The Cure for Sleeping

Chapter Fifteen

Hazel disappears into the crowd, and Thea and I turn back to worker. My hands are scraping out weeds, picking fruit but my mind is a thousand miles away.

Briony. The girl who braided my hair on my first day of school, who I spent the last eighteen years telling my secrets to, who I travelled across the world for. She was one of the people who started this.

Millions of people have died, and it's my sister's fault.

The day falls together like pieces on an assembly line. I move, with Thea at my side as a guide, and the world spins around me. But I'm not there. I'm with my monster sister.

I half-listen as Thea and Hazel discuss leaving the compound. They plan to go only for the day, since we don't have a hold of Noah and Josh. When they lead me to the warehouse entrance after lunch the red-haired guard stop us. He blocks the door bodily, arms crossed and glowering down. He directs us to take our complaints to Warren.

So, we do. Hazel knows where his office is located, and we lurk outside until he exits. We fall into step next to him.

"So, the three of us were thinking," Thea matches his pace as he quickens, "that we've been doing a lot of work lately. We tried to leave the compound for a bit of fresh air this afternoon, but your guard, Ryan, stopped us. Any idea why that is?"

"We don't let civilians leave the base of their own accord."

Hazel frowns. "So we're prisoners here?"

Warren stops walking, and we halt right beside him, blocking the hallway. A girl carrying a stack of dirty plates has to skirt the wall to get around us. "Of course not. We simply have rules to ensure your safety. Civilians are allowed to leave one at a time, at a pre-agreed time and in the company of a guard."

"What exactly do you mean by 'civilian'? You're every bit as much as non-combatant as I am. Or were you really military before all this?" Thea purrs, a cat with a mouse.

A vein throbs in Warren's neck. "Rules are rules."

"Fine then. I'd like to book an excursion with Noah Teren as my guard. Remember him? One of the boys that we haven't been able to speak to for days?"

"Your request is denied. You're privileges have been revoked after the incident in the kitchen this morning."

Thea flexes her fingers. One of the guards had gotten too close for her comfort, so Thea had spun around and clocked him in the jaw. Then kicked him a few times in the ribs. The kitchen staff was not amused.

"And am I allowed to leave?" Hazel asks. Warren squints down at her.

"What are you, ten? You're too young to be risking your life out there on the streets. Stay in here where it's nice and safe." He ruffles her hair. Hazel stills, and her glare in enough to make him withdraw his hand.

"And me?" I ask. "What's your excuse for me not going?"

Warren pauses, furrowing his brow at me. I give his brain a few seconds to tick over, then smile, my teeth like shards. "Perfect. I'll go tell Noah that we're going. What time will we be allowed to leave?"

The commander at me like I'm an insect. I think that it's supposed to make me feel small, but we match in height. "You'll be let out at three pm sharp tomorrow. Be back by sunset, or the doors are closed."

"That's only three hours."

"You'll just have to make good use of it. Now, if you'll excuse me," He shoves past Thea, who huffs, "I have more important business to attend to than the whims of two teenage girls and a child."