“Dead serious. After Willow came down with the virus, our family was quarantined, and Mom figured out a way to get me out of New Caelum so that I could find Chris—I mean, you.”
“And Key and Ryder?”
“Based on the timing, I’m guessing Key caught the virus from Willow before she was quarantined, and Ryder must have gotten it from her.”
I could almost buy his argument. Almost. But I suspected he was dead wrong. “Let’s pretend for a minute that you’re right. How do you think Willow came down with the virus?”
We approached a fallen tree, and West gestured toward it. “Let’s take a break.”
We didn’t have time to take much of a break; but I needed more information if I was going to successfully get in and out of this facility. So I climbed up on the trunk. With one leg bent in front of me, I faced West, who straddled the log.
“I have no idea how Willow contracted it,” he said simply. With a stick, he dug at the bark in front of him.
“None?”
He cast the stick aside and stared into the woods over my shoulder. He wasn’t telling me something. “Mom was terrified when she suggested I leave and find you. She knew it was a risk to send me out with the scouts leaving the city.”
“I bet she was,” I whispered.
“What do you mean by that?” When I stared blankly at West, he breathed an exasperated sigh. “You know… you act like we asked for Bad Sam to infect our lives again.”
“Your words, not mine.” My voice took on an edge I couldn’t hide.
West raised an eyebrow. “Yet here you sit with your judgment already formed. It’s all over your face. So, tell me: why do you think my mom was terrified?”
“Besides the fact that your sister has been given a death sentence? Because she knows that a virus now threatens the empire she helped build.” I played with the shoestrings on my boot as I gave West a minute to think. He’d been so hell-bent on finding me, and terrified at the prospect of leaving the inner sanctum of New Caelum, that I didn’t think he’d ever really taken the time to process what was truly going on here. “Willow is not the first person inside New Caelum to contract the virus,” I finished.
West sat up a little straighter. He rubbed his hand back and forth across the stubble on his face. “And what makes you say that, you who knows nothing about New Caelum?”
I remained perfectly still, reminding myself that I didn’t have to convince this boy—who might as well have been a stranger to me—that New Caelum was an evil place to live and that I knew plenty. As a matter of fact, I should have been doing the opposite. What I wanted was for the people of New Caelum to continue to believe that their way of life was the right choice for them, now and always, so they would stay right where they were. The outside world didn’t need a hundred thousand or so people flooding out into our tiny communities. We didn’t need New Caelum taking over our lives. Especially if we were facing another virus epidemic.
“You’re right,” I said. “I know nothing about New Caelum or the people in it.” I slid off the fallen tree and pulled my coat back on. Sitting for even a few minutes had reminded me that winter was approaching. “We’re still about two hours away from the outer walls of New Caelum; we should probably get a move on.”
West didn’t move to join me. And when he finally looked up, his lips tugged down. “What makes you think this virus outbreak didn’t start with my sister?” He stood and stuffed his hands in his pockets. I didn’t answer, so he urged further, “I need to know what makes you think that.”
“Your city is covering up instances of Bad Sam.”
“Not possible,” West said, but his face didn’t reflect confidence.
I paused, thinking about how to explain. I decided I needed to back up a bit.
“About a year ago, I noticed a change in Boone Blackston. A change in attitude. The people were finally starting to build a life that didn’t include things like… like taking their loved ones’ temperatures every day. Or staring accusingly at anyone who looked flushed. The paranoia was finally starting to drop away.”
“If there’s so much distrust in your community, why do people live there? Why don’t they continue to live in rural areas, where they know they’re safe from the virus?”
“Some people do. They live off the land and stay away from the established communities except when they need something they can’t get on their own. But for the most part, I’ve found that people need community. They crave it.”
“But, wasn’t there a lot of crime early on? Didn’t people break into the malls and stores and forage any and all supplies? We were taught that life out here was horribly difficult.”
I couldn’t really do anything but stare at West. Here he was, describing my world to me, a world he’d seen nothing of while living in his castle of comfort.
“What?” he said.
“I’m shocked at your people’s ignorance,” I replied in the kindest way possible. “There weren’t enough people left in the country for there to be any kind of crime wave. I’m not saying that only good people survived the virus, but there were more than enough resources to go around for those of us who did. We didn’t need to fight or kill for supplies. And those who wanted to be left alone were left alone; they collected necessities and returned to their homes.”
West considered this. “How many active towns do you think exist across the country?”
“Not sure. I’ve ventured out a bit. Farther, once I taught myself how to drive, but there’s not much gas left—the initial panic saw to that. There were small pockets of people here and there, as far as I went.”
“I guess things are a bit different out here than we were taught.”
We walked in silence, for a while before West spoke again.
“You were going to tell me why you think there’s more of an outbreak inside New Caelum.”
“Right. Like I was saying, about a year ago, people became more relaxed, less suspicious. And as they grew more comfortable, I kind of became the opposite. It occurred to me that if we were settling into a certain comfort level, then so were the people of New Caelum.”
“And that made you uncomfortable?”
“Very.”
“What does this have to do with Bad Sam?”
“Well… I’ve always liked camping up in the mountains. I like hearing the hum of electricity running outside your city. So I go up there kind of regularly, sleep under the stars, listen to the hum. And one night, when I was camping alone, I heard a sound in the very early morning hours that I had never before heard at night. Your incinerators.”
“So? We use the incinerators all the time. That’s how we get rid of trash.”
“Not all the time. You never used them at night until recently—two to three times a month for the past six months. And I’ve watched them, West—the men working the incinerators. During the day, the incinerator workers are wearing normal outer clothing. But on those rare occasions when the incinerators ran at night… they’re wearing hazmat suits. The very night you and your friends left New Caelum was one of those nights. And there were a lot of hazmat suits that night—more than I’d ever seen before.”
“I agree all this is a bit curious, but it doesn’t exactly prove anything.”
“Maybe not. But can you explain how a city that built itself on the principles of complete sterilization—a city that views itself as some sort of Noah’s Ark meant to save the human race from extinction—suddenly has an outbreak of Bad Sam? And the first patient just happens to be the president’s daughter?”
chapter eighteen
West
I couldn’t even stomach the thought that Cricket might be right. Mother had said the same thing, and I hadn’t believed her. She, too, thought Willow was purposely infected with Bad Sam as a way to get to her, to keep her from being reelected as president by the council.
But Cricket and Mother disagreed on the larger implication. Mother thought Willow was targeted alone, that no one else inside the city was inf
ected with Bad Sam. Cricket clearly believed the outbreak was more widespread.
What would it mean if Willow wasn’t the only person to be infected inside New Caelum?
We hiked the rest of the way to an area high in the mountains, where we could actually look down into the city. I turned in a circle and watched as Cricket pulled a couple of large duffels down from the trees.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“A safe spot, where I can watch New Caelum—and escape Boone Blackston when I need to.” So this was the spot where she liked to sleep and listen to the hum of the incinerators.
Cricket began pulling stuff from one of the bags. “These are supplies I’ve collected over the years. Clothing, extra socks, various survival items, knives, cooking and eating utensils… weapons.”
“Wow, you’ve turned into quite the Girl Scout. Funny, I always remembered you as somewhat of a princess type.”
She didn’t even crack a smile. “Lucky for you, I’ve changed.” She stopped sorting and stood. The determined glint in her eye was a new look on her, and it was unbelievably attractive. She walked over to me and held out her hand. In it was a knife and sheath. “Just in case.” She stared down at the weapon instead of making eye contact with me. “I don’t know what we’re going to face, but you might want this if they don’t welcome you back. It might give you half a chance of escaping.”
I’d never had any need for a weapon before I’d left New Caelum. The guards had carried Tasers, but I’d never felt the need. However, Mom had given me one before I left, also for “just in case.”
I reached out, and as I grabbed the weapon, I let my fingers graze hers. Her eyes shot up to mine. Without dropping my gaze, I secured the knife and sheath to my belt. I let my eyes wander from her eyes to her lips. They were dry and chapped from the cold air.
“We really need to get inside tonight.” She stepped away, dropping her gaze. I’d obviously made her uncomfortable. “Our friends and your sister don’t have much time. Willow’s been sick for—what? Four or five days now?”
“Yes.” Under any other circumstances, I’d force Cricket to spend another night with me back at the estate, out of the elements, and convince her to open up to me. I’d have given anything to break through the barriers she’d so masterfully erected around her and get to know her. If I could have, I’d have tried to convince her to return to New Caelum with me and live a more comfortable life. But the circumstances were what they were, and my sister was dying. I didn’t have time for any of that. “You’re right. If we’re going to give Dr. Hempel time to look at what Caine has done and come up with another solution, we need to get inside New Caelum soon.”
Cricket pulled a bundle of heavy rope from the duffel. She held it in front of her face for a few seconds, then stuffed it in her bag. She picked up her pack, carefully slid her arms through the straps, and began heading back down the mountain. “Let’s go,” she called over her shoulder.
As I followed her, I couldn’t help but wonder about the possibility of an outbreak in New Caelum, and what it would mean for Christina when we got there. If she was, in fact, the only person to have ever survived the disease that had killed so many—the only person to carry antibodies that could possibly cure others—they might well lock her up and never let her out.
With a sudden urge to protect her, I caught up to her and grabbed her arm. “Wait.” She stopped and looked at me. “When we get to New Caelum, you can’t tell anyone who you are.”
“I’m not sure it’ll be possible to hide it, but I’ll try to keep it a secret.” She pulled her arm from my grasp and began walking again. “Don’t worry about me. You need to worry more about getting us inside. A city that hasn’t let new people inside for more than six years is not going to just let you waltz back in now that you’ve been in the contaminated world. And me getting in… that’s going to be even harder.”
“I’ve got to figure out a way to call my mother. New Caelum isn’t heavily guarded around the outer walls, because it hasn’t needed to be in recent years, but getting inside the actual buildings could still prove tricky.”
“We’ll try your PulsePoint when we get closer to the city. If that doesn’t work, we’ll use mine. Something tells me mine will do the job.”
“What? No. We turn on your PulsePoint, they’ll know who you are.”
“You have any better ideas?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
~~~~~
By the time we reached the city, it was late in the afternoon. It would be dark in an hour, and the temperature was already dropping. A wind was coming in from the north and making the air almost unbearably cold.
We gave up on calling my mother on my PulsePoint after several more failed attempts. However, I did notice that the PulsePoint was ringing differently now. It seemed to at least be connecting, whereas before I had gotten nothing but silence on the other end.
I led Cricket around to the backside of the fenced area. Thanks to the earlier-than-usual below-freezing temperatures, much of the brush had died back, making it easier to fight through the thick foliage.
“How often have you watched New Caelum?” I asked.
Cricket shrugged. “Mostly at night during the warmer months, but only for short periods. My friends pretty much accused me of going crazy, especially lately when I’d panic any time I heard the incinerator, so I had to pull back a bit, or at least pretend to. I’d sneak away if I ever wanted to truly spy.”
“How often have you seen people leave New Caelum?”
She stopped for a second and looked at me then. “Never. Not until you and the other three trucks left.”
“Mom said there were people inside who were starting to suggest that it was time to leave the inner sanctum of New Caelum and venture into the outside world.”
“I assumed they would eventually. I’m guessing you’re wondering, why now?”
I nodded. “And I’m wondering who would dare go against my mother in that way. I don’t know, but I plan to find out. It will definitely cause a divide among the people.”
We hung back, hidden behind some dense trees. We couldn’t see over the walls of the compound, but I knew the incinerator was located just beyond the gate.
Cricket pulled two ropes from her bag. She tied a grappling hook to the end of one of them, then tossed it over the wall, pulling until the grappling hook took hold. Then she took the second rope, tied it to the trunk of a tree, and tossed the rest of it over.
She glanced at me. “Here goes nothing.” She stuck a foot up on the wall, preparing to climb.
Before she could start, I grabbed her gently by the waist. “Wait! Let me go first.”
She cocked her head and puffed some strands of hair out of her face. “Fine. But hurry. I’ll be right behind you.”
I grabbed on to the rope, and with all the strength I could find, pulled myself up and to the other side, doubting the whole time whether Cricket had the strength to do the same. I was quickly silenced when she showed up right behind me. She easily hiked her leg over the top of the wall, then lowered herself down the second rope. I smiled. She was definitely everything I would have hoped my Christina would have turned out to be.
When she got closer, I reached up and gripped her hips with both hands. “I’ve got you.” She slid the rest of the way down, against my chest, until her feet were firmly on the ground.
“Now what?” Cricket asked.
“Now, we wait.”
chapter nineteen
Cricket
We didn’t have to wait long. The large rolling doors began to lift, and out came a forklift carrying a dumpster piled high with large garbage bags. I’d witnessed this purging of the trash often over the last few years.
“Stay here.” West looked like he was about to venture from behind the dumpster and approach the forklift—when suddenly the large gate to the outside world began to open. West froze in place.
The forklift stopped, too, and its driver turned toward
the gate. He gawked like he was watching a ghost descend from heaven. Then he quickly threw the forklift in reverse, trying to get back to the safety of the New Caelum building.
Before he got far, a truck raced through the open gate and into the compound. I glanced up at West, who was staring at the truck’s driver-side door.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” His head twitched, and his line of sight shifted to the right.
I followed his gaze—and gasped when I saw two people slink down from the back of the truck and sneak away to the right, running low to the ground and away from the forklift.
“Oh no,” I whispered. “It’s Zara and Dax.” Zara had assured me she’d find a way inside the outer walls. I’d never doubt her again. And Dax was back. “He didn’t leave,” I whispered to myself.
I was about to run after them, but West stopped me with a hand to my wrist. “What are you doing?”
“They’ll get caught. I have to help them.”
“They chose to come inside these walls. They obviously knew what they were doing and the risk they were taking.”
I doubted that. But he was right. Drawing attention wouldn’t help.
The driver side door of the truck finally opened, and out slid one of the two guys who had pushed West around at the hospital. The forklift driver approached Mr. Eyeglasses with a Taser held out. Eyeglasses raised his hands to show he was unarmed. “Hey man, it’s me, Garrett Jenkins. I was sent out from New Caelum on orders from the president and the council.”
I looked up at West. “Could that be true? Did your mom send the trucks out on some sort of mission?”
“No, not her. The council, maybe, but not my mother. Mother vowed to always protect the people inside this city, and she swore that we were only safe by staying on the inside. She knew about the scouts, but she never approved the mission.”
“What’s wrong with you?” the forklift driver asked.
I looked closer. Garrett swayed on his feet. “He’s barely standing,” I whispered to West. Behind Garrett, I could see his friend in the fleece coat still sitting in the truck. “Oh no,” I whispered.
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