I snatch my hand back, instinctively checking her hand for marks. “What do you know about Fourths? Are you from the City too?”
She shakes her head, turning her hand so I can see it clearly. Blank. “Not really. I was born in the Hole. Got shipped out to the farms when I was two. Didn’t need a brand to know who was a traitor out there, I guess.”
Cale and Helix are now watching us as they whisper back and forth. I pull my attention back down to Mei, trying to ignore the crawl of their eyes against my skin. “How did you end up here?”
“My shift leader killed our guards. We escaped and ran across a Menghu patrol, and they brought us back here. Couple of the girls tested positive for SS, though, so they didn’t make it in.”
“They don’t let infected in at all? Ever?”
“Of course not. Anyway, I’ve got to go. See you in training.”
Helix jumps down from the platform, eyes on me. I look back to Mei, hoping for an excuse to run away, but she’s already taking the stairs two at a time, pushing through the flow of green and black uniforms. I start to follow, but Helix cuts me off before I can escape.
Hand on my shoulder, he guides me over to one of the seats, his sharp smile squirming through me. “Aren’t you supposed to be over in Yizhi, Sev? Everything okay?”
Cale sits a few rows back, staring down at me.
I pretend to drop something so I can tug away from Helix’s sweaty grip on my shoulder. “Fine. Everything is fine.”
“They transferred your supervision from Howl to me. I’d like to get you on a training schedule with all the other Menghu, but I can’t until you get all of your testing and immunizations done. It isn’t safe to have you running around with my soldiers until we’re sure you aren’t sick.”
“Howl says all that stuff is voluntary.”
Helix clasps his fingers in front of him. “Letting you live here is voluntary, Sev.”
I look down at the floor. Is Helix threatening me? He knows I’m infected, that I can’t survive Outside without Mantis. Why would Howl tell me to duck out of these tests and risk being booted out if there wasn’t a reason?
Will Helix drag me to the needles himself if I don’t jump to follow his command?
I feel Cale’s stare locked on to the back of my head, as if she’s attempting a telekinetic lobotomy. What if there’s something more to the appointment in Yizhi? Something dangerous Howl hasn’t told me yet because he doesn’t want to frighten me?
Helix’s hand is on my leg. “You’re making a rough transition, Sev. They would have hurt you back in the City. Killed you.” He shakes his head. “I can see that you’re afraid, and you don’t have to be.” His finger touches my chin to make me look at him, and I jerk away. His face is still hard beneath the smile, as if it’s a mask, covering his fangs.
The hand on my knee moves a little before he stands. Like it’s meant to be a caress.
I scoot away again, looking up to meet Cale’s cold stare. Maybe if I puke on Helix’s shoes, he’ll go bother her. She doesn’t blink as she returns my gaze, and if looks could kill, I’d be on the dinner menu.
“I’ve asked Cale to keep an eye on you. She’ll make sure things go as smoothly as possible.” Helix extends a hand to help me up, blinking back annoyance when I ignore it. “There’s no reason to be afraid of anything here in the Mountain.”
No reason? The image of Helix on top of me, slamming my head into the ground, shivers through me. “Thanks. I’ll, um . . . I’ll go right now. I don’t need Cale to take me.”
I walk back up toward the dorms, a discordant arpeggio strumming down my spine when I catch a glimpse of someone in a white coat following me. I run around the corner and sidestep through an open door. Two men wearing Yizhi white walk past.
I don’t know how long I’ll be able to avoid the Yizhi before they send someone who won’t take no for an answer.
CHAPTER 24
LATER, MEI FINDS ME IN the Core, lost in the crowds of people waiting to eat lunch. A fresh coating of mud streaks across her face and arms.
“What happened to you?” I ask, tapping my ID card against my leg, ready to flash it for a plate and run.
She looks around as if she doesn’t understand the question, then comprehension dawns on her face. “The mud? Just training. Where did you disappear to?” She brushes her bangs out of her face, leaving a long streak of brown across her forehead. “What? Too scared of dirt to play with us?”
Mei jumps at me, sliming muddy hands all over my face and arms, laughing as I try to get away. “Now you’ll fit in.” She giggles. “Too clean and people will wonder if you’re pulling your own weight around here.”
She laughs as I try to wipe the mud from my neck, the coating of brown sludge smearing deeper into my skin. I have to laugh too, wondering how dirt became such a badge of honor. When we get to the front of the food line, the boy behind the counter looks jumpy. “Jiang Sev?”
I nod, and he gives me a nervous smile. “Telescreen says the Heart sent something down for you. Wait just a minute.”
He ducks back behind the partition that separates the serving area from the rest of the kitchen, and I wonder if he’ll return with someone from the hospital. Instead, he walks back with an envelope, my name in bold letters across the front.
I pocket the envelope and grab a plate, Mei pulling me toward the stairs leading down into the amphitheater before I can try to escape to ditch my ID card again. Someone catches my arm, pulling me off balance so I drop my plate, splattering pieces of egg and brown sauce across the floor. Before I can pick it up, Howl sweeps the plate out from under my hands. “I am so sorry!” His voice doesn’t sound very sorry, though, too busy laughing at the accident. “Let’s get this cleaned up, and I’ll get you another plate.”
“You’re alive!” I say with mock surprise, excitement at seeing my friend warring with the thousands of questions buzzing behind my lips like a swarm of bees. And buried in those questions is a twinge of annoyance that he left me alone all day with only vague, slightly creepy instructions to keep me company. But I refuse to show any of this in front of Mei. “I thought they fed you to the gores or something.”
He shrugs. “I think the General is just happy to see me. Lots of very long, very pointless meetings.”
Mei raises an eyebrow as Howl runs back toward the kitchen to borrow a broom. He tosses me a rag and we clean up the mess together. Howl waits until we’re done to give Mei his full attention. “Hi again. Sorry, I don’t remember your name.”
“Mei.” She looks him up and down, her eyes freezing at the single hash mark carved into his hand. “How did you end up out here? Someone stir your tea wrong?” Her voice is suddenly very cold.
Howl takes a step back, scratching his head. “It wasn’t the tea. I left because of the window situation.” He nods calmly at her questioning look. “There were too many of them. Living inside a mountain seemed so much more exciting.”
She presses her lips together. “At least you know how to clean up after yourself. Come on, Sev. I’ll save you a seat while you get a new plate.”
“Actually, before I threw Sev’s food on the ground, I was going to ask her to come up to the Heart.” He looks back at me, shrugging off her frigid tone. “Dr. Yang wants to talk to you.”
Mei nods to me and walks off without saying anything else. Howl’s eyes follow her as she goes, eyebrows creased together. “Did someone spit in her hair?”
“She’s from the reeducation farms. Must not have seen your mark when you first met.”
“She must be new, or she would . . . well. I guess it doesn’t matter.” Howl shakes his head and pulls my arm through his, careless of the mud smearing across his coat as he leads me toward the elevator.