Read Online After the Fear (Young Adult Dystopian) by Rosanne Rivers - Free Book Online
Authors: Rosanne Rivers
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I’ll never need it again. There’s a fresh scar on my hip where it was smashed into the ground, and I touch my face tentatively, wondering how much of it is purple.
I search the bedside cabinet and find two digipads and some clothes. No water. I bang the door shut too loudly, then glance to Alixis to check I haven’t woken her. Another deep breath tells me she’s fine.
After one step I’m at the side of the pod, leaning my palms against the smooth surface. The camp lies about sixty feet below: dark and lifeless. Frozen still like the abandoned countryside I saw on the way here. Even the Herd officers sit snoozing on the steps to a low gym-like building.
Actually, the layout reminds me of my old school: the cabins, gyms, and tall pod shafts. The buildings are separated from the vast fields with an area of tarmac which looks like a playground. Of course, no one plays here. They train so that they might survive their next fight and get to see their families again.
I sigh, blowing a wiry piece of hair from my face; if someone gets to go home when they finish their tour, why has no one ever returned to city Juliet in my seventeen years?
I curse in the darkness. I’m so thirsty. My old school might not have had such beautiful fields with a lining of willow trees at the far end, but at least it had a water dispenser.
As I’m about give in, closing my eyes and leaning my forehead on the surface, a light flickers outside. It radiates from a small hut built on thin legs suspended above the tarmac. The way its glow skims over the camp reminds me of watchtowers in old films.
They’ll have water .
Without a second thought, I pad over to the scanner and run my palm over it. The door slides open to reveal a tiny, dark shaft, illuminated only by the scanner light. I glimpse at Alixis—still sleeping—and step in.
Then I’m falling. The ground moves beneath me and I’m zooming down. My insides lurch upwards as I try to grab the sides—but they’re moving with me. Trying to ground myself in this stupid thing is about as much use as the privacy setting on Debtbook. Eventually the floor jolts to a stop, and the door glides open.
I’m crouching on the floor, my chest heaving as I stand before the expanse of tarmac. Thankfully, the Herd officers are asleep because otherwise they’d think I was insane. After I’ve stepped from the shaft, the door whirs quietly as it slides back into place.
The ‘playground’ is kind of eerie. It smells almost familiar, like an allotment or vegetables growing in a humid greenhouse. The light from the watchtower shines across the tarmac in streaks. Even though it’s silent, the quiet seems to rage in my mind like the buzz of white noise. Now the need for a drink has passed from my throat to my stomach. Each time my head thumps it’s shouting ‘water, water, water!’
Here goes. I dart around the yellow glow, my bare feet tapping on the ground as I stick to the shadows, one eye on the sleeping Herd officers. When I reach the steps to the watchtower, I grasp the cool handrail and take a moment to recover my breath. I wish my heart would stop pounding so hard in my chest.
The steps don’t even creak as I climb. The silence tells me I’m being sneaky, and right now I’m not sure this is such a good idea. Maybe my thirst can wait. I’ll go back to the pod and try to sleep.
‘This is absurd!’
That voice. Clipped anger has replaced the usual slow, pronounced tones of Mr Winters. My body goes cold, as though all my blood has run for its life. I don’t dare move, fearing one moan from the stairs will be enough to alert him that I’m here.
‘Nonsense Albert! We have to look into all of these matters. There’s no need to worry yourself over a small investigation.’ This cheery voice I don’t recognise. It’s male, and I’m so scared I need to giggle at Mr Winters’ first name. I’m not even sure if Coral knew it was Albert. I ease myself up the last few steps, holding my
I search the bedside cabinet and find two digipads and some clothes. No water. I bang the door shut too loudly, then glance to Alixis to check I haven’t woken her. Another deep breath tells me she’s fine.
After one step I’m at the side of the pod, leaning my palms against the smooth surface. The camp lies about sixty feet below: dark and lifeless. Frozen still like the abandoned countryside I saw on the way here. Even the Herd officers sit snoozing on the steps to a low gym-like building.
Actually, the layout reminds me of my old school: the cabins, gyms, and tall pod shafts. The buildings are separated from the vast fields with an area of tarmac which looks like a playground. Of course, no one plays here. They train so that they might survive their next fight and get to see their families again.
I sigh, blowing a wiry piece of hair from my face; if someone gets to go home when they finish their tour, why has no one ever returned to city Juliet in my seventeen years?
I curse in the darkness. I’m so thirsty. My old school might not have had such beautiful fields with a lining of willow trees at the far end, but at least it had a water dispenser.
As I’m about give in, closing my eyes and leaning my forehead on the surface, a light flickers outside. It radiates from a small hut built on thin legs suspended above the tarmac. The way its glow skims over the camp reminds me of watchtowers in old films.
They’ll have water .
Without a second thought, I pad over to the scanner and run my palm over it. The door slides open to reveal a tiny, dark shaft, illuminated only by the scanner light. I glimpse at Alixis—still sleeping—and step in.
Then I’m falling. The ground moves beneath me and I’m zooming down. My insides lurch upwards as I try to grab the sides—but they’re moving with me. Trying to ground myself in this stupid thing is about as much use as the privacy setting on Debtbook. Eventually the floor jolts to a stop, and the door glides open.
I’m crouching on the floor, my chest heaving as I stand before the expanse of tarmac. Thankfully, the Herd officers are asleep because otherwise they’d think I was insane. After I’ve stepped from the shaft, the door whirs quietly as it slides back into place.
The ‘playground’ is kind of eerie. It smells almost familiar, like an allotment or vegetables growing in a humid greenhouse. The light from the watchtower shines across the tarmac in streaks. Even though it’s silent, the quiet seems to rage in my mind like the buzz of white noise. Now the need for a drink has passed from my throat to my stomach. Each time my head thumps it’s shouting ‘water, water, water!’
Here goes. I dart around the yellow glow, my bare feet tapping on the ground as I stick to the shadows, one eye on the sleeping Herd officers. When I reach the steps to the watchtower, I grasp the cool handrail and take a moment to recover my breath. I wish my heart would stop pounding so hard in my chest.
The steps don’t even creak as I climb. The silence tells me I’m being sneaky, and right now I’m not sure this is such a good idea. Maybe my thirst can wait. I’ll go back to the pod and try to sleep.
‘This is absurd!’
That voice. Clipped anger has replaced the usual slow, pronounced tones of Mr Winters. My body goes cold, as though all my blood has run for its life. I don’t dare move, fearing one moan from the stairs will be enough to alert him that I’m here.
‘Nonsense Albert! We have to look into all of these matters. There’s no need to worry yourself over a small investigation.’ This cheery voice I don’t recognise. It’s male, and I’m so scared I need to giggle at Mr Winters’ first name. I’m not even sure if Coral knew it was Albert. I ease myself up the last few steps, holding my
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