Divided (9 page)

     ‘Easy,’ I say, picking up a katana from the weapons rack in front of me.

     Fawcett watches me as I confidently walk towards the man. As I approach, the sword in his hand changes slowly into a duplicate of the katana in my hand. I turn to face Lieutenant Fawcett, who is now grinning almost maliciously. Unprepared for this sudden change, I turn back towards the man, who I now assume to be only a simulation. I raise my katana, ready for attack.

15

Kai

     ‘It’s impossible to cross there, Kai!’ Arys calls to me.

     I’m stood on the edge of a narrow ravine, staring across, figuring out a way to pass.

     ‘There’s a bunch of overgrown plants that look like they can hold our weight,’ I shout back to her. ‘It will save us at least a couple of hours finding our way around it.’

     ‘If you want to kill yourself, go ahead, but I’m going my own way.’

     Looking across, I know that it’s very doable. Arys has been cold towards me since leaving yesterday, and I don’t see her mood changing at all. We’ve only slowly travelled over twenty miles since leaving yesterday, and there are at least another twenty before reaching the city. The plan has been to reach the outskirts of the city and travel north. That’s the general direction of where Arys’s sister will be, and a mountainous wall isn’t a landmark that can easily be hidden, so it’s the best plan we have. The city is bound to be swarming with Hunters, and I’m not sure how prepared we are for this. We made the decision to sleep during the afternoon, and walk from the evening to the early hours of the morning. That’s when the Hunters are on the move. It’s better than being ambushed in our sleep.

     After one more glance at my plan to jump the ravine, I know that Arys, in her temper, will probably go around it on her own, and as little the possibility of encountering Hunters during the day, I’d prefer not to risk both my life and hers.

     ‘You win,’ I call; resigning the plan and walking carefully back up the landslide towards Arys.

     She begins to walk away from me as I get closer, so I scramble up the rock, tripping slightly.

     ‘Arys!’ I call out.

     I can’t see her anymore and I begin to panic slightly, trying to at least keep her in my sight. Papa’s final words to me come back to me suddenly “
protect her
”. 

     ‘Arys, please!’ I call out again.

     The only sounds I hear are the birds. Until a scream breaks that silence. Arys’s. I climb even faster, calling her name constantly over the sound of the debris crashing to the ground. I finally reach the top to find a single Hunter advancing on Arys. Her sword is drawn and the Hunter isn’t armed, meaning there will probably be others in the vicinity. I don’t have time to unsheathe my knife, and so I lunge towards the Hunter, throwing her to the ground. Reaching for my knife, I notice that it is no longer on me. Panicking, I scramble up from the Hunter on the ground and take a step backwards, looking around for anything I can use for a weapon.

     ‘Arys, your sword!’ I cry.

     Turning to face Arys, I see her being dragged by a male Hunter, her sword abandoned on the floor. A third Hunter breaks through the trees and I grab the sword, rushing towards Arys. The Hunter throws her to the ground, his gloved hands around her neck. Arys’s sword in my hand, I swing viciously at the Hunter. His body collapses, and I turn quickly to block the attack from the female Hunter. With force, I kick her to the ground, knocking her unconscious. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the third Hunter reaching me, but I’m too slow to block his attack. His blow throws me to the ground next to the female Hunter. Arys joins the fight and punches the Hunter repeatedly from behind. This has no effect and he effortlessly throws her against a tree. I struggle as I stand up and, picking up Arys’s sword again, I stab the Hunter from behind. Blood splatters me as he falls to the ground.

     ‘Arys!’ I shout, running towards her.

     She sits up cautiously.

     ‘I’m alright,’ she says weakly.

     I restrain myself from my natural response of holding her and comforting her, and instead stand there foolishly. I see the look of betrayal in her eyes return.

     ‘I...’ I begin.

     ‘Thanks for saving me,’ she cuts in, getting up quickly. ‘What are we doing with the bodies?’

     A little hurt by the coldness in her voice, I also remove emotion from my voice.

     ‘We could throw them into the ravine; I don’t suppose other Hunters can find them there.’

     ‘Yeah I guess that’s the easiest plan,’ she agrees, walking to the body of the second Hunter that attacked her and prodding it with her foot. ‘Their clothing... it’s different.’

     ‘Different how?’ I ask, examining it too.

     ‘All the Hunters I’ve seen are usually wearing normal clothes. Like the Old World type.’

     She’s right. All three Hunters are wearing heavy black clothes. The material is heavy at the front, and stretchy at the back.

     ‘If they’d fit us, they would be perfect,’ she suggests.

     I kneel next to the Hunter’s body, and unstrap the front of his vest. Throwing it on, it’s slightly too large, but wearable and it will certainly protect against knife attacks from the front.

     ‘They’re great!’ I say, ignoring the wetness of the Hunter’s blood on my back.

     Arys walks around me. ‘You’ve damaged it a little, but I reckon you’ll be fine.’

     I give Arys her sword back and try on the Hunter’s gloves. They fit nicely, and add instant warmth to my fingers.

     ‘Try and stab me carefully,’ I request.

     ‘Carefully?’ she smirks.

     Without a moment’s hesitation, she lunges the sword at my chest, taking me by surprise. The sword bounces off without injuring me.

     ‘Arys! You could have killed me!’ I cry.

     ‘Oh come on! I knew it wouldn’t hurt you! I tried stabbing the Hunter earlier.’

     After taking the vest and gloves off and stuffing them into my backpack, I approach the other male Hunter. His gear is useless to the both of us due to his height.

      ‘We’ll get rid of these two first, and you can have the female’s clothing,’ I suggest.

     Together, we carry the two bodies and throw them down the landslide and into the ravine. The second gets caught slightly in the bushes, but he remains hidden and we agree that the body will be fine there.

     ‘Once we’ve got rid of the final one, we should stick to wearing the vests at all times,’ I suggest. ‘That way, surprise attacks might be easier.’

     We approach the area in which I killed the Hunters to find the third one missing.

     ‘Arys...’ I begin.

     Suddenly, a pain fills the back of my head, reverberating through my body. Blinding light fills my eyes before I crash to the floor, unconscious.

16

Kayra

     ‘Nine,’ I say, slightly exasperatedly. ‘I rank nine out of two hundred!’

      ‘Don’t be too hard on yourself,’ Nina says. ‘I’m twenty eighth, and only increased by seven ranks.’

     ‘What was your inspection like?’ I ask.

     ‘Different to what it always has been!’ Nina laughs. ‘I don’t know, I just felt they were
trying
to genuinely hurt us.’

     ‘And the new inspectors?’

     ‘Oh they are definitely not my type!’ she laughs, winking at me.

     It’s been ten hours since the inspection started and our ranks have just been released to us. The inspection lasted almost an hour, with it only getting harder and harder for us as we progressed through it. The simulation game on floor six consisted of a full on battle with an endless flood of attackers, all with primitive weapons. While their weapons weren’t perfect, their number was far too much and it ended in less than five minutes. Scanning through the specifics of my results, my heart rate was 185bpm during the simulation game. The recommended is 150bpm, and I lost marks greatly for that. Everything else was good, my strongest skills being military operations, system analysis, and close combat. My specialised training will be focused on Strategic Tactics, with another thirty people. Nina’s training will be in Leadership and Command, as she managed to impress her inspector with her skills in taking control of her surroundings. We both sit at the far end of the dining hall waiting for Zach to bring our trays of food to us along with his training results, which he has been keeping quiet.

     ‘It’s annoying that they don’t tell us who we’ll be training with,’ Nina says sadly.

     ‘I know! It’s annoying asking people and trying to find out that way.’

     ‘So this may be the end of us training together?’ she asks, a little gloomily.

     ‘It might be. Thorne wasn’t clear about what happens to classes, so I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.’

     Zach returns, passing the trays to us enthusiastically. I look down at tonight’s meal: beef stew.

     ‘Are you going to tell us what training you’ve got
now
?’ I ask.

     ‘Wait for it...’ he teases. ‘Intelligence Operations!’

     He throws his arms in the air triumphantly, before lowering them sadly when we don’t react.

     ‘Intelligence Operations!’ he tries again, his arms flying up, gaining him odd looks from people sat nearby.

     ‘What is that exactly?’ Nina asks politely.

     ‘I don’t have any idea, but it contains the word “
intelligent
”, meaning I’ve done well at something!’

     The conversation slowly moves towards Chief Matthews, and of who might get stuck with him as their professional trainer, or if his job will end here.

     ‘I’ve got a hunch that you’ll get him,’ Zach tells Nina. ‘He’s a great leader of course. Unless you get Victor Thorne as your trainer!’

     ‘Don’t be stupid!’ I scoff. ‘When has
anyone
even seen him in person?’

      ‘My friend Isaac reckons that he’s just an actor. Just the face of the entire government,’ Zach says. ‘I disagree though.’

     ‘Whoever he is, I’m sure he won’t be training Nina,’ I say.

     After finishing the stew, we leave the dining hall together, eating our chocolate muffins. The sun is slowly lowering towards the Compound’s wall as we walk in the evening light towards our sector’s hall of residence.

     ‘Any ranking celebration plans for tonight?’ Nina asks us both. ‘We could sneak into your room Zach!’

     ‘I don’t think we should,’ I say. ‘Our first day of specialised training will probably start tomorrow, and it won’t be wise to turn up late.’

     ‘You’re such a spoilsport!’ Nina moans. ‘Are you in, Zach?’

     Zach fakes being nervous. ‘Oh... well... if it’s just you in on it, then...’

     ‘I’m not flirting,’ Nina laughs. ‘I’m just up for a bit of adventure.’

     ‘I’ll have to refuse,’ Zach says, laughing.

     Nina and I say goodbye to Zach as we split up into our separate rooms. We still have a few hours before lights out, and so I take this time to continue reading through a couple of books while Nina sits on her bed texting people.

     The rest of the girls who share the room with us return over the next hour, and the sky slowly turns to a deeper shade of blue.

     ‘Why do you think we now need specialised training, fifteen years on?’ Nina asks, eventually breaking the silence in the room.

     I look up at her, the glow of her phone brightening her anxious face.

     ‘Maybe because it’s nearly time for this new world to start?’ one of my roommates, Katie, suggests.

     ‘You really think they’ll just let us free with all this training?’ I ask sceptically.

     This is not the first time we’ve had a conversation about what Unity’s plan for the future involves. We know that the training is to build up a people who are all strong and equal and who have common goals, but Unity’s future plans have always been a major topic of discussion.

     ‘I don’t know. Maybe they just want to have people in the world who they know are strong?’ Rachel says.

     ‘It’s not that,’ Nina says. ‘But why do they now require to teach some of us leadership? What’s the purpose?’

     ‘It’s been fifteen years, Nina’, Katie replies. ‘They aren’t getting younger and they’re going to need people to keep control when they die.’

     ‘You’re probably right,’ Nina says, smiling.

     The speaker on the ceiling beeps loudly twice. The cue for lights out. Being closest to the light switch, Rachel turns the main lights off, throwing the room into darkness. Once my eyes adjust, I see the silhouette of Rachel climbing into bed. I close my eyes, and fall asleep to the memories of my family, and the older man I remembered briefly this morning.

I wake up with a start. Did I just imagine that? For the first night in over three months, my dreams weren’t of the incident before the earthquake. It wasn’t what I’d call a good dream; I was just in training with Nina. But an audible voice was clearly saying ‘
It’s time
.’

     I get up out of bed, looking at the time on the clock next to my bunk. It’s just past one in the morning. My mind reels through thoughts and memories. I’m sure that voice belongs to my father, though I have no real memory of him speaking to me. It can’t have been a dream! I sneak over to Nina’s bunk, softly treading to avoid waking the other eight girls in our dormitory. I know what I must do. It’s time to find my sister, Arys.

     ‘Nina, wake up!’ I whisper quietly into her ear, leaning as close to her as I can.

     Her eyes open and she looks at me directly.

     ‘What the hell, Kayra?!’ she cries, pushing me away from her with such force that I fall backwards. ‘It’s one in the morning!’ she states, checking her watch before miraculously falling asleep again.

I shake her again, whispering urgently to her.

     ‘Nina, I have to get Zach. Pack up now, we’re leaving the Compound.’

     Her eyes open, but she doesn’t get up.

     I manage to sneak out of my dormitory unseen, but there are security cameras everywhere, I’m bound to be seen. I walk quietly along the hall, keeping an eye on the door numbers. He’s in room number fourteen. I pass each door until I get to his dormitory.  The doors are all the same: Light grey with a black number painted on. I’ve never been in a boy’s room before; I don’t knock, and just walk in, slowly shutting the door behind me. When I turn, despite the lack of light, I see everyone in the room staring at me.

     ‘Oh, come on! We thought you were a guard!’ one of the boys says to me. ‘You could have just knocked like anyone polite would do.’

     The lights turn on, and the boys pull out their concealed handheld gaming consoles. They continue playing as if I’m not in the room with them. I’m so confused; despite the specific lights out rule we have always lived under, my presence isn’t considered unusual. They must get other girls in here all the time, and I get the feeling one of them must be Nina, even though it’s forbidden to be in any room other than your own.

     ‘You turned on me! We were allies,’ one of the boys shouts. I recognise him as Malcolm, one of Zach’s friends.

     Zach sits up on his bunk, tossing his video game to the foot of his bed.

     ‘Hey, Kayra,’ he laughs. ‘What are you doing here? You never break the rules, and I see you’ve changed your mind about the late-night celebrations!’

     ‘I only break the rules when they need breaking,’ I reply shortly.

     ‘So what’s the reason for you being here now?’ he asks. ‘Did you finally realise that I really am your knight in shining armour? The meaning of your life. Or did you merely want a second round of beating me up?’

     He’s sat on the top bunk, so I climb up to join him, sitting crossed-legged in front of him. I imagine how strange this will be from his perspective. It’s about to get even stranger.

     ‘I have a twin sister,’ I begin telling him, hoping to ease him into the idea of running off in the middle of the night. ‘When we were babies, before the earthquake, my father enhanced our brains, connecting our minds together.’

     ‘But all our brains are enhanced,’ he cuts in. ‘How else can we be better than the majority of the traditionally-trained adults here?’

     ‘It’s different! My mother explained it briefly to me. He enhanced just our twin connection, perfecting it to a point where I feel her emotions, and we can talk to each other, but I don’t remember that ever happening besides in a dream. My father also connected himself to me. My sister’s brain was weaker than mine, and so he and my mum couldn’t also connect themselves to her.’

     I tell him the remaining details I know in a whisper, he doesn’t cut in and listens intently. The other boys are too engrossed in their game to care to listen to us.

     ‘Are you sure it was your father, not just your imagination?’ he asks me once I finish telling him all I know.

     ‘I’m sure! It was as clear as if he were standing next to me. I have been waiting years for it,’ I assure him.

     He looks at me for a few seconds, as if thinking it’s all a joke.

     ‘Yes,’ he says. ‘If it’s important to you, then I’ll go with you.’

     No one has left the Compound since arriving. We have allocated farming spaces to grow our own food, and there are cattle and chicken we breed for meat and eggs. There’s no reason to leave. His response surprised me; I didn’t really think we’d be good enough friends for him to risk his life like this for me. I hear footsteps in the hall. I’m not the only one to hear them and one of the boys whispers ‘Guards,’ and the lights go off, all the boys hiding their video games again.

     Zach drops down, pretending to be asleep and pulls me next to him, he covers the both of us with his duvet, hiding us from sight. I hear the door open and peek from under the duvet.

     ‘If I hear another sound from any of you, you’re all sleeping in the hallway again,’ the guard barks.

     ‘That will only attract more attention, encouraging everyone else to come out and start a riot like last time!’ says the boy in the bunk under me.

     If the guard comes any closer, he’ll see two people in Zach’s bed and I’ll never hear the end of it. I close my eyes and match my breathing to Zach’s steady breaths.

     ‘You can’t win, we will always have the upper hand,’ another boy calls out.

     The guard marches towards the bed of the boy who just spoke. He leans to him closely.

     ‘
Detention!
’’ the guard roars at him, causing the boy to flinch.   

     The guard turns round to address the room.

     ‘All of you!’ he continues. ‘All week after lights out, seeing as though you enjoy being awake at this time!’

     He strides back into the hallway, the door closing behind him. No lights turn back on, everything is silent.

     ‘Why aren’t the lights going back on?’ I whisper to Zach, barely audible.

     ‘The guard is outside the door,’ he whispers back. ‘He’ll remain there all night now.’

     All night?! I have to get back to my room! Nina’s waiting for me to leave. I need to leave! I slowly hop off the bunk, landing softly on my toes and lowering myself into a crouch. I lie flat against the floor, looking at the thin strip of light under the door. As Zach predicted, the silhouette of the guard’s feet prove he’s not moving from this spot tonight. Unless a diversion is caused. My mind races, thinking of many possibilities. I have no way of contacting Nina, but maybe if Zach causes a scene which brings the guard in here, while he’s dealing with Zach I could sneak out of the open door and return to my own dorm. Am I that important to Zach that he’ll risk another month of detention though? If not a worse punishment. I resign to planning to remain here tonight and think of a plan. I’m not sleeping in Zach’s bed, or anyone else’s for that matter. The best option is to sleep underneath someone’s bed. Just as I’m weighing my options, considering who would be less likely to be annoyed at me for requesting this, there’s a light tap on the window. I don’t register it at first, but the tapping continues and I sprint quietly to the window. Who is knocking?! We’re seven storeys high and there are no ledges. I open the window and to my surprise, Nina falls through, landing silently on the rug, swearing under her breath.