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  The murmuring continued and when I peered through the crack, both nurses were faced away from me, engrossed in their task of wiring Grandpa and Eli up to a macabre wall of bleeping, whirring machines.

  A fresh tide of anger threatened to rise within me, and I fought to control it. Grandpa always said anger dulled the senses. Instead, I brought the first syringe up to my shoulder, as though it were a mini fishing spear, and took aim through the door crack. My palms were sweating but I knew my aim had to be faultless.

  In a flash I was back home, on a tree-running trial. Max was just behind me and the sounds of the forest were all around. Squirrel monkeys chattered excitedly as I leaned in to the shot, and a hint of fragrant crab apple blossom steadied my breathing.

  ‘Four, five,’ I counted silently before releasing my first assault. The moment the needle found its target, I swiftly released the second. Both nurses yelped and turned to stare in surprise. The self-release spring on both needles had been a small challenge to fathom initially, but once loaded, seemed to work perfectly. I watched with vengeful satisfaction as they sank to the floor in a stupor.

  ‘I’m Tal,’ I offered icily as their eyes blurred and closed. Then it was just me and the machines. I rushed to the beds. Grandpa and Eli were pale but their chests were rising and falling normally.

  I looked around at the bright, artificial lights blinking and dashing in sequence, and was momentarily overwhelmed. How was a girl from the forest meant to know how to manipulate all this technology? My hopes faltered. Then the image of Max’s figure flying down the holding bay flitted through my head, and I gritted my teeth. If Max could risk his life for his friends, then for the love of Arafel, I wasn’t going to be fazed by a few flashing boxes.

  I ran my eyes over the equipment, and tried to make sense of it. Most seemed to be recording information via wires attached to their chests, but they were also both attached to two separate tubes at their wrists. One was feeding a blue liquid in, while the other was taking a dark red liquid out. My heart stopped for a nanosecond. Were they draining their blood?

  Instinctively, I grabbed Grandpa’s arm and, with shaking hands, gave the red tube a delicate tug. There was a brief resistance, and then it slipped out noiselessly, and he moaned as I wrapped his forearm in the corner of his sheet to stem the blood. Then I turned to Eli, and performed the same careful manoeuvre. Casting my eyes around, I spied a pile of bandages and very quickly both were sporting crude tourniquets.

  The blue tubes proved harder to remove as thick needles were embedded in their arms. Desperately, I felt for Eli’s small gutting knife, and felt a moment’s relief to find it still tied inside his cotton trousers. In a breath, I’d cut both lines, and the viscous blue was seeping out onto the floor under the table. I exhaled to steady my nerves and glanced back towards the window. We were still travelling at a breakneck speed.

  ‘They won’t wake for several minutes yet. The chemical they’ve been absorbing takes the body down to an abnormally low temperature so they can stay asleep without any long-term tissue damage.’

  The low voice echoed oddly around the small room, and I froze. As my eyes shot to the open doorway, any new shred of hope I might have held disintegrated. Familiar, cold iris-blue eyes regarded me carefully. Their tall owner was still bodysuited, but his helmet was tucked under his right arm.

  There was no mistaking it was the same Insider I’d encountered in the trees. Now that I could see him more clearly I realized he was younger than I’d thought, perhaps no more than a year or two older than Max, with swarthy olive skin, crow-black hair and a square, uncompromising jaw. I inhaled swiftly. Much to my annoyance, there was something oddly drawing about him.

  ‘One step closer and you’ll be joining your friends,’ I threatened, grabbing another tiny bottle from my leather pouch, and yanking a needle out of one of the slumped nurses.

  ‘Don’t be scared,’ he said in a hushed, reassuring voice.

  He placed his helmet down on top of one of the units and held his hands up.

  ‘See, I’m not going to hurt you. I want to help.’

  His voice was soothing, like the voice the healers used when someone was ill, but he was one of them; and he’d tied me up and let the Leader take my family. I eyed him with wild hostility.

  ‘Why?’ I growled.

  He smiled a quick, measuring smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

  ‘Take a look around you. You’ve come into our alien world where everything is designed to be better, faster, and more intelligent than the outside; but who is lying on the floor at the mercy of a young Outsider with a rather good aim?’

  His voice was soft, but his eyes were flint-cold. I gripped the syringe tightly.

  ‘In truth, I’m impressed. I underestimated you. It seems Pantheon may have neutered the strongest instinct of all. Survival.’

  I felt like a laboratory specimen being dissected and stared at him with cold suspicion, waiting for the chance to stick the syringe in his neck.

  ‘You see, I have a theory that we’ve become victims of our own precise strategizing. Everything in here is so carefully designed that we are in danger of engineering out our own nature, of losing what makes us unique … our very humanity.’

  I stared at his unflinching expression, at the crease between his deceptive blue eyes. I didn’t want his textbook theories on the impact of incarcerating the human race; I wanted to let the needle fly.

  ‘If humanity is in such grave danger,’ I hissed, ‘why stay? And why this?’ I added, gesticulating towards Eli and Grandpa. ‘What do you want with them?’

  He cast his eyes around the room thoughtfully, giving me time to study his profile. He had a straight, proud nose and his thick black hair was short and tousled. He was unlike any of the men in Arafel, who had skin the colour of the sun and long hair tied back with plaited twine.

  ‘What do we want?’ He raised his eyes. ‘You’re better off not knowing. This is a … dangerous place. I tried to tell you in the forest, to make you see you had to stay hidden for your own sake, for all of our sakes. Now you’re here among us, and if Cassius discovers you, you’ll be sub-zero before the day’s over.’

  His eyes were shrouded with secrets. And Cassius … So, the Leader had a name.

  ‘He … can … try,’ I forced through gritted teeth.

  He was in front of me within a second. I made a wild stab with the syringe, which split the skin on the back of his hand, but it was twisted out of my grip with one deft downward movement. I responded with my free fist, planting a swift punch in the side of his neck; and had the satisfaction of hearing him inhale sharply, before he caught and twisted me roughly in a spin that trapped both my arms behind me. I cursed.

  ‘I don’t want to hurt you, Talia,’ he whispered into my ear, ‘but unless you listen, I will do what’s necessary.’

  His tone was light, yet deadly serious. He was clearly not used to being challenged. I held my breath, and twisted my head up to spit in his face. He pulled away, a glint of surprise in his eyes, and I felt a crow of satisfaction flare in my throat. Perhaps he was right about the instinct for survival. He shouldn’t be sure of me in any way. I exhaled in triumph, and that was precisely the moment he drove a full syringe downwards into my thigh.

  Chapter Six

  The ceiling was white, and inset with tiny bright lights that twinkled like stars. I stared at the perfect unblemished surface in confusion and tried to remember where I was. Blurred images cartwheeled through the fog in my head: the Lifedome wall hurtling to meet us, Max flying through the holding bay, Eli and Grandpa covered in tubes, a handful of needles held high, lying iris eyes …

  Adrenaline fired through my fatigued limbs and I sat bolt upright, relieved to find I wasn’t restrained. I was sitting on a circular bed in a large, light, sparsely furnished room. I tried to work out where the light was coming from, but there weren’t any windows. My stomach growled loudly and I covered it, instinctively reaching for my leather rations b
ag. It was gone. My heart sidled into a gallop. Grandpa and Eli were nowhere to be seen which left me with only one sinking conclusion.

  I slithered off the bed feeling strange and unsteady. The drug was strong and taking its time to work through my system. Grandpa and Eli’s faces merged in and out of focus in my fogged brain. I knew I had to act, and act quickly, but first of all I needed food and a weapon. I also needed to know exactly where I was.

  Swiftly, I cast my eyes around the room but the strangely curved white furniture offered no clues. I ran over to the one piece of furniture that had shallow fingerholds for drawers and yanked them open – they were empty. Frustrated, I ran my fingers over the smooth white countertop that ran the entire circumference of the room. After two or so metres there was a break and a fine, hairline partition. I traced it up the wall until my fingers reached a shallow fingertip indentation. I pressed. There was a soft click and the concealed door swung open to reveal yet another room.

  I stepped inside cautiously, feeling as though I was trapped in some bizarre dream as my eyes met with yet more pristine white walls. With some difficulty, I identified a sleek bowl set into the wall. It had to be a bathroom of sorts.

  Closing the door, I continued my swift exploration around the bedroom, discovering more white doors. One led in to a small wardrobe, which contained a number of identical black bodysuits. A further door led to a room comprising cleverly concealed kitchen cupboards, one of which contained a meagre selection of matching shallow pots and bowls.

  After a rapid search I also managed to find a utensil drawer containing a single meat knife. I pocketed it. The thought of food made my stomach growl again. It had been hours since I’d had anything to eat, and I was distracted by the thought that there might be a cupboard full of food within reach.

  ‘Have they managed to design out eating altogether?’ I muttered in frustration as my search returned nothing but empty cupboards.

  ‘Not quite … but it’s definitely in the Programme,’ a voice remarked drily.

  I whirled around on the spot to discover the Insider from the medical hut leaning against the doorframe, watching me.

  ‘You see, eating is one of the major drains on human productivity, and on the earth’s depleted resources. One of the Programme’s key aims over the next few years is to adjust and realign this.’

  He pulled a tiny black rectangle from a strap on his wrist, and flipped it over between his forefinger and thumb.

  ‘The Identifier programmes all our essential hormonal and calorific requirements, to ensure optimum energy output, vitamin, and mineral retention, and of course, hormonal mood control. There are several formulae to reflect weight, height, and gender classification … but on the whole tests are proving very successful.’

  ‘Classification?’ I returned coolly, furious with myself for getting side-tracked by food. ‘And why would you ever want to replace eating? Hunting and gathering are basic drivers of our DNA, changing that means being less … human!’ I scorned.

  A ghost of a smile flicked across his face. ‘And that, Talia, is precisely why you should have stayed in the forest, and why you will go back the moment security grants my field trip request.’

  I eyed his unflinching expression with fierce suspicion. He’d said he wanted to help me, and yet I’d ended up here, drugged. Perhaps he thought all Outsiders were stupid.

  ‘So, it seems the educational opportunities in the forest are surprisingly healthy,’ he quizzed suddenly, relaxing against one of the units. ‘What else do you know about animal DNA?’

  I let my hand brush inconspicuously over the small meat knife in my tunic pocket, just one right moment and I was out of here.

  ‘Just because we live in the forest, doesn’t mean we act like the animals within it.’ I ground out the words, assessing the distance between myself and the white doorframe through which he’d entered. ‘At least, not all the time …’

  In the next second, I’d whipped out the meat knife and was diving towards him, aiming for the artery pulsing in his neck. I scowled as he blocked with swift and surprising precision, leaving me stabbing only the thick material of his arm. The knife rebounded oddly and fell with a clatter to the floor.

  Momentarily we both stared at it, then as I dived, he planted one heavy boot over the blade and locked his strong arms around me into a constrictive bear hold. Furiously, I lashed out with my feet, catching his shin bone with the full force of my heel. He groaned and, quick as a flash, I slipped through his arms and spun to meet his scowling face. I backed off warily.

  ‘Just why are you people so tall anyway?’ I covered, recovering my breath at a safe distance.

  ‘So feral Outsiders can’t reach our jugulars?’

  He rubbed his arm, and I felt a small degree of smugness as I eyeballed him.

  ‘No? Seriously? OK, well we take our vegetabs I guess.’

  Silence.

  ‘A type of supplement?’ he added with a note of amusement. ‘And I should warn you, I don’t tend to lower my guard, ever. So, why don’t you save us both a lot of time, and quit the ambush tactics?’

  I struggled to restrain myself. He was clearly psychotic and I was going to have to humour him.

  ‘OK … just for argument’s sake, let’s say I believe you really do want to help for one tiny, paltry second. Why the need to bring me here? Where are Grandpa and Eli? And how the hell do you know my name?’

  He rested the small of his back against the white units, his eyelids drooping lazily, although this time I wasn’t deceived. His long limbs were clothed in a loose-fitting black shirt and pants, but even through the soft fabric I could see he was poised and on full alert.

  ‘OK. I’m going to tell you a little of what you need to know so when I tell you to run, you run – and you keep running for the rest of your life.’

  I stared at him hatefully. Humour him, humour him.

  ‘OK, you’ve got two minutes. Shoot,’ I conceded.

  The eyelids slid open again, as he reached into his tunic pocket. ‘Thank you, I was going to fix you something to eat as well but if you’d rather skip food altogether?’

  His tone was mocking; he knew my answer already.

  ‘Where are Grandpa and Eli?’ I demanded, furious with myself for being unable to hide my hunger.

  Without responding, he withdrew a flat packet from his bodysuit pocket and opened it. Delicious scents wafted towards me and my mouth watered in response. It seemed like for ever since I’d eaten anything of any substance.

  ‘They’re safe for the moment, and you’ll be no use to them famished and faint,’ he responded bluntly.

  And although every bone in my body wanted to tell him to stuff the food somewhere unmentionable, I had to acknowledge the sense of his words. Reluctantly I perched on a white stool, one of the few stand-alone objects in the room.

  ‘How do I know you aren’t going to try to sedate me again?’ I asked, the unwelcome thought competing with my growling stomach.

  His only response was to take a spoonful of the thick meaty substance he was emptying into a bowl, and to fill his mouth slowly and deliberately.

  ‘OK. Minute and a half,’ I reminded him as he placed a thin metal probe into the dish. There was a momentary whirring noise and the dish was suddenly steaming. I stared in amazement. It always took so long to cook things over the fire at home. The delicious aroma was teasing every cell in my body, and I could think of nothing but how empty and cold my stomach felt. The truth was, I was ravenous. I snatched the bowl as soon as he held it out and started shovelling thick chunks of meat, potato, and gravy into my salivating mouth with my fingers, not caring what he thought. It was the perfect temperature to eat, and it wasn’t long before my stomach began to fill with the best meal I’d tasted in a long time.

  He made a sound like a chuckle as he stepped back. I threw the best withering look in my artillery, and the sound died on his lips.

  ‘One minute,’ I added as a rider.

  ‘I’m
tall because I’m a product of the Genetics Optimization Programme here in Pantheon,’ he began, turning from me. I listened, trying to ignore the way his black shirt silhouetted the muscles in his back as he moved.

  ‘Biotechnology was a classified Government Programme when the Great War broke out. When it became clear the Lifedome represented the survival of the human race, the Scientific Leadership set about prioritizing key biotech targets.

  ‘The original purpose of the domes was to house an extravagant scientific experiment: Gene Optimization. The Government had their eye on a coveted international prize, and the extortionate Lifedome funding was justified on the basis of growing tension between the East and the West.’

  I paused mid-mouthful. His story was eerily similar to the fireside tales I’d heard as a child, but for the first time in my life it felt real.

  ‘Then just when the Programme got underway the Great War broke out and, well, you must have heard the story … The earth became uninhabitable … well, virtually uninhabitable and the Government had to open the Lifedome doors and provide shelter?’

  I nodded.

  ‘The truth was, despite all the propaganda, the dome was never intended for such use. With the Government in disarray, and a massive new population to manage, there was an opportunity – and those in charge seized it.’

  His voice was calm, factual, as though he was teaching a school lesson. And I was quietly fascinated, recalling the Council’s story of a military-scientific coup when Westminster was razed to the ground.

  ‘The new Inside Council created a system that classified inhabitants according to their individual abilities and skills. All resources were then allocated accordingly.’

  I scowled. ‘By resources you mean food, shelter?’ I fired, rational thought returning as my hunger subsided.

  ‘By resources I mean everything – food, shelter, drugs, services, employment … genetic uploads.’

  ‘But what about the vulnerable?’ I scathed. ‘Elderly? Children?’