Page 27 of The Order

“Why did you unplug-”

“I saw them take contraband from the sector. The girl he’s been cozy with all day somehow got a light sensor prod and gave it to him. The 'deviants' my dad has been worried about sneaking around our sector are already here,” I whisper, watching her expression shift.

She sits up more, holding my arms. Her head tilts as if she can retain more information the closer she is to me.

“They stole aweapon? How the hell would they even be able to get one of those away from an Official? Why haven't you reported it yet?” she questions.

Oh, no reason. They just have a supposed contraband item with my name plastered all over it.

“I have.” The lie sounds convincing, even to me, “Maybe that's why he got off at our stop today, to avoid Officials in his sector.”

“Did you see them wreck the school grounds?” she questions.

“That had to have happened after I left. There's no way they could have done that much damage,” I say.

“You didn’t see anything?”

Nothing that helps either of us.

“No, only what I already reported.”

I needed to tell someone. I needed to have a conversation that felt normal. Reporting Unfortunates is supposed to be like second nature. Even now, I’m questioning if I’ve revealed too much to her about the nature of Valerie and Fallan’s interaction. But I’ve always trusted her. Ever since we were children, she has safeguarded my secrets. But now, watching her nose upturn at the mention of any Unfortunate, I feel sick, like I’ve said the wrong thing.

“You could have said that in front of the clock. If anything, it would have helped you get them more violations,” Rae says, moving to plug the device back in. I grab her wrist, stopping her from leaning over me. Her hand holds the cord close.

“The Cure-All isn't banned in their sector, is it?” I question, waiting for her quick comment on my ignorance in asking something so idiotic.

She has been studying nonstop for the past three years, preparing for her medical exam and to be placed in a position under my mother after her Judgment Day. The answershould besimple: the Cure-All is meant forall. That ideology is the very foundation on which my mother built her cure.

“Y-You know already, Forest. Your mom developed it for both sectors,” Rae says, not giving me the straight answer I need.

I move her back a bit, waiting for us both to reach eye level before speaking.

“I didn’t ask who it was made for. Did our people ban its use in their sector?” I question. The familiar pit fills my stomach the longer she goes without answering, only growing my suspicions.

“The new Commander felt the medical units were wasting many resources on funding things like supplying the Cure-All in their sector. Last I heard, it was being pulled from their shelves. Most have to go to the Untouchable Med Center and join a waiting list to receive a vial. A great deal of the people who need it don't tend to come back once it is finally their turn to receive a dosage,” Rae says, tensing her jaw as she speaks.

“Don't come back?” I question, pushing farther on the notion.

“Our priority is not to keep them alive, Forest. The Cure-All is a luxury. You know this. Where one Unfortunate dies, three more stand. They're all replaceable. This isn't new information. We were giving them handouts for far too long,” Rae says. My stomach twists at her words.

“Were children on the waiting lists?” I question.

Her eyes answer the question before her words can.

“They'renotpeople. They're not our people. Stop speaking about them as if they are,” Rae says, moving past me to cram the plug back in the outlet. I tuck my knees to my chest, reflecting on Fallan’s note with a new perspective. Of all the things in that bag he could have swiped, he chose the Cure-All. There was a wallet in the front and an ID that could get him into any part of our sector. He stole a medicine Untouchables use like it has no limit. Some spray it on simple paper cuts, using multiple doses in one go. He wasn't stealing it to taunt me, although it did work to his advantage.

He was stealing it because he needed it.

Rae’s furrowed brows relax once the device powers back to life. She looks at me sympathetically, landing her hand on my leg with a genuine expression.

“You did the right thing reporting those deviants and telling me. You know I will always support you,” Rae says with a smile. It doesn’t relax me like I wish it would.

The voices once trapped behind my father's door now resonate through the hallway. Loud laughter replaces the seriousness from earlier. I pull away from my position on the bed, swinging open the bedroom door, nearly crashing into Xavier and his wild blonde locks.

He grabs my waist, stopping me from clacking heads with him. He smiles wide at me, letting his laughter trail off. His large hand is warm against my side. I almost don’t notice how dangerously close he is to the rough skin of my birthmark. I pause, apologizing silently at my sudden entrance into the hallway. I lean up against the wall in an attempt to shift his hand away from my mark. He moves closer, allowing my father more room to occupy the hallway with him. Xavier's eyes land on his hand, pulling it away, letting it rub the back of his neck.

“Reflexes,” he whispers, giving me his gentle, soft grin.

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