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Authors: Maya Shepherd
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for air. Then he finally lets me go, and leaves the cell without another word. The other man sighs heavily, then closes the door and turns to me.
“Please excuse him, he’s just worried.”
The Legion commanders also worry about small children if they don’t develop as they should or if they break the rules, but they don’t get violent. Somehow I know it’s just not the same. D523 must mean a lot more to this man than we do to the Legion commanders, and that’s why he’s so angry. I can even understand it in some ways, because D523 is really something special. Different from everyone else in the safety zone.
“I liked her,” I say quietly.
Green Eyes tilts his head and inspects me curiously. “More than the others?”
I nod.
His mood turns pensive. “Aren’t you all the same? How can you like someone more than the others?”
“She’s not like the others.”
“How so?”
“She behaves differently, she talks differently, she laughs. No one laughs in the safety zone. She’s so lively.”
“And you like that?”
“Yes!” I cry out, firmly convinced, then recognise that I may have said too much. It sounds like I’m criticising the Legion commanders, but I only wanted to say D523 matters to me.
“Are there other people in the safety zone that you like better than others?”
C515 comes quickly to mind, but I’m keeping that for myself so I only shake my head.
“Would you prefer to laugh more often in the safety zone? Don’t you think it’s...mean that they forbid it?”
This time I won’t fall for it. I won’t complain about my home in front of these criminals.
“It’s too late for that. I won’t see the safety zone again.”
Irritated, he furrows his brow. “How do you know that?”
“If you don’t kill me, the radiation will.”
A smile sneaks across his lips. “But we’re alive.”
“How long have you all lived outside the safety zone?”
“Me—15 years. Others much longer. Finn has never lived anywhere else.”
“Finn?”
“The guy with the temper.”
“He doesn’t have a designation?”
“No, nobody here has that. I think it’s time I introduced myself.” He stretches a hand towards me. “I’m Paul.”
What am I supposed to do with his hand? Why is he holding it out to me?
He reaches over the table and grips my hand. His fingers lay warm on my skin before he gives a light shake.
“That’s how we greet one another,” he explains, and grins—just like I saw D523 do.
“Have the Legion commanders never told you that there’s no more radiation outside? The Third World War was so long ago that there’s hardly anything left of it.”
I stare at him in disbelief. Unsure if I should believe him. Why would they lie to us?
“They never told you about us either, right?”
“Yes they did. You’re the outcasts.”
“That’s how it started, many years ago, but now we’re much more than that. We’re rebels.”
There it is again, that terrible, dangerous word. I don’t want anything to do with it.
“Why are you doing this? The Legion only wants to protect us. They keep humanity safe. We’d be dead without them.”
“That might have been true, once. Now they’re only locking you up to keep control. They don’t let you live—or laugh. You said that yourself. Do you think that’s fair?”
“It’s necessary. We’re the last humans.”
“We were never the last and we’ll never be the last. The world is full of people. There are so many safety zones and Legions that we can’t even count them all. If you like, we could call ourselves a safety zone here.”
I shake my head, horrified. “How can you dare to say that? You have nothing at all in common with the Legion. You kidnapped us and you’re keeping us prisoner. There’s no safety here!”
My voice is louder and sharper than it’s ever been before. I feel a wild tremor in my stomach area and observe the hair on my arms is standing up. I’d really like to hit the table, but I
“Please excuse him, he’s just worried.”
The Legion commanders also worry about small children if they don’t develop as they should or if they break the rules, but they don’t get violent. Somehow I know it’s just not the same. D523 must mean a lot more to this man than we do to the Legion commanders, and that’s why he’s so angry. I can even understand it in some ways, because D523 is really something special. Different from everyone else in the safety zone.
“I liked her,” I say quietly.
Green Eyes tilts his head and inspects me curiously. “More than the others?”
I nod.
His mood turns pensive. “Aren’t you all the same? How can you like someone more than the others?”
“She’s not like the others.”
“How so?”
“She behaves differently, she talks differently, she laughs. No one laughs in the safety zone. She’s so lively.”
“And you like that?”
“Yes!” I cry out, firmly convinced, then recognise that I may have said too much. It sounds like I’m criticising the Legion commanders, but I only wanted to say D523 matters to me.
“Are there other people in the safety zone that you like better than others?”
C515 comes quickly to mind, but I’m keeping that for myself so I only shake my head.
“Would you prefer to laugh more often in the safety zone? Don’t you think it’s...mean that they forbid it?”
This time I won’t fall for it. I won’t complain about my home in front of these criminals.
“It’s too late for that. I won’t see the safety zone again.”
Irritated, he furrows his brow. “How do you know that?”
“If you don’t kill me, the radiation will.”
A smile sneaks across his lips. “But we’re alive.”
“How long have you all lived outside the safety zone?”
“Me—15 years. Others much longer. Finn has never lived anywhere else.”
“Finn?”
“The guy with the temper.”
“He doesn’t have a designation?”
“No, nobody here has that. I think it’s time I introduced myself.” He stretches a hand towards me. “I’m Paul.”
What am I supposed to do with his hand? Why is he holding it out to me?
He reaches over the table and grips my hand. His fingers lay warm on my skin before he gives a light shake.
“That’s how we greet one another,” he explains, and grins—just like I saw D523 do.
“Have the Legion commanders never told you that there’s no more radiation outside? The Third World War was so long ago that there’s hardly anything left of it.”
I stare at him in disbelief. Unsure if I should believe him. Why would they lie to us?
“They never told you about us either, right?”
“Yes they did. You’re the outcasts.”
“That’s how it started, many years ago, but now we’re much more than that. We’re rebels.”
There it is again, that terrible, dangerous word. I don’t want anything to do with it.
“Why are you doing this? The Legion only wants to protect us. They keep humanity safe. We’d be dead without them.”
“That might have been true, once. Now they’re only locking you up to keep control. They don’t let you live—or laugh. You said that yourself. Do you think that’s fair?”
“It’s necessary. We’re the last humans.”
“We were never the last and we’ll never be the last. The world is full of people. There are so many safety zones and Legions that we can’t even count them all. If you like, we could call ourselves a safety zone here.”
I shake my head, horrified. “How can you dare to say that? You have nothing at all in common with the Legion. You kidnapped us and you’re keeping us prisoner. There’s no safety here!”
My voice is louder and sharper than it’s ever been before. I feel a wild tremor in my stomach area and observe the hair on my arms is standing up. I’d really like to hit the table, but I
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