Deliverance Read Free

can’t argue with the Great Supreme, though, so I say nothing.
    “You have questions,” he says.
    “No questions.”
    He watches me quietly for a moment. Then he goes back to eating.
    The conversation is finished.
    He and Sindy continue their meal, but I was done as soon as Supreme Moon mentioned the tests.
    These special tests can only be for one purpose. Supreme Moon tried to get information out of me once, just by asking.
    I refused to give it, and now he’s going after it another way.
    The people I met in Middle City 3—what if I reveal who they are? Where to find them?
    I’m glad for the long sleeves of my cotton shirt because they hide my goose bumps. It seems like a lot of trouble, promoting me to Greater just to get the names of a few measly Christians.
    When the meal is finished, Supreme Moon invites us into his sitting room.
    “I think you’ll like it here,” Sindy says to me. Her smile seems genuine, but she works for Supreme Moon, so I’m not really sure how much I can trust her. “You must have some questions about the city.”
    Now’s the time, I suppose. “I did wonder about my allowances.”
    Sindy pauses and glances at Supreme Moon. They both laugh. “I’m sorry, Hana,” she says. “I thought you realized. Greaters get no allowances. You can have whatever you want, when you want it. Of course, that’s as long as you’ve earned it.”
    “Earned it?”
    “You earn things by following our rules. Doing what we want. Telling people what we instruct you to tell them. Of course, you also have to perform your work satisfactorily, or in your case, your training. As long as you’re doing that, you get what you want.”
    There is no hiding the truth about the way things are run, not in Greater City. Back home we were coddled and lied to. Here they must tell it like it is.
    “And I can use all the electricity and hot water I want?”
    Sindy smiles again. “Absolutely.”
    I already know what I’ll do as soon as I get back to my apartment. It feels too good to be true.
    The night ends, and Supreme Moon stays home while Sindy rides with me back to my apartment.
    “Sleep tight, Hana,” she says as I climb from the transporter. “Your tests start in the morning. Be ready.”
    I stare for a few minutes before I nod. The morning? “OK.” I hadn’t expected it so soon. In spite of her wishes, I doubt I’ll be getting any sleep at all.
     
     
     
     

3
     
    “Drink this,” Sindy says. We’re in a huge room—Sindy calls it an auditorium—with monitors and machines lined against every wall. Above the room are windows. People stand in the windows, watching the chaos below. They’re watching me, and they have been since I arrived at dawn.
    Sindy hands me a small syringe of clear liquid, and my hand shakes as I take it from her. “What is it?”
    She smiles an empty smile and shrugs. “Just something to help you rest during the test.”
    It’s not really an answer at all, but it does let me know she expects me to drink it. Now.
    I place the syringe against my lips and push. Bitter syrup rushes past my tongue and down my throat. A shudder grips me from the chemical taste.
    I glance up at the windows when I see movement. Supreme Moon has arrived. I wait for him to look at me, but his eyes never meet mine.
    He’s here to see what I can tell him in my sleep, and that is all. Speaking of sleep, I can barely keep my eyes open.
    “How are you feeling?” Sindy asks.
    I blink. Blink. Blink.
    “I’m tired.”
    She smiles again, but this time it’s genuine. “That means the medicine is—”
    I know I’m dreaming, but my brain is in such a fog I can’t make the images stop.
    Mom is there.
    Ms. Sewell from school is there.
    The blinking lights are there.
    The blinking red light under my clock is there.
    Even in the mist, though, I can tell I’m being poked and prodded.
    A sticky heart monitor on my left shoulder. A cold metal probe near my right ear.
    Wake up!
    I try several times to force my