by C. J. Harper
I stare around at the others on the table. Toren watches Ven disappear. Paulo is staring into his stew. Kay widens her eyes at me.
‘No adults?’ she asks. ‘No enforcer ones, or guard ones, or leader ones?’
‘Ven seems to be saying that he is the leader one. Is that true?’ I ask Paulo. ‘Is Ven your leader?’
He shakes his head. ‘We don’t say leader. It has negative connotations.’
‘We say captain,’ Toren interrupts. ‘He’s our captain.’ He takes another chunk of bread and tears into it cheerfully.
I stare at Paulo. He looks impassively back at me.
I suppose I’m not used to the idea of someone so young being in charge. I wasn’t exactly comfortable myself when I was trying to lead the Specials at the Academy. And it’s not just that he’s young. He’s so mean. ‘Can you believe he’s the boss?’ I ask Kay.
Kay screws up her nose. ‘Rex runned things.’
‘Rex thought he ran things. And look at the horrible way he behaved with the little bit of power that he actually did have.’
Robin sits down in Ven’s vacated chair, plonking down a half-full bowl of stew and a teddy bear on the table. ‘Who’s Rex?’ she asks, as if she’s been part of this conversation all along.
‘A boy at the Academy,’ Kay answers.
‘Was he your friend? I bet he’s not as nice as my friend.’
‘He’s not nice at all,’ I say. ‘He’s an idiot.’
‘Well, Ven isn’t an idiot,’ Toren says. ‘You’re eating food grown by the Provisions team, using a hydroponics garden updated by Ven. That shirt you’re wearing was procured by another team, who source and catalogue items with a system designed by Ven. You’re safe in this hospital because it’s being guarded by the Defence team who are trained by Ven.’
I look back to Paulo.
‘Ven’s a genius.’ He shrugs. ‘Everybody knows it.’
I stiffen.
‘He’s not smarterer than Blake,’ Kay says. ‘No one is more clever than Blake.’
Toren grins. ‘I guess we’ll see about that.’
Robin gives me a look that is half sympathy and half contempt. ‘You’re more fun than Ven,’ she says, as if that will comfort me. ‘Ven is no fun at all. He stops people having nice times.’
‘How long has Ven been your – what do you say – captain?’ Kay asks.
‘Since the last one died. She was the first ever captain,’ Paulo says.
Finally, we’re getting some information. ‘How long has the Resistance been the Resistance?’ I ask.
Paulo squints. ‘Eighteen years. During the Long War this area was targeted by the Greater Power’s bombing. They moved as many people away as they could and when the war was over they ordered anyone left to get out. They said they were going to “repair and regenerate” but some people refused to go.’
‘Like my parents,’ Toren says. ‘They got together with some of the others who wanted to stay.’
I’m increasingly impressed by anyone who doesn’t blindly follow orders from the Leadership, but I can’t stop myself asking, ‘Weren’t they afraid to stay here in this mess?’
‘They were more afraid of what it would be like living under the Leadership,’ Robin says.
It’s such a cynical, adult thing for a little girl to say that it makes me blink.
‘Were those people Resistance?’ Kay asks.
Paulo nods. ‘They grew pretty rapidly from then on. The Leadership started dumping people here that they wanted to get rid of, including people who had once worked for them. Our first captain, Laurel, was one of them. When she arrived she had a lot of inside information. She joined the group Toren’s parents started and told them that there were people on the other side of the fence who were against the Leadership.’
I’ve finished my bowl of stew and my stomach is aching. I’m not used to this much food any more, but I don’t care because it feels so good to be full for once.
Kay is scraping up the last of her own stew. ‘Do you go back to the other side?’ she asks Toren.
‘Sometimes we send trained people to pick up stuff, but it’s quite dangerous.’
‘We try to produce as much as we can ourselves,’ Paulo says. ‘We’ve got a hydroponics garden, like Toren said, and one of our cells is a farm.’
‘Cells?’ Kay asks.
Robin looks at Kay disdainfully. ‘The Resistance isn’t just the hospital. There are more Resistance people living all around the Wilderness. The groups are called cells. And one of them has got a farm. I might take my friend there one day.’
‘You don’t grow food in the earth, do you?’ I ask. ‘Isn’t the earth . . .?’ I imagine my insides melting away. Who knows what damage has already been done?
‘We can’t steal food to feed the entire Resistance,’ Paulo says. ‘It’s just not practical, besides there are areas of the Wilderness where the land isn’t so bad.’
Which isn’t the reassurance I was looking for.
‘What about the water?’ Kay asks.
‘We filter water to a high level of purity,’ Paulo says.
‘We only go to the other side to get things we can’t get here,’ Toren says. ‘Like technology, like the computers.’
‘Where does the electricity come from for the computer?’ I ask.
‘There’s a generator,’ Robin says. ‘Don’t you know anything?’
‘It runs on diesel,’ Paulo explains. ‘You’d be surprised how much diesel we’ve rounded up – and we’re very careful with it. The computers only come on for vital stuff. Some of the lights even work. But usually we stick with the solar lanterns on dim setting because they’re not bright enough to be noticed from a distance.’
‘There’ve been rows about how we source things,’ Toren says, going back to Kay’s earlier question. ‘There are people here who are really into getting stuff from the other side.’ He exchanges a look with Paulo. They’re obviously thinking of someone in particular. ‘But I think we need to use what’s here, you know?’
‘Toren loves recycling.’ Robin sounds so thoroughly disapproving that we laugh.
‘It’s true,’ Toren says. ‘The houses that still stand, and even some of those that don’t, are like giant stores. We can salvage clothes, tinned foods, bedding, and candles. We’re still finding new stuff.’
I remember the houses that we saw that had clearly already been stripped. ‘It won’t last forever,’ I say.
‘We’re not going to be here forever,’ Paulo says firmly.
Does he really believe that one day the Resistance will triumph over the Leadership and then we’ll all be living in harmony? It seems more likely that the resistance will all be dead before that happens.
Kay drops her spoon in her bowl with a clatter. ‘What do we do now?’ she asks.
‘Hang on,’ Toren says, waving a girl over. When she reaches our table Toren gives her a smile. ‘This is Laurel’s daughter, Tanisha.’
Tanisha nods at us.
‘I have to get back upstairs,’ Toren says to her. ‘Can you show these guys to the recreation room?’
‘Okay.’ She looks at Paulo. ‘You coming too?’
Paulo shakes his head and mutters, ‘Work.’
‘Why don’t you ask me if I’m coming?’ Robin glares at Tanisha. ‘And why didn’t you ask me to take them downstairs?’ she says to Toren.
Toren raises his hands. ‘Easy, Robin! I thought it was your bedtime.’
‘It is her bedtime,’ Tanisha says and she jerks her head to show that Robin ought to be going upstairs. Robin pushes back her chair and stomps away, gripping her bear tight. We can hear her muttering to herself even as we follow Tanisha out of the cafeteria.
‘That’s the main noticeboard,’ Tanisha says, out in the corridor. ‘Anything important goes up there. That’s my office and that’s Ven’s. If you need anything, probably better off coming to me rather than Ven.’
We reach the stairs.
‘You must get fit running up and down
these all day,’ I say.
‘Quicker if you do this,’ Tanisha says and straddles the banister. She pushes off and slides rapidly away from us. That explains why the hand rails are well polished.
Kay looks at me. ‘Can we do it?’ She glances over her shoulder. She’s still expecting an enforcer to appear and start ordering us all around.
‘Of course,’ I say, and clamber on to show her. ‘See?’ I push off.
It’s amazing how much speed you can gather and it certainly saves time. When I get to the bottom I shoot off a little too fast and almost knock over a young boy stood with Tanisha. Kay on the other hand zooms off and lands neatly on her feet like a gymnast.
‘Nice,’ the boy says and smiles at Kay.
‘Amazing, isn’t she?’ I say. ‘Small, but powerful.’
The boy’s turns on me and his smile vanishes. ‘I don’t see why you find it amazing that she’s both those things. You don’t have to be lanky to be physically skilled.’
I take a second look at the boy. Even in the weak light of the solar lantern I can see his chin is covered in stubble. He’s not so young, he’s just short, and I’ve obviously annoyed him by mentioning Kay’s size.
‘I completely agree,’ I say. ‘Kay’s a good example of how height doesn’t matter. She’s way stronger and fitter than I am.’
‘That wouldn’t be hard,’ the boy sneers and turns back to Kay. ‘Are you new?’
‘They’ve just arrived,’ Tanisha says.
‘You should come and work with me,’ the boy says. He leers at Kay in such an obvious way that I’m left open-mouthed at his lack of sophistication. Kay doesn’t even seem to notice his ogling. ‘See you.’ He looks Kay up and down and saunters off without even glancing at me again.
‘Who was that idiot?’ I say in a voice that I hope is loud enough for him to hear.
‘Nard,’ Tanisha says. ‘He’s the captain of the Aqua team.’ She leads us down the corridor in the opposite direction to him.
‘Captain? I thought Ven was captain?’ I say.
‘Uh-huh, Ven is captain and Paulo is his vice-captain. Actually, I think that should be the other way around.’
I think I’m starting to like Tanisha.
‘But everyone is all saying that Ven is a . . . genius,’ Kay says, stumbling over the unfamiliar word.
‘Yeah, seems like that’s just a way of saying somebody who thinks they’re too smart to be nice to people.’
I can’t help smiling at her.
‘So Ven’s the big boss,’ Tanisha says. ‘Then each of the teams has a captain. I’m Defence captain.’
‘That’s fighting, isn’t it?’ Kay asks.
‘Surveillance, guard duty, weapons training and fighting.’
I feel Kay warming to Tanisha.
Tanisha stops in the doorway of a long room. ‘Rec room,’ she says.
By the soft glow of the solar lanterns I can make out a wall of sloping shelves full of books, and a motley collection of ragged chairs arranged in groups. Apart from the literature, it’s depressingly reminiscent of the salon at the Academy. There’s not much to do. The smallest kids have all disappeared; presumably they’ve gone to bed. The teenage members mostly sit in huddles, pouring over strips of paper.
I sit down gingerly on a beaten-up old sofa. It reeks of damp.
‘What are they doing?’ Kay asks.
‘Making plans for tomorrow’s work,’ Tanisha says.
‘What work?’ I ask.
‘Our jobs. Everybody works.’
‘Ven did mention that. But what work can the little kids do?’
‘The kids start with Basic Training. That’s fitness, combat, weapons use, plus reading, writing, science and maths. Ven reckons you’ve got to be a smart soldier to be good soldier. When you hit seven there’s not so much B.T. because you have to work in one of the teams. First off, I was a junior in Provisions helping to grow food, but then we had this Wilderness attack and everyone was saying I was brilliant at fighting them off. Which is true. So I got put on Defence and now I’m captain of the team.’
I don’t know why I’m surprised that they’re so organised. Obviously organisation is necessary for a successful Resistance. ‘If we stay, will Ven be expecting us to work?’ I ask.
‘Everybody works,’ Tanisha repeats. ‘You need to think about what skills you’ve got and what team you’d be good at, right?’
‘Tell the teams to me,’ Kay says.
‘I told you about Defence – my team. Then there’s Provisions – that’s growing and finding food. Intelligence is . . . like finding out stuff about the Leadership. Medical is sorting the sick people. C.C. is looking after the kids, and Education is teaching them – you don’t know enough about stuff to do to that.’
I consider explaining how highly educated I am, but I realise that she’s probably talking about teaching children what the Resistance wants them to know.
‘Catering and Housekeeping is mostly cooking and washing, and then there’s Nard’s team, Aqua—’
‘Hey, Tanisha!’ a girl shouts from the other end of the room. ‘Ven wants you.’
‘Sorry. Better go,’ Tanisha says and hurries off.
Kay looks at me. ‘What’s the Aqua team?’
‘Aqua will be getting hold of water.’ I’m surprised that they’ve put that rude boy in charge of such an important job. But given that Ven is in charge of everything and he’s no ray of sunshine, maybe it’s not that shocking.
‘Tanisha is talking like we’re going to live here,’ Kay says.
It nags at me that despite the fact that both Kay and I have been institutionalised and trained to obey orders, she’s the first one to question Tanisha’s assumption that we’ll stay here. I want so much to destroy The Leader, but occasionally I suspect myself of a secret desire to just go back to being told what to do. I close my eyes. No. The truth hurts, but I am not going to hide from it any more. I’ve got to take control of my life.
‘Do you think we should stay?’ I ask Kay.
‘There’s food and water,’ she says. ‘That’s good. But these people,’ she leans closer to me and lowers her voice even further, ‘do you think they want what you want?’
‘They’re a resistance; they want to stop the Leadership, don’t they?’
‘That’s what Ty said.’
I sigh. I’m impressed with the set-up the Resistance have got here, but the fact that they’ve been around for eighteen years and the Leadership is still going suggests that they don’t feel the same sense of urgency I do. I don’t want to sit around waiting for action.
‘We’ve got to find out what their planning is,’ Kay says.
I nod. ‘You mean what their plans are. Yes, and if they’re no good, we’ll leave.’
I don’t know where the hell we would go, but the knowledge that we have a choice eases my mind.
Kay reaches out and smoothes my tangled hair away from my bruised face. ‘You were brave today,’ she says.
I rub my sore knee. ‘I’m not really cut out for this action hero stuff.’
‘It’s not your skills, is it? Ilex would be laughing about your fighting.’
I nod, not trusting myself to speak. Ilex was my best friend at the Academy. I hope Kay was right when she said that he will have found a safe place.
‘He’d laugh at another thing too,’ she says. ‘He’d laugh at you doing running for me.’
I manage a half-smile. ‘I can’t be doing that all the time. Let’s agree to avoid any more hostage situations.’ I shake my head. ‘It was more hobbling than running anyway.’
She touches my arm and I immediately get a surge of desire. I want to pull her on top of me, I want to leave everything else behind and just be with Kay, like it was in the abandoned house – but she says, ‘Tell me what happened today.’
I take a deep breath.
‘Tell it from the start.’
‘We went to Janna’s office and I saw Ty, but he wasn’t too keen to see me, I think
because he was worried about getting into trouble. He did give me a cryptic – er, that’s like secret – message to tell me that Janna had been sent to a factory. Ven and I went there, dressed as guards, to try and find her to get the password.’
‘What was the factory like?’
If things had gone differently, Kay and I would have been sent from the Academy to a factory when we turned seventeen.
‘Oh, Kay, it was terrible.’ I tell her about the injured workers with their burns and missing limbs. And how the workers are fed according to how much work they have done.
Kay’s face turns pale. ‘At the Academy there were Specials who were all saying that getting to the factory is great. Remember Carma?’
I nod.
‘Carma was thinking that the factory is all food and that girls who made lots of babies like her get better things.’ She rubs a hand across her face. ‘I thinked, I mean, I thought it too. I didn’t think it would be big nice all times, but I believed what the info said about the burgers for workers, didn’t I?’ She looks ashamed.
‘It’s not your fault that you wanted to think that you were going to a nicer place than the Academy.’
She sighs. ‘What happened after you saw all the bad stuff?’
‘We found Janna. She said she’d give us the password, but only if we helped her to escape.’
‘I thought she would be saying that.’
‘Then some real guards turned up. Of course Ven managed to slip away and just left me there. I ended up hanging out the bloody window.’ It seems utterly ridiculous now. ‘And I saw Janna . . . making friends with the guards. She’s was going to tell them everything, I know she was. Then there was an explosion—’
‘Explosion? Like the bombs?’
‘Smaller than the bombs, but—’
Her eyes widen. ‘They explosioned you?’
I can’t help laughing. ‘It hit the gas tanks. Part of the factory fell down.’
Kay looks horrified.
I’m not sure now is the time to go into details. ‘I was fine. And I found Ven in the rubble. I saved him.’
Kay grips my arm as she takes this all in. ‘You’re okay?’
‘Yes, just tired. A bit sore.’
‘What is it that you’re saying about Janna?’