‘You know, in the old days, before the Gems, when people were just people, they’d send canaries into the mines first to see if the poisonous gases would kill them.’
I must still look blank, because he rolls his eyes and says, ‘You’re going in first, Violet. This was your idea, you pay the price if you’re wrong. You pretend you’re one of the girls, then you slip this into the Gems’ drinks.’ He pushes a vial of orange liquid into my hand. ‘You’ve got ten minutes, then we bust through the doors and the windows. Just keep yourself out of trouble until then.’
I silently curse. In canon, Saskia went in first – conned her way past the guards, drugged the Gems and summoned the troops, all in less than ten minutes. I’ll never manage that.
Thorn fluffs Nate’s hair. ‘You do a runner, Violet, you turn us in, and I’ve got my own little canary right here.’
Saskia dashes towards us. ‘Let me go first, she’ll only balls it up like everything else.’
Thorn shakes his head and grabs a shotgun from the back of the truck. ‘I want to see what our Little Flower here’s made of.’
‘She’s only seventeen.’ She grabs Thorn’s arm, her eyes wide. ‘Please.’
Her concern surprises me. I feel a sudden rush of tears. It’s like I’m eight again, falling off my bike and walking two miles home with a busted-up knee, only to start crying when I see Mum.
But Thorn seems unmoved. ‘The Gems will think her a tastier piece of meat.’
Saskia doesn’t argue, but her disapproval stiffens the muscles around her jaw. She begins fussing around me, pinching my cheeks and detangling my hair with her fingers. ‘You sending Ash in too?’ Her voice sounds clipped. ‘Cos he’s only eighteen, you know. They’re both just kids.’
‘He can come along with the rest of us,’ Thorn says. ‘But don’t take your eyes off him, I’m not having the lovebirds running off together in the commotion.’
I catch Nate’s eye. Current-Thorn is smarter than canon-Thorn. But then I remember the main difference: he trusted Rose, he doesn’t trust me.
Saskia lowers the zip on my overalls and frowns at my lack of cleavage. ‘Pretend you belong, that’s the secret,’ she whispers to me.
I try not to laugh – that’s what I’ve been trying to do since I arrived in this world.
‘And if you get into trouble,’ she says, ‘knock the main light off, OK? We’ll come for you.’
Ash jumps out of the Humvee. ‘What’s going on?’ He dashes towards me.
‘I’m the canary,’ I reply.
‘The canary?’
‘You know, they’re going to send me in first to see how safe it is.’
‘No way. I’ll go,’ Ash says.
‘Well, well, quite the little hero, aren’t we?’ Thorn waves a hand and several rebels surround Ash, preventing him from reaching me. Thorn turns to me and shrugs, a tight smile gripping his mouth. ‘Turn left at the end of the alley. Thirteen rows, remember?’
I hold Ash’s gaze. ‘I’ll be fine.’
Nate squeezes my hand, his eyes moist. ‘Balls of steel,’ he whispers.
‘Like Katniss, like Tris, like Rose,’ I whisper back.
And before his tears start to fall, before Ash receives another beating, I slip the vial of sleeping draught up my sleeve and begin to walk down the alley into the unknown.
I emerge from the alley and get my bearings. To my right lies an arterial road, a straight stretch towards the Coliseum, and to my left lie rows upon rows of terraced houses. I recognize the pink glow which falls from a distant window, and I know that distant thump of drums. It’s the same as the Meat House from canon – several nondescript terraced houses linked together on the inside, filled with cerise light and futuristic music.
Carefully, silently, I tiptoe down the pavement, the drums gathering strength. I try to swallow, but my body has diverted all its moisture to my sweat glands. The door appears before me. My finger connects with the frayed plastic of the bell, my brain frantically sifting through information, searching for a plan. I have no idea what Saskia said to the guards. The canon showed this scene from Rose’s point of view, peering around the corner of the alley, waiting for an opportunity to flee.
I hear the creak of metal sliding across metal, the groan of the wood as the door parts from its frame. My gut knots. A guard stands in the doorway, his broad shoulders silhouetted against the light.
He cocks his rifle. ‘What do you want?’
I try to speak, but the sight of his weapon dries my mouth even further.
‘Well?’ he shouts.
‘I – I were told I could make a few Gem coins – extra if I smile.’ I put on my best Imp accent and force my eyes to his face. All angles and symmetry – typical Gem.
‘And who told you that?’
The click of the safety hits my ears. Adrenalin hones my thoughts, an idea takes shape. ‘I work at the Harper estate. I served at Master Harper’s Gallows Ball. There were a gentleman who asked me to attend tonight.’
He narrows his eyes. ‘OK then, slave. What did this gentleman look like?’
‘Tall, with all this curly blond hair. He said he were related to someone very important.’ I try to look demure rather than terrified. ‘Howard summit.’
He nods, a little too hurriedly. ‘Howard Stoneback. OK then. But any trouble and you get a bullet between those breasts of yours.’ He shoves the nose of the gun into my sternum.
‘No trouble, I promise,’ I say.
He gestures for me to enter. I slip past him, my chest still aching with the imprint of his gun. The scent of incense and stale sweat fills my nose, and I find myself hankering for the stink of rotting bird. He locks the door and leads me down a corridor. The pulse of the drums grows more insistent and the bulbs cast the walls in a fuchsia glow.
He looks me up and down. ‘So, Howard Stoneback took a shine to you? I bet you think you’re really lucky? Well, the last slave he was left alone with didn’t look too pretty after he’d finished.’
My face must fill with fear.
He laughs. ‘Too late now.’
I begin to wish I was just following blindly in Rose’s footsteps. Right now, I’d be running for freedom, not waiting to be molested by a genetically enhanced pervert.