Free Numbers Game by Rebecca Rode

they thinking?”
    “She’s pregnant,” Semias said, staring at her. “That’s the only explanation.”
    Ametrine gasped and whirled to face him.
    “Don’t be stupid, Semias,” Ross said with on his I-know-everything air. “They send pregnant girls straight to the medics, then to the work camps.”
    “How do you know? Experience?” Daymond asked. Ross opened his mouth, but Daymond talked over him. “Well, what are we supposed to do with a girl?”
    “I get her first,” Semias said. His eyes slid slowly down her body.
    The guys instantly went still. The girl froze. Before I even realized what I was doing, I had slammed Semias against the store wall. His expression was stunned, then turned murderous. He was several inches taller and thicker through the shoulders, but my hand tightening on his esophagus effectively encouraged him to be still. “One more comment like that,” I spat, “and it’ll be your last.”
    He swatted at my hand and gave me a death glare.
    Daymond jumped forward and extended his hand to Ametrine. “I’m Daymond. You’ve already met Vance, leader of Team Two. I guess you’re one of us now. You’ll meet Team One back at the bunker.”
    I pulled away from Semias, who was peeling himself off the wall, and nodded. Handshakes were a NORA thing. “Don’t mind Semias. He’s all mouth, especially when it comes to stuffing himself.”
    Semias swore under his breath.
    “You’ll be with me until you’re trained, Ametrine,” I told her.
    “Call me Treena.”
    Neb pulled on my sleeve like an eager toddler. I tried to ignore him, but the tugging became more insistent. I shot him a glare.
    There was an unnatural hint of color in his cheeks. “I just thought of something.”
    “What?”
    “Um, where’s she gonna sleep?”
    Someone coughed, and I felt anger rise up inside me again. What was the commander thinking, sending a girl? This really complicated things. “We’ll put her in the bathroom—I mean, washroom.”
    “Excuse me?” Treena said.
    It was suddenly very quiet. “But,” Neb continued, “what if we have to—you know—”
    “I’m sure she’ll share.”
    “Hold on,” Treena said. “There’s no way I’m sleeping in a washroom.”
    “Three-quarters pace, men,” I ordered. “See you at the bunker.”
    The guys looked grumpy, but they got the hint and took off at a jog. Semias lumbered along after them at a walk. If only I could get Poly to take Semias. He wasn’t ready to advance yet, but . . . a girl? This was going to be tough.
    I motioned for her to walk with me, but she shook her head. “No. Let’s run. Why are you treating me like a porcelain doll?”
    With a shrug, I started to jog. Her legs were shorter, but she kept pace pretty well. “The bathroom offers a lock and privacy. I don’t trust these guys, and neither should you.”
    She looked at me out of the corner of her eye, and I knew exactly what she was thinking. If she couldn’t trust yellows, could she really trust a red? For a while there was only the sound of traffic and the steady rhythm of our breathing. After about a mile, she was still keeping up. At least they’d sent me a girl who could run.
    “Fine,” she said after several minutes. “I’ll sleep in the washroom until they’re used to me. But only if it’s clean.”
    I gave her a sideways look. She’d just joined the most dangerous military unit in the nation, and she was worried about sanitation. “We do our own cleaning, so I can’t promise anything. But it could be worse. You could be sleeping in the stairwell.”
    She shot me a glare. Treena looked like any other NORA girl, but I sensed an intense anger under the surface. She was obviously not happy to be here. What could she possibly have done to warrant 440? And why had they sent her here, of all places?
    There was only one way to find out.
    I clicked my techband screen up and called Daymond. His face came into view, bouncing with his strides. “Yep.”
    “Change of