Water in Shaft 37

“Because it’s not for everyone,” he said, and his voice finally broke. “It’s for the selected.” That was when the stadium loudspeaker cut out. After a beat of silence, another voice took over the system: “Citizens, please leave the area immediately. Cooling point capacity has been reached. Unregistered persons must return to their districts and await the next notice.” The next notice. Again. The crowd snapped. Lin looked toward the entrance and saw people beginning to shove road barriers aside. Some were grabbing volunteers by the shirts, demanding the names on the list. Some were throwing bottled water back out of the trucks, as if they could reclaim by force what had been denied by paperwork.