Numbers 3: Infinity by Rachel Ward Page A

believe I’m going to be shut in here.
    But that’s how it is.
    Mia and me. Locked in a room that’s five paces by four, with a bathroom that’s two paces by three. No windows, if you don’t count the grille in the door. No sunlight. No fresh air.
    I lose track of time. Mia’s been on a rollercoaster today and it’s left her disturbed and upset, but eventually she’s soothed with a cuddle and a song. If only that would work for me, but awake on my own the thoughts spin in my head, round and round.
    The same squaddie with the moustache brings food – I don’t know what meal this is meant to be. Soup and crackers. Milk for Mia. And there’s something else on the tray – a little plastic cup with a white pill inside.
    ‘I’d take it, if I were you,’ he says. ‘You’ll get some sleep. Especially after today. We all use them in here.’
    ‘No, thanks.’
    The prospect of another sleepless night is horrific, but I won’t take pills.
    ‘Where’s Adam? What have they done to him?’
    ‘He’s in solitary, that’s all I know.’
    ‘I don’t understand why they took him away. We were just talking … How long will they keep him there? When can I see him?’
    He shrugs, but there’s pity in his eyes as they flick to Mia, asleep on the bed. ‘I don’t know, I honestly don’t.’
    If Adam’s lost to me, then I don’t think I can cope. I needhim. I love him. Why did it take all this to make me realise?
    ‘I actually have to see you take the pill,’ the squaddie says, nodding to the plastic cup on the tray. ‘Otherwise they’ll be in with an injection.’
    I look at him, shocked. He shrugs, but I can tell he doesn’t like this.
    ‘I can’t,’ I tell him. ‘I don’t take pills and anyway, I can’t take anything that’ll affect the baby.’
    ‘They wouldn’t give it to you if it wasn’t all right.’
    ‘You really think so?’
    He looks shifty for a minute.
    ‘Shall I put the shower on for you?’ he says, suddenly.
    I frown at him, confused. What’s he talking about?
    Then he beckons me to the bathroom. I follow him in. He turns on the shower, and we stand next to it.
    ‘We won’t be overheard here,’ he says, keeping his voice low despite the water thundering into the shower tray.
    Overheard.
    He looks at me steadily, waiting for the penny to drop.
    And then it does.
    They were listening in. They know about Mia. They know about her number swap and her seeing Val’s auras. And they know I want to get out of here. That’s why they came to take Adam – to get him out of the way, so there’s no one here to protect us. And now I realise, without a shadow of a doubt, that the next person they’ll take is Mia.
    It means we haven’t got long. We’ve got to escape.
    I look at the squaddie. Will the noise of the shower really block out our words? What if it’s a trick to get me to talk more? I have to trust him. I have no choice. He’s the only person I can ask, the only person in this place who has shown me any sympathy. ‘Look, I need your help – we needyour help – to get out of here.’
    I’ve said it now. What will happen if they’ve heard? Even if they haven’t, I’ve put my life – and Mia’s and Adam’s – in this squaddie’s hands. For a heart-stopping moment, I wonder if I’ve misjudged him. Will he help us? We stare at each other for several long seconds.
    ‘It’s too difficult,’ he whispers. ‘If I’m caught helping you they could court-martial me.’
    I allow myself a tiny drop of relief; he’s on our side.
    ‘What does that mean?’
    He runs his finger across his throat. He looks nervous. If he’s acting he’s doing a good job of it.
    ‘Really?’ I say.
    He nods.
    ‘I’m desperate.’ I’m close to tears now. ‘Otherwise I wouldn’t ask you.’
    He bites his lip. He’s blinking rapidly, looking at me and then away again.
    Then he says, ‘Adam saved my mother’s life.’ He’s talking so quietly I can hardly hear him over the sound of the