Read Online Freefall by Anna Levine - Free Book Online Page B

me.
    â€œAggie,” a harsh voice jars me awake. “Get up!”

Chapter Seven
    â€œHey!” I cry, tugging back the sweater.
    â€œGet up already. I’ve been standing here for an hour trying to wake you.”
    The impatient whisper is unfamiliar. I try to ignore it by hunkering down deeper and falling back asleep, but the voice won’t let me. My neck crimps. I knead the knot, tugging aside the steel fibers of the sweater draped over me. A gust of wind breezes down my shirt. Chilled. Hungry. Tired. Sore. Can’t figure out which comes first.
    â€œGo away,” I grumble.
    â€œI’m not going anywhere. Get moving before I turn you into a mufletta .”
    The visual comes back to me in full force. How could I not have recognized Lily’s boom box?
    I know it’s her hulking over me, despite the dark circles rimming her eyes and the pinched scowl on her lips.
    â€œDon’t give me that look. It’s your turn.”
    â€œDon’t give “My turn?”
    â€œYour shift to guard. Come on. I’m exhausted.”
    And cranky. Her irritability is infectious. Sitting up, my motley beddings fall aside. “You don’t have to hover,” I snap at her. “Go on. You can see I’m ready.” I stand up fully dressed, looking like I’m ready to march across the desert. We’ve all gone to sleep in our uniforms, including the boots on our feet. I wiggle my toes. I’m awake and now my toes decide to fall asleep.
    Lily shuffles up dust and rubs her arms. “I’m not taking any chances that you won’t bury yourself back under there. My shift ends once you’re in place. Hop to it.” She snickers, looking at the bunny still wrapped in my arms.
    Tossing the stuffed animal back on the lump of bedding, I scoop up the ends of my hair and rein them in with my now-blackened scrunchie.
    â€œNoga’s after you, at two o’clock,” says Lily. She points to the guard post, which isn’t much of a post. All that marks the area is a flat rock on a mountain rise. Inside, a burning burlap sack sends up fumes.
    â€œNow I could use some sun,” I say. My army-supplied jacket is together with the rest of my gear: lost. The scorching desert sun has gathered up all its heat and left a dark chill behind.
    Lily shrugs and hands me the list. It’s already two minutes past her hour. She yawns. Her whole body judders, all the way to her tonsils.
    â€œWhatever you do, don’t fall asleep, or you’ll get tossed out of here—fast.”
    I look around. Night has turned the desert upside down. Above, the sky stretches endlessly, and now it is too dark to see even a meter beyond where I am standing.
    â€œIs it dangerous?”
    Lily shrugs. “Don’t know. It’s a bit creepy being alone. I tried not to think about it too much.” She starts to walk back to her tent. Stops. Groans and turns back. walk back to her tent. Stops.
    â€œWhat now?” I ask.
    â€œHere,” she says, shirking off her jacket. “You’ll freeze without this. Just give it back to me in the morning. I’m not getting fined because you can’t hold on to your things.”
    â€œIt’s not my fault they’re missing.”
    But she’s already gone, hurrying off to the tent.
    Grateful, I swaddle inside the oversized coat, thinking how Lily is like one of those sour candies with a sweet, chewy center. I lick my lips and dig into her pockets. Jackpot! Contraband jelly beans.
    I pop a few, hoping that Lily either won’t notice them missing or won’t mind. She had to have known she’d left them behind. The loan of the jacket came with the pockets.
    Quiet. I’ve never heard such quiet. No sirens. No neighbors. Eerie, like Lily said, but also peaceful.
    A jackal howls.
    I toss a few more jelly beans in my mouth, but the sound of my chewing is too loud. Rather than feeling frightened, for the first time since