Kaloo had chosen to lay by the rushing water and icy droplets misted on her fur as she rested. She had her eyes closed but I wasn't convinced she was sleeping. I headed back across the cave towards Coal and she raised her head to watch me pass, the look in her eye letting me know she’d leap up to defend him in a heartbeat, but she made no move to stop me.
“Have you slept?" I asked in a rough voice, sinking to the ground next to him and enjoying the heat from the low flames.
“Someone needed to keep watch." He was twisting a knife between his fingers so quickly that I wondered how he hadn’t cut himself yet. He tossed it up in a flash of movement before catching it by the hilt and slamming it down into one of the logs which were waiting to feed the fire.
I fought the urge to gasp in surprise and raised my chin instead. “Aren’t you tired then?”
"I’ve rested. Besides, I don't sleep much."
I opened my mouth to ask why but changed my mind at the guarded look in his eyes.
"Do you have to be very careful living out here? Because of the contamination?" I asked him slowly, wondering how the hell he was even alive.
“The contamination?" He laughed like I’d said something funny and I frowned in confusion. "No."
“But I thought it wasn't safe out here?" I pressed.
“Well, I wouldn't say it was safe, but not because of contamination." He said the word like it was some kind of joke that I wasn't getting.
“So the safe zones are bigger than the Guardians realise?" I asked, trying to make sense of what he was saying. Or wasn’t saying. It seemed unlikely that they would make such an error.
"Do you really all sit up there believing that The Wall is the only thing between you and some mystery virus that would be your downfall?" Coal asked, leaning towards me and looking into my eyes like he really wanted to hear my answer. I felt like I was some kind of puzzle to him. Some game. And I wasn’t sure I liked it.
“Why else would they lock us all away in there?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
Coal studied my expression for a moment, the smile slipping from his face before he replied. "Various reasons…safety being one of them I suppose," he said vaguely.
"And what would the others be?"
“Are you sure you want to ask these questions? You might not like the answers.” He cocked his head as he surveyed me like he wasn’t sure if I could handle the truth or not.
“I can handle it,” I said. “I just want the truth.”
He held my eye for a long moment and I tightened my jaw as I waited him out. I didn’t need hand holding, I just wanted honesty.
"Perhaps some of the people in your city like sitting up there in their glass castles, using the rest of you to do all of the work," he said, leaning back on his elbows as he watched my reaction.
“Anyone in the city has an equal chance to progress to a higher level if they work hard enough. Housing is allocated depending on your contribution to society so the more you give the more you get back," I quoted instantly.
“Did you rehearse that speech or has it been drummed into you so often that you actually believe it?" Laughter danced in his eyes and I bristled at the implication that I couldn’t think for myself.
"It's true. The people living on the top floors and in the better buildings have earned their place there by contributing the most to society," I insisted.
"So, what if a married couple live together and the wife contributes greatly to society but the husband does nothing?"
"They would be put somewhere in the middle," I guessed but I could tell Coal wasn't convinced.
“Then she has to suffer because of her husband and he gets to gain from doing nothing?" Coal leaned back as he waited for my answer. His black shirt rode up at the movement and my gaze caught on the inch of bronze skin that was revealed above his waistband for a moment. I got the feeling the move was intentional and I pursed my lips as I continued with my train of thought, refusing to let him distract me.
“They…well, y
eah I guess. I never met anyone in that situation but that must be how it works.”
“Sounds fair,” he mocked.
"Oh hell I don't know, but there is a system in place," I said, coming up short.
“And you all just blindly believe that? How could you know who contributes the most to society? What do they base it on? Hours of work? Or is it the type of work? The amount of educational qualifications you have?"