A little blond-haired girl darts by, and we all stop in our tracks. Eli’s face goes from worried to full-out terrified. He lunges forward, trying to grab the child, but she only laughs harder and slips right out of Eli’s outstretched hands. I reach for her too, but she only twists her body around, dodging me, still giggling.
“Meredith!” a woman calls. We can’t see her yet, but I don’t need to see her to know she’s in a full-out panic.
I focus in on Eli. The panic he’s obviously feeling is practically pouring off him in waves, which makes the dread pooling in my stomach weigh like a stone. He seems torn—undecided—but then he straightens his shoulders and takes a step out of the shadows. Evie makes a short squeaking sound, then slaps her hand against her mouth, her other hand reaching out to him. As if she’s willing him to come back.
But it’s too late. An Enforcer has beaten both of us to it. Eli steps back into the shadows almost instantly.
The Enforcer is holding the girl, who isn’t giggling anymore.
Somewhere in me, I know what’s about to happen.
A woman rushes around the corner, then stops in her tracks at the sight in front of her. Her eyes shut and even from here, I can see her swallow. But she straightens her shoulders and walks calmly forward. I have to admire that even though she’s obviously terrified, she doesn’t turn tail and run.
“That’s my daughter,” she says, her voice only wavering slightly. “I apologize. She just learned how to open doors. She doesn’t understand the curfew. It won’t happen again. I promise.”
The Enforcer doesn’t say anything. She looks down at the child, who is shrieking now.
The mother is still blabbing on, stepping forward, but Eli is mumbling something too and I can’t make out what either is saying. I want to do something, grab the girl and run, but I know what would happen. I’m a Surface Dweller. She’d probably kill the girl, then come after me next.
But Eli could do something. Right? He could stop what’s happening. Why doesn’t he?
Without warning, the mother’s body jerks as red spreads across her chest. Her eyes widen, but I can see the light in them die before she even hits the ground. I turn back to the Enforcer to see the glint of a gun in the Enforcer’s gloved hand.
Her voice is as dead as the woman on the floor when she says, “Curfew is for the safety of all Citizens. Failure to comply will result in severe punishment.”
Then she turns and disappears with the girl into the shadows. The girl’s howls slowly fade away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Citizen Evangeline Summers, you are hereby summoned to report to the Medical Sector, tomorrow, March 15, to initiate fertilization treatments.
—SUMMONS FOR PROCREATION DUTY, DATED SEVENTEEN YEARS PRIOR
Evie
The memory comes so fast and so hard, I almost feel like it’s pulling me from one world to another.
“Congratulations! Evelyn has been chosen for Mother’s special program.” The woman behind the desk smiles. “You two must be so proud. It isn’t every family that gets the privilege of serving our city so completely.”
“Special … program?” My mom, my real one, clutches me tightly to her chest. Dad is staring at my mom like something horrible has happened and it’s all her fault. I can see him clearly, but when I look at her, her face is just a smudge of smoke.
She turns back to the woman behind the desk. “But—but we thought Evelyn was meant to be a scientist, like her father and I.”
I fidget in my seat and try not to look at the woman, but fail. She makes me nervous. I want to suck my thumb even though my mom says big girls don’t do that.
“Mother requested her personally,” the woman says, her voice notably cooler. Then she laughs and her blue eyes sparkle with fake happiness. My parents don’t join her. They’re too busy having one of their silent conversations. “Her genomes have proven superb.” She forces her face into a serious expression, one that makes me even more scared of her. “Of course,” she says, “you will be fully compensated for your contribution.”
As if summoned, a young woman slips out of the shadows, startling my parents and terrifying me. I cling to my mom’s neck as the shadow woman walks directly to me.
“She is in my charge now,” the new woman says. Her emotionless voice causes my little body to shudder and I cower even more into my mom’s chest.
“Now?” my mom asks. “But—”
“She must begin immediately. There is no time to waste.” The monster takes my hand and rips me from my mom’s lap.
“Mommy,” I yell, tears rolling down my cheeks. But she doesn’t get up, and the monster doesn’t even pause as she removes me from the room.
When I come out of it, I’m staring at a woman’s body and the small pool of red forming around her. I feel like I’m going to be sick.
Everyone is still gaping and Eli looks shell-shocked. After a second he yanks me down the hall in a full out run. Gavin is pushing me from behind as if he’s terrified I’m still not moving fast enough. Finally we reach what Eli calls—and a little voice tells me is—the Residential Sector without further incident.
I can tell Gavin thinks this has been too easy, despite the scene we just witnessed. He’s watching Eli warily as if he thinks we’re being led into a trap, but I hope he can shove down his paranoia enough to let Eli help me. If it is a trap, then we’ll just have to deal with that when the time comes. I don’t have to tell Gavin to be prepared. He’s got his fingers wrapped tightly around the gun.
We take a set of stairs and by the time we make it up the half dozen or so flights, I think my heart’s going to explode the way it’s banging against my ribs. Finally we reach the right floor and go through a door and down a hallway. We stop at a door at the very end and Eli knocks loud enough to startle everyone.
“What’s he trying to do?” Gavin whispers to me. “Wake the dead?”
I wince. Not exactly the right wording there.
A few seconds later, the door opens slowly and blue eyes peer out from the crack. Then it jerks open slightly more as those eyes catch slight of Eli.
“Father?!” The woman bows her head, the only part of her body I can see, but her hair covers most of her face besides her eyes. “To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you so late this evening?”
“Evangeline.” His tone—one I’ve heard Gavin use when talking to me—has everyone glancing at him, before Eli shakes himself. Suddenly he’s all business. “Evelyn has returned. These Surface Dwellers have brought her back to us, but her memories are wiped clean. The nanobots have done their job. Too well, it would seem.”
The woman’s eyes widen; then she follows Eli’s gaze over to me, and the door flies open, banging against the wall. It makes me jump, but the woman ignores it.
She leans against the door and I’m surprised to see how familiar she looks to me. As if I’ve seen her before, but I can’t remember where.
“Come, come. Get in here before someone sees you,” she demands.
We step inside, and she immediately shuts and locks the door behind us. She starts toward me, but Eli brushes her off. “No time for that now. We need to get her memories back or she’ll never be able to help us. Where’s the best place?”
She gives him a bland look. “The Medical Sector,” Evangeline says.
“You know we can’t risk that,” Eli says.
She gives him another look, but sighs. “Follow me.” She pushes past him, leading the way down a hallway painted a pretty lavender with wood wainscoting on the bottom. It reminds me a little of Asher’s house in Rushlake. Pictures of a little girl are framed on the wall and I tip my head to the side to study them closer. I think I recognize her from somewhere.