There was no one around apart from a solitary Warden sat at a desk in the central corridor. He raised his eyes from his book to watch us pass momentarily but made no move to stop us. The corridors echoed with our footsteps as we made our way to the training room.
The clock on the wall read five thirty.
"Dammit Maya, I told you it was still the middle of the night," Taylor snapped. He strolled into the empty room and lay on one of the crash mats.
I climbed onto a cross-trainer and started exercising. Taylor's snores soon filled the silence in the room and I upped the resistance so that I was working really hard.
My skin gleamed and my breaths came in sharp bursts but I pressed on. Exercise had always been my favourite form of therapy. If I worked hard enough, I could chase the nightmares right out of my head.
Slowly, the sounds of the other convicts and Wardens waking up started to punctuate my run.
Someone entered the room and headed for the gun rack but I didn't pay them any attention.
Green light flashed in my peripheral vision. Then again, and again. Curiosity got the better of me and I glanced up to see who was so proficient.
It was a man I recognised from the time servers group. He had a mop of matted black hair and spent a lot of time hanging around Grey. He must have sensed me watching him because he turned suddenly to face me. I wanted to drop my gaze but held firm instead.
The man raised his gun and pointed it at me. I shielded my eyes too late. He pulled the trigger and the red light of the laser beam shot towards me.
There was the sound of running footsteps and I heard Taylor grunt in shock as something woke him.
I stumbled to a halt and stepped from the cross-trainer. Red lines swam in my vision and made it almost impossible for me to see in the dim light. A hand curled around my arm, gripping me firmly and pulling me back towards the door.
"Get off!" I yelled, trying to shake them from me but their hold was iron. I blinked furiously as I struggled against my attacker.
"Come on poppet, no need to fight me." I recognised Dolly's voice.
I dug my heels in and they caught on the edge of one of the crash mats. I stumbled to the floor, using my weight to stop her. My vision cleared and I could see her dirty fingernails digging into my skin.
Taylor was struggling against the man who was using his training rifle like a bat.
I kicked out towards Dolly as her face started to swim back into focus. She jumped aside and dropped her grip on my arm. My heart thumped wildly in my chest as panic started to take hold.
Something buzzed loudly by my ear and Dolly collapsed, shrieking, to the floor. She twitched and jerked as the taser took full effect.
I scrambled away and glanced up to see Laurie looking fierce. She had her gun drawn and pointed at the man with the matted hair. He stood slowly with his hands raised and dropped the training rifle.
Taylor spat a wad of blood onto the floor as he regained his feet. He offered me a hand and I stood too.
"Get back to your dorms," Laurie snapped at Dolly and the man. He stopped to help Dolly to her feet and they left.
Dolly glared back at me as she went. Her hands were still twitching.
"New rule. You don't leave your dorm until I come and get you," Laurie said firmly.
I nodded in agreement.
"Thanks, Laurie. I'm really sorry-" I began.
"No you're not." She smiled in a way that made my stomach churn. "Not yet."
If I'd thought the training was hard before then what followed was like some form of torture. Laurie made us defend ourselves against her on the mat. Trying to land a hit on her was futile. Trying to avoid getting hit by her was impossible.
Chapter Eleven
That night everything ached from Laurie's lesson in discipline and all I wanted was the nothingness of sleep but it evaded me. As I was being crushed between Taylor and the bed frame, I heard a noise out in the dorm beyond our security wall. It sounded like something had been knocked over and I strained my ears, listening.
I was sure that I heard footsteps. Our roommate never made a peep, even during the day, and once we were in the dorms he didn't reappear from his private bunk until morning, so the sound put my nerves on edge.