Read Online UnBound by Neal Shusterman - Free Book Online Page B

understand what it means to be a team player?”
    â€œYes, sir!”
    He nods and spins his chair back to his computer. “Then remember that before you waste my time again. Dismissed.”
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    In the computer lab Brooklyn’s left leg jitters. She and Thor are alone. It’s late afternoon, but after a marathon of testing, no one’s working on anything mundane like homework. She hears muffled shouts from the playground below—the littler kids are oblivious, but everyone else is shell-shocked.
    If Thor looked morose before, he looks positively miserable now. Remember, he signs. We can fix this.
    He slides to the left so she can get a better look at the screen. Her mouth goes dry and her leg stills. She’s still twenty-one.
    And Logan is just above the cutoff, at twenty-two.
    I can switch your names, Thor signs, like it’s nothing.
    Then she sees the name right before Logan’s. Number twenty-three. Risa. Did she flub her piano recital so badly that she’s come within two spots of being unwound? Even in the shock of finding her name there, Brooklyn can’t help but take a little bit of pleasure in it too. Did little Miss Perfect have stage fright? Or maybe she got sabotaged too.
    Then she thinks about how Risa stopped by her dorm before lunch. How she had acted like they could be friends. Of course they never would—but now they were no longer enemies.
    Her thoughts racing, she signs, Can we substitute any name for mine?
    Thor shakes his head. Got to be someone very close to you on the list, or it will be a huge red flag. They’ll know the list was compromised, and they’ll figure out who did it.
    The last thing Brooklyn wants is to get Thor in trouble. Sure, he can’t be unwound, but there are other punishments. It would be simplest to bump out Logan—but can she do that to him? It wouldn’t exactly be looking out for her squad brother, would it?
    She points to Risa’s name. Could we use her?
    Thor considers it. He knows Brooklyn’s history with Risa but doesn’t bring it up. Instead, he slowly signs, We could. Then he waits, leaving the decision entirely up to Brooklyn.
    When do I have to decide? Brooklyn asks.
    I need access to the mainframe, to make the switch, and I can’t get near it until the Eagle takes off.
    Brooklyn glances at the hook-nosed computer-room attendant. This one is much more attentive than the weekend attendant. The Eagle eyes them with even more suspicion than he does the other kids. Apparently signing is even more suspect than whispering.
    He goes off duty at five thirty, Thor tells her. That gives you an hour to decide—but don’t be late. The results become final at six—and if you miss that window, you’re as good as unwound.
    It feels heady yet horrible to hold the power of life and death or—if you believe the Juvenile Authority’s propaganda—living whole or living divided. But either way, it’s an end. She shivers. Better someone else’s end than hers.
    I’ll meet you back here in an hour, she tells him.
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    The stairwells are full of kids seeking out friends on other floors. Everyone needs someone to listen as they wail about poor performances or exult over triumphs. No one understands the true stakes. No ward except she and Thor knows of the extra harvesting this year. But every ward knows that a bad ranking could eventually lead to unwinding.
    Feeling claustrophobic, Brooklyn heads for the playground to think, but DormGuardians are setting up tables there. Too bad, because in a rare moment, it’s actually quiet. No basketball on the courts, no kids playing hopscotch, no one on the rusted swing set. She puts two and two together and remembers the ice cream Logan had told her about. They’ll all be getting a surprise treat tonight—and everyone will know something is up when they announce it. They