Children of the Cull by Cavan Scott

It’s like some kind of coup. What’s next—firing squads?”
    I raised hands, trying to calm her down. “You’re being hysterical—”
    Allison jabbed a finger at me, stepping far too close.
    “Don’t give me that. I’ve just been threatened, Jas. Physically threatened.”
    I took a step back, if only to avoid having an eye poked out by an angry fingernail. “Threatened? By who?”
    “I didn’t stop to ask his name; one of your stormtroopers.”
    “Hysterical and melodramatic,” muttered Olive, but if Allison had heard her, she didn’t rise to it. Good job; she was furious enough as it was.
    “Tell me what happened?” I asked, keeping my voice level.
    “I was checking on David, making sure he was secure, and he just barged in.”
    “He?”
    “One of Moore’s lot, telling me that I had to go back to my quarters. I told him I was busy, and he tried to grab my arm. Jasmine, he had a gun.”
    There was little I could say to make her understand. “Allison, what with the attacks and—”
    But there was no stopping her. “This wasn’t in the observation area, Jas. We were in David’s room, right in front of him.”
    I cocked my head, intrigued. “How did he react?”
    The question derailed Allison for a moment.
    “What?”
    “David,” I prompted. “How did he cope with the situation?”
    Allison shook her head, running a frustrated hand through her hair. “The same as normal... I don’t know. He just took it in his stride.”
    I nodded, making a mental note. David was one of the younger subjects, only eight years old. His IQ tests were off the scale, even compared with the others, but he kept himself to himself, barely uttering a word.
    “But it shouldn’t have happened, Jasmine. You get that, don’t you?”
    I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Of course I get it, but Allison, Samuel was murdered .”
    “I know. But—”
    No. Now it was time for me to talk. “Someone killed him. It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t a mistake. It was planned, premeditated. Someone wanted him dead.”
    Allison just stood there, stunned by the force of my words. When she spoke again, her voice was small, deflated.
    “Someone in the base.”
    “That’s what I have to assume, until we find evidence to the contrary. Allison, I don’t want to do any of this, but I’m having to make it up as I go along. None of this is in the instruction manual.”
    The corners of her mouth tucked up. Not much, but it was a start. “There’s a manual? You kept that quiet.”
    I returned the gesture. “I’m sorry that people are scared. And I’m sorry if Moore’s team are getting carried away; I’ll have a word. But trust me, no one is getting locked in, unless they want to themselves.”
    “And what about the guards? Once we’re all safely tucked up, will they be confined to quarters?”
    She had me there. “Not all them. We need to make sure everyone—”
    “—stays where you want them.”
    “Yes.”
    Allison crossed her arms. “I see.”
    “I’m sorry,” I added, somewhat redundantly.
    “It’s fine,” Allison replied, giving a weak approximation of a smile. “You have to do what you think best.”
    “I do,” I insisted. “For the children. For all of us.”
    “I better get on, then,” she said, turning. “But you will have a word with Moore?”
    I promised I would.
    “You know what he’s like.”
    Better than most.
    I watched Allison walk away, still hugging herself.
    This was madness, all of it. Talking of which...
    “How long since I took my meds?” I asked Olive.
    Down the corridor, Allison stopped, looking over her shoulder. “What was that?”
    I waved her away. “Nothing. Don’t worry.”
    She nodded, still looking hurt, and carried on.
    The nearest thing I had to a friend on this base.
    Olive was checking her clipboard. Of course she was. “Not since this morning,” she replied, answering my earlier question. “You’re overdue.”
    I nodded, pulling the bottle out of my pocket. Damn.