by Eliza Green
His strength overpowered her, but she fought him until he let go.
She spun around to face him, to say something smart, but his discomfort shocked her into silence. Her cheeks blazed, disguised under the pale moonlight.
‘Maybe we should talk through the move first.’ Dom sounded nervous. ‘When someone grabs you from behind, you have about a second to react.’
They assumed the same position and he held her as before. She resisted less this time.
‘You need to straighten your arms, and push them out.’
She followed his instructions.
‘Then, grab my hands, while stamping your foot on mine.’
She complied, and stamped her foot gently on his.
‘Then, when the attacker’s hands are open, pull one arm from his body, turn and drive your elbow into his chest.’
Dom let go and she pulled his arm first to unsteady him. She placed her elbow against his chest.
‘Now, let’s do that again without the tutorial.’
Dom grabbed her from behind. She locked her arms and pushed them away from her body while finding his foot with hers. As soon as he released her, she grabbed an arm and pulled. While his chest was open she drove her elbow towards it, but stopped short of making contact.
Dom stepped back. ‘Then you run, or stay and fight. Your choice.’
She turned and grinned at Dom. ‘That was fantastic.’
His eyes danced with a lightness she hadn’t seen before. ‘See? All it takes is a little practice.’ He looked at his watch. ‘Come on, it’s getting late. We should get back before the scanners do their thing.’
They walked back to where they’d left their bags and tunics. Dom dropped the key off at Charlie’s house. She wanted to know who Charlie was.
Better to leave it and not spoil the evening.
The comfortable silence between them relaxed her as they rode the Monorail together.
But when she saw Dom preparing to get off at Sheila’s stop, her heart sank. Was he going to see her now, to pick apart every personal detail about their evening together?
‘Come by tomorrow. We’ll pick up where we left off.’
Anya nodded, her mouth tight. ‘Sure. Thanks.’
She waved at him, not as Sheila did, but more like a friend would. Because that’s all they were, if even that.
She wanted to meet him again.
By the time she reached her stop, she’d talked herself out of it.
17
Rotation was becoming a distant, bad memory and Anya was starting to feel good about things to come. At Arcis, she still buzzed from the previous night’s session with Dom: his hot breath on her cheek; his fingers grazing her clothes, her skin; the contours of his body pressed up against her. She grinned and jerked her mop at each new private thought.
Dom is with Sheila, her inner voice warned.
I don’t care. Just let me feel this for a while.
Tahlia and June slowed their own work efforts before abruptly stopping. The inquisitive look on Tahlia’s face sent Anya into a fit of giggles.
‘What is with you today?’ said Tahlia.
‘What?’ Anya smiled and lifted her brows.
‘You look like the cat that’s got the cream.’
She didn’t want to dish the details, but from the looks on their faces, leaving them hanging wasn’t an option, either.
‘I went for a run last night.’
‘Aaand?’ said June.
‘And nothing. I used to do sport before I came to Essention, remember? I miss it. That’s all.’
This was true. But it wasn’t why she felt the way she did. Last night she’d convinced herself not to meet Dom again, but in the light of day her new feelings had changed her mind.
June rested her hand on the top of the mop handle. ‘Are you sure there’s nothing else?’
Anya avoided her inquisitive gaze. ‘Of course. What else would there be?’
‘I don’t know. A certain tall, dark, handsome someone who’s on the first floor? Don’t think we haven’t noticed how the two of you look at each other.’
‘No!’ Her shriek prompted Warren to look over at her. Blood pooled in her cheeks. ‘No,’ Anya repeated, softer this time. ‘There’s nothing going on. He’s with Sheila.’
June shuffled in closer. ‘I heard they broke up.’
‘Who told you that?’
‘They did. I saw them getting into the elevator this morning and she looked angry with him. He looked anywhere but at her.’
Anya’s stomach somersaulted at the thought she might be the reason they’d broken up.
‘Well, I can’t say I’m surprised. It was bound to happen. But what does that have to do with me?’
June rolled her eyes. ‘Now he’s free and you can go for it.’
‘I’m sure he’ll find someone else in no time.’
Anya pushed her mop across the floor. She heard June groan.
Her feelings for Dom were new, and the possibility of dating him intrigued her. But what did they have in common? Dom was moody most of the time and they fought way too much.
But what if he and Sheila really had broken up?
Anya looked up to see Warren staring at her. The second she noticed, he looked away.
Ω
After her shift ended, Anya headed for the factory in Southwest. Her previous pep talk, the one where she’d told herself not to look for Dom, had been all for nothing. Willpower be damned.
The side door was locked. Anya spun around, half-expecting Dom to be standing behind her, but he wasn’t. She waited around for a while, then traced the path to the running track to find the gate locked. When she looked through the iron railing, she saw none of Dom’s things on the ground.
Disappointment tugged at her heart, and she turned to go. The streets were quieter than when she’d arrived, and the retreating day gave way to a dark and shadow-filled night. She saw a figure stood underneath the Monorail. Dom? She was about to jog over to him when the figure stepped out.
Her smile faded.
‘What are you doing here, Warren?’
‘I’m just out for a stroll. You look like you were expecting someone else.’
He wore Essention’s day uniform of brown tunic and black trousers. His black shoes were scuffed around the edges, as though he enjoyed kicking walls in his spare time. He looked awkward, with his head lower than his rounded shoulders. It was her first time to speak with Warren, the quietest member of their group. Tahlia’s depiction of him—as wily and competitive—didn’t ring true.
‘Nope. I’m doing the same.’
‘Mind if we walk together? I’m bored of being cooped up in the house.’
Anya could understand that. ‘Sure.’
They walked around Southwest for a while. Anya hoped Dom might see her with Warren and regret standing her up. But soon, she felt the eyes of Southwest close in on her.
‘Let’s go back to East,’ she said.
Warren looked disappointed. ‘Okay. We can take the Monorail if you’d like?’
‘No, I mean we could walk the long way around. I don’t feel like going home, either.’
Warren’s shoulders relaxed and he smiled.
As they walked along the inner wall in the direction of Arcis, Warren kicked a stone with the side of his shoe. ‘Your brother works around here, doesn’t he?’
‘Yeah,’ Anya said, pointing behind them. ‘In the food factory.’ She glanced at him. ‘Um, Tahlia told me your parents joined the rebellion.’
Warren concentrated on the stone he kicked ahead of him. ‘I didn’t know Tahlia was so interested in my life.’
Anya flinched at his cool reply. ‘I don’t think she meant anything.’
‘Well,’ he said through gritted teeth, ‘she could do with minding her own business.’
‘It’s not her fault. I asked.’
‘She likes to tell tales. What else did she say?’
Anya thought it best to say nothing about he
r story of Warren tripping up the girl during the race.
Warren stared at her. His jaw was clenched. ‘That’s what I thought. Some bullshit about me in school, no doubt.’
‘Um, Jerome and Frank are nice.’
Warren shrugged and looked away. ‘I think sometimes they’d rather I wasn’t around.’
‘Why?’
He shot her a surprised look. ‘It’s a guy thing. I’m not into fighting as much as they are, despite what people say.’
‘Well, that shouldn’t matter. You’re part of the group. Tahlia and June like you.’
‘June, maybe. Tahlia’s never been my number one fan.’
‘Why?’
‘She seems to think of me as this dick who goes around beating people up.’
‘Because of the girl and the race?’
‘So she told you about that? It was one time. God, she doesn’t forget anything. She’s labelled me this over-competitive freak who will do anything to get anywhere.’ He stopped walking. ‘I’m just trying to survive, like everyone else.’
Tahlia had a sharp tongue. Anya wondered if she’d exaggerated the truth a little. ‘Well, I like you.’
Warren lifted his eyebrows. ‘Yeah?’
She caught the hopeful tone in his voice and quickly qualified.
‘As a friend.’
‘Good enough, I suppose.’
He pushed his hands deep into his pockets. ‘Do you have your eye on someone else?’
Were her new feelings for Dom that obvious? No more. From here on in, she would become a nun.
‘No. I don’t have time for any of that. I just want to figure out what I want.’
Warren kicked a larger stone ahead of him with the tip of his shoe. ‘I know what you mean. Arcis will be good for us. I guess the programme will help us deal with the last couple of months.’
They had been through a lot: the rebel attack, the radiation sickness.
Anya nodded. ‘I hope so.’
A silence lingered between them that didn’t feel as natural as her silence with Dom. She felt the urge to break it somehow.
‘So, how are you finding the skills programme at Arcis?’
He shrugged. ‘Okay, I suppose.’
They passed through the central point of Essention, near Arcis. The street lights flickered briefly. Warren looked up at the monstrous building with its black towers and glass heart. The lighting enhanced his strawberry-blond hair. His face was dotted with freckles and his eyes were a pale blue. Warren was a handsome guy, but Anya didn’t feel an attraction.
‘It’s a bit boring, if I’m being honest. I just want to finish it and get out of there. What do you want to do when it’s all over?’
Anya rolled her bottom lip through her teeth. ‘I have no idea. Something in Praesidium, I guess.’
‘Yeah, that’s where I want to end up, too. Not in some pokey town fighting for resources. I hear Praesidium is full of endless opportunities. You can do whatever you want there.’
Anya hugged herself at the mention of the capital. ‘Doesn’t it bother you that it’s controlled by so many machines?’
Warren laughed, short and shrill. He stopped walking. ‘You lost your parents to the rebels, right?’ Anya hesitated, causing Warren to smile. ‘I overheard you talking to June and Tahlia. I might not say much but I listen a lot.’
She nodded.
‘So we both have something in common. The machines in Praesidium can protect us from the rebels’ lies.’ Warren rested his hands on Anya’s shoulders. He leaned in so close she thought he might kiss her. But he aimed for her ear.
‘We need to stick together, Anya. Make it through the programme. Get on with our lives. We can’t let the rebels steal our basic rights from us. There are people in Arcis who shouldn’t be trusted. Like that Dom Pavesi you hang around with.’
Anya’s pulse thumped in her ears. ‘What’s wrong with Dom?’
‘Nothing. Something. I don’t know. He’s unfriendly.’
‘Do you know him? Have you two met before?’
Warren shook his head and pulled back. ‘I know his type. Tall, good-looking, arrogant. They were all over my school in Oakenfield.’ He paused as if caught up in an old memory. ‘I’m looking forward to rotation. Have you been through it before? What happens exactly?’
Her thoughts shot to the dead girl. Accident or not, she still remembered the wet sticky feel of the girl’s blood on her hands. ‘I’ve seen it once. I don’t recommend it.’
‘Why?’ He slid his hands back into his pockets and walked on. ‘Rotation is a good thing. It means we’re closer to getting out of Arcis.’
‘I just mean it doesn’t end well for everyone.’
Warren stopped walking and frowned at her. She caved and told him about the boy and the girl without faces, and how she’d been forced to clean up after the wolves took their bodies away. She failed to mention she’d vomited, or how clinical the others had been about it. He let out a low whistle.
Anya suddenly felt sick. ‘Do you mind if we get the train back now?’
‘Sure.’
They stood together behind the yellow line on the platform. A train whooshed in and stopped almost instantly. They boarded the half-full train.
Warren dropped into the seat beside her. His leg brushed against hers and she made herself smaller. She wanted to be alone, to think about rotation and moving on.
‘Maybe we should stick together,’ said Warren. ‘Make it to the first floor? We could watch each other’s backs.’
She hadn’t considered forming alliances in Arcis. She wanted responsibility for no one but her.
The train pulled off. ‘You seem to have that well covered with Jerome and Frank. Besides, I’d just hold you back.’ It’s not that she didn’t appreciate the offer.
‘Yeah, they’re nice but I don’t fit in there. June and Tahlia have each other. So that just leaves you and me. Besides, I saw how you handled Sheila. That was impressive.’
Anya wished she could agree, but Sheila didn’t seem like the type to forgive and forget.
Warren readjusted himself in his seat while Anya squirmed in hers.
‘Come on. Just you and me.’
‘This isn’t a game, Warren. We’re not here to pair off. This is real life.’ Her tone was sharper than she’d intended. ‘I can’t be responsible for anyone’s success or failure in there. I just can’t.’
Warren rested his arm on the back of her seat causing her to shift forward slightly.
‘Look, I’m just suggesting you think about it.’ He sounded hurt. ‘I can be a good person to ally with. And I don’t need babysitting.’
‘I’m sorry, Warren. I’m just sick of everyone telling me what I should do.’
He moved his arm off the seat and rested his hands on his legs. ‘Just think about it, please. We’ll need each other at some stage and it would be better if we guaranteed each other an early exit from Arcis.’
‘I will.’
For the remainder of the short journey, Warren bit his fingernails while Anya gazed out the window. When her stop approached she headed for the door.
‘Thanks for the company tonight, Warren.’ She smiled back at him. ‘I will think about it, I promise.’
‘Sure. See you tomorrow.’
Anya jogged down the stairs to street level and ran all the way home.
18
Anya returned to the factory twice more over the next couple of days, but there was still no sign of Dom. She told herself it was just for the self-defence lessons. Nothing more. But in Dom’s absence, she picked apart every detail of their last night together. The silence on the train had been so soothing and natural—was that just Dom having second thoughts about their friendship?
She tried to get on with her work, to stop searching for him on the first floor. Then she saw him, weak, pale and limping. Her heart dropped into her sturdy shoes when he didn’t look down. He hadn’t searched for her once since their night in the playground.
; She replayed every tiny detail of his conversation with Charlie in her head.
So, what are we talking about? A couple of weeks before we lose contact?
There’s someone I need to keep safe.
Warren became her new companion at lunch and tried to include her in Jerome-and-Frank-fuelled conversations. Despite Tahlia’s wary glances—and, more recently, June’s—she liked him. An alliance could be advantageous. Had she been looking at this programme all wrong? Tahlia and June had become closer. This was how her friendships started and ended; inclusion and friendliness followed by exclusion and secrets. She liked Tahlia and June, but Tahlia had Warren all wrong and now June believed her tales.
When it came to Jerome and Frank, it would take a crowbar to separate them. Frank was a risk-taker, whereas Jerome was more sensible and reined in Frank’s enthusiasm when the wolves were about.
Warren nodded at her. She gave him a short smile. Maybe she should start thinking about her progression in the programme.
But her need to talk to Dom, to know why he was ignoring her, overwhelmed her thoughts. Surely they could get over whatever was wrong?
That evening, she waited by one of the Monorail stilts close to the stairs leading to the platform. She rolled a stone underfoot. What if he just walked past her? Would she follow?
She waited thirty minutes. He never showed. Either he’d left early or was still inside Arcis.
Anya trudged home to her empty, grey unit that made her miss her house in Brookfield every day. Jason had new friends at the factory and even less time for her now. And when he was home, he was either in his bedroom, or in the bathroom, washing away evidence of his fighting. But Jason wasn’t a fighter. Not even close. Even his talk of the outside had stopped. What was he hiding?
Anya ignored the rations Jason had left on the kitchen table. She opened the pristine white cupboard doors to see the daily rations from Essention: potted meat, two cans of beans (one missing) and the remnants of a loaf of bread, hard and stale.
She picked out a white bowl and fork, and scooped enough meat for one from an individual pot into the bowl. She sliced through the resistant loaf and ate alone in the sterile kitchen, at the white kitchen table, on a cold metal chair, inside the oddly discomforting unit that always felt like a stop along the way, never a home.