Chapter 6: Dosing Day

The shuttle came down on Friday at noon, and the Warden stepped off it with a crate of oranges.

I had not seen an orange in three days, and I had not known how much I wanted one.

She was a small round woman with a grey bob and round glasses, in a neat grey coat with a Concord pin.

She had a gentle, tired smile.

"Selene," she said, and opened her arms. "Oh, my dear girl. You came back."

She hugged me.

She smelled of soap and peppermint.

"I was so worried," she said into my shoulder. "I told the pilot twice to look for you on the plain."

"The water you sent lasted three days," I said.

I said it lightly, and I watched her face.

"Three days?" She drew back, frowning, and patted my cheek. "Oh, that supply officer. I'll have a correction sent today. I'm so sorry, dear."

She said it so easily that I almost believed her.

Then she handed me an orange, and I peeled it with my thumbnail, and it was the best thing I had ever tasted.

The four of them stood in a row in the medical bay with their sleeves rolled up.

Rafe was at the left end, standing very straight.

Kit leaned on the wall next to him, pale, with his eyes on the floor.

Bastian waited with his big hands folded.

Stellan stood at the end, and he did not look at me once.

"Now, boys," the Warden said. "Only a moment."

She went down the row with a slate in one hand and a silver injector in the other.

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