The System by Gemma Malley Read Free Book Online

and moved to the Settlement, where they had been almost happy for a year. But that was before they knew the truth, about the City, about the System, about everything. And now they were back in a new prison as Linus built the System again, this time for the whole world.
    She got dressed, covertly; she’d quickly worked out how to protect her modesty from the camera, draping a towel over the shower enclosure, wrapping another around her as she got out, getting dressed without removing the towel until the last minute. Thomas assured her many times that no one was interested in seeing her naked – he said it with a sneer, she guessed to humiliate her – but she didn’t trust a single word he said, and anyway, she assumed the worst of people these days. Even Raffy.
    Especially Raffy.
    Evie slipped on her shoes; then she left her bedroom. In the kitchen area, as always, the table was set for breakfast, which was barely touched; instead there were two empty coffee cups, which she knew had been left by Linus and Raffy.
    They were both getting thinner; she noticed it day by day. Even though there was more food here than they’d ever experienced before. She understood why; she had no appetite either, had no desire to eat the food that Thomas presented to them. She longed for the fresh vegetables of the Settlement, food that had been worked for, food that nourished the soul as well as the stomach.
    But the Settlement had been destroyed; its people would still be hiding in caves, waiting for Benjamin to return. She wondered if they were still hiding, wondered how her friends were, wondered if they knew the truth about their world.
    Evie felt a tear prick at her eye and she blinked it away; she would not cry, not when Thomas would be watching, smiling to himself. Not when Raffy or Linus might catch a glimpse too. She didn’t want their pity; didn’t want them to think about her at all. Because if they did, they might build the System for Thomas. She wanted them to think nothing of her, so that Thomas had nothing to bargain with, no hold over either of them.
    She poured herself some coffee and started to drink, planning her day minute by minute, a strategy that she had developed on the first day and which was helping her cope with this horrible, sterile confinement.
    And as each day had gone by, Evie had found it a little bit easier. Bit by bit, she had created a routine for herself, of nothingness punctuated by activity, of mealtimes, of particular sitting positions, which now felt familiar, felt almost bearable. She had resisted the screens at first, determined to allow the Watched their privacy, as she would prefer her own. But eventually she had been sucked in; had realised that without watching she would have only her own mind for entertainment and that it would quickly drive her mad with unhappiness and anger. And so she had begun to watch strangers, watch their every move, hear their every thought, read their messages to and from their friends, their loved ones. She saw images, words, people laughing, crying, shouting, sleeping; strangers telling the world everything and nothing, all the time, constantly. They were talking to no one, to everyone, to the wind, to the sky.
    They had appeared alien at first; they spoke so quickly, rushed everywhere, used words she hadn’t come across, confronted each other, ignored each other in ways that she found shocking. But gradually she became accustomed to their way of life, realised that they were not aggressive, antisocial monsters, but were people, like her, people with dreams, with fears, with worries, with hopes. And whereas in the City such things were kept hidden from view, here they were shouted out, exposed, communicated. And which was worse? Which was better? Evie didn’t know. Didn’t feel able to judge.
    ‘Good morning.’ Linus appeared in front of her; he had come to pour himself more coffee.
    ‘Good morning.’ She forced a bright smile. ‘How are you?’
    ‘Good,