Tree: Live to give, give to live (Numbered Book 3)

by Magus Tor

  By the time the shuttle took off, calm wasn't the only thing that Aurelia envied Jonathon. He was still reading, and she had done nothing but sit quietly and wait. The Empire didn't encourage idleness in Workers. This was the first time that she could remember just sitting and doing nothing. There was always something: reading to be done, chores, studying, something. Now the forced inactivity was eating away at her brain.

  She closed her eyes, hoping that she might get some rest. But then the deep vibrations of the shuttle began, powerful shaking that she could feel deep in the pit of her stomach. As the shuttle left the Lunar surface, Aurelia felt herself pushed back deeper and deeper into her seat, and the growling of engines and the shaking of the shuttle body grew louder until she thought for certain that the shuttle was going to shake itself apart. Then suddenly, silence. The shuttle had broken free of the pull of Lunar and was floating in space. She was going home.

  Her consciousness pulled her out of sleep, but for a moment she kept her eyes closed, enjoying the soft warmth of rest. She could hear quiet voices and fuzzily listened, trying to figure out what was going on. Aha, someone had brought down food and drinks. Good. Her stomach felt hollow. The door to the central column closed, and Aurelia opened her eyes, blinking in the harsh light of the deck. Her neck was stiff from sleeping upright. She rolled it, stretched her shoulders, and was about to lift her arms to relieve the tension from all of her muscles when she was brought up short. Ah, yes, the restraints—she'd almost forgotten. Jonathon was approaching her, a drink container in his hand. She gave him a small smile as he neared, and he mixed the drink, peeled off the top and put the cup to her lips.

  Later, when she tried to explain what she'd done, she could only blame the combination of sleep and thirst. The liquid inside the cup poured into her dry mouth, tasting as good as anything she could remember. The air on the shuttle was dry, and already her eyes and skin were beginning to itch from the lack of moisture. Gratefully, she swallowed her drink, and when Jonathon removed the container, she spoke, louder than she had intended to and perfectly clearly.

  “Thank you, darling.”

  His face stiffened; a look of horror washed over him as his eyes flicked upwards to the security cameras. And it was only in that moment that she realised what she had done. Over Jonathon's shoulder, she could see both Elza and Nicholas staring at her, pale and still. Gods, she hadn't meant to say that—really, she hadn't. The long silence stretched on, none of them knowing what to say. Aurelia counted the seconds with her heartbeat. She'd ruined everything with one ill-chosen word. And she knew that they were all waiting for the tramp of sec Worker footsteps on the stairs. Workers who would have been listening, Workers who would now know that they weren't who they said they were.

  Then she felt a sharp sting across her cheek, her eyes closing automatically so she hardly even saw what happened.

  “Enough of your impudence,” barked Jonathon's voice. “You're off rations for the rest of the flight.”

  Opening her eyes, she could see his back marching away from her. Her face stung, and she had a terrible urge to clutch her cheek. Something tickled the corner of her mouth, and carefully probing with her tongue, she tasted the metallic tinge of blood. He'd hit her. She screwed her eyes up, trying to stop the tears from coming. Thank the Gods that he was so fast, she thought. She could only hope that his reaction had been fast enough to seem natural, that whoever was watching had believed him.

  Elza went back to spoon feeding Nicholas his rations, but it was a good five minutes before Aurelia relaxed a little in her seat, letting her muscles unclench and sinking down into the cushion. No one had come. Maybe they'd believed Jonathon's outburst. Maybe no one had seen at all. They'd got away with it. She'd got away with it. Her mouth was dry again from tension, but she took a deep breath and lay her head against the side of her seat.

  Maybe an hour had passed. Maybe more, maybe less. Aurelia found it very difficult to track the time when she was doing nothing. But there was a rattle of metal, and one of her arms dropped down from the metal ring it was attached to. Opening her eyes, Aurelia found Elza undoing her restraints.

  “Toilet,” the woman said, sharply, not looking into Aurelia's eyes.

  She was hauled up out of her seat, arm pinned behind her back, and marched to the central column. There, Elza pushed her into the bathroom cubicle and followed her, slamming the door shut. Aurelia saw her eyes rapidly flickering over the ceiling. No cameras.

  “Idiot,” Elza hissed at her.

  “I know,” she whispered back.

  “Here.” Elza handed her a small gauze pad, which Aurelia wet at the tap and dabbed over her bloody mouth.

  When she was done, Elza pulled out a package of crackers. “Eat them fast. The tap water is drinkable.”

  Aurelia did as she was told, neither of them speaking, not wanting to risk words just in case. But she felt Elza's hand rubbing her arm, and she knew that the woman understood what she had done and didn't blame her for it. Swallowing, she handed the plastic packaging from the crackers back to Elza and nodded.

  She was thrust out of the door and landed on the carpet of the shuttle. Then her arm was pulled out behind her, and she stumbled to her feet. Elza rapidly escorted her to her seat and strapped her in. Lifting her arms to have them restrained brought back the burning feeling in her shoulders. And then she was left alone again. But those few moments in the bathroom had made all the difference. She felt stronger now. The food and drink had helped, but Elza's understanding had helped more. Her sympathy. Aurelia relaxed as much as she could, and though she didn't sleep again, she did manage to rest her eyes.

  Hours, days, minutes, sometime later—it could have been any of those as far as Aurelia was concerned—lost in her own thoughts, she heard a strange rumbling sound begin. Immediately she sat more upright in her seat.

  “What's happening?” she cried.

  “Landing,” Elza told her gruffly.

  Of course—she should have thought of that. The sound and vibrations intensified, and the shuttle shook, metal creaking and the thick glass in the slit windows squeaking. Aurelia took deep breaths. The immense pressure came back as they re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, pressing her down into her chair, making it hard work to draw a full breath into her lungs. But it lasted only a few moments, and then the feeling was gone. The ship no longer vibrated and growled; instead, there was the soft hum of the motors that would drive it towards the City. Aurelia wished that she could see out the windows, catch her first glimpse of Earth for weeks, view her City as she flew to meet it. But from where she sat, she could see no more than the odd flash of light.

  The lights eventually became brighter and more constant, and the motors of the shuttle grumbled beneath her. There was the sound of something metal grinding inside the ship, a soft trembling followed by a sharp twisting motion, and then everything stopped. They must have landed. Elza and Jonathon stood, pulling their uniforms straight, stretching their legs. Then each went to their prisoner.

  With relief, Aurelia felt the cuffs being removed from her wrists. Her shoulders were stiff, and getting her arms down by her sides was agony. She didn't have long to enjoy the freedom, though—Jonathon quickly tied her hands behind her back and gripped her upper arm. She couldn't wait to get off the flight, couldn't wait to breathe Earth air, and really couldn't wait to abandon her prisoner identity. She didn't know exactly what was supposed to happen now, only that Jonathon had arranged for them to be met at the shuttle bay. She hoped that whatever happened, it would be fast and that she could go back to being herself. She'd expected to feel elated when they landed, but in reality she felt tired and bored. Getting out wasn't going to be as dangerous as getting in; Jonathon had assured her of that, but still, there had to be a risk.

  She shifted from one foot to the other. It felt like they'd been waiting forever. She saw Jonathon throw a look at Elza, who returned his confusion. And then a sharp icicle of fear stabbed through her. Something was wrong. She sa
w panic and fear in that look, not just confusion. What was going on? She shifted her weight again, pressing back against Jonathon and turning her head so that her mouth was close to his ear.

  “What's wrong?” she murmured, lips barely moving.

  “We should have been first off the ship; they're making us wait,” he said back, lowering his head so that his mouth was hidden from the cameras by her face.

  She stood upright again. Okay. That wasn't a big deal. There were plenty of things that could explain their waiting. Maybe there were other prisoners on the ship, for example. Maybe some Elite passengers had demanded to get off as soon as they landed. There was nothing to worry about. Just keep calm. But she couldn't. Something felt wrong, she knew it. Her breathing grew shaky. And just as she was about to speak again, there was the sound of feet from the stairwell.

  The scarred sec Worker appeared.

  “Come with me,” he said, shortly.

  Aurelia found herself being dragged back up the stairs and then out of the shuttle.

  “We can take it from here,” Jonathon said with authority once they were in the connecting corridor that would take them to the bay.

  “My orders say that I will escort you,” the man said, already walking.

  Again Aurelia saw Jonathon and Elza share a look. This was unorthodox, obviously. But they followed the sec Worker, walking as fast as they could to keep up with him. As they neared the end of the corridor, Aurelia saw two green uniforms standing at attention.

  “This is them,” the scarred Worker said.

  Her arm was ripped from Jonathon's grasp, making her stumble and almost lose her balance. Her attention was distracted for a moment as she tried to recover, and the next thing she knew she was watching Jonathon himself being restrained.

  “What is this?” he yelled. “What the hell is going on?”

  The scarred sec Worker pursed his lips. “Due to suspicious circumstances viewed on camera during the flight, you are suspected of smuggling. You will be held in custody.”

  “I'm a sec Worker; you can't do this!” Jonathon said through gritted teeth.

  “Watch me,” said the man.

  He nodded at the two Workers who now held Jonathon and Elza. Aurelia watched as they were marched away, and for a moment her heart sank. But then, with relief, she felt her own arm grabbed, and the scarred Worker dragged her and Nicholas in the wake of the others. Wherever they were going, at least they were going together.

  It was her fault. All her fault. She knew that. One slip of the tongue and she'd destroyed everything. And now what? What could she do? Her brain raced through possibilities as she was pulled through the Earth shuttle bay. There were four of them and three sec Workers; that put the odds in their favour. But the arm restraints more than evened those odds again. Running wasn't an option; they wouldn't get far. What, then?

  She'd come up with nothing by the time they left the bay. An outside door opened, and suddenly she found herself breathing in fresh, Earth air. She lifted her head, trusting her guard to keep her on her feet as she felt the cool breeze stroke her face and a hint of dampness caressed her. It would rain soon. Rain that she would never feel. It was pointless. There was no escape. They'd been caught and would pay the price. She wanted to cry but found that she couldn't.

  What would death feel like? She thought about the calm injections she'd witnessed in the hospital. That was the best that she could hope for. But it wasn't going to be like that; it wasn't going to be a slow, quiet slide into death. It was only a matter of time until someone figured out who Jonathon was, and then the interrogations would start, the torture. Death would only come when they had bled all the information out of her that they could.

  This is what you signed up for, she reminded herself grimly, tripping over the uneven tarmac under her feet. You agreed to be in the Resistance; you knew this could happen. And she was angry at herself. Not angry for taking the risk—that, she'd had to do—but angry for not doing more with it. Angry that she hadn't accomplished more with the time that she'd had.

  They were on the grounds of the shuttle launching pad now. Strange designs were etched into the floor, things that she didn't understand but assumed had something to do with the mechanics and engineers and vehicles that used this large, open space. Squinting, she could see the lights of the City in the distance. City 01. Her city. Her parents were out there somewhere, wondering why she hadn't called. Thinking that she was too busy saving lives. And instead, here she was, ruining lives. She shook her head.

  She'd made a mistake. But she wasn't going to make any more. No matter what they did to her, no matter what the torture was, no matter how much it hurt, she wasn't going to tell them a thing. Nothing. They wouldn't get a word out of her. That was the only way she could think of to make up for what she had done. And once she decided this, she straightened up and began to walk properly, quickening her steps so she didn't need to be dragged. At the very least, she would keep some sense of self-respect.

  They were approaching some kind of transport pod. Bigger than a personal pod, it looked more like the public pods that Aurelia had seen when she’d lived on Earth. But there were no windows, just a flat metal surface, and she couldn't see what was inside.

  “Get them in with the others,” the scarred Worker said.

  Obediently, the two other Workers opened the doors of the pod and threw Jonathon and Elza in. Aurelia had time to deliberately relax her muscles to lessen the impact before she herself was thrown in. Nicholas quickly followed her, and then the door was slammed shut.

  “What the...” started a rough voice.

  “Watch the language; ladies present,” interrupted another.

  Aurelia wriggled until she managed to get herself into a sitting position. There were others in the pod. Five others. All men. She smelled the sour stench of sweat and cautiously shuffled to one side, as far away from the men as she could.

  “Newbies,” said the first rough voice.

  “Got any stim?” asked another.

  Aurelia looked at him; his eyes were red, his skin damp and pale. He looked like he needed the drug badly. She shook her head, and he closed his eyes, leaning back against the side of the pod, his legs jumping up and down in constant movement.

  “Looks like we got busted,” said Nicholas.

  It was the first time Aurelia had heard him speak since before they had left Lunar, and she smiled at the familiarity of his voice before remembering why exactly they'd been busted.

  “Because of me,” she said.

  Jonathon, Elza, and Nicholas had all managed to get somewhat comfortable, and she could see each of their faces. Elza, scared, white, biting her bottom lip. Nicholas, calm in a studied fashion, as though he was copying an attitude that he'd seen somewhere else. Pretending, she thought. And Jonathon, proud, tired, and oddly relaxed.

  “I don't know what to say,” she whispered. “Except that I'm sorry. And I know that doesn't help anything, but I want you all to know that I would never, ever consciously put you in danger.”

  “It's fine,” said Jonathon, abruptly. “No point dwelling on it. Instead, we should think about how we're getting out of here.”

  “Agreed,” said Nicholas.

  “You ain't getting out of here,” said the first rough voice that had spoken.

  Aurelia turned back to the five men scattered around the pod, trying to figure out which one had spoken. Not the addict, she was sure. Out of the other four, two looked either sleeping or unconscious, no telling which. One was staring into space, lost somewhere in his mind. And the last was grinning, his mouth missing one yellow tooth.

  “So, what is it then? Why you in here?” he asked.

  He was wearing a grubby looking tech Worker uniform, and Aurelia could see that the arm was ripped, probably where he'd been captured by an overly zealous sec Worker.

  “Smuggling,” she said. It seemed as simple an answer as any, technically truthful, and anyway, it was what the scarred sec Worker had said.
>
  “Eh, that's not good,” said the man, shaking his head.

  “Why?” she asked. Obviously it wasn't good, but he seemed to be talking about more than the nature of their crime.

  “See, him over there and those two.” He pointed at the addict and the two possibly unconscious men. “They're here for drugs. Got caught up in the bay trying to persuade people to bring stuff down for them. They'll be off to holding cell 02, close to here. Probably be put out of their misery pretty soon. Small timers, not worth bothering with, you know?”

  Aurelia didn't know, but she nodded anyway.

  “Me and him,” he went on, nodding towards the man who was staring into space. “All we done was to disobey an order.”

  “What kind of order?” interrupted Nicholas.

  “Ach, not much. Was supposed to be fixing something on one of the sec drones, but decided to partake in a little synth-alcohol instead.” The man shrugged. “We're in trouble, sure. But most likely it'll be a quick beating and a warning. As long as no one gets too excited about the beating, that is,” he added thoughtfully. “You, on the other hand, well, you'll be going to holding cell 03 over on the other side of the shuttle bay.”

  “And what's so wrong with that?” Jonathon asked.

  “Ain't nobody come out of there,” said the man. “Never. And ain't no one ever escaped neither. You're for it. And not fast like. They'll want to know info, and that means they're gonna keep you hanging around till they find out what you know.”

  Exactly what she'd been fearing. But so be it. She'd made her decisions. “How do you know so much?” she asked him.

  “Been working at the shuttle bay as long as I've been working,” he said. “Won't be the first time that I've been in holding cell 01, and guess it probably won't be the last. I'm alright as long as I stay away from the drink, but then, well, I get into trouble. Ain't no one can fix drones like me, though, so they keep me around.”