Tainted

CHAPTER TEN

  We’ve always been told taking people is a necessary evil. They’re sick and are unable to stay here because it threatens the safety of everyone else in the ARC.

  No one knows why it affects some people and not others. All the Council will tell us is people become sick because of the new element brought to earth by the asteroid.

  There were protests in the beginning, when people first started disappearing, but it rarely happens now. There are stories about the brutal things the Council did to make sure people complied. I’m not certain I believe the rumours are true though.

  They tell us taking the tainted away is for their own good. I personally like to believe people who are taken live in the top levels of the ARC. We can’t access the top floors, so it makes sense. I guess that’s why I’ve always been fascinated by trying to make out the figures that wander across the walkways high above the Atrium.

  Maybe I’m naive to believe they’re still alive, but my gut tells me the tainted are okay.

  It has been ages since anyone from the ARC has been taken, and even longer since anyone from school has been taken. The morose atmosphere that seems to descend on the ARC when someone is found tainted is inescapable and all encompassing.

  Classes are cancelled for the rest of the day, and students are invited to visit with the school therapist. The therapy sessions are a total waste of time, but they’re mandatory for anyone close to someone who is taken.

  As I leave the dining hall I see Sebastian exiting the library at the same time. There’s pain so transparent in his eyes and his shoulders are hunched over as though his backpack weighs a thousand tonnes.

  He doesn’t notice me as he slowly turns to leave school. I take a step forward to follow him, to see if he’s okay, but the look I saw on his face makes me hesitate. He disappears around the corner before I can make up my mind.

  ‘Are you alright Elle?’ I turn around to see Gemma coming up behind me. Her face is pale and, like most people who pass me in the foyer, she looks worried.

  ‘Oh,’ I scratch my head, ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Have you heard?’ she asks, swallowing tightly, as though dreading the idea of repeating what’s happened.

  I nod in response. ‘I can’t believe it. No one’s been taken in six months.’

  ‘Has it really been that long? Poor Chelsea,’ she says, causing a group of girls to burst into tears as they walk past and hear her name.

  ‘Let’s go to the sports centre,’ I suggest. ‘I doubt anyone would be in there right now.’

  As we walk to the gym I become frustrated and annoyed by how shallow most of the kids around me are. I understand Chelsea’s friends must be grieving, but half the students I come across are gossiping, the other half are acting devastated, despite never knowing her.

  I can feel my teeth clenching as we walk past a large group of younger girls. One particularly obnoxious girl laughs as she says, ‘I always knew there was something wrong about her…’

  Gemma firmly grabs my arm and tugs me away from the group as I turn to give the girl a piece of my mind. I may not have known Chelsea, but she definitely doesn’t deserve being talked about with such disrespect.

  ‘Elle, don’t…’ Gemma warns as she firmly marches me away. I relax my shoulders and allow her to steer me around another group of students, who are huddled together, comforting each other.

  Finally we arrive at the gym. I begin to relax as we enter the large, empty space. Gemma insists we sit on the trampolines and as soon as we sit down, and I allow the gentle bouncing momentum to rock me, I can see the appeal. It’s soothing and all my muscles slacken as I allow myself to unwind.

  ‘Intense day,’ Gemma says, while she scoops her dark blonde hair back into a ponytail. ‘I barely knew the girl. Still, I wouldn’t want to be in her place right now.’ She lies back and stares at the ceiling. ‘Did you know her well?’

  ‘I’ve seen her face around, but I wouldn’t say I knew her,’ I admit. ‘I saw her talking to Sebastian this morning. I think they were friends.’ I try not to sound like that troubles me, but I’m worried about how he’s coping after seeing him looking so sad before. ‘I really hope he’s not taking it too hard.’

  ‘Don’t worry about it Elle, I’m sure he’s fine.’ she says.

  I try to feel reassured by what she’s said, but it makes me want to check in on him even more.

  ‘Did you hear about the dance?’ Gemma asks.

  ‘What about it?’

  ‘They’re moving it up to this Saturday!’ she says, unable to keep the excitement from her voice. ‘There was a notice on the board about it at lunch. They must have decided it would be a good pick-me-up for the students after what’s happened with Chelsea. I mean, it has been so long since anyone’s been taken, it’s really shaken everyone up.’ She pauses, thinking. ‘I just hope I don’t end up in something as bad as what I wore last time!’

  I nod sympathetically. Gemma’s outfit at the last dance had been pretty atrocious. It was some gaudy number with sequins all over it. Mine hadn’t been too bad, a simple blue dress. Of course Kate had managed to wear the most amazing outfit. A red, backless dress that had all the boys drooling. Then again, she’s a councilman’s daughter and has resources far beyond those of the school costume room.

  ‘You really had no chance of getting a good one with that unfair detention. It’s seriously not your fault,’ I say. ‘Don’t even worry about your outfit for a second. I will personally make certain we find you a good one this time!’

  She seems slightly encouraged by this.

  I’m about to start scheming on how we can make certain we are the first in line tomorrow after school, when we hear a mixture of boys voices and the slapping of balls against the floor in the courts next door to the gym.

  We both tilt our heads attempting to put names to voices, but are unable to make out what boys are there. I shrug my shoulders at Gemma and relax back on the trampoline. I’m not really bothered about knowing who’s next door, but she seems to have different ideas. She hops off the trampoline and starts walking towards the door. As she nears, she turns and waves me over.

  ‘Fine,’ I whisper back to her. I don’t even know why I’m whispering. I really don’t care what boys are in the sports centre. She probably wants to know if it’s Cam.

  We both walk quietly to the gymnasium door. From here we can make out everything they say. I still have no idea who it is, but Gemma seems seriously intrigued.

  I am leaning against the wall, my arms crossed against my body, when my ears perk up. I’ve just heard Sebastian’s name.

  ‘The kid was devastated when I told him about Chelsea,’ one of the guys says.

  ‘Well, do you blame him?’ another responds. ‘I would be too…’

  I hold my breath, not daring to move. Gemma looks at me, concern crossing her face as I feel the blood drain from mine. Why is Sebastian so upset about Chelsea being taken?

  My cuff vibrates with an incoming comm from Sebastian. I don’t want to talk to him right now though, so I ignore it. Instead, I turn to Gemma and quietly tell her I’m leaving.

  The guys are still chatting about Sebastian, but I tune them out. I’m not sure I want to know why Sebastian is devastated about Chelsea. The thought that something could have been going on between them leaves me feeling empty inside.

  When I turn down my corridor I find Sebastian sitting by my door. He’s leaning his back against it and staring up at the flickering light bulb that hangs precariously from the ceiling. His eyes seem deep in thought and my stomach clenches when I guess he’s thinking of Chelsea.

  ‘You didn’t answer my comm,’ he accuses as I approach.

  I shrug and search my pockets for my swipe key. ‘I was busy.’ I try to avoid looking at him as I move past him to the door. The lock happily beeps and the door to my quarters opens.

  ‘Are you too busy to talk now?’ he asks, standing just inside the doorway, leaning against the frame.
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  My bag lands loudly on the floor as I drop it down, and I take a deep breath before turning back to him. ‘No. Now’s okay. What’s up?’

  He checks up and down the hallway before entering the room, closing the door behind him. ‘I’ve been thinking a lot about what we heard last night. I want to know more about what they’re hiding from us. It’s clear they’re keeping so many secrets and I think it’s about time we knew the truth about the tainted.’

  I sit down on my bed and cross my legs, pulling my hair to one side so I can play with its ends. I’ve also been thinking about last night all day and I want to know more too, but it’s risky to keep breaking the rules in search of more information. Especially when the truth may make no difference anyway. ‘We already know too much and I don’t want to get into trouble senselessly searching for more information. I wouldn’t even know where to start.’

  Sebastian sits on Quinn’s bed, all the while watching me, his eyes cautious as though he’s evaluating me in some way. ‘I think I know a way to get to the top levels of the ARC,’ he says.

  ‘Yeah right.’

  ‘No really, I think I’ve found a way to the top of the ARC,’ he repeats.

  I stare at him, allowing his words to sink in. For as long as I can remember I’ve felt connected to the top levels of the ARC, like they have a magnetic pull over me. They’ve always seemed to elusively hold the answers I’ve searched for. Has he completely lost the plot though? There’s no way to get up there unless he plans to somehow scale the Atrium walls. Surely any plan he’s thought of is suicide.

  ‘Does she really mean that much to you?’ I finally ask.

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Chelsea. She’s the reason you’re doing this, isn’t she?’

  ‘What?’ he exclaims with disbelief. ‘Why would you ever think this is about Chelsea?’

  ‘Well, it’s only now she’s gone you’ve come up with this plan.’

  ‘Elle, trust me, this has nothing to do with Chelsea. I need to try and find the truth. I need to know what happened to my family, what could one day happen to us. Will you please come with me?’

  I pause and fold my arms across my chest. With no one taken in over six months I’d slowly begun to feel safe here. The bad memories of constantly losing friends and family, and the fear of being taken myself, had slowly dissipated. Part of me had started to think maybe the danger had passed, that maybe people weren’t going to get sick any longer.

  Then last night, when I heard about the stars, I had dared to feel optimistic. Dared to dream that maybe there was hope for us yet. With Chelsea taken only hours ago it’s clear I was a fool to feel hopeful. If Quinn was right, and a wave of people are about to be taken, we are in more danger than ever.

  It’s becoming clearer and clearer we can’t just keep waiting around until another one of us falls sick and disappears. We have to uncover the truth the Council have so obviously hidden from us for our entire lives. I just worry the truth is far worse than we’ve ever imagined.

  ‘How are you even going to get up there?’ I ask.

  ‘As part of my engineering apprenticeship I’ve been studying the schematics of the ARC. There’s this old maintenance shaft that runs between all of the levels over in the East Wing. I suspect it goes all the way to the top.’

  ‘Surely they would know about it?’

  ‘I don’t think so. They make new plans every couple of years of the ARC and I’ve been crosschecking between them all. There’s only one plan that even mentions the shaft and it’s from way back when the ARC was first built, before impact even occurred. I don’t think anyone’s used it since then.’

  I shiver and rub my hands along my arms. Some old abandoned maintenance shaft sounds dangerous, like the kind of thing you’d expect teens to find in a horror flick. I also suspect it’s likely to be dark and small, not exactly my favourite combination. ‘It doesn’t sound very safe,’ I grumble.

  ‘I’ll look after you,’ Sebastian says, with confidence. He falters though when he looks me in the eyes. ‘But if you’re not sure, I won’t hold it against you if you want to stay behind.’

  ‘I’m just nervous about the shaft,’ I admit. ‘But, that’s not enough to stop me. Do you really think I’d give up the chance to see the top levels? I’m coming with you. Even though it will probably kill us both.’

  Sebastian laughs and takes a hold of my hand. ‘Are you sure?’

  I laugh and try to ignore the way my hand tingles in his. Taking a deep breath I pull my hand free and step towards the door. ‘No, definitely not, so we better leave before I come to my senses.’