•Chapter 6•

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I climb into my Cavity and pull the door shut behind me. Almost immediately the lock is activated, thank goodness I didn't shut it when I went out. I don't think I could survive another three hours sat outside on the floor.Despite our cavities being really cramped, claustrophobic and uncomfortable, they are warm. I hold my hands up towards the heating rod to warm them up. I get pins and needles as all the blood rushes back into my fingers, but oh well. At least I'm warm... and safe. If you lie quietly enough you can here the gentle breathing of the girls near me. Kat sleeps below me, and it's comforting to know she's there. Lying in the dark I find my thoughts wondering back to the mysterious boy who helped me.

Zak.

I do the maths in my head and work out that he must be about 16. He's in canton W 5, so he's a complete generation above me, and if I'm in X 4, he must be about 11 months older than me. 16 years old. Apparently I'm a 'spring baby' because I arrived in the 4th month. Not that it matters, days, months, years. They don't have much significance here.

It's so strange, Mia never said she had a brother. Normally we arrive alone, I've never heard of any one actually having someone they're related to in here as well. Weird. And how does he know all that stuff?! How did he manage to hack the panel without getting himself killed, and what was he doing out of his dorm in the first place?

I guess he could ask me the same question.

I was jolted out of my daydream by the sound of the morning siren and the cavity doors all slid open with a hiss of steam. I groan, not wanting to get out. I have literally had next to no sleep. Maybe I could just have a rest for a few more minutes....

Nope.

"Oi, Soot are you not getting out today. Maybe I should just lock you in?" I open my eyes and glare at the irritating face sneering at my through the door.

"Shut up Pri." I snap, "get out the way before I kick you off the ladder."

"You wouldn't dare." She laughs, flicking her golden hair and climbing down. She's right, I probably wouldn't dare. Pri is the oldest in the dorm and unfortunately I have the privilege of having her sleep above me. Quite often her face is the first thing I see in the morning, and somedays I just want to slap her and rearrange that perfect face of hers. But I can't, because physical violence is strictly forbidden. It's a shame really.

I slide out of my Canton onto the ladder, and 'accidentally' stand on Pri's fingers. I look down at her.   "Sorry, that was an accident."  Her blue eyes look up at and narrow as she glares ice cubes at me.

"Watch it, Glitch." She hisses. I would return the insult, but it would be pointless. She isn't really a misprint after all. None of us know why she's here, her appearance is absolutely perfect. Maybe her personality was so rotten and sour that even the people outside wouldn't have been able to stand her, it wouldn't surprise me.

I give her a fake apologetic smile before following her to the floor. The other 5 girls are hurrying around the room getting ready. It's Sunday, which means its assembly day. The mirror has slid out of the wall and they're all taking turns in front of the mirror, trying to comb out the knots that have gathered in the last few days. We get the brush and mirror only twice a week, on Sunday and Thursday mornings. It's probably one of the highlights of the week. I wait in line behind Kat.  

"You alright?" She asks. 

"Yeh I'm just tired, didn't get much sleep." Fai passes the brush to Kat and after brushing her own hair, she passes it to me. I stare at myself in the mirror as I comb the hair that hangs below my shoulders. Stupid black hair. I tie my hair up quickly into a messy bun with a provided hair tie and then pass the brush to the girl behind. That's as smart as you can get in the Xplic.

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