Genesis Trade by Eliza Green

Author:Eliza Green [Eliza Green]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eliza Green
Published: 2022-08-17T00:00:00+00:00

17

Isobel had never been happier to see the end of a day. Being forced to work at the tavern was bad enough, but she had to endure the company of Old Pete from the auction. When Pete wouldn’t stop staring at her, and Albert’s grandson Kevin continued to mutter nasty things about her under his breath, she couldn’t wait to leave.

Ben’s admission that he’d met with Stephen, the leader of District Three had thrown her, but not for long. She’d turned her back on her old life on Exilon 5. Her future was with Alex Sinclair.

When Albert suggested she stay with someone called Sal, she jumped at the chance to escape the tensions at the tavern. Ben offered to show her the way.

Isobel walked fast, hoping to lose Ben. She could work out how to get to Sal’s place by herself. But the streets were deserted close to curfew and with nobody around to ask the way, she accepted the teenager’s help. Ben jogged to keep up with her as she glanced at the giant wall that encapsulated all of Waverley. It was too high for her to climb. Tomorrow, she would search for gaps in the wall, or any wear and tear areas where she could wriggle a block or two out.

‘Sal is really nice. She can be prickly at first, but when she gets to know you she’ll be—’

Ben broke off and wheezed into his mask. His jog dropped back to a fast walk. He tapped the side of the oxygen canister slotted into a holster on his hip.

Isobel stopped and turned around. ‘You should head back. I can go alone.’

‘No,’ said Ben, bending over at the waist. ‘I promised Albert I’d get you there, and I will. I just forgot how fast you Indigenes can move, that’s all.’

It surprised her to learn the boy who Stephen lauded above all other humans lived in such squalor. Perhaps this was Ben’s punishment for getting involved in the first place.

‘Fine, I’ll slow down. What’s wrong with your canister?’

‘They’re old and leaky. They never hold a full supply of oxygen.’

‘What about making new ones?’

‘The criminals control industry and the factories are off-limits to us.’ Ben spoke slowly to preserve oxygen. ‘Earth lost its skilled workers to the alteration programme. Nobody left knows how to make them.’

That didn’t surprise her. Exilon 5 had seen an influx of half a billion humans several years ago to add to the ones already living there. Construction projects had exploded in the weeks following their arrival. The technology to create the environmental bubbles protecting the Indigene hunting zones had been built, tested and activated as soon as the terms of the peace treaty were agreed.

Isobel noted the direction of every street they passed on the straight road from the tavern to the square. But when she caught Ben eyeing her, she looked elsewhere. ‘What about you?’

‘I don’t know how to make canisters.’

‘You’re young. Aren’t you considered skilled on Earth? You can learn the skills you need to survive?’

He shrugged.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.