“Drink. All of it.”

I choke on the cold, sweet syrup. It’s so sickly that my eyes water, adding even more salt to the streams of burning tears already tracked down my cheeks.

“Just a bit more. Come on.” Ike coaxes me to keep drinking, holding my mouth open and tilting a small vial over my lips.

He smashes the vial into Caleb’s teeth. Black liquid oozes over his lips and into his mouth. Blackened saliva pools and dribbles down his chin, dragging bloodied shards of glass with them.

“No!” I shriek, lashing out as the image fades.

“Shh,” Ike presses a hand over my face, checking over his shoulder. “We haven’t got long.”

I blink away the tears and take in the room. A tiny concrete cell with white tiles covering the floor. A large steel door hangs slightly ajar, allowing the dim light outside to cast a hazy glow over Ike’s concerned face. His complexion, usually warm and chestnut brown, is grey, tainted by obvious exhaustion. Judging by the bags under his eyes, I’d guess he hasn’t slept properly in days.

My panicked gasps subside, and Ike releases me.

“Where…” I begin, before the memory of Harris dragging me to solitary floods back. Of Caleb, lying on the floor with black spittle oozing from his lips. “Oh.”

Ike pats me on the shoulder. “I’m sorry it took me a while. I had to make sure I didn’t blow my cover. Got close, there, for a moment.”

I frown. How long has it been? Time has zipped by in a heartbeat, like waking from a dream. By the change in Ike… I remember willingly drinking the Oblivion, and assume the worst. “How many days have I been out?”

“Three.” Ike shakes his head. “I tried… to get your brother… but—”

“He’s gone.”

He nods, not daring to look me in the eye.

I’m not sure it’s possible to feel any more burdened by grief. A part of me knew this news was coming, even though I had hoped I was wrong, that it had just been another part of my fever dreams.

I expected to break down again, to scream, to cry. Instead, I just stare at the wall, nodding slowly, allowing reality to wash over me while the Composure takes full effect.

My ribs ache unexpectedly, and I lift my top to check the damage. A large, angry bruise has spread across half of my chest, and it hurts to breathe. I take careful, shallow breaths, thankful that I’m not crying. It would only hurt more. “So what next?”

Ike glances at the door. “We have half an hour. Harris is on duty next, but… well, I’ll update you on that later. We need to stick to the original plan. Today is our last chance to get you and Dani out.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

He hands me two vials of what looks like liquid mercury, thick viscous metal that resists touching the insides of the glass—Luck.

“Did you get any more composure for Dani?” I ask, trying to keep the accusation out of my voice. It’s not Ike’s fault that I dropped the first vial, after all.

Ike shakes his head. “No, sorry. Security got shut down tight ever since…” He looked away quickly, scanning the corridor with a nervous energy.

I frown. “You couldn’t have dosed yourself?”

“We’re tested at the start of every shift, right when they body scan us. Seriously, Kyla, we need to move. Drink up, I have to rely on your luck, now.”

I open one vial and down the syrup, ignoring the harsh taste of copper pennies at the back of my throat. The same feeling I had at Emotiv washes over me—a subtle panic, or alertness. But even with a mixed dose of Composure and Luck, I still don’t know where to go, or what to expect. “What now?”

Ike jerks his chin at the door. “Time to go. Get to Dani, dose her. We’ve got two hours until lights out. Then we’re leaving.”

I nod, allowing Ike to cuff me. He checks the corridor and leads me out of the solitary cell, warning me to ‘remember I’m dosed’. It’s not too difficult to pretend to be dosed with Oblivion. I’ve already done it once, when me and Dani tried finding Lena. I channel the confusion, the dissociation, and force myself to avoid looking at one specific object or person for too long.

We reach the entrance to the solitary block, and Ike stops under a 360 degree camera dome.

“Hello, Kyla,” a soft, female voice murmurs.

I glance around, trying not to look spooked, to show how alert I actually am, but there’s no one in the corridor, just me and Ike. The voice is familiar, motherly… My eyes pop open as realisation dawns. “Melly?”

Ike shushes me, holding his hand up to the pad on the right.

“You’ll be out soon, Kyla,” Melly continues. “Everything will be alright.”

My mouth gapes as I try to absorb this new information. Melly is an AI at Emotiv… and reform? The questions I have for Frank are multiplying every day, and I quietly promise myself that this time, he’s going to answer them. No more secrets, no more keeping me in the dark. If I haven’t proved my loyalty by now, there was nothing else I could do.

Ike tugs my cuffs, and I trip after him, stumbling all the way back to the dorms. The corridors are dark and eerie—where you can usually hear the steady footsteps of patrolling wardens or the work ongoing down in the pit, today the entire building stands silent, like a haunted shell.

When we get back to the dorms, I immediately seek Dani, but my stomach sinks at the sight before me. From every bunk we pass, cold, hollow eyes glare at me with pure loathing. I wonder what’s happened in the three days I’ve missed. What punishments have they endured because of me?

As if the headcount on my list of wronged people wasn’t high enough already, I now had all of their names to add.

Then, as we neared my cubicle, I realised—they weren’t glaring at me; they were glaring at Ike. They targeted him with so much venom that many of them looked like they would lash out in a heartbeat, given a trigger. In fact, everywhere I turned, almost every inmate had stirred from their restless sleeps and sat bolt upright, and they were all watching him.

In our cubicle, Bennett waited in the corner, eyeing Ike with the same venom the rest of the dorms showed him.

I opened my mouth to speak, but Ike tapped me on the back, twice. No. Appearing like I was in league with Ike would do me no favours, not here. I resumed my act of vague confusion, and allowed Ike to drag me to my bunk, and cuff me to the bar at the top.

How the hell am I meant to get out of this?

He closed the cuffs tightly and met my gaze, raising his eyebrows almost imperceptibly. The taste of pennies sticking to the back of my throat reminded me it would be alright.

After all, it was my lucky day.