Grandfather

by Anthony Wade

  I was lucky to find the hilltop without Marley’s help. I sat there, legs dangling over the ledge, eyes glued to the city, wondering what Cornelius was doing. The tallest building kept drawing my attention. That had to be the Presidential Tower. He was probably surrounded by servants and luxurious items. I wondered if there was something he didn’t have, other than me.

  The kids within the wall probably had it all. They probably had their parents who took care of them, throwing a bitcoin card at every problem. No matter how hard I tried to get it out of my mind, it came up. Was Cornelius telling the truth? Was Benjamin really my dad? Did Cornelius actually have something from my father to give to me?

  Edgar and Belladonna eventually found me roaming the halls. I knew it was only a matter of time before they came looking for me.

  “Whatcha thinking?” Edgar asked.

  I looked at him as if he was stupid. “Seriously? What do you think?”

  He looked taken aback but didn’t argue with me. I think he knew I was on the edge. Belladonna gave me a comforting smile. Not even that made me feel better.

  “Your time here has been very difficult, I understand that,” she said. “I mean, first you have to deal with finding out if Grandfather exists or not. You find out they do, and Cornelius throws more questions at you. We orphans usually go our entire short life without knowing about our parents. So, I understand . . . this is a big deal.”

  I looked into her eyes. “I just want answers,” I said. “I want to know if it’s all true. It’s killing me!”

  Edgar walked closer to me. “Carsyn. You have to understand that Grandfather will do anything to get people to join their side. That damn story has people feeling sorry for Cornelius. That story showed people their president has a personal story like everybody else. After meeting you and you getting away, he’s probably trying to get to ya.”

  “Edgar’s right,” Belladonna said. “I know you don’t want to hear that.”

  Edgar actually looked a bit sad. But Belladonna was right. I definitely didn’t want to hear that.

  “You think he made it up?” I asked.

  “Most likely,” Edgar said. “If he did, it sure as hell is working.”

  I thought about the possibility of Cornelius lying. It was definitely possible, but I had to find out for myself. I turned to Belladonna. “You think Cornelius made it up?”

  She nodded as she played with her hair. “I really think so,” she told me.

  “But it’s also possible that it’s true?” I asked.

  Edgar shook his head furiously. “Not a chance,” he said.

  “How can you say that?” I argued. “If it’s possible he’s lying, then it’s also possible he’s telling the truth. You don’t know for sure, just as I don’t. Quit being that way!”

  Man, I was so angry and confused, I didn’t care about Edgar. I actually think I wanted him to argue, just so I could scream at him. He took a step back, his eyes wide. He didn’t say anything.

  I took a breath and looked at Belladonna. “What do you think?”

  She hesitated. Then, she said, “I’m not going to lie to you. It could be the truth.”

  “Belladonna,” Edgar said. “You honestly think – ”

  “We don’t know, Edgar,” Belladonna said. “We honestly don’t know. Now Robert will be going within the wall tomorrow, and hopefully he can learn more about it. I don’t think it’s true, but we don’t know.”

  I nodded. That’s what I wanted to hear: the truth. Edgar didn’t seem satisfied but he didn’t say anything about it.

  “I’ll go and see what people are saying outside of the wall,” Edgar said. “See if they’ve fallen for it too.”

  Belladonna nodded with satisfaction. She looked at me. “Patience,” she said. “You have to be patient.”

  I didn’t want to be patient. It was as if Edgar knew this. “Stay calm and don’t do anything stupid,” he told me before leaving.

  I didn’t want to talk to anybody. Too much to think about, so I kept to myself over the next week, and everyone seemed to respect that. Nobody asked me any questions or told me anything. Like me, they didn’t know what to think. I tried putting it out of my mind, but something like that just doesn’t go away easily. I hoped Robert and Edgar would have learned something new, but they never. I just couldn’t be patient. The only way to resolve my problems was to find an answer myself. As I told Belladonna before, I wanted to see or hear the truth for myself. On the hill, I told Marley and Ashton my idea.

  “You want to go back to the city?” Marley asked, loudly. “Are you crazy?”

  “Maybe,” I said. “But I have to find out.”

  Ashton placed a hand on his forehead, shaking his head. “You’d go in there, find Cornelius, maybe find the truth if he’d tell you, and then you’d probably be killed.”

  “He won’t kill me,” I said.

  “How do you know?” Marley asked. “Please, Carsyn. Tell me how you know.”

  “So you think Cornelius has been looking for me this entire time just to kill me?”

  They didn’t say anything.

  “He needs me for something,” I continued. “He either wants me because the whole story about my parents is true, or he wants me for some other reason. He needs me for something so he won’t kill me.

  They still said nothing, knowing I was right. I mean, it did make sense. It was highly unlikely that Cornelius had been searching for me just to have me killed. I would stay alive if I found him.

  “This is stupid,” Marley said. “You can’t.”

  “This is about my parents,” I argued. “This is something I have to figure out.”

  “Okay,” Marley said. “Say you do find out the truth. You think the Grand Imperial will just let you walk out . . . just like that? He’ll probably keep you there.”

  “I don’t know,” I said, honestly. It had crossed my mind, but for some reason, that was the least of my worries. I’d worry about that when the time came. “At least he won’t have me killed. I can find a way out.”

  Marley shook her head in anger, her hands on her hips. “And what makes you think that?” Marley asked. She turned around and looked at the sky. “This is stupid.”

  “Carsyn,” Ashton said slowly. “This is probably all a part of his plan. He’s probably trying to lure you in.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe,” I said. “But once again, I have to figure it out for myself. I’m gonna go crazy down here if I don’t figure it out. Do you know how much sleep I’ve gotten?”

  Ashton looked more worried than angry. He looked at me as if he felt sorry for me. I didn’t like being looked at that way.

  “Okay,” Marley said. “Think about this . . . how you going to get there?”

  Marley had picked out one of the many flaws in my plan. It would be a long walk. I didn’t have access to Robert’s driver, I didn’t have bitcoin for a cab, and I certainly couldn’t ask Edgar for his card. Nobody could know what I was going to do.

  “I’m working on that,” I said.

  Marley laughed, nervously. “I won’t let you go,” she said. “I’ll tell Edgar and Belladonna, and they’ll stop you.”

  “I chose to come down here,” I said, sharply. “I can choose to leave if I want.”

  Yeah right. I knew that wasn’t going to happen, having nowhere to go and all. But Marley didn’t need to know that.

  “You know what,” Ashton said. “Fine. If you want to go, that’s up to you. But all I ask is for you think about it for a little bit. Maybe something’ll come up.”

  “Like what?” I asked.

  “Well, the press is probably still checking everything out about your supposal parents. Just like Mae said, they’ll dig deep. It’s the biggest news.”

  “That’s right,” Marley intervened.

  “The press will check the story out,” Ashton finished sternly.

  “They’ll dig, and with hope, they’ll find out it’s a lie. And –”r />
  “A lie?” I snapped. “I kind of don’t want it to be. This is the first time in my life my parents have come up; the first time I may have some answers about myself.”

  After a few seconds of silence, Marley said slowly, “I know you want answers. But not by him.”

  She was probably right. Cornelius wasn’t somebody to trust. But as I said before, I had to find out for myself, even if that meant meeting him again. If there were somebody else out there, I would’ve gone to them. But the sad truth was that Cornelius was the only one with the truth. And what if that was the real reason he was looking for me? Maybe I wasn’t in danger. Again, I was confused.

  “I’ll make you a deal,” Ashton said. “You wait to see what the press comes up with, then I’ll go with you if they say it’s true.”

  “No,” Marley said in a stern voice. “He may not kill Carsyn, but you . . . he will.”

  “I can at least make the journey with you,” Ashton said. “Then when it’s time to see Cornelius again, I’ll back away.”

  I thought about it. Marley paced back and forth, shaking her head. Ashton watched me waiting for an answer.

  “Too dangerous,”

  He looked at the ground, shaking his head. “Then I’m afraid I’m with Marley on this one,” he said. “I’ll tell Edgar.”

  I was cornered. I knew if Edgar and Belladonna found out what I was planning, they would freak out, overreact, and probably have my every move watched. I couldn’t risk that because for one, I wouldn’t be able to come to our secret spot and still keep it a secret, and two, I didn’t want to be lodged away in my room. Sure, at first it was nice locking myself in, staying away from people. But after a while, the bedroom seemed to shrink. I needed more space. I looked at Ashton, and then at Marley, who had stopped pacing and watched me, waiting for an answer.

  “Oh!” he exclaimed, as if just remembering something. “I have a card Dr. Mac got me for helping him out.”

  “Card?” I asked.

  “Bitcoin card,” he said. “Only has about forty bitcoin on it, but that’s enough.”

  “Quit helping him!” Marley said. “This is too dangerous. You can’t do this. You just can’t.”

  Ashton was really making it difficult to say no. I shook my head, thinking for a few seconds. Finally, I came to a decision. “Okay,” I told him.

  His facial expression turned to one of excitement. He was ready for another journey.

  “I can’t believe it,” Marley said, throwing her hands up in defeat.

  “It’s okay,” Ashton said. “Like I said before, I’ll stay away from Cornelius. I have bitcoin. I can get him there.”

  Marley still didn’t like it, but as a friend, she finally promised to not say a word. I knew she hoped for nothing more than to find out that Cornelius was lying. I supposed a small part of me wished the same. But the rest of me needed it to be true.

  I kept my promise and waited for more answers to come out. That didn’t take too long. Edgar returned dressed in the same clothes he wore when I met him. In his hands, he had a newspaper. He approached me and handed it to me.

  I read the headline. PRESIDENT CORNELIUS WILL FIND BOY. I skimmed the article, only grasping one sentence. “Marriage certificates and birth certificates have been found, proving that Benjamin and Jacyln are, indeed, the orphan’s parents.” I read aloud. I lifted my head up. Edgar looked worried.

  “I’ll never understand what it’s like to not know my parents,” Edgar said. “I grew up inside the wall, always having them there to take care of me. I had everything. I understand you’re curious.”

  “It’s true then?” I asked. “Cornelius probably really does have something to give me . . . something that belonged to my dad?”

  Overhearing our conversation, Belladonna joined Edgar’s side. “Grandfather has so many resources,” she said. “It would’ve been so easy for Cornelius to create the certificates.”

  “He could even create a fake person,” Edgar added.

  “Wait a minute,” I said. “So you guys think this is all fake?”

  Edgar and Belladonna exchanged worried glances again. They should have known I wasn’t going to handle it well.

  “It’s possible he’s targeting your state of mind,” Belladonna said.

  “But you don’t know that,” I argued.

  “We don’t,” Edgar said. “But don’t you think he would’ve said something when you were with him in the office?”

  I had thought about that, actually. But then, he had planned to keep me, not knowing I would escape. He did say I’d find out very soon. Maybe that’s what he was going to tell me. “So you’re basically saying none of this ‘proof’ matters?” I asked.

  “Right,” Belladonna agreed softly.

  I was getting angry all over again. They tell me that they’ll find proof. When they do, they say it could be fake. I read over the article again, remembering my deal with Ashton. I promised that I wouldn’t act until we had more information. Well, here it was and it wasn’t good enough for me. Edgar and Belladonna thought Cornelius was just making it all up. I didn’t know. I had to find out for myself.

  I needed to find out.

  I waited in my room until it was nearly 8:00, when the sun would have already nearly gone down. I ran to the small closet where I kept the suit Edgar had given me. It was still clean. The cappuccino stain was practically invisible. Thank you, Edgar and Robert, for a black suit.

  I put it on, giving myself a pat on the back for not untying the tie. That would’ve been a disaster, because I still didn’t know how to tie one.

  My plan was simple. I would wait until dark before sneaking out to the ladder. It was a good thing I remembered how to get there. I wouldn’t say anything to Ashton and Marley about my plan. Sure, I told Ashton that he could go with me, but I didn’t know what I would’ve done if he were caught and something bad happened to him. It was best for him to not go. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a flashlight, so I’d be walking to the road in the dark. But I’d manage. And unfortunately, I would have to make the entire walk by foot. Okay, my plan was definitely not simple. It was stupid. There were so many things that could go wrong. For one, I wasn’t even sure if I could just walk straight through the wall entrance. But I didn’t care. I was desperate.

  I made sure nobody was in the hall before I darted out of my room. I quickly rounded the corner and nearly ran until the light from the torches could no longer be seen. First small step was a success. Since it had gotten dark, I kept my arms extended out, allowing me to feel the wall when I got too close or if the tunnel turned. It helped.

  Soon, I approached the meeting room where light escaped through the cracks. Somebody was in there. Probably Belladonna. I had to be extra careful. I kept to the opposite side of the hall, tiptoeing.

  “The order will work perfectly,” I heard Belladonna say. “But we’re running out of time.”

  “I’ll gather somebody right for the job,” Robert said.

  I didn’t know what they were talking about. It didn’t matter.

  I tiptoed until I could no longer see light shining from the room. Second step was a success. I had to be careful with the next step.

  I approached the end of the hall. I found the ladder with my hands. Slowly and blindly, I held onto the sides, placed a foot on the first step, lifted myself up, and slowly made my way up. I soon reached the top. This was going to be tricky. I didn’t want to accidently fall. Holding onto the ladder tightly with my left hand, I used my right to push the door open. With all the force I had in me, I flung the trap door open. Stars in the night sky twinkled above. Moonlight seeped into the hall, allowing me to see once again. I crawled out of the hole and closed the hatch.

  I was alone, looking at the forest. The air was starting to get cool. The leaves rustled with the breeze. It wasn’t feeling like summer at all.

  I followed the arrows leading to the road. Once there, I stood still for a few seconds, thinking things through. It w
as time for the longest step: Walking. At least it felt good outside. Perhaps a driver would feel sorry for me and pick me up. I wasn’t sure if that would’ve been safe. I wouldn’t worry about it unless it actually happened.

  Very few vehicles passed by, which made sense because of the late hour. The rich didn’t think it was safe outside the wall. They probably enjoyed the city at night. Nights ended early for the poor, probably because there was nothing for us to do. But in the city, there seemed to be so much to do. I laughed quietly to myself. After what had happened last time, I didn’t want to go to the city for a long time. Now, about a week later, I was headed back. Funny how things work.

  I thought about what I was going to ask Cornelius when I saw him. I wondered if he expected me to find him. After all, he did tell me to go to him. I just wasn’t sure it was a good idea. I was going to be very angry if it turned out that Edgar and Belladonna were right. As I’ve said a hundred times, I had to find out. I was going crazy in that mountain.

  I even thought about passing by the orphanage on my way, but there was no way I would’ve been able to find it from where I was. And besides, even if I could, I didn’t have that time, neither did I actually care. I don’t even know why that crossed my mind.

  The walk got kind of boring. To pass time, I found myself humming and whistling random notes. Then, I heard humming come from behind me. I stopped immediately. The humming stopped. Was my humming echoing? I doubted it. I was going to keep walking when I heard footsteps. They stopped. I wasn’t alone.

  I turned around. There, ten or so feet away, stood Ashton, wearing his black suit. “Did you really think this would work?” he said.

  “I hoped it would,” I answered. Though I hadn’t wanted him to come, I felt relieved to see him.

  “I’m coming,” he said. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad to have somebody go with me.

  “Please don’t.”

  “Listen,” he said. “I understand that we may not be the best of friends after the way I treated you before. I’m still trying to make up for that.” He then dug into his pocket and took out two plastic gray cards. “And besides, I got bitcoin.”

  I smiled. The thought of not having to walk made all of the difference. And company was going to be fine, too. “Okay,” I said. “But you can’t see Cornelius with me.

  “I’ll leave before then,” he said.

  I nodded. He joined my side. Just as we were about to start walking, I heard somebody calling our names. We turned back around quickly to see a shadowed figure running in our direction. “Wait!”

  Yeah … it was Marley. It wasn’t until she got closer that I could see she was wearing a red dress that came to her knees. She wore black stilettos. Her hair was in a tight bun. I wondered where she’d gotten everything or even found the time to get ready so quickly.

  “What are you doing?” Ashton yelled. “No, no, no.”

  “If you can go, I can,” Marley said. “And I’m going.”

  I said nothing. Having both of them made it even more dangerous. That was just the thing I had been trying to avoid. So much for that.

  “What if something happens?” Ashton asked her.

  “It’ll be fine,” she said.

  “But what if it’s not?”

  She didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Then, she walked past us, in the direction of the city. We turned around. She stopped. “Doesn’t matter,” she said. “I’m going either way.”

  “You knew I’d go?” I asked, still not liking the idea that both were going with me. Now I had something else to worry about.

  “Well, obviously,” Marley said. “We may not know each other extremely well, but I know you’re really curious. And Ashton . . . well . . . I do know him well.”

  I wasn’t very happy about it, but there was nothing I could do. Neither Ashton nor I would be able to get Marley to go back. Arguing would be a lost cause and waste of time.

  . “Let me know if you see a cab,” Ashton said.

  We all kept a lookout for the cab and started walking again. Moving downhill did wonders on my legs, and I felt like I could walk the entire way.

  I sneaked several gazes at Marley. She was absolutely beautiful. She was going to blend in well. I asked her where she got everything.

  “It’s just something Momma got me just before we found Edgar and Belladonna,” she said. “I’ve been waiting to wear it. Seemed like a good opportunity.”

  “And the makeup?” Ashton asked. “Where did you get it at?”

  “My mom had it,” she said. “We were saving all of this for the right time. Now seemed perfect.”

  “Oh,” was Ashton’s simple answer.

  “Well, you look nice,” I told her.

  “Thank you, Carsyn.”

  We walked alongside the road, having no luck with a cab. You could hear the sound of crickets singing to one another. The sound was soothing when combined with the rustling of the leaves and the whistling from the breeze.

  We probably walked for nearly ten minutes, not saying a word. Marley broke the silence.

  “Me and Momma used to take walks on nights like this,” she said, looking up at the sky, smiling. “I miss it.”

  That’s when I realized I knew nothing about Marley and Mae before they found Edgar. I wasn’t surprised she didn’t tell me. I couldn’t complain. I didn’t really say much about my life, either. I figured having nothing else to do on the walk, I might as well ask.

  “It was alright,” Marley said when I did so. Ashton looked straight ahead. I wondered if he was listening.

  “Did you guys live here?” I asked. “Inside or outside the capitol wall?”

  “We lived outside of the wall in Boston.”

  I had never heard of the city, which wasn’t surprising. “Which region is that in?”

  “Northeastern.”

  “Was it as bad as it is here?” Ashton asked.

  Marley nodded slightly, frowning “It’s the same everywhere,” she said. “Every city separates itself from those outside. My dad hated it.”

  It was the first time I heard anything about her dad. From the look on Ashton’s face, he was just as surprised. Marley must have noticed.

  “I know I’ve never mentioned him before,” she said. “It just never came up.”

  “You don’t have to tell anybody if you don’t want to,” Ashton said.

  We were quiet for the next few seconds. The sound of the crickets seemed to become louder. Headlights shined bright on us. I hoped it was a cab. It wasn’t. It flew by us, sending a huge gust of wind at us.

  I guess Marley decided she wanted to talk about her dad. “He didn’t like the separation between the poor and rich,” she said.

  “I don’t blame him,” Ashton said. “It’s not fair,”

  “That’s kind of where I first heard about Grandfather,” she said. “My dad always thought Grandfather actually existed right after the 2nd Civil War in secret. Because the separation was still being enforced today, he believed that Grandfather secretly existed still. He liked to tell everybody about it.”

  “Everybody?” Ashton asked.

  I thought about the protestor back at the orphanage being arrested for claiming Cornelius was Grandfather’s leader.

  “Yeah, he told everybody,” Marley said.

  “He was caught, wasn’t he?” I asked her, immediately regretting it. It wasn’t because she got mad. I just felt like it wasn’t appropriate.

  She nodded. A tear rolled down her right cheek.

  “It was two years ago. They arrested him.” she said. “So Momma and I got out as quickly as possible. That’s when we ran into Edgar.”

  I had never felt anything close to what Marley was feeling. The last time I cried, I was ten years old, getting picked on. Now, I had nothing to cry over. I didn’t see a point. I did see people crying on the streets all of the time, but there was nothing I could do.

  I thought it might be awkward to hug Marley, so I just placed a h
and on her shoulder. I wasn’t sure if that was a way to comfort somebody, but she looked at me, wiped her eyes, and smiled, showing me something I hadn’t noticed before. Her teeth. They were perfectly straight and white.

  I got an inside feeling that I was just gazing at Marley for a little too long, so I quickly turned away before things got awkward.

  “It’s not right,” I said, taking my hand off of her shoulder. “People within the wall are living in comfort with their food, nice clothes, and technology, while people outside the wall are starving.”

  I think it was the first time I was legitimately angry at the separation. Yeah, I never liked what the wall stood for. But I suppose seeing what life was like inside and hearing Marley’s story changed things.

  “And they act as if they don’t care,” Ashton said.

  “That’s what my dad thought,” she said. “And you know what? I’m proud of him. I may not know if he’s dead or alive right now, but I’m proud of him.”

  “You should be,” Ashton said. “Can’t say I’m proud of my dad.” He rubbed his fingers across his scar.

  Marley and I glanced at each other. I didn’t know Ashton as long as Marley knew him, but I knew two things about him: He was more passionate than others about destroying Grandfather, and he didn’t like for people to mention his past. His scar must’ve had something to do with that.

  “What happened?” Marley risked asking.

  He jerked his hand off his scar and shook his head. “Maybe another day,” he said.

  I was dying to know where Ashton got his scar. I knew Marley felt the same way. But we both respected his decision to keep his story to himself.

  “I never thought about the separation much at the orphanage,” I said. “There, I kind of ignored everything. I guess because I didn’t think I had a chance.”

  “That’s the thing,” Ashton said. “We have a chance now,” he said. “I don’t know when we’ll actually be able to take Grandfather down, but I have a feeling it’s soon.”

  I was ready to know the truth to everything, and I just wanted everything to be over with. Only then could I focus on what I wanted to do. Only then could I let Belladonna and Edgar help me as they promised.

  “Since we found you,” Marley said to me. “Something feels different.

  “Different?” I asked, looking up ahead. All I saw was more forest. “How do I make things feel different?”

  She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know,” she said. “The tracking law, him wanting you, Sub X . . . I just feel like something’s about to happen.”

  I also felt like something big would be happening soon, but I didn’t know why Marley felt it was because of me. If anything, I felt like it was because of Edgar and Belladonna. They were the ones organizing things.

  “You think this is almost over,” I clarified. “What do you plan to do afterwards?”

  Marley pondered for a few seconds before answering. “I don’t know,” she said. “I guess Momma and I will settle down somewhere and try to be a normal family again. Maybe find out what exactly happened to my dad.”

  I looked over at Ashton. “How about you?” I asked him.

  He stared at the ground. After a few seconds, he replied. “I want to help those outside the city walls. When this is over and Grandfather has been defeated, the walls will still be standing. Defeating Cornelius isn’t going to defeat the separation. I don’t know what I can do, but I want to help bring down the walls.”

  I expected nothing less from Ashton. I didn’t know how he was going to be able to help either, but I knew he had the determination to get involved and make a difference.

  Marley looked at me. “And you, Carsyn? What do you want to do?”

  Belladonna had told me she would help me. Almost every day, I thought about what I wanted to do in the future, but I couldn’t figure it out. I knew I wanted to find out about my parents. But after things were over with? I had no idea.

  “You’ll figure it out, man,” Ashton said. “Just know that we’ll all still be friends. Or at least I hope so.”

  “Of course we will be,” Marley shouted, wrapping her arms around both of us. “If you guys quit talking to me, you’ll see just how violent I can get.”

  Ashton and I started laughing.

  “You’re tiny,” Ashton said. “You couldn’t hurt a fly.”

  “You better hope you don’t have to find out what I’m all about,” Marley said, smiling. “You better hope.”

  Marley told us a story about how she got in a fight when she was little. She apparently grabbed the girl’s hair and threw her in a mud puddle. I pictured Marley getting into a fight and couldn’t help but laugh. “That was the last time Angel called me stupid,” Marley said, which made me laugh even harder.

  “You threw a girl in the mud for calling you stupid?” Ashton asked, still laughing.

  “I told you I can get pretty violent,” Marley said.

  We didn’t have to walk much longer before we saw a cab. I stopped Marley and Ashton and pointed at it. Not knowing what else to do, I waved my arms in the air, and the cab stopped beside us immediately. “This is exciting,” Marley said. I kept forgetting she hadn’t been in the city yet. Though I didn’t like the people in the city, it was still breathtaking to see. I couldn’t wait to see her reaction.

  We all squeezed in the back seat, Marley choosing to sit in the middle. “What are you three doing out here?” The driver asked. He was dressed very nicely and seemed very bored.

  Uh oh. I wasn’t expecting that question. Thankfully, Ashton was quick to answer. “Car broke down.”

  “Broke down?” he asked. “That doesn’t happen very often. Where at? I didn’t see it.”

  “Way back there,” Ashton answered casually.

  The driver nodded. “Dark out. Probably just missed it. What’s your destination?”

  Remembering what Cornelius had said on the radio, I said, “The Presidential Tower.” My words activated the 3D GPS. It came alive and shot across the map until it reached a very tall building. Marley’s eyes grew wide, looking back and forth to make sure we saw it too. I just loved her reaction, remembering how amazed I was when I first saw one. Heck, I was still amazed.

  “Odd destination,” the driver said as he sped toward the city. “You’re not going to be able to meet him. He’s the president. Busy man.”

  “We just want to see what it looks like,” Marley said.

  The driver gave each of us an odd look through the mirror. He shook his head. “None of my business,” he said. “I’m just here making the bitcoin.”

  We made the turn beside the field with cows in them. Up ahead, we could see the wall. Once again, I was amazed by its size. The wall grew closer, and soon, we were inside of the tunnel again. Just as we were about to exit, I turned to look at Marley to see her mouth open wide at the site.

  It was just as I remembered. Skyscrapers towering above the millions of people. There may have been fewer people walking around as there was last time because it was late, but it was still a lot. I imagined from the air the pedestrians looked like a bunch of ants roaming around.

  “This is amazing,” Marley said. She then pointed at the GPS as it revealed us approaching the high-rise buildings. “That’s so cool!”

  “I know,” I told her.

  I saw the driver’s eye watching us through the mirror. “You guys don’t get out much, do you?” he asked.

  “Uh, first time in New Dawn,” I told him. He turned his attention back to the road.

  We entered the center of the city. The lights were brighter and more colorful there. Videos and advertisements played on the walls of buildings. I saw an advertisement for a Starbucks. The crowd was denser in the city’s center, too. Just as before, the people were dressed nicely with happy expressions on their faces as they laughed and talked with their companions.

  The traffic grew denser, and it seemed like we would never get through. Our driver joine
d others in honking his horn. I felt like the sound of a bunch of honking horns would get annoying after a while, but nobody seemed bothered by it.

  Soon, the driver pulled off to the side and the vehicle came to a halt in front of two long rows of water fountains spraying high into the air. In between the rows was a sidewalk leading straight to the building’s entrance. “17 bitcoin,” the driver said. Ashton pulled out his card and waved it across the back of the front seat, just as Edgar had done. A small red light blinked, and the driver thanked us.

  We stood in the middle of the sidewalk, looking up at the tall building. It was definitely the tallest one in the city. I couldn’t even see the top of it.

  People walked around us. One man in particular was in too big of a hurry to notice we weren’t moving. He ran into Marley, nearly knocking her down. “Get out of the middle of the sidewalk!” the man screamed, not stopping to make sure she was okay.

  “Sorry,” Marley said, but he was too far to hear.

  “It’s okay,” I told her. “Let’s just get away from these people. Let’s go inside.”

  We followed the pathway toward the doors, admiring the fountains on each side. We walked to the doors. Just as I was about to open one of them, it slid open. We all glanced at each other. “I guess we go in,” I said.

  It was a very fancy building. We entered in a large room. The floor was made out of shiny, white marble. My reflection looked up at me. The ceiling was high up, and several shiny chandeliers hung from it. Soft orchestra music played from somewhere. There were big, comfortable chairs everywhere. They looked as if I’d sink inside them if I sat down. Straight ahead was a long marble desk. Two men with black combed-over hair and a woman with short pink hair sat behind the desk. They each wore the same black uniform, tapping different buttons on the transparent floating screen.

  “This is it,” I told them. “You guys can’t go the rest of the way.”

  They didn’t look too happy but knew that was the plan. They couldn’t complain.

  “This is a terrible idea,” Marley said.

  “Maybe,” I said. “But like I said before, I need to find out.”

  Ashton nodded. “He’s right, Marley,” he said. “It may be a terrible idea, but if it was me, I’d want to find out, too.”

  “Besides, he’s not going to kill me,” I reminded them. I think I was telling myself that more so than them. “He needs me for something.”

  They talked about where they would go. “I feel like we came here for nothing,” Marley said.

  “For nothing?” I asked. “At least I had some company on the way. And if it wasn’t for Ashton, I would’ve had to walk the entire way.”

  Ashton dug into his pocket and pulled out the other gray bitcoin card and handed it to me.

  “Well, we’re staying nearby, waiting for you,” Marley said.

  “Yeah,” Ashton said. “Or if something happens, we’ll be here.”

  “And I guess if you’re not out in . . . I guess two hours, we’ll go.” Marley didn’t sound happy about that. Her lips quivered. She hugged me tightly. “Just be careful,” she said.

  “I will,” I said. “Just remember. He needs me. He may keep me, but he won’t hurt me.”

  Ashton put out his hand toward me. I took it and shook it. “Just get out of there as soon as you can,” he said. “Hit him in the head again if you have to.”

  I couldn’t help but snicker. “I will,” I said.

  Then, his expression quickly changed. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

  “We’ll stay as long as we have to,” Marley said.

  “No,” I quickly said. “Keep with the plan. Two hours. Leave after that. I’ll figure something out.” I honestly wasn’t sounding so confident in myself. I think Ashton noticed. But there was no turning back. I was so close. I couldn’t turn around.

  Ashton basically had to drag Marley out of the building. Once they were out of site, I turned around and walked to the front desk. I was ready. I think.

  Chapter Nine