Irreverent: Young Adult Dystopian Romance (The Relevance Series Book 2)

by Sarah Addison-Fox

  My stomach tightens as I watch the IV bag slowly empty. Its drip, drip, drip, is the only thing to watch inside my airless room. A wave of exhaustion washes over me, but I can’t afford to sleep. Not now. Not when I’m hours away from another unwanted surgery. The guard said he’d be back with water, though I’m reluctant to ingest anything they have here. Strangely, as soon as I think it, my stomach rumbles as though I’ll be getting a meal. They wouldn’t risk feeding me. And they probably wouldn’t bother even if I asked. Too many risks of injury. I can’t help but chuckle aloud. Frankenstein won’t make that mistake again. Forks can be lethal weapons in the wrong hands.

  I pass the time by flexing my muscles as hard as I can. I’ve only been confined for less than a day, and unlike last time, I’ve worked hard to build muscle mass that won’t be depleted any time soon. Another one of their unending tactics. Keep test subjects as weak and as helpless as possible.

  I think of Mallory and how easily she fatigues. I’d put it down to disuse and lack of fitness since no one inside the New City values physical labour, and the more the G can get Relevants to utilise the trains and solar-powered scooters, the better they can keep track of everyone. The only Relevants walking anywhere that trains or scooters go in the new city are the ones who ran out of credits. Not something any self-respecting Relevant would allow to happen, but what if there is another reason they discourage exercise among the upper Relevant classes?

  I glance at the drip and try to work out the ratio of drips to seconds. Maybe that way I can determine how long I’ve already been here? I get to fifty-seven drips when the door opens and the guard comes back in. His face is set even harder than before as he stands at the foot of my bed, back to the camera like before.

  “No water allowed,” he growls.

  I nod limply. “Makes sense. Why waste it when I’ll be dead in a few hours.” He doesn’t reply, but the corner of his mouth twitches. I relax back into the plump pillows and take up my study of the man chosen to guard me. I don’t think it matters much since I’m basically a test subject, so I try talking to him again. “Will you be the one getting rid of my body?” His forehead crinkles so I carry on while I can. “Don’t let them send it back to the Unit. I don’t want my little brother to see me when they get done.”

  I think I see his chest start to rise and fall a little quicker. “You have a brother?”

  I nod. “Jed. He’s inside Unit 2B, he’s six years old. He doesn’t understand any of this. He still thinks the government cares about us.”

  His face falls. “A child? An Irrelevant child lives outside the city walls?”

  With a grim smile, I continue to pick at the scab still obviously on his heart. “When they told me he was born Irrelevant, I broke out of here and took him.”

  He stares at me. Jaw slackening as he shakes his head. “Why?”

  I ready myself. I need to make this as compelling as I can. If I tell him too much, I risk him not believing me, but not enough and he’ll know I’m holding back.

  “Because life has meaning and purpose. Every life.”

  I hold my breath, the only sound my thudding heart. I don’t know why, but I need him to know. I need him to understand why the system is wrong. If my words made an impact on him, I lose my chance to find out when Frankenstein walks through the door, two burly male nurses behind him.

  I stiffen in my bed as he approaches. “Given the current situation, the council have decided to begin the testing process.”

  I swallow past my parched mouth and force my tongue to cooperate. “What situation?”

  He finishes tapping on his screen and locks eyes with me. “Of course. You won’t know. There have been multiple attacks on a Unit inside the old city causing multiple casualties. The council is concerned that should word get out, it would cause disruptions.”

  I release a breath, trying to keep my breathing slow and steady to counteract the increase in my heart rate that’s now audible on the monitoring system I’m hooked up to. “Which Unit?”

  He ignores me and turns to the closest nurse. “Remove his restraints. He can have the MRI first.”

  I clench my fists until they go numb. “Which. Unit,” I repeat.

  The guard shifts closer, his eyes locked on the monitor which is blipping frequently. His eyes flick to me, then to Frankenstein. I think he’s about to say something when Frankenstein answers me. His words are cold and calculating. “What difference does that make? You can’t do anything to help them, Cristan.”

  My heart rate jumps as the weight of his words settle in. The nurse near me sends a worried glance to Frankenstein. “Doctor, his blood pressure—”

  Frankenstein shakes his head. “I’ve been authorised to quadruple the dose, but should he move, no matter what, do not use your stunners on him.”

  I’m not sure who looks more startled, the nurses or the guard assigned to keep me in check. Stunners are always the first line of defence. Guess no one told them what will happen if they fire one of those things at me.

  The nurse moves quickly, too quickly for me to register the needle in his hand. Pain splices into my upper arm. Cool fills my veins as the drug takes effect. While the nurses hold me down, the guard’s face remains expressionless as he backs away. I flop back onto the pillow. Muscles relaxed and my head growing fuzzier by the second. Frankenstein shines a light in my eyes and pokes my arm where the IV is inserted. I blink at the pinch to my skin, but I can’t move anything else in my body. My breathing starts to slow, and I can hear the monitor blipping only occasionally.

  I’m sliding under. This time even the Nanotech inside me isn’t enough to combat the enormous dose that would probably knock out three normal men. Fear solidifies my resolve to cause him as much pain as I possibly can before I die. I’m exactly where I didn’t want to be. Where I always dreaded ending up. I’m defenceless. Helpless.

  Just like before, I’m completely at the mercy of Frankenstein and his team.

  As the nurses take me from the room and start to wheel me down the hall, I make a promise that I’m too drugged up to spit at the green-eyed bastard.

  If I’m going out, I’m taking you with me.

  Mallory.

  I fumble out of the door cavity, not taking any time to look around me. I have a vague impression of streets, cleaner, and with less debris, but my vision is still blurry and the night is pressing in around me, stealing what little sight I had. My breaths are laboured as I run after Trey. All the nervous energy I had is fast dissipating now that we aren’t being followed.

  Somehow within the madness and the chaos, Trey managed to outrun and hide from the drones, and now we’re running again in the desperate hope we can find Drew and see if he can help Jackson before he dies. It’s the thought of Kit alone as she waits for us to return with Jackson that propels me onwards. I start to recognise the outlines of some of the buildings. The steepled church marks how close we are to the Unit.

  Trey slides to a stop and grabs my hand. He pulls me into the shadows of a building and pushes me behind him. “Don’t make a sound. Cockroaches up ahead,” he whispers.

  I press my back into the wall and try hard not to breathe loudly. Everything depends on us getting inside the Unit again. Jackson’s life. Helping Cristan. Helping Jed. Is all dependant on getting Drew’s help. My nerves only increase as I think of returning to the place Cristan took me from. I can’t think about Mike’s anger, the accusations that I’m a spy and the way they turned on me.

  None of it matters now. Getting help and getting to the new city is all that does. Trey slides along the wall so we’re shoulder to shoulder. He fumbles with his holster and removes both of his guns. “Okay. So, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to run like hell, shooting, and you’re going to run to the front door and wait until Drew opens up.”

  A bolt of fear ripples through me. I stutter as I back away from him. “I c-c-can’t.”

  Trey shakes his head, spikey hair illuminated by the moon. “We have no ch
oice. The ghosts will be waiting at the border wall. We have to get Jackson help before he bleeds to death. They aren’t using stunners out there. They’re shooting to kill.”

  I suck in a breath through airways still raw from the chemicals I inhaled. “But they hate me. They think I’m a spy.”

  He glares at me, his impatience evident in the set of his shoulders as he grips the gun tighter. “Yeah, well. If you want to run across to the old church shooting at them so I can go ask Drew for help, go ahead, I ain’t stopping you.” He flips the gun so its handle is facing me. “We need to act now. Or all of this is for nothing. We won’t stand a chance of saving your boyfriend’s life if we don’t have help.” I start to protest one more time, but Trey silences me as a drone flies overhead. He follows it with his gun, before pulling the trigger several times. He smiles as the drone starts to veer off to the left, spinning as it plunges to the rooftop and explodes. Shouts come from further down the street, making my skin rise and my heart pound even faster. Trey exhales loudly, then yanks me forwards so his lips meet mine. I wrench back in surprise as he grins wider. “Tell Kit I’m a fecking hero if I die for this, okay?”

  I nod numbly, but his eyes aren’t on me. Without another word, Trey spins on his heel and starts to run, yelling and shooting blindly as he makes a mad dash across the street to the church Cristan and I sheltered at the day I arrived here. Blue flashes illuminate the street as government patrolmen give chase. I take a shuddering breath and peep around the corner so I can see the entrance to the Unit. No one guards the door now that Trey has drawn them away, so I have no excuse not to go.

  I try to think of something happy as I jog as quickly as my trembling muscles allow for, but nothing will dull the fear of returning to where Gina, Mike, and Tyler are. Nothing but the thought of Cristan can make me willingly enter here again. And it’s with his face, the scars he conceals, and the knowledge of what he’s going through, that I find the strength to run the final metres to the Unit’s front entrance.

  I arrive at the door with no dignity and start to pound my fists against the metal to compete with the sounds of gunfire closing in making my entire body shake. If anyone can see me, I can’t begin to imagine how bad I look. My face streaked with dirt, hands caked in blood and sweat beading on my forehead.

  The door opens instantly and I take a step back, breathless and trembling. Unseen hands pull me inside and cause me to shriek. The lights are dim inside the Unit and I shrink back against the now closed door. “Mallory? Where’s Jackson?”

  My knees sag as Drew grips my upper arms. Solar, Cristan’s three-legged dog noses me and sniffs at my soiled trousers. I want to sob, I want to tell him it’s all my fault, that Cristan is in trouble because of me, but voices I recognise cause the blood in my veins to chill.

  “What the hell? We aren’t supposed to let anyone inside, that was the deal we made with—” Mike freezes as he spots me. His face twists as he raises a finger to point at me. “You. You did this. Everything was fine before you arrived.”

  I cower against the wall and force my voice to obey as I raise my hands so they can see the blood covering them. “He’s bleeding, Jackson’s hurt—”

  Drew silences me with a slight shake of his head. “Take this.” He shoves a medical kit into my arms. I clasp the bag to my chest as Drew turns to look at Mike. “The deal was broken when they gave the order to kill out there. I don’t care who Captain Derek Trainor says he’s working for. I can’t just sit back and watch, Mike.”

  Mike’s face sets hard as the scowl he aims at me increases. “They promised to leave us in peace. You’re going to stir things up again if they find you helping a rebellion.”

  “Rebellion?” I ask with a start.

  Mike glowers at me. “What did you think was happening?”

  I swallow hard and grip the bag tighter as though it can offer protection. “I don’t know. We were just trying to get Cristan back.”

  Mike snorts. “Like hell. We don’t want him back here. There’s no place inside a Unit for a walking time bomb. He never should have been allowed to stay. He’s a danger to us all.”

  The slightest of sounds and Solar’s soft whine as she pads awkwardly across the floor calls my attention from Mike’s anger. Jed is in the shadows of the entranceway, eyes wide and face pale as he stares at me.

  Drew turns slowly and pushes his weapon into his holster. He keeps his voice low as he speaks to Mike. “Cristan Trainor may be a crazy sod, with feck knows what inside him, but he and Jed are the only family I have left, and I’ll be dammed if I let those bastards rip him apart and make him even crazier.” His face softens as he beckons Jed over. Cristan’s brother takes faltering steps towards me, Drew continues speaking quietly. “He deserves better than to be an experiment in a lab. Even you have to agree with that.”

  As Jed slides in beside Drew and hugs his leg to peer up at me, Mike raises his hands and spins on his heel. “We made a deal with the devil, Drew. You don’t just walk away from that. You leave, you help them, they won’t forget it, and they’ll do more than dock your bloody credits this time.”

  My stinging eyes stay on him as Mike’s footsteps rescind into the corridor. Drew shrugs, a faint smile on his face as he stares down at Jed. “Yeah. Well. No one said being a rebel was easy,” he says. With a sigh, he leans down to ruffle Jed’s mop of dark hair. “Off you go. Stay with Jackie, take Solar.”

  Jed holds fast to Drew’s leg, his eyes watering as he looks at me. “Are you going to get Cristan?” I don’t know what else to do, so I nod and keep my lips pressed tightly together in case I say the wrong thing.

  Drew drops to a crouch as he speaks to Jed. “Remember what we talked about? Where to hide with Jackie if the G men come back?”

  Jed’s eyes fill. “In the library, in the secret room.”

  My brow knots in confusion, but there is no time to ask when Drew pats Jed on the shoulder. “There’s Jackie.”

  A woman eases out from the hallway and gives me a tentative smile before she scoops Jed up in her arms. Her eyes meet mine and she smiles kindly. “You bring that boy home in one piece, then we’ll figure everything else out, okay?”

  My eyes flood with tears that sting even more than the chemicals did. I can’t speak. The lump in my throat is stealing my voice, and I have nothing that could possibly soothe the fear and doubt on their faces. With a final look at Jackie and Jed, Drew swipes his wrist at the panel so the door opens to drones and gunshots outside.

  “You said something about Jackson bleeding?” he says with a half-smile.

  Cristan.

  As if being paralysed just so I stay still isn’t bad enough, I’ve put on so much muscle since leaving that the MRI machine feels even more like a death trap than I remember. My shoulders and arms are crushed against the sides as I slide inside. It’s cramped and uncomfortable, and even with the tranquiliser in my system, my nerves ramp up.

  I know what to expect. I’ve been inside a dozen times before. They always scan before they test something else out on me. I stare up at the ceiling of the machine and scowl as much as my relaxed muscles allow. I’ve never been able to figure out how I can even use this cursed machine. Whatever metal they put inside me, it’s obviously not magnetic. Not that I really thought about it before. I was too busy trying to figure out ways to fool them into thinking I was Relevant and didn’t need any of this.

  No one speaks to me through the intercom. No reassuring voice to let me know how long I’ll be in here. I close my eyes and focus on things that are productive and might help me find a way out of here. The guard and one of the nurses are outside. Frankenstein will be behind the wall monitoring my brain as they check for Irrelevant activity. That means I have approximately thirty minutes alone with just one person, but I can’t even talk to him because the noise from the machine is so loud, they’ve stuffed earbuds in my ears.

  A choked laugh escapes. What a joke. They’re worried about protecting my hearing? Why the hell would that matter
now? The time passes agonisingly slowly, but when the noise starts to lessen, a prickling sensation starts creeping over my skin letting me know the effects of the drug are wearing off. As they slide me back out, I hide a smug smile that I can wriggle my toes.

  My hopes are dashed almost instantly as Frankenstein stalks through the door. His forehead is creased and his posture is even more rigid than usual. The nurses haul me upright and have to drag me through the doors to the waiting roller chair. I force my face to remain impassive as they buckle me, in case Frankenstein decides to dose me again.

  He taps away at the tablet and gestures to the guard. “Keep a close watch. I’ll hold you responsible should he cause trouble.” Though my assigned guard looks distinctly put out, he doesn’t argue as Frankenstein walks in front of us all like he’s walking a pack of dogs.

  I keep wiggling my toes and fingers when I can and take a tiny amount of pleasure that the feeling is fast returning. I need to find a way to get a tablet or a time slide. Anything that will let me hack into the mainframe so I can try to find out what’s happening out there. I could ask again, but it’s not worth the hassle or the spike in blood pressure to do it.

  We’re almost back at my room when Frankenstein turns his steely gaze on him. “Since you are unable to move, I have agreed to a very important visitor.”

  My pulse jumps and I have to fight the desire to curl my fists. There is only one person who’d come visit me here. And the reason won’t be good. It never was. I can’t answer, so I just stare blankly at him in the hopes he’ll dismiss me as a threat for a little longer. It takes all my resolve not to spew every vile word I’ve ever heard as the door swishes open and I see him standing there.