Legion Lost (14 page)

I
bristle at that, ready to shout my denial, but Goddie quickly raises his palms
to me.

“—and
I don’t blame ya, frankly,” he adds, “because dat boy’s got charm, even if he
is way too skinny. So den I’m thinking ‘Okay, I know who Raja is now,’ but den
der’s Lucrece.”

I
shouldn’t be as angry as I am. Goddie is a good, kind person with a rambling
mouth, but that doesn’t stop me shrugging off his grip and giving him an evil,
accusatory look.

“What
about Lucrece?” I ask, determined that this will be the last moment of his
ramble, whether he likes it or not.

“Well,”
Goddie answers, “she’s all over you, boy. She’s holdin’ ya hand, she hugs ya,
dem eyes of hers follow you all over de base. She’s got dem sad eyes, ya know?
De ones where she likes ya, but ya don’t stop to notice it. Only I reckon you
do notice it. Ya protective of her.”

It
is at this moment that the girls finally emerge from the bathroom. I rise from
the bunk, turning to find that Lucrece is indeed already watching me. She gives
me a weak smile, which I return, and Goddie chuckles to himself behind me. I snap
my head back sharply to fix him with another look.

“You
need to find something else to use your imagination for,” I tell him.

“Oh,
I have boy,” Goddie replies, grinning wickedly, “but I don’t think you’d like
it any better if ya knew what it was.”

Shuddering
at the prospect, I grab some clean clothes and head for the bathroom. Once I’m
alone, the weight of Goddie’s words starts to sink in, and suddenly they don’t
seem all that absurd. It’s mortifying that Goddie has noticed me trying so hard
not to have a crush on Stirling, but even more concerning that the young
soldier is spending so much time trying to figure me out. He would only have to
stumble upon the ludicrous possibility that I’m
not
a boy once, and then
all the puzzle pieces would suddenly fit into place. A part of me would love to
think that the rejects would keep my secret safe, but I can’t know for sure
without risking the chance to save my family.

I
have to focus on getting through the day without arousing any more suspicion.
I’ll keep my head down, work hard, and wait for Sheila to reveal the news of
our scavenger mission to the Underground tomorrow. Only then, away from the
high walls and the cell-like rooms of the Legion, will I be able to think
straight about who I can trust. As for Lucrece and her supposed crush on me, I
suppose I’ll just keep my eyes peeled for signs that Goddie is right. If he is,
then Lucrece has got yet another shock to her system waiting in the pipeline.

*

Lucrece
has to go to Medical the next morning. At first, she would take no persuasion
from me, Apryl or Goddie, but when Stirling asks her to go and see Sheila, she
obeys right away. It seems that her fear of Stirling’s Highlander accent has
vanished since he took so many lumps from Briggs on her behalf. His battered
face still looks a mess when we gather later in the Bastion, even with close to
forty hours of healing. Though his swelling has reduced a lot thanks to the
chilly spring air, his bruises are deep enough to start changing colour as they
go through the stages of healing, just like Lucrece’s did a few days before.

In
the Bastion, Goddie and Apryl crack jokes to each other, but Stirling and I are
impatiently pacing the vast lecture hall. I don’t know what it is that’s got
him so agitated, but it seems to be just as big a worry as the things that are
on my mind. I’ve known for several days now that the home I once had is a place
I can never return to, but seeing the ruins of the Underground with my own eyes
is going to be a very different realisation. All I can hope is that the remains
of the tunnels might offer me another clue for my mission.

When
Sheila finally arrives to start the briefing, Lucrece is walking a few paces
behind her. The young girl’s eyes are vacant beneath her fading bruises, and
she looks paler than I’ve ever seen her. If you told me that there was a ghost
in the room that only Lucrece could see, I’d believe you instantly, just by the
terrified look on her face. She can’t have a contagious disease like Goddie
suggested, or she wouldn’t still be here as part of our mission, but whatever
Sheila has diagnosed must be a grave sentence indeed for her to look so
crestfallen.

“Well,”
Sheila begins coldly, “look who’s been a bad soldier. You’ve been causing
trouble again, have you Captain?”

Though
her voice is level, there is a tightness to Sheila’s expression, as though
something is paining her behind her words. Stirling just waves a hand at the
sight of his considerable wounds.

“Cuts
heal, scars fade,” he says glibly. “Can we have the mission now? I’m itching to
get out of this place today.”

“I’ll
bet you are,” Sheila remarks, but there’s no humour to her tone.

We
settle into chairs, and Sheila begins her explanation of our mission. Though I
want to hear the details of our purpose in the Underground, I can’t help my
gaze from returning to Lucrece. As Sheila gives us pointers on locating a place
that I already know how to get to, I find myself watching the nervous girl who
has settled at my side. Even from the corner of my eye, I can see her rubbing
her hands together so furiously that her skin is starting to glow with a
pinkish hue. There are half-moon dents in her palms where her slim hands have
balled into fists, and the skin on her face is crusted, here and there, with
the flaky salt residue of dried-up tears.

Something
terrible has happened to this girl. Regardless of the sniggers I might get from
Goddie later, I reach across and place my hands over Lucrece’s, to stop her
making her skin any more raw than it already is. She clasps my palm hard, and I
can feel her pulse hammering in her fingers. It will do her good to get out of
the Legion again, out into the west woods, where I might be able to get her to
talk about what has happened.

“Right,”
Sheila suddenly demands. “Get kitted up. I’ll expect you down at the entryway
in twenty minutes to board a hover. You’ll have three days’ worth of supplies,
so if you take longer than that to return, I’m afraid you’re on your own for
survival.”

I
vaguely take in Sheila’s instructions, but I’ve been so lost to my thoughts
that I don’t really register what she’s said until Lucrece is tugging at my
hand. Stirling is already clattering away at the supply cabinets when Lucrece
leads me to him. He frowns at me, his eyes cast downward, and it takes me a
minute to realise that he’s looking at mine and Lucrece’s interlocked fingers.
As soon as I realise this, I break off the hand-holding, but it’s too late.
Stirling has already half buried himself in the supplies again.

“Get
your head screwed on right, Raja,” he gripes, emerging with a heavy bag that he
throws at my chest. “The last thing I need is you racing off through the forest
alone again.”

I
could swing for him when he uses that superior tone, especially since I know
better than anyone else exactly where we’re going. I give him a glare that he
totally misses, since he’s too busy loading Lucrece up with a bag that’s just
as heavy as mine.

“That’s
your tent to share with Apryl,” Stirling tells her. “You’re carrying that, ’cause
we’re going to need Apryl’s strength to manage the food pack.”

Lucrece
gives a shaky nod, and Stirling looks over our heads, cupping one hand to his
mouth as he hollers: “Hey Goddie, come and get the one-man tent for yourself.”

I
can see Goddie’s muscular shoulders drooping as he approaches us.

“Aww,
boss,” he moans. “Ya know I hate sleeping alone.”

“Well
there’s no room in this one for you,” Stirling replies, tapping the bag in my
arms. “Raja and I aren’t
that
skinny you know.”

“Wait,”
I stammer, before I can stop myself from speaking. “We’re sharing? You and me?”

That
smirk creeps into Stirling’s lip again.

“Unless
you want to bed down with the serial cuddler here. I don’t personally recommend
it,” he quips, nudging Goddie with his elbow.

“Oh
no,” Goddie replies. “I reckon I know what Raja prefers.”

A
wicked, conspiratorial look flashes in his eyes, but Goddie takes his tent and
bounds off before I can even tell him to shut his runaway mouth. Stirling just
laughs, and a sense of relief overwhelms me for a moment, until a peculiar
sight catches my eye. Among the protective gear and survival equipment that
Stirling’s preparing, I notice he has included Goddie’s mine-sweeping machine
for packing.

“Hang
on,” I say, pointing at the device. “Why do we need that? There are no mines in
the forest, are there?”

Stirling’s
confidence falls away for a brief, hesitant moment.

“Ah,
well, no,” he mumbles. “I mean, not officially, but you never know. I just like
to be prepared, that’s all.”

He
won’t meet my eyes through a single word of his explanation. I give the mine
detector one last curious glance before I begin to suit up.

*

Reece
is driving our hovercraft, under the watchful eyes of Dr Bartlett. Judging by the
doctor’s instructive barks, Reece has only recently begun learning how to steer
the bouncy, vibrating vessel, but the young boy seems surprisingly capable at
the helm. My former ally doesn’t bother to look at me, or to acknowledge the
existence of any of the rejects aboard, as he speeds us on across the west
plain of the wasteland. The only clear contact going on is between Lucrece and
Dr Bartlett. She is staring at him like he’s done something unforgiveable, and
the doctor is skilfully avoiding her gaze. It makes me wonder if he was there
when she went to see Sheila at Medical this morning.

As
we shudder toward the dark line where the trees begin, I find my eyes drawn to
the barren north, where the minefield separates us from Stryker and the
Highlanders. I wonder how far south he could move his rebels into the lower
forest, and how safe it really is for us to be camping alone near the
Underground ruins. Sheila spoke as though the mission was quite ordinary, but
she seems to be an expert at detaching her emotions from her words. I decide to
keep my eyes sharp and my gun raised, just in case we’ve been sent to be
Highlander bait once more.

We
disembark the hovercraft at the forest’s edge, in a place that looks similar to
where I slept beside Reece’s fire. It is now that he spares me a single,
pitying look from behind Dr Bartlett’s supercilious stance. I meet the young
boy’s eyes coolly, but I can’t bring myself to resent him for the quick demise
of our friendship. Both of us are simply doing what we can to survive.

“Now,
we won’t be able to send a hover to bring you back,” Dr Bartlett warns us, “so
save provisions for the return trek. Commander Briggs is taking six cabins out
tonight with the whole hover fleet. It might be a little quiet when you
return.”

Reece’s
expression brightens at these words, and I realise this must be the raid
mission that Boon was talking about. Dr Bartlett waves us off, and in seconds
he and Reece are buzzing back along the wasteland with a cloud of dust in their
wake. Lucrece watches them for a long time as they fade into the horizon, her
face a picture of subdued rage.

“Well,”
Stirling says, “let’s get moving. We can make some good ground before
nightfall. Goddie, which way?”

All
eyes fall to our navigator, who is patting down his pockets with a panicked
look. The mine detector hangs from his hip, and Goddie shifts it out of the way
as he drops his backpack to the ground. One fruitless search later, he turns
his gaze to the receding shadow of the hovercraft, frowning deeply.

“Oh
man,” he groans. “De tablet with de maps. It must’ve fallen out me pocket when
de hover was bouncing.”

A
series of livid emotions pass over Stirling’s battered face. Eventually, the
lanky boy settles on a deep, disappointed sigh.

“So
we’re lost before we’ve even started,” he gripes. “Great.”

“No,
we’re not,” I interject.

Stirling
quirks a coppery brow at me. As much as I don’t want to give away my
familiarity with the forest, I can’t stand the thought of wandering lost in the
woods. We’re easy enough pickings for Stryker’s lot already.

“We
just have to follow the river,” I explain.

“The
river, huh?” Apryl asks.

“Think
about it,” I continue. “These people were living in the Underground for years.
They would have needed a water source close by. If we keep following the river
to the west, we’ll come upon the settlement sooner or later.”

“Raja,
that’s brilliant,” Lucrece croaks, but she still sounds sad when she
compliments me.

“Hey,
hey!” Goddie exclaims with a chuckle. “We have a genius in de mix. How about
dat, boss?”

He
looks to Stirling, who is staring at me with that curious amusement in his
sea-green eyes.

“You
have hidden talents, Raja,” he begins. “I look forward to discovering what
other secrets you’ve got.”

I
needn’t have worried about Stirling’s curiosity quite so quickly. After hours
on end of walking along the riverbank, the tall figure is too exhausted for
even basic conversation, let alone his usual quips. Though Stirling is wily and
agile, it turns out he isn’t built for suffering over long distances, something
I’ve discovered I’m pretty good at. My array of talents, however, does not
extend into the realm of tent building.