Birthright

CHAPTER TEN

"Calm down," the other boy said. Despite his evident youth, he exuded confidence and maturity that made him seem much older. "There's plenty of time to fill you in on everythin'." His smile faltered, revealing uncertainty. "I hope. I'm Carter. These two are Shane and Orkoy. What's your name?"

"Kray."

"How can you not know where you are?" The third boy's tone was suspicious and even though he was some distance away, across from the one named Shane, his scowl was clearly visible. "Are you a Mainlander? You talk like one."

Kray didn't think he spoke any differently, but it was clear that the stocky, brown-haired boy didn't like him. "What if I am? What's that got to do with anything?"

"Don't mind Ork," Shane said. "He has terrible manners, though he's pretty funny sometimes. Usually unintentionally."

He suddenly realized that there was a discernible difference between Shane and the other boys' speech. The other two spoke faster, the words blending together without becoming unintelligible. But Shane's speech was refined, and he pronounced his words in an even-paced way that was familiar to Kray—it was exactly the way people spoke in Saranth.

Was that how he, too, sounded to outsiders?

"Shut up, you gennei," Orkoy growled.

The first boy laughed. At Kray's puzzled expression, he explained, "A gennei is a squid. Well, that's what they used to call them in Aldean—they went extinct durin' the Burnin' War."

They didn't seem to realize that Kray's confusion only increased as the seconds went by. "What is this place?"

"We call it the Death Block, not to be confused with the eleven blocks of the Skads," he responded. "There are dozens of other blocks at this facility. Each one has six cells and all of them have teenagers like us."

The words facility and teenagers increased Kray's trepidation. He knew the answer even as he asked, "Is this an Extraction Facility?"

Carter's nod still shook him.

The Metas had found him. But how? Alex was the first thought that came to mind, but he immediately rejected the idea, unwilling to even consider it. She would never do anything to put him in harm's way. It was an insult to her character for him to doubt her loyalty.

And the Morrisons wouldn't have gone to all of that trouble to save him if they had intended to hand him over to the ANEF. The only conclusion was that the Metas had located him some other way. And it didn't surprise him. They couldn't have had much trouble figuring out the whereabouts of one teenage boy.

"Why is it so cold?"

The response came from Shane. "We Kindle faster in warmer temperatures. This is just another way for the Heads to keep us here longer."

He studied Shane, trying to figure out how he could bear the cold. Looking closely, he could see that the boy's body was tense, his shoulders hunched as he sat there on his bed. Orkoy was doing the same. Carter was the opposite; between pacing and fidgeting on his feet, he couldn't seem to stand still. To the far left end, two other boys slept in their beds, their bodies curled tightly to keep warm.

But beyond that, they all seemed perfectly okay. Far too comfortable for a group of teenagers being drained of their Sen.

Six boys altogether. Kray shuddered as he recalled Mr. Morrison's words. Out of the six of them, one was likely to die.

"It'll get better," Carter reassured him, reading the frightened look on his face. "You'll get used to it a little."

"Does it hurt? The harvesting?"