Awake

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Blueberries, Lock Picks and Boy Scouts

Carmen felt confident and secure and in control. The feeling buoyed her up and was the reason she kept bouncing on the balls of her feet, half-wishing she had something to kick or a song to dance to just as a release for some of her energy.

  She was dressed for a mission in her dark training clothes. She had no idea what the material was – something synthetic, Natalia had replied when asked – but it stretched to fit perfectly and weightlessly against her skin. The rubber soles of her boots sprang her up in the air. Ashley had braided her hair back for her and pinned it in place.

  Natalia had found her a backpack of supplies. From where, nobody knew but Carmen supposed there must be stores of this kind of thing somewhere. It was light and slotted perfectly between her shoulder blades. It was filled with all the survival kit she might need: torch, light-weight sleeping bag, rations, water, toothbrush, manicure set.

"Manicure set?" Carmen had asked when Ashley had shown her what was in the bag and how to use it. She stared at the sleek black case in astonishment. "What do I want a manicure set for? I'm not going for a makeover."

"They're very useful," Ashley had replied, seriously. "I mean, look."

She flicked the catch and the case popped open to show an array of tiny silver implements on the thin faux-velvet lining.

"See how useful it is?" Ashley had pointed things out, aggravated by Carmen's lack of appreciation. "An assortment of pocket-sized blades, tweezers, all kinds of things. You can use it for first aid, for impromptu torture, for diffusing bombs..."

Carmen raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"And for keeping your nails neat and tidy," Ashley added, closing the case with a satisfying snick. "You'll be amazed."

There were a lot of things Carmen was carrying that surprised her, all light and compact and tucked away neatly inside her backpack. Natalia seemed to have planned for a mission that might last weeks, though there could hardly be that much to explore.

"You might get stuck somewhere," she reasoned. "Or lost. Or anything, really. You're going into the unknown. Be prepared."

"Like all good boy scouts," Carmen sighed in reply.

"What's a boy scout?" Natalia had asked, bewildered.

"Alexei was reading about them," Carmen explained. "He told me. As far as I can understand, they were like the youth corps way back before the war, except friendlier and with less killing and more marshmallows."

"What's a marshmallow?"

Carmen shrugged helplessly. "Search me."

Nigs seemed less keen but even he couldn't help but catch some of Carmen's excitement. His own backpack dangled from his arm as he slouched against a wall, watching Carmen's little bobbing dance with superior amusement.