Dr. Reynolds looks up at me from his seat next to her and smiles. “Hello, Amy,” he says, the loose flesh under his jaw jiggling as he speaks. “How nice to see you again.” His hand rests on the table, gripping a gun. Before I can think of moving, he stands, sweeps up Baby in his free arm, and presses the gun to her temple. She doesn’t even look frightened; she just blinks blankly a few times, her eyes unfocused.
“No,” I say, stepping forward. “I’ll do whatever you want. Don’t hurt her.”
“He won’t,” Rice says, appearing at my side. “He has twenty different researchers analyzing her blood. He won’t kill her. She’s too important.”
“Are you certain of that?” he asks, staring me down. “You have managed to be quite the disruption. You’ve rendered your mother useless to me. You’ve turned her against me, her and I don’t know how many Guardians.” He looks past us and cocks his head. “Kay, is that you? Why don’t you put your weapons on the floor? All of them.” He digs the gun deeper into Baby’s skin, and Kay begrudgingly throws her gun and knives onto the floor. His gaze falls back on me. “You too, Amy.”
I nod and slowly place my weapons at my feet.
“Good girl,” Dr. Reynolds tells me.
Unable to contain the fury welling up inside, I take another step forward—only to stop myself. He holds Baby’s life in his hands.
“It’s amazing that one emotionally disturbed girl could cause so much trouble.” Dr. Reynolds shakes his bald head. “And you,” he spits at Rice. “You’ve been more than useless. I should have left you in that orphanage, alone and unwanted. I should have never taken you into my care. You’ve become such a disappointment.”
Rice looks as though he’s been slapped, his face blazing red. “‘Taken me into your care’? Is that what you call it?” I realize he isn’t ashamed, he’s livid. “You think I don’t know about my parents’ car crash? You think I don’t know you had them killed so you could use me? What a sick, sad lunatic you are. You had to have been cooking up your crazy plans long before then, raising your stable of supergeniuses to do your bidding. What a gift the Florae infection must’ve been for you.”
My heart breaks for Rice. How hard it must have been for Rice to work with Reynolds, filled with hate and bitterness.
But far from being taken aback by Rice’s words, Dr. Reynolds’s grin has been widening all along, and now he laughs out loud.
“A ‘gift’? Are you serious? For a ‘supergenius,’ you’re terribly slow on the uptake, boy. You think the Florae outbreak was an accident? You insult me. When I saw what this mopey young girl’s mother had created, I alone realized its full potential. I saw it as a way to correct all the mistakes humanity had made. Everything could be undone, and the very building blocks of society could be reconstructed. New Hope is my Eden!”
No one in the room moves. No one can believe what we’re hearing.
Dr. Reynolds created the After, on purpose.
My mother may have given him the weapon, but Dr. Reynolds is the one who pulled the trigger. It hits me like a gunshot. He killed everyone—my father, my friends, my neighbors. Everyone. Dr. Reynolds ended the world.
Rice keeps talking. If he’s as stunned by this as I am, he gives no sign. “So,” he says, “in that formulation, you would be . . . Who? God?”
“And why not?” Dr. Reynolds says, beaming. “As if things were working so well Before? At least now humanity can be controlled. I decide who lives, who breeds. I alone decide the future.”
My attention is brought back to Baby as Dr. Reynolds shifts her weight in his arms. I’m so in shock, only now do I see that Kay has been creeping closer to Dr. Reynolds as Rice talked, keeping his attention on him. In an instant, Kay rushes him, dropping low and driving at him. Without thinking, I join in.
Seeing our charge at the last second, Dr. Reynolds swings the gun wildly and knocks Kay away with it against the wall. He aims wide, the pistol discharging. The bullet flies harmlessly past me as Baby drops to the floor. I’m on him, driving my fist into his neck before he can begin to turn back, ripping the gun away from him. Brenna is at my side. She’s grabbed one of the guns from the floor and now has it trained on him.
“Wow, what an asshole,” she says.
Kay joins us. “Kid, you have no idea.”
Kay hands me some cinch ties to bind Reynolds’s hands and feet, and I turn to check on Baby, who sits in a ball, arms wrapped around herself, staring across the room. I crawl to her to check her for any injury. She’s clear, though she may be badly bruised later on.
“Baby, are you okay?”
She doesn’t answer but looks past me, over my shoulder. I follow her gaze to Rice, slumped against the wall.
Blood seeps through his lab coat.
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
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CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
“Rice?”
I pat his cheek to wake him. I’ve already stanched the bleeding by bandaging his upper arm with ripped sheets from Baby’s bed. He opens his bright blue eyes, then squints, confused.
“I think I hit my head . . . on the wall,” he says. He lifts his arm and winces. “What happened?”
“Dr. Reynolds shot you,” Brenna calls from across the room. “You’re lucky he has sucky aim.”
“Where is he now?”
“We tied him up and stuck him in a broom closet,” I say. “I took away his earpiece, so he’s neutralized. I think now we should get back to my mother, and make sure she’s safe, ask her what we should do next.” We never got the research, but with Dr. Reynolds contained, we should be able to accomplish more. He can’t give orders from a broom closet.
“Can you stand?” I ask Rice. He tries, and I have to help him get to his feet. He’s still a bit wobbly.
“I’m going scout the hall, make sure it’s clear.”
“It is.” Brenna tells us. “I can tell.”
“Brenna, can you help Rice while I carry Baby?” I ask.
Brenna takes Rice’s good arm, propping him up. I go to Baby where she sits, staring blankly at the wall, and I pick her up.
I cradle Baby close and whisper in her ear, “I know that you’re Hannah now. That this is your home. But you used to have a life with me. You used to be very good at keeping quiet, at avoiding the monsters. Do you remember?”
She doesn’t respond, but when I carry her to the door, she doesn’t scream either. Maybe she can be Hannah, but still be Baby as well.
Despite Brenna’s assurances, Kay goes ahead to check that the hall is clear, then we make our way to my mother’s office. There are no other Floraes in sight—if the Guardians haven’t gotten them all, they’ve at least severely cut their number. Now, if we can just stay out of the way of those same Guardians, who’ll still be on the hunt for us in the absence of any orders to the contrary, we might be okay.
To my relief, my mother is safe in her office. She hugs me and Baby close before turning to her examination of Rice’s arm.
I sit in a chair with Baby in my lap, stroking her thinning hair. When I ask her if she’s okay, I get no response. I continue to pet her head, hoping at least the contact is comforting to her. Kay watches us for a while, but then stares at the floor, lost in her own grief.
“We didn’t get the research,” Rice tells my mother as she properly bandages his arm. “But Dr. Reynolds is detained for now, and we can probably break into the safe or pry the combination from him.” He pauses. “He admitted to us that he orchestrated the original outbreak. It wasn’t an accident.”
My mother gives him a long look, shaking her head, then sighs. “I’d begun to suspect as much. Everything awful began to feel possible over this past few weeks.” She rubs at her eyes then seems to gather herself. “I don’t know how many Floraes are left roaming the labs. I don’t know how many researchers died. But I do know I’ve finally chosen to do the right thing. We’ll get
all the research and make it public. I know that New Hope will survive. There’s a lot here worth saving.”
Rice tells her about getting Ken’s notes before he died. “We have to look into it,” he says, “but I think he may have finally found it. A vaccine.”
My mother just nods, smiling tightly. “That would be wonderful. But when I think of the cost . . .” She shakes her head.
“It wasn’t your fault,” I say softly. I blamed her before, and the truth is that she is still partially to blame. She engineered the bacterium. But she had no idea that Dr. Reynolds would release it into the world.
She comes to me, hugs me and Baby. “I’m so sorry for everything you had to go through. We’ll get Baby some real help.”
Just then my mother’s office door flies open and a heavily muscled figure in a synth-suit fills the doorway, holding a gun. There’s no doubt who it is, and there’s nothing any of us can do. The guns sit uselessly on my mother’s desk. There is nothing for me to do but hand Baby to my mother and stand.
My mother moves closer to me and, clutching Baby to her, puts on her director’s voice. “What do you think you’re doing?”
Marcus pulls off his hood and stares her down. “Following my orders,” he says, “and they don’t come from you.”
“They certainly do,” she says. “Dr. Reynolds has gone entirely mad—”
“Shut up,” he says, pointing the gun directly at Baby, “and take a seat.” My mother does what she’s told, and he swings the muzzle toward me.
I don’t have it in me to feel the fear I should. I don’t beg or plead. At least Baby is safe. At least my mother will take care of her.
Marcus raises his gun. “Sorry, kid,” he says, though he’s grinning as he says it. “Orders are orders.”
And then his head snaps to one side hard enough to slam against the doorframe, and he slumps to the floor.
Brenna walks to the doorway and peers out into the hall and gives a little wave to whoever she sees there. Then she steps aside, shaking her head. “I’ll never get used to the silent gun thing.”
Another figure appears in the door beside Brenna, reaching up to pull off his hood. It’s Gareth, wearing a sad smile. “Glad to see you made it, honey.” He looks down at Marcus. “‘Orders are orders,’ huh? Bastard.”
“I’m Brenna,” Brenna says, sticking out her hand, “and that was awesome. Seriously. The way his head hit the door. Gruesome.”
Gareth considers her then takes her hand and shakes it. “I’m Gareth, and we’ve met . . . but you were a bit unconscious.”
“Oh yeah . . . my abduction from Fort Black. I guess I shouldn’t complain. From what I heard, that place was going to shit. Still, I would have liked to have a choice about being a lab rat.”
I feel a twinge of guilt at willing to sell Brenna out to save Baby. . . . But it’s hard to feel bad now that I know Baby is safe. I look over at her, her blank stare and dead eyes. She could have permanent damage to her body as well as her mind. She may still not be saved.
“And what about Dr. Reynolds?” Gareth asks.
“We have him tied up in a broom closet,” Kay tells him. “Good to see you.”
He winks at her. “You too, Kay.”
“You can torture him if you like,” Brenna chimes in.
“We won’t be doing that,” my mother says, handing Baby to me, “but we’re going to make sure everyone knows all the things he’s done. I may have created the Floraes, but he released them into the world.”
She puts her hand to her ear. “This is the director speaking. I need to make an announcement to all of New Hope.” She waits a moment and then begins. “Due to unforeseen, tragic circumstances, we have lost our new leader of the Guardians. Marcus will be missed, but I am reinstating Kay. As of now, she has complete control and my full support. Dr. Reynolds has also had to step down from his position, and I will be addressing all of New Hope later tonight on the exact details. Please gather in Memorial Hall at eight p.m. or tune in to the news. Everything will be explained.” She pushes the button on her earpiece again, ending the transmission. “Dr. Reynolds is done.”
“That’s something, at least,” Kay says, stepping to the side and putting her own hand to her ear. She gives instructions to the Guardians, calling off the order to kill me. After a while, she steps over and looks at me, confused.
“Amy, there’s someone on the radio for you.”
“For me?” I look around. Anyone who would want to speak to me is in this room.
Kay nods. “They’re definitely asking for you . . . and they say they’re from Fort Black.”
UNCORRECTED E-PROOF—NOT FOR SALE
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CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
“Hello? Anybody there?”
It’s a voice I never thought I’d hear again.
“Jacks?” I can’t believe he’s alive. Neither can Brenna, who’s standing beside me, jumping up and down at the news. “How . . .?” I ask. “What happened?”
Jacks explains that while the infection spread through the yard and Cellblock A, the people inside the corridor within the wall and those in blocks B and C were fine. It took a while before anyone could leave the cellblocks, but they finally managed to kill all the Floraes. Fort Black is once again secure.
“It took some convincing, but my uncle gave me the communicator. I pushed the button and asked for you, and like magic, here you are.”
“Jacks . . . I . . .” I look around, wishing I had some privacy to speak with him. How do I explain how much I missed him and how often I thought about him? “I’m so glad you’re okay. . . . I was scared you didn’t make it.”
“I had to keep myself safe. I knew it was my only chance of seeing you again.”
My face goes red. Everyone in the room is staring at me, listening. Brenna’s still bouncing up and down, asking to talk to him. “Jacks,” I say, “Brenna’s dying to talk to you. Hold on.”
I take the earpiece out of my ear to hand it to her, but my mother takes it from my hand and plugs a wire from her computer into it. “Speaker,” she explains. “Go ahead.”
“Jacks,” I say loudly. “Brenna is here too.”
“Jacks!” she shouts. “I’m really happy you didn’t die.”
“Me too.” He laughs. “I don’t know how things are there for you, but there are a lot of people here who are scared. We don’t have any food, and people are afraid to leave the walls.” He’s quiet for a second, then he asks, “Are you coming back, Amy?” There’s a hint of desperation in his voice.
“Jacks . . . I can’t.” I look at Baby, twirling her hair around her finger. She doesn’t tug it out though. I can’t go anywhere. She needs me. “But you can come here. You can all come here.”
“Amy,” my mother begins, “I don’t know if we can accommodate—”
“We can make room,” Rice says.
My mother’s shaking her head. “But all at once? And who knows what kind of people they are. And the diseases—we’ll have to test each one to make sure they’re healthy. I don’t know if this is the right time.”
Brenna has turned on my mother, her expression darkening. “Whoa, whoa, whoa: ‘Who knows what kind of people they are’? What kind of people are you, lady?”
“Mom,” I say, stepping between them. But I feel as angry as Brenna sounds. “Are you hearing yourself? What, you’re worried they won’t live up to New Hope’s standards?” I give my head a sharp shake. “Yes, there are hard cases in Fort Black. Criminals, when it comes down to it. That useless vaccine that Doc was distributing didn’t help either; it made people more violent. But if they don’t have to fight to survive, they may not want to fight at all. If there are troublemakers, we can ID them, work with them. Jacks can help us with that. But I can tell you, there are a lot of good people in Fort Black. Maybe they’re hardened, but they had to be to survive.”
“I have to think
about what’s right for New Hope,” she says, but softly, as if she’s talking to herself. I can see she’s hearing me, at least. Thinking.
“Of course you do,” Rice says quietly. “But we can agree that New Hope needs to change, can’t we?” When my mother nods, he says, “I think we need to open up to people, starting tonight. Now. Starting with this question, about bringing the Fort Black people in, helping them. Give people the whole picture, tell them what we think is the right thing to do.” He shrugs. “I think we can trust them to want to do it.”
“I think . . . that’s asking a lot of them, isn’t it?”
She’s been insulated in her lab for so long, she has no idea what regular people are like, how they feel, what they’re capable of. I have to make her understand.
“Mom,” I say, “believe me, the people in Fort Black have dealt with a lot worse. And they still are. There are sick, frightened people there. We can’t turn our backs on them.”
For a long moment, my mother and I look at each other, into each other. And then she nods, just perceptibly. “We can downsize the Ward,” she says, “move people who need medical attention there. Start with them.” She nods again. “We can make this work.”
“The Guardians can run supplies out to Fort Black,” Kay says. “Any medical staff who wants to treat them. Then we can start shuttling people here.”
“How does that sound?” I ask Jacks. “Do you think people would want to come here? Do you want to come here?”
“I don’t know, Amy. . . . I haven’t left Fort Black in a long time. I . . . don’t know if I can.”
“Even to be with me?” I ask, uncertain. Rice gives me a sharp look, but I don’t care anymore who else hears. “I have to take care of my sister. You know that. But I want to be with you. If you want to be with me, it has to be here,” I tell Jacks.
There is a long pause. Then, quietly, Jacks replies, “Okay. I’ll come. But what about everyone else in Fort Black? What if they don’t want to move?”
“We won’t make them leave, but it’s safer here.” I look at my mother. “Or it will be. Won’t it?”
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