"...while we are not blessed with fortune, we can pave our own ways to success. The powerful may mock us, the rich reject us, but we can make our voices heard."

The students nodded and clapped, muffling the sounds, but their smiles spoke volumes. Mina smiled back, blushing to the root of her hair. Everyone was listening; all of their eyes were on her. She shuffled back to her seat, squeezing between Vexi and a boy about her age. A few minutes later, they were dismissed.

"Nice reading," said Vexi. Mina folded her prompt neatly and tucked it into a pocket as the older girl fell into step beside her.

"It's an honour to be chosen to do the motivational speech," said Mina in a shy voice. A few of the other students turned at the next corner, heading to the kitchens to prepare lunch. "I can't believe Wyld and the others would choose me. I've only been here for two days."

"But you've done great work in two days. You're getting on so well with the others and all the healers have said great things about your work. I'm so proud of you."

"The leader said the same," said Mina, slowing down. Several students passed by, some nodding and some smiling at her. One of the girls, who had bleached blonde hair with green tips, pressed something into her hand before running off. Mina opened her fist. It was a sweet. "She said I'm a great asset to the team. She said great things are in store for me."

"That's very exciting, Mina. She doesn't say that to many people."

"I don't know what I can do, though. I'm worried I won't live up to what she expects. I don't even know what great things I'm supposedly capable of."

"You've been oppressed all your life," said Vexi with a gentle smile, touching her shoulder. The students trickled away until there was only the two of them left in the long, dimly-lit corridor. "You've always been overshadowed by overachievers and nobody gave you a second glance because you weren't stellar, but that won't be the case for much longer. The leader has plans for you. She'll make you stronger, just as she has with me, and once you're through with the initiation process, we'll take March City by the storm. We'll get what we've always deserved."

"Justice for everyone. Fair share of the credits."

Vexi nodded. "And more. Those who have wronged us will pay. Their statuses will mean nothing."

"Only the ones who have done wrong?" Mina said, anxious.

"Of course. We don't hurt the innocent. That'll make us as bad as them."

Mina felt a flutter of unease like when she'd first met the leader and the leader's half-crazed words, but Vexi's conviction and kindly demeanour erased the last of the doubt. Vexi squeezed her hand, her eyes twinkling. Her side ponytail swished as she saw Mina to the infirmary.

"I won't keep you long, Mina. The healers need you, but there will be a meeting tonight and it'll be interesting if you came."

"Oh?" Mina said, not without a trace of excitement. It sounded important. She knew she could contribute very little but it would be a great opportunity to see how the older ones worked in this organisation and what future plans they had in store. Perhaps if she knew more, she could better persuade Ari to join the good cause. "I'd love to come."

"Great. I'll come get you at about six then. Work hard!"

Mina nodded and smiled, waving to Vexi, who then disappeared round the next corner. She popped the sweet the two-toned girl had gifted her into her mouth. It was sweet, strawberry-like. Feeling the bubble of success rise in her chest, Mina grinned to herself and entered through one of the battered sliding doors to the infirmary.

The smell of antiseptics hit her. Fumbling for a hairband in her pocket, she then tied her long brown hair back in a top bun. Healers – no more than students who knew a little about medicine and how to bandage wounds – shuffled to and fro, bottles and bloodied wraps in their hands. Injured students lay on the makeshift beds, glorified benches draped in dirtied linen. No curtains separated them, depriving them of all dignity. The light was dim and yellow, but it was enough to see by. A few had torches around their necks to aid their stitching and wound inspection.

A few patients nearby groaned. Two hadn't been seen to yet. One had a bad burn down one side of his arm, which was still fresh and weeping. He covered his eyes with his uninjured one, breathing with shallow gasps.

Mina slipped on a barely-clean apron and grabbed a bottle of antiseptic and a clean cloth. Slipping on plastic gloves, she then made her way to the side of his bed.

"What happened?" she said in a soft voice. "Let me see your arm."

She recognised him. It was Myo, a student from class 1C. He rolled it out obediently. Mina sucked in a breath, seeing the extent of the injury. It was bigger than the size of her hand, spanning the outside of the boy's arm and elbow. The skin was bright red, almost unnaturally so, like the contents of a chemical bottle, and bumpy all over, peppered with dirt. It reminded her of the time when Ari thought it was a good idea to order a kilogram of peeled tomatoes to make salad and then proceeded to eat them all when she decided it was too much work to prepare. Half an hour later she'd emptied most of it into the sink.

The edges weren't clear, turning into blotches of dark red and brown before melting into undamaged skin. The smell of burned flesh made the hairs in her nose tingle. Mina swallowed, keeping her face neutral. Her hands trembled as she pulled the remains of his sleeve back.

"What happened?" she said again.

"Ex-explosion," croaked the boy, not moving his hand. "Please.... It hurts like hell."

"I'll do my best. Just relax."

Mina hurried over to the drugs cabinet and brought out a bottle. Popping two pills out, she returned the container and returned to bedside. She gave it to the boy, who swallowed gratefully before leaning back with a groan. His face was white as the polished school buildings, shiny like the metal of her work desk at home. Soaking the cloth in the antiseptic, she wrung it dry and held it near the wound.

"Hang tight," she said. The boy nodded.

She pressed it against his flesh. He shuddered, before screaming. His voice echoed through the chambers. A few of the other patients stirred, whimpering. Mina kept pressing on it despite the boy's struggles. Eventually he relaxed somewhat, his breathing still rapid and shallow. Mina's hands shook. She gritted her teeth. It was only the second day here, but it seemed there was always work to be done. She opened the cupboard beside her and brought out the healing spray. Mina shook it. The hollow sound told her there was very little left.

She lifted up the cloth. The wound was brighter but most of the dirt had stuck to the cloth and came away. With a trembling hand, she sprayed it. A shiny substance coated the wound, forming a resilient layer against any airborne pathogens. The edges closed a little. The healing process had begun.

"You'll be fine," said Mina, a little breathless herself. The boy groaned. "The painkillers will settle in soon and just try and rest."

He nodded, covering his face again.

"What happened – what explosion did you mean?"

"I stood too c-close to someone else. They surged."

Mina's mouth fell open. She'd never seen it happen before, but it was something she'd always worried would happen to Ari, considering how often energy peaked and troughed in her core thanks to her ability. It was one of the great hazards of being powerful and high-ranked. She'd never given a thought to other people who might be hurt as a result of it, though.

"I got lucky," said the boy in a quiet voice. He sniffed. "A few of my friends nearby... they were turned to ashes. I stood right at the back."

"I'm sorry. I'm so glad you made it though."

"They said it's a consequence we all may have to face... I just hope it doesn't happen to me when I'm here."

"All?" Mina said, confused. "I thought—"

"Mina! We need your help!"

Mina hurriedly stashed the bottle and dirtied cloth on the side and ran to the other side of the infirmary. Someone else was being brought in through the double doors, hoisted by two students.

"What happened?" asked the head healer, directing Mina and Plea, another healer girl, to help move the injured onto a bed. The girl had long thin burns that ran almost parallel to each other up and down her body. Her body gave a spasm every so often, her eyes continuing to roll. Her breaths would stop and then start.

"Peacekeepers," said one. "They caught her trying to steal food supplies from Area Five. Took her to a corner and asked her to confess. Said she couldn't possibly be stealing ten loafs of bread for her family and thought she must be doing it for other people, too."

The head healer stabilised the girl's head and instructed Plea to tilt her head back, opening her airway. Mina moved in with oxygen prongs and put them in her nose.

"Yara said she wasn't, but they didn't believe her. They dragged her further out of sight, one of the back alleys, and started beating her. Said if she didn't confess, they'd beat her till she did or die."

"These are electric rod injuries?" said Mina, repulsed. The welts looked crisp and painful, although Yara barely acknowledged the stimulus when Mina examined them. The burns were deep.

"They're the least of our worries right now. She's seizing. I don't have the medications to terminate the circuits in her brain. Best we can do is put her to sleep and see if she wakes."

"If she wakes?" said the other person who had brought Yara in, horrified. "You mean she mightn't make it?"

"I can't promise anything. We're too low on medications right now."

"We should take her to Area One," said Mina. One of them snorted at her.

"And what would they do? Probably send for Peacekeepers to arrest her. Even if Yara wasn't caught, she doesn't have the credits – none of us do – to get the healthcare we need. They'll leave us to die. We're not worth anything."

Mina was taken aback. She remembered visiting Ari in Area One when she'd been hospitalised after her ability exam against Lira, and the healers there were so good to her. So much high technology feeding her the medicines and chemicals she needed to recuperate. The sprays healed the skin injuries immediately and the fractures were straightened by robotic manipulation and more medications. She hadn't realised it took so many credits to receive treatment like that.

The head healer administered a drug into Yara's veins. Her body relaxed; her eyelids closed. She slumped, her breathing finally slow and steady. Her friends' faces were pinched, glancing at each other in worry.

"Nothing we can do now. Best to leave her be. She'll wake if she can. Otherwise she's as good as gone. Get back to work, Mina, Plea."

Mina gave the comatose girl a last glance. March City truly didn't care for the underachievers. She felt these people's rage. If only there was more she could do.

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