Defect - By Ryann Kerekes Page 0,47

didn’t give me any advice. He just told me what I already knew, like he believes I don’t need any help getting out of here.

Chapter 17

Even though it’s still dark and my body’s stiff and exhausted, I need to get moving. Knowing I was in first place last night, and unsure if anyone has surpassed me in the night, I pack up my bag and take off.

I eat the apple while I walk and when my legs are warmed up, I begin to jog. Though I couldn’t tell last night in the darkness, this area looks familiar. I’ve been here before. I push myself ahead, though my legs do little more than shuffle along.

I jog into the field surrounding the compound just as dawn is breaking. O’Donovan and an unfamiliar man in a black trench coat are waiting for me. I know I must look crazy as I half-jog, half-limp up to them. They wait calmly for me to approach, like they’re expecting me.

When I get close, they stop talking and just watch me hobble over the last few steps. “Eve Sterling, the wonder girl,” O’Donovan says with heavy sarcasm. “Always undermining our expectations.”

“This is her?” the other man asks, his voice gravelly.

“The one and only,” O’Donovan says. They both eye me cautiously. I feel like an animal escaped from the zoo.

“Am I the first one back?” I ask.

“You are. And according to the radar, by a long margin,” O’Donovan says. “Why don’t you go hit the showers?”

There are no congratulations offered for winning the challenge, no compliments on a job well done and no apologies for unleashing a hungry wolf on me. I slink into the building, too tired to feel as angry as I should.

***

It’s strangely quiet with the challenge still underway, so after showering, I decide that I need to use this rare free time to find Rena.

I walk through the open hallways and see a light glowing ahead – the supply room. I stop at the desk and ask the woman working if she knows where I might find Rena.

She looks me over, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

“I’m supposed to find her. Something about needing additional help with the knives.” I hold up my cut hand.

She winces. “You certainly do.” She directs me down the hall to the administrator’s wing and to Rena’s room.

A few minutes later, I’m knocking on the door to Rena’s dorm room. I know Will’s is around here somewhere, but I can’t be distracted by thoughts of him right now. When Rena opens the door, I hold up my injured hand, hoping the line will work on her, too. “I guess I need some remedial training with the knives.” I smile.

“That’s not why you’re here, and we both know it,” her voice is sharp. She looks past me, down the hall. It’s empty. “Come inside.” She closes the door behind me. Her room is just like Will’s – a narrow bed, single locker and no personal effects.

“What did I tell you?” she asks.

I don’t answer.

“To be careful,” she says slowly. “And instead, you’re the talk of the capital.”

At this, I tilt my head.

“I know you won the challenge this morning – everyone does. You must do a better job at blending in. You’re flaunting their failure with you right in their faces. And trust me, people are noticing.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I want so badly to prove to myself and to them that I could do this, that I could become a soldier, but now it seems I’ve done the wrong thing. Again.

She takes my hand and looks over the wound, letting out a tsk sound. She pulls me over to her locker and begins cleaning and bandaging my hand. She has a well-stocked first-aid kit. I guess that goes with the territory when you work with weapons like she does.

“Rena, I need to talk to you.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” she snaps, even as she gently wraps my hand.

I pull my hand back before she finishes. “I need information. Will you help me or not?”

She takes my hand again. “What is it?” Her voice is softer this time.

I take a deep breath. “I need to know what’s going on, why they’re out for me, who my parents are, why I failed the mindscan.” Though I didn’t mean to, all the questions tumble from my mouth at once.

She holds up one hand, as if to stop me. “I’ll help you – but I’m afraid you’re asking about things I don’t