New Elysium: Weapons of War (Book 2)

I hear her now Part 23

The orphanage wing was quiet.

Lights flickered and the adults running the place were simply gone as were some of the older kids assigned to live there. It consisted of about twenty beds in a long room with a bathroom on one side. Girls had a separate but similar room across the hall.

T and Alt lay underneath Alt's bed. The place had erupted into chaos when one of the older girls, a dark-skinned girl named Attica began foaming at the mouth and attacking a guard posted down the hall. This had prompted a bunch of kids to run outside and see the "fight" only to realize something was really wrong. T had dragged Alt back inside and they'd hidden whereas most of the kids ended up fighting each other and running from the room. There had been no rhyme or reason for what had happened. Fear kept them from moving and experience from calling out. At some point, both had fallen asleep in the night but they were awake again and T really needed to pee.

"Do you think it's safe?" Alt whispered, echoing T's unspoken thoughts. He put a grubby hand up to his mouth, chewing on a nail without giving T a glance.

"No," T said. "But have we ever been?"

Alt didn't answer. They'd been in Helion 7 for a while and knew life simply wasn't fair. The orphanage comprised mostly of augmented children who simply needed some sort of life support to live.

T had spinal implants that Dex and Cyril had tweaked recently. The stitches had come out yesterday and he was still sore. He'd been told not to run around too much, but in light of the current situation on Helion 7 the suggestion seemed laughable now. Perhaps the universe thinks it's making a big cosmic joke, he thought shifting to his right side.

He peered from underneath the covers hanging over the bed out into the gloom. This wasn't his first time hiding in the dark out of fear. He'd been doing it for half of his life until he'd met Red and Dag in prison. They'd protected him and Alt. Dag had pried a little into his past but Red hadn't asked any questions, he'd simply made room. T had gravitated toward the man, watching what he did, mimicking his quiet solitude to the best of the ability of any little boy.

For T, talking about his parents would force him to acknowledge the fact that they'd been killed when he'd been picked up. Both of them had put up a struggle with the scandroid that snagged him. He hadn't seen the end of them, but he'd heard their screams and there was no other outcome for those who fought back.

He wiped away the sudden tears that formed burning against the salty sweat in the corner of his eye. He hadn't cried in a long time and he wasn't about to now. He didn't know where Red was, or his other friends.

"Do you think Juni is ok?" Alt whispered next to him.

"I don't know," T said, answering honestly. "She's been acting kind of weird lately."

"Where do you think she is?"

Again T pondered the question. He shrugged knowing Alt was looking for reassurance of some kind. Alt had gravitated toward the blind girl like a magnet. T had understood this on some level. On another level, he'd been a little jealous. They were both blind, both had augmented eyes and both had been horrifically affected by the Purge. Juni had been abandoned by her Uncle upon arrival at New Elysium, who seemed to be relieved to be rid of her. T and Alt had left their parents behind on their respective homeworlds.

"I'm going to marry Juni someday," Alt declared suddenly.

T froze, unable to comprehend the thought right away. It made no sense in the scenario they were currently involved in. People had lost their minds and were fighting, yelling about not touching the interfaces and Alt was declaring his love for Juni