That was common knowledge. I wasn’t revealing anything about myself or Meghan, and perhaps she would explain herself.
Her smile broadened, as though she had been expecting that to come up. “Well, not exactly, no.”
I glanced at Meghan, but she stared at the ceiling. Turning back to Mata, I requested clarification.
“It’s true that I told the Doctors when all the rebels were finally in the same place at the same time. I had to keep their trust. But I also went to the Factory to warn them. Because of my efforts, there were some who survived. Those who heeded my warning were able to escape.”
Was she referring to Gideon, Jade, and Michael? Or were there more? Though I would need to know eventually, I decided to go with a safer question instead: “Why are you here? In Liminis,” I clarified. As far as I knew, she was from Furoric.
“To meet you,” she cooed, leaning a little closer to me.
My face felt hot.
She laughed at my embarrassment before continuing. “I’ve been working to dismantle the Ten Colony Council since they showed me the truth. I was a Third too, you know. Just like you.”
I chanced another look at Meghan, and she was now watching Mata with intense scrutiny. Unable to catch her eye, I couldn’t conference with her. “Um . . .” I wasn’t sure what to say. Was this a trap? Probably. “So . . . what do you want with me?”
At this, she jumped off the couch and started studying my belongings. “Funny story, you know. I met Doctor Spencer—I believe you’re familiar with him?”
He was the Doctor who had Loved and left Galilea.
“Anyway, I met him at the Doctors’ headquarters, and we immediately hit it off. He is a charming man, even if he’s something of a skeez.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but I was sure Michael could have told me. It certainly didn’t sound like a compliment.
She picked up my copy of Understanding Human Biology and flipped through the pages. “It turns out he had recently broken up with a First from Liminis, and he told me all about her. He was pretty scared, to tell you the truth. Apparently she lost her roke when he screwed her over, and he was hiding out at headquarters until she calmed down.”
Dropping the book, she moved over to Meghan. She crossed her arms, and looked down at her. Meghan stared back defiantly, crossing her own arms, and I squirmed uncomfortably in my seat.
“You know how crazy girls can get, am I right?” Mata said.
Meghan didn’t answer. After another couple of seconds, Mata turned back to me, dropping her arms to her side.
“So, I thought, a First who was dumped by a Doctor? That’s got to be a good connection. I came here, found Galilea, and that’s how I learned about you.” She plopped onto the couch again, this time sitting with her leg practically on top of mine. “That’s about it, handsome.”
I stood up abruptly, sticking my hands into my pockets. My face burned and my mind raced; I needed some time—and space—to think about this. Meghan now watched me, but I couldn’t read the expression on her face.
Mata laughed again.
I, frankly, didn’t see what was so funny. But dammit if her perfume wasn’t tantalizing . . .
“So what about it?” she asked, stretching her smooth legs out over the length of the couch.
I shook my head, trying to get a grip on myself.
“Partners?”
My ears burned as I stared stubbornly at the carpet under my feet. How could she possibly expect us to agree to this without giving us time to talk it over? Meghan would probably give me hell for not turning her away immediately. I opened my mouth to tell her “no,” but was surprisingly interrupted—
“Yes,” Meghan said, standing abruptly. “Partners.”
I gawked at her in disbelief, but she was staring at Mata, her hand outstretched confidently.
Mata, too, got to her feet, smiling broadly. “Excellent,” she said as she shook Meghan’s hand vigorously. “Best news I’ve heard all day.”
“What the hell just happened?” Michael asked me in my head.
“It’s official. Your sister has gone insane,” I responded, unsure of what else to say.
Chapter Ten
Jade
Stores run by Seconds lined the main street, right across from the Factory. Though the weather grew warmer daily, the front lawns were still covered in snow—like they had been on the day I first met Gideon.
I shivered as I headed for Liminis’s only beauty shop, trying not to let myself get caught up in memories.
The stores here were for unessential items—furniture, decorations, liquor. Each household got a weekly allowance of food delivered to their homes, but anything that was unessential to survival could be purchased with the wages the Seconds and Firsts received for their work. Since I had never even held a coin, I had never really explored this area of town, so I had to walk around the beauty shop in order to assess its weaker access points.
The windows and doors were all locked, but not for nothing was I a rebellious Third with a penchant for breaking rules. Michael and I had picked a dozen locks when we were at school together, and it was just a matter of figuring out what kind this one was.
“Spring locks are easy to bust open,” I whispered, studying the door to the dining hall. “The tricky part is finding something stiff enough to jab between the frame and the door, yet bendy enough to force the lock back inside.”
“What about Victor?” Michael whispered back. “He’s stiff enough.”
I snorted, throwing my hand up over my mouth in panic, muffling the sound. “Shh!” I scolded at once. “You can’t make me laugh like that. We’ll get caught!”
“We can’t make penance for our sins if we don’t get caught.”
“Oh, who cares?” Guilt twisted my gut, even as I said the words. The Ten Colony Council cared. My mother cared. So why didn’t I care? There was definitely something wrong with me.
If I had known then what I did now, maybe I would have tried harder to steal extra food for myself and for my friends, rather than just breaking in for the thrill. It still angered me that we had endured years of near-starvation for nothing.
Shaking my head, I left the back door—which was metal and locked with both a spring lock and a dead bolt—and went to study the front entrance again.
It had a pair of double glass doors, held together by another deadbolt. Rows of shelves filled the darkened interior, and I wasn’t thrilled about breaking and entering where the visibility was so good. But this door would be much easier to force than the other one, so I would just have to be quick. In and out, and then I could find somewhere else to complete my task.
Searching around on the ground now, I was able to locate a thin but sturdy stick that had fallen from one of the trees that lined the avenue. If I was careful, I could insert the stick under the bolt, lift up gently, and the doors would spring free. Much easier on double doors than on single.
Though I nearly broke my stick, I managed to get inside the darkened shop. I looked up at the ceiling to see if there was a security camera and quickly dropped my face. They would know there was a robbery, but they didn’t have to know it was me. Keeping my chin to my chest, I sidled into one of the rows, hoping that I wouldn’t have to do too much searching before I found what I was looking for.
My heart pounded.
Squinting in the dark, I passed shelves filled with nail polish, make up, and perfumes. Why anyone would waste their wages on this nonsense, I wasn’t sure. If I ever made any money, I would spend it all on food.
I moved on to the next isle. Soaps and shampoos. Getting closer.
Then my heart stopped altogether as a siren suddenly shrieked in the distance.
Hair dye.
With my pulse in my ears and sweat on my palms, I grabbed the first box I saw and sprinted for the door.
In the darkness, I could see the flashing green and yellow police lights, but not the vehicle they belonged to. My mind raced. I didn’t know if they wer
e after me or after someone else, but I had to get off the street. Where would I be safest?
No one would ever expect a Smart to be so stupid.
I turned in the opposite direction and dashed toward Roma Avenue.
---
Having been Walter’s Third for longer than was cosmically fair, I was intimately familiar with his general habits and schedule. Though he never had to know the time, I knew that he never got out of bed earlier than 11 o’clock in the morning, sometimes later. His new Third, whoever that unfortunate soul was, would most likely leave another hour or so after that.
The tricky part was finding a place to hide until I could be sure the house was empty.
Because Seconds had to get out of bed so much earlier, I found myself changing my plan and leaving my place behind Walter’s garbage can around 6 a.m. in search of more effective camouflage. It was still early enough that the streets were abandoned, but anyone looking out of their window wouldn’t think twice about a person strolling down the street at that hour. I doubled back and switched directions whenever I heard a car coming, but I didn’t run into any trouble.
I wondered what had happened to my bicycle.
The first empty house I came across was quite large for a Second home, and it appeared to have a brand new coat of light blue paint on its exterior. The driveway was empty and all the lights were off inside, so I headed toward the back in order to let myself in.
Pushing my ear against the Third entrance, I listened carefully, just in case, but I heard nothing inside. I twisted the handle.
Eeeeeeaaah.
Sweat stung my palms as the unoiled hinges shrieked. I looked around quickly, barely able to get a lungful of air, but there still wasn’t anyone around. I ducked quickly inside, leaving the door open.
My eyes had trouble adjusting to the darkness. Backlit by the outside, I stood still for a few seconds, getting my bearings, my heart pounding against my ribcage. The hallway looked much like mine had when I lived with Walter. I took a step.
Smack!
Stars burst before my eyes as something solid struck the back of my head.
I spun around, but I couldn’t see my attacker. Another blow—this time against my temple.
Staggering, I flung out my fist, trying to make contact, but it flew through thin air.
Smack!
I stumbled—right into the phantom opponent. Groping frantically, I found a fistful of fabric and pushed him backward, slamming him up against the wall. I slammed the heel of my palm upward—felt a crack, heard a grunt. Aiming low, I sent a couple of jabs into his stomach. He tried to hit back but was too disoriented. I grabbed his wrist as his hand sailed toward me, yanked it behind his back, turned him around, and slammed him up against the wall.
“That’s good, new girl.” Sweat poured down Serge’s forehead as he dropped his hands to his thighs and panted heavily. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“Who are you?” an unfamiliar voice croaked. I was surprised to hear that it was female. “Why are you here?”
My eyes had adjusted to the dim light. The person in front of me was thin and short, with boyish brown hair. The residential Third.
I dropped her wrist, forced her around, and jammed my forearm into her neck, still pinning her against the wall.
“Jade?”
I didn’t recognize her at first, but as it slowly dawned on me, I lessened my grip on her slightly. She took advantage of this in order to push me away, wiping the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t call the police,” she growled.
Her name was Shilah; she had been a year behind me at Wissen Schule. We weren’t friends, and as far as I could remember, we’d never even spoken.
“I just need a tunic,” I said quietly, stepping away from her, still breathing hard. “I just need a tunic, and then I’ll leave.”
“They’re looking for you.” She took a step further into the house. “They’re going to kill you. I always knew they would.”
“Stop,” I warned as she continued to back away.
“You were always in trouble. Always breaking the rules. You are a wicked girl, Jade Doe, and I’m going to help them get you.”
“I said stop.”
She turned her back and darted into the main part of the house.
Pumping my arms, I sprinted after her and tackled her to the ground. She yelped, grabbing for my hair. I hissed as she pulled a handful of my now-short locks and dug my fingernails into her wrist to make her let go. She shrieked, rolling onto her hands and knees, and then tried to crawl away, but I grabbed her ankle and pulled her back. She kicked out—I was stronger. Scrambling on top of her, I pinned her to the ground with my knees. She tried to elbow me but couldn’t reach, so I grabbed her shoulders and slammed the back of her head against the ground.
“Please, stop!” she yelled.
I slammed her again.
Her head lolled backward as her body went limp.
My heart seemed to drum in my head as the rest of me suddenly turned to stone. Staring down at her slack face, another image exploded inside my stunned brain:
I struggled against Walter, but he simply picked me up off the ground and took me to the wall, slamming me against it with his brute, savage strength.
“You owe me an apology,” he growled in my ear, his hot breath scalding the side of my face.
“Please, don’t—” My words came out high-pitched and wild.
I lifted my hands to try and pry his away from my neck, but it was hopeless. He would kill me with his bare hands, and no one would care.
His bare hands—
My whole body trembled as my eyes found the motionless girl in front of me. What had I done? Frantically, desperately, I pushed my fingertips into her neck, feeling for proof that I wasn’t a monster.
There was nothing there.
I pushed harder, and waited, my lungs screaming for oxygen.
I adjusted my fingers, which were turning cold. My own heart nearly drowned out all of my other senses, until—
Thump thump.
The sigh of relief charged out of my lungs as it collapsed my chest into my spine. Her pulse was weak, but it was there—her blood still coursed through her veins.
Getting quickly to my feet, I went to prop open the door that separated her wing from the rest of the house. I needed to get out, fast, but not before I had made her comfortable.
“Get off my property, Smart.” He spit the last word in my face, throwing me into the ground again. “You’re a criminal.”
He left me to shiver in the grass. The wind ripped through my bones, and I was unable to control the combination of cold and fear that raked my entire body.
I wasn’t like him.
Grabbing Shilah under the armpits, I resolutely dragged her across the floor and into her bedroom. The bed in the corner was low to the ground, and without much effort, I was able to get her on top of it.
She groaned.
Satisfied with my efforts, my self-preservation took over again, and I sprinted toward the dryer, which was right next to her room. It was full of freshly-laundered Second tunics, and I grabbed an undiscerning handful as sirens reached my ears again.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered as I tiptoed back toward her entrance. “I’m so so sorry.”
The sirens grew louder. My chest felt tight as I opened the door and ran for it, squinting as I entered the bright morning sunshine again.
“I’m sorry,” I thought again as I bolted back toward Roma Avenue.
But it was all that I could do.
---
I was much more cautious this time.
Waiting across the street from Walter’s house, I hid behind a dumpster and watched carefully. I wouldn’t make my move until I was absolutely certain that both he and his new Third had left for the day.
Absolutely certain.
Despite the fact that I needed to be on high alert, I was tired and my min
d kept wandering. First I thought about Shilah. About how easy it had been to beat her unconscious. How I’d barely even thought about it—just did it. Then I thought about Gideon. How would he have reacted, if he had been there with me? But he wasn’t with me. He was in a Colony prison, and I had been crazy to think that maybe I could free him.
Walter stepped out of his front door, and I snapped back to attention. The sight of him drove away every other emotion inside my heart, and darkness fell over me as I felt the familiar desire to kill him.
He hadn’t changed. His hair was still red as ever and his face was still filled with hate. His arms bulged under his Factory jumpsuit, and he had to duck into his fancy car as he folded his long, muscular legs to fit inside.
It may have been my imagination, but he looked even surlier than I remembered.
But once he had gotten into his car and driven away, my useless brain drifted back to Gideon again.
“Is it time to go yet?” he spat, a million years later.
“I don’t know,” I snarled. “Aren’t Seconds supposed to carry watches?”
“When was the last time you saw me with a watch?”
“Fine,” I spat. “I think it’s been long enough. Let’s go.”
What if I never saw him again?
I shook my head; that wasn’t an option. I had to see him again. I had to.
But I couldn’t escape the fact that I didn’t have a plan. I couldn’t keep wandering around Liminis, stealing from Seconds and beating up Thirds. I should have waited for Cece. I couldn’t do anything without her, and waltzing back in here alone had been tantamount to suicide. What was I thinking?
Crouching lower, I watched as several other Firsts got in their cars and drove away. It didn’t matter what I had been thinking, because it was too late to do anything about it. I’d just have to take it one step and a time, working on my strategy as I went along.
Fallen Firsts Page 10
