Divided Worlds Trilogy 01 - Disconnect Read Online Free PDF

“It slipped out.” For the first time, she looked uneasy. “It’s unheard-of for an Underworlder to be here, unless they thought it’d be too toxic for our own repairers.”
    Thin fingers traced down the side of her skirt. Her fiery attitude crumbled into a wobbling lip. Her quiet voice struggled to leave her mouth. “I’ve been so stupid. I’m sorry.”
    Zachary scanned the girl’s fragile frame. Her eyes remained fixed on hard soil. He understood her angst. If his home were attacked, he’d chase anyone who aroused suspicion. It was unfortunate that she’d found him.
    “Forget about it,” he said. “Please let me out.”
    She swiped her palm against the black screen on the pillar. “Deactivate.”
    The dark shade around Zachary evaporated.
    “I’ve been uptight ever since my Raptor was stolen, then the attack, and my parents arguing,” she said. “It’s been too much.”
    “Because of the anniversary?” Zachary froze.
    Her even, white teeth thrust from her jaw.
    Think quick , thought Zachary. Deceit was a trick a scavenger knew well.
    “You mentioned the anniversary.” Anxious muscles tightened within his chest as she shook her head. “You did … you said it, earlier.”
    She shook her head again, then sighed. “You really have no idea.”
    “Should I?”
    “My dad used to be an ambassador in Assayer – the capital of Galilei – that you’ve probably never seen, right?” She spoke to the pillar. “I can’t believe I’m talking to someone who hasn’t been to Assayer. Anyway, I don’t know the details, but he was kicked out, and we live here now. Miles from anyone.” She cleared her throat. “Sorry, deviated. What I meant was, although we are not in the city, everyone, I think, knows that we’re here.”
    Her harsh tone had gone. “I’m Rosa.” She tugged the side of her skirt and curtseyed. “Rosario Emily Kade, if Mother was listening.”
    Somehow the name fit the elegance of her strong cheekbones.
    Zachary gave the underside of her home one last look. “I better go back.”
    “What’s it like … down there?” asked Rosa.
    How unusual that she wanted to know. Didn’t Overworlders look down onto them? Maybe they didn’t. It wasn’t like the ceiling had windows for viewers.
    “It’s messy. If you took away the light, the grass, everything that makes your home special and chucked in years of waste and sewage, you’d have Underworld. There’s no space to live freely or to distance ourselves from the dirt we breathe. Then again, it’s not really dirt, or not to me.” He noted the beginning of a frown on her face. “We’re like bugs under your feet, but we’re still human. Someone once told me that you can’t have anything worthwhile unless you have something worthless to compare it to. I suppose Overworld wouldn’t be the place it is without us.”
    Rosa’s expression absorbed his words.
    “My dad doesn’t do repair work like that – always. He works on the Far-Wall in District Two. It’s a place that allows oxygen to seep in to keep us alive.” Zachary pointed to a tree. “I thought they were all extinct.”
    “What do you do down there?”
    Was she taking interest in him?
    “I’m a scavenger in the Wastelands, which is a million times worse than what I described about Underworld.” He realised that she might not understand the locations he named. “I hunt for things that get washed up and dropped into Underworld, to sell.”
    “For money?”
    “For anything. Money, food, electricity.” Zachary rubbed his head. “Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you this, or even talking to you. Dad will go mad at me.”
    “Why would he be mad? For talking to me? Do you have rules against that?”
    “Talking gets me into trouble.”
    “It’ll be another hour before they finish cleaning the shell. Tell me more about the Wastelands.” She clasped her palms. “It’s been so long since I’ve spoken with another person. Well, I’ve got my parents and Alice, but not