“What do you mean?” I blinked my eyes open, startled at the sound of his voice.
“When you promised Leb you would go get his daughter. Did you really mean it? Or were you thinking about just running away?”
“I didn’t know where I’d go,” I said. “If the reservation is real I’d like to know where it is. Clearly I’m not exactly equipped to survive in the wild.”
He chuckled. “I think you’d do fine.”
“And I don’t want to prove him right,” I said softly. “I know Leb is expecting us to run off. They don’t trust us, and I don’t want to prove them right.”
He reached up and pressed his hand to my cheek, and I felt him plant a soft kiss on top of my head. “Good point,” he whispered.
TWENTY-FOUR
WE LEFT OUR HIDING SPOT AFTER THE SUN SET. TWO HARC shuttles had passed during the day, but I hadn’t seen any in hours.
I’d fallen asleep again for a little while but Callum was awake and alert. He still hadn’t slept at all since we left the facility and I could see his hands shaking again. Although he saw me notice, we both said nothing. He hadn’t displayed any of the other signs of insanity and I refused to talk about something that very likely wouldn’t happen.
That couldn’t happen.
We headed to the edge of the trees and I took in a deep breath as I glanced at the sky. All clear.
We took off, boots pounding the ground as we sprinted across the grass. The wind whipped through the bullet holes in my jacket and I scrunched up my face against the cold. My chest was tight and my throat burned as we sprinted, but we kept up a quick pace, casting nervous glances into the sky.
It was about five miles before a patch of trees appeared again, and we slowed to a walk as we disappeared into them. I took in a deep breath, crossing my arms over my chest to trap some of the warmth.
“How long is it going to take us to get through this tunnel thing?” Callum asked after we’d caught our breath.
“No idea. It just says tunnel on the map. We can always hop the fence again if it’s not there.”
“Awesome. That wasn’t at all hard last time.” He swung an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close.
The trees were thinner here, scattered and providing less cover than the ones closer to Rosa, but we walked anyway, both too tired to run anymore.
The skyline of Austin came into view as we got closer, and a trace of a smile crossed Callum’s lips. “It’s nicer than Rosa.”
“We’re coming in from the rico side.” The tops of the buildings looked vaguely familiar. There were three tall glass structures, surrounded by a few shorter ones I could barely see over the trees. The tallest building was on the west side of town, and the very top was bright white, like it was guiding people home. It was amusing, considering the rico side of Austin had no interest in letting anyone in.
“Have you seen this side of the city before?” Callum asked.
“No. We passed through on the way to the holding facility after I died, but I think I was still in shock. I don’t really remember it.”
“Do you remember dying?” he asked. “Or waking up?”
“I remember waking up.”
“Did you know you were dead? I didn’t know.”
“Sort of,” I replied. “I was hysterical, so everything is jumbled. I only remember waking up in the Dead Room and screaming.”
“They took you out of the Rising Room? That’s terrible.”
“Yes. They thought I was permanently dead.” The hospital moved all young people who might Reboot to the Rising Room, where they were strapped down to beds. If they Rebooted they moved on to the holding facility; if they didn’t, they went to the Dead Room.
No one should have to wake up in the Dead Room, surrounded by the day’s deceased humans, waiting for cremation. It had been a full room the day I was there.
I glanced at Callum, pushing the memory away. “You didn’t realize you were dead?”
“No. I thought I’d gone to sleep. I kept asking for my parents. I thought I’d feel different as a Reboot. But I feel the same. It never felt real until I got to Rosa.”
“Yeah,” I agreed.
The trees grew thicker as we neared the city, and as I pushed a low branch away from my face, the gray wire fence and flashing red lights came into view. I stopped and pulled out the map. The fence was making a soft buzzing sound, indicating that this one was electrified, too.
We retreated back farther into the trees, until the fence was no longer visible. If Leb’s map was correct, the tunnel should be right in this area.
“It’s here?” Callum asked, peering over my shoulder at the map.
“Supposedly,” I said, squinting at the ground. It was too dark to see much at all. I tilted the map in his direction. “Are we in the right area? It looks like the tunnel should come out not far from downtown.”
Callum glanced at the map, then at darkness around us. “Let’s try a little farther west,” he said, pointing. “I don’t think we’re close enough to downtown.”
I nodded and followed him, kicking at the dirt and every suspicious rock. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. I probably should have asked Leb what the tunnel looked like. Or what they used it for. Or if Leb was sure it was still there.
I stuffed the map in my pocket and let out a sigh. Callum and I walked west, then back east, then west again, combing the area and searching through fallen leaves and branches.
“We’re going to have to get electrocuted again, aren’t we?” Callum asked, squinting up at the sky. The first hints of morning light were creeping through.
“Maybe.”
“Wonderful. I think my insides liquefied last time. It was all jiggly in there.”
I shot an amused smile his way. “Let’s try a little closer to the fence.”
He followed me as I headed toward it, stopping when I could hear the hum of electricity. I turned when Callum dropped to his knees and pushed aside a pile of branches. He pointed at a small hole and grinned, bracing his hands against the sides as he peered inside.
“It looks tiny.”
“I’ll go first,” I said.
I knelt down next to him and looked into what seemed like nothing more than a poorly constructed hole in the ground. I paused, glancing back at Callum. Crawling through a tiny, dark hole in the ground actually made me a little nervous. I had no idea what was in there, but I had to believe that Leb wouldn’t lead us into danger with his daughter at stake.
“We can still get electrocuted if you want,” Callum said, pointing back at the fence.
“I think we should go with the quieter approach.” I ignored my nerves and crawled into the hole. I heard Callum follow a moment later.
The tunnel was barely big enough for us to fit through on our hands and knees. I had a bit of breathing room, but when I twisted around to look at Callum, I could just make out the outline of his back brushing up against the top of the tunnel.
The ceiling was supported by some sort of white wooden beams that looked less than sturdy. Other than that it was nothing but dirt underneath my fingers.
“What happens if this caves in?” Callum asked. “Are we just stuck in here buried alive forever?”
“Yes, probably.”
“Oh, good. Thanks for making me feel better about that.”
I wanted to turn around and smile at him, but the idea of the tunnel caving in and trapping us wasn’t that far-fetched. Perhaps as little movement as possible was the way to go. Besides, it was too dark for him to see it anyway.
I shuffled forward on my hands and knees, taking a deep breath in an effort to slow the rapid bursts of air coming from my lungs. Despite his words, Callum’s breathing was slow and steady, and when I closed my eyes and listened, it calmed me as well.
I crawled until my head bumped against something solid. I stopped, reaching out to touch it.
Was the tunnel sealed?
Callum ran into my feet and I felt him come to a stop as wel
l. “What?”
“It’s blocked,” I said, pushing against the solid object. It was rough against my skin. “Maybe we should—”
The blockage moved before I could get out my cowardly words that we should forget this plan and Leb and Adina. I shoved it again and a streak of light appeared. It was two logs, most likely put there to hide the entrance.
I threw my shoulder against them until the top one fell to the ground with a thunk, and I was able to push the other one away. I squeezed out of the tunnel and sank onto the grass with a sigh. The air was chilly, the grass damp with dew beneath my fingers, but for once I didn’t mind the cold. I sucked a generous amount of the fresh air into my lungs.
There were no gunshots, no bombs, no yelling, just the cool morning air and the sounds of leaves rustling and crickets chirping. Escaping from Rosa was a faraway nightmare compared to the ease of our break-in to Austin.
Callum brushed off his clothes, then reached over and playfully mussed my hair, sending dirt flying. He smiled briefly at me, but his eyes were focused on something in the distance.
I turned. The tunnel had let us out on a hill, and it gave me a clear view of the rico part of Austin. I didn’t remember ever seeing it so clearly during my time in the slums.
It was small, probably somewhere between ten and fifteen square miles. It was the second Austin. The original was several miles south and, from what I’d been told, nothing but a pile of rubble. The Reboots had destroyed most human cities in the war.
I’d heard Austin called the best city in Texas. Judging by the other cities I’d seen, it seemed an accurate statement. It was nestled next to a lake, sparkling in the morning light. The buildings in the center of town were taller than those in Rosa, some ten or fifteen stories high.
A wide street ran up the center of town, beginning not far from the trees surrounding the lake and ending at a cute little round building. It was designed to replicate the original Austin’s capitol. Texas had no capitol, so I didn’t know what they did in the building now. Perhaps it was empty.
“Which way is your parents’ house?” I asked as I piled the logs back up in front of the hole.
“Past the capitol, down Lake Travis Boulevard,” he said, pointing to the wide street. His eyebrows lowered as he crossed his arms over his stomach.
“What?” I asked, getting to my feet and wiping my hands on my pants.
“I’m really . . .” He took in a deep breath as he pressed his hand into his stomach. “I’m really hungry, I think.”
He’d gone pale, and his hands were shaking worse than before. I swallowed, reaching for his hand.
“Your parents will have food, right?” My voice was steady, even though I was beginning to tremble myself. Ever had been famished in the cafeteria, shoving meat in her mouth as fast as possible.
Callum nodded. “They’ll have a little, probably.”
“Come on, maybe we can find something else on the way, too,” I said. The sun was getting higher in the sky, and we didn’t have long until the humans were everywhere.
He let me pull him down the hill and across the grass, the buzz of crickets fading as we neared the buildings. The only way to get to the other side of the capitol was through the city, since the HARC fence wasn’t far from the edge of town and I didn’t want to risk getting too close to it.
We crept along an alleyway behind the brick and wooden buildings. I glimpsed a few humans walking on the next street over and I quickened my pace, tugging on Callum’s hand. His eyes were downcast, his other fist pressed against his mouth.
“What is that?” His voice was muffled behind his fingers.
“What?”
“That smell.” He stopped, leaning forward and pressing his hands into his thighs. He took in a deep breath and I stepped closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “It smells like meat or something?”
I lifted my nose but all I could smell was fresh morning air and maybe a hint of grass or weeds.
He smells so good. Like . . . meat.
Ever’s words raced through my brain and I turned to the humans, dread trickling down my stomach.
He smelled the humans.
I grabbed his arm and he stood with a start, blinking at me.
“Let’s get you meat, then,” I said. “Where’s the nearest restaurant?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he turned to stare at the humans, his expression unreadable. “Remember when that kid tried to eat me?” he said softly.
“Or a butcher,” I said, ignoring him. “Or a grocery store. Are there any around here?”
“And then Ever acted like she was going to eat me, too. Remember? She was all weird and crazy.” He looked down at his hands.
My heart was beating too fast. I refused to answer these questions because then I’d have to admit that we should be scared of what HARC had done to him, and he already looked terrified.
“You won’t let me, right?” His words were quiet, his eyes bouncing between me and the humans.
I shook my head, too vigorously. “No. I won’t let you.”
He nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets. “There’s a restaurant up about a block. They have meat, I think.”
I looped my arm through his and we rushed along the block. Callum tucked his chin down, and he kept taking in deep gulps of air, trying to hold his breath as much as possible.
“That one,” he said, pointing to a slightly cracked wooden door behind a smelly Dumpster. The sound of dishes clanging and food sizzling drifted out through the opening, and I slipped the gun from my pants and flung the door open.
Two humans were working in the kitchen. A man and a woman, probably in their thirties, and pleasantly plump in that well-fed, rico way. The man saw us first, and he let out a yell and clutched the woman.
Perhaps we looked worse than usual, or maybe rico folks weren’t used to seeing Reboots, but their terror was the sharpest I had ever encountered. The woman immediately began crying as she tried to drag the man toward the other door.
“Stop,” I said, pointing the gun directly at the man. “We won’t hurt you; we just want food.”
They both froze, clutching each other and sobbing.
“Would you stop with the crying and just get us food?” I snapped in annoyance. Why must people cry?
The woman let out a gasp and untangled herself from the man, rushing to the refrigerator. Callum pressed his face into the top of my head, a whimper escaping his mouth.
“Meat,” I clarified.
She turned around with two large packages of raw meat in her hands, holding them out to us with shaky terror.
“Cooked meat, you . . .” I took a deep breath. “We’re not animals.” I gestured to the steak on the grill and the man started piling it into a container. “The bread, too.”
He put the whole loaf into a bag, placing the container of meat in with it. He moved to hand it to me and the woman snatched it away, pushing him behind her. She let the bag hang from one finger as she took a cautious step in our direction.
I didn’t realize the flash at the corner of my eye was Callum until he was on top of her.
Teeth bared.
Growling.
The humans screamed.
I wasn’t annoyed by it this time. My eyes flew to Callum’s. Glazed eyes.
My feet refused to budge as he shoved away her frantic hands and tried to get his face to her neck.
You won’t let me, right?
His words jolted me out of my frozen state. I launched myself at him, pushing the man out of the way. I grasped Callum’s collar and hauled him off the sobbing human so hard he hit the wall. He blinked and shook his head, but he still wasn’t Callum.
He wasn’t Callum.
The humans huddled on the ground as I snatched up the bag and ran to him.
“Callum,” I said, my voice shaking slightly.
He blinked once more and confusion colored his face as he looked down at me. I quickly shoved him to the door before he noticed the s
tate of the humans.
“What—”
“Go,” I interrupted, taking his hand and breaking into a run.
I pulled hard when he slowed, yanking him down the alleyway. We sprinted through the city and onto a wide paved road leading to houses in the distance. It split off in two directions and I whipped my head around to look at Callum.
“Which way?” I glanced behind me for a sign of HARC, but there was nothing yet. The sky was clear, the morning air quiet.
He pointed right and we took off. Callum pulled me to a stop as we neared the houses, gesturing to a row of bushes.
“I have to eat something before we get near them again,” he said, nodding at the meat. “I can’t see my family like this.”
I looked behind us again. Still nothing. “Maybe we should keep going. Those humans will alert HARC any minute and—”
Callum snorted. “No, they won’t. You think they want everyone knowing there were two Reboots in that restaurant? No one would ever go in again.” He pointed up to the empty sky. “They didn’t tell anyone.”
I scanned the area. He was right. There wasn’t a shuttle or a guard to be seen.
I followed Callum over and plopped down beside him in the grass behind the bushes. I opened the container of meat and offered it to him. He took a piece and immediately bit into it, eating with fervor I’d never seen from him. I took a small piece for myself and pushed the rest to him, which he ate without protest. I nibbled at the bread as I watched him.
When he finished he ran a hand over his mouth, turning his gaze to the grass. He picked at it, his fingers almost steady again. “I just attacked that woman, didn’t I? I sort of blacked out, but I remember. . . .” His voice was strained, quiet.
I didn’t answer, but he didn’t need me to. He knew what happened. We sat there in silence for long seconds before it occurred to me that maybe this was a moment when I should say something comforting.
“Maybe it will wear off,” I said. “Or we can ask for help when we get to the reservation. They must have seen this before.”
He nodded. “That’s true.”
I hopped to my feet, holding out my hand to him. The sun was rising higher in the sky, and we didn’t have time to waste. There was a chance the couple would change their minds. “Until then, we’ll just keep you well fed. I’m sure it will be fine.”