“Wrong again, Lance Corporal!” Sam yells. “This is Captain Yossarian. I imagine you’ve heard of him—he’s become quite famous following the Battle of Midway Park, where he single-handedly killed fourteen, that’s fourteen, Missing soldiers, after saving Galen Rye himself from the explosion that surely would have ended his life. The disrespect you have shown is staggering, sunshine, staggering. To call the famous Captain Yossarian a Regular because of the injuries he sustained in protecting our leader … I’m speechless! What’s your name?”

The Alt soldier looks down at the road, shamefaced. “Lance Corporal Bisset, ma’am,” he mutters.

“And you?” Sam asks, turning her attention to the female soldier, who has fallen silent.

“Lance Corporal Selassi, ma’am.”

“And who is your commanding officer?”

“Lieutenant Johnstone,” she replies.

“Lieutenant Johnstone,” Sam repeats. “Yes, I know Lieutenant Johnstone. I think he’d be very interested to hear about the insolence displayed by two of his platoon.”

Bisset turns to me and snaps off a smart salute. “Captain Yossarian, sir,” he barks, “I apologize for my insubordination and lack of knowledge. I will accept any and all punishment that you see fit, sir!”

I try to mimic the salute and almost poke myself in the eye.

“Um, Captain Yossarian is still recovering from the injuries he sustained in Midway and we have to be going,” Sam says, shoving me forward. “We’ll let you off on this occasion, but in the future, try to be more aware of who you are speaking to, okay? Goodbye.”

Sam pushes me along the street, past the soldiers and toward the train station.

“Yossarian?” I say under my breath, remembering the main character from one of my favorite books.

“I panicked!” Sam says, stifling a laugh. “I just read Catch-22.”

“How good is Catch-22?” I extol, far too enthusiastically.

“Not now, drunky. We have to get out of here.”

We move quickly, the sounds of more soldiers, gravity engines, and drones seemingly coming from all directions now.

We take a left and are met by the sound of an Alt soldier yelling orders somewhere nearby. We run, sprinting down alleyways and streets, moving left, then right, then right again.

We’re close to the platform now, and from here I can see the lights of an empty waiting train.

I hear rapid beeping sounds that mean the City Train’s doors are about to shut, and we race for the platform. Sam makes it on to the train just as the doors begin to slide toward each other. I’m right behind her, but in my desperation, my feet get tangled up in each other and I fall. I hit the ground but use my forward momentum to roll over my shoulder between the closing doors and make it through.