“So this might not work?” Avian asked.
Dr. Evans paused. He refused to look up which told me that whatever was about to come out of his mouth would be a lie. “I have enough data to believe that it will work.”
“How long will it take you to build the device?” I asked, ignoring the lie.
“Difficult to say,” Dr. Evans said. “Obtaining all the parts will take some time. It needs to be done precisely.”
“We’ll have to scavenge,” Dr. Beeson said. He was still shaking his head and blinking rapidly. “But I can’t imagine it will be much more difficult than the Pulse. And we did that when the city was still infested with millions of Bane.”
“How long?” Avian asked again.
Dr. Beeson looked at Royce. “Seven weeks?”
Royce nodded.
“The challenge isn’t just in the amount of time it will take to build the device,” Dr. Evans said, his voice serious. “We have to turn her kill switch back on.”
“What’s the problem with that?” Avian asked.
“I blocked the kill switch with another code,” Dr. Evans said with a heavy sigh. “The code is long and complicated. Not something I could memorize. So I wrote it down, made backups.”
“We have to go back to NovaTor to get it, don’t we?” I asked, my insides growing cold.
“Yes.”
THREE
Royce, Dr. Beeson, and Dr. Evans had a lot of work to do and a lot of plans to lay out. West had stood to leave when Dr. Evans insisted he stay. West hadn’t fought the request, but did look hesitant.
But I had hit my information limit and needed sleep. I could catch up later. Avian, Tristan, Bill, and I stepped out of the coffee shop into the empty street.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“All of New Eden is still confined to the hospital,” Avian said as we stood in the street. He slid his hands into his back pockets. His shoulders were stiff, his brow drawn together. “Everyone went into lockdown when we realized what you were doing, just in case. So no one has been allowed outside the hospital for the past four days.”
“What about everyone from the Underground?” I asked, looking over at Tristan.
“They’re a bit more like refugees at the moment,” he said. There were mixed emotions behind his eyes.
“What happened after I left?”
Tristan slung his rifle over one shoulder and folded his arms over his chest. “The fighting died out pretty quickly after. Everyone was so shocked by Margaret’s death that they weren’t sure if they were supposed to keep fighting or not.”
“Do they still think Royce and I killed her?” I asked. I recalled Royce’s rough interrogation of her after the beacon went off. We’d been up on the sixth floor. And then shots were fired below. Royce and I tore out of there. Just before we exited to the building, Margaret jumped from the window, ending her own life.
Tristan nodded. “They’re angry, and more than a little scared about what is going to happen to them. About half of them are still convinced you and him pushed her.”
“How is there any peace here then?” I asked, again looking both ways down the silent street. “How has the fighting not picked back up?”
“Separation,” Avian said, his voice sounding like his mind was far away.
Tristan nodded. “We’re all staying in an old hotel three blocks from here. Tuck and his BRC crew cleared it out a few months ago. Until we figure things out, they stay there, you lot stay here.”
“And what about you, Tristan?” I asked, meeting his eyes. “Where do you stay?”
There was hesitation in his response. So Avian answered for him.
“Tristan has been the peacekeeper,” he said. “The go-between. He’s been doing an excellent job, I think, considering we haven’t gone back to war.”
I nodded, knowing how hard this must have been on Tristan. He wanted to be a member of New Eden. He’d never fit in at the Underground. But you can’t escape your past.
“And you?” I asked, turning back to Avian. “It looks like Royce hasn’t locked you back up. Nick is going to live.”
Avian looked away from me and his entire countenance grew dark. “He doesn’t need to put me behind bars. My borderline exile is punishment enough.”
“Excuse me?” I said, my brows drawing together.
“I’ve been stripped of all duties and rank,” Avian responded, still not looking at me. “Most people wanted all my firearms taken away. Royce only let me keep them because of my marksmanship and he wasn’t sure what was going to happen while you were with the Bane. Things are going to be different now, Eve. I’ve made a huge mistake.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to say. Avian had made a huge mistake, one that had almost ended two lives just a few days ago. He had accidentally shot Nick and threatened to kill West. He’d had the gun in West’s face and everything.
“Good thing in this world, there are plenty of chances to prove yourself and gain redemption,” I said.
I slipped my hand into his and we started across the road.
Avian had never held my hand so tightly.
“How you holding up?” he asked.
“I don’t even know what I am right now,” I said with a shake of my head. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Tristan set off east, to where I assumed the hotel was. “I feel a bit delirious right now.” It was true. As we crossed the lobby of the hospital, shapes and colors floated across my vision. It didn’t even really feel like my feet were touching the floor. I felt as if I were floating and drowning at the same time.
“Sleep deprivation can do that to you,” he said quietly as we started up the stairs.
“I don’t think it’s just the lack of sleep.” We stepped out into the hall and started out toward my door. We hadn’t gotten more than two yards though, when a man stepped out of his room. His eyes grew wide when he saw me and a ridiculous smile spread on his face.
“Eve’s back!” he bellowed. Suddenly he started clapping his hands above his head.
I was confused and taken aback by his loud gesture. My face grew warmer and I started to grow irritated with his very loud display. Doors suddenly opened and more than a dozen people stepped out of their rooms. As soon as they saw me, they started cheering and clapping as well.
“Thank you!” some people shouted. “We would all be infected if not for you,” others said. There was a lot of other ridiculous praise being spouted off.
A disbelieving chuckle worked its way up my throat, and a smile actually tugged in one corner of my mouth.
Avian let go of my hand, took half a step back, and joined in the clapping, despite the dirty looks some people threw in his direction.
I shook my head to try to fight off the embarrassed smile that kept pulling at my lips.
Lin suddenly broke through the crowd and rushed forward to engulf me in a hug.
“You’re alive!” she laughed. She placed her hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. “They didn’t rip you apart!”
“Nope,” I said, hardly able to hold back the laugh in my throat. “It was actually pretty boring out there in the desert.”
“You’re an absolute idiot,” she said, shaking her head. Tears pooled in her eyes even though she was smiling. “Heading out there with all those Bane by yourself.”
“But it worked!” a man from just behind her said. “We aren’t dead because she was an idiot.”
I finally did laugh.
And it felt so good.