Chapter Seven

Perry Jenkins looks at us while cracking his knuckles. My skin tingles with nerves, and I can’t stop swaying on my feet. I want to run away and hide from this man, but at the same time I want to know what his sessions have to offer us. Kyle stands to my left and Tilly to my right, both composing themselves by inflicting pain on their lower lips.
Nineteen of us stand in Room 904, which is on the top floor of Sector One. It is the size of two school classrooms, but certainly doesn’t resemble one. The walls are dark; a mixture of greys and blues, and the floor is again marble but covered in blue crash mats. Due to the open space, the room gives off echoes, which makes Perry all the more intimidating when he speaks. The walls are lined with various types of equipment; punching bags, weights, skipping ropes, spears, and sandbags. Some hang from the wall, others are dumped on the ground. There are no windows in here, just artificial light and the sound of the vents, which are releasing cool air into the room.
At the moment I’m cold, but I’m sure I will warm up soon enough.
“None of you have ever participated in combat training, am I right?” Perry booms, looking at us all. I look around and everyone shakes their heads, and that is when I spot Tony. He spots me in the same moment, and his lips pull up into a smirk. Clearly he got over Ant’s death very quickly; the girl with the blue eyes still haunts me. “Have any of you took part in any form of violence?” Perry presses, and more heads shake, Tony’s included. I stay absolutely still, and Perry’s eyes automatically land on me.
“Harper? You don’t object?” he says, quirking a bushy black eyebrow. Before I can answer, he pulls his pad from the back pocket of his trousers and swipes his fingers across it a few times. “Use of a knife on fellow recruit, Tony Pierce.” he reads. “Act of self-defence, opponent needed stitches. Did you carry a knife around with you often, Harper?”
“No.” I say.
“Then why did you carry one on this particular occasion?”
“Because I was sick of being attacked and beaten. Pierce had it coming.” I say, glaring in Tony’s direction. He isn’t smirking anymore as people are laughing at him, and red splodges cross his cheeks.
“So Pierce has got some experience in combat?” Perry demands, his eyes now trained on Tony.
“Not skilled combat.” I say, and Perry nods.
“Shut up, Harper!” Tony barks. I smile and look straight ahead. I can feel Kyle’s eyes boring into me as well as Tilly’s, and I hear Maxine suppress a giggle down the line.
“Enough, Pierce!” Perry shouts, and silence falls upon us once again. “Now, today will consist of building up your strength. Before physical violence comes preparation. Some of you are scrawny,” his eyes land on me again, “and that needs to be worked on. Athletic training will tie in nicely with this, but for today you will focus on weights, lifting and throwing alike.” Just now, as he turns to gesture towards the equipment behind him, the doors slide open behind us. I look back and watch Ethan slip into the room, pad in hand.
“Glad you could join us, Riley.” Perry says sarcastically.
“Wouldn’t miss it, Per.” Ethan says, completely at ease. Perry rolls his eyes as Ethan looks at each of us in turn, before perching himself of some platforms by the door.
“Get a move on!” Perry barks. “Weights and sandbags. If you don’t grab one, run along the back wall until it feels like your chest will explode. Then do stretches and do it again. Go!”
We scamper forward, but I purposely linger as the others snag the weights. Six of us stand empty handed as the others begin to do as they are told, some sitting and others preferring to stand. Some struggle, their limbs shaking with the weight they suddenly find themselves fighting, while others act as if throwing a sack of sand is second nature to them.
“Come on.” someone nudges me, a girl with bright pink hair that hugs her facial features. She smiles, and we run. Two boys match our pace, a gentle jog, and two other girls lag behind.
We pass the door three times and I am already exhausted, my heart pounding painfully, my legs starting to burn. I am vaguely aware of Ethan and Perry watching us, both writing notes, and I soon realise that everyone’s arm is flashing a range of colours; red, blue and green.
“What’s your... name?” gasps the pink haired girl beside me. She looks odd. Her eyes are a crystal blue and strongly contrast against her hair, but it somehow suits her. She’s a little chunkier than I am, and looks to be a bit younger.
“Harper.” I pant.
“You’re... old name, I mean.” she presses.
“Connie. What about... you?”
“Jay, but it... used to be... Jane.” We reach the far wall and turn back for the fourth time, and we pass the two other running girls who now sit on the floor, panting like dogs. The boys are still going strong.
“I guess you... don’t like it?” I ask, glancing at her by my side.
She shakes her head, eyes locked on the wall we are jogging to. “No. I hate this... hair, too. I feel... like some... kind of fairy.”
I give out a breathy laugh. “It... suits you.”
Jay manages to run one more leg before collapsing along with one of the boys, and it is just two of us left. The remaining boy says nothing to me, too fixated on reaching one wall and back. He’s so much taller than I am, which puts me on edge. He’s faster, stronger, and I am panting needlessly while his breathing remains steady.
I push harder, my legs catching fire as I overtake him. He grunts with annoyance, and then propels himself faster, overtaking me again with surprising ease. Sighing, I slow to a stop. Now is not the time to be competitive. This isn’t a competition.
I join Jay on the floor, trying to control my breathing. My chest feels like it weighs a ton and is weighing me down, my blood feeling like it has been replaced with fire. Sweat beads down my back, my black t-shirt sticking to my skin. Merely breathing hurts.
“Don’t just sit there, stretch!” Perry bellows at me, and a few heads turn my way. I flush but do as I am told. Tilly and Maxine�"I should really think of her as Max�"are sitting together with weights in hand, Mike and Kyle not far away. Cole and DJ are at the far end of the room, having not noticed Perry’s outburst. The others give me sympathetic looks, and I shrug it off by smiling. Following Jay’s movements, I stretch my legs out in front of my and try to reach for my toes with my fingertips.
The boy finally stops running after a few more legs, and sits away from us. He stretches his arms above his head and tips his neck from side to side, and I notice his shirt lift. Beneath I notice hardened muscle, but I can also see a slight lining of bandage. His mark, the scar that will portray he has been in something rough, a symbol that he can fight. I feel sick.
I reach for the bandage still on my cheek and yank it off. It’s stained with blood, although it is no longer red but orange. I toss it away and rub my cheek, which stings upon contact.
“It’ll get infected.” Jay says, her brow creasing.
“I don’t want to cover it up.” I tell her. “It’ll heal faster that way. Hopefully won’t leave a scar.”
“It will scar.” she says softly, shaking her head. “Just don’t reopen it.”
“Where did they... scar you?” I ask hesitantly, twisting my body until my muscles scream in protest.
She pulls her pink hair away from her ears, where stitches run from her temple to her earlobe. My stomach twists.
“How old are you?” I say.
“Fourteen.”
“And they did that to you?” I ask, cringing at the act of cruelty.
“Silver was nice about it, she put some numbing cream on it. It kind of hurt less; I didn’t scream, as least.” she smiles, but it’s a sad expression. She sighs and reaches for her toes again.
“Why did they have to scar us?” I say, more to myself than her.
“It makes us look tougher. People will less likely attack us if it looks like we’ve taken part in something brutal and come out in one piece.” she murmurs. “That’s what Silver told me.”
I don’t respond. Instead I get up, jump on the spot a few times, and begin to run again.

***

Three hours later, everyone files out of the room. We are not given any praise, only that we should stretch to ease the aching that will poison our muscles. Everyone walks slowly, some groaning from exhaustion. My legs feel like they are about to drop off. They burn with an intense ferocity, as well as my chest, and I have to lean on Max for support. Her arms tremble from the endless lifting and throwing, but she doesn’t protest. Cole rubs my back soothingly.
“At least I’ve worked up an appetite.” says Kyle, although his voice lacks the usual enthusiasm. His handsome face is flushed, his blonde hair sticking to his face. Mike doesn’t look any better.
Jay had run ahead, and I could see her pink hair blending into the nineteen members of our group. Perry had given her grief before the first hour was up, screaming that for someone so small she lacked the ability to keep running unlike most. I’d had to keep running, as if I was unaware of what was going on just like everyone else. Outside I’d been blank, but on the inside all I’d wanted to do was shield her from the man practically spitting in her face.
“Poor kid.” Cole mutters, his gaze following her. I make a noise of agreement.
Slowly we reach one of four elevators, and the nineteen of us divide into each one. The seven of us pile in, Tilly and DJ staring at their feet while their limbs shake. Mike reaches for the GROUND button, but Tilly quickly stops him, asking for floor one first. Mike nods and does as she asks.
“I’ll see you later.” Tilly says, DJ trailing behind as they exit the elevator. We say our goodbyes and then descend to the ground floor, all of us groaning to ourselves.
The dining hall isn’t busy when we walk through the doors in a huddled group, where it appears to just be our group minus half. The smell of a variety of food hits my nose, causing my mouth to water. We walk quickly towards the buffet, and I stuff my plate with a slice of cottage pie, peas and carrots. I grab a bottle of water and scan the room for the others, who are perched by a window at the end of the hall.
“What do you think Tyler will be like?” Kyle is saying as I approach. He is stuffing his face with a ham sandwich, leaning against the corner of the table. Cole and Max sit on either side of him, and Mike trails behind me with a bottle of water and nothing else.
“I reckon she’ll be the bitchy one but looks hot while doing it.” Mike says.
“Or she’ll threaten us with a knife to the throat.” Max says, her tone bitter.
“She can’t be any worse than Perry, surely.” Cole says.
“I wouldn’t hold your breath.” I answer, sitting down beside Max.
“Did you see Ethan in there? He had the stare of a hawk!” Kyle says a little too loudly. In that moment, Ethan Riley strolls into the hall chewing the head of a pen, and I find myself staring as all conversation washes over me. He looks frustrated, his hair giving evidence of having his fingers raking through them. He looks odd wearing uniform, one the same as ours. However, the mentors wear coloured bands around the hems of their short sleeves, perhaps symbolizing their rank. Ethan’s is red, his t-shirt having a collar that is also red.
“Wonder what he wants?” Mike murmurs. I don’t know, and I don’t care. Throughout the whole exchange with Jay, Ethan had been suppressing laughter. He’d disguised them as coughs or the simple clearing of his throat, but his eyes had sparkled with amusement. He is the only mentor here who smiles aside from Silver, but at least her smiles are genuine. His are... cruel, almost.
I look away, my face flushing with anger.
“I have a question.” I say a few minutes later, finishing off my lunch. They look towards me, inquisitive looks on their faces. “What exactly are we training for?”
No one says anything for a minute. The question had always troubled my thoughts. Ourselves and many before us came here without an inkling of what we are actually training for, but I have been too distracted to think about it since arriving. They want us to become invincible, right to the point where pain doesn’t affect us, or so it seems. I presume that fear won’t even become a second thought to us in the long run. But why? What is so frightening that we have to practically lose our humanity to fight? They’ve scarred us, they’ve inserted devices in us, they’ve made us their own. Why change our identities if we’re only going to die in the long run anyway? Well, I presume we’ll die; no one has ever returned home, unless our lives will forever lie in the walls of the Sectors.
“Monsters.” Kyle says, wiggling his fingers in my face. I slap them away but can’t help smiling.
“God knows, but I guess we aren’t right to think about that yet. We have a long way to go before we start fighting an actual enemy.” Mike says, taking a swig of his bottled water.
“You’d think they’d give us some idea of what we’re fighting, though.” Max says quietly.
“What if we’re not the ones protecting the country?” Cole intersects, and my attention is instantly caught. “What if we’re the bad guys?”
“Don’t be an idiot.” Kyle says in a dismissive manner. “I think we would know if we were the bad guys, don’t you think?”
“People got murdered during the Line Ups.” I say, and I realise I’m not very hungry anymore. “That’s not something good guys do.”
Footsteps approach us then, and Ethan is glaring at us from the end of the table. Kyle stiffens in his posture, and a cold air starts to clog my lungs. My palms begin to sweat, my heart begins to pound, and I wish I hadn’t brought up the topic in the first place.
“I advise that if you are going to talk about sensitive matters,” Ethan growls “then you keep such thoughts to yourselves. Understood?” we say nothing. “Understood?”
“Yes.” we mutter in unison. Ethan walks around the table, stopping behind me, and leans close. I freeze as his mouth stops inches from my ear, and I clench my thighs to the point of pain.
“Mouth. Shut.” he snarls, the warning clear in his voice.
“Anyone would think you have something to hide.” I say before I can stop myself, and we all go rigid as soon as the line leaves my mouth. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
“I know things your simple mind could never comprehend.” he snaps, leaning away. “If I hear any of you speaking about such matters again, you’ll be spending numerous days in the solitary confinement cells.” he threatens, and a small yip escapes Max. She is clenching the edge of the table with her hands, her nails digging into the wood. The pressure in her hands is so vast that her fingers hand turns snow white.
Ethan leaves, and I release a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
“Jesus, someone’s approached that time of the month.” Kyle mutters, glaring into Ethan’s back.
“Don’t ever do that again, Harper, I thought he was going to snap your neck or something. Don’t you have any sense of fear?” Mike says, and he sounds breathless.
“I fear a lot of things,” I tell him once my heart has maintained a gentle rhythm again. “But Ethan makes me want to throw up and then eat the contents.”
“Ew! That’s disgusting!” Max moans. Kyle takes a look at his remaining half of his sandwich, shakes his head, and then tossing it in a bin three feet away from our table.
“Can I ask why?” Cole asks, seeming unaffected by the comment. I shrug.
“He’s hiding things.” I say. “Everyone in this place is. I just find it strange that we know absolutely nothing about what we’re up against.”
“Let’s not talk about this anymore.” Max suggests, and for once I decide to agree.
I know things your simple mind could never comprehend. What’s he hiding? What secrets do this place, as well as the other Sectors, hold? Then a thou0ght drifts to mind, something that Jake had said to me after the bullet failed to leave his gun.
I replace the innocent with the face of an enemy. The guilt weighs less that way. His words echo in my head, clear as day, and I wonder who he believes is the actual enemy. Now, after what Cole said about us being the bad guys, I begin to think that Jake was talking about more than just the Line Up victims. Another part of me believes that, should anyone know that Jake told me such thoughts, he’d have to pay a dear price.
I suddenly find myself fearing for his safety, as well as ours.