Jeremiah pulled her away, getting her moving once again. Every room was more gruesome than the last. At each window, Evalene would play with another set of plastic gloves or shuffle the boxes around, while Jeremiah repeatedly pretended to check the patient clipboards. Both of them stole glances inside until they got a good view of the next patient.
More than one of the victims lay on the sterile tables completely cut open. Evalene gagged multiple times, and nearly threw up at the sight of one. She tried not to look at them for more than a split second after that.
They reached the end without any sign of Pearl.
Evalene felt like someone was ripping away her last shred of hope. Tears were so close to the surface now that she struggled to see through the haze, blinking rapidly as she surveyed the rest of the hall, searching for a surgery room they’d somehow missed.
There were no more rooms with windows, but she noticed a nondescript door that blended into the wall at the far end. She touched a hand to Jeremiah’s arm and pointed. He scanned the door and nodded, moving toward it.
Evalene tested the handle and it was unlocked. She crept inside with Jeremiah right behind her. The first thing she took in was the enormity of the room, followed by the fact that it was filled with metal cages. Dozens and dozens of cages.
They came up to her chest, not tall enough for an adult to stand and not long enough to lay down stretched out, yet at least half of them were filled with human beings, curled up on their side without so much as a bed or even a blanket. A few of them stirred. It looked like a holding room—could it be possible they kept prisoners here before surgery began?
Evalene’s eyes whipped back and forth, trying to examine every face at once.
There.
A small form with brown hair, curled up peacefully, as if sleeping. Evalene knew her face instantly.
“Mom!” she cried out, not caring who heard. Running to the cage against the back wall, she dropped to the floor next to it, grabbing onto the metal bars, shaking them. The small form inside didn’t respond.
Pearl didn’t seem to have any mismatching limbs or open cavities in her chest or stomach. Nothing unusual except a strange, circular barcode on her neck that glowed softly. But she didn’t open her eyes either.
“Mom,” Evalene’s voice broke. Her tears fell freely now. “Mom… please wake up… please…”
41
Evalene
PEARL STIRRED.
She was alive! “Mom?” Evalene cried, feeling Jeremiah come to kneel beside her more than she saw him. Tears blurred her vision. She swiped at her eyes. “Mom, it’s me, wake up!”
Pearl’s still form shifted as she opened her blue eyes. Her dark brown hair was as brittle as straw and her skin pale white as if she’d never seen the sun. She blinked up at Evalene and Jeremiah without recognition.
Evalene realized she still wore the scrubs and her face was covered. She ripped the disposable mask off her face and tossed it to the side, gripping the bars of the cage.
Pearl only blinked. “Mom, it’s me,” she said again. Had they messed with her mind? Why didn’t she recognize her? “It’s Evalene…”
The light dawned in her eyes and Pearl gasped. “Evie!” she cried, struggling to sit up. “Baby! How are you here? I never thought I’d see you again!” She lit up and tears of joy sprung to her eyes, running down her cheeks as she reached through the bars to grasp Evalene’s wrists, as if to test her presence. “Am I dreaming? How is this possible?” she laughed weakly. “Did I die and go to heaven?”
Evalene gripped her mother’s wrists in return, so small and thin, as if she hadn’t eaten in weeks. “I’m here for you, mom,” she said in a sob. She laughed too, and it sounded a bit hysterical. The tears dripped off her chin, and she sniffed, unwilling to let go of her mother to wipe them away. “We need to get you out of here.”
Evalene tore her eyes away from her mother to look around the room, desperate to get her out of this awful cage. Jeremiah was pulling his mask off. He took the hint and rose immediately. “I’ll look for the keys.”
Turning back to her mother, Evalene couldn’t seem to stem the flow of tears. “Mom, what did they do to you?”
“Oh baby, don’t worry about me, I’m fine.” Pearl’s smile was calm and joyful at the same time. A renewed flood of tears burst out of Evalene. They hadn’t done any surgery after all. The relief was overwhelming.
Pearl squeezed her arms, leaning into the cage bars as if exhausted. “Sweetheart, you need to get out of here. You don’t know how dangerous it is—”
Evalene shook her head, cutting her off. “We came to rescue you—we’re not leaving without you.”
“You and your friend there? Tell me there’s more than just the two of you—”
Jeremiah picked up a ring full of at least two dozen keys off the wall. Overhearing Pearl’s words, he answered, “There’s five of us total… not exactly an army,” he hurried over with the keys, kneeling by the cage. “It’s nice to meet you, by the way, I’m Jeremiah,” he sorted through the labeled keys, looking for the one that matched Pearl’s cage. “When things are a little less insane, I’d really like to talk to you about dating your daughter.”
Pearl’s weary face lit up and she grinned. “Is that so?” She gave Evalene’s hands a light squeeze, looking Jeremiah over as she teased, “I might consider it.”
The lighthearted moment didn’t last, as Pearl sagged into the bars of the cage, struggling to stay seated. She loosened her grip on Evalene’s hands, too weak to continue holding on.
“I’ve missed you baby,” she said to Evalene in a thin voice, eyes closing for a moment of rest. She didn’t let go of Evalene, but their hands came to rest on the ground. “More than you know,” Pearl added, leaning her head against the bars.
Evalene’s heart swelled. The tears were from happiness now. “You did?”
“Of course!” Pearl leaned her head against the bars, and Evalene touched her forehead to hers. In the background, the key ring jangled as Jeremiah searched for the matching key.
“I just thought…” Evalene didn’t know how to bring up Noble. “It seemed like you found a new family…”
“What do you mean—” Pearl’s hands twitched in Evalene’s. “You met Noble? Noble’s here?”
When Evalene pulled back to nod, Pearl moaned. “The two people I love most are risking their lives in the most dangerous place on earth.” Worry lines wrinkled her brow as she weakly brushed Evalene’s hair back. “You shouldn’t have come, baby,” she whispered.
Before Evalene could answer, Pearl’s gaze drifted to her neck and she drew Evalene’s long, brown hair away, tugging her closer. Knowing her mother wanted to see her tattoo, Evalene turned to the side and bent to show her.
“A Number two—No!” Pearl gasped. Her already pale face grew white enough to match the walls. “That’s impossible. A twenty-nine?”
Evalene didn’t know what to say. But in the silence Pearl was quick to put two and two together. “This is my fault… it’s because of me,” she said, tears in her eyes. “Baby, I’m so, so sorry… I never thought—I truly didn’t think they would hurt my little girl–” she choked on her words and couldn’t continue.
“I know, mom,” Evalene found herself saying. “It’s not your fault. You didn’t know.” And as she said it out loud, she felt herself begin to believe it. “You know the Number One was overthrown, right?” she blurted out. “That the Number system has been abolished?”
Pearl’s hands flew to her mouth in surprise, then her eyes closed in relief. “After everything we tried ten years ago, I’d begun to think it wasn’t possible,” she whispered, a tear leaking out.
“It wouldn’t have been, if it wasn’t for Jeremiah,” Evalene told her, as he fit another key into the lock. Twisting it, they heard the gears inside shift and bolts open.
He flung the door of the cage wide, leaning in to help physically lift Pearl out, gently.
“Thank you, young man,” Pearl
said weakly. “I want to hear all about it—” She cut off as she grasped his forearms, needing all her strength to drag herself out of the cage. Evalene could tell she needed Jeremiah’s help to stand. He set Pearl on her feet and she swayed for a brief moment before reaching out to Evalene. Jeremiah let go and stepped back. Evalene fell into her mother’s embrace, holding on tightly, letting her tears soak the shoulder of her mother’s thin white hospital gown.
Jeremiah stepped away to give them a moment. “I thought you were dead,” Evalene managed to say through the tightness in her throat.
“I hated leaving you,” her mother said, pulling back to hold Evalene’s face between her hands. “I asked to bring you with me, but it was too dangerous.” She wiped away Evalene’s tears with her thumbs, even as her own made tracks down her cheeks. “They promised me you’d be taken care of—you were supposed to get the best Number! I never thought…” she broke off, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Mom…” Evalene felt her new worldviews colliding with the old and pushed forward, proclaiming the truth over herself in a way that felt more permanent than it ever had before. “My Number doesn’t mean anything. You don’t have to wo—”
She didn’t have a chance to continue. Jeremiah stood at the door peeking at the hallway, and he hissed in a low voice, brow furrowed, “Olive, Sol, and Noble are in the hall.”
Evalene knew he’d told them to wait. What had gone wrong?
“Let’s wait for them to report before we try to leave,” Jeremiah said, rubbing a hand across his face.
But as he spoke, a screeching alarm began blaring over the loud speakers.
42
Pearl
THE ALARM WOKE ALL Pearl’s fears, causing stark panic to spread throughout her body. She’d only just gotten her daughter back. She couldn’t lose Evie now.
A blonde girl burst into the room just seconds after the alarm began, followed closely by a man with olive skin, black hair, and a determined look on his face as he stuck with the girl. Behind them, in the doorway, a figure caught Pearl’s eye. The two strangers moved further into the room, leaving him there behind them, staring back at Pearl.
Noble.
His hair was more unruly than ever, and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days, but he lurched forward to take her out of Evie’s arms, picking her up and spinning her around once, before setting her back down. “I didn’t want to believe it was possible,” his voice broke in her ear. Pearl held onto him, feeling wetness on her face as she realized she wept with joy. “I thought I’d lost you forever!”
Pearl couldn’t answer with the lump in her throat, so she simply nodded, holding onto him. His arms were gentle, cradling her, but still she felt every tiny squeeze as if it was a clamp tightening around her, especially in her chest where a swollen ache grew stronger. She forced herself not to wince, and to smile up at him instead.
In the corner of her eye, Pearl saw Evie watching. She reached out a hand to her daughter, still holding on to Noble. Evie hesitated, but took it. The awkwardness was sweet. They would have time to figure it out later, but for now, Pearl just soaked in the fact that she held onto two people she’d never expected to see again.
“We should go,” said the man whose name Pearl hadn’t learned yet. “Now.” The alarms punctuated his statement.
As Pearl reluctantly pulled away from Noble, the blonde girl spoke up. “We figured out how to set the prisoners free! It’s the perfect time to get out of the building, while everyone is panicking!” But as she spoke, her eyes took in the room and she gasped. “What are all these people doing in cages? Are they okay? We have to get them out!”
Evie stepped forward, handing keys to everyone in the group. Pearl watched her with pride. Her little girl had grown into a strong, capable woman.
The alarm continued shrieking overhead as people trickled out of the cages. While Noble directed each person to run for it, Pearl leaned into Noble, feeling weak. Just standing took all her willpower. She was so tired. “Take the stairs,” he told them. “Grab anything that looks like a weapon—you might need it. They’ve already evacuated this floor by now. Run!”
Pearl only half listened, eyes on Evie as her daughter released the prisoners, stopping at a cage with an older man whose hair was pure white. His eyes were closed, despite the commotion. She watched as Jeremiah reached in to feel the man’s pulse, then stopped Evie with a gentle hand. He shook his head. Even from across the room, Pearl could see tears well up in Evie’s eyes, which caused her own eyes to blur in reaction. Evie should never have had to see this evil. Fury at the BioLabs and everything they stood for welled up in Pearl, stronger than ever. They deserved to be punished. She seethed in frustration. She wanted to end them, once and for all.
The strangers in white hospital gowns filed out past her and Noble, and the others in the little group came to stand before them, finished with their work.
“Olive found the cure,” Noble told them all in hushed excitement, gesturing to the blonde girl, his face animated. And he turned to face Pearl, “You were right—there’s a way to stop the BioGrades forever!”
“Why didn’t you say so?” she gasped, gripping his shirt collar and shaking it weakly. “We have to do it!”
“We need to go,” Jeremiah spoke over the two of them and the screaming alarm. “Sol,” he spoke to the man Pearl hadn’t met yet, “can you lead the way?” Sol nodded, and Jeremiah held the door open, waving the group through. Noble was slow to move, but Evie slipped under Pearl’s other arm to help her, and together the three of them awkwardly navigated the doorway, stepping into the hall, where the alarms seemed louder, if that were possible.
“We have to do it,” Pearl repeated herself, leaning on Noble and gazing into his eyes as they trailed after the others, striding down the hall.
Jeremiah and Evie exchanged a glance, and Evie said, “Mom, we came to get you out of here. We can’t stay.”
But as they made their way down the now empty hallway, Noble ignored Evie, and the alarm, focusing on Pearl alone as he explained. “There’s a virus that attacks the BioGrades. They made it for war purposes, but it turned out to be too violent. Even for them.”
“What does it do?” Pearl turned toward him.
“It terminates all BioGrades—” the girl named Olive began to explain.
“It completely shuts them down!” Noble interrupted. “Whatever makes them function, the artificial bits—the stuff that isn’t human—it breaks it down. Permanently!”
Distracted by movement, Pearl glanced over to find the blonde girl—Olive—gaping at one of the surgery rooms, hands over her mouth, unable to stop staring at the violation in plain sight. The man named Sol gently reached out to pull her close, and she turned into his chest to hide her face, letting him wrap his arms around her. “We have to help them,” the girl said before Pearl could say the same thing.
“You don’t understand,” Noble said, maneuvering himself into Pearl’s line of sight as he answered the girl. “If we do this, most of them will be dead anyway.” Do what? Pearl’s head felt foggy. She remembered the virus he’d mentioned and nodded.
Behind him, Evie frowned, but Noble didn’t give her any space to argue. “There were notes about the trials—how the virus was created as a weapon, but it couldn’t be contained.” He gestured all around him as he spoke. “Once it’s in the air, it doesn’t just attack a single BioGrade alone—it attacks all BioGrades within a 50-mile radius. It could spread and spread until it crossed the entire continent. It might even cross the ocean!”
Pearl blinked. He had her full attention now. “There’d be no coming back from it…” she breathed, imagining the massacre of everything they’d created. It was exactly what they deserved. “It really would end it, once and for all. No more slaves. No more murder.”
“But it would be murder,” Evie protested.
“Not necessarily,” Noble said. “It’s not going to kill them. Only stop the BioGrade from functioning.”
&n
bsp; “It might not be the technical cause of death,” the blonde girl argued vehemently, “but if a BioGrade is all that’s keeping someone alive, then it will kill them.”
Evie, Jeremiah, and Sol all nodded. “Mom, we can’t risk it,” Evie said. Pearl felt herself waver. “We can’t hurt all those innocent people.”
But that only made Pearl think of the innocents who’d died in front of her very eyes. They were wrong. She lifted her chin in resolve. “This scientific abomination has killed, and will continue to kill, for centuries if we don’t stop it.” She turned to Evie, speaking to her alone. “Baby, people will die if we do this, but far more will die if we don’t. It’s the right thing to do.”
Evie looked confused. Before she could answer, Jeremiah spoke up. “It would affect so many more people than just those operating here,” he argued, not backing down any more than the others. “It would hurt every single person who ever had a BioGrade. People who had cancer and got new body parts or internal organs to live. You’d be killing them too. They didn’t do anything wrong—they don’t deserve it!”
“There’s got to be another way…” Evie said hesitantly, looking uncomfortable arguing. The others nodded agreement.
The moment in time seemed to pause as they stood in a half circle, staring at the human being dying alone in the operating room, seeing both sides of the equation, at a loss. Pearl admired Evie. She reminded Pearl so much of herself when she’d been younger. But she’d seen things the last few weeks that she couldn’t un-see. She was no longer confident or un-scathed by the BioLabs. She couldn’t imagine the consequences of a virus so disastrous and all-encompassing—she didn’t want to. All she could think about was that all those people who’d benefited from a BioGrade had done so at the expense of another human who didn’t get to live. The cruelty had to end. They’d tried dozens of other solutions over the years, and all had failed. If they finally had an elusive opportunity to end the brutality, they needed to take it. “You don’t know how evil it is. It must be stopped. This is the only way.”
Pearl's Number: The Number Series Page 27
