Feedback

by Robison Wells

Page 16

 

  “She’s crying,” I said stupidly.

  “Her dupe’s been down in the underground complex for two days,” Jane said. Her voice was quiet, somber. “She probably thinks she’s going to die. ”

  I sat on the edge of the newly dug trench, next to an enormous mound of gravel, and watched Joel and Walnut mix concrete in an old wheelbarrow. The cold earth under me felt good—my muscles were tired and sore, and I was sweating despite the winter air. I wanted to take the scarf off my face, but didn’t dare.

  Maybe the reason Birdman wanted me down here was just because he didn’t want to shovel out the foundation himself.

  “You got a minute?” Without waiting for a response, Shelly sat down beside me.

  “Sure. Feeling better?” Despite her earlier episode, she looked completely normal.

  “I’m fine,” she said. “Totally used to it. ”

  “That makes one of us. ” Shelly had a Southern accent, something I didn’t remember her dupe having. Then again, I didn’t know her dupe well.

  “You should have seen what this place was like before. ” She leaned back on her hands and turned her face to the sky as though she were trying to get a tan. “You saw what just happened to me—imagine that happening to everyone, five or ten times a day each. ”

  “Sounds dangerous. What if it happened when you were crossing the stream or something?”

  “We have the buddy system. You know when Birdman cuts your arm if you’ve been alone? That’s his paranoid take on a rule I started with the Greens. He uses the buddy system to make sure we don’t have dupes infiltrating the town, but I started it to make sure no one falls down the stairs or drowns in the stream because they’re getting feedback. ”

  Mouse was watching me from across the field, her face still a massive bruise. I couldn’t help but notice that a lot more Greens were working on the barracks than kids from the fort.

  I turned to Shelly. I wanted answers. “Someone told me you Greens are cowards. ”

  Shelly’s face didn’t change noticeably. She picked up a handful of gravel and began tossing the rocks into the dry grass one by one.

  “We’re not like Birdman,” she said, her voice even and emotionless. “Or Mouse or Harvard or Jane. ” On Jane’s name Shelly glanced at me for just an instant before throwing rocks again.

  I folded my arms. It was surprising how quickly I’d gone from overheated to freezing. “I’ve seen what they do with the maps and the lists,” I said. “At least they’re trying to escape. What do you guys do?”

  “We’re not cowards,” she said with a cold smile. “Who’s more paranoid? The people who hide in a fort and slice arms open, or the people who live out in the open?”

  “If you’re not paranoid, you’re stupid. ” I stood up and offered her a hand. Walnut was pushing the heavy wheelbarrow toward us.

  “What do I have to be afraid of? I’m not breaking any rules, and I don’t know anyone who’s breaking any rules. ” She took my hand. “Except for the people who are hiding you. ”

  Shelly brushed dirt from her jeans. Walnut heaved the wheelbarrow up, and Joel scraped the cement into the trench.

  “So what’s your strategy, then?” I asked as they pushed the wheelbarrow back to mix a second batch. “You’re just waiting for someone else to solve your problems? Birdman’s right—you are cowards. ”

  I was goading her, making her mad on purpose. If there was any truth to what Lily said, I didn’t want to waste my time with Harvard’s crazy midnight hunts and Birdman’s useless meetings. I wanted to get out of here.

  She paused, and then looked right at me and spoke. “First things first: we aren’t anything, because there isn’t a ‘we. ’ You’re not back at the school. There aren’t gangs. ”

  “But—”

  “No, listen. I want to escape. Tapti wants to escape. Some others do, too. ” Shelly started pointing around the field at other kids. “But Taylor’s suicidal right now. Hog wants to sit and wait it out. Brendan thinks we should negotiate. And Eliana, well …”

  “What?”

  “She’s human, but she thinks she’s a robot. They’ve screwed with her brain so much that she doesn’t even know who she is. So if you want to show up here without knowing any of us at all and tell me that we’re all cowards, then fine. Hooray for you. Go play with Birdman and flirt with Jane and get out of my way. ”

  She gave me a final look and then walked away.

  I had no business interrogating anyone. Old habits die hard.

  Someone shouted, far away, and then someone else.

  The bell at the fort rang. I shot a look at Jane just to see her collapse to the ground. Everyone around me was going limp, dropping violently onto the frozen earth.

  I jumped, instinctively running toward the fort. But it was too far. I could hear the sharp buzz of the four-wheelers’ engines—they sounded like they were all around me.

  One came speeding out of the forest, not following any path, just smashing through the brush and into the open field. I fell to the ground, my face against the cold, slick dirt. I may have looked like one of the other kids from a distance, but I couldn’t stay here. They were looking for me.

  I crawled on my elbows, not lifting up more than a few inches, and worked my way between two pallets of lumber. In the narrow space I couldn’t make out the direction of any of the engines—the sounds were all around me, both near and far.

  This wasn’t a permanent solution, but I didn’t have any other ideas. I was out in the open, fifty yards from the nearest building. Worse, I didn’t know which direction I could run—I had no idea where they were. I couldn’t see a thing.

  I took a deep breath and risked a peek around the edge of the lumber. One of the four-wheelers was racing down the dirt road toward the barn. It passed me without slowing. Iceman was driving.

  Without waiting, I darted out from my hiding place and jumped down into the freshly dug trench, landing on the congealing cement. It was still wet, but too dense for me to sink into, and I lay on my back about a foot below ground level. With one hand I tried to scoop from the gravel pile, to create an avalanche that could hide me, but instead of covering myself I only made a lot of noise.

  I peered aboveground again. The engines, wherever they were, all sounded like they were idling now. I couldn’t see any of them.

  I reached for the nearest person—Walnut. “If you can hear me, sorry. I won’t enjoy this either. ” I grabbed his coat by the back of the neck and pulled him toward the trench. He was bigger than me—taller, and his coat was unbuttoned and loose—and when I pulled his body on top of mine it seemed like he hid me pretty well. It was a long shot—my legs could have been sticking out—but it was the best I could do.

  I heard voices. Iceman, either talking to himself or to another copy of himself.

  This was idiotic. What was I doing out in the open anyway? If Iceman had just stood at the tree line with binoculars instead of swooping into town he could have easily picked me out. I wasn’t going to make this mistake again.

  I was going to get Becky and me out of this town. And if Birdman and Shelly were no help, I’d figure it out myself.