Extraction (25 page)

I stir, stuck halfway between my sheets and a dream of Logan.

“Clem.”

“Hmm?”

“We have to go.”

With a groan, I open my eyes. It’s not morning yet. It’s the middle of the night. “What?”

Ariadne bites her lip and turns her head to the doorway, where Cadet Waller is standing.

“Your final training session starts in thirty minutes,” she says, her voice tight and clipped. “I’ll be back in five minutes. You’d better have clothes on.” She turns, and the door slides shut behind her.

I sit up, fully awake now. “Wait,
what?
It’s tonight?”

“I guess so,” Ariadne says, slipping out of her nightclothes.

My heart races.

I don’t even get until the morning.

With a swallow, I push the covers back, stand, and move to get dressed. My fingers shake zipping up Ariadne’s suit and knotting the laces of my boots.

Ariadne offers me an elastic to tie up my curls. “One more session and we’ll be citizens. Can you believe it?” Her voice is strangled.

I hold my breath as my hands fall away from my bun. I shake my head.

“No, I can’t.”

*   *   *

Lights flash in the darkness outside Phantom, where Cadet Waller leads those of us who slept on the same floor. Many Extractions are already here, yawning and trying to wake up. No one looks as though they have any idea what we’re doing.

“We’ll wait for the last few stragglers,” Cadet Waller says, “and then I’ll explain the session.”

Oliver comes over to Ariadne and me. He looks a bit shaky. For a second I freeze up, afraid he isn’t better, afraid he’s still emotionless, even though Ariadne is normal again. But when his eyes meet mine, they’re wide and blue behind his glasses. “Did you sleep well?” he asks.

Ariadne shakes her head.

“Not really,” I say.

He looks at his feet, his hand moving automatically to the arm he hurt two days ago. “Me neither,” he says.

I want to ask him and Ariadne about what happened earlier, to see if they remember how the hub gas screwed them up. But I’m afraid to say anything here, in front of everyone. People are talking, but someone might hear.

I glance at Ariadne. Her wide eyes are fixed on a spot in the sky.

“Hey, can I talk to you guys for a second?” I ask quietly. “Alone?”

“Um, sure,” Oliver says.

Ariadne frowns. “About what?”

“Just come on.” I grab her hand and Oliver’s, and pull them with me a few feet away, over to a machine with fake guns and a screen for shooting lasers. We can still see the other Extractions, the instructors, and Cadet Waller, but they shouldn’t be able to hear us.

“Do you two remember what happened earlier?” I ask.

“What happened earlier?” Ariadne asks.

Red lights flash on Oliver’s pale face. “You mean after the intelligence session?” he says.

I nod.

“I do.…” He swallows. “I mean, I
don’t
remember, and that’s the problem. I remember going into the hub and taking the test, and scoring a ninety-eight, but everything’s hazy after that. I thought it must’ve just been me, though. Everyone else seemed normal.”

“No one was normal,” I say. “Your eyes were glazed over. You were all acting like robots.”

“But you weren’t?” he asks.

“I was sick, or something. I don’t know. I was messed up too, but it was different.”

Ariadne’s looking at us like we’re crazy.

“Do you remember anything?” I ask her.

“I took the test, same as you,” she says. “Got a ninety-six. My Promise was seventy-five. What else is there?”

“So they did something to all of us.” Oliver’s voice cracks. “It just affected us each differently.”

“Seems like it,” I say.

“What do we do?” he asks. “What if it happens again?”

Cadet Waller blows a whistle over by the Phantom entrance. “All right, Extractions, let’s pay attention now.”

“Come on, we’d better go,” Ariadne says.

“If it happens again, we’ll fight it,” I say, grabbing Oliver’s hand and following Ariadne. “We’ll be fine.”

He doesn’t say anything. But the creases around his eyes tell me he doesn’t believe me.

All of the Extractions are here outside Phantom now, and more adults have come too. They form a perimeter around the group of us sixteen-year-olds. I’ve never seen most of the adults before, but I recognize Colonel Parker and a few of his lieutenants.

“Welcome to your final training module,” Cadet Waller says, her eyes sweeping the crowd of us with purpose. “You’ve all increased your intelligence and physical strength since you arrived in the Core, and it has done wonders for your Promise. Tonight, your training will focus on one final quality that is necessary for all citizens to exude: obedience. In other words, trust and loyalty. This exercise will focus, specifically, on trusting a Developer to help you find safety from danger. Notice the dome behind me.” Cadet Waller gestures to Phantom.

She starts to explain how it works, for the benefit of the kids who haven’t been inside, which is most of them.

My pulse hammers. This isn’t so bad. Working with a team, this will require strategy, but that’s something I’m good at.

I might actually have a shot.

Cadet Waller’s words snap me back to the present, and all my relief fades. The rules have changed.

“You will each enter Phantom on your own, and you can’t carry any weapons with you,” she says. “Whatever or whoever you meet inside Phantom won’t be entirely pretend; they will be linked to real life forms. In other words, whatever injury you cause them, they will feel it. I must warn you, we’ve also set Phantom on a very high level of play, which could kill you if you aren’t careful.”

My eyes are wide, and my heart’s beating 140 beats per minute. The last time I was in Phantom, I met Unstables I was stupid enough to think might actually feel my gunfire, even though they were fake, nothing but an illusion.

This time, whatever is in there will feel everything. I will still have to kill.

“As I’ve mentioned before,” Cadet Waller continues, “eighty is the Promise score you must obtain. That is a requirement for Core citizenship. Fortunately, most of you have already reached that score or are very close to reaching it. There are, however, one or two of you who need to show exceptional Promise in this final module to raise your score that high.”

Cadet Waller’s standing a ways away, but her eyes focus on me. I swear Colonel Parker looks at me too.

Of course, they would’ve seen my test results by now.

“Those who don’t reach eighty,” Cadet Waller says slowly, her eyes still locked on mine with not a hint of kindness, “will face permanent removal. We regret that this is necessary, but there is no alternative.”

She didn’t say removal from the Core; she said
permanent
removal.

Death.

I clasp my hands behind my back so, hopefully, no one will notice how much they’re trembling.

“You will each enter the game in a random order,” Cadet Waller says, finally looking away from me. “You will receive further instructions once inside.” Behind her, the entrance to the dome opens. She steps aside so we’ll be able to walk past her.

Closing my eyes, I concentrate on the air flowing in and out of my nose. This is a test, just something I have to do to stay alive. I can do this. I can do this.

She lifts her tablet. “First up is Clementine.”

I don’t know if I can do this.

Ariadne’s eyes meet mine, wide as ever. “Be careful,” she whispers.

Oliver glances at me and gives me a pained smile.

I close my eyes and squeeze my hands into balls. This isn’t just for me; it’s for Logan. He is everything. He’s always said I’m clever and fierce and brave, that I deserve a place in the Core. Now I have to make Commander Charlie and everyone else believe it too. So they’ll listen to me. So I’ll get what I want.

Raising my chin, I clench my fists at my sides and walk past the eyes that are burning holes in my skin into the dome, where my future waits.

*   *   *

Two people stand on the Preparation Deck beneath the flickering fluorescent lights. One is unfamiliar, but I recognize the second, with her nose stud and her hair spiky black. I taste something sour in my mouth again. This time, I swallow, and it goes down.

Sandy breaks into a smile. “How you doing, sweetie?” she says.

“Okay,” I lie. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re here to give you the rundown before you get in there,” she says.

“What’s your job?” I ask her, because I don’t even know. She seems to pop up everywhere.

Her brows furrow a little. “I’m a weapons instructor, among other things. It’s not important right now.”

“This is a trust exercise,” the other instructor says. “There will be a Developer in a control dock overhead telling you exactly how to combat the danger.”

“Understand?” Sandy holds my gaze, like there’s something she’s trying to tell me but can’t say in front of the instructor. “All you have to do is listen and follow his instructions. This is an evaluation of your level of trust.”

I nod. My memory replays the sounds of gunfire and screaming Unstables from the last time I was in here. The memories play over and over, reminding me of what I’ve done and am capable of doing.

Sandy glances at the other instructor before stepping forward and pulling me into a hug. I stiffen at first, then force my body to relax. I close my eyes and pretend I never have to leave her warmth.

“Good luck,” she whispers in my ear. “Trust, and
obey
.”

The door to the arena slides open, revealing darkness.

I want to ask her if she knows how they kill people who fail citizenship training. In case I—

Stop it, I tell myself. I won’t die. I won’t. I’ll do anything.

Sandy gives me a light push, and I force my legs forward. The door slides shut behind me, and I’m alone.

*   *   *

Darkness presses in on me. Silence.

When I was in here last time, red lettering appeared overhead in a couple seconds. The rules have changed, but what’s taking them so long? I want to get this over with.

I turn in a slow circle and flex my fingers. I’d feel so much safer with a copper in them.

There’s a zap, and I jump. A speaker comes on.

“Clementine, can you hear me?” It is a hoarse, cracking voice, one I’ve heard before. A shiver slides down my spine.

Commander Charlie is the one I have to trust. He’ll tell me to do something, and I’ll have to do it, no matter what.

“Y-yes.”

“Excellent. We will begin in a moment.”

I squeeze my eyes shut. I need to prove my loyalty to him anyway. What better time than now?

“I will guide you,” Commander Charlie says. “Listen to me and do exactly as I say.”

My heart races. I start to imagine what I’m going to be up against, then force those thoughts deep down, tuck them somewhere far away. I have to pretend this is only a game, that it’s all in my head. Because if I don’t get through this, Commander Charlie is going to kill me.

I clench my fists and grit my teeth, as if that’ll calm me down.

“Are you ready, Clementine?”

I nod. No point in prolonging the inevitable.

There’s a hollow, whining electrical noise like a machine powering up.

Dust fills my lungs. I cough and choke, waving it away with a hand until my eyes clear.

I stand in a desert beside a chain-link fence. The sky is dark, filled with storm clouds. The fence stretches on and on, and I can’t see where it ends, or what it separates me from.

I take a step toward it, listening for the low hum of electricity. But the fence is quiet. I turn around, press my back against it, and slip my fingers through the holes.

Tumbleweeds sit half rotting between cacti and rocks. Wind rustles my curls, but it doesn’t rustle the plants. There’s no movement here. Not a bird in the sky, not a song to be heard. Like the world ended and I’m the only one left.

I squint into the clouds to where I imagine Commander Charlie sits in some game control room, observing me.

“What am I waiting for?” I shout.

Thunder rumbles in the distance, but he doesn’t answer. My heart skips a beat. Maybe he lied. Maybe he abandoned me in here and will leave me stuck forever until I go mad or drop dead.

Or maybe that’s how I get my Promise up—I find a way out.

I release the fence and walk forward, still scanning the horizon. The whole world is a desert. I wonder how far it goes. I’m in a dome, after all. If I keep walking, will I slam into the wall, or walk in circles and never find anything?

Thunder rumbles, louder this time.

I notice something new: two tiny dots in the distance. People.

A krail caws in my ear, so loud I spin around and bring my fists up to defend myself. I’m not sure what I expect, some giant bird with black feathers staring at me with beady eyes. Some devilish device of the Developers ready to claw me to bits.

But it’s not a bird, not a krail.

It’s Logan.

21

Logan with his hair scraggly, his lips cracked, and his skin stained with dust. His eyes widen as they take in my face, like he can’t believe it’s really me.

“Clementine?”

My heart slams against my rib cage. A drop of rainwater hits my nose.

He’s not really here. He’s a fake, simulated body. But he’s connected to a life force that can feel pain and knows he’s in here, and I can’t breathe because that means they have him. They have Logan, and I might never see him again because what if he gets hurt in here? What if he doesn’t make it?

I swallow. “What are you doing here?”

He takes a step toward me, and his fingers brush my jawline where my scar used to be. “I didn’t think I’d see you again,” he whispers.

Another drop of water hits my hand. A krail caws behind me.

I glance over my shoulder to check on the other figures. They’re much closer.

I turn back to Logan and clench my fists tighter. “You have to get out.”

“I missed you.” His fingers skim my clavicle, leaving tingles of fire on my skin. Lightning flashes in the sky.

“Who are they?” he says softly, and cocks his head at something behind me.