“I don’t, sir. We all have the same end game.”
The man leaned in. “Do we? Because my understanding is that you’re the one triggering all of this. And you’ve successfully gathered all of them in the United States to you. How are we to know for sure that you fully control of your own actions? Or is something else pulling your strings? And I’m just pouring a can of gasoline on a burning house.”
William mimicked the gesture, stopping just an inch from his face. “Because it’s my family–-all the people I love—who have suffered for generations to get to this point. You could put your whole damn army in front of me and I’d find a way through.”
The general stared at him for a moment more, and then motioned for him to follow. He reached into his pocket to bring out a phone, quickly dialing and barking orders to bring Lynn Roseworth to the perimeter. Once he hung up, his turned to William. “We need to formulate a plan here. How do you intend to stop the girl out there?”
“I have to find her first. And make physical contact. Like I did with the others, I should be able to contain her abilities.”
As they walked, the crowds parted. They passed through several tents, all with the same reaction.
Moving beyond the last tent, William stopped, surprised at what he saw on a solitary table.
In a cage on the table, multiple rats scurried on a wheel or amidst pieces of shredded newspaper. Lily recoiled at the sight.
“What is that?” William asked.
“We’ll explain in a moment. Let’s keep going. But it reminds me, how did she—how did both those girls survive out there all this time? And how did she escape?”
William felt Lily’s grip tighten as they walked. “She doesn’t remember anything.”
“This feels bad, Mr. Chance. Really bad. I don’t trust this at all—”
“And given what your agency and government have done to my family, the feeling is completely mutual.”
“Let’s just hope you meant what you said, that we all want the same conclusion.”
Among the parked vehicles were two ATVs positioned at an angle, almost touching, preventing anyone from walking beyond. Standing before them were four women, encircled by soldiers.
“Well played, General,” William said softly.
“Just a reminder of what’s at stake should you decide to make a move that we don’t agree with.”
He passed by his aunts, prevented from touching them by the surrounding soldiers. He saw Kate put her arm around Stella as he passed.
“Screw this,” he heard a familiar voice say. “Let me see that boy.”
William attempted to take Roxy’s outstretched hand, but the soldiers gently pushed her back.
“No contact, that’s non-negotiable,” the general said from just a footstep behind him. “And that goes for everyone.”
Only one person did not turn to him at his approach, as her gaze was fixed on the broken landscape.
“Nanna,” William said.
“William, come stand with me.”
“Mrs. Roseworth, you know that is not going to happen,” the general said.
At that, she did look over her shoulder. “You will give me a moment with my grandson. And then you can have all the time you want to bark.”
William heard Roxy grunt in satisfaction.
“We’re here for one reason only, and that is for you both to reveal what you know so I can formulate a strategy—”
“Then stand between us if you wish, General. But you are only wasting time,” Lynn said.
William flashed his raised eyebrows at the general, motioning at the space beside his grandmother. The soldiers around her parted for the general as he huffed over, putting his hands on his hips to further the divide between grandmother and grandson.
“Understand this first,” the general said. “No one can go any further than the points of these vehicles. Do you see there?”
Not far across the mesa on which they stood was another cage. There appeared to be movement inside it.
“More rats?” William asked.
“Indeed. The cages mark the perimeter of the area in which people have died. When the waves of sickness come, there is no warning. In the last week, when the diseases intensified, we set them set up at different locations and intervals to warn us. If the bastards keel over, we run and don’t look back. So far, it hasn’t reached this far.
“But it also means we cannot go in search of the source. We even attempted by helicopter. The last radio communication was from the pilot saying he couldn’t breathe. It crashed less than a minute later.”
Lynn raised her hand to her neck. The general continued. “Drones show us nothing but dead animals and birds out there. No one has walked out of this area alive. That is, except for that little girl. She was quite the discovery. We certainly didn’t intend on letting her leave—”
“What do you mean, let her leave?” William said, Lily peering around his leg.
“Please, Mr. Chance. A nameless little girl wanders out of a hot zone that is under complete surveillance by the military and you think we weren’t alerted? We were about to seize her, take her to the DC headquarters or quarantine her, even if she wasn’t emitting the diseases. But then she saw you on that parks investigator’s phone. When she indicated that she had to find you—you, of all people—we knew for certain that it was happening again. And that we had to find you. Who do you think arranged for them to fly to Arkansas? We were with them the entire time, watching, observing. She led us right to you. We, of course, misjudged what she was, in fact, capable of. And you, for that matter.”
William could barely contain his budding anger. “So many people didn’t have to die.”
“Understand that we’re in the same place today that we were eight days ago, when that girl was discovered. We cannot venture in to determine what is causing the diseases. We’d hoped that girl would find you and explain to you what was occurring, so we could take you both safely into custody to determine what could be done to stop it. But reckless fanatics changed our course.”
“Fanatics,” Lynn said softly. “You refer, of course, to the people who have wanted to expose the truth that you so badly wished to contain.”
The general jutted out his jaw. “All that matters now is stopping it. And you and that girl are going to show us how.”
William reached down and lifted Lily, leaning in to her. “I know your sister’s out there. I can feel her. But I don’t know exactly where. Does any of it out there… look familiar?”
Lily shook her head. “It was so dark.”
He held her tighter. “The bottom line is we don’t know. There’s simply no way of finding her unless I can get closer—”
“You’re wrong, my boy,” Lynn said. “There is a way.”
“What is it?” the general demanded.
Lynn’s sad eyes turned to William. “I should have told you. When I first suspected it. But I couldn’t. The truth was too difficult for even me to share.”
“I don’t understand,” William said.
“There’s nothing that can be taken out of us, William, to erase the danger we pose. There’s nothing implanted inside you, or me, or that sweet girl in your arms. We are the weapons. They changed us, William. Down to our very DNA.”
“How could you possibly know that?” the general said.
Her eyes flickered to him. “Because I am a Researcher, General. While you and your agents and soldiers were either trying to contain or use us as weapons—I was trying to understand how to make us safe again. And it was there, in the very skies above my woods.”
“Nanna.” William stepped towards her, but the general held up his hand and the soldiers moved in. “Nanna, what do you mean?”
“They swarmed when you first disappeared. The ladybugs. I thought it was some bizarre reaction to the abductions. But in the last year, they started acting strangely again. I’ve seen it documented, in photographs or video, all over the world, in all the sites of abductions and where they are returned to earth. It only happens for a moment, and you have to know what to look for. Sometimes you see it in swarms of flies, in locusts, in ladybugs, or even in snow or rain. Whatever is indigenous to the area or its weather patterns. Look closely above and you will see it. The shapes of DNA strands.”