Free The Taking 02: Hover by Melissa West

died. There’s nothing there now, just rock.”
    I eye the mountains as we pass by, curious what else used to exist here on Loge before everything began to die. “So, you don’t have much here, huh? Triad, I mean, it’s smaller than I imagined.”
    She considers me for a moment. “We have all we need, I guess. Everything is handmade here, and all our food is grown. And then there are things brought in from the other regions, of course. It’s not so bad really.”
    My eyes travel from the field we’re in to the woods just ahead of us. “Do we go through the woods?”
    Madison shrugs. “He said to stay with the wall, so I guess. The woods aren’t so wide though. We should be through them quickly, and then we’ll go past town, past the factories, past the Taking Forest, and then finally to the Juniper Gardens.”
    “How long do you think it will take?”
    Madison grimaces. “All day.”
    …
     
    I slip through the front door of our house so many hours later that I’ve lost count. It took Madison and me all day, as she had said, to reach the Juniper Gardens, and when we arrived it was so dark I couldn’t make out anything but the stars above us and the two giant moons shining down, reminding us of our misery. I was glad Madison walked the wall with me, and by the time we finished, I knew that her mother was a healer, and that she wanted to be a healer, too, but wasn’t born with the gift. Her father was pleased when she was assigned to become an RES, he himself one of the many factory workers. She said pride was important in Triad, many working hard and studying to try to evoke some of those skills into their deeper selves in hopes that the healers would pick up on those traits and assign them to RESs or government work.
    I sit my wheel down beside one of the chairs in the common room and force myself to go out to the shower, desperate to wash away the day. I let the water run over my face, the water as hot as I can stand it. Once again, I stay there far longer than is likely appropriate, but I don’t care. I need the break, the relief. Especially if I’m now supposed to go see Zeus.
    I reluctantly make my way out of the shower and to Jackson’s room, wishing I could crawl into bed for a few hours of sleep before everything starts again tomorrow, but I know that Zeus is expecting me. I open the door to find Jackson already there, fully dressed, waiting.
    “He’s expecting us.”
    I nod.
    “I’ll just…” He stands and slips past me, causing my cheeks to flush. After today, it’s strange to see him so casual.
    I change quickly and peek my head out to let him know it’s safe to come back inside.
    “How are you feeling? I know it’s a lot. All assignees are required to walk the wall on the first day. It’s sort of a tradition. Something about reminding us what we’re fighting for. Anyway, I was going to have you skip it and go see Zeus, but I thought he would get suspicious.”
    I nod again. Somehow sure that if I speak at all, I’ll either complain or cry, so I just sit there, waiting for Jackson to say something else. He doesn’t so I just say, “Let’s go.”

Chapter 6
     
    Jackson and I walk the entire way to Zeus’s building in silence. We reach the doors and he stops me, my hand midmotion to the door. “Are you sure?”
    I smile a little. “It’ll be fine,” I say, though I know the words are as much for my sake as his. And then for no reason other than the need to feel his strength, I lean in and hug him tightly. “I’ll be fine.”
    Jackson walks me to Zeus’s office, hesitates, then dips back to the stairs. He mouths, I’ll be right here , then closes the door, leaving me alone to face Zeus. I lift my hand to knock just as Zeus’s office door opens. “I’ve been expecting you.”
    I step inside and take in my surroundings. Dad once told me a wise attack is one where you know your exits. From what I can see there are four doors inside his office, including the one I just came