I sit in silence, watching him control his expression.
He crosses his arms. “So what happens to you? What happens when you get sick?”
I look over to the side. I shouldn’t tell him. It’s stupid to reveal anything that could be used against me, but there’s a desperation in his eyes that even he can’t control.
“Pearls.” I hold my fist in the air, letting my fingers fall open. “They explode. Boom. Then they’re gone.”
His eyes widen. “You can destroy Pearls?”
I nod.
His expression becomes cold once more. “She’s right. You’re a danger to the country. You’re just what the Shippers need to weaken the Unified Party and gain control.” He reaches forward.
“She doesn’t love you,” I say, hoping that I can get him to pause for a second. I remember what Avery said outside Lenbrg. Madame’s really done a number on Cassius. I can’t take him physically, but maybe there’s another way.
His hand freezes.
“You’re not her son,” I continue. “Not really.”
“That’s none of your business.” He sneers. “Why did you come here? Why Seattle?”
“Skyship found me here when I was a kid.”
He shakes his head. “Madame knows. She’ll be here. She’ll find you.”
I grit my teeth, inching back against the rocks, building up what little energy I have left. “I’m a good hider.”
He chuckles. In that instant, for the split-second he’s unguarded, I kick him right in the stomach. He staggers back a few paces, out of breath. It’s long enough for me to push myself up and limp around the nearest boulder.
“Big mistake!” He wheezes behind me.
I keep my attention forward, dipping under a crumbling entryway into a narrow, dirt-stained alley. Strength failing me, I dart behind a piece of wall, clutching my chest. My organs burn, working overtime. The air stings as it hits my skin.
It’s quiet for a moment.
Cassius flies around the corner of the wall and punches the side of my face. I lurch farther into the half-building, feeling around the inside of my mouth with my tongue to make sure I’ve still got all my teeth. I gag on blood. Metallic. It tastes horrible.
Cassius smiles. “Time’s run out.”
I hunch over, breathing hard. He approaches slowly and watches me struggle.
“Help me find the lab,” I choke. “Maybe there’ll be a cure.”
“Madame has the cure.” He pushes me backward. “All she needs is you.”
I trip over a beam sticking out from the ground. “She’s playing you. It’s all for Pearls. I can control them. Once you bring me to her she’ll forget about you.”
Before I can stand up, Cassius grabs my arm and twists it behind my back. I shout out in pain. He twists harder. “Prove it.”
“That girl I was with,” I sputter. “Her name’s Avery. She’s like you. Madame trained her, raised her, and got rid of her. You’re just an accessory.”
“I’ve never seen that girl at the Lodge,” he whispers. “I don’t believe you.”
“That day on the rooftop,” I continue. “We triggered something in each other. It brought me here. You, too. Help me find the lab. We’re connected in some way.”
“You’re crazy,” he replies. “There is no lab. The Unified Party’s sifted through these ruins hundreds of times. Everything was destroyed.”
I elbow him in the stomach with my free arm. He stumbles back, allowing me time to break free.
He’s about to lunge at me again when a soft whimpering cuts through the silence. Both of us pause, listening to the crying.
“Do you hear that?” Cassius whispers.
I nod, coughing. “It’s coming from the other side of the alley.”
Without responding, he walks to the edge of the building and peers out a large hole in the side of the wall. I limp after him and turn the corner into the alleyway.
The crying grows louder.
I toy with the idea of attacking him again. His back’s turned, but even without the injuries I’d be no match for him. It’s safer to run.
And that’s just what I’m about to do-until I step into the intersection.
I recognize it immediately from my dream. No, not dream. Memory. Everything’s where it should be, each concrete skeleton positioned as if I had stepped back in time. The green mist has cleared. It’s lighter now, but the same.
Then, crouching on the sidewalk next to a blown-out window, I see her.
A girl a few years younger than me sits with her back to us, dwarfed by a jagged, barely standing wall. She senses us immediately. She quiets and turns around to stare.
She wears loose-fitting pants and a shirt, unadorned and simple. Once white, they’re now smattered with dust and dirt from the ruins.
We approach her carefully. Something about her demeanor demands caution.
There’s something off about her. At first I don’t see it, but as a faint glimmer of sunshine pokes through the smog and illuminates her skin, I notice the glowing.
Green. Hazy, but undeniably green.
The energy pours from her like a beacon. Pearl energy.
The pieces fit together perfectly in my mind, even though if I sat down and thought about it I’d realize how crazy it sounds.
I know who this girl is.
She flew out of a Pearl on the overpass. I freed her.
43
The girl staggers forward, looking at us like we’re a pair of strange animals. She squints as she pushes through the mist, jerking her head side to side. Her bony shoulders are hunched over. She’s malnourished, to say the least.
Cassius and I stand in silence. I watch the girl stumble on bits of rubble. She seems disoriented-out of place.
The sadness and uncertainty in her eyes make her look like a child. Her wispy blonde hair floats in the breeze, sticking to tear-dampened cheeks. She wipes it from her face and allows herself a faint smile as her eyes meet mine.
Then she runs, an awkward lope toward me like a baby learning to walk.
Her first words are unrecognizable-strings of sounds like the ones I heard coming from the Pearl in the trailer. But as she falls forward into my chest, there’s one distinct word buried in the clutter. “Key,” she says.
Before I can react, she wraps her arms around me in a tight embrace. At first I try to pull away, but as her skin touches mine my body buzzes with warm electricity. My knees scab over and smooth. The throbbing in my ankles retreats. Every last drop of pain fades into a memory. She’s healed me.
After a few seconds, she lets go. I fight the urge to grab her again and hold her close. It’s addicting, the energy.
“The. Key.” Her words come out fractured.
“Oh.” I fumble with the chain around my neck, pulling the key from under my torn shirt. “You mean this?”
She glances down at the silver key for a second before looking back up at me, brows furrowed. She shakes her head.
I pull the chain over my head and cradle it in my hand. “The key, right?”
Her eyes narrow and she points her finger into my chest. “The. Key.”
Cassius steps up behind her, grabbing her shoulder and spinning her around forcefully. “Who the hell are you supposed to be?”
She pushes away from him immediately, pulling her arms up around her shoulders. She glances back at me before scanning Cassius from head to toe. Then me again. Then Cassius.
I place the necklace around my neck again. “Do you know anything about a lab?”
She cocks her head, eyes focused on a point far off in the distance.
“Do you understand me?” I continue. “Do you speak English?”
Her eyes shoot back. “I… learn… English. Learn. Ed. Learned.” Then it all spills out like I’ve flipped a switch inside of her-a jumble of words thrown together so fast that they become a single sound. “Carbon-bench-green-supervisor-episode-age-sea-setting-plenty-s mall-escape-crunchy-umbrella-orbital-police-future-run-”
“Okay,” I try to interrupt her, “that’s enough.”
“-radius-church-shiny-given-convict-rhythm-lost-lecturing-abhorren t-”