think?”
“Very good, sir,” Ralph replied. He placed the tray in the middle of the screen, over the faces of the sleeping children, and left again.
Then Gorman ate heartily.
Mika awoke to find Awen’s nose an inch from his own. The dream dog had been watching him like a sentinel since he’d fallen asleep. Mika fiddled with his ears. They were soft and warm and smelled like butter cookies dipped in tea.
“Funny dog,” he whispered.
He got up and sat on the edge of the bed. The dog made room for his legs, then yawned and settled himself on his feet, looking up as Mika rubbed the sleep from his face. There had been a time when Awen only visited in his dreams. Then he began to appear during the day, whenever Mika was in danger.
In the coming days, the dog would watch his every move.
Mika’s room in the Chosen Ones’ enclosure was small and white, with not much more than a bed to fill it. Audrey joined him while he was still sitting in darkness.
Audrey looked cute in her regulation white army pajamas. They were a bit too big for her. Her short red hair had been punked by her pillow, and her alien, fairy face was still sleepy.But her green borg eyes were wide awake and glowed with unnatural, nuclear light: partly because it was dark in the room, partly because she was so happy to see Mika.
“I woke up at four,” she told him.
“You should have gone back to sleep,” he said.
“I tried,” she replied. “I couldn’t.”
She sat next to him, and her legs jiggled against the base of the bed. Mika grinned. He knew she’d been sitting next door, waiting for him to wake up.
“Sit still,” he said.
“I can’t,” she replied. “I missed you yesterday, and after the army woke up, they made us stay in the enclosure watching TV.”
She glanced at the camera over the door.
We could feel them connecting and disconnecting,
she thought,
and it was really difficult being stuck in here, knowing what was happening outside. We wanted to do something
.
You will do something,
Mika thought in response.
Next time the army wakes up, it will fly out of here, and we’ll be with it
.
Her eyes became earnest.
We’re actually going to do it, aren’t we? Like we talked about in the forest. We’re going to stop the war
.
Mika met her questioning gaze.
We’re going to try. But it won’t be easy. Don’t get excited yet. It’s going to be difficult and dangerous
.
I know
. She nodded.
But I can’t wait to get out of here. I hate this enclosure. I can hardly breathe. Leo was pacing around last night. The TV was driving us nuts. We’re ready now
.
But everything has to be done the right way,
Mika reminded her.
We can’t rush it. Our main objective is to make adults listen to us, on both sides of The Wall, and consider negotiating for
freedom instead of fighting for it
. He scratched Awen behind the ears.
But before the adults will listen to us, we have to make them respect us. We have to prove to them that we’re not just children and that we know what we’re talking about. So we’ll take control of the North — this fortress and all its weapons. Then we’ll take control of The Wall. Then, when we’ve proved how powerful we are, we’ll talk to the South on behalf of our people and tell them what we’ve done. Ask them for freedom without a war and explain to them why it makes sense
.
Now it was Mika who looked briefly at the camera before continuing.
But the first thing we have to do is get rid of Mal Gorman. He’s our main problem at the moment. We won’t be able to take control of this fortress while he’s sitting at the top of it
.
Audrey’s eyes brightened mischievously.
And how are we going to do that?
That’s what we need to figure out
, Mika thought.
Today. It’s not going to be easy to move him while he’s attached to that life-support system. But we’ve got a meeting with him after breakfast. We can get a good look at him then. He’s going to get the shock of his life
.
Good
, Audrey
“Very good, sir,” Ralph replied. He placed the tray in the middle of the screen, over the faces of the sleeping children, and left again.
Then Gorman ate heartily.
Mika awoke to find Awen’s nose an inch from his own. The dream dog had been watching him like a sentinel since he’d fallen asleep. Mika fiddled with his ears. They were soft and warm and smelled like butter cookies dipped in tea.
“Funny dog,” he whispered.
He got up and sat on the edge of the bed. The dog made room for his legs, then yawned and settled himself on his feet, looking up as Mika rubbed the sleep from his face. There had been a time when Awen only visited in his dreams. Then he began to appear during the day, whenever Mika was in danger.
In the coming days, the dog would watch his every move.
Mika’s room in the Chosen Ones’ enclosure was small and white, with not much more than a bed to fill it. Audrey joined him while he was still sitting in darkness.
Audrey looked cute in her regulation white army pajamas. They were a bit too big for her. Her short red hair had been punked by her pillow, and her alien, fairy face was still sleepy.But her green borg eyes were wide awake and glowed with unnatural, nuclear light: partly because it was dark in the room, partly because she was so happy to see Mika.
“I woke up at four,” she told him.
“You should have gone back to sleep,” he said.
“I tried,” she replied. “I couldn’t.”
She sat next to him, and her legs jiggled against the base of the bed. Mika grinned. He knew she’d been sitting next door, waiting for him to wake up.
“Sit still,” he said.
“I can’t,” she replied. “I missed you yesterday, and after the army woke up, they made us stay in the enclosure watching TV.”
She glanced at the camera over the door.
We could feel them connecting and disconnecting,
she thought,
and it was really difficult being stuck in here, knowing what was happening outside. We wanted to do something
.
You will do something,
Mika thought in response.
Next time the army wakes up, it will fly out of here, and we’ll be with it
.
Her eyes became earnest.
We’re actually going to do it, aren’t we? Like we talked about in the forest. We’re going to stop the war
.
Mika met her questioning gaze.
We’re going to try. But it won’t be easy. Don’t get excited yet. It’s going to be difficult and dangerous
.
I know
. She nodded.
But I can’t wait to get out of here. I hate this enclosure. I can hardly breathe. Leo was pacing around last night. The TV was driving us nuts. We’re ready now
.
But everything has to be done the right way,
Mika reminded her.
We can’t rush it. Our main objective is to make adults listen to us, on both sides of The Wall, and consider negotiating for
freedom instead of fighting for it
. He scratched Awen behind the ears.
But before the adults will listen to us, we have to make them respect us. We have to prove to them that we’re not just children and that we know what we’re talking about. So we’ll take control of the North — this fortress and all its weapons. Then we’ll take control of The Wall. Then, when we’ve proved how powerful we are, we’ll talk to the South on behalf of our people and tell them what we’ve done. Ask them for freedom without a war and explain to them why it makes sense
.
Now it was Mika who looked briefly at the camera before continuing.
But the first thing we have to do is get rid of Mal Gorman. He’s our main problem at the moment. We won’t be able to take control of this fortress while he’s sitting at the top of it
.
Audrey’s eyes brightened mischievously.
And how are we going to do that?
That’s what we need to figure out
, Mika thought.
Today. It’s not going to be easy to move him while he’s attached to that life-support system. But we’ve got a meeting with him after breakfast. We can get a good look at him then. He’s going to get the shock of his life
.
Good
, Audrey
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