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for?” I whisper, but she only shrugs.
    â€œCurtains closed, please,” Charity says. Lily is quick to obey, but I see some of the other girls looking nervously at one another as they pull the curtains shut. The dull purple light in the carriage feels ominous.
    â€œNow, now, don’t look so anxious,” Dr. Steele says. His voice is flat and not remotely reassuring. “This is just a little medication to relax you all before the big event. Please remain seated.”
    My heart is pumping in my chest and I reach out for Raven’s hand. The doctor moves calmly around the room. The tablets are coded by Lot number, and each girl sticks out her tongue while Dr. Steele drops it into her mouth with a pair of tiny silver tongs. Some of the girls cough, others lick their lips and make sour faces, but other than that, nothing dramatic happens.
    He reaches Raven. “192,” he says, picking out a light blue tablet. Raven stares up at him with her deep black eyes, and for a second, I think she’s going to refuse to take it. Then she opens her mouth and he drops it onto her tongue. She keeps staring at him, and doesn’t give the slightest reaction to the tablet at all. It’s the only defiance she has.
    Dr. Steele doesn’t even notice. “197,” he says to me. I open my mouth and he drops a purple tablet onto my tongue. It stings, and tastes sour, reminding me of that time I bit into the lemon. In a second, it has dissolved. I run my tongue along my teeth and swallow. The tablet leaves a tingling sensation behind.
    The doctor nods his head. “Thank you, ladies.”
    Charity bustles after him as he leaves the carriage.
    â€œWhat was that?” Raven asks.
    â€œWhatever it was, it didn’t taste very good,” I mutter. “I thought you weren’t going to take yours for a second.”
    â€œMe too,” Raven says. “But it would’ve been pointless, wouldn’t it? I mean, they probably would’ve just—”
    But whatever Raven thought they would have done, I never hear, because unconsciousness engulfs me suddenly, and the world goes black.

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Four
    W HEN I COME TO, I AM ALONE.
    A bright light shines overhead—too bright, it hurts my eyes. I’m lying on something cold and flat. Straps press down on my arms and legs and I realize, with a jolt of panic, that I’m naked.
    Instinctively, my body lurches, trying to free myself and cover myself at the same time. A scream builds in my throat, but before I get a chance to release it, a soft voice murmurs, “Don’t panic. I’ll take those off in a moment. They’re for your protection.”
    â€œWhere am I?” I mean to shout, but my voice comes out in a scratchy whisper.
    â€œYou’re in one of the preparation rooms. Calm down, 197. I can’t take the restraints off until you do.” The voice has a strange quality to it—too high to be a man’s but too low for a woman’s. My chest heaves and I try to relax my muscles, slow my breathing, and not think about how exposed I am.
    â€œThere. That’s better.” The voice moves closer. “I promise, 197, the very last thing I want is to harm you in any way.” I feel a pressure around my arm, and something cold presses against the inside of my elbow. The pressure tightens.
    â€œI’m just taking your blood pressure,” the voice says calmly. The tight thing around my arm relaxes; then it’s gone. I hear the scratching of a pen on paper. “Look up for me, please?”
    There’s nowhere else to look but up, and suddenly a bright light shines in my left eye, then my right. I blink furiously, but it’s like my retinas have been seared—all I can see is a green glow. The pen scratches again.
    â€œVery good, 197. Almost done. I’m going to