Subordinance

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

I sit in the mess hall with a watery bowl of ration meal swimming in front of me and a sleepy Subordinate across from me. Rho has her head down on the table, the only sign of life being the slight disturbance of her shoulders when she breathes.

The occasional snort is reassuring, too.

I bounce my leg under the table, awake to the point of a pinpoint alertness that comes with downing a canteen and a half of black coffee. The clock on the wall says it’s nearing half past four, leaving only a few more minutes until we’re required to meet up with our assigned Quadrant Officer for the day. The prospect of being on the front lines of the battle field knots itself in my stomach, accompanied by a swell of nerves and a boatload of energy that comes out in ticks and jitters. Despite the glory of war I’ve been taught, I can’t quite construe an image in my head of what the warfront will be like. Other than knowing it will be a significant change from the flattened plains of Sigma, I don’t know what to expect. The windows on the AirTram had offered no hint as to the outside world other than smears of a greying night landscape as we’d sped through the Districts.

It is because of these reasons that I am startled so much when the chiming five-minute warning bell is relayed over the loudspeakers. I shake Rho’s shoulder and grab her bowl of uneaten breakfast, dumping it in the nearest trash bin as she wakes up with a start.

“Warning bell,” I explain, pushing the leftover canteen of coffee in front of her. “You have to go all the way down to Quadrant One in five minutes.” Rho grimaces, flopping her head back into her folded arms on the table.

“Unless you want to work as the lunch lady, I suggest you get up and get going, Rho,” I nudge her with the canteen as she lifts her head, grabbing the container and downing a swig.

“Ugh,” she remarks, her face pinched and mildly disgusted. “This is worse than Sigma’s.” She sets the canteen down, its brackish contents sloshing inside before pushing herself up and stretching.

“Up and at ‘em, Rho!” I say with maybe a touch of sarcasm.

“Midnight wake up calls do not make for a good day, Nine,” she grumbles flatly, clearly irritated at being woken up from her nap. “How are you so perky?”

I shrug, waggling my eyebrows. “I don’t have to walk fourteen Quadrants in,” I check my watch, “two and half minutes. Have fun!” She rolls her eyes at me and shuffles into the elevator currently being loaded with Subordinates. I take the next elevator open and head down to the main floor where the Quadrant Officer told us to meet him. Like always, or what I’ve come to accept about Kappa, the main area for the Quadrant Wing is positively teeming with Subordinates rushing around, doing different jobs and going different places. A chance detail makes me pause on my way; I notice the small, reinforced window on the door of the creation lab is lit with blurred light from within, the deadbolt on the door shifted into place.

I wonder how many Subordinates they have to create today.

At the same time, I wonder how many were lost.

I see the Quadrant Officer standing by the lessons rooms, in another world from the apparent look in his eyes. He sees me approaching, though, along with another boy who’s not too far behind me. He refocuses in an instant.

“Twenty-Three, Nine,” he greets, not looking as tired as he had earlier this morning. I wonder if he’s had a power shot of caffeine or if he’s actually been able to sneak in some sleep. The boy next to me seems to be hyped up on coffee, judging from the restless way he rocks on his heels and the fidgety way he twists his hands. Another girl jogs up towards the group, her short hair flattened to one side and sleep still weighing heavily on her features.