Dissidence by Jamie Canosa Read Free Book Online Page B

what would come after. I kept my brain occupied with anything and everything to avoid thinking about the one thing that was threatening to push me over the edge.
    It was useless. Every other thought ran back to Peter. My chest ached, and I rubbed at it, trying to figure out what they could have done to me to make it hurt so badly. Then I realized it wasn’t my chest that ached. I t was my heart.
    ***
    Two days. That’s how long it took to reach our destination. Two whole days. Food was delivered through a small slit in the door three times a day. Besides that I was left alone with nothing but the view from my windows to keep me occupied. Needless to say, that grew old fast. I was almost relieved when the train began to slow. I was beginning to think that my punishment was simply to go mad from boredom on that train.
    The relief was shor t lived though, and now I find m yse lf here, in yet another locked room with nothing more than twenty sets of bare bunks to distract me from my bitter memories and worries about what will come next. Fortunately, or unfortunately, as the case may be, I don’t have to worry long. Soon enough, the door opens again, and bodies begin pouring in, male and female alike, and way more than forty.
    Just as I think that it’s a good thing I got here early, a guy roughly the size of a tank comes right over to where I’m sitting. “Warming my bed for me?”
    That’s just perfect. A quick glance verifies all of the other beds have been claimed. I’m not thrilled at the prospect of spending the night on the floor, but fighting freaking Hercules here doesn’t seem like a real great idea either.
    “I might be willing to share.” A crude grin smears across his greasy face.
    I think not. Silently, I slip off of the mattress, and carefully pick my way over and around prone bodies until I find a vacant patch of floor just big enough for me to curl up in. I just hope it isn’t some giant ’ s floor space I’m sleeping on. It doesn’t take long before the room quiets down, filled only with the sounds of rhythmic breathing broken up by the occasional snore. The odds of me sleeping at all tonight are less than zero. How convenient for me, then, that the sleep hours here are severely limited anyway.
    Before the sun even peeks over the horizon, the door bursts open, and all around me people start getting to their feet and shuffling out of the room. Without the slightest idea what’s going on or what I should be doing, I follow them. We’re directed to a large, open-aired pavilion, with only one solid wall running along the back, and served what looks like week old, burnt oatmeal. My stomach rumbles in response. It’s been a while since the last time I ate, and burnt oatmeal is looking suspiciously like filet mignon. It tastes, however, very much like burnt oatmeal. I choke down nearly half the bowl before a harsh voice cuts through my concentration.
    “Hey, Newbie.”
    I assume that would be me, unless I’m not the only sucker stuck in this hellhole since yesterday. I glance over without lifting my head, refusing to acknowledge my new kid status in front of everyone else. It doesn’t do me any good though because a hulking guard is already headed in my direction. He doesn’t bother repeating himself, just wraps his hand around my hair and tugs me from my seat. He wrenches my head sideways and back so that I am mere inches away from the most bulbous nose I have ever seen in my life. His dark eyes are narrow slits as he glares down at me.
    “Are you deaf, Newbie?”
    I shake my head, which is difficult with his hand still fisted in my hair.
    “Good. Let’s go then. I t’s time for your welcoming ceremony.”
    I’m half dragged, half shoved to the rear corner of the pavilion where two other guards are waiting. A swift kick to the back of my knees sends me crashing to the floor, the only thing holding me up at all is bulbous nose’s fist in my hair.
    A small fire pit warms this corner of the