The Approach (Courage Colony Book 1) by Holly Ice

Author:Holly Ice [Ice, Holly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Arrow Books
Published: 2019-10-31T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

A buzz tickled my wrist, vibrating through the skin to the bone. I couldn’t turn the alert off, even when I shook my wrist or hit dismiss. I tried to shut it off four times before my eyes flicked open and I sat up, only then realising why turning it off in the dream had done no good. My throat went dry. Was it Siti?

I brought up the urgent message: All applicants must report to the simulation room two hours before first shift.

I cursed and threw the covers back. Typical Sabine. She’d have my head if I used the elevator without reason, so I had ten minutes to dress and climb two decks at breakneck speed. I looked at the message again. She’d sent it twenty minutes ago. What was this, a test for people who never slept? Or did she have insomnia and want us to suffer with her? I grabbed my training clothes and blearily raced for simulation, praying I didn’t miss a step and flatten my face.

Quinn was already there, as were Yara and Ratan and Ashoka. The rest would take longer, most living on lower decks. Maria and James came up behind me, even before I reached Quinn. Siti would have taken the longest, were she still here.

‘You okay, Errai?’ Quinn was looking askance at me, as if he’d been calling my name.

‘Tired. Takes a minute to get my head in gear.’

‘Me too. I dreamt I was on Ristar.’

‘Been looking at the scans?’

‘Sometimes. There’s not much detail yet, but the mind fills in the empty space. It couldn’t get the water right, though.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘In the dream. The sea looked like the pictures, but it was no bigger than one of our decks and it smelt like shower water.’

‘Odd.’ I’d have thought the sims would have given his brain the necessary references, but perhaps those experiences didn’t register the same as normal memories.

A loud clap made us jump.

Sabine continued the clap slowly, leant against the video room door, and she did not look happy. She wasn’t there when I’d come onto the deck, but how much had she heard? I’d not seen her this disgruntled since shortlisted candidates had been announced in the food hall. We hadn’t said anything too unexpected, had we? It was early, and we still had no idea why we were here. What did she want, blind obedience?

‘Did I miss something?’ Ksenia had just arrived with Leanne and Lamar and was staring at Sabine.

Sabine stopped clapping. ‘I’ve already heard four candidates complain about the hour, about being tired, about how much of a bully I am.’ She circled the room, glaring at us. ‘You reacted about how I expected to an unexplained wake-up call. Badly.’

She stopped behind me and pushed a finger into my spine, forcing me forward until I arched my back and put a leg out to counterbalance. ‘You should have been here first.’ She prodded the bruising skin, hard. ‘You, Errai, sleep two decks below and are closest to the simulation room, but you arrived fifth.

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