The Wrong Side

Chapter 44

I shake my head. "Do you?"

"Yeah. They tell us about it in our briefing. Only those who are twenty years or older qualify, you must be a hundred percent compatible with the serum, and you need certain requirements for training -- it's a whole ordeal. You wouldn't even come close to qualifying."

"Thanks."

"I don't qualify either if that's any consolation."

"It's not really," I mutter.

A light and easy laugh come from her direction. I lift my head to peek through my arm. She's beside me, almost a meter away with her legs crossed and her eyes fixed on the building in front of her.

"Dawn?" I ask.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you follow me to the Freeborn?"

She shrugs, still not looking at me. "I dunno. Instinct, I suppose. Something felt off to me. I guess I was right."

"You were," I reply and I lean back against the wall, letting my head rest softly on the brick and I just stare at the sky.

It's the sort of blue that just feels warm to look at. Wisps of clouds that form incoherent shapes float happily through the atmosphere without a care in the world; high above everyone. I'd like to join them. To fly with the clouds.

"Venning told me that I would be able to do the OSP when I turned sixteen," I mutter without thinking; the words just coming out as soon as the thought crossed my mind. I didn't even realize I was saying anything.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"What did you say?" Dawn repeats.

"I said something?"

I turn my head and she's looking at me, an unamused expression on her face.

"You said something about Doctor Venning telling you that he was planning on giving you the performance enhancers when you turned sixteen."

"Oh. Yeah, he did say something about that. But it was probably just Obarski telling him to do that."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Dawn says.

And silence falls again. A second passes every minute until I stand up.

"What are you doing?" She asks.

"Climbing," I say and I point to the ladder above me. "Give me a boost?"

She pulls herself to her feet and looks at me, to the fire exit, and back to me with skepticism very apparent on her expression. The ladder had been pulled up, not giving direct access to the nearest landing.

"You gonna be okay with that?" she asks and I nod.

"Alright." She walks underneath the base of the ladder and kneels, holding out her hands, linked together. "Put your foot here and I'll boost you."

I nod and back up a few steps before running towards her. As she instructed, one of my steps lands where she indicated. With a little grunt from her, I go flying and grab onto the lowest rail, pulling it down with me.

The ladder is a bit rusty and with a few creaks and several extra tugs, my feet along with the base of it are finally on the ground. I look back at Dawn and she's covering her mouth with her hand, failing at suppressing a giggle.

"What?"

"Nothing. You just looked funny."

"I bet it was hysterical," I mutter and I turn back to the ladder.