The Five Unnecessaries

Chapter 6

When I caught up with Eva, she turned to face me, and said, "So, any burning questions before you get to your Circle?"

"Um...where are we? Underground? What about Central?"

"There's only one stairway and one elevator that goes up to the Circles from where we are. Central is far larger than most people in the Territory realize. There are five floors underground, wide as all the Circles – even larger if you include some places I can't tell you about. The stairway comes up into the garden in the center of the Circles and that one- and only- stairway also leads straight to the Central Hub if you go one floor down. You'll catch on."

We turned to walk down a wide hall that curved around long sets of doors and offices with open windows.

On the other side were doors with numbers and names that were much larger. At first, I wasn't sure what they could be, but the second door read "Avery."

"Are these the trainers' rooms or their workspaces?" I whispered to Eva.

She looked mildly impressed at my guesswork. As the rest of the Protectors marched forward through the hall, she walked backward, trying to read my reactions as she explained.

"The left side are sleeping quarters. Their offices are embedded in the inner circle on the right."

"So," I asked, staring at the rooms, "their sleeping quarters are right next to their offices? It sounds a little intense. Do they want to make them obsessed with their job?"

"No. And by no, I mean yes. They do the legwork while you're on missions. Trainers run all the EEs and Tech Handlers run station maintenance. Your handler will monitor you in the Republic if they can. You call your handler if you need an EE."

"An EE... that's an emergency evacuation, right?"

"Yes," Eva said matter-of-factly, "and don't think an EE means they get you out of the Republic or even Zone 3. It's just Zone 2 or Zone 1 evac if you have a problem. They sometimes have to tell you to hold tight if there have been drones in the area. They also give you a pep talk now and again."

"Isn't that what your trainer is for?"

"Ha! No, your trainer is there to hate you and make you a better Protector by placing insane amounts of mental and physical pressure on you."

"Why?" I slowed down almost to a stop. She grabbed my arm and pulled me toward her so I would stay close as we walked. She spoke quietly, almost whispering.

"It used to be, when they first built those Circles up there, that Protectors were trained differently, which is what the Council was arguing about. With the Republic's kill order for any suspected Protector, and the public more suspicious than ever, a trainer's only job is keeping you alive. The only thing is—"

She turned around, even as she looked like she was about to continue. I was following so close to Eva that when the line stopped, I almost ran into her. I wondered how much I would stare at her brown, flipped-up hair in the next few weeks.

Patterson explained the procedures to get around Central and our classes, then proceeded to explain the biometric security.

"You will need to place your hand on this pad to go up to your Circles now, but then the hallway cameras will scan and give you priority access to every location. Stare ahead at the camera. The scanners will record everything we need before you go up to your assigned Circle. You will watch the mandatory simulcast when you arrive."

Each girl placed their hand on the pad and stared at the strange robotic arm scanning them as if it were normal. Patterson would say the girl's name and Protector number. When he got to Eva, his smile disappeared. The computer was already responding.