Awake

TWENTY NINE

I was woken up by what felt like an earthquake. Something shook through my bones, shook through my dreams, and woke me up with an awful lurch. I sat bolt upright – tangled in my sleeping bag – and stared around me, disoriented.

What was I doing in this massive concrete box? Where was my bedroom?

The earthquake struck again, and I realised someone was kicking my mattress.

My sleep-clouded eyes focused on a pair combat boots as the mattress attacker crouched at the end of the bed, arms crossed casually between their knees.

Zoe studied me through half-closed eyes, her head tilted to one side as though I was a spot of rust on her precious assault rifle, or a new target in the shooting range. Suddenly, she grinned at me, aggressively chewing a piece of gum at the same time.

"Good morning, my little squishy buttercup. Time to rise and shine."

I stared at her, bewildered. Her eyes weren't as dark as I'd once thought. With her head angled, her irises were lit up by one of the bulbs on the wall – revealing them to be a startling caramel colour.

"Think fast!" she said, and I ducked instinctively, still traumatised by the day before. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough. A wave of icy water hit me in the face with the force of a punch. It washed down my front, soaking my sleeping bag and mattress.

I was too shocked to react, and just stared at Zoe, dripping. A soaked chunk of hair flopped in front of my eyes.

Zoe carefully placed the empty plastic bucket behind her and looked slightly disappointed. "I thought you'd scream," she said.

"My bed's wet," I replied, touching my mattress. It made a sad squelching noise.

"Well," said Zoe, "I woke you up, and gave you warning, so don't come crying to me."

"Why was that necessary?" I kicked my sleeping bag off. "I was awake!"

"Call it an initiation," said Zoe carelessly. "Rao wouldn't like me to mess up his man bun, and Jake's my boss, and I was afraid that if I hit Mila with water, she'd melt like the Wicked fucking Witch of the West – so you're the first person I've initiated."

I scowled at her. "What's your problem?"

"That's the spirit," she said, unperturbed. "You're fucking welcome."

I swung my feet off the mattress and scraped my fingers through my hair, fuming.

Zoe bounced to her feet. "Breakfast is in an hour," she said brightly.

"An hour?" I said, furious. I could have used the extra thirty minutes sleep, at least.

"You could go for a run with me, if you want," offered Zoe, bouncing on the spot in a vaguely athletic way

"I'd rather die," I said simply.

"Well, you might, Chupa Chup, if you can't keep up with Rao and me when we're outrunning a motherfucking Angel."

I scowled even more deeply. Chupa Chup. I'd take an Angel over cardiovascular exercise with Zoe and her insulting nicknames any day.

She jogged out of the room backwards. "You'll be wishing you'd listened to Auntie Zo when an Angel is chewing on your leg, or a slaver's inking you up..." The heavy metal door slammed, cutting her off and hiding her from view. I was left staring at my damp mattress. I guessed I wouldn't be going to sleep again.

I might as well use this opportunity to write down what happened yesterday, though I doubt it'll ever be erased from my memory.

After I'd somehow offended everyone yesterday by announcing that Rao was a Waker, Zoe gave brief introductions.