Read Divided Worlds Trilogy 01 - Disconnect for Free Online Page B

seemed perfect. She didn’t need to tell him that the Raptor was worth a lot; it was obvious. It was rare. No – a perfect Intercom was incomprehensible, and that would arouse suspicion from the stall. Zachary groaned. Keeping it would prevent him from cashing in. Plenty of money, thanks to Gerry’s job, was on its way, but he wanted to show his dad how good he’d become at scavenging.
    Looking at the reflective lid, he examined his hazel eyes and sunken cheeks. He found it peculiar that not even darkness could hide the state of his cracked lips.
    The conversation with Rosa flashed in Zachary’s head. He had to hand it to her. She had guts speaking to a stranger in that manner. A thought released itself as a gasp. Rosa didn’t have everything. She was a lonely child with nobody to speak to – until he’d come along.
    And the slap? She didn’t mean to hurt him – right?
    Zachary flicked the Raptor’s lid open. Would there be another diary entry that could save the innocent imagery of a girl? He pushed his thumb onto the recognition pad. The circular pattern along the upper screen failed to light. Red text revolved midair.
    “Password _ _ _ _.”
    Did it want four letters, numbers or a combination? There was no such thing as passwords in Underworld. Clicking his teeth, he considered the options.
    “Rosa,” said Zachary.
    The red text flashed. “Incorrect. Password _ _ _ _.”
    “Kade.”
    “Incorrect. Password _ _ _ _.”
    How many words could he associate with her?
    “Home.”
    “Incorrect attempts exceeded. Please try again in one hour.”
    He closed the lid. Why had she locked the Raptor? Its value was now halved, maybe less. Zachary kicked his leg against the wall. Pushing the Intercom under his pillow, he sighed.
    The Bombay core-generator would be running again once his dad paid the Resourcers. Perfect timing to use Patch to hack into Rosa’s Intercom.
    No – he’d damage it again.
    Zachary made up his mind.
    Tomorrow he would sell the Intercom.

Chapter 6 - Drafted
    An object clattering outside woke Zachary.
    He spread his fingers. Sinking deeper into the pillow, he considered that only a few hours must have passed since his eyes closed. He needed more sleep. Light through the cracks of his wall seemed brighter than normal.
    Wait! Zachary shot upright. I’m late.
    He scrambled off his bed. Heaving yesterday’s mug of water down his dry throat, he spilt a cold quantity down his neck. No time to change into a less mucky vest. He took the Raptor Intercom, peered at Marcus’s empty bed, grabbed his coat, then sped to the door.
    Being late to the stall was punishable with being assigned to clean the outbuildings or sent to scavenge on the debris-islands of Black Lake. He could avoid the penalties if he handed in the Intercom. Sure, they’d question the perfect state of the device, but he could come up with a simple lie. If a weird android could be found in the Wastelands, so could a Raptor.
    Zachary’s stomach grumbled at each turn in the maze of streets until he crashed into a chain of people at the bartering camps. Weaving through the crowd, he spied the smirks upon the three bullish men outside Biro’s stall.
    “Why would anybody admit to seeing an android like that?” asked a voice. “They’ve probably skinned it and sold its parts.”
    Zachary twisted, hitting the motion of people. He skipped to the side and saw a large man standing over a smaller woman. She scraped back black hair to reveal perfect brown skin. In no way could she be from District Two. And the man, built like a Haulage-404 with muscles bulging along his neck, made the bullish men of the stall look weak.
    Were they the two with the torch that he’d seen last night?
    “We can’t give up this easily,” murmured the woman.
    “If Carell finds out we’re here …”
    The woman interrupted, “I know. But someone knows something.” Her gaze turned into a stare at Zachary.
    Zachary jolted his eyes over her, and feigned a