Slipping inside the dormitory, Zeke found it empty. Overjoyed at the prospect of being alone, he set about organising the drawer Splat cleared for him earlier. He considered opening one of the books he’d brought before deciding he was far too tired.
He thumbed through one of the books he’d brought, a battered paperback that Zaya had passed on to him because it had a dragon on the front. She knew him so well.
Zaya. He needed to contact her. His sister knew that the military had summoned him two weeks ago. Had she guessed he’d finally been dragged here? She would be fuming that it had taken so long to contact her.
After fiddling with the small tablet he’d been given, it didn’t take long to discover that it was connected to an internal intranet with extremely limited capacity. It surprised him to see he could still send emails, although he’d been given a new address to use. Where to begin? What to say? Zaya seemed so far away from him right now that she may as well be on a different planet.
They came for me. I’m at the Eighth East Regiment base. I’m okay. No idea when I can see you. Apparently Oakfield Lab has completely shut down? I need to talk to someone else from work to find out what happened. Oliver or Rebecca. They took my wristband so I don’t have anyone’s numbers. Yours is the only email I ever memorised. Love you. Z.
How many people would read it before Zaya received it? Would it even actually be sent? His eyes grew heavy. He was more than happy to miss dinner. His social battery was thoroughly depleted and he needed to catch up from the sleep he missed the night before. As he closed his eyes, the image of the typeB, lying dead on a table, floated out of the depths of his mind. But now, it wore his own features.
seven
Noah
Theatmospherearoundthefire pit was light-hearted as Noah reached it, taking up his usual spot against the stubby tree trunk, with Wolf resting by his feet. Squad E generally congregated there each day before dinner. Today, several members of other squads joined them around the fire, jostling each other for the best position—near the flames, but away from the eye-watering smoke being blown by wind that would mischievously change direction. Tree trunks and rocks encircled the warm bonfire in the centre. To the north, a small shed slumped precariously to the right, as if tired from a long day’s work. Behind the shed, a small allotment grew a handful of vegetables and herbs.
Aoife entertained them by strumming various snippets of songs on her acoustic guitar, her dark-auburn hair spilling forward, obscuring her face.
Savannah rested her head on Meredith’s lap, her eyes drawn tight in concentration. Meredith hovered one open palm an inch or two over Savannah’s heart, performing Reiki on her. She’d tried it a few times with Noah in the past, but he’d always ended up bursting out laughing. Meredith used her other hand to take long drags on a pen filled with violet liquid, blowing the thick vapour away from Savannah’s face. She threw it to Splat without looking at him.
“This got anything good in it today?” he asked.
“I certainly hope not,” said Noah, although he knew full well he could trust his team to follow regulations. The systematic drug testing was usually enough of a repellent. “Has anyone seen Zeke?” Noah lowered his voice so it wouldn’t reach Habib on the other side of the circle. Zeke’s absence annoyed him. Why hadn’t the others made sure he followed them down? He wouldn’t learn to gel with them as a group unless he spent time with them.
“He wasn’t in the room when I was there ten minutes ago,” said Luo.
Everyone else shook their heads, all seeming unfazed apart from Frankie. “I’m worried about him as well. Shall I ring him?” she asked.
Noah nodded. He’d be more likely to pick up for her. When her call went unanswered, he said, “Maybe we should check medical.”
“That seems like a pretty extreme reaction,” said Splat. “He’s probably just walking around somewhere. Getting a feel of the place.”
“If he’s feeling anything like me, he isn’t deliberately walking anywhere,” said Frankie, groaning as she stretched out her legs. “But I’ll go look for him with you, Noah, if you want?”
“Tomorrow’s workout is going to be interesting with you two,” said Vitt. She was lying on her stomach, arranging dead leaves into a pattern. “Want to play a few games?” she asked, producing Avalanche Blitz from her rucksack. She tipped out the twelve ceramic hexagon counters and shuffled the cards.
Noah shook his head; he couldn’t stop worrying about Zeke’s whereabouts. Last night’s first icy exchanges now felt like a lifetime ago. Zeke had been incredibly rude, but how much of that was just his fear taking hold of him? Noah had been so sure he was going to have an unpleasant day training Zeke today, but then he’d tried so hard, pushing his body to the limit and then listening intently to everything Noah said. As the day progressed, Noah had found himself warming to the young man more and more. It wasn’t Zeke’s fault he’d been conscripted into the military. Now it was Noah’s job to keep him safe.
But where was he now? What if he’d taken off in a vain attempt at escape? “I’m going to go look for him.”
A voice piped up from across the fire pit. “You looking for your new boy?” said Krish from Squad K. “I saw him sitting with Tobias and most of C on the picnic benches near Willow block.”
“What? What’s he doing with them?” Noah said, rising to his feet, but Krish only shrugged and went back to his conversation.
Without being asked, Vitt jumped up to join Noah, and after reassuring Frankie she should stay to rest her legs, they walked around the circle to collect Habib. He was video calling his wife, but it was his five-year-old daughter, Adeela, who filled the screen, her dark curls a perfect replica of his. At the mention of Tobias Newman, Habib waved goodbye and was ready to go within seconds. They set off, cutting through the supplies warehouse to shave off minutes of their journey.
Once there, it was easy enough to spot Squad C amongst the crowds of people: Tobias Newman was standing on a bench, holding court to those gathered around them. When he spotted Noah, flanked by Vitt and Habib, storming towards him, he unleashed a wicked smile.
“Don’t go off-piste,” hissed Vitt in Noah’s ear as they approached.
“Well, this is a pleasure,” Tobias said, jumping down from the bench.
“Newman,” Noah said, and nodded. Two of Newman’s most loyal followers, Brandon Penn and David Reeves, had Zeke sandwiched between them. Noah tried to read Zeke’s expression, but Tobias stepped towards him, obscuring his view. Now he was here, he felt slightly silly demanding Zeke’s release, as if he were a toy Tobias had stolen. How would this look to the many other squads gathered around the tables? Quite possibly, Zeke was even enjoying his evening with Squad C.
“We came to check on Zeke,” Vitt said, after it became clear Noah wasn’t going to.
“He’s great. He’s having a barrel of laughs with us.”
