Infraction Read Online Free PDF Page B

out rounding us up
and shoving us around?
    When Jack's eyes meet mine, they are red-rimmed and
wide. Somehow, we both know we're close to our destination, and we
both know we won't like it.
    Through the truck's back windows, I see nothing but a
twist of road banked by trees. Then a chain-link fence topped with
coils of barbed wire crops up behind us. Two soldiers flank the
gate we drive through, and they swing it closed, locking it tight.
The paved road gives way to dirt, gravel, and dust curling behind
us. I can't see anything more.
    The truck stops, forcing us all toward the soldier at
the front, and we shy away from him, unwilling to get any closer.
The woman next to me flicks her eyes at mine for just a moment as I
back away from the front of the truck, and her look chills me. Her
eyes are nothing more than hollow pools in the dim light. It's like
there's nothing inside her.
    Voices start up outside. They're muffled, so I can't
hear everything, but I hear enough.
    “How many?”
    “Fifteen.”
    “Males?”
    “Six.”
    “Nine females?”
    “Correct, sir.”
    “Children?”
    “None, sir.”
    Then the first voice says something that sounds like
“Detox,” and I brace myself against the side of the truck. We're
crammed too close and the smell is awful, but here I feel almost
safe compared to what could be out there.
    The truck doors swing open, and I squint into the
morning sunlight. The soldiers prod us out with the ends of their
guns, and I stumble over myself and the others around me. Rough
hands grab my arms and lift me out of the back of the truck and set
me on the ground. Finally I blink my eyes open and look around. I'm
in some kind of compound. Three concrete buildings form a square
with the gate behind me. They surround a large patch of grass, and
the whole compound is riddled with fencing and barbed wire. A line
of fencing runs down the center of the grassy area almost to where
we stand. Guard towers fill each corner of the square, and soldiers
patrol the perimeter of the fence. Besides this small ragtag group
of nomads and the soldiers, I can't see anyone else. The sky is
perfectly blue overhead—not a cloud in sight—and it's too beautiful
a day for where we are.
    I look around for Jack. I lost sight of him when the
truck doors opened, and I feel like I've lost my anchor when I
can't see him.
    There he is in the small line of six men. He's the
youngest, and the oldest is probably sixty. The older man makes me
think of Red, and I pray that he and Nell are still at the
settlement and safe from the world. Jack keeps his eyes trained on
the ground, but the nomad who was hunting us the night before last
stares hard at him. I will him to look away, to ignore Jack, but he
doesn't.
    Then there's an agent in front of me, and she flicks
my face with her thumb and forefinger. It stings fiercely, and I
put a hand to my cheek.
    “Hand down.”
    I drop my arm to my side.
    “Eyes down.”
    I study the scraggly grass by her shiny patent
pumps.
    “You women will be taken to detox. You will shower
and be treated for any communicable diseases. This is for your own
safety as well as the safety of the others here. If you had been
law-abiding citizens and followed the protocol to live within
sanctioned cities, these measures would not need to be taken.
Follow me.”
    As she turns, I look up. A male agent approaches the
men. Where will they go?
    The woman next to me nods toward them. “What about
the men?”
    The agent leading us stops, and the grass quivers
under her feet. She doesn't even look back as she speaks. “You are
not allowed to speak unless it is requested. Another infraction
like this and you will be punished.”
    Then she resumes her pace, and we follow dumbly
behind her. A soldier marches behind us. My cheek burns where the
agent flicked me, and I wonder who is worse—the agent we follow or
the soldier with his gun.
    The agent leads us to the concrete building on the
right, and I glance sideways and see