Page 6 of Rite of Unity

Thepapercutwassmallenough that I could ignore it.Synth was forgiving that way, smoother than the paper it had replaced.I did, meticulously thumbing through the pages of the report I’d found on my desk when I walked in this morning.Beside it, a new trainee waited.Grace.

Outside, pink clouds hung heavy, threatening rain.If it didn't pass soon, I wouldn't have enough time to get ready.

Rows of identical desks stretched the length of the floor, more empty than not.

“Maryn?”

“Hmm?”I looked up.

Grace was frowning at the report I’d placed in front of her.“How will I know if the person did what the report says?”

“Here, let me show you.”I beckoned her closer so she could read my report with me.

“First, go through each of the witness statements.Anyone can make a report against a neighbor or business, but without at least three witness statements to corroborate it, it gets filed.”

I scanned lower and pointed to the first witness statement.“Mr.Steele reported seeing lights on inside Joe’s store on a Monday.”

“The second witness, Mr.Potter,” I said, tapping the page, “thought he saw Joe entering his shop that same day.”

I ran a finger over the cut on the pad of my index finger and read the third witness account.

“Delilah Mathews saw a group of people outside Joe’s store on Monday, April thirteenth, and was certain Joe was there, handing out food.By the looks of their clothes, they were Lowers.”

I shook my head.“It doesn’t seem likely that there would be Lowers in the Middle.Besides, everyone knows Delilah can’t see all that well anymore.”

“So we file it?”

I re-read the account.

The irony was that if someone else had reported this infraction, it would have been damning testimony.Enough to strip Joe of his business license and send him to the Lower.But Delilah’s word carried less weight than Mr.Steele’s or Mr.Potter’s.

“Three witnesses are all that are required to request a field audit.Let’s request it.”

I stamped the file.

“Maryn.”

I jumped and looked up.“Hi Corrine.”

“What are you doing?”

I glanced back down at the report on my desk.“Prepping this file for a field audit.”

Her thin lips turned downward.“That’s work for one of the investigators.You saw the report.Only two credible witnesses.”

“If you already read it, why did you give it to me?”

Her frown morphed into a scowl.“To file.”

She moved closer to my desk, glancing around our open industrial office space.

Grace stared between us, and I stiffened, clutching the paper in my hands.

“So we file it?”Grace asked.

My grip tightened as my gaze fell on Corrine’s faded white dress.She must have stopped buying new ones by now.At twenty-seven, she had less than six months left to find a match.After that, she’d be reassigned to the Lower—or worse, sent outside the wall.My eyes dipped to her shoes, brown from years of field work before she’d been promoted to supervisor.

I could only imagine how scared she must be.In a few months, one way or the other, her life would change.