Read The Outcast Ones for Free Online Page B
Authors: Maya Shepherd
that she should go to sickbay, but I would miss her if she wasn’t here.
Today it’s me who bumps her lightly on the arm. For a fraction of a second she looks over at me. A small smile passes over her face, but then she turns back to her work. I let myself lean back into the chair to see what she’s doing. But her work is the same as mine: she’s opened the profiles to look through them. Nothing wrong with that. She’s just doing her job, like I should be. But the profiles bore me. They’re basically all the same, because all of us are the same.
Suddenly I’m the one breaking the rules. I long to watch D523 doing something that breaks the routine. If she doesn’t do it, maybe I should give it a go.
My fingers hover over the nutrition selection for F701. I know she likes the vitamin tablets best, because unlike the other capsules, tablets and cubes, they’re coloured. They come in bright orange, pink and green. Before I can think about the consequences of my actions, I assign her an extra pink one.
“Don’t do that!” hisses D523 suddenly. Her tone is unusually sharp.
I flinch in shock that she caught me. Just as well it was her and not someone else.
“Why? You do it all the time,” I whisper back, trying to justify myself.
“That’s different.”
“Why?”
“I won’t be here much longer.”
Swallow. What’s that supposed to mean? Usually we do our assigned jobs for our whole lives. Unless...
“Are you getting a promotion?” There’s fear in my voice. It just wouldn’t be fair if she got promoted after only two weeks and I get to keep rotting in here.
She shakes her head.
“What then?” My voice is trembling now. The thought of working here without her alongside is depressing.
Suddenly she raises her hand and for a moment I’m afraid she’s going to tell on me.
“Sorry,” she calls for the whole room to hear, “I have to use the toilet.”
D375 turns around to look at her. His eyes are narrowed to slits. The green sparkle is gone.
“It’s not time yet,” he says. During the day we use the toilet every five hours. At night we don’t usually go at all.
“It must be because of changing shifts,” says D523.
D375 raises an eyebrow sceptically, but then he presses the blue button by his desk that will call a C guard to us. C515 enters the room.
“C515 reporting for protection duty. Is there a problem?”
“D523 has to use the toilet. She seems to be having trouble with the morning shift. Would you please go with her?”
D523 waves him away. “I can find it myself, thanks.”
“Anyone moving around the safety zone outside of regular hours needs protection,” answers C515 and holds the door open, waiting. I can hear D523 grinding her teeth, but then she follows him.
I’m getting a funny feeling that something’s not right. Maybe it even has something to do with her leaving soon. I just hope she isn’t getting herself into some kind of trouble.
It’s not even a minute later that the door opens again and two other guards stand there. “There’s been a system error in nutrition production. D276, D219, D389, D483 and D523 are required to help.”
“D523 went to the toilet.”
“Now?”
“It’s her first morning shift. Just take D518.”
The C shrugs. I leave the computer room together with the other four Ds and the two guards. We cross the Atrium and enter the green laboratory corridor, where the factories are also located. I have never been here before, but I’m not surprised that the hallway is no different from any other, except for its green stripe. There are doors to the left and right with various signs on them. We stop in front of a lift at the end of the hall. Now I’m surprised. I always thought lifts were only for going to the Legion commanders’ area. Just before we step into the lift, we are suddenly joined by a woman of the 4th generation and a girl of the 7th generation.
“Where are you going?” asks one of the guards.
“F701 is refusing
Today it’s me who bumps her lightly on the arm. For a fraction of a second she looks over at me. A small smile passes over her face, but then she turns back to her work. I let myself lean back into the chair to see what she’s doing. But her work is the same as mine: she’s opened the profiles to look through them. Nothing wrong with that. She’s just doing her job, like I should be. But the profiles bore me. They’re basically all the same, because all of us are the same.
Suddenly I’m the one breaking the rules. I long to watch D523 doing something that breaks the routine. If she doesn’t do it, maybe I should give it a go.
My fingers hover over the nutrition selection for F701. I know she likes the vitamin tablets best, because unlike the other capsules, tablets and cubes, they’re coloured. They come in bright orange, pink and green. Before I can think about the consequences of my actions, I assign her an extra pink one.
“Don’t do that!” hisses D523 suddenly. Her tone is unusually sharp.
I flinch in shock that she caught me. Just as well it was her and not someone else.
“Why? You do it all the time,” I whisper back, trying to justify myself.
“That’s different.”
“Why?”
“I won’t be here much longer.”
Swallow. What’s that supposed to mean? Usually we do our assigned jobs for our whole lives. Unless...
“Are you getting a promotion?” There’s fear in my voice. It just wouldn’t be fair if she got promoted after only two weeks and I get to keep rotting in here.
She shakes her head.
“What then?” My voice is trembling now. The thought of working here without her alongside is depressing.
Suddenly she raises her hand and for a moment I’m afraid she’s going to tell on me.
“Sorry,” she calls for the whole room to hear, “I have to use the toilet.”
D375 turns around to look at her. His eyes are narrowed to slits. The green sparkle is gone.
“It’s not time yet,” he says. During the day we use the toilet every five hours. At night we don’t usually go at all.
“It must be because of changing shifts,” says D523.
D375 raises an eyebrow sceptically, but then he presses the blue button by his desk that will call a C guard to us. C515 enters the room.
“C515 reporting for protection duty. Is there a problem?”
“D523 has to use the toilet. She seems to be having trouble with the morning shift. Would you please go with her?”
D523 waves him away. “I can find it myself, thanks.”
“Anyone moving around the safety zone outside of regular hours needs protection,” answers C515 and holds the door open, waiting. I can hear D523 grinding her teeth, but then she follows him.
I’m getting a funny feeling that something’s not right. Maybe it even has something to do with her leaving soon. I just hope she isn’t getting herself into some kind of trouble.
It’s not even a minute later that the door opens again and two other guards stand there. “There’s been a system error in nutrition production. D276, D219, D389, D483 and D523 are required to help.”
“D523 went to the toilet.”
“Now?”
“It’s her first morning shift. Just take D518.”
The C shrugs. I leave the computer room together with the other four Ds and the two guards. We cross the Atrium and enter the green laboratory corridor, where the factories are also located. I have never been here before, but I’m not surprised that the hallway is no different from any other, except for its green stripe. There are doors to the left and right with various signs on them. We stop in front of a lift at the end of the hall. Now I’m surprised. I always thought lifts were only for going to the Legion commanders’ area. Just before we step into the lift, we are suddenly joined by a woman of the 4th generation and a girl of the 7th generation.
“Where are you going?” asks one of the guards.
“F701 is refusing