The Higher Define (2018)

26

After dinner, I pass my dirty clothes to the team that is assigned to clean up the faclities- apparently, that meant that they did the landury around here, too.

As my team heads out to complete our own duties- recycling the codes, I think about how strange it is that my code can't work. Thinking about it prompts tears to my eyes so I blink hard at the moon that hangs in the night sky.
Hopefully, the bright light it emits can chase away the water filling in my eyes.

"We'll be recycling with team Cosmo. When the other teams are done with the showers, they'll take over." Kayla informs me. I nod but I'm not really listening to her talk.

I'm thinking of how eerie Emma's words are and what she could mean by them. Make sure that the teams were pliant? As of now, Courtney watches us keenly, her eyes trained and focused on our every little movement. She has to be following the orders.

I'm scared of what might happen tonoght. Transferring something. My trepidation only gets worse when I realise that we're heading towards the forest, where I visisted this morning.

It can only mean one thing.

My heart races terrifyingly fast, slamming against my chest as I follow the others' swift movements- hooking a hand up the chain link fence and hauling myself over. I don't want to think of how I'm going to escape this. The more time I spend trying to analyse Courtney's motions and deduce her movements, the more I know that we aren't going to be recycling tonight.

In fact, we might be the ones getting recycled.

"Pick up the pace!" Courtney orders and I feel my breaths dig into my chest harshly. I need to think of an escape route, now. Just in case this happens to be what I think it might be.

There are about ten of us, altogether which is good. The bigger the numbers, the more distracted Courtney will be. I can't see well in the dark, especially underneath the canopy of leaves that burst through the night so I have to remember the path we take.

Straight for five minutes before a right turn. Straight again and a left turn.

We're returning to the place I saw this morning. The secret underground area, with the adult Corrupts. I shouldn't be surprised by this but it seemingly throws me off- I guess I expected Courtney to have some humanity to know that this was a bad idea.

When we're what I recognise as a few metres away from the entrance of the underground, Courtney stops us.

"Start digging." She hands out a couple of shovels to us and we begin to strike the soil, shoving the tip of the shovel beneath the parched land and pulling the handle upwards, to remove the earth.

My hole gradually grows big as I scan the surroundings to check if there are any areas I might be able to hide in if I'm not fast enough to run off. I know that running off and hiding can only save me from tonight- I will have to face Courtney again, tomorrow but I'll only be too happy if I can make it past tonight.

"Dig harder." I hear Kayla whisper from beside me. She stops carving into her own hole and starts to assist me in expanding my hole.

"What?" I ask softly.

"We'll only need one hole. Not many Corrupts died today." Kayla answers.

I nod in response and begin scraping at the crust of the earth harder and faster, wanting to get out of this sticky situation- my clothes are already soaked with sweat and I'm starting to forget my agenda of finding a way to escape. Screw escaping Courtney when I just want a good shower.

"That's good." Kayla finally takes a step back and motions for Courtney to pass her the frie dcodes. I try to turn my gaze away but my mind refuses to process that order and I can't help but watch as they take strips, rolls of what looks like film and toss it into the ground.

"Fertiliser." Alice squeaks from behind me, a sad smile on her face.

My heart almost breaks to know that she has to watch this, participate in this at such a young age. Saying goodbye to those who have lost their lives because they simply weren't good enough and having to bury them at such a tender age didn't seem appropriate.

"Yeah, it's great for the trees." Kayla says, her voice a soft note of understanding and empathy when she replies Alice.

I can't help but wonder who the rolls of films belong to. If that person was a boy or a girl. Or if that person wanted to be Define or Corrupt. If he or she knew that today would be his or her last day.

"Come on, we've got a few more codes to fill the hole up with." Courtney hands me more strips of battered thin sheets that feel rubbery under my fingers. In the dark, I can't tell if it is my imagination or if her eyes are truly glowing with wickedness.

I want to throw the codes out of my hands the moment I grab them. Because the feeling is disgusting and knowing that I'm holding the remains of a bunch of dead people scares me, disgusts me.

Still, I know they deserve something that comes close to a proper send-off.

I feel my knees buckle slightly, my whole body wavering as I force myself to kneel down and drop the codes into the hole. Codes are almost invisible, an thing that can only be heard or examined in your head.
The only time that your code takes the shape of a matter is when your code fries and loses all ability to hold information. Which is a little ironic, when you think of it.

"Alright, that's enough." Courtney grabs my arms fiercely and yank me up from my kneeling position, "Come on, all of you. Emma has given me some orders for when we're done with our duties."

"Are you serious?" Kayla frowns at Courtney, "I didn't hear about it."

Courtney turns to Reyna- it's a motion so brief that I nearly wonder if I imagined it but I catch the look that flits across Reyna's features and know that it was real.

"I heard them talk about it. There's no need to worry, Kayla." Reyna covers up so swiftly that it makes my head spin a little.

Is she in on this, too? Is that why she was so mean to me?

I open my mouth to come up with a quick excuse when Courtney shoots me a dark look that forces my lips to clamp shut. Saying something stupid will only get me into more trouble.

"Team Cosmo, Emma has given me some orders and you need to follow my instructions if you want to shower soon." Courtney announces to the members of team Cosmo.
I hear half-stifled groans but no one willingly voices out a complaint.

This isn't going to be good.

"You need to each take this pill before we return to the living space." Courtney begins to hand out little capsules to each one of us. I glance at the small capsule that she has dropped into my palm and instantly feel a sense of repulsion.

I can't eat this. It isn't safe. After everything that the serum has done to my code, I can't trust odd medicine or vitamins.

I glance about to see that others have complied- they're popping their pills into their mouths.
I turn slightly to catch Courtney watching me with a perfectly calm facade.

It's only when I hear the voices that float around me, do I have to stifle a gasp.

"We better hurry. We don't want them waking up duing the transfer."

It's Kayla's voice, clear as day.