Climbing trees, I peer inside the different sized wooden boxes I nailed to the trunks. They look like deformed houses for gremlins rather than homes for animals which no longer exist. Climbing trees is my favourite part of coming to the woods. Not because I expect to find any animals living in these boxes but because I love being high up. Even after several falls I'm still not put off; the rush overrides any fear.

To avoid questions on who was accompanying me to the woods, I arrived slightly early to breakfast. My plan worked. I shovelled my food down so fast I was finished before my parents and Mattan had sat down. Saying goodbye, I managed to dodge any questions. The only problem is Zach hasn't turned up. He probably never planned on coming but I stupidly believed him.

Why would he want to meet up with me? He probably has loads more exciting Techie things to do.

'What exactly are they?' A voice interrupts my thoughts.

Startled, I slip but manage to find a groove in the trunk to wedge my foot in while grabbing a large branch above me.

I really don't want to fall on my butt in front of him.

Inhaling deeply, I steady my shaking hands and say breathlessly, 'This is a bat house.'

'If you fall, am I allowed to catch you?' Zach asks, half smiling as he stares up at me from the ground.

I quickly climb down and jump the last part. 'No. Even if both my legs are broken and I can't walk, I don't want you to ever touch me,' I say, making direct eye contact to enforce my point. 'Understand?'

'Ok, I get it. No touching.' He laughs.

He's wearing dark blue jeans and a black t-shirt, the clothes mould to his body. How does he put them on without ripping them? And how is he not suffocating in all that tightness? Strapped to his wrist is a little screen. Maybe a watch, possibly something else that does Techie stuff. Stuff I haven't got a clue about. He raises an eyebrow. I've been staring for too long, again. I need to stop doing that. His ego is already too big.

'I've also made bee, beetle and birdhouses,' I gesture at the other trees holding the deformed gremlin, I mean animal boxes which are positioned at different levels. Pointing to a wooden box with a small tunnel attached to it at the base of a tree, I say, 'That's for porcupines.'

'You do know there haven't been sightings of any of those animals in more than a decade.' Zach looks amused.

'We survived, so there's a chance some of them did.' I shrug.

He's right. My project is pointless. I'm fully aware of this as is everyone else. My main reason for coming to the woods is to escape my settlement. I crave a day which isn't spent with my parents in the cabin or sitting with my friends in The Rec having the same conversations and listening to Axel, Brielle and Suki perform their band's two songs which they've been playing for the last three years.

He bends down to inspect the porcupine box. 'Who made all of these?'

'Me. I read about them in a DIY animal habitat book and recreated them from the pictures.'

'That's impressive. They must have taken you ages.'

'Not long. I'm good with my hands...' My voice tapers off as his mouth curls in amusement.

'I bet you are.' He smirks.

What does that even mean? Probably something crude and disgusting.

'If you're going to help, you can start checking the boxes for signs of life,' I say over my shoulder as I climb a gnarled tree. Once I get to the top, I stop and look down to see Zach attempting to climb a tree, but his tight jeans make it difficult and his lack of technique means while I climb down from this tree and climb up my second, he's still not a metre off the ground on his first.

'Maybe next time wear something a little less restrictive,' I say flatly.

'I'll focus on the boxes at ground level today,' Zach says, brushing his hands together.

'I've already checked all of them.' I roll my eyes. 'The tree you can't climb is the last one I need to check.' I walk past him, climb the tree look inside the empty box and return to the ground. 'I'm all done.'

'Walk with me,' Zach says.

'Why?' I frown.

'Why not? I doubt you're desperate to go back after a week of no school and being stuck in your settlement. ' He smiles knowingly.

Am I that easy to read?

'You're not the only one who gets bored.' His eyes hold mine for a moment and his voice softens, 'Walk with me?'

'Ok,' I sigh. 'Not near my settlement though.'

The last thing I need is gossip about me and a Techie boy being seen together. The comments were bad enough when my parents said I could venture into the woods with Suki. As we walk, I listen to the rustle of the leaves around us and the soft crunch of fallen leaves underfoot. The bell of my settlement sounds in the distance but I don't count the chimes, I don't want to know what they think I should be doing.

The silence surrounds us. What should I say? What do teenagers who don't know each other talk about?

'Do you think there are many woods left?' I ask. Great conversation starter, well done me!

'Not many. I think they burnt most of them down before they found out it was easier to poison all the animals.' Zach looks up at the sky, parts of it visible between the gaps in the branches and leaves crowding above us.

'Not much hope for my project then,' I mutter.

'We also apparently started killing each other too but like you said, some of us managed to survive so you never know.'

I small smile creeps onto my lips. 'Did you know decomposition takes a lot longer now there are no insects? There are probably piles of half-rotten dead bodies out there,' I say as a shiver runs down my spine.

I wonder if my biological parents' bodies are out there slowly rotting. Would I be able to see any family resemblance between us, even after all these years?

'They burnt the dead bodies. They still do if they ever find any. One of the jobs available in our settlement is expedition detail. You get to travel to the local area searching for useful items, signs of life and occasionally they come across bodies.' Zach runs his hand through his hair, the strands curl around his finger and I want to touch them, feel them. I clench my hands into fists.

Don't be stupid.

'How do you manage to grow so much food without insects?' Zach asks.

'We dress up as our favourite pollinator and run around the fields rubbing ourselves against plants to transfer pollen,' I say with a straight face.

'And that works?' Zach frowns, completely bemused.

'Of course, it does.' I hold back the laughter, but his increasingly perplexed face means I can't hold it back any longer. I snort loudly. Yep, that's embarrassing.

Zach must realise my snort was in fact meant to be laughter and he rolls his eyes.

I add, 'Most of what we grow doesn't rely on insect pollination. The few crops that do, the pollen is transferred with brushes. It's one of the more specialised field jobs, but I'm looking to go into carpentry. I think I'd go mad working in a field all day.' 

I press my lips together. I don't know why I'm telling him so much. Maybe, it's because I know he won't disapprove. I won't have to face him every day knowing he thinks I'm ungrateful because that's what everyone thinks, you should be grateful to be alive. But simply living is not enough. I want to laugh, to feel joy, to experience something other than mundane living.

'They'd be stupid not to allocate you to carpentry with your skills,' Zach says.

'Thanks,' I say confused. What does he mean allocate? We always choose what work we go into, though the choices are limited. 'What about you? When do you start working?'

'Soon. I'm hoping to go into programming.'

'Programming,' I repeat, trying to sound like I understand what that is but I can hear the doubt in my voice.

'It's a type of language which we use to communicate with machines and instruct them what to do.'

'Oh, ok. Sounds like fun.' I'm even more baffled about what he's referring to. How do inanimate objects communicate let alone have their own language?

'Have you ever used anything electronic?' Zach looks amused.

'Yes,' I respond too quickly. I may as well admit I'm lying.

'Like what?' He arches an eyebrow, and I know he doesn't believe me because it turns out my acting skills aren't as great as I thought they were.

'Light switches,' I say uncertainly.

Zach bursts into laughter so loud it echoes through the wood. I cross my arms in front of my chest and frown. He's so annoying.

'I'm sorry,' He says, still grinning. 'You really don't use anything electronic?'

'No.' I stop walking and face him, feeling the need to explain myself. 'The Naturalists founders believed Virulence was created by people meddling in science and technology which was beyond their understanding, which is why it caused such devastation and couldn't be stopped. So they set up our settlement and choose to live a simple life, back to basics, no technology. They said it influences us and is the root cause of all problems.'

'What do you think?' Zach steps closer to me, and I step back to maintain the distance between us. A flicker of amusement passes across his face, an emotion he seems to feel a lot around me. I'm a joke to him.

'I don't know enough about technology to know what it's capable of.' I shrug. 'However, I wouldn't be surprised if Virulence was created in a lab somewhere. It's unlike any other pathogen seen before. The genetics are so different to anything observed or recorded before and the rate of mutation would have had to be incredibly fast for it to have evolved from another pathogen, impossibly fast, so I doubt its creation was purely due to a case of natural processes. The latest findings show Virulence can alter its DNA to avoid detection and attack the immune system. That's amazing, deadly, but still amazing. There's no evidence of the mechanisms it's using occurring in any other life form at any point in history.'

'For someone who is meant to reject modern science and technology you are pretty knowledgeable on the science behind Virulence.' Zach takes another step closer.

'Just because I don't use it doesn't mean I can't be interested in its findings.' I take another step away.

This is ridiculous!

Zach has no idea how to maintain a suitable distance. I start walking again, continually assessing how close Zach is so I can ensure there's a suitable space between us. 'What are you interested in? Apart from encroaching on people's personal space.'

'It's hard not to encroach into someone's personal space when it has the circumference of a small country,' Zach shoots back.

I press my lips together. Don't give him the satisfaction of rising to his comment.

'Music,' Zach says eventually.

'What instrument do you play?' I kick at the ground, a layer of sludge and leaves stick to the tips of my shoes.

'I don't play, I listen to it. A few years ago, someone set up a program where people could upload the music they brought with them into the settlement so everyone could access it. Thousands of songs have been saved. All of them made before the outbreak, recorded ones.' Zach pulls out a pair of circular balls attached to a long wire and offers the small ball. I stare at his fingers, wondering what it is. Yet, even if I knew, I can't take it without touching him. He sighs, 'Hold out your hand.'

Hesitantly, I outstretch my hand, cupping it slightly and he drops the ball into my palm. My fingers close around the object which has a hard centre and a squishy cover. I inspect it closely, still no closer to figuring out what it is. Is this going to be something crude and disgusting? Probably, if I'm going off Zach's behaviour so far.

'They're headphones. Place it in your ear.' He demonstrates with another ball attached to a wire which connects to mine.

I copy him, gently pushing it into my ear. It's uncomfortable and disorientating as it muffles my hearing on one side.

'Now what?' I ask confused.

'Listen.' Zach holds a screen in his hand, pressing it a couple of times. 'I've got the perfect song for you.'

A soft sound starts and words which are not my thoughts fill my head.

"Sleeplessly embracing, butterflies and needles...

Hunger of the pines...

...I'm a female rebel."
(Hunger of The Pine, Alt J)

My breath catches at the unexpected music.

This is nothing like hearing Axel or Brielle play the guitar or Suki sing. I've never heard anything sound like this before.

This is beautiful. It's magical.

My nerve endings tingle and my muscles twitch involuntarily. My body wants to sway but I force myself to remain completely motionless, scared I'll somehow stop the music.

"I'm a female rebel...

I'm a female rebel...

I'm a female rebel..."

The sentence repeats and I remain transfixed until the song finishes.

Everything falls silent, too quiet.

'Did you like it? The songs called Hunger of the Pine, it's by a band called Alt-J.' Zach looks at me eagerly.

I blink rapidly. I'd forgotten he was here. I'd forgotten where I was. I swallow the lump in my throat and take the headphone out of my ear.

'It was beautiful,' I whisper.

He smiles widely.

Guilt slams into my chest. I've done something very wrong but I don't know what. That felt as intimate as touching, maybe more so. Staring at Zach, the urge to get away from him and create some space hits me. I'm suddenly craving the familiarity of my settlement, of routine and rules, where I'm certain of what I'm doing and feeling.

'I have to go,' I say quickly, edging backwards.

'I'll see you next Sunday.' It sounds like a statement rather than a question when he says it.

'Ok,' I respond automatically, not considering what I'm saying. I shouldn't come back. I really shouldn't.

'It's a date then.' Zach winks.

'No, it isn't,' I say firmly, shaking my head vigorously in a desperate bid to clear away the confusion and guilt I'm drowning in.

Then I do something really stupid. I run.

I run, before he can formulate a response and before I say something which will get me into further trouble. I must look like an idiot, but that doesn't stop me running faster than I've ever done before. I don't stop running until I'm home.

Racing into the bathroom, I slam the door behind me and turn on the taps. Leaning over the sink, I scrub my hands, face and ears furiously with water.

'Are you alright, Kit?' Dab calls through the bathroom door.

'I'm fine. I was desperate for the toilet,' I call back, turning off the taps.

"Remember, our water is being rationed. Once our butt runs out we'll have nothing left till next week," Dab adds before I hear him walking away.

I close my eyes and grip the sides of the sink unable to respond as my thoughts are stuck in the woods with Zach and his enchanting music machine.

Naturalists are correct. Technology is bad. Very bad.

It's already influencing and encouraging me to make bad decisions, like agreeing to go back and meet Zach when every logical part of me is saying I shouldn't.

I'm already looking forward to next Sunday.

Authors Note:

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