Days Like This by Alison Stewart Page A

wrist. Blood seeped through her fingers and puddled on the polished floor. Her ears rang and the cries of Alice and her mother faded as if they were retreating down the hall.
    When Lily came around the pain was gone, replaced instead by a dull, throbbing ache. She lay on her side and looked at her bloodied hand. At least the bracelet had loosened, even if it had left an ugly, raw wound around her wrist. Alice was kneeling beside her, trying to dab at the blood with a tissue. Tears streamed down her face and dripped onto Lily.
    ‘He stopped it, Lilla, see, he stopped it.’ Alice gestured towards their father, who was holding a small black remote control. His thumb stroked a tiny keypad. Lily cringed – if he could stop the bracelet from contracting, he could just as easily start it again.
    ‘You disobeyed the rules, Lily,’ he said. ‘You shouldn’t have tried to go outside. You know that’s forbidden and now I hope you’ve learned the consequences of disobedience.’
    ‘But look at her hand,’ Alice cried. ‘How could you do that to her?’
    ‘Quiet, Alice.’ The pain had dried out Lily’s voice. ‘Leave it.’ But why should Alice accept what their parents had done? At least Alice still cared.
    ‘Why’s it so important not to go outside?’ Alice persisted.
    ‘You’re not allowed out there. End of story,’ Pym said. ‘Let this be a lesson to you, Alice. You must never, ever go outside.’ His voice was softer when he spoke to her.
    ‘You can, why can’t we? Did Daniel try and go outside? Is that what happened to him?’ Alice’s tears filled her voice.
    There was a swift intake of breath from Megan.
    ‘Don’t speak about him,’ Pym said sharply.
    Alice wasn’t ready to give up. ‘Why didn’t you warn us properly?’ she said, holding out her own bracelet as if it were a poisonous snake. ‘Why didn’it you tell us it would hurt so badly?’
    ‘You needn’t worry, Alice,’ their father said.
    Alice avoided his eyes and shuffled closer to Lily. ‘Come, Lilla, I’ll clean you up.’ She hunched over Lily, all gawky elbows and knees, trying to protect Lily with her body.
    ‘I’ll do it,’ their mother said. Her face was very pale. She helped Lily to her feet and cradled her hand and for an instant Lily thought the pain was worth it. She leaned her head towards her mother’s shoulder, but Megan tensed up and so Lily moved away again.
    Pym disappeared back into his wing of the house, but not before glowering at Lily and fingering the button on the black remote control in warning. Perhaps Megan would speak now he’d gone. She’d dressed the wound and was carefully cleaning the underside of the bracelet to remove the blood.
    ‘Let me take it off,’ Lily said.
    Megan shook her head. ‘it’s the Committees rules,’ she said softly, as if that explained everything, and with a brief pat to Lily’s injured hand, she walked away.
    Alice slumped against the wall. ‘I can’t believe it,’ she said softly.
    ‘I don’t think you’re in danger,’ Lily said. ‘But I need your help, Alice. Will you help me?’
    Alice nodded without even asking what Lily needed. Lily hugged her, blinking back tears and helping Alice wipe away hers.

FIVE
    Lily stumbled upstairs, cradling her stinging wrist. On impulse, she went into Daniel’s room instead of her own, closing the door behind her. She’d almost given up on finding clues to help her crack the Committees firewall, but she found it comforting to be around Daniel’s things. She was reeling from what had just happened. Her parents might be cruel and unkind, but they had never before hurt her physically. She couldn’t shake the image of her father watching her, almost enjoying her agony, when he could have easily stopped the bracelet from tightening with the press of a button.
    Lily flopped down on Daniel’s bed, curling herself into a ball around her injured hand. She couldn’t stop the tears that welled and ran into the pillow beneath her