The passage of time is clearer here than in Neo Elysium. The sun rises and sets as the day progresses, bonded by the shifting of the earth rather than clocks that dictate when the dark grey sky is night and when it is day. Time feels woven into their skin with their new clothing. As exhausted as they were to rise so early in the morning, the hot sun prickling down on their exposed hands warms them to the day.

Harvey himself is bound too. The kitchen is where his roots lay. He is stuck in the heat as both he and a worker with droopy eyes and a silent mouth work together. The oven cooks them in the kitchen, and Harvey's shirt clings to his body wet with sweat by mid-afternoon.

He watches time progress in the kitchen. He reads a recipe book, flipping more and more pages as he goes. He doesn't know how to cook with raw ingredients like these. Most of everything he's eaten is pre-cooked or artificially grown. Meats from pea-try dishes and vegetables under heat lamps. The minutes tick by as he turns pages of the cook book.

He gets better at slicing different things. Onions make him cry. He helps to make more loaves of bread following a recipe. The worker will not let Harvey touch the meat. He realizes from the recipe book that meats need to be cooked to different temperatures, but he's not entirely sure what products are made from which meats. The children of Cocta can never afford to go to school, and they could never afford meat anyway. Living in The Sticks, no meat he ever purchased required an internal temperature reading.

The passage of time is most clear as the other convicts come in. Huffing, they ask for water, and Harvey obliges. He feeds them lunch, making sandwiches that each of the three groups scarfs down at different intervals. There are no protein bars or heat and ready meals or anything stocked. The convicts come in and eat and eat and eat, never full. Harvey cannot tell if it's the hard work that's causing their ravenous behaviours, the smoky new flavours of the cheese, or the fluffy texture of the bread. Maybe it's their bodies. Harvey too feels hungrier than usual. They choke down water between harsh bites, and he does too.

Mid-afternoon, he hears commotion outside.

For the most part, they were working. Kae and Gale didn't stop. Eurydice is not an actress but given her line of work, she's used to appearing inconspicuous. Benji gave her grief for it, but she only snarled at him. It's fine. All of it is acceptable.

It was not fine for Gale. He didn't know how to speak to anyone. If it were up to him, he'd have gone back to the cabin and punched a bunkbed until the wood splintered, but Harvey would be on his ass if he did, and Gale thought he might be even more scared of Harvey than Eurydice.

The little girl beside him must have been just as scared. She jumped at everything.

In the next group, stuck in the middle of the corn, Titus forced himself to work hard. He got screwed by his group assignment as was common in the school he attended in his youth. Cosmia asked questions, far too many of them, and the farmhand never answered. Norbu was a fast worker, easily distracted with conjuring answers for her. It was as if the week or whatever of silence he spent in the panopticon had caused a build of pressure.

Titus hadn't felt that need to speak. When he was told to shut up, he turned himself off quite easily.

"I bet Ace would know," Norbu answered when Cosmia asked about why the peas only grow on trellises "He's into plants. You should ask him."

"Ace is an idiot," Cosmia rolled her eyes.

Norbu gasped dramatically, "that can't be. He bets on me in fights."

"Everyone does," Cosmia smiled just a bit though. "Even idiots."

Together, they compiled a list of things to do. Both of them had more endurance than Titus naturally. He threw himself into work, shucking corn as fast as he could until his fingers started to bleed. Then, he bit at his thumb, tasting the coppery feeling of the blood. Then, he kept going.

The final group contained Calath, who knew she was supposed to be working hard but couldn't stop tapping the irrigation system. The water doesn't come on the entire time she is out there. It might be a pipe blockage somewhere. She presses her face into the dirt and listens to the pipes.

The metal is hollow. Even if there is a blockage, something inside it, there isn't something with thoughts and feelings and software and electricity. There isn't Dovey hiding anywhere.

Rhiannon Rose lounged about. Earlier, she had stood with her head resting on a rake. Now, she just stands, rake long gone, not even feigning exhaustion. Not that she needed to act. Rhiannon Rose was tired. She lagged like old computer software, slowed like a computer that needed an update.

She didn't wear a hat, unlike Faris and Calath. It looked stupid, which wasn't really the point. Even with her sunburnt and her skin stinging and tight, she liked the warm feeling of fire on her scalp. It had never occurred to her the sun was hiding from them in Neo Elysium. Now here, she was free to burn all she wanted.

Faris found it nothing but frustrating. It still is frustrating after lunch. Calath won't work, and neither does Rhiannon Rose, who had gone for water four times since lunch. It's just Faris stuck digging into the dirt, copying the farm hands depth and putting in the seed. He tries to make casual conversation, but nothing comes of it. He's never met anyone from The ROM or Serment before, but he's heard of their languages. Most refugees from The ROM are illiterate and mute. Rumour is that the government cuts out the tongues of rebels. Or maybe it's just the lower class. Nobody could be sure. Refugees from The Serment mostly don't understand English. The language is reserved for government officials and upper businessmen. The Commonfolk and all the women speak a revived version of Latin. Faris tries one of the only religious phrases he knows in Latin and is only met with gaunt cheeks and blank eyes.

Maybe they aren't refugees. Maybe they aren't allowed to talk to the Convicts, just as they've been told not to talk to the farmers.

A cloud passes over, and the world dims. Faris feels the thing behind him, tall and mighty casting a shadow. It's the panopticon. It always is the panopticon. He shouldn't have spoken. He should never speak again, never hear a loud sound.

Rhiannon Rose closes her eyes, feeling the cool of the shadow. She does not like a sunburn.

The sun returns. She's so hot. Maybe she's dying.

Faris starts to move just as Rhiannon Rose crashes to the ground. Before Faris can turn to look, the farmhand is sprinting away.

"Shit," Faris manages. His words constrict his mind. There is no talking in the panopticon. There is no talking in the Panopticon.

He hurries to Rhiannon Rose's side. His body casts a shadow over her pink skin. She mumbles something, rolling her head deliriously across the dirt. Rhiannon Rose's eyes are closed too, but he can see how her eyes move back and forth beneath their lids.

"Fuck," he manages again, then turns his head to look toward the farm. He's got to scream. Can he even make a sound loud enough? "Help!"

They couldn't be further away from the farm.

Down in the corn, Norbu turns his head. Titus doesn't hear the shouting over the blood pounding in his head. His fingers are bleeding terribly now, the nailbeds destroyed. Cosmia freezes but only moves her head when she hears Ace scream a second time. They probably aren't far off.

"Fuck," Norbu says. He leaps into action, dropping the tool belt and chucking his wide-brimmed hat. He darts through the corn, skidding his shoes into the dirt to rapidly turn a corner.

Cosmia turns and runs toward the farm.

The farthest group barely hears their calls. Eurydice grins, taking the panicked look on the farmhand's face as an opportunity to rest. Gale looks at Kae, before sprinting toward the sound of help. Kae's blood runs cold, even under the hot sun. She sneaks around to a different row of trellis, crouching in the dirt in case the threat comes closer. She needs to practice hiding more often. It was never important before. Only her Dad ever saw her, and even then he didn't see her properly. He wore a convex lens.

Norbu gets to the scene first. Faris is trying to pick up Rhiannon Rose. She groans as he touches her. The skin on her wrists is burning, and her clothes are as damp as if he dumped water over her head. Rhiannon Rose knows how to burn, after all, and only consequently does she know how to put out a fire.

All Norbu sees is Faris dragging an unconscious girl after someone called for help.

He tackles Faris off of Rhiannon Rose. The two sprawl into the dirt, landing on a bed where Faris had just laid seeds. Faris struggles with his hands to try and grab Norbu and push him off, but of course, he's no match for Dorjee. With his hands pinned above his head with one hand, his legs pinched together between Norbu's thighs, and Norbu's fist wrapped around the collar of Faris' shirt, he's got nowhere to run.

"Is this what you're in jail for, huh?" Norbu slams Faris against the ground and his vision blurs.

"No," the hat on Faris' head dips into his face. He takes it off, chucking it away. "No, she just fainted. I'm a con artist."

Norbu glances back at Rhiannon Rose, who groans on the ground. He lets go of Faris.

"We need to get her to the farmhouse," Norbu decides. He gets up and offers Faris a hand.

Faris takes it.

~~~

Cosmia barrels into the farmhouse, stumbling through the door. Her body is too tired to run like this. There is no control over her movements, and a lack of control is what led to her being here in the first place. The room seems to spin around her.

Harvey looks up from his pile of dishes to see her, stumbling. Recognizing when a cog needs to be oiled is an important part of Clockwork's job. Looking at her askew hat and her hands that reach for the wall as she tips to the side, he knows this isn't something water and food can fix.

"What is it?" he asks.

"Get the farmer," she says.

"What is it?" he repeats.

Cosmia throws a hand up in the air, "I don't fucking know, Clockwork. Do something!"

He throws down his rag and heads up the stairs, where he last saw Benji. There is more than one corridor as far as he can see, and from the top of the stairs, he knows there are at least half a dozen doors.

"Mullins!" he shouts. "We got trouble."

~~~

The spaces between the pea plants aren't made for running through. Gale has torn his shirt in two places on the trellises, and his face stings from running through a section of corn before he found a clear path. He is about to get to the vegetables when he spots them. Norbu and Titus, holding Rhiannon Rose each with one hand under their arm.

"Shit," he says. He looks around. "Where's your farmhand? And the weird girl?"

"No idea," Titus grunts. At some point, Calath had slipped away too.

Rhiannon Rose is awake. Vaguely, she is aware she's being moved. The whole world is spinning, and she just wants to lie down. She researched fire whirls once and had always dreamt of seeing one. Feeling one is not as pleasant as she had hoped. The fingers of the men that drag her poke through her arms like sharp pinpricks. She opens her eyes, the bright sun hits her face, and she goes slack again.

"Get her feet," Norbu groans as Rhiannon Rose's weight shifts.

Gale rushes over.

~~~

Benji steps out of his office door. He sees Harvey at the top of the stairs, waiting. Then, he pulls his keys out of his pocket, shaking as he locks the door.

"Something wrong?" he asks.

In major accidents, it's best to stay calm. When Benji was going to follow his father's footsteps into the mines, he learned about how to manage disasters. He saw enough then. Men with crushed legs, missing teeth, and lungs that cough up black muck.

His hands still can't stop shaking.

"I don't know," Harvey replies, not breaking eye contact with the farmer. Not breaking anything, especially not the rules. "Nightingale ran in panicked."

"Cosmia," Benji corrects.

Harvey nods his head.

Benji locks up the office and shoves the keys in a pocket on his pants that he can zip shut. He hurries down the stairs past Harvey. Cosmia is leaning her back against the wall, pressing the bag of her hand to her forehead. He kneels in front of her, pulling her hand away from her body.

"You doing well, Miss Quartz?" he puts his fingers on the inside of her wrist.

Cosmia blinks behind her eyelashes looking at him. His rough hands, his lips mouthing numbers. He's counting. Maybe Calath was right to suggest that people in Neo Elysium assume the North Marcantians are stupid, but not Benjamin Mullins. He's solid, certain, and she's in his world.

And he's got freckles.

"It's a hot day out," he looks outside. "I should've had you do a half day, people like you are not used to the heat, are you?"

The stairs creak with Harvey's weight. Cosmia pulls her hand away from Benji.

"There's some commotion," she says. "Ace was calling for help."

Benji stands up properly. He brushes his hair out of his face and hurries out to the farm.

He slips past the early rows of trellis. Kae watches him, perched in between the trellises. She closes her eyes and she can hear the things jangling as he moves. Metal, lots of it. Keys maybe, but not just keys. He jogs, and every step makes sound.

Eurydice leans on a trellis with one elbow, watching Benji walk past. She hisses at him as he walks away, and he doesn't even turn around. Her anger rises in her face and she kicks the trellis. The wood thunks, dull and heavy, not cracking. Eurydice curls her hand into a first, refusing to wince at the pain. She had thought the wood would splinter under her force. Nothing out here looks like it's made of good materials.

Once he's in the corn, Benji hears chatter to his left. He cups his hands over his mouth and shouts, "Faris! Need help?"

"Over here!" Norbu answers, shouting before Faris can. They're barely halfway through the corn, dragging her and dragging her further. "Ginger's unconscious!"

Benji hurries toward a bend in the path. He's going to need to make them go over names with each other so people actually can tell him what's going on. He's not as familiar with the aliases as he should be.

Finally, he reaches them. Moving Rhiannon Rose hundreds of meters was arduous, and all three men feel more like liquid than solid. Benji hurries over to her, touching her forehead. She whispers something. Her voice is thinner than smoke in the air. Benji leans over and snatches a water bottle off Gale's pack. He tests the liquid on his own wrists, too hot to do much good. Still, he uncaps it and dumps it over her.

Rhiannon Rose sputters.

"What are you-"

"She's got heat stroke," Benji points out. "I can send for a doctor, but there's no point. Norbu, you like to run. Tell everyone to get inside the farmhouse. We're calling it early today. Gale and Faris, we're going to drag her back inside. Once we're all together, I'll tell y'all what to do if this happens again."

The men nod, and they split off.

Norbu doesn't mind running, even in the heat. He takes off his shirt and ties it around his waist, feeling the breeze in the air. He finds Titus first, telling him to go inside.

Titus sighs in relief. His hands are tinted red, with both wet and dried blood. Norbu tosses him his shirt. Titus doesn't grab it, letting it drop to the floor.

"So unsanitary," Titus manages.

Norbu laughs, "yeah, bet you'll love getting an infection from the chemicals on the plants in your cuts."

He darts off, and in his wake, Titus picks up the t-shirt, wrapping it over his hands.

Slowly, Norbu collects everyone. He finds Calath deep into the vegetable patch. She has her face pressed against a metal pipe to listen, a red across her ear and cheekbone from where the metal burnt her skin. Norby tells her to come inside and she seems to listen. Then, Norbu finds Eurydice and Kae and tells them they can be done. Eurydice scowls at him and he blows her a kiss. Slowly but surely, all of them are gathered in the sitting room where Benji disrupted the clothes.

They chatter and whisper about the events in the field for barely a minute. They've gathered by the couches, sitting on the cushions, on the sides of them, hovering behind them. Faris and Gale come in just a few seconds after Calath wanders into the room, and then Benji is short behind them. All of the convicts rest in one side of the room, and he stands opposite them all.

"It's hot," Benji says. "Rhiannon Rose is going to be okay. We've got her upstairs in a cold bath. Let's hope it's just heat exhaustion and not heat stroke."

"I thought the sun was only toxic in the south," Cosmia pipes in for the group. "Like Underpass City?"

"It is," Benji rubs his chin, staring at the group. "Now the sun ain't exactly the problem, not entirely. It's the heat out there. If you get too hot your body can't handle it. Heat exhaustion is not good, but if you get heat stroke you can have seizure, go into a coma, and worse stuff, all right everyone?

"Wear hats, reapply your sunscreen every two hours, every hour if you are sweating, and no matter how hot you get don't take off your clothes and expose more skin to the sun. And for fuck's sake drink water. Cold water. You can get it in the farmhouse."

Benji rests his back on the doorframe. He looks at all of them. Each and every young delinquent thinks they have their lives sorted out. Obviously, they don't. The delusion is one he wishes he could convince himself to believe. He knows his life is a mess. Nothing in Benji's entire history has ever gone right, and all these young people are depending on him. Now Rhiannon Rose is sick, and Benji has never been very good at taking care of the ill.

Look where his sister's gone.

"I failed y'all, and I'm sorry," Benji points out. "I told you lot to ask me questions, but I should've asked you questions too. Let you know about the heat and all. Take the rest of the day off. We'll get started earlier tomorrow so no one is working in the heat of the mid-day. We'll do something nice to celebrate you're arrival and the first successful day then."

With that, he leaves the room. And once again, it is just the delinquents.

Everything has always gone wrong in their lives too. How else would they have ended up in North Marcanty?

~~~~~

This is the first chapter in a while that I feel genuinely proud of. I think I need to do more proof-reading, because even though I hate it I think this is way better than it was originally. Also, does this have more or less mystery? I think maybe every book I write is a mystery, but maybe all good books are. Let me know what you think as always in the comments.

What do you think Benji has planned for the group?