The ARC 01: Tainted

by Alexandra Moody

  I inhale sharply and Sebastian clamps his hand down over my mouth.

  Stars.

  The dust cloud that covers the earth has always been so thick, and the storms so violent, it was hopeless to even dream that we would see them again, at least not in the foreseeable future. The sediment that clouds the air isn’t supposed to settle for at least another ten years, or so we’ve been told.

  ‘What does this mean?’ I whisper to Sebastian.

  ‘I wish I knew,’ he whispers back.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The Council meeting continues on for the better part of an hour. There is no more talk of stars and I wonder at how the councilmen could have such an indifferent response to the discovery. The only conclusion I can come to is they were already well aware of the change in the surface conditions.

  I don’t know whether this is good or not.

  My stomach begins to grumble in sad complaint as the time gets later. We should’ve had dinner ages ago and after playing basketball I’m like a fuel tank running on empty. It certainly doesn’t help when one of the agenda items discussed by the Council is food rationing—like we need more restrictions on the meagre portions we already get.

  I know that the meeting is finally drawing to a close when a councilman named Perkins is told his problems with the plantation irrigation system will be put on the agenda for the next meeting.

  By the time the councilmen finally leave, my head is drooping down on Sebastian’s shoulder and my eyes feel heavy from being in the warm, dark cupboard for such a long time.

  Sebastian gently pushes the strands of hair that have fallen in front of my face back behind my ear. ‘Are you awake?’ he whispers. My eyes have adjusted to the darkness in the closet now and as I yawn and glance up at him I catch a strange look in his eyes. My heart seems to stutter for a second and I almost forget he asked me a question.

  ‘Just,’ I answer, quickly looking away. I sit up straight, putting distance between us, and stretch my arms out above my head. ‘Do you think it’s safe to leave?’

  ‘Only one way to find out,’ he responds.

  I hear him shuffle as he makes his way to the door, through the curtain of robes we hide behind. There’s a soft squeak as he turns the door handle and a shaft of bright light enters as he opens the door.

  ‘All clear,’ he calls, pushing the door wide. I clamber on my knees towards the light and let out a huge sigh of relief when I’m back in the Council Chambers. Sebastian takes my hand and helps pull me off the floor. My legs feel like jelly under me after sitting still for so long.

  ‘Let’s get out of here,’ I say, eager to finally feel safe again after what seems like an eternity on edge.

  Sebastian doesn’t argue this time. He got what he came for. Unfortunately, I doubt he intended on leaving with more questions than he had before.

  We manage to exit the chamber and make our way back into the hallway without anyone noticing. I can’t get away from the chambers quickly enough, and we’ve walked for several minutes before I feel safe enough to talk about what just happened.

  ‘So what do you think?’ I ask, when we turn down an empty corridor.

  ‘I think you better start eating porridge with all the rationing that’s about to begin in the North Wing.’

  ‘You know that’s not what I mean!’

  Sebastian laughs, but the sound he makes is rigid and I can tell his thoughts are deeply focused on the stars we’ve just heard about.

  ‘Be serious. What do you think this means?’

  ‘I think things are about to change,’ he answers cautiously.

  ‘Change how?’

  Sebastian stops walking and turns to me, before he quietly says, ‘I don’t know, I’m scared to even think the words. Let alone say them aloud.’

  ‘You think we’re going to return to the surface?’ I whisper, looking over my shoulder to check the corridor is still empty.

  His eyes flicker to mine before looking away. In that one glance I can see how desperately he wants it to be true. ‘Yes,’ he says simply.

  A part of me wants to agree with him, but a larger part of me knows there’s more to this. That a glimpse of the stars through the ravaged night skies isn’t a clear signal the surface is changing.

  ‘There has to be a reason they’re covering it up though,’ I say slowly, trying to be careful with my words so as not to upset the hope I see in Sebastian’s eyes. ‘They clearly don’t want people to know about it. What if returning is not possible and that’s why they’re keeping it from us?’

  Sebastian’s shoulders slouch down in defeat. ‘We don’t know why they’re keeping it secret. Maybe because it’s still another few years before we can return?’

  ‘Maybe.’ I shrug as I turn to resume walking. I don’t want to keep talking about something we can’t change. It would almost be better if we didn’t know at all, so we had no cause to wonder.

  Both of us are silent as we head down the elaborate stairs of the West Wing and out across the Atrium. I’m sure Sebastian is coming up with a whole list of irrefutable counter arguments for why I’m wrong. My silence is heavier though, and a whole lot more troubling.

  I fold my arms across my chest and chew down on my lower lip. There’s a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach about what we’ve overheard. Sebastian may have joked about the food rationing, and we can’t be sure what is happening on the surface, but I feel like he’s right about one thing. Everything is about to change.

  The rich aroma of frying onions and garlic hits me as I enter the dining hall, causing the growling in my stomach to become an all out roar. It’s almost as if it knows it’s about to be fed, and is all the hungrier for it.

  Sebastian goes to find us a table while I head straight for the food queue, which is thankfully short. I’m so hungry I’d probably eat porridge tonight.

  As I make my way back from the food counter, he pulls out the chair next to him. ‘What are the options?’

  ‘Pasta again,’ I say, placing my tray down on the table. ‘I’m not even sure what the other stuff they were serving was.’

  ‘Probably safer not to ask,’ he jokes, as he gets up to join the food queue.

  I chuckle and take my multivitamin tablets, swallowing them down with several large gulps of water. I quickly move onto the food, desperate to fill the gaping hole in my stomach—I will never be one of those girls who can get by on a lettuce leaf.

  ‘So, where were you all day?’ I ask when Sebastian returns with a tray of food. I’d intended to ask him earlier why he wasn’t at school today, but he’d successfully managed to distract me with the Council Chambers.

  ‘I wasn’t feeling too well this morning, so stayed home.’

  ‘Are you feeling any better?’ I ask, curious as to whether I had anything to do with his ‘sickness.’ He seemed quite out of sorts when I left him this morning.

  ‘Mmm,’ he mumbles, as he takes a mouthful. ‘I seem to be fine now.’

  A peal of laughter rings through the room. I don’t even need to look to know it belongs to Quinn. Her laughter rings again, louder this time. I glance over to see a guy whispering in her ear. Whatever he’s saying must be hilarious because she’s giggling uncontrollably. I wonder if that’s the guy she went on a date with last night?

  I focus on my plate as I try to twirl the pasta perfectly around my fork. ‘So, you never said, how did you find that-uh-room you took me to?’

  Sebastian shifts uncomfortably in his chair and focuses intently on his food.

  I raise my eyebrows at him as he squirms. ‘Seriously, how did you know it was there? And who helped you get clearance?’ I persist.

  Again my question is met with silence. ‘Well?’

  He opens his mouth to say something, but then stops. Instead he considers my plate. ‘Are you done?’

  I glance down at the few strings of pasta still on my plate. Before I can answer he stands and picks up both of our plates to take them to the kitchen.

  ‘Bu
t I wasn’t finished…’ I reply, my response falling on deaf ears.

  As I watch his rigid back walk towards the kitchen something feels off. I shake my shoulders, trying to relax, but it doesn’t seem to help. I still feel uneasy, and the hairs on the back of my neck seem to prickle.

  Disconcerted, I look around to find two warm, brown eyes watching me from across the room. Our eyes lock for a split second, before I quickly look down. I can feel myself flush, embarrassed.

  Ryan is here.

  My stomach drops several notches. It’s been ages since I’ve seen him around.

  Now I know he’s watching, I can almost sense his gaze on me. Unable to help myself, I give in and look over. Again I find him watching and I find I can’t look away.

  His tanned skin is so unusual for someone who lives in the ARC, and combined with his long, dark tussled hair, he’s gorgeous. Even the scar that runs through his eyebrow adds to his appearance.

  It’s not like I want him that way. Well, at least I don’t want to like him that way. He’s way too old for me. I guess the best way to explain it, is I feel a connection to him. We seem to understand each other.

  He smiles at me and I automatically respond with a smile in return.

  ‘Elle?’ Sebastian’s troubled voice comes from beside me.

  Reluctantly I pull away from Ryan’s captivating stare and turn to Sebastian. He’s focused on something over towards where Ryan sits and his eyes flick back to me as I turn to him.

  ‘Did you want some dessert?’ he asks, his voice unusually tight. ‘They’re doing carrot sticks tonight.’

  I shake my head. He shrugs and turns back towards the kitchen. As he does I notice Ryan is no longer sitting across the room. I crane my neck, trying to see where he’s gone, but he must have finished dinner and left. I slump down in my chair disappointed.

  ‘Hi Elle,’ a deep voice murmurs in my ear.

  I jerk my body up straight in shock. I turn in my seat and watch as Ryan slides down into Sebastian’s chair.

  I go to reply, to come up with something clever and witty, but my mind draws a blank. ‘Hey,’ is the quiet and oh-so-lame response I come up with.

  He edges the seat towards me. ‘How’ve you been?’ he asks, his tone light and conversational.

  ‘Good,’ I say, when nothing else springs to mind.

  ‘Good’s good.’ He laughs in response.

  ‘How are you?’ I ask, my fingers restlessly playing with my pendant.

  ‘I’m good. I’m happy I get to see you,’ he says, looking deeply into my eyes. My heart skips a beat and my cheeks warm with delight.

  I take a deep breath and try to calm down. I feel stupid reacting this way when he’s obviously just being nice. He’s old enough to be one of my teachers, and I’ll admit sometimes our friendship does feel like that formal student-teacher relationship. Other times he relaxes and I think he forgets how much younger I am. It’s then that I start to get bad ideas.

  Ugh, I barely know the guy. I don’t know what I’m thinking.

  I notice Sebastian across the room talking to one of his friends. Their discussion looks heated and his eyes flicker this way several times.

  ‘Sorry?’ I ask, turning back to Ryan. I’ve completely missed what he’s just said.

  ‘I asked if you were doing much this week?’

  ‘No,’ I reply distracted. I catch another glimpse of Sebastian. He’s no longer talking to his friend, but is walking out of the room. He looks in this direction just as he walks out the door, his face is completely dark and his eyes are seething with rage.

  I turn back to Ryan and stand up as I say, ‘I have to go. I’ll catch you around?’

  He looks surprised by the abrupt change in mood, but quickly recovers.

  ‘Okay, well I’ll see you soon.’

  ‘Bye Ryan,’ I say stumbling over my chair in my hurry to get up.

  I leave the dining hall and jog down the hallway to try and catch up with Sebastian.

  ‘Sebastian!’ I call, when I see him up ahead. He doesn’t turn back, but keeps walking.

  ‘Sebastian, wait up!’ I call louder. He stops and pauses for me.

  ‘Hey,’ I say, trying to catch my breath. I have to wait a few seconds before I can continue. ‘What’s up? Why’d you leave dinner so suddenly?’

  ‘I’m surprised you even noticed. You looked pretty busy.’

  ‘Well I wasn’t.’ I watch him, waiting for him to explain. He’s acting really pissed off.

  ‘You know what Elle? You don’t need to know every detail of my life. There’s this crazy concept called privacy. Heard of it?’

  ‘I don’t mean to pry. I just wanted to check you’re okay.’ I falter, surprised by his attack.

  ‘Yeah well, just don’t! You need to stop. Getting. In. My. Head!’ He spits the words at me.

  ‘Oh,’ I say, taking a step back. ‘Okay.’ I step back further.

  ‘Elle,’ he says, lowering his voice, which is husky with frustration.

  ‘It’s fine.’ I turn and start walking back down the hallway but hear a loud, splitting bang behind me. From the sounds of it he’s kicked the wall, but I don’t look back. He obviously doesn’t need or want my help.

  The walk home seems longer tonight and the whole way back I get the feeling I’m the reason Sebastian’s angry. I rub at my eyes tiredly. I think it’s been a big day for both of us. Hopefully we’ll both get some sleep and everything will be okay in the morning. Unfortunately, it doesn’t change how hurt I feel tonight.

  When I get to my door, I put my hand in my pocket to grab my swipe key. As I bring it out a piece of paper falls on the floor. I bend over to pick it up as I make my way inside. The room is cold and empty. I doubt Quinn will be back for a while.

  I place my swipe card down on the table, and unfold the piece of paper. I can’t think of when I would’ve put it in my pocket and it’s not the kind of thing I’d forget. Paper isn’t exactly easy to come by in the ARC. You usually have to trade for it, even if it’s a piece this small. I hate to think what Adam traded to get Sebastian his sketchbook.

  I hold the small rectangle of paper up to the light to read it. The note is only short and when I finish I grip it firmly to my chest, not quite able to believe what it says. I’m unexpectedly excited for tomorrow.

  I hurry to change and get into bed, determined to have a good night’s sleep. Sleep evades me though, as images of star-streaked skies fill my mind. The sounds of my rapidly thudding heart and the gentle buzzing hum of the ARC are like the score to my excited musings, and it takes me a while to settle down.

  Eventually I begin to drift off, and as I finally feel sleep’s gentle pull beginning to overcome me, I feel a twinge of guilt. How would Sebastian feel about what I plan to do in the morning?

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  I wake with a start. A cold sweat covers my body, chilling me to the core. It’s been such a long time since I’ve experienced such vivid nightmares.

  Though my body is still cocooned in fear, I sit up and try to quell the spike of adrenaline that has roused inside me. It was only a dream, I try to remind myself.

  All the same, the sight of Quinn asleep, curled in a ball under her sheets, a cascade of blonde hair tumbling down over them, is reassuring. She’s still here. She’s not taken.

  I’ve always had nightmares of my friends being taken. I guess you’d be crazy not to. It’s something that’s always been a threat. This dream felt different though. It felt like something more than just fear, more like a menacing omen of what is to come.

  I shudder and curl my arms around my knees. Maybe Quinn and Sebastian are right? I survey the room uneasily—almost expecting something to jump out of the shadows. In the soft blue hue of the night-light everything is more ominous.

  A breathy laugh escapes me and I swing my legs off the bed. I really know how to freak myself out. I feel silly for being so pessimistic at such an early hour.

  Yawning, I stand and quietly stretch, not wanting
to disturb Quinn. I quickly get dressed and as I creep towards the door, being careful not to stumble in the dim room, I take the small piece of paper out of my pocket. I open it over by the small light that glows next to the door handle. My eyes focus on the four numbers written in faint, blue pen, ‘four, three, five and nine.’

  I read them again and again to commit them to memory. It’s hard to concentrate on the numbers though when my eyes keep scanning to the name written at the bottom of the page. Ryan.

  When I’m convinced I can retain the numbers, I tear the paper into small little pieces and put them in my pocket. As I place my hand on the door I can just make out the steady rhythm of Quinn’s breathing. Reassured she’s still asleep, I slip out of the room.

  I rush down the corridors and quickly find myself where the more civilized quarters of the North Wing are located. You can tell they are nicer because there’s an acrylic smell emanating from the freshly painted walls, and a distinct lack of spider webs.

  It’s still early and the corridors in this more populated section are relatively deserted. The few people I do cross are on their way to work in the kitchens; off to prepare another tasteless, nutrient-packed meal for the masses I’m sure.

  I make my way to the Atrium, which is bustling with people. It’s not really surprising, as it always seems to be busy in here. I take the exit that leads to the East Wing, where all ARC manufacturing and produce occurs.

  As I enter the wing my pace quickens. It’s as though my legs have a mind of their own and they know we’re getting closer. I practically fly down the steps to one of the lower levels and only slow down when I reach the door that I’m after.

  My heart is in my mouth and my hand shakes slightly as I lift it to the pin pad just above the door handle. With careful precision I enter the numbers ‘four,’ ‘three,’ ‘five,’ I suck in a breath, and ‘nine’. The light on the pin pad glows green. I exhale and push the door open.

  Closing the door behind me, I turn and can feel my whole face light up as my eyes indulge in the sight before me.