by Scott Cramer
Colony East rose in the distance about three miles away. The vista gave her a good sense of where she had come from and where she and Toby must go to meet Jonzy.
Toby had said the rooftop would be the best place for radio communications with Jonzy, and he was right. Nothing stood in her line of sight between her and the tops of the tall buildings. The hairs stood on the back of her neck in anticipation of speaking with Jonzy at midnight, less than eight hours from now.
She removed the two-way radio from her waistband and clicked the button, murmuring in relief upon hearing the hiss of white noise. She turned the radio off and set it on the roof.
Sensing her stomach was about to experience a fresh tsunami of cramps, Abby gathered the lumpy pillow and lay on her side. The surface of the roof was a layer of pebbles stuck in tar. As the pain in her gut intensified, she removed the pillow from under her head to let the sharp bite of pebbles against her scalp create a diversion.
After several minutes, the cramping lessened, and she rolled onto her back. Looking up, she wondered when, or if, Lexi would return to the alley. That started dark thoughts snowballing. Lexi had tricked her.
Unable to do anything about the betrayal, Abby closed her eyes and took a journey in her mind, picturing herself at the cabin on the lake in Maine. Touk and Jordan and Toby were all on the dock with her. She dove in and swam underwater until her lungs ached, and when she broke the surface, ripples spread out in every direction.
Abby forced her eyes open, trading the comfort of her fantasy for the bitter reality of her ravaging hunger. She had to stay awake and alert.
A car engine fired up. Thinking Toby had returned, she shot to her feet and raced toward the side of the roof that looked over the alley. Her legs wobbled from weakness, and she teetered from the dizzying height. She dropped to her knees and stretched out flat on her belly, hanging her head over the edge. Someone was backing the car out of the alley.
Abby crawled along the edge as the car outpaced her. For an instant, looking straight down, she saw the driver had on a blue Colony East uniform. It was Lexi. Lexi was stealing the car.
By the time Abby reached the corner of the building, Lexi had backed into the street. Abby picked up a brick and hurled it in frustration. The car was driving forward when the brick struck the rear window, cracks in the glass webbed out from the point of impact. Lexi sped off and was soon out of sight.
Abby rested her cheek on the roof and grabbed a handful of pebbles. Her intuition about Lexi had proven correct, and she had exercised extremely poor judgment in coming up to the roof.
How would she and Jonzy and Toby reach Mystic now?
She balled her fist tighter. They’d sail, bike, walk, and even crawl if necessary. Despite her rising fever and savage hunger, Abby’s drive to find Jordan and Touk grew stronger by the minute.
The reality of them requiring a car sunk in, and with despair enveloping her like fog off the water, Abby opened her hand and let the pebbles rain down.
1.21
EMORY CAMPUS – MEDICAL CLINIC 3
Lisette drifted in a blur of orange and gray. The sky was sometimes this color when Generation M walked to Jung Auditorium in the evening.
She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids weighed a thousand pounds, so she gave up trying.
Beep, beep, beep ….
Lisette had no idea what was making that steady, nearby sound. Her nose crinkled from a familiar odor, providing the first clue. Only one place smelled like chemicals: Medical Clinic 3.
Lisette was about to call out to ask a scientist what she was doing here, but she decided to remain still and quiet. The scientists moved the girls and boys who shouted too much into a separate room. It was more fun to be in the ward with others.
Something stretched the skin on her head, and she slid her fingertips through her stubbly hair to see what it was. A round pad with wires coming from it was stuck to her scalp. Four more pads were stuck on the back and sides of her head.
Lisette was trying to think of reasons she might be in Medical Clinic 3 when a door opened, and she heard voices.
“What gives him the right?” a woman asked.
“Before the comet, Doctor Hoffer was a leading researcher in the field of memory.” That was Chandra. “He published several very influential papers on Alzheimer’s disease. He came to the CDC to work on a grant from the Veterans Administration. He was researching a cure for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, because so many war veterans had experienced traumatic events in battle. He wanted to find a way to ease their anxiety.”
“Experimenting on rats, I imagine,” the woman said angrily.
“Doctor Hoffer started with rats and then moved to primates,” Chandra confirmed. “He was conducting the first human trials when the epidemic hit. The early results were very promising.”
“I’m a doctor,” the woman said. “I understand the risks associated with human trials.”
Lisette stayed very still, worried she was overhearing a private conversation. She didn’t want to get caught.
“Her health and well-being are Doctor Hoffer’s number one priority,” Chandra said. “The procedure is completely safe. When we remember an object or event, the brain releases a unique chemical. Think of that chemical as a neural fingerprint. By initiating a memory and then targeting the chemical with a drug, Doctor Hoffer neutralized any unwanted memories.”
The woman muttered, “Neutralize? I think erase is a more accurate description.”
“Erasing memories implies the memories are gone forever. Lisette has retained all of her memories, but some are buried deep in her subconscious. She may dream about them,” Chandra replied.
Lisette gulped. They were talking about her.
“That is cruel,” the women hissed.
“Doctor Hedrick, you have to consider the options we had. Doctor Perkins would have expelled her from the colony if Doctor Hoffer hadn’t performed the procedure.”
Lisette didn’t know Doctor Hedrick or why she seemed so angry.
“Can you explain the procedure to me?” Doctor Hedrick asked.
“She had strong neural fingerprints of her brother and sister, and of her home as well. Those were the primary memories that Doctor Hoffer initially targeted. He also tried to reduce her anxiety about Medical Clinic 3.”
Lisette sighed in relief. They were talking about another girl named Lisette. She didn’t have a brother or sister.
“What about other memories?” Doctor Hedrick asked.
“She will remember very little about the past two days, which is just as well.” From Chandra’s soft tone, Lisette pictured her crinkling her eyes. “She’ll be much happier. She’ll have a better chance of keeping up with her peers. Her test scores will improve.”
“What about her ability to be human? Pain, sorrow, and longing are all part of life. They make us stronger.” Doctor Hedrick now sounded more tired than angry.
“She can still experience those emotions,” Chandra said.
“You sound like Doctor Perkins.”
“Did you have children?”
“No,” Doctor Hedrick quickly replied.
“Were you married?”
After a long pause, Doctor Hedrick replied in a voice that was barely a whisper, “I was engaged.”
“I was married for fifteen years,” Chandra said. “We had two children. Do you know how much it hurts to think about my family?” Chandra sniffled. “I asked Doctor Hoffer if he could help me forget my husband and children.”
Doctor Hedrick gave a little gasp. “I’m sorry.”
“I thought about it long and hard before I made my request. I knew exactly what I was asking him to do. I wanted to make it as if they had never existed. He told me to think about it for a while.” Chandra started to cry.
After a few minutes, Lisette heard footsteps, followed by the door opening and closing. Either Chandra or Doctor Hedrick had left the room. She sensed the closeness of the adult who had remained behind, and soon a
hand touched her arm.
“Lisette,” Dr. Hedrick said.
Harsh light came through the cracks as her eyelids lifted. When she blinked, it felt like someone was pushing needles through her eyes. Gradually, the pain stopped as her eyes adjusted.
She was in bed, and a woman she had never seen before sat beside her. She had sandy blonde hair and sad eyes. Lisette thought she was pretty.
“Who are you?” Lisette asked.
“I’m Doctor Hedrick. But I want you to call me Sandy.”
“What am I doing here?”
Sandy’s eyes misted. “We wanted to run a few tests on you, that’s all. How are you feeling?”
“Sleepy. When can I see my friends?”
Sandy pressed something into her hand and folded her fingers around it. Lisette had no idea what it was, but it felt cold and slippery.
“Look,” Sandy said.
Lisette gasped at the silver necklace. “It’s so beautiful.”
She looked at it more closely and saw it had a small silver heart dangling from the chain.
“It’s yours,” Sandy said. “The tooth fairy left it for you.”
“The tooth fairy!” Lisette exclaimed.
“Smile,” Sandy said.
When Lisette smiled, Sandy reached forward and gently pressed her finger against her lip. “Yep, the tooth fairy made a trade. Your tooth for the necklace.”
Lisette pushed her tongue forward, exploring the gap where her tooth had been. When had it fallen out? The tooth barely wiggled the last time she touched it.
Sandy pinched one end of the necklace and lifted it. “Want me to put it on for you?”
Lisette nodded and giggled. She liked the tooth fairy and liked Sandy even more.
1.22
PORTLAND TRADING ZONE
Jordan, with Eddie by his side, watched a boy crawl out from inside a rusting SUV. The tires were flat and the passenger-side door was missing. Clothes spilled out like an upturned laundry bag from the passenger’s seat. They were close to the fuel depot, the tall fence that surrounded Martha’s compound only twenty meters away. Beyond the fence, massive fuel tanks and generators hummed like beehives. Floodlights on tall poles shined over a fleet of fuel trucks and several trailers. A girl wearing a baseball cap and rubber boots paced back and forth inside the fence.
“You got food?” the boy from the SUV asked in a deep, demanding tone. He had broad shoulders, and a fleshy scar split his forehead horizontally. His arms hung loosely by his sides, and he hunched forward.
“No,” Eddie said.
“We’ve come to see Martha,” Jordan said.
“F-O-O-D” Scar Boy said, spelling it out.
A glint of red light caught Jordan’s attention. Scar Boy held a knife in his hand and the blade reflected the sunrays.
“Where are you from?” Scar Boy asked, twisting the knife.
“None of your business,” Eddie snapped.
“Castine Island,” Jordan said, thinking it was best to be friendly.
“Do kids there have the Pig?”
“Why do you care?” Eddie asked.
“Some do,” Jordan replied.
Scar Boy gestured to Eddie. “You’ve got it. You know what it’s like to eat and eat and eat, but never feel full.”
He made a show of inserting the knife into a sheath that hung from his belt and then held his hands out in a gesture of peace. “Anything you got, please. Just a bite.”
Jordan reached into his pack and took out the potato. “You can have a piece.”
Scar Boy pounced and grabbed Jordan’s wrist. Jordan focused all his attention on the knife the boy wielded in his other hand. Eddie cocked his fist, but Scar Boy threw a roundhouse kick that smashed Eddie in the face. A knee came out of nowhere and landed in Jordan’s midsection, knocking the wind out of him. He doubled over, still clutching the potato. Scar Boy bowled him over and pinned him to the ground. Eddie was on his back a few feet away.
“Take it,” Jordan said, feeling Scar Boy’s pounding heart. “It’s all we have.”
Scar Boy grabbed the potato. “Give me your shoes, too,” he growled.
Jordan, using his fingertips, swept the dirt and gritty pebbles from the parking lot surface into a pile under his palm. Greeting Scar Boy with a face full of dirt might buy them a few seconds to deflect the knife and strike back.
Chung chung.
The sound was unmistakable, and Jordan’s rapid heartbeat shifted into an even higher gear. Someone had cocked a shotgun.
The boy gripping the gun towered over them. Purple tattoos adorned his ripped, muscled arms, and above his lip was a scar or a mustache. The guard with the baseball cap stood next to him.
Purple Tats gestured to her, and she took the potato from Scar Boy and handed it to Jordan.
Then Purple Tats swiveled the barrel at Jordan. “What do you want Martha for?”
“I’m looking for someone who works for her. His name is Spike. He drove my sisters and a friend to Colony East.”
Keeping the gun aimed at Jordan, Purple Tats said, “Martha went to Canada. She thinks nobody has the Pig there.” He gestured to Eddie. “Who’s that?”
“My friend,” Jordan said. “We’re on our way to Colony East. I want to find my sisters.”
Purple Tats pointed the gun at Scar Boy. “Get lost.”
Scar Boy cursed bitterly. “We’re all going to die soon.” His tone was fearless.
Jordan gulped, wondering if Scar Boy was daring Purple Tats to shoot him. Purple Tats braced the butt of the gun against his shoulder.
Scar Boy had just tried to harm Jordan, but burning deep in his gut was disgust toward the senseless violence he feared he was about to witness.
“He’s hungry, that’s all.” Jordan took a bite of the potato, spit the piece into his hand and passed it to Scar Boy, who scarfed it.
Scar Boy and Purple Tats locked eyes. Then Scar Boy slowly stood and skulked into the SUV.
“That was a waste of food,” Purple Tats said, resting the gun on his shoulder. “Lisette, right?”
Jordan’s heart stopped. “Yes, she’s my kid sister.”
“Abby called her Toucan. I’m Spike.”
1.23
BROOKLYN
Abby paced across the roof’s pebbled surface. Imagining something terrible had happened to Toby, she clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering. It was eleven forty; he should have returned by now.
He had every right to be angry with her. If she had remained in the alley, she might have been able to stop Lexi from stealing the car.
She glanced to the south. The Colony East skyline was barely visible under a dome of stars and a half moon. Jonzy would soon head up to the top floor of the Biltmore Hotel, if he weren’t already there. They’d be speaking to each other in less than fifteen minutes.
Abby turned on her walkie-talkie and celebrated a few seconds of white noise before flicking it off again. Then she sat cross-legged and placed the radio beside her.
The temperature had dropped a few degrees since the sun had set, but her fever gave her chills. She ripped a hole in the garbage bag, pulled it over her head, and then hugged a ratty pillow to her chest to generate warmth. Looking up, she identified the North Star, her lucky star. She made three wishes: for Toby to hurry up and join her, for Jonzy to safely escape the colony with antibiotic pills, and that they’d find a way to Mystic to meet up with Jordan. Pressing her luck, Abby made two more wishes: that they’d get Touk from Atlanta Colony and all go to the lake in Maine where they’d live in peaceful seclusion.
Hearing voices from the street, Abby listened intently. Ignoring the persistent cramps in her stomach, she crawled to the edge of the roof and peered down. Someone swept the end of the alley with a flashlight. The beam lit up the corners and then zigzagged on the ground where the car had been. Toby?
The light flared in her eyes, and she inched back, fearing she had been spotted. Toby would have called out to her.
The only w
ay on to the roof was through the door. She thought about blocking the entrance with piles of bricks and stones, but then she couldn’t remember whether the door pulled or pushed open. Instead of wasting precious seconds lugging bricks, she decided to arm herself with the flagpole spear.
Before she took a step, the door opened and a figure stepped out, concealed in dark shadows. Starlight revealed the walkie-talkie lying on the roof. The flagpole spear was somewhere beyond it.
Abby crept toward the weapon as the roof’s surface announced each step with a loud crunch, crunch, crunch ….
“There you are!”
Abby drew in a sharp breath as Toby rushed to the edge of the roof. “Lexi, we’re up here,” he said in a hushed tone.
Ten minutes later, with Lexi and Toby huddled next to her, Abby trembled for a different reason. She was sky-high with relief.
Lexi explained why she had taken the car. “Kids saw me with the fish, and they followed me back here. Toby and I had always figured that kids might find the car, so we came up with a second hiding place, just in case. Abby, I was worried when I couldn’t find you in the alley. Then I was really worried when the brick struck the car.”
Abby turned on the radio three minutes before midnight. The crackling hiss of white noise reminded her of the sound a wave makes after it crashes on shore and the sheet of water slides back down the sand, churning up air bubbles from buried clams.
Two minutes before midnight, Jonzy’s voice crackled over the radio. “Bossy, this is Lemon. Do you copy? Bossy, this is Lemon. Do you copy?”
Toby pumped his fist. “Yes!”
Abby’s spirit soared as she pressed the button. “Lemon, I copy. I’m with the Trader.”
“You and the Trader are together. I’m fishing at dawn. Do you copy?”
