Fanfare

Shifts

"Where're we going this time?" Trenna asks, for what seems like the tenth time, at least.

Ben shakes his head and shushes her while Jack grins. Trenna can't help the pained expression that flits across her face.

"What's wrong? You look like you're in pain," Jack whispers, close to her ear. She elbows him in the side and he grunts, slowing to a stop in the low tunnel before crawling his way back to her side. "Harsh," he says, sounding winded. Trenna grins and waits.

The lights in the tunnel peter out til they're in complete darkness. She follows the tug of the rope around her waist, her head ducked low so she doesn't hit her head. It's the third time she's been on a shift. The rebels go out into the city. They go in groups of twelve, four groups at a time, each to a different section near the perimeter of the flames. Pierce is in charge of the groups. He has not sent her to the east due to an unspoken request, and she is grateful. In her group are nine men whose names she does not all know, including Ben and Jack. Anna, the green-eyed red-haired girl crawls behind them, along with a quiet woman named Tess, who guards the rear. They are in a system of underground caves beneath the compound. Trenna was almost surprised they were there. It has made her wonder what other secrets her city hides, as well as increased what she believed the bounds of her city to be.

The caves are small and thin, but wide enough for two people to crawl side by side, if they are close together. Considering how broad Jack's shoulders are, he is very close to her in this tunnel; the walls brush their shoulders on either side. Trenna imagines she can feel Pierce's eyes, drilling into the back of her head. She flushes, glad of the darkness, and pushes it away. Not that it's dark for her down here. It's just as bright as if she were outside. But no one else can see where they're going. She'd wondered how they knew where they were going, til Ben explained in his even, calm tone about the notches on the floors, creating patterns that group leaders knew how to follow. He didn't explain the particular patterns, and she didn't ask, knowing he wouldn't tell her. So she started to figure it out on her own.

Her fingers trace the notches on the ground, her eyes skimming over them, drinking them in, memorising them and deriving their meaning, Searching for a pattern. So far, the paths they've taken have had varying notches, in a pattern she cannot pick up. But she remembers. She remembers the pattern, a number sequence. And as soon as she gets back to her room tonight, she'll write it on the piece of paper with the other two sequences and try to see the difference, the similarity.

She sighs as she adds numbers to her sequence, grateful for her memory. Another of your talents, she can hear Pierce whisper into her ear. She shudders and Jack looks at her inquiringly. She makes no movement in return, considering he can't see her, and crawls on faster as the rope at her waist pulls, the person ahead of her exiting the tunnel and standing. She crawls out behind Ben and looks around. They're in the north part of the city, beside a tall half-demolished building. She unties the rope from her waist as the rest of her team emerges from the hole. She knows where they are; she always knows where they are. She knows the streets better than her own mind. Better than the rest of them.

Ben takes a few moments to orientate himself as everyone emerges from the tunnel and looks around. Trenna goes on her tiptoes and tells him where they are. "We're north-east of the hall," she whispers.

He gives her a small smile. "You sure it isn't magic?" he asks.

"Yeah, like some sort of homing beacon?" Jack asks, loosening the rope from around his waist and beginning to reel it into a loop as the others untie themselves.

"So far, all I can do is see in the dark," she tells them. She looks down at her feet as she moves away from them.

Someone snorts. "'All I can do', she says. All I can bloody do is tell when Grey last showered." A young man, Jack's age and called Hugo, breathes in deeply. "Which is about last week. I think you're due for a bath, friend." He wrinkles his nose and there's a smattering of soft laughter.