CHAPTER 15 – JOY

Another shock from the CE’s weapon dulled the pain of my hands being bound behind my back. The whole action had been so swift that neither Ryan nor I had time to struggle. Although the day was warm, a cold wave of disbelief and terror made me shiver.

“Try anything funny and I’ll increase the strength and fry your brain,” growled the CE, then pressed a pad against my finger.

“You’re not a Citizen.” He frowned.

“N-no.” I released my breath. Of course. He couldn’t do anything to me. How could they explain me away in the Citidomes – a healthy girl that was born on the outside? But poor Ryan, what had I done to him? His face was a tight mask of pain.

“Padi 031029, part of the breakaway gang in Phi-1, eh?” the CE sneered. You’re far more interesting. You’re coming with me.” He bundled Ryan into the TravelPod.

“No!” I screamed. “Leave him alone.” I ran in front of the TravelPod and lay on the road.

The CE turned to me, put his foot on my breast, exposed except for my bra, and spat on me. “Wanna stay with your boyfriend, eh? Well why not? Sight of you might wipe any ideas out of anyone else who thinks it’s so wonderful out here.”

I looked up, as if expecting a rescuer to fall out of the clouds. Then a sharper jolt made my whole body jump into the air.

“Open that mouth again and you’ll get more,” the CE growled. He grabbed my arm, hoisted me to my feet and tossed me into the TravelPod, next to Ryan.

“Veez, you’re filthy,” muttered the CE, spraying sanitiser onto his hands.

I pressed myself against Ryan’s side, mouthing the word, “sorry” but the terror in his eyes chilled me. His eyes appeared to be staring but not seeing me. His breath was no longer even, bursting in and out in pants. The TravelPod drove eastwards, passing through Bakewell, the market town, but today it was deserted. And mixed with the clenching fear was another feeling, a heavy feeling of guilt, a feeling that I just cheated on Harry. I closed my eyes in an attempt to make it all stop, to rewind my life to a point before Harry and Caroline.

The TravelPod accelerated and we travelled in silence for several minutes. As the imposing Citidome – much bigger than I imagined from my distant sightings – came into view, I felt Ryan’s muscles tense. I rubbed my foot against his leg in an attempt at reassurance but the structure loomed increasingly large ahead of us. The TravelPod stopped at a gate, which opened. We drove inside.

“Get out, creevs,” the CE said.

I staggered out of the TravelPod and the gate closed behind us. I peered down a straight road, dazzled by the gleaming rectangular buildings. All was clean lines and symmetry. The whole scene was beautiful in a perverse way. I looked to where the sky should be and saw only the semi-translucent material of the Dome.

“Surreal,” I whispered to Ryan.

I assumed we’d be immediately confined, but no. The man barked the order, “Keep walking.”

Silently, fear stiffening my body, my leaden legs propelled me forwards and curiosity temporarily stilled the terror. People wearing skin-tight clothes were walking around, apparently happy. But it was a muted happiness; these people could be synthetic clones of humans. The clothes weren’t unusual to me; I’d seen plenty in the Citidome dumps. But I couldn’t take my eyes from their hair. Beth and I had laughed at Ryan’s sleek, flat hair when he’d first arrived, but it had been unkempt compared to the gleaming crowns that clung to the skulls of each of the Citizens. Even those with long hair scooped it back into severe pony tails. In the village, I’d be able to identify every individual by hair alone but here people were all so alike that they could have been manufactured in a factory. The only expressions that animated the clones’ faces were the looks of disgust that assaulted us from every direction.

“Veez, must be a runaway – she looks like a savage,” one Citizen said to his companion.

Better a savage than a robot. I bit the words back. A number of people had stopped and were pointing at me, their mouths gaping. I shuddered, understanding how Mum had felt. I was a freak here, my tanned skin and dark brown curls an anachronism among these gaunt, ghostly figures, their stark white skin almost transparent. I took in a marble square lined by raised beds of flowers, all identical. The square contained geometric sculptures, as well as chairs and tables, where people were eating, drinking and chatting. I saw squares of grass so uniform and short I wondered if it was real, smart entertainment malls advertising movies, as well as DanceZones, GameZones, ChillZones and all manner of other Zones that meant nothing to me. The other buildings must be work centres and Residence blocks. But the beauty here was sterile. Every building was white and steel, every surface smooth and glossy.

“I never imagined it would be so unnatural,” I muttered, glancing at Ryan.

“Escaped dissidents on their way to correction camp,” declared the voice behind. Correction camp! Of course! Hope flooded me. Which Citidome were we in? Tau-2, surely. How many camps were there around here? Would we be going to the one targeted for Outbreak day? Then fear twisted my guts as I remembered one of Mum and Dad’s rows. There was going to be an explosion; Mum believed no-one would survive it. And Harry would be there, throwing the explosives. Perhaps this was destined to be the ending to our star-crossed romance, to perish together on Outbreak day.

The rapid breathing of the tall figure next to me drew my attention back to the present. I’d kissed Ryan. Actually kissed him, and not just a peck on the cheek. What had I been thinking? But at this moment I would have grasped his hand if mine weren’t bound together. He was my only friend in this hostile, alien world and he looked so young, so vulnerable. Then a woman lunged forward and spat at me. It landed on my face, but I had no way of wiping it off. Her companion laughed and did the same. Soon disgusting globs of saliva were flying at us from all directions. My stomach heaved. And they called us savages!

Thankfully, it didn’t take long to walk from one entrance of the Citidome to the other, at which stage the CE placed his finger to a pad on a white, windowless building and a door slid open.

“Found these two outside,” he said. “This one’s one of the Phi-1 breakaway gang, she’s a savage.”

“I’m not a savage! Aaargh!” Another pulse from the weapon made my head throb.

“Let’s get ’em cleaned and tagged,” said a hard-faced woman.

Of course. This was what Helen had trained me to remove. I winced at the sight of a metal implement being clamped to Ryan’s ear. At a loud clicking sound, Ryan sucked in his breath through clenched teeth. The RedTag was bigger than I’d imagined. I could see why Mum had so little flesh on her ear. Before I had time to consider the mechanics, the woman reached me in one stride, and crushed my lobe between her fingers. The pressure of this alone brought tears to my eyes and when white-hot heat shot through my lobe, I was unable to suppress a yelp. Next she hauled me into another room.

“Sit on that chair,” the woman said.

I perched on the edge of the plastic seat, which was covered in buttons and levers. The woman snipped the cord that bound my hands and pushed me into the seat, which moulded to my shape. I raised my hand to lash out but straps appeared from nowhere, fastening me down so I was unable to move. A man appeared, jerked my head to one side and – I gasped – hacked my hair off with scissors. Then he ran an electrical device, which buzzed and stung, over my scalp. The remaining clumps joined the pile of luxurious curls on the ground. I fought the urge to cry; I loved my hair. The straps released. I put my hand to my bald head. Ugh, I could feel every bone of my skull. It felt as though it no longer belonged to me. Then I heard a sound that chilled me even more – howls from the other room. Ryan’s howls. What were they doing to him?

“Cleaning next,” a voice said.

I followed mechanically, wondering what fresh hell awaited me. Ah, this must be a shower. I’d never had one. At home we had baths – most of the showers had packed up years ago and we couldn’t get replacement parts. I’d imagined them to be like warm summer rain. But this was hot, blisteringly hot. A woman handed me what looked like a scrubbing brush and a tube of paste.

“Scrub yourself all over, or I’ll be forced to do it, and I won’t be gentle.”

The bristles were hard, the paste excoriating, but I brushed it against my skin, trying not to give her the satisfaction of seeing my pain.

“Harder,” said the woman.

By the time the water was turned off, every scrap of flesh burnt, leaving my skin scarlet. The woman led me into a tiny room, bare except for a folded blue bodysuit on the floor. I put it on – much too long in the leg. Then she locked me in. I curled up on the floor, hugging myself into a foetal position and craving oblivion. Tentatively, I touched my ear. A convex disc protruded from the front of my lobe, around two centimetres in diameter; at the back was a smaller, flatter disc. By running my nail under the back I estimated that the two halves were attached by a bar maybe 5 mm thick. I pulled at it. Mum had been right. There was no way it would come out any other way; I’d have to cut off half my ear to remove it.

In the first hour, my mind concocted all sorts of worst-case scenarios, a torture worse than the shower. So instead of looking forward, I looked back. When I was a kid, I once asked Mum where birds went at night. She said they went deep into a hidden place in the sky. I loved the idea of it; a hidden place full of birds, where no-one could shoot at them. Now in this world with neither sky nor birds, I retreated there once more.

***

“On your feet!”

The voice roused me. Had I really managed to sleep? I put my hand to my ear – yes, the tag was still there. I raised myself, winced at the pain of moving – my skin was still pink – and saw another CE. My bladder was full.

“I need to, uh, urinate,” I said.

“You’ll have to wait. This way,” she said.

I followed her to the entrance and my heart leapt to see Ryan, though a barely recognisable Ryan, the bumps of his gleaming skull visible – and his nose swollen and red. A wave of affection enveloped me.

“You’ve got a nice shaped head,” I whispered to him.

“Have to admit, I preferred you with hair.” Oh, he was still able to smile.

“Quiet, you two,” the woman barked.

A man of around Mum and Dad’s age, slim but not BodyPerfect, stood next to Ryan, his tag marking him as another prisoner. His eyes, rimmed with dark shadows, looked kind, and he nodded in my direction. But, not being able to face another electrical jolt in my head, I remained silent, fearful of even smiling.

Soon we reached the outside and I shivered at the sight of the black sky. What time was it? I looked at my wrist but my watch had been taken. I’d loved that watch. It was over two hundred years old and had been given to me on my thirteenth birthday. How curious that there was no distinction in lighting and temperature between night and day inside the Citidome. An open truck stood opposite the gates and someone shoved us into the back of it. On either side of the truck were bare metal benches, seemingly designed to inflict back pain. At first the cold air was balm to my still-burning skin, but soon I shivered.

Ryan’s hand reached for mine. I interlaced my fingers with his long, bony ones. His skin was smooth, baby-soft. All the adult hands I’d ever known – Harry’s, Matt’s, mine, come to that – were roughened and hard. How could the feel of his hand be so different, like holding a different limb entirely? As if reading my mind, he released my hand but then placed his arm around me, drawing my body against his, and this time I didn’t think of Harry, just of the comfort of human contact. The lorry started moving along a rutted road, each jolt stretching my bladder to its limits. Should I urinate in my bodysuit? No, not in front of Ryan. It was too humiliating.

“I think it’s safe to talk now.” An unfamiliar voice, presumably the older man. “I’m Aki.”

“Hey, I’m Ryan.”

“I’m Joy,” I said. “Don’t these things pick up our speech?”

“No, they’re trackers, that’s all. So many of us, no-one would have the time to listen.” Aki laughed mirthlessly. “Only the CEs get voice trackers.”

“Ryan, what did they do to you?” I said.

“They’ve got some new electric devices to get information out of people. I won’t tell you where they put them, but the nose was the least painful.”

“Euww.” I swallowed. “Are you in pain?”

“A bit sore. Could’ve been worse.”

“What information?” Aki said.

“I escaped from Phi-1 almost a year ago, along with a gang. They wanted to know where they’d all gone. So I made up the name of a village and said it was south of here, near to Phi-1. Seemed safer.”

“Ah, so you were part of Outbreak-2,” said Aki in a knowing way that caught my attention. He knew about the Outbreak missions? Was he part of Doodlebugs?

“I wonder which correction camp we’re headed for?” I said.

“What does it matter?” Ryan said. “You don’t get out of them, you know.”

“Not unless … Doodle?” Aki whispered.

“Bugs!” I said.

“Why have I never seen you before? Are you one of the Heroes too?” Aki asked.

“No,” I said. “I’ve come from the outside.”

“The outside –” Aki began.

“Will someone make some sense around here?” asked Ryan.

“Keep your voice down.” I hissed. “There’s going to be a mass outbreak from a correction camp. But I have no way of knowing if we’re heading for the right one.”

I heard Ryan’s intake of breath and the pressure of his arm around me increased.

“We are; I’m certain of it,” said Aki. “That’s why I’m on my way there, to help with Outbreak-4.”

I shivered. When was it planned – the end of November? Could I survive here for five weeks?

“Help how?” I asked.

“You see, I’m a Hero. For the last six months I’ve been working as an electrician, servicing the Citidome gates and getting to understand them. Then I got myself Marked so they’d throw me out. No doubt you’ve heard of Michael Heath, the leader of the AOC. He reckons that everyone from Sigma 2, Tau-2, Upsilon-2, Pi-2 and Rho-2 gets sent to the same one.”

“Michael Heath’s my dad,” I said with a swell of pride.

“You’re joking! Surely he hasn’t sent you here?”

“He doesn’t know I’m here. I was with Ryan and got arrested by accident.”

“Michael Heath’s daughter. It’s an honour to meet you, young lady.”

“But how do you know the gates in the camp are the same?”

“I don’t, but I’ve gotten pretty good at disconnecting the circuitry.”

“B-but I’m worried about the explosives. Mum reckons the blast might be too big. Might incinerate the whole lot of us.”

Aki sighed. “There’s so many potential pitfalls in this plan we can’t think of them. But we have to try.”

“Forgive me if I don’t get too enthusiastic,” Ryan muttered.

The rest of the trip passed in an exchange of stories. Aki and I told Ryan the full details of Outbreak Day.

“So Harry’s going to commit suicide and then the rest of us step out into an inferno? Huh, I’m with your mum on this,” Ryan said.

The word suicide lodged like a pebble in my stomach but I ignored it. Blind optimism was all I had now. Meanwhile, Aki drank in my description of our community with the excitement of a child experiencing their first Christmas.

“Sounds like everything I dreamed of,” he said.

“Hopefully you’ll get to see it. How many Heroes are there at the camp?”

“I should be the tenth.”

My face fell. I’d expected more.

The vehicle juddered to a halt. The journey had taken no more than half an hour.

“That didn’t take long; must be the right place,” Aki muttered.

“Out,” a voice barked.

I jumped out of the lorry, shivering in the chill night air. I wrinkled my nose; a bad smell pervaded the air, like the toilets back home. At our approach, a bank of lights activated and illuminated the path to a huge metal gate. Damn. Intruders would be spotted from some distance away. The CE pressed his finger to the pad and the gate opened. I glanced towards Aki, taking mental notes of every detail, and read the anxiety in his expression. We followed him some distance along a gravel path, my panic mounting at the sight of a walled enclosure whose entrance again was a metal gate. And we weren’t even in the complex yet. How could such a high level of security be overcome?

“Oh Dad,” I silently cried. “You’ll never get me out of here. I’m trapped.”