Radioactive by Maya Shepherd

composure. “Good to see you, I would have expected you to be here already.”
    His statement surprised me. “Why?”
    He winks at me mischievously. “I suppose you need my help. Where should we go today? How about back to the sickbay? Or the safety zone? How about just outside the Legion?”
    Is he serious? From his attitude, I realize that he is ready to leave. To him, this all seems to be some kind of grand adventure. An escape from everyday life in which he can avoid the warnings of A489. His offer is tempting. In fact, I madly yearn to see Finn. But A350 has already caught me seeing him once. Who knows what would happen if she caught me a second time. In addition, A566 would be in more trouble and I do not want to owe him any more than I already do. So I shake my head. “No, not today, but thanks for the offer.”
    He acts like he is honestly disappointed. “I’ll help you. Getting in trouble doesn’t bother me. I’ve been looking forward to this all day.”
    His commitment touches me and I give him a timid smile. “Because of me, you have enough problems,” I am trying to avoid him.
    “You overheard the conversation I just had with A489?” he asks indignantly, but then he starts to grin. “Wicked girl.”
    “I was not listening. It was a coincidence. I wanted to come to the control room anyway,” I defend myself.
    “You could have covered you ears,” A566 replies, shrugging, but then makes a dismissive gesture. “I’m not worried. I have everything under control!”
    He really seems to be sure of himself. “Not today it seems.”
    This time, he just raises his hands in defense, “Not possible. He who does not want it, already has it.”
    Without another glance, he leaves the room. Did I really offend him? I try not to think about it, and turn the monitor on in front of me. The bottom right of the screen flickers with the name of the resident. It’s D560. Why was he looking in her room? Is there something between those two? She warned me about him before, but why?
    Lost in thought, I let my finger slide on the control board and move the dial to the name D577. An image of a room in the safety zone appears. Finn is lying on his bed fast asleep. The beds in the safety zone control the sleep of the inhabitants. Once it’s bedtime, a gas is released from the ceiling forcing the residents to sleep. Simultaneously, the sensors of the bed intercept any kind of dreams. That is, Finn will not even be able to remember his dreams.
    He lies on the bed like a robot with the power off. He is completely motionless and without any emotion on his face. My fingertips touch the screen at the place where his body is. I glide my finger across his chest and would like to be able to feel the warmth of his skin. Already it is no longer as brown as it was in the caves. The Legion must somehow be able to manipulate our eye color and hair growth. But even if they gave him a new face, I would be able to recognize him. My heart would feel it and I believe that he feels the same way. Maybe he cannot even explain it, but he must have the same affection for me as I feel about him,
    With a heavy heart, I renounce Finn and let my fingers further glide to D523. Unlike Finn, Zoe is not asleep. The sight of her makes me shiver. She sits in a corner of her cell and has her legs pulled to her body while she wraps her knees with her arms. Her head leans against the wall and is raised looking to the ceiling. Her lips move slightly. At first I think she’s talking, but then I recognize the nature of her movements. She is singing. Tears run down her cheeks. She must be feeling really sad as I’ve always known her to be strong. Even when I didn’t know anything about the rebels or Zoe’s identity, I always admired her. I even longed to be something like her. In a way she was my role model but now seeing her suffer like this, it makes my heart clench up.
    I move a dial on the control board and it shows the view from right outside Zoe’s