Red Fox by Lara Fanning Page A

terms with all other life. As for the other people who were in D, they were unfit or too tainted by their past to live in the world the Biocentrics wish to create.”
    I shake my head. I don’t understand this logic. Humans don’t try to rule because of God. Humans rule because we are humans. It is our drive to advance. To move forward. To learn. Seiger can make whatever excuse he likes but murdering hundreds, or thousands, of people to change the world is an evil act. Just like the dozens of corrupt political leaders who have, in the past, murdered people for having different skin colours, different sexual orientations, or even simple disabilities.
    I wonder if this is what the Holocaust victims felt like when placed in concentration camps. Rallied and sorted out like animals. Murdered, tortured, and threatened at gunpoint. Is our situation as terrible as that? I already know D groups are all dead now, just for being religious or useless to the new world. The whole scenario reeks of a government having personal issues with these people.
    “What about us? What are Whil and I here for? What is the B group for?” I ask.
    “You will find that out if you pass the next test,” Seiger says.
    “No more tests!” I say angrily. I’m finding it hard to hate Seiger when he remains so calm.
    “We are almost to the test site now,” Seiger says, ignoring my comment, which sets my teeth on edge. “I will explain to you both. Whil, can you hear me?”
    “Yes,” comes Whil’s voice.
    “We are going to drop the both of you off in the bush. Don’t think about running away because there is a fence surrounding your area that you will die trying to get over. You will be left in the bush for a fortnight and you are expected to fend for yourself. Your only objective is to stay alive. You can travel as a pair or go your separate ways. In a fortnight’s time, we will come and find you. If you survive, we go to the B compound. If you don’t survive, well, that’s self-explanatory.”
    The stupid government chose a terrible test site for me! I almost laugh at the irony of them dragging me all the way out here, thinking I wouldn’t know the area, thinking I would be lost and confused when I can navigate the Alps without fault. The mountains have always been a sanctuary for me, somewhere to come camping and escape the human world. A place where nature envelops me and I could happily stay forever, roaming the alpine bushland, listening to the cries of black cockatoos and cawing currawongs. Yes, they’ve carted me all the way here just so I could be content and confident.
    “Why was Whil taken away from the Bs in his city? Shouldn’t they have stayed together?” I ask, realising my silence must seem suspicious.
    “I’ve already explained this to him. We don’t want Bs who know one another doing the test together. It can change the results. They will always stick together when they’re put in the arena because they have something in common. Two strangers tend to think for themselves and that is what we want.”
    “I didn’t know any of them,” Whil says through the hole.
    “That’s irrelevant. We can’t take the chance. Now, if you are done questioning me, we have arrived at the test site.” Seiger goes back to the window, raps on the wall and says, “Let us out, boys.”
    My muscles coil for the spring as someone on the other side begins unlocking the door. I hear it click, and the door begins to creak open, revealing a slit of glorious light. Seiger pushes the door and without hesitation, I dive towards the opening, knocking him face-first into the snow-laden earth outside. Gasping in the fresh cold air, I take one moment to survey my surroundings and then I dash for freedom. I sprint away from the caravan, stumbling awkwardly without my hands for balance, not even risking a glance behind. Whil gives an encouraging shout. A few of the guards cry out for me to stop, but they don’t shoot. I know why. They aren’t