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Everything I've thought of, waited for my entire life, will be determined within the next few weeks. I'll turn eighteen and become and adult, move to the runner's dorm and start my life. And if Zane makes tunnel guard, I'll still get to have him with me. It's everything I've wanted and it's finally here. I'm so excited I can barely sit still in class.

  Zane

  With my tray in hand, I look around the mess hall for a seat. There's no reason to search out faces. None of these guys are my friends. They make certain to remind me of it while they are jabbing their fists into my ribcage during sparring practice.

  There's a half-empty table, so I sit down at the far end, alone, and focus on the food on my tray, a couple of protein bars and a glass of vitamin-enhanced water, which is something only given to military personnel, like it's a big perk. They give you essential vitamins, you give your life. Fair trade. After I’ve been seated for a few minutes, my CO enters the mess, followed by some of the other guys from my squad who fill in the gaps around me at the table.

  "Brenner," I hear someone say near the middle of the long cafeteria table.

  I don’t look up.

  "Hey! I’m talking to you." I recognize the voice. It's my CO. His name is Devin Fulton, or Officer Fulton to me. Can't very well dismiss him, so I slowly turn my eyes toward where he's sitting.

  "Sir?" I ask.

  "Who do you think would win in a fight between you and Private Harmond here?"

  I glance at the guy seated next to him. James Harmond, the biggest guy in my squad.

  "I don’t fight, sir," I say stiffly.

  I hear laughs and snorts.

  Officer Fulton says, "Yeah, well. If you weren't such a pansy, who do you think would win?"

  "Probably me," I say.

  More laughter, this time it's mostly coming from Officer Fulton.

  "You're pretty sure of yourself, huh?" he sneers.

  "No, sir." I look over at Harmond sitting next to Fulton. He's trying to disappear into his protein bar.

  "What is it then, Brenner," Fulton stands up and comes directly behind me, "that makes you think you can take on a guy as big as Harmond over there?"

  The rest of the squad has stood and moved in around me and my CO, waiting for my response, except Harmond. He's still cowering, staring down his tray. I don't want to tell them it's because I don't think Harmond has it in him. He's a big ox of a guy, though more fat than muscle. He's quiet and while most quiet guys seem like they might be a little off, mentally, I don't think that's the case with Harmond. I think he's just a miserable sadsack, which I can relate to in a lot of ways. In fact, if I had to pick someone I might actually want to be friends with in this squad, it would probably be Harmond.

  "Nothing, sir. Just a guess," I say instead. There’s no way I'll get out of this cafeteria without something happening that will entertain the idiot masses, so I wait as calmly as I can until they get their jollies and I can go back to my bunk and try to block out the ugliness of humanity.

  "We want to see it, don’t we fellas?" Fulton taunts the crowd. They are yelling and fist pumping now.

  "I’m not going to fight him, sir," I say, twisting to look directly at my CO.

  "Is that so? Last time I checked, you don't get to make the decisions here, Brenner," he says.

  The rest of the minions surrounding Fulton jeer and poke at me. I can feel my face get hot, but I try to keep holding it together. Not doing so will only make it worse for me, and for Harmond. My eyes stay focused on Officer Fulton. He is tall and lean, with elongated muscles stretched tight. His face is covered in acne scars. I remember him from school. He was in Zander's pod. He even came to our apartment on occasion to hang out with my brother. What a bastard, this guy.

  We just stare down one another until everyone grows silent around us. Finally he says, "Tomorrow night, after lights out. You and Harmond will fight out in the yard."

  "Fine," I say, and get up. I exit the mess hall. I've lost my appetite.

  Chapter 3

  Bekka

  After school I tag along with Evy and a few others to Chuggers, the popular hang out for school aged kids. It used to be a bar but now it's just a rundown snack joint with some tables. There isn't much else to do in this city when you are in the program. Your only options are to go to school or your job and stay out of trouble so you don't lose your monthly water allowance.

  The balding man who runs the place is behind the counter, talking with a couple of pluggers. We have all sorts of goofy names for the various cliques in school. Pluggers are the kids who are obsessed with electronics and computers. They usually sit at the counter here because it’s the only place they can plug in their gadgets. Apparently, you used to be able to get information from the sky, but that broke a long time ago when the water dried up, for some reason. Now if you want to do whatever it is they do on the computer, you have to plug it in. The junk on it is the same stuff we've all seen before: directories, rules for the residents of North Sacto, government approved games, and the like.

  Pluggers spend hours staring at screens, which isn't something I can understand. It's very uninteresting to me. I’d rather run and imagine real things that exist in real places, like over the ridge. One of the pluggers looks up from his screen and catches my eye. His name is Brandson. I know him from school. He smiles at me but has headphones on, so I smile back and mouth a hello to him as I walk past him.

  Evy waves at the other thunks sitting at a tall table in the back corner as we make our way over to them. I don't really belong to a group, but since I’m with Evy I will be accepted to join in with the thunks. They are punkers who are smart and consider themselves intellectual thinkers or think punks. Thunks. Again, not something I'm super interested in, and I certainly don’t look the part, but they're nice enough, even if they look crazy and intimidating.

  I never really worried about where I fit in before, because Zane and I always just made up our own group. He technically could have fit in fairly well with the thunks, with his tattoos and dark clothes, but while he's a thinker, he's not much for sharing his thoughts, so he wasn't ever interested in being part of a larger social scene.

  I've never cared much for analyzing and don't really think too hard about my style either. I go for comfort mostly, which is usually my running pants or shorts and a t-shirt. I pull my dishwater blond, stick-straight hair back into a ponytail everyday.

  Alex comes in just as we sit down. He's dark complected like his twin sister and is just as wild. He has a curly mohawk and a nose piercing. He's not bad looking and is extremely funny, which makes it confusing to me why I don't like him the way he likes me.

  "Hey, Runner," he says to me. "What’s a nice girl like you doing hanging with a bunch of thunkers?"

  "Hey, Alex," I say, smiling at him.

  "I heard you saw Zane this morning."

  I nod.

  "How’s he?"

  "Okay, I think. Same Zane as the last time I saw him."

  "That’s too bad." Alex chuckles and puts his arm around me in a joking manner. "I mean, I was at least hoping the military would make him slightly less brooding."

  "I don’t think so." Alex and Zane have never particularly liked each other. I change the subject. "You know, they're going to make you shave that hair off."

  "It’s a shame, too. It's my best feature, next to my gorgeous eyes." He does have nice, deep brown eyes with long dark lashes.

  "And that modesty is a pretty great trait, too," Evy interjects dryly, rolling her eyes at her twin.

  A couple of huffers come in. The volume increases because huffers are known for their aggressive attitudes. They tend to be nasty, violent kids who like to fight and snort junk. Most of them don't belong to the program and choose to live in the shadier areas of town. They ride electric motorcycles and make money outside of the program, usually by black market sales, which often include homemade drugs. Since they aren't in the program, they have to buy their water.

  "Can you believe we are going to be finis
hed with school in a week?" one of the thunks from our pod says.

  "It's pretty wild," Evy says. Everyone else nods in agreement.

  "What are you going to shoot for?" Evy asks one of the boys, Greer, who has purple hair, several piercings, and a large neck tattoo.

  "Research," he says thoughtfully, which comes as a shock to me.

  Working in Water as a scientist is one of the top jobs you can get. If you ace the exam you can bypass the military training and get placed there straight away. Acing the exam is almost unheard of, but Greer is a pretty smart guy, and his dad, and his dad's dad both worked in that department, so his chances seem pretty good.

  There are basically four areas for assignment: Water, Food, Maintenance, and Government. Within each of those areas are many layers, for example, Water workers can be high up, like a researcher, or they can be in distribution or collection. Though the pay differs, anyone who works in Water is still regarded highly.

  People assigned to Food generally make or pack food. Pretty straight forward. Maintenance workers are all the people who maintain the city, so trash, mail, construction, recyclers, and laundry all fall under Maintenance.

  Government includes the military, police, as well as teachers, trainers, and anyone affiliated with education. Runners are technically housed in Government because they are part of the military, but they are also greatly respected because they work so closely with water and risk their lives for it.

  "Do you think you'll score well on the exam?" I ask Alex, still standing with his arm locked around me. He's been doing that more and more since Zane left.

  "Not well enough to place me in Water, but I don't care. I'm good with being a soldier." He winks at me. I don't see Alex as a soldier at all, but he's not really into school and studying, so he's destined for it. I think he likes to play the macho goofball, but I see right through it. He's really scared as hell.

  All of the talk of the exam makes me anxious about all of the studying I still need to do, so I squeeze out of Alex's grip and say, "I'm gonna head out. Talk to you later."

  "K. See ya," Alex says. I nod to Evy who's still talking to Greer, and I head home.

  Zane

  Lying in my bunk above Harmond, I'm still fuming about what a psycho my commanding officer is and wondering why he has it out for me. Even before Zander was killed, I had strong anti-war sentiments and after, well, it just solidified my opinion. I'm a pacifist, but for some reason, this violent hell hole of a city doesn't breed others like me; just the opposite, actually.

  I've always been singled out as someone to bash in when given the chance. I have no idea why. Maybe because people can tell when someone is above them and they want their turn at trying to knock you down a peg, so you can be at their same level. In my early teens, after several head bashings, Zander suggested I start lifting weights. He thought I actually enjoyed it, and I did like spending time with him, but I really was thinking if I got bigger, maybe people would leave me alone. Instead, it was just the opposite, they enjoyed seeing if they could beat up the ripped guy. No matter what I do, people seem to love making the peaceful guy get mad and fight.

  I'm sure that's what all this is about, this deal with Officer Fulton. He's trying to break me; probably sees my disdain for the military, as much as I try to hide it. Except, what he doesn't understand is that every time I fight, I want nothing more than to run from this ruined existence and become a loner. And I would, if it weren't for Bekka. She's the only reason I'm even sane. Even if we don't see eye to eye about the war, she still gets it, and me, and that's more than I can say for anybody else I've ever known; except maybe my mom. Even Zander was a Junkie. That's what everyone calls the freaks who are hothead soldiers. They crave fighting, so this war is perfect for them.

  I wouldn't even be trying in the training exams if it weren't for Bekka, but if I fail to place in the finals, I'll just get a regular job assignment after training is over, like most of the ingrates my age. There will be a few handfuls of the top placers who will be assigned to military careers like guards, soldiers, or police force. I'm shooting for guard so I can get assigned to the tunnels and make sure nothing happens to Bekka as a runner. Plus, guards don't need to fight. They just protect the runners from our enemies and fellow water hoarders, the residents of the neighboring city, South Sacto.

  "Hey, Zane. You still awake?" Harmond says from the bunk just below me.

  "Yeah. What's up, James?"

  "I just wanted to tell ya that I don’t want to fight ya tomorrow."

  "I know. Don’t worry about it."

  "Can I ask you something?"

  "Sure."

  "Why does everyone mess with you?"

  "I have no idea."

  "I thought it sucked to be me, but it must suck to be you, too."

  "It’s no picnic." I chuckle, though I don’t really know why, because it's goddamn true.

  My life is pretty miserable, but at least I have Bekka. That's more than Harmond can say. He's a big, ugly, pathetic guy who has the personality of a rock. I don't think a girl has ever even allowed him to look in her direction. I feel a little better. It could be worse. I could be Harmond.

  "Sorry, man," he says.

  "Don't worry about it." I wish this guy would stop making me like him. I'd almost rather hate him so it would be easier to fight him tomorrow night. Either way, it won't be something I enjoy doing. I consider that a good sign. No matter how many times I fight, it doesn't change my perspective. I'm sure there's got to be a better way.

  Chapter 4

  Bekka

  Returning to my building, I don't feel like studying all of a sudden. Instead I find myself knocking on Regina's door. Even though I know Zane isn’t inside, I can’t stop myself.

  "Hi, honey. Everything alright?" Zane's mother asks, standing in the doorway in her long nightgown even though it's not even dinner time yet.

  "Sure. Just thought I'd say hi," I say, feeling insecure suddenly.

  "You wanna come in?"

  "If it's not a bother. Were you sleeping?"

  She looks down at her attire and I feel embarrassed that I stopped. Regina says, "No, just changed into something comfortable after I got home from work. Come on in." She moves to the side to let me in.

  We sit on the couch I've sat on a million times before, except it was when Zane was here with me. Now I feel awkward and out of place. I pick at a loose thread on my t-shirt hem.

  "I just wanted to tell you that I saw Zane this morning," I say, though I'm still not totally sure if I should be telling her how he has been sneaking off base to meet me the past few months.

  Her eyes widen. "Is he okay?"

  "Yeah. He looked good. I mean, the same as before."

  Her posture relaxes a little. "That's good. Thanks for telling me. I've been worried about him."

  "Me too," I say. "He said he'll be done with training soon. I think he gets a visitation with family members before his assignment starts."

  "Yes. I've been waiting for that invitation. Do you want to come with me?"

  "I'm not family," I say. That fact is confirmed by how uncomfortable this conversation feels.

  Regina chuckles and the familiar spark I'm used to seeing in her eye appears. "You are the closest thing Zane and I have to a family. Come with me."

  I immediately feel the tension ease from my own shoulders and I sit back into the cushion a little more. "I wish I could, but I'm afraid I will already be gone by then. I get my assignment on Monday of next week."

  "Oh," she says and I see her eyes fade again. She gets up and walks to the kitchen counter. "Would you like something to drink? I have an extra ration this month, since it's just me now." She begins to fiddle with the kettle and mugs.

  "I should probably get home and start studying. Hopefully, Zane and I will be working together soon, if he makes guard duty."

  "I know he wants that," Regina said.

  Regina walks me to the door. "Regina?"

  "Hmm?"

&nb
sp; "I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to miss you," I say and choke back emotions I wasn't expecting. "I'm glad you were just down the hall." I turn to leave but Gina pulls me in and hugs me tightly.

  "Bekka. Please take care of Zane for me. I know he is happiest with you in his life."

  "I'll try," I say and walk the short length of hall to my front door.

  In my bedroom, I lie on my bed with my books spread in front of me and think about how bad I feel for Zane's mother. She's all alone now. Zane was the only one she had left and although she will be able to visit him on occasion, I'm sure it must be strange to go from a woman who had a husband and two kids to being a lonely old lady who puts on her pjs at five o'clock every night and sits in her small apartment by herself. I wonder what she will do with the rest of her life. The thought makes me sad.

  I try to focus on my studies, but it's overwhelming, attempting to relearn everything I've been taught since I was a small child. I wish I knew what the test was going to be about. I've always been a good student, but I want to do well on the exam. I skim the chapters and go over all of the basics. The next thing I know I'm sound asleep and Cheryl is knocking on my door to tell me dinner is ready.

  Zane

  After a full day of combat training and more tunnel drills, I'm physically exhausted and want nothing more than to crash onto my bunk and become dead to the world, but instead I need to go to the yard and pretend my pathetic bunkmate is beating me up. My life is amazing.

  I walk the dark hall and push open the heavy door that leads me outside, which is still humid and sticky at eleven at night. There is a glow from a few of the overhead lights, but not enough to actually see more than shadows of a dozen or so men waiting to watch other men experience pain and anguish for their own amusement and entertainment.

  "Zane Brenner. Nice of you to join the party." I don't need to see my CO in order to know his face is plastered with that disgusting little smirk I've become too familiar with. I wonder what must have happened to him during his childhood to make him such a loathsome human being.