‘I think we should stick together and search one area thoroughly before moving on,’ said Charlie.
‘Agreed,’ Dom said. ‘I don’t want to dilute our firepower.’
They were in Zone C: the midway point between Zone A and the Learning Centre, and Zone E and the Business District. Anya had only seen the city layout once from the higher vantage point of the train tracks, where the hovering train currently lay idle.
She gripped her gun tighter, not liking how quiet this place was. Would she have felt better if the place was swarming with Copies? Maybe.
They set off on foot and entered Zone D. Vanessa waved them past a large accommodation block that was three stories high. ‘This is where we used to live, but the apartments were studio in design and basic. I can’t think of anywhere safe Janet might have hidden the diary. I think we should try the Business District first. We had more freedoms there.’
Anya walked behind Vanessa, who took the lead with Charlie. Dom followed close behind the pair. They were basing their search on a discussion Anya had overheard her parents having. She worried her intel might be wrong, that they were wasting their time searching this city for a set of coordinates that might not even be here or, worse, might be worthless.
Sheila walked beside her. Similar to Dom, her gaze combed every inch of this place. Like Anya, Sheila hadn’t seen much of the city either.
‘It’s bigger than I thought,’ she said. Her gaze settled on the accommodation block.
‘I don’t like being here,’ said Anya.
‘Why? Because it’s empty?’
‘Yeah. But also because this place feels wrong.’
Sheila snorted. ‘That’s because it was—is—a city for Copies. We were just the entertainment. Like in Arcis.’
Anya swept her gun around, checking for spotters or orbs that might be following them. There was no sign of Jacob’s reprogrammed orb. She wondered if it had abandoned their group.
‘Except Arcis wasn’t pretending to be something else,’ said Anya. ‘It was a training facility. It never sold itself as anything more than that.’
Sheila glanced at her. ‘And what do you think this place is supposed to be?’
She shrugged and looked around. ‘I don’t like how it mimics a human city. I mean, the Copies, they’re not real, but they live as though they are.’
Jerome glanced back at her. She bit her lip at her insensitivity. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean you, Jerome.’
The dark-skinned, young man dropped back to walk beside her. ‘You did, and it’s okay.’
‘No, it’s not. I meant the Copies without humanity. Those who follow the Collective’s orders aren’t real.’
Carissa glanced back at her next, and she shut her mouth.
Jerome said, ‘I’m still not used to the idea that I came from here. And what about your Breeder? Wasn’t he born here?’
Yeah, Alex had been created in this city.
She blushed. ‘Forget I said anything. I don’t know what I’m talking about.’
Jerome chuckled. ‘Believe it or not, I get it. The Copies in Arcis, they freaked me out when I saw them on the ninth floor, frozen. I had no idea I was a newborn—one step removed from them.’
Anya nudged him with her elbow. ‘You’re more than that, Jerome. You were created here, but you lived among humans. That makes you more human than the Copies.’
Ahead, Carissa’s shoulders stiffened. She elbowed Jacob and whispered something to him.
Jacob looked back. ‘Carissa wants to know if she is included in your real-not-real summation.’
Detecting anger in the old man’s voice, Anya blushed harder. ‘No, I mean, I’m not sure. Carissa has helped us. That makes her different, that’s all.’
Sheila snorted with laughter.
Anya ignored her. She blew out a relieved breath when Carissa’s tense shoulders softened slightly. Maybe she should think before she opened her mouth. None of them were perfect. They’d all had strange starts in life.
Dom glanced back and grinned at her. Yeah, she knew she was being an idiot. She just wanted to get out of here. Find the Beyond... and then what? She had no idea what awaited them. But it had to be better than this.
They passed by a white pillar taller than them. A tag station. Carissa glanced at it, then at her wrist.
‘Do you think the coordinates are really here?’ Jerome asked.
‘It’s the last place to look, according to my parents.’ She sighed. ‘But honestly, I don’t know.’
Sheila said to Jerome, ‘What happened when the Copies brought you back here? What happened to Julius?’
Jerome watched the ground as he walked. ‘No idea. They separated us for a few hours and interrogated us. Just one Copy asking questions. Nothing major. They brought us back together briefly before they dumped us in separate rooms, no food or water.’ He looked at Anya. ‘Then you showed up.’
‘Did they hurt you?’
Jerome shook his head. ‘Nah, just questions, like I said. But everything was rushed, like the fight in the flatlands beyond the camp rattled them. The barrier was down when we arrived here. They must have fled the city soon after, expecting retaliation from the rebels.’
‘I’m sorry we didn’t come sooner.’
Jerome smiled. ‘I’m just glad you came at all.’
Sheila patted him on the arm. ‘We don’t leave our team behind.’
They approached a courtyard before the start of the Business District that Anya remembered from their attempt to escape. A standoff had happened between them and the Copy guards. Now, the area was empty. That bothered Anya more than seeing a line of armed Copies ready to return them to their rooms. She kept looking up, expecting to see a line of spotters. Her neck hurt from twisting it so much.
Their group entered the plaza area with half a dozen shops on either side. Everything was closed up. She wondered
