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  Sarah rolled her eyes. “It was not that kind of a kiss,” she replied dryly. She shook her head. “Besides, you’re missing the point. She wants me to steal something! What am I meant to do?”

  The grin slid from Marland’s face. “What if you just say no?”

  “I asked her that,” said Sarah, now despondent, “she said that she would get someone to gouge out my eyes.” She decided that there was no need to mention the part about Marland’s eyes as well.

  Marland looked horrified. “She couldn’t, could she?” Her voice trembled a bit.

  “I’m not about to call her bluff, if that’s what you’re asking?”

  “What do you think she wants you to steal?”

  “I have no idea.” She had been thinking about it all night. So far she hadn’t come up with anything.

  “Well,” said Marland, trying to give her an encouraging smile, “let’s just hope that it’s something easy.”

  “You know it won’t be.”

  “Maybe,” agreed Marland, putting an arm around Sarah’s shoulders and guiding her back towards the cafeteria, “but you’re clever. You’re clever, and talented, and you’ll be able to do whatever it is she wants you to do. I mean, it must be doable, right? Otherwise what’s the point of her giving you the task? And you’ve stolen things before, that’s why you’re in here, right? So it’s not like it’s your first time.” It sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as Sarah.

  “Yeah,” said Sarah dully, “because that would make it terrifying.”

  “See?” said Marland, patting Sarah gently on the back, “there’s always a silver lining.”

  Sarah couldn’t decide whether she wanted to laugh or cry. They arrived at the cafeteria, lined up and received their grey watery porridge and then returned to their usual table. April was sitting there with Justin, but by the way he just sat there holding his spoon, not even moving, she might as well have been alone.

  “Hey, where’s Finn?” asked Marland.

  April shrugged. “I haven’t seen him all morning.”

  “Justin?” asked Marland, not really expecting much of a response but hoping for one anyway. “Have you see Finn?”

  Justin looked up at her and blinked slowly but didn’t reply. Sarah frowned at him over her porridge, which she had been stirring hypnotically as she contemplated her own situation. She bit her lip, worried. Justin was getting worse.

  “That’s odd.” Marland twisted around in her seat, staring around the room. “He’s not at another table either.”

  Sarah tore her gaze from Justin and also scanned the room. “Where could he be?”

  “He could just be sweeping the cells or something,” said April through a mouthful of food. “Lorla, you know, the girl with the burnt face? She was made to do that yesterday by one of the guards and she didn’t get back until people were starting to head off to the factory floor. They didn’t even let her have breakfast.”

  “She was probably quite happy about that,” said Marland, looking incredulous as April seemingly enjoyed eating the porridge.

  “It’s not so bad,” said April.

  Marland fished out a suspicious looking chunk from her porridge. “Yeah, it is.”

  By the time they reached the factory floor Finn still hadn’t appeared. Sarah sat down at her usual spot and was shortly joined by Boulder.

  “Hey Boulder, do you know where…” the words died on her lips as she saw Finn hurry through the door behind the last of the stragglers. He was limping, favouring his right leg. His lips were swollen and his left eye was completely closed and black. Dried blood stood out starkly on his white hair. He slumped down on his usual stool with a sigh of relief and started to massage his left leg.

  “Finn…”

  “That bad, hey?” he smiled ruefully, but it turned into a grimace as his swollen face protested.

  “What happened? You should see a doctor. Surely this ship has someone like that.” She stood up to wave energetically towards a guard.

  Boulder leant over the conveyer belt and pulled her back down into her seat. “Stop waving your arms, you idiot. You’ll make it worse for everyone.”

  “He’s injured.”

  “No shit.” Boulder sighed at the look on her face and rolled his eyes. “One, he can walk, which means he’s not bad enough to go to the infirmary. Two, you don’t want to go to the bloody infirmary, even if you can’t walk. More people disappear that way than is normal, even around here. Three, you don’t want to make a fuss and draw the attention of all the guards. They’ll just treat him worse because they’ll think he’s putting it on.”

  “Putting it on?” hissed back Sarah, but she stayed still and made a show of examining the tubes at the same time. “Look at him!”

  “Sarah, its fine, leave it,” muttered Finn.

  “What the hell happened?” she muttered back, holding up a tube and looking at him through it. A guard was chatting to someone nearby and they had to look industrious.

  “I got into a fight, that’s all.”

  “More like you were beat up,” snickered Boulder.

  “Shut up Boulder,” said Finn automatically.

  “What do you mean?” Sarah asked Boulder, figuring that this time she would get more out of him than Finn, who was trying too hard to look unconcerned.

  “For some reason he caught the attention of the King. Finn didn’t act with the proper respect. Idiot.”

  “What did he want?” asked Sarah.

  “Nothing,” said Finn truthfully. “Something about me just rubbed him the wrong way. Look, don’t worry, it’s not the first time this has happened.”

  “So you regularly get bashed to a pulp?” enquired Boulder politely, as if he was asking about a regular tennis game Finn participated in. Sarah and Finn both ignored him.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know, it’s my hair usually,” Finn shrugged. Sarah’s eyes flickered up to his white hair. He read the confusion in her eyes. “It makes me different. People don’t like that for some reason. They feel… threatened.”

  “I personally find it terrifying,” butted in Boulder conversationally.

  Sarah didn’t even spare Boulder a glance. “I don’t get it.”

  “You wouldn’t,” said Finn, stressing the ‘you’. “You’re probably the first person I’ve met who hasn’t pointed it out to me.” He gave her a wry smile.

  “Why would they point it out to you? Do they think you don’t know?” she asked, incredulous.

  “My thoughts exactly,” agreed Finn.

  Boulder interjected with his first sensible comment. “Why don’t you just dye it?”

  “I shouldn’t have to,” replied Finn stubbornly.

  “You also shouldn’t have to walk around being a human punching bag, but here we are.”

  “I quite like it,” said Sarah.

  Finn turned to her, a look of surprise on his face. “Really?”

  “Yes,” she said, feeling awkward.

  Much to her relief the chatting guard had moved on and was now hovering around their section of the conveyer belt, meaning that they all had to bend to their work and stop talking.

  “So is this likely to happen again?” she asked after the guard had gone.

  “Yes,” said Boulder.

  “No,” replied Finn at the exact same time. Finn glared at Boulder, who just smirked back.

  “So what are we going to do about it?” she asked.

  “First off, there is no ‘we’,” said Boulder. “Second, this is the bloody King we’re talking about. You don’t just go up to him and ask nicely if he can stop beating up your boyfriend.” He raised a hand to stop her objection that he wasn’t her boyfriend, as if he knew what she was going to say. “The only thing you can do,” he said, now talking to Finn, “is stay out of the guy’s way and keep your fat mouth shut.”

  “I know what I’m doing,” replied Finn.

  “It really doesn’t look like it.”

&
nbsp; “Boulder’s right,” said Sarah, surprising both Finn and especially Boulder. “You need to keep a low profile.”

  “I was,” muttered Finn petulantly.

  “Then keep it lower.”

  Her tone surprised Finn further. She was quite serious.

  “And if it doesn’t work? If I still get singled out?” he asked, complaining for the sake of it and not really expecting any answers.

  “Then,” she thought about her own experience with the Queen, “then find some way to be useful.”

  Boulder let out a long, low whistle. “Mate,” he said, turning to Finn, “she is definitely going to outlive you here.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  A Fake Thief

  Finn disappeared into the bathroom at lunch time and came back minus the dried blood. He looked much better for it.

  “What’s this I hear about you working for the Queen?” he asked with a frown as he sat down.

  Sarah glared at Marland, who pretended that she wasn’t there. She had noticed them chatting as he had made his way to the bathroom. She hadn’t wanted to tell Finn about it just yet. She figured that he had enough worries of his own.

  “I haven’t done anything yet. She sort of just indicated that she needs a thief.”

  “So Heather was telling the truth!” crowed Finn. “You steal things. You know, I wouldn’t have guessed, I really wouldn’t.” He shook his head in mock-disapproval. Sarah had managed to avoid telling him over the past few days, despite him asking numerous times and trying to trick her into an answer.

  “Shut up.”

  “So you don’t know what the job is?”

  Sarah shook her head.

  “And what happens if you don’t do it?”

  “I end up like you, only worse.”

  “Worse?”

  “Much worse.”

  “Doesn’t she have other people, who are more, you know, criminal?”

  “Apparently she has better uses for them.” She had asked Gretel the same thing. Gretel had told her that the Queen probably doesn’t want to waste her tried and tested resources. Sarah, Gretel explained without malice, was expendable.

  “So what will you do?”

  “I’ll probably try and do it,” Sarah said with an almost apologetic shrug.

  “Right,” said Finn. “Are you any good?”

  Sarah looked around. Marland and April were trying to tempt Justin into joining their conversation. She lowered her voice so that only the two of them could hear. “I’ve actually never stolen anything.”

  “But you’re here.” Finn raised a confused eyebrow.

  “Some shit-head stole something and passed it on to me. I, stupidly, took it before I realised what had happened, and then suddenly I’m running for it and a quick soldier catches me red-handed. I mean, there I was, with the stolen item in my hand, gabbling about being framed. Would you believe me?”

  “Wow. You are so unlucky. Remind me never to take to you anywhere chancy.”

  “Thanks,” responded Sarah dryly.

  “And you’re still going to do it? Steal whatever this thing is the Queen wants?”

  Sarah shrugged again. “The way I see it, I don’t really have much of a choice.”

  “Right, yeah. So what do you think it is that the Queen wants you to steal?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Colt

  For the first time in days Sarah found herself alone. A guard had stopped her from leaving the cafeteria after lunch and had handed her a mop. Originally she had groaned. The cafeteria was a mess after lunch. It always was but today was particularly bad. A fight had broken out between two of the boys and there were food scraps everywhere, including, Sarah noticed, the wall. It didn’t take her long to get some enjoyment out of it, however. It was a change from the factory floor, which she could only be grateful for, and she could be alone. There were no sounds except those that came from the ship around her. Even in the middle of the night she could hear people snoring or talking in their sleep. Silence was bliss. It reminded her of being alone up on the tower back in her home city. She felt homesick. She was halfway through mopping the floor when she felt, more than heard, the presence of someone behind her. She turned around quickly. Colt was there. She jumped slightly and looked around the room. Nobody else was present. Colt laughed at her jumping. He had a surprisingly rich laugh.

  “Colt, um, hi.”

  “Hey Sarah,” he said, stepping closer.

  Sarah grinned nervously. “How come you’re here? Shouldn’t you be on the factory floor? Don’t the guards know you’re gone?”

  He gave her a lazy grin. “I got sent to get one of them a bottle of water from the kitchen. The fact that you were here, well, that’s just lucky.” He took another step forward. Without realising it Sarah took a tiny step backwards. Colt laughed again.

  “Nervous?” he asked her, a teasing smile on his face.

  Sarah blushed. “No, I just…” she trailed off.

  Colt smiled again. He looked around the room. “You’re doing a very good job,” he said, mock seriously. “Not a single spot left in that section.” He waved a hand over the area that she had just mopped.

  “Yeah, well, you know, I like to avoid getting on the bad side of Mr Painter.” Mr Painter was working today, much to the grievance of the entire prison population.

  Colt nodded wisely. “Yeah, that man’s a prick.”

  Sarah giggled despite herself, which made Colt grin again.

  “Here,” he said, “hand me that mop.”

  Sarah frowned. It was very unlike him if he was offering to help. He just wasn’t that kind of person. She handed the mop out to him nonetheless, interested in what he was going to do. He grabbed the end of the mop proffered to him and before she could let go he tugged the mop towards him, causing Sarah to topple forwards. He discarded the mop and caught her before she could fall to the ground. His hands were clutching her shoulders.

  “Careful there,” he said, their faces inches away from each other.

  “Sorry,” said Sarah breathlessly. “I…” but she was cut off. Colt had lent in and kissed her. His lips pressed firmly against her own. Sarah caught her breath. This was her first kiss. It was kind of nice, she thought, but a bit more aggressive than she had imagined. Colt’s hands slid from her shoulders and down her back. After a pause she kissed him back. His right hand moved to her stomach and then travelled upwards towards her chest. She grabbed his wrist and moved it back to her back. Colt drew away.

  “No?” he asked. He frowned. Sarah got the impression that many people didn’t say no to him.

  “No,” said Sarah definitively.

  Colt shrugged. “That’s ok. We can still do this.” He drew her back in for another kiss. Without thinking Sarah pushed him back.

  “What?” asked Colt, completely confused.

  Sarah blushed. “I just, I don’t think I’m ready.”

  “Sarah, all we’re doing is kissing.” He guffawed, like she was an idiot.

  Sarah blushed again. He was physically gorgeous. She felt incredibly flattered and good that he chose her, but she wasn’t even sure if she liked him as a person, let alone wanted to make-out with him.

  “Right.” Sarah took a step away from him and bent down to pick up the mop. “Look, I’ve got to finish this or I’m going to get in a lot of trouble.”

  “What?” repeated Colt. “Are you serious?” He took a step towards her. Sarah retreated automatically. There was a thud as a door slid open and a guard came through. Sarah had never felt more grateful to see a guard in her life.

  “You!” shouted the guard, pointing his truncheon at Colt. “Where’s my bloody water.”

  “Shit,” muttered Colt under his breath. He gave Sarah one more confused look and then jogged over to the kitchen, where he disappeared and then re-emerged two seconds later with a bottle of water. He handed it over to the guard. The guard clapped him over the ears and then escorted him out of the
cafeteria. Sarah watched them go and then went back to her mopping. She let out a large breath of air. That wasn’t how she had pictured her first kiss going.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Kissing

  Over the next week Justin deteriorated further. It got to the point where one morning Finn arrived alone.

  “He wouldn’t get out of bed,” Finn told them at breakfast one morning. “He just sat on his bunk, rocking back and forth. He wouldn’t respond to anything. The guards have taken him to the infirmary.” The others sat there in silence, shocked. Finn threw his bowl angrily across the room and the rest of them jumped in their seats at the sudden violence of the action. A guard yelled and strode towards them, his truncheon raised. “This place is killing him,” said Finn, not caring about the approaching guard. The bitterness in his voice was lethal. “And they’re just letting it happen.” The guard reached their table. Sarah stood up hurriedly.

  “No, please wait, his friend’s sick, he-”

  The guard ignored her completely and smacked Finn across the back with his truncheon. Finn spasmed awkwardly and fell to the floor. Sarah went to help him up but before she could so much as extract herself from the bench the guard had hauled Finn upright by the back of his shirt and marched him off to collect a mop so that he could clean up the mess he had made when he threw his bowl. Finn looked like he couldn’t have cared less. Sarah shuddered. She had never seen him look so black before. Her eyes skimmed over to where Colt was sitting. He was chatting with a boy Sarah didn’t know. She had been avoiding him as much as she could ever since he had kissed her. Every now and again she caught him smirking at her, as if their kissing had given him some power over her. She blushed and looked away every time, and hated herself for it. She turned back to her table only to find Marland staring at her quizzically, one eyebrow raised.

  “What’s been going on with you two?” she asked.

  Sarah blushed again. “Nothing.”

  “Nothing my ass,” said Marland. “You’ve been avoiding him and keep on blushing.”