Controllers (Book 1)

by Lynnie Purcell

  We're left to shiver together in the cold room for thirty minutes. It's a very long wait that has me counting every second. The clock above the door is incredibly loud. I wonder if they will just shoot us all. Maybe they don't have the patience to investigate and will simply start over with a new set of immigrants. I don't want anyone else to get hurt because of me. It's a consequence I hadn't considered fully.

  There's a stir at the door from the guards, where they all straighten and try to look tough, and Ace walks in. He is followed by three guards and his expression is very grim. His anger is obvious, but he doesn't look at me. He's too careful for that. He knows I'm guilty. He has no reason to think anyone else is responsible for the attack. He finally has his answer to the violence he saw on my face.

  He's wearing blue jeans again, a tank top, and boots. It's like he ran to the facility without dressing properly. The thought doesn't fit. He must be sleeping in the facility somewhere, as it would take him longer to get inside otherwise. The riot has kept him close.

  He moves so that he is standing in front of us and looks down with his arms crossed; his expression is very serious. A jolt of pain and anger settles into the pit of my stomach when I notice the tattoo on his muscled shoulder. It's of a skeletal dragonfly. He has another tattoo on his forearm of a silver dagger backed by crossing arrows. A third one is on his shoulder. It's a set of blue wings. The dragonfly holds my attention the most. Does he know Gib? Is it a coincidence? I will never find out either way. He'll kill me first.

  He lets the silence stretch out. A girl next to me starts trembling. I feel her leg against mine. It adds to my nerves. I touch her surreptitiously, to get her to calm down. Her trembling fades slightly.

  "As all of you know, a guard has been attacked. There is no leniency for such an action in the facility. Second chances are for citizens, and you do not qualify."

  He's talking to me. He keeps finding my eyes and holding them. I wish he would just point at me and tell the room I did it. I don't like the wait. I put my hands under my thighs to keep them from shaking. I wonder if he'll kill me or if someone else will. At least I know he'll kill me quickly.

  "Which one of you did it?" he asks.

  No one speaks. The guards are holding their pistols. The shock sticks are missing. They want to kill us. I have a strong feeling Ace won't let them. He does not have their lust for murder burning in his eyes.

  "Why was he in the room?" Ace presses. "Did one of you lure him there? Who attacked him?"

  The girls around me look at the floor. They're afraid to look at each other. They all think I did it. They're right, of course, but they refuse to give me up. I silently thank them for it.

  There is another stir at the door. Honey appears. Her hair is in messy knots, and her face is different than normal. It looks splotchy and dark in places. I have learned about makeup from the others. She is not wearing any. The change is startling. Her face does not look nearly as sweet. The emotion in her eyes makes her look quite mad. She storms into the room. I remember with a jolt that Benny is her son. I did not consider her wrath. I'm definitely considering it now.

  "What are you doing?!" Honey demands of Ace. Her normal fear is missing with her anger. Ace is not the most powerful person in the room around her emotions.

  "I'm questioning them," Ace says calmly, barely looking at her. While she may have forgotten who holds the power, Ace has not. He is not intimidated by her words. She does not scare him. He knows that he can control her.

  "There's no need. We all know who did it. It's her." She points at me. "Once a rebel, always a rebel. You can't change bad blood."

  "There's no proof she's responsible," Ace replies.

  "I don't need proof," Honey says. "I have full autonomy here! I don't care who your family is or how much sway you have with the RFA and police academy, you can't stop me! This is my facility!"

  She yanks a pistol out of a guard's hands and steps in front of me. She puts the barrel against my forehead. I close my eyes and wait for her to pull the trigger. She has no reason to hesitate. She has disliked me from day one. I'm probably not the first person to die under her hand, and I definitely won't be the last.

  "I think the council might have something to say about that," Ace murmurs calmly. He doesn't seem bothered by the fact that a pistol is pointed at me. His indifference is chilling.

  There's a pause. A stay of execution.

  "Are you threatening me?" she asks.

  "No," he says. "I'm reminding you of the recent hearings you faced at the Assembly because of the riot. You know the entire Assembly, not to mention the council, is focused on the facility now. They're checking every death, every action you take. Your autonomy is being scrutinized like never before. They will not hesitate to replace you if they feel like you can't keep things under control. The attack on your son will not look good to them. And you cannot hide the girl's consequent death. There are too many witnesses now. The guards will talk. It'll get back to them. We must find a way to take care of this smartly. We must have proof to placate them, so they don't think you are killing our much-needed immigrants without cause. Do this the right way."

  I don't open my eyes, but his words have brought me calm. It's impossible not to feel it with his quiet voice soothing me. I sense his words working on Honey. She fears losing her job more than she fears Ace in that moment. The pressure of the pistol disappears from my forehead. I breathe a sigh of relief that I quickly stifle. I'm not off the hook yet. They want to find evidence. They will get it eventually. I was careful, but Ace is smart. He will know where to look.

  "How do we get proof?" she asks. His centered, calm speech has won her over. She trusts he has her best interests at heart. He is looking out for her.

  "My uncle," Ace replies thoughtfully. "He can hypnotize her. He can have all of her secrets within a matter of minutes."

  I open my eyes at his words. I can't let them hypnotize me. The truth will be discovered with my barriers down. I won't be able to hide it from them. They'll kill me. Ace is not my ally after all. He's fairer than the others, and more willing to look at the facts first, but he will still kill me for attacking Benny. An example must be made.

  Honey nods, and Ace reaches out casually and pulls me up as if I weigh nothing. I don't fight his touch. It will not end well for me if I do. His grip is tight and restrictive. I wince, wondering if he's somehow changed his hands out to steel, and then let him pull me out of the room. His pace is brisk. He soon outdistances Honey, who is not nearly as tall and fit.

  Ace doesn't say anything to me. He's too angry. His eyes say everything he needs them to. I have let him down. He warned me about taking such direct action and I didn't listen. I'm in trouble because of stubbornness. I don't really care. He doesn't understand. He never will. He has not lived a life like mine. He's life is full of privilege and happy choice.

  He knocks twice on Willem's door. It takes me a full minute to realize that Willem is his uncle. They're related. I'm surprised by the revelation. They look and act nothing alike. Willem sniffs heavily the moment the door opens and fumbles with his glasses. He peers at us owlishly. The tufts of hair left on the side of his head stick out wildly. He is in a silver robe, and his feet are covered by slippers.

  "Yes?" he asks, fumbling for his glasses.

  "There was an attack," Ace says. "We need to know if this girl is responsible."

  Willem looks between Ace and me for a moment, assessing the situation. Nothing about his expression gives away his thoughts. Maybe they are not so dissimilar after all. Willem opens the door wider as Honey finally catches up to us. She has two guards with her. They will be the ones to get rid of my body when the truth comes out. They will be the only attendees at my funeral.

  Ace forces me to sit on the sofa, then moves so that he is standing behind me. Honey stands next to me, her eyes on the side of my face. The place where she pressed barrel of her gun tingles alarmingly. It's a phantom feeling that tells me I'm going to die.

&n
bsp; Willem sits in front of me and wipes his glasses with a soft cloth. He looks tired and haggard. It's easy to see the hard lines on his face in the dim light of his room. I look over and see that his door is open. There are more rooms than I expected behind the door. It's as big as a house. The rooms are dirty and unkempt. He does not clean them like he does the front room. He points at Ace and then at something on a table. Ace retrieves the heavy chain Willem uses to hypnotize us and Willem takes it from him gently. He holds it up in front of me with a weary sigh.

  "When I count to one you are going to go into a deep, untroubled sleep. You will still hear me, and you will talk to me like you're awake, but you will have no worries, inhibitions or concerns."

  I try to stop my shaking. I'm afraid. My death is looming. The last thing I'm going to see is Willem's face. His impassive expression is going to be my sendoff from one world to the next. I wish Max was in front of me. He would make me laugh before I go. He would take away my terror.

  He starts counting. I am asleep by the time he gets to two.

  "Well, if she didn't do it, who did?" Honey is asking.

  My head feels like it weighs a solid ton. I can't lift it. My chin is touching my chest, and my neck is burning with pain from the stiffness of holding it one place for so long, but movement is beyond me. I can't even open my eyes. I want to look around. I want to see if I am dead.

  "I don't know," Ace says. "It could be a guard trying to blame the attack on her. Everyone knows Benny doesn't like her."

  "Rightfully so," Honey says stiffly. "She's a rebel."

  "Even rebels are not immune to the messages in the game and my hypnosis," Willem points out. "No one is truly immune to it."

  "And it's not your place to judge them," Ace adds. "The government has decided she is redeemable. That should be enough for you." Honey doesn't reply. Ace modifies his tone slightly. There's compassion and sympathy in it as he continues. "You should be with Benny. He needs you now. Let me find his attacker. I promise you I will do everything in my power to make him pay."

  There is another pause. His threat is not idle. Honey knows that he does not speak without meaning. He does not waste his breath. He will do exactly what he says he's going to do. "Very well," Honey says.

  "I will report everything I discover," Ace adds. "As soon as I know it."

  Honey thanks him quietly and leaves the room with the guards. Ace and Willem wait a long time before they speak again.

  "Why did she do it?" Willem asks finally. "Is she psychotic? Her tests didn't indicate any such behavior...I would have caught it by now. I don't understand..." He sounds frustrated. All his tests and questions haven't explained me to him. He doesn't like being in the dark.

  "Benny was in her friend's bed," Ace says shortly.

  "Ah," Willem says delicately.

  "Maria," I say groggily. My strength is finally returning. I open my eyes, but my head still won't move. I'm forced to look at my lap. It's not as satisfying as glaring at Ace.

  There is a startled silence from them, then swift movement. Willem kneels down in front of me. He touches my chin and forces me to look at him. I want to thank him. He has taken away the pain in my neck. I settle for blinking at him.

  "Did you just pull yourself out of the hypnosis?" Willem asks in amazement.

  "Her name is Maria," I repeat stubbornly.

  "I know," Ace replies calmly from behind me.

  "You know better than to say her name," Willem chastises me gently.

  "Yes," I agree. "But I don't care."

  Ace is irritated by my response. His calm slips away. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" he asks. It's the first time he's sounded truly angry. I don't know whether to be happy or glad I've gotten a rise out of him.

  "No," I say. "But I'm tired of being told what to do."

  "Well, you're going to get a lot more of that before your training is through," Ace points out. "You might as well get used to it."

  His words sink in. The truth is alarming. They aren't going to let me go. I will never truly be free. I start crying. I can't help myself. The tears leak over. The hypnosis has pulled my emotions out of me. I can't hide them any longer. All of the layers have been pulled back to reveal the way I really feel.

  "I don't want to be here. I want Max. I want to go home. I want my brother."

  The tears continue to slide down my face. It's so unfair. I've never wanted anything beyond a peaceful life with my brother. I don't need riches or all the fancy tech in the city. I just want to live my life with warmth and happiness. I haven't asked for any of this. But I can't stop what's happening around me. I have no control. It's been taken from me. I desperately want it back.

  There is pressure on the sofa next to me. Ace has sat down. Willem moves away and I hear a clink of glass on glass. He's poured himself a drink. There is a long pause as I continue to cry. Neither man knows what to say to make me stop crying, or so it seems.

  "Your brother is safe," Ace tells me. Compassion and sympathy are in his voice. The coldness and anger is gone. My tears have affected him. The compassion seems genuine, unlike his emotion with Honey. "He's going through training, just like you are. He's doing well. You'll see each other soon. You just have to stay alive long enough to make it out of the facility."

  "You've seen Max?" I ask. The tears lessen at the thought.

  "I've talked to him," Ace admits. "It's the benefit of being in charge of all fight training given to immigrants and the adolescent police officers in training. I can do whatever I want."

  I finally have my answer. He doesn't train all of the police in the city. He just trains the teenagers. He prepares them for the real training at the academy. He's one of the teachers of the citizen police force. The thought is puzzling. Being a teacher doesn't account for the way everyone respects and fears him. It's something else, something beyond him. I don't focus on the confusion long. Max has my attention.

  "What did he say?" I ask. "Did he mention me?"

  "We never speak long," Ace says. "It's too dangerous. But I can tell you that he's training to be an officer in the guard. He's very good, though he hides that fact from the others. The guards don't want to think that a rebel fights better than them...It would be too much a blow to their egos."

  His words are laced with irony.

  "Why are you telling me this?" I ask him.

  "Because you're crying."

  "I don't understand you at all," I tell him. "You confuse me."

  "I confuse myself most days," Ace admits.

  Willem sits down in front of me again. He hands Ace a drink. I smell alcohol. It's whiskey. Devlin's mouth would be watering at the scent. I can tell it's the good kind. Some of my strength returns at the movement. My mind is waking up. I wipe away my tears and focus on Ace and Willem. I don't know why I suddenly feel so comfortable around them. It's not right. They're the enemy. I don't understand why they're being so kind. It doesn't make any sense.

  "Why are you helping me?" I ask, feeling my defensiveness return. "You're one of them."

  "One of what?" Ace asks.

  "They. Them. The government. You don't like immigrants."

  Ace doesn't reply. "I'm just trying to keep a stupid person alive long enough to reunite with her brother. I have a soft spot for that kind of thing."

  He's lying. His expression doesn't change, but I feel the truth. He's done admitting things to me, however. Our moment of honesty is over. He stands and looks at Willem. "You'll make sure she gets to her room?"

  Willem nods. Ace drinks his whiskey quickly and sets the glass on the side table. He looks at me for a minute, his eyes very far away, making me think he's not really looking at me at all, and then he leaves the room. Willem stares at me when he's gone.

  "Your brain is the strangest I've encountered in a long time," Willem says. It's like he's frustrated he can't understand me.

  "Sorry," I reply.

  "Don't be sorry," he says. "It's fascinating." His expression grows more serious and
he leans toward me. "While you were hypnotized, you told Honey you didn't hurt Benny. You said you were sleeping and that you heard Benny arguing with a guard the other day."

  It's true. Benny and another guard had been fighting. The fight had gotten pretty intense until Benny had warned him off with the usual threats. A lot of people had seen it. I'm surprised I managed the lie. I don't remember forming one.

  "You're not supposed to lie like that in your relaxed state. It's very strange. I can't wrap my head around it." Willem shakes his head in confusion and then looks over at his clock. "You need to get to bed. You have class tomorrow."

  I stand automatically. I have learned that a suggestion is the same thing as a command in the facility. Failure to act quickly results in punishment. I hesitate before I turn away, however. A question is burning on my tongue.

  "You deleted my assessment, didn't you?" I ask him.

  He doesn't reply. His expression tells me everything I need to know.

  "Why?" I ask.

  "Because being a rebel is bad enough. If they knew you were smarter, braver, faster, and better able to think laterally and abstractly than them, they would kill you."

  "But it's your job..." I say. "You're supposed to report me."

  "I would have normally, God help me," he says. "Not because I want to see anyone hurt, mind you."

  "Then why didn't you?"

  Willem shrugs once and looks at the door. He's done answering questions, too. I leave him, feeling that I'm missing part of a conversation that has everything to do with me.

  Nathan and Sam stare at me when I sit down in front of them at breakfast. Nathan is the more affected of the two. He's worried about my sanity. He knows I stabbed Benny. He doesn't believe the stories floating around that it was a guard.

  "Why'd you do it?" Sam asks.

  "Do what?" I ask.

  Sam rolls his eyes at me. Nathan continues to stare.

  "I didn't do anything," I say. "It was a guard."

  "Why won't you tell us?" Sam asks.

  "Because I didn't do it," I say.

  "He was in Maria's bunk," Sam says.

  I stare at him and don't reply. I want him to drop it. He finally gets the point. He lowers his eyes. Nathan is still staring. His eyes bore into my face.

  "Would you stop?" I snap.

  Nathan looks down and finally brings his fork to his mouth. It had been hovering mid-air. He chews slowly. His opinion of me has shifted. I've scared him off. I'm sorry for it, but I can't change what I did, not that I would want to. I'm not sorry for a single moment of the attack.

  Maria walks into the room ten minutes later. Everyone stares at her. Her face is swollen and one eye is almost completely closed shut. She gathers a plate of food with a blush on her face and sits next to us.

  "Are you okay?" Nathan asks.

  "A guard attacked me," she says immediately. "It was awful. They say it's the same guard who attacked Benny. They were arguing or something. I think the guard thought I was Bree. You know how they can't tell us apart."

  Nathan and Sam nod. Nathan's eyes flick to mine again. He's still not convinced but he's lost some of his shock and fear. Maybe I haven't lost him after all. He decides to move beyond Benny. It's better than worrying if I'm insane.

  "You know what today is, right?" he asks.

  "The last day of our two week training," I say.

  "They're going to test us today. If we pass, we move forward and narrow our focus to things we're better at than just memorizing facts. It'll be the beginning of our life on the outside."

  "They'll also move us up or down, depending on our ranking," Sam adds, his dreadlocks swaying as he looks at Nathan.

  "Do you think they'll move me to blue?" Nathan asks.

  They share a look full of meaning. It's meaning I don't comprehend. Is it fear? Why does it seem like something else? And why does it seem like they're only talking to each other?

  "Only if they're blind, deaf and dumb," Sam teases.

  "Ouch," Maria says.

  Nathan just smiles at the insult and continues to talk about the tests. He's worried about failing. I haven't given the tests much thought since learning of Maria's situation, but I know he's right. I can't fail after so narrowly avoiding getting killed by Honey. They'll be looking for a reason to get rid of me. Honey will be eager to punish me for making her look stupid in front of the others.

  But I'm having trouble getting the night out of my mind. Most of my thoughts are focused on my conversation with Ace.

  It's startling to think of Ace as my rescuer. He put me in prison and separated me from my brother, yet he saved me from Honey. He's harsh, cold and demanding. He's sympathetic, calm, and worries about my safety. Two sides of him I will never reconcile, not that I think I should try. He's dangerous, confusing and definitely trouble. I think of his words with a hot flush of embarrassment at my gratefulness. I now know that Max is alive because of him. He said he had told me because I was crying. I shake off the feeling of gratefulness and refocus as the others stand to dump their food in the trash receptacles.

  I have to focus. The past is not nearly as demanding as the present.

  Our teacher does not come into our first class. Instead, Willem waits for us. He has two guards with him and a box. Black goggles are in the box. It's the first time I've seen such a device. I wonder if it's another test. Willem waits until we're all seated before speaking.

  "Today, you will be evaluated on what you have learned so far. Some of your rankings will change, and you will be moved to a different color. You must answer the questions quickly and quietly. The test should take you an hour. Those of you who pass the test will be rewarded with your first excursion outside."

  There is a murmur of excitement with his words. I had forgotten they let us outside. I see why they do it now. The walls feel like they're closing in on me. The game isn't enough to make me feel like I'm outside. I need more.

  "It has been clinically proven that such trips prevent acute mental illness, such as cabin fever and collective hysteria. But it is not a chance for you to run away. You will be guarded. You will be watched. Any misbehaving will not be tolerated. You must remember your lessons and show the city that we can trust our immigrants."

  The message is clear: behave or be put down. I wonder if the trip will give me a chance to figure out where Max is being held. I also feel like he's talking to me. He's warning me that he can't protect me on the outside. The government sees everything out there.

  He gestures to the guards and they start handing out the goggles. I take mine and look down at them curiously. There is more black glass on the inside. More nanotechnology. It's going to be a simulation of some sort.

  Willem looks down at his watch. "You have an hour starting...now."

  I hurry to put the goggles on, knowing he means it. A screen immediately pops up. It's the government logo. It flickers once and I see a word: Obey. I realize I have seen the word before, several times in fact, in the game. The idea is as startling as the idea that the words are becoming clearer. I don't understand why I can see them.

  The screen quickly fades away and I'm standing in front of man. He flickers once and starts asking me questions about the city's history, rules, and hierarchy. I have a feeling I need to answer them quickly. His expression suggests he's impatient. He doesn't want to wait around for me to answer. His questions are easy. He only stumps me twice. The lessons they have taught come naturally to me. Even the Cantonese is not as difficult as it had been a week ago.

  When his monotone finally cuts off there is profound silence. I can't even hear the others answering their questions. I think it is the end of the test, but the room flickers and I am standing in the exercise room. It flickers again and lines of words are once again written into everything. I try to look closer, but the words fade away before I can focus. I blink twice and a woman steps in front of me.

  "Run a mile," she commands.

  She takes me through all my physical training.
She even fights me. I am careful to be mediocre. Then I'm put into a shooting range. They tell me to shoot the targets. I miss half of them on purpose.

  There is another flicker and the screen goes blank. I take the goggles off and see Willem looking down at me. His expression holds none of the emotion of the previous night. We're strangers, linked by nothing. He snaps his fingers impatiently and I hand him my goggles. Nathan and five others have already left the room. I'm exactly in the middle. The thought is a relief.

  "Return to your dorm until you're collected," Willem says.

  His words don't tell me if I have passed the test. I have a feeling he won't know until he reviews the footage. I wonder how long it will take. Will I have to wait hours to know if they plan on killing me? Minutes?

  I meet Nathan in the green hall. He is pacing in front of his door. He looks anxious. I understand his emotion. "How do you think you did?" he asks.

  "I think I passed," I say more confidently than I feel. It's better than admitting to thinking they're going to kill me. There's no sense in worrying him further.

  "Right. Yeah," he agrees.

  He stops pacing and looks down at me. The warm emotion that has characterized the last week between us is in his eyes. It makes my stomach do somersaults that have nothing to do with fear of the test. I like that he looks at me that way. It makes me feel like I matter. I look back up at him and smile at him shyly. I want to kiss him. I know I can't.

  "Bye," I say, knowing I'll do something I shouldn't if I linger.

  "Bye," Nathan replies softly.

  Maria meets me at the door to our dorm room. Her face is pale and her eyes are bloodshot, but she looks calm. I don't know if she's pretending to be okay. Her hesitation about returning to the dorm is clear in her body language. I touch her swollen eye guiltily and she smiles reassuringly. We walk inside and see they have swapped out her bed. The blood is gone. It's like the attack never happened. She sighs in relief and sits on her bed. There are three other girls from our class in the room. They avoid looking at us. I don't blame them. They know we're trouble now.

  "Who do you think will take us outside?" Maria asks. "You think it'll be Honey?"

  I'm glad she's not asking about the test. My stomach is coiled around the truth of my failure. Talking about it will just make the coil tighter.

  "The guards most likely," I say. "Have you asked any of the others about it?"

  "I never thought I'd get this far," Maria admits.

  "Yeah," I agree. "I'm sure it's the guards. Maybe the dead-eyed man will be in charge."

  "That makes sense," Maria says.

  We wait in silence for our futures to be made clear. The hour changes over to another, then the door opens. The dead-eyed man gestures us up. We stand automatically and form a line at the door. He turns and leads us down the hall without speaking. We don't go to the metal stairs and up to the exercise room like normal. Instead, he stops at the wall at the very end and holds his hand out. A blue light traces around his fingers. There's a handprint reader in the wall. The door slides open, exposing a small room on the other side. I know it's like the moving room I experienced in the hospital. We file inside obediently, the others looking like they're going to be sick, and the man puts his hand against a reader to his right. It lights up and a row of numbers appear on the screen. He pushes one and the doors close.

  The ride is very long. I wonder how deep under the ground we are and how many levels one building can have. I wish I had a map of the facility downloaded into my brain. I wish I knew everything.

  The doors open with a ding and a large room reveals itself to us. My mouth drops open. Ten lifts are in front of us, as well as hundreds of pods. The ceiling is so tall I have trouble seeing into the far corners. Yellow lines mark certain sections of the floor off. There is a middle area marked out that looks like a path for the lifts to move around. A smaller, metal room is in the exact middle of the large room. People in red jackets hang around it, talking and controlling the flow of traffic in and out of the facility.

  The dead-eyed man pushes me to get me walking. He doesn't care that I'm amazed by the sight. We have somewhere to be. I'm the first one out of the moving room. I walk down a set of metal stairs and onto the grey floor. I look at the lifts in wonder. This is the closest I've been to one. Seeing them flying over the city from the woods is not the same as seeing them up close. The lifts have a pointed nose, two engines on either side and graceful wings. I have read about thrust and lift, but I know it takes more than that to get them off the ground. People spend years building the lifts. And I have a feeling I am about to ride on one. Despite my nerves, I am excited.

  The dead-eyed man takes us down a small walkway to the left of the room and stops at the very last lift in the row. This lift has its rear door down, revealing a cargo area. There are seats in the open area. People are already in them. I recognize most of them. They are the same people who started the two weeks with us but who are now in different colors. I count heads. There are twenty-five of us left. Ten people have not made it. I don't see the skinny boy anywhere in the crowd.

  I walk up a short ramp and file into the next available seat. Nathan is already on board. He is a row ahead of me. He turns when he sees me and smiles. He looks excited. I don't know why until I notice that he is no longer wearing green. A blue band is on his arm. My heart drops and I lose all of my excitement at seeing the lifts.

  I've lost him.

  We will not see very much of each other now that we are in different sections. He will be continually separated from us. I also feel that he's suddenly in danger. Not very many people make it to blue. He has to be careful. He can't let them think he is too clever. I will have to warn him.

  "Listen up, dregs!" the dead-eyed man says to get our attention. He has moved to the front of the lift, near a narrow door that separates us from the pilot. "Here are the rules: Speak when spoken to and only if you have no choice, say nothing about your training to any of citizens, and stay together. Anyone who is caught disobeying will be shot. You have been warned."

  I know he means it. I see it in his dead eyes. His warnings are needless. None of us want to speak to the citizens. We have learned distrust. I am not the only person who has figured out that everything is a test.

  The door closes behind us with a hiss and a bang and dead-eyes sits down on a seat that faces us. There are only two other guards. I wonder why they don't bring more. Surely they are afraid someone will escape.

  The darkness surrounds us for a long minute, then I hear the hum of the engines. Someone in front of me gasps as we roll forward. I lean toward the window to look out. We stop at the end of the room and there is upward motion as a platform raises us up. Sunlight streams into the lift as the sky opens out around us. It touches my face. I close my eyes happily. I've missed the rays of sunshine almost as much as I've missed Max.

  Before the joy can really settle in to my stomach, the sound of the engines shift and we raise off the platform smoothly. We're flying. I'm supposed to be afraid, downtrodden, and angry. I'm not supposed to feel happy about anything. But the feeling of flying makes me feel alive and free. I have never felt more excited in my life.

  Chapter 17