chance of a new future full of hope. Evie never met any new people, but she saw them sometimes, filing in on a Tuesday, walking through the streets to the hospital building. They went to work on the outskirts of the City, her father told her. Newcomers had to prove themselves before they were allowed to assimilate.
But the Evils never came through the gate; they only ever stood outside, wailing, crying and threatening the citizens inside.
They came because they hated goodness and they longed to destroy the City and everyone inside. And they came to vent their anger when K’s were taken away for reconditioning. Evie’s father told her that evil always knew itself and tried to protect itself, too; that’s why they always came whenever someone was labelled a K. Because they were angry that the K was being reconditioned, angry that evil would never win within the City walls.
The Evils always knew when to come; they could smell evil, her father said. Whenever there was a K change, word always got round; mostly people would lock their doors and try to close their ears to the screams and wails of the Evils as they arrived in huge numbers to vent their rage. And the next day there would always be a Gathering, to purify the City once more and help everyone get through the terrible knowledge that another of them had fallen, to give them the strength to renounce evil even more strongly.
Evie always knew about K’s earlier than most, because her father was a key holder, one of four men who held the keys to the East, West, North and South gates of the City. He always kept vigil on the nights that the Evils came. Just in case the K escaped before they could be reconditioned, and came looking for the key to let the Evils in.
Evie knew that what lay outside the City walls was worse than anything she could imagine late at night when she tortured herself with terrible images. And she knew that if she didn’t renounce evil for good, that was the fate that awaited her.
She also knew that if the System hadn’t been watching Raffy before, it would be watching him now. He had found a glitch in it. Would the System be angry? Grateful? Did it even have emotions or was it more like Lucas? Evie didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that she didn’t want to be a K. She’d told herself all this time that she didn’t care, not enough anyway, about what happened to her. She’d told herself that her feelings for Raffy were more important than anything else, that the joy she felt in their precious moments alone were worth the punishment to come. But now, now she was afraid. Now, tonight, knowing that the System would be watching Raffy, she realised that she wasn’t as strong as she’d thought.
Which was why that night, she lay down on her bed and went to sleep, ignoring the gnawing knowledge that Raffy would be waiting for her and ignoring her promise to him to meet him in the tree. She couldn’t do it any more. She wouldn’t do it any more.
It was time to stop. It was time to be like Lucas. To stop caring and to stop loving.
To start being good.
The next day was Saturday: the day of the Gathering. Evie woke and went straight to the bathroom to wash and to stare at her reflection. Her clothes were already laid out; since it was Saturday, she would be wearing a thick, velvet dress and lace-up boots. Girls all wore the same thing to the Gathering – different colours, slightly different styles, but ultimately the same. She could have worn a skirt suit like her mother because she was seventeen now and nearly a woman, but the suits were expensive and since she still fitted into her dress, it had been decided to delay such a purchase until it was essential.
She dressed quickly and brushed her hair before running downstairs to eat the hunk of bread and the apple that were waiting for her.
‘You look nice,’ she said to her mother as she walked into the kitchen looking for something.
Her mother turned and frowned
But the Evils never came through the gate; they only ever stood outside, wailing, crying and threatening the citizens inside.
They came because they hated goodness and they longed to destroy the City and everyone inside. And they came to vent their anger when K’s were taken away for reconditioning. Evie’s father told her that evil always knew itself and tried to protect itself, too; that’s why they always came whenever someone was labelled a K. Because they were angry that the K was being reconditioned, angry that evil would never win within the City walls.
The Evils always knew when to come; they could smell evil, her father said. Whenever there was a K change, word always got round; mostly people would lock their doors and try to close their ears to the screams and wails of the Evils as they arrived in huge numbers to vent their rage. And the next day there would always be a Gathering, to purify the City once more and help everyone get through the terrible knowledge that another of them had fallen, to give them the strength to renounce evil even more strongly.
Evie always knew about K’s earlier than most, because her father was a key holder, one of four men who held the keys to the East, West, North and South gates of the City. He always kept vigil on the nights that the Evils came. Just in case the K escaped before they could be reconditioned, and came looking for the key to let the Evils in.
Evie knew that what lay outside the City walls was worse than anything she could imagine late at night when she tortured herself with terrible images. And she knew that if she didn’t renounce evil for good, that was the fate that awaited her.
She also knew that if the System hadn’t been watching Raffy before, it would be watching him now. He had found a glitch in it. Would the System be angry? Grateful? Did it even have emotions or was it more like Lucas? Evie didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. What mattered was that she didn’t want to be a K. She’d told herself all this time that she didn’t care, not enough anyway, about what happened to her. She’d told herself that her feelings for Raffy were more important than anything else, that the joy she felt in their precious moments alone were worth the punishment to come. But now, now she was afraid. Now, tonight, knowing that the System would be watching Raffy, she realised that she wasn’t as strong as she’d thought.
Which was why that night, she lay down on her bed and went to sleep, ignoring the gnawing knowledge that Raffy would be waiting for her and ignoring her promise to him to meet him in the tree. She couldn’t do it any more. She wouldn’t do it any more.
It was time to stop. It was time to be like Lucas. To stop caring and to stop loving.
To start being good.
The next day was Saturday: the day of the Gathering. Evie woke and went straight to the bathroom to wash and to stare at her reflection. Her clothes were already laid out; since it was Saturday, she would be wearing a thick, velvet dress and lace-up boots. Girls all wore the same thing to the Gathering – different colours, slightly different styles, but ultimately the same. She could have worn a skirt suit like her mother because she was seventeen now and nearly a woman, but the suits were expensive and since she still fitted into her dress, it had been decided to delay such a purchase until it was essential.
She dressed quickly and brushed her hair before running downstairs to eat the hunk of bread and the apple that were waiting for her.
‘You look nice,’ she said to her mother as she walked into the kitchen looking for something.
Her mother turned and frowned
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