.
‘There’s a reason you’re still on the ground floor. It’s because you’re not good enough to do anything. Okay, so you can push a mop around a floor, but that’s it. They feel sorry for you because you’re such a loser.’
Dom said nothing. Anya pictured him wearing a collar, being led around by Sheila. Her attempt to suppress a laugh failed; the sound came out as a full-blown, unattractive snort.
‘What’s so funny, loser?’
‘Nothing, I was just picturing you taking your pet for a walk, that’s all.’ She glanced at Dom. His dark-brown eyes were on her. Before she lost her nerve, she forced her attention back to Sheila, who had taken a step forward.
She hadn’t felt the urge to fight once since joining Arcis, but now her anger jabbed at her.
Sheila poked her finger hard into Anya’s chest. Anya stepped out of her space, but she came at her again.
‘You can’t talk to me like that, loser. You’re just jealous that Dom doesn’t want to hang around with you anymore. And that’s all it is. Hanging around. He would never want to be with someone as childish as you.’
Sheila jabbed at Anya again, this time finding her left breast. Anya flinched and protected herself with her hand.
Her anger slipped over her like a second skin. She grabbed Sheila’s elongated finger and twisted her arm out to the side. Sheila screamed as Anya pulled her arm behind her back.
‘Get off me.’
Anya yanked Sheila’s arm up her back, far enough for it to hurt, but not enough to break it. Standing behind her now, she resisted the temptation to pull her hair.
Instead, she lifted her foot and jammed it sideways into the back of Sheila’s knees. Sheila dropped to the grass with a thud.
Still gripping Sheila’s arm, Anya eased her forward until she lay face down.
Then she let her go.
Her barely controlled anger snapped like a wild animal.
She raised both eyebrows at Dom. The last thing she wanted was a lecture from him. But her gaze lingered on his lips that twitched with the hint of a smile, and eyes that danced with mischief.
Walk away, Anya. She needed to be the victor.
The group playing poker stared at her. June, Tahlia, Warren, Frank and Jerome stood at the corner, jaw slack and eyes wide. They must have heard Sheila’s scream.
How dare Sheila call me a child.
If only she knew. Her guilt over her parents’ deaths made sleep impossible. Her heart ached most when those she let in, those she trusted with her secrets, betrayed her.
And she fought back when cornered.
Anya stomped back inside, her hands shaking from the depleted burst of adrenaline. The boys slapped her back as she passed. Frank grinned.
‘Anya, I didn’t think you had it in you.’
June and Tahlia followed her. June looked concerned while Tahlia smirked.
‘Girls like that deserve everything they get,’ she said. ‘Where did you learn those moves?’
June shook her head. ‘You’ve just made things worse for yourself.’
Worse how?
‘Sheila and I don’t work on the same floor,’ said Anya.
And if we ever do, I’ll deal with the fallout then.
The siren signalled the end of lunch break. Anya’s stomach rumbled. Her hands shook. She pulled her sandwich from her pocket, unwrapped it and took a few bites. The food in her belly smothered her thoughts and feelings in a thick blanket.
Dom entered the lobby, his eyes downcast and his arm draped around Sheila. She cradled her stomach while she leaned into him for support. Anya shook her head at the obvious play for sympathy; she hadn’t touched her stomach.
Dom avoided Anya’s gaze as he passed, but Sheila shot her a murderous look t
hat caused her breath to hitch.
They climbed on the elevator. The drama fizzled out when the door closed.
But her frayed nerves warned Anya it wasn’t over.
Anger and indifference battled inside her. What was Dom thinking, letting Sheila to speak to her like that?
The calm she felt from having food in her stomach softened her anger.
She walked back to the atrium, head held high. Her insides coiled into a tight uncomfortable knot began to unravel. By the time she’d finished eating, the knot had vanished, along with her reasons for being angry with Dom or Sheila.
She felt calm again.
12
It was a little after five when Anya passed through force field on her way home. The chip in her wrist allowed her access at the start and end of each day. Thick wires overhead carried static cameras. Near the water supply, hospital and Essention’s entrance, silver orbs roamed freely. Jason had told her that the orbs contained cameras. Why were cameras even necessary in trouble-free Essention?
Her bag weighed more than usual with Jason’s extra supplies. She pulled out an apple from his rations. The sharp, tangy fruit popped as she took her first bite.
A new thought slowed her walk to the Monorail. Why wasn’t there ever trouble? Brookfield wasn’t squeaky clean, but they had laws to deal with any problems. Essention had no police presence. Only the guns threatened the peace, but they pointed out from the wall, not in. Apart from Sheila, everyone was so polite and well mannered.
The shaking hands that preceded each meal were gone. She’d been eating more of Jason’s leftovers, which tasted far better than Arcis’ food. She assessed the urbano with a clear mind.
Maybe this was how her life should be: quiet and polite, without endless questions interrupting the silence in her mind.
She looked back at Arcis but froze mid-turn when she saw Dom and Sheila walking through the force field. Dom supported Sheila while she hugged her bent arm to her body.