“Walk with me,” the woman said. “We’ll visit the laundry room and get you some proper clothes.”

  “That’d be nice,” Echo said and followed her up the stairs. “I feel like everyone’s looking at me in this thing.”

  “That’s because they are looking at you,” the woman said with a smirk. “Be glad I got to you before one of the boys did. No offense, but you don’t seem too bright a girl.”

  Echo laughed. “I’ve been told.”

  “I didn’t catch your name, what was it?”

  “Echo,” she said. There was no harm in giving out her actual name. It’s not like the woman would recognize it. Giving a false name would make it harder for Echo to keep track of the lies.

  “Unusual name,” she said. “Mine is June. June Cobalt.”

  “It’s a very nice name.”

  “Back in my youth, having the Cobalt name was a symbol of pride. There was such a mixture of surnames and histories and cultures. I even got to live in the suits up on the top deck because of my stature. Being born on the Cobalt made me feel special. Now everyone not born here is a Gray Vest. And that’s for the better. Making outsiders pure Cobalts has always felt wrong, don’t you agree?”

  “Yeah, it’s nice knowing that we can trust everyone now.”

  “Exactly! You might not be bright, but I respect you. And that’s all that truly matters,” June said, stopping in the middle of the hall. “Looks like we’re here.”

  June opened the laundry room door and let Echo walk in first. The air was hot and thick. Along the wall, they had tubs of water sitting above small fires to keep the water hot. The opposite wall had lines that ran the length of the room with clothes hanging from them to dry.

  There was an old man who ran the laundry room. He stood in the corner, dipping a blue vest into a tub to clean blood off of it. Unlike the other Cobalts Echo had seen, this one wore a gray vest with a blank white badge on the front. His hair was long, almost to his shoulders, and graying. Echo couldn’t see his face well behind his beard, but it looked tired.

  “You there! Get Echo a vest,” June told him with a stern authority. “And new pants too. Hers are too rough for such a pretty young girl.”

  The man nodded and went in the back room in search of clothes. Echo wanted to say something to him, but knew to keep her mouth shut.

  “This one knows his place well,” June said with a smile. “I had a girl the other week who could just not take orders. Unlike some, I prefer to use words for discipline, but words simply did not work on that little cunt.”

  Echo swallowed. “Did she learn?”

  “In a way,” June replied. The smile didn’t leave her face.

  The servant returned with a bundle of clean clothes in his arms. He walked up to Echo and sat the bundle on the ground for her, looking to June for confirmation to return to work. June nodded, and he went back to his corner.

  Echo slipped off the stolen jacket and tossed it aside, showing off her bare torso. There were scars on her abdomen and back, most from fight wounds and violent storms. Echo put on the tight blue vest, feeling it fit snug against her frame. She laced it shut. The pants were next, making sure transfer her belt along with it.

  Echo noticed right away that June wasn’t smiling anymore. June took a glance at the servant in the corner before locking eyes with Echo. “I think we have one more stop before we part ways,” June said, her voice wavering at the tail end of her sentence.

  “I do have some errands I need to run,” Echo said, trying to get herself away from June as fast as possible.

  “It’s no worry. I can escort you.”

  “I insist on going myself. I’m sure you’re a busy woman.”

  “Well, you are wrong, Miss Echo Cobalt,” June said, the word ‘Cobalt’ almost a growl.

  Echo froze. Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth and hands were shaking.

  “What errands do you have, Echo?” June asked.

  “I just need to stock up on a few supplies for my room. You know how it is.”

  “Which wing are you from? Can you tell me the district leader’s name? Or the founder’s name? Or your room number?”

  There was silence while Echo scrambled for an answer. Her hand was inches from the knife on her belt. It would take a second to kill June, but getting off of the ship would take longer.

  “I came here to get supplies,” Echo said. “I won’t kill anyone if I don’t have to.”

  June turned to the Gray Vest. “Get help.”

  “What?” Echo said, eyes darting around the room.

  The servant was gone. Echo had moments to react. I could take June hostage, but would they risk letting me leave over her life? Before June could react, Echo was out the door.

  Two Cobalts were to her left. They were tall and bulky, with batons on their belts. Behind them, Echo could see the servant that June sent. Damn they’re fast, Echo thought. She caught her weight onto her ankle and pivoted away from the two. She kicked into a sprint down the hall, passing by confused Cobalts, trying not to run into them.

  Echo cursed under her breath as she ran. Were the halls always this narrow? She thought, trying to swivel around Cobalts without bumping into them. The two following her were a few paces behind, but Echo wasn’t in any risk of being caught yet.

  The hall ended with a sudden drop. In front of her was the lobby with a set of stairs leading down to the floor. A quick glance over her shoulder showed that the two Cobalts weren’t far behind. They’d catch up if Echo wasn’t careful. The steps were too steep to run down, and Echo knew that. The two Cobalts could catch up and grab hold of her while she pattered down the steps.

  She had to risk jumping.

  At the first step, she put the flat of her foot against the corner of the step and used it to propel herself. She took to the air, feeling the sudden weightlessness as she hung in one spot for a second. The room looked frozen in time. Echo saw the many Cobalts looking up with confusion and fascination.

  The two Cobalts marched down the steps as fast as they could, but couldn’t keep up with the sheer speed Echo had given herself from the jump.

  If I roll the landing, the Cobalts might gang up on me, Echo thought as the ground shot towards her. She decided to land into a sprint. She wasn’t far from the exit and could make it to her ship in less than a minute once she landed.

  Echo extended her leg forward. Her foot touched down and she tried to carry the momentum into a run. There was a sudden lurch, throwing her off balance. She felt her back hit the floor. Splinters of pain rushed up her spine and through her hips. The wind knocked out of her lungs, making her clutch her stomach and gasp for a desperate breath.

  A crowd gathered around Echo as she curled up on her side, stomach in her arms. She felt a pair of hands under her shoulders that lifted her to her feet.

  “It’s only a Drifter that managed to get aboard,” one of the men said to the crowd. “We have this under control. No need to worry.”

  The crowd looked relieved after hearing the news, but stared at Echo regardless. She could feel their eyes on her and see their looks of scorn and disgust.

  Echo squirmed as they led her out of the lobby. She realized she wasn’t getting away. The men holding her were far too strong and there were too many people around to make a dash for it even if she broke free. Echo knew there that was a time to fight, and a time to wait.

  This was time to wait.

  Chapter 3

  Dylan slipped on her gray vest, feeling the leather against her skin. She looked at the empty Cobalt badge on her chest with a sigh and adjusted her clothes. The gray vests were designed to feel constraining. There wasn’t enough room in the chest, making it hard to take a deep breath. The neck felt like a collar. Her pants were brown salmon-skin with a thin wool belt. The legs were too short and showed off her ankles. She’d need to ask Brandt for new clothes if she got any taller.

  Her hair was parted in the back, with each side tied together and pulled over her shoulders to hang down her chest. Brandt used to get annoyed when Dylan stopped what she was doing to pull the hair from her eyes, so he allowed her to tie it. Gray Vests may never cut their hair short. Only Blue Vests have that privilege.

  Brandt knocked three times on the door, then told her get ready. Her cabin led to Brandt’s office and, aside from Dylan, he was the only one allowed in there. Unless Brandt had died, no one else would knock.

  Her cabin was small, with a bed she was quickly outgrowing, a small container hidden in the mattress, and a latrine in the corner. The ceiling was six feet from the floor, making the room claustrophobic. Dylan had been living in there since she was five. She remembered how big it felt at that age. Now, at age eleven, the room looked smaller and felt constraining. She hoped she wouldn’t get any taller, but judging by how quickly she was outgrowing her clothes, that wasn’t happening.

  She straightened her outfit and went to Brandt’s office. He was sitting at his desk. He had on his blue cotton jacket that was open in the front. Underneath was a gray shark-skin jumper. On his right shoulder was a white badge with gold trim. Dylan was sure that was the only true gold on the ship. His hair was thinning and gray around the ears. Brandt was the only Cobalt on the ship who remembered the founders, or so he claimed. His brow was low and fierce, cheekbones sunken in and mouth resting at a frown.

  “That was quick,” he said. “You normally take a few minutes after I knock.”

  “I was already dressed,” she said and closed her door behind her.

  “Fetch my file for sector three.”

  Dylan went to his cabinet and took out a thick bundle of paper. The sheets were uneven in size and made from various types of plants. Each sheet was covered in thick ink writings, and the bindings had been redone several times. She set it on his desk without a word.

  “Sector three is severely behind maintenance,” he said, bouncing his thoughts off of Dylan. “We don’t have enough men to repair it.”

  “Didn’t we get new Gray Vests a few days ago?” Dylan asked.

  “It is difficult to find Gray Vests capable, or trust worthy, for those tasks. They would have too many opportunities to cripple the Cobalt. We need Blue Vests willing to work, and those are few and far between.”

  “I see.”

  “Recently, we have tried to persuade Blue Vests with rewards in exchange for their labor, but those attempts have been unsuccessful,” he said, dipping his pen into a well of sepia ink. Dylan could tell he was out of ideas because he was drawing circles on the page. “Try not to ask so many questions, Dylan.”

  “Sorry, sir.”

  “Don’t apologize. It’s not that I forbid it. It’s to save you the humiliation of trying to participate in a discussion you don’t fully understand.”

  Dylan nodded. “Okay.”

  “It’s not that I want you to feel unable to approa-”

  A loud knocking interrupted their conversation. Brandt looked at the door and Dylan knew to answer it. Outside, Dylan met two large Blue Vests. They were holding a girl in their arms. The girl was wearing a blue vest, but she didn’t look like any Blue Vest that Dylan had seen. The girl’s hair was far too long, and she wasn’t wearing any shoes.

  “Is she okay?” Dylan asked.

  “We’d have taken her to medical if she wasn’t,” one of the two men said. “Tell Brandt we have a Drifter.”

  Dylan noticed how tight they were holding the girl. She walked back to Brandt’s desk and paused for a second. “There’s two Blue Vests out there and they have a Drifter.”

  Brandt sighed and stood up. His knees and back cracked. “Fetch a pair of cuffs,” Brandt said. Dylan watched him leave the room and close the door.

  The office was quiet.

  Dylan waited a moment before getting the pair of handcuffs from the cabinet. They were rusted silver with a foot-long chain. She grabbed the matching key as well. This wasn’t the first time a Drifter had been caught, but it was rare enough that Dylan was surprised whenever it happened.

  A few minutes passed before Brandt returned to the office, along with the two Cobalts and the Drifter.

  “Put her in the chair against the back wall,” Brandt said. They complied without hesitation.

  After Dylan cuffed the Drifter to the chair, she put the key in a pouch hanging from her belt and stood at his side. Dylan was nervous. The two Cobalts had left, and the room was silent. The last Drifter that had been caught on board was hanged on deck after refusing to become a Gray Vest. Dylan didn’t want to see that happen again.

  Brandt looked the Drifter over for a moment, “Okay, Miss Echo, tell me what it is you’re doing in our city?”

  Echo smiled. “Came to fuck bitches.”

  Brandt took a knife from his belt. “Dylan, cut off one of her fingers.”

  With a slight hesitation, Dylan took the knife. She approached Echo and walked behind her. Echo’s breath was heavy, but she kept a plain expression as Dylan took one of her fingers into her hand. Dylan wondered why Echo was so calm. Dylan put the sharp edge of the blade to Echo’s finger, sinking in enough to draw blood.

  “Stop! Stop!” Echo said. “Battery! I came for a battery.”

  “Put that away, Dylan,” Brandt said. Dylan had already cut deep enough to leave a scar.

  “Happy?” Echo asked between breaths.

  “I wouldn’t say that just yet,” Brandt said as Dylan went back to his side. “It’s been a while since a Drifter came to our city. You must be desperate.”

  “I’ve boarded worse.”

  “Are you aware of what the Cobalt is?” he asked and stood from his chair. Dylan knew that he liked to stand when giving a speech.

  “No,” Echo said.

  Brandt was about to speak when a knock on the door interrupted him. “A moment. Dylan, watch over her until I return.”

  Dylan was relieved that she wouldn’t need to listen to the history of the Cobalt again. At least, not until he returned. Dylan knew how much the Cobalt meant to him. He would often rant about how the Cobalt is the last great city, and how it’s the only place that honors the traditions of the old world.

  “What’s with the look, kid?” Echo asked, catching Dylan off guard.

  “I’m not looking at you,” Dylan said, eyes to the floor.

  “You’re staring at nothing. I’ve never met a person who had nothing to look at.”

  “Master Brandt always told me not to look Cobalts in the eye.”

  “I’m a Drifter, not a Cobalt,” Echo said. “Unless you weren’t listening.”

  “Sorry, I knew that. I don’t really see anyone who’s not a Cobalt or a Gray Vest.”

  “Gray Vests aren’t Cobalts?”

  Dylan didn’t answer.

  The door opened before Echo could say anything else. Brandt took a seat and stared Echo in the eye. “I have two choices for you, Miss Echo. You can be hanged, or I can give you a gray vest.”

  The words hung in the air while Echo stared at nothing. Brandt’s lips curled to a smile. Minutes passed and Echo hadn’t moved. Dylan was getting worried. She didn’t want to see another hanging.

  “Are you having trouble?” Brandt asked.

  It took a moment before Echo whispered, “Vest.”

  Brandt gestured to Dylan. She’d have to take a visit to the laundry room to get Echo a vest. Dylan was reluctant, but knew better than to disobey Brandt’s order.

  Dylan couldn’t walk the halls without getting eyed by passing Blue Vests. She was well known in that sector for being Brandt’s personal Gray Vest. They knew she could wander without escort. A privilege few Gray Vests had.

  The laundry room was as humid as usual. It always smelled like salt and sweat. Noran was working in the corner, stuck between a pile of folded sheets and a tub of hot water. He was the Gray Vest in charge of laundry. His hair was long and graying and his beard hid most of his face. Noran had been in that room for as long as Dylan could remember.

  He didn’t notice Dylan right away. He appeared to be lost in thought and going through the motions as he washed sheets. His hands had the texture of leather from soaking in salt water all of his life.

  Dylan had to cough to get his attention.

  He snapped out of his trance and saw Dylan. His empty expression turned to a scowl. “What is it, Dylan?”

  “I need a gray vest,” she said. “It’s for a thin girl. About a head taller than me.”

  He sighed and threw the sheet back into the water. “Just give me a moment.”

  Dylan watched him go to the back room. It took a few moments before he returned with a gray shark-skin vest.

  “It’s a bit tight, but she’ll get used to it,” he said, and was about to hand it over, but stopped. “Not that you’d know anything about that.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Bet Brandt gets the clothes made special just for you. Don’t pretend you’re not treated different for working for him.”

  “I’m treated the same as any of you,” Dylan said, “Don’t pretend I’m not.”

  “Us Gray Vests have been talking to each other. We see how he looks at you. If I don’t work fast enough I get a beating. What do you get?”

  Dylan rolled her eyes. “Just give me the vest, Noran.”

  “Tell me what you get.”

  “How about I bring Brandt down here and he can tell you himself!”

  There was a pause. Noran tossed the vest to Dylan’s feet. She picked it up and left, trying to hold back tears as she went back to Brandt’s office.

  Chapter 4

  “Where’s the rest of your crew?” Brandt asked. He was pacing around the room.

  Echo was getting sick of being asked so many questions. Half of them were redundant, and the other half Echo couldn’t answer without risking her ship being found. Some of Echo’s lies went through, while others did not. “I don’t have a crew. I’m alone.”

  “No one can survive alone out there. Tell me where they are.”

  “I already told you.”

  “No you didn’t! Now tell me where they are, or Dylan’s going to cut something off. And trust me,” he leaned close to Echo, “It will hurt.”

 

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