The Rebels

by Eliza Green

  Ω

  Back in the dorm, Dom walked in on an argument between Sheila and Anya. Sheila wanted to take the first bed by the door, the one Anya was claiming for herself. June pulled Sheila away to another bed and whispered something to her. Sheila looked shocked and dropped her complaint.

  That only piqued Dom’s curiosity more.

  He fixed his gaze on Anya as he walked past her. She sat on the first bed with her knees pulled up tight to her chest, and rested a cheek on her knees. Jerome had taken the bed next to hers.

  Of course! She and Jerome hadn’t talked about Frank yet. What else could it be?

  Dom took the bed opposite her. Despite their proximity, it felt like she was a million miles from him. He hated the emotional distance between them. He wanted to help her through her grief. But only Jerome could take away her guilt.

  ‘I decided something today,’ said Jerome.

  June looked up. ‘What?’

  ‘I’m going to finish this programme. I’m going to do it for Frank. It’s what he would have done for me.’

  Dom looked away. He didn’t know Frank; it felt too intimate a moment to be a part of.

  ‘We all finish for Frank and Tahlia,’ said June.

  Anya added. ‘For Frank and Tahlia.’

  Dom looked back. She was sitting up straight, her legs on the floor. His chest warmed to see her happy again, but something still wasn’t right. He could see it in her eyes.

  Please, tell me how to help.

  Two boys who’d rotated from the third floor discussed the gold door. Dom froze just as Anya’s newfound confidence melted away. He curled his hands into the duvet. The uneasy moment passed.

  I hate this, Anya. Tell me what’s bothering you.

  He stared at her, looked away, stared at his hands. What should he do? He glanced at her again, but her gaze was so sad he couldn’t bear to see it.

  ‘So, how did you know to shoot the wall?’ said Jerome.

  This caught Dom’s attention. How did his beautiful, clever Anya figure it out?

  ‘Uh?’

  ‘The wall. You said it was organic.’

  Anya shrugged. ‘I put my hand on it and it didn’t feel like a real wall. I was getting turned around so much it felt like the maze was closing me in.’

  ‘And it did, eventually,’ said Jerome.

  ‘Yeah. Wasn’t a smart tactic.’

  They talked about strategy for a while. Dom used the discussion as an excuse to move closer to Anya.

  ‘Dom,’ said Sheila, ‘you should partner with Anya and June.’

  He caught the sharp look Anya gave Sheila.

  What the hell was that about?

  He shook Anya’s problems from his mind. They’d reached the fifth floor, over the half way point to the end. Dom needed to remember his and Sheila’s goal: to reach the ninth floor.

  Dom flicked the raised area behind one ear, activating the communication card that allowed him to communicate with Preston, Max and Charlie. The lights dimmed before they went out for the night—a sign that the force field was down. He sent a message.

  ‘We’re on the fifth floor. You were right. Tahlia Odare was targeted.’

  ‘Hold on. We’re working on getting—’ The reply cut off.

  ‘Hurry,’ he said.

  He couldn’t be sure the last message had been received. The deeper Dom ventured into Arcis, the shorter the time grew to communicate with the outside.

  He flexed his hands as a new worry took hold.

  17

  Dom

  Dom and the others had spent less than a day on the fifth floor. In fact, rotation came just after the second round in the combat maze. It became clear to him that Arcis was rushing them through the floors. Just nine of them had made it.

  The lights flickered overhead indicating a weakness in the power. Dom passed on new details to the outside about the floor they’d just left. Preston, the communications operative located outside Essention, had managed to fire a bunch of short messages back, but the communication didn’t last long. In their short time, Dom told him about the vibrations in the floor and how they occurred just before rotation. Anya had picked up on that anomaly.

  It should have been him, but as usual he’d allowed thoughts of his missing mother and dead father to distract him. He needed Anya because she saw things he didn’t. Had her training given her that sharp focus, or something else? Dom had concentrated long enough to shoot the discs on the fifth floor. Some pressures didn’t bother him. Other times, well, he second guessed his decisions. What happened with Brianna had shaken his confidence.

  So when Anya relayed to him her feelings about the supervisors, Dom listened. She’d said that at first glance, there seemed to be just two supervisors, a male and a female, but variances in their appearance from floor to floor hinted that there might be more.

  Dom had even started to tune in to Anya’s moods. When she leaned forward, he leaned forward. When she got that worried crease between her eyes, bit her lip or went quiet, he wanted to drop everything and ask her what was wrong.

  For some reason unknown to Dom, the sixth floor didn’t feature in their group’s plans. The male supervisor brought their group of nine straight to the seventh floor where he left them to wait in the changing room. Three others—two boys and a girl from the sixth floor—joined them shortly after. Anya’s group and Jerome’s group, plus Yasmin, Sheila and Warren had made it.

  A change of scene did little to ease Anya’s wariness which, he realised now, had everything to do with Warren. She’d unleashed a volley precious Electro Gun shots into Warren during the second combat round to leave him hobbling. Now she hugged her middle, looking all shades of serious. Sheila and Yasmin had followed Warren to the elevator, snickering at his demise.

  Dom hated being out of the loop, not in control.

  The female supervisor showed up and took them to Tower B, past a bunch of upright white leather seats that looked like examination chairs, each with a raised footrest and a monitor attached to the side. While the supervisor spoke, Dom watched her. If there were differences between the female supervisors on the floors, they were subtle. Sheila said often how much better girls were at noticing facial differences than men. Perhaps that was why he hadn’t seen what Anya had noticed.

  The supervisor left them alone in the dining hall. Dom stood by the food counter while Anya sat at the table, quiet as a mouse. Her mood unsettled him and he began to pace. Sheila walked over to him and pulled him away to a corner of the room.

  ‘What’s gotten into you?’ she hissed.

  ‘I can’t stand this, Sheila. I feel like I’ve lost control of everything.’ He ran his hands through his soft curly hair. It had been at least six weeks since Charlie had buzz-cut it.

  ‘Well, pull yourself together, will you? You can’t fall apart on me, you hear?’

  He didn’t respond. Anya had just stood up and was walking to the door with her backpack in hand. His gaze followed her all the way out. When she was gone, he turned to Sheila. ‘Okay, spill. I want to know what you know.’

  Sheila pressed a hand to her heart. ‘I know nothing more than you do. I swear.’

  ‘What’s going on with Anya? And don’t tell me it’s nothing. I’m not stupid. She’s acting weird and you and Yasmin know something.’

  Sheila bit her lip; a tell-tale sign she was hiding something.

  ‘Sheila...’

  ‘I promised not to say anything.’

  He gripped the sides of her arms. ‘Come on, Sheila. No secrets. Not between us. Tell me.’

  Sheila pulled in a long breath and released it. ‘It’s about Anya.’

  ‘Yeah, I figured. What about her?’

  Sheila leaned in closer. ‘Promise you won’t freak out, especially not in here?’

  Dom looked around at the others. They were all engaged in conversation. June flashed Sheila a warning look.

  So June knows, too?

  He ignored her and turned back around. ‘Out with
it.’

  ‘Promise me you won’t overreact.’

  Dom nodded.

  ‘I mean it. Promise, Dom. Out loud.’

  He sighed. ‘I promise.’

  ‘It’s Warren.’

  ‘What about him?’

  Sheila whispered. ‘He forced himself on Anya last night.’

  ‘What?’

  Sheila shushed him. ‘You didn’t notice the nasty bruise on his jaw and cheek? That was your little Spitfire giving him what he deserved.’

  Dom turned to glare at Warren. He sat stiffer than usual, not looking at anyone in particular. June got to her feet and walked out of the room.

  ‘She did that? She hit him?’ His heart wouldn’t calm down.

  Sheila smiled. ‘Yeah, your girl has a mean right hook. June found her first.’

  ‘I need to talk to her, see if she’s okay.’

  Sheila grabbed his arm as he turned to go. ‘No. I’m not letting you or anyone else get within fifty feet of her unless she says she wants to speak to you. She’s been through something traumatic. She needs time.’

  ‘I’m not going to upset her.’ Dom glared at Sheila trying to process this shocking information. ‘And why wouldn’t she want to speak to me?’

  ‘She needs her space, and that means from you.’

  He sighed. ‘She’s avoiding me.’

  ‘That’s not my problem. Look, there comes a time when girls just need other girls. Okay?’

  It wasn’t okay. ‘I need to see her. And you’re going to make that happen.’

  Sheila whispered, ‘You think I’m your private love guru or something?’ But then her face relaxed and she huffed out a breath. ‘What do you want me to do?’

  ‘Tell her I want to see her. Tell her now.’

  ‘No can do.’

  ‘Fine. Then I’ll go myself.’

  ‘Do that and Anya will not only be pissed off with me, but she’ll probably throw you out.’

  ‘Well, I can’t stay here. Something’s been off between us. Now I know what it is, and I want to fix it.’

  Sheila leaned against the wall. ‘I don’t want to get in the middle of this.’

  ‘You’re already in the middle. You put yourself there when you kept a secret, a big one, from me. Did you really think I wouldn’t find out about it?’

  ‘It wasn’t my secret to tell. Look, don’t you get it? That girl’s pushing you away because she doesn’t want to scupper our chances to rotate.’

  Dom slumped against the food counter and dropped his gaze to the floor. ‘Yeah, she told me the same thing. I didn’t think she’d let it get this far.’

  ‘I know you care for her. Hell, I’m not the only one around here who can see it. But you have to play it cool. Rein in some of that impulsive nature of yours. You don’t always have to be in control, you know.’

  Control was all he had left. ‘Tell her I want to see her now and I’ll stop bugging you about it.’

  Sheila levelled a glare at him; a look that would cause men to quiver at her feet. But Dom held his ground and matched her stare. He waited for the flicker of change in her face.

  There it was.

  ‘Fine. But you wait until I ask her. If she says no, you leave it alone. Got it?’

  Dom nodded.

  His heart thumped as he walked past Warren. He kept his eyes forward because if he looked at him, he might finish the job on his face that Anya had started. Sheila slipped into the dorm room while he waited outside.

  He bit his thumbnail. His back dripped with sweat. His racing pulse drowned out any clarity of thought. What if she said no? Could he walk away, wait for her to tell him on her own? Could he look at Warren for a second longer without actually beating him to a pulp? He could figure out on his own what had happened between Warren and Anya.

  June slipped out of the dorm room and gave him a pat on the arm as she passed.

  Then Sheila came out. ‘All yours. And behave.’

  His shaking legs carried him inside the room. Anya sat on the bed with her arms wrapped around her legs. He wanted to go to her. But he didn’t want to frighten her, to give her another reason to shut him out.

  He stood by the door, hands in his pockets, fingers playing the keys on his old piano at home. Counting helped to calm him.

  ‘I thought you’d like to know,’ said Dom. ‘I passed on your theory.’ He was referring to the information he’d sent to Preston about the vibrations between the floors and the feeling that his, Sheila and June’s rebel cover had been blown.

  ‘Good.’

  Dom looked down, his chest tight with the words that he needed to say. ‘Sheila told me what happened with Warren.’

  ‘She shouldn’t have done that.’ Her anger surprised him. ‘So I guess everyone knows?’

  He slipped his hands out of his pockets to make two fists and ground them into the sides of his legs. He wanted to reassure her that he would never share her secrets. Sheila had barely said anything about it.

  Dom moved into the room. ‘Not everyone.’ He needed to be close to her. She had no idea what she meant to him.

  Without her, he felt lost at sea, set adrift. She anchored him.

  Dom pulled the anger back inside as he sat down on her bed. ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘What would you have done if I had?’

  ‘Knocked Warren out, probably.’

  That coaxed a smile out of her. ‘I already did that. I didn’t need you coming to my rescue.’

  Dom grinned. ‘I know, I saw.’ But it also burned him up that June had been the one to rescue her. His smile slipped away. ‘I can’t sit back and watch bad things happening to you. Don’t you get that yet?’

  ‘You and Sheila need to reach the ninth floor. I can’t be a distraction.’

  ‘If you hadn’t noticed, we’re doing just fine.’ He had meant it to be a reassurance, but when Anya stiffened he went on high alert.

  She lowered her eyes. ‘I had. I saw your scores on the fourth floor.’

  It had never occurred to him that she might misunderstand how he and Sheila had obtained their scores.

  Smooth, Pavesi. Real smooth. Get yourself out of this mess.

  She stiffened when he scooted closer to her. ‘You think Sheila and I were... together.’

  Anya pulled her legs in tighter, creating a physical barrier between them. ‘It’s none of my business, Dom. Really.’

  He started to laugh. He didn’t mean to, but it was ridiculous and soon Anya would see for herself. She scowled at him.

  ‘Here, let me show you what we did.’

  Anya looked at him, startled. ‘I don’t think we need to—’

  This needed action, not words. He pressed their chips together and told her his theory about proximity. He still had a grip on her wrist when she stared up at him. His heart stilled at the reminder of their night in the first-aid prefab, right before they had kissed. Now he wanted to taste her again, to bridge the distance between them.

  But images of what Warren had done flashed through his mind and kept his body rigid. He rotated her injured arm gently.

  ‘Is this still bothering you?’ His voice burned with repressed anger.

  ‘No. It’s beginning to heal.’

  Her voice, soft and gentle, dissolved some of his rage. A new fire surged through his veins. His gaze drifted from her mouth to her eyes.

  God, you’re so beautiful. And you don’t even know it.

  Anya looked down at his hand on her arm. ‘I don’t think this counts as a score on this floor.’

  Then tell me to stop touching you.

  He grabbed her legs and pulled her towards him. Her eyes widened a fraction, but she didn’t protest. When he touched her face, she shivered.

  He pulled back. ‘I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have presumed—’

  Anya drew his hands back to her face. ‘No, it’s fine. I just... It’s nothing.’

  He imagined himself on the range, firing off a hundred shots into a target with a picture of W
arren’s face on it. It took some effort to remember to breathe.

  Anya’s bright, trusting eyes, marred with dark secrets, stared up at him. He made a better effort to keep his anger under control.

  ‘You’re so beautiful, Anya. In more ways than you know.’

  She shook her head. ‘Sheila is beautiful. I’m ordinary.’

  He almost laughed. Sure, Sheila had the right genetics. But Dom preferred uniqueness over perfection, and he told her so.

  Anya grinned. ‘I’d like to be taller.’

  ‘What’s wrong with the height you are?’

  ‘The tall girls usually get the boys.’

  ‘Is that so?’

  ‘Sheila always turns heads.’

  Please stop comparing yourself to Sheila. I’m sorry for putting that doubt in your head.

  ‘Well, she doesn’t turn mine. I prefer girls around five feet six with cinnamon-brown hair, beautifully pale skin and dark-blue eyes that I could stare at all day. If you know anyone who fits that description, would you give me a heads-up?’

  Anya pushed him playfully and smiled before inching closer.

  Dom froze. He didn’t want to scare her, but he needed to hold her, to feel her.

  He drew her face to him and placed a light kiss on her mouth, if only to reassure her that he was the opposite of Warren. But when she leaned into him, he lost all self control. Without asking, he pulled her onto his lap in one swift movement. Her legs slid either side of him, making his breath quicken.

  ‘Is this okay?’ he asked. ‘I just wanted to feel you again.’

  She responded by wrapping her arms around him. That was all the reassurance he needed. He started slow, his kiss feather-light and gentle. Her touch left trails of fire along his arm, on his neck. His hands quivered from keeping a tight lid on his feelings. But then she shifted in his lap and the fire inside him burned hotter. He parted her lips with urgency. He needed to taste her, to experience her more intimately. Anya arched into him, pressing her lips to his. Her tongue swept along his bottom lip forcing a groan from him. She pushed her body against him in a way that made him think she wanted more. He looked up at her. He wanted it, too—God, how he wanted it—but not here, not where cameras and operators watched their intimate moment. The thought sickened him.