“Deion, scooch over a seat, will you?” Alex requested.
Deion. That was it.
After some quick musical chairs and a few knowing glances from Deion, they were seated, Lizzie at the end of the row, Alex next to her, and Deion to his other side.
Deion leaned over Alex and put his hand out. “Good to see you again, Lizzie.”
Lizzie shook his hand and smiled. “Thank you guys for inviting me.” She nodded toward the screen. “It’s been a while since I got to watch one of these.”
Alex and Deion looked confused, and she quickly realized her faux pas – everyone in Paragon watched the dramas.
Recovering, she added, “I was in the hospital.”
“Ohh,” Alex replied. “You were on the sorority/ghost show, right? Did you get injured in that bad accident on set?”
“Yeah,” Lizzie fibbed, thanking him in her head for the perfect cover story. “I had a pretty bad concussion. Long recovery.”
“Scary,” Alex sympathized. “Glad you’re okay.”
“Thanks,” Lizzie murmured, feeling bad about lying to them. “Did you work on that set too?” she asked, changing the subject.
“I did actually,” Alex beamed. “But mainly on the ghost character’s set.”
Before he could elaborate, though, the screen came to life and the opening music began to play. Everyone quieted and stared at the screen, rapt.
She leaned in toward Alex, the butterflies in her stomach twirling at their close proximity. “So, what did I miss?” she whispered.
The scene opened on what looked like a military base.
“This one is a little different,” Alex explained quietly. “It’s supposed to take place in Paragon.”
Ah, that street corner did look familiar, Lizzie thought.
“Earlier in the season some rebel group who’s trying to take over the compound escaped on this crazy train –”
Lizzie cocked her head expectantly.
“– but the military tracked them to their new base –”
Lizzie’s stomach dropped as he motioned to the wall of the set where some photos hung – photos that looked strikingly like Raptor Defense Systems.
“– to keep an eye on things, and then there was this huge explosion, they think an accident of some sort, and the rebels were pretty much wiped out. See? And now –”
But Lizzie couldn’t hear whatever Alex said next over the buzzing in her own ears. She watched in disbelief as the scene panned over an aerial view of what was once the Raptor complex – now only a gaping crater in the ground – and she could feel the bile rising in her gullet.
She felt a hand rest tentatively on her knee, but she couldn’t tear her eyes from the screen.
“Hey, are you okay?” Alex whispered.
Acid bit the back of her throat, and she shook her head. Dashing from her seat, she made it out the back door just in time for the contents of her guts to spill onto the pavement with a splatter.
Gasping, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, a cold sweat dripping from her brow. How could they do this?
She heard a throat clear behind her, and spun around to find Alex standing in the doorway, concern lining his features. “Uhh, anything I can get you?” he stammered.
Lizzie just sighed and collapsed against the nearby dumpster, her legs too weak to hold the weight of all this deception for a second longer. She shook her head and let it fall back against the metal siding with a thump.
Alex gingerly stepped around the mess she’d made on the ground and sat down next to her.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
She looked up at him and she knew she shouldn’t. She knew she would only be putting him in danger. She knew it was selfish.
But she just couldn’t hold it in any longer. She couldn’t stand to feel this alone.
And it all came pouring out – about the stitching and the dramas, and the rebels and the Engineers, the virus and the algorithm, the doomed babies and the one immune girl, and how everyone she ever cared about was dead and she was starting to suspect that it was all her fault.
To his credit, Alex listened intently, and waited until she had exhausted herself to comment.
“Whoa,” was all he said. “Whoa.”
They sat in silence for a long time, and she could practically see the gears turning in Alex’s head. After a while, something like recognition seemed to register on his face, and he also let his head fall back against the dumpster with a thump.
“Well, that makes a lot more sense,” he said quietly, almost to himself.
“What does?” Lizzie asked.
“All of it. Whatever they’ve been doing to the food. This insane monster thing we found running around your old set. Why we can never seem to get any answers about anything. Just, all of it. Wow.”
“I think I’ve made a big mistake,” Lizzie admitted. “I don’t think I should ever have trusted the Engineers.”
“Why did you?” Alex gaped, not with judgment but just wonder. “How?”
Lizzie shook her head. In this moment, seeing how they had exploited the deaths of her friends and all those citizens of Paragon they supposedly cared so much about, she couldn’t quite figure it herself. Something wasn’t adding up, even in her own head. How was the question. How had she been so convinced she was doing the right thing?
“I don’t know,” Lizzie answered truthfully, her voice barely a whisper.
Alex hesitated a moment, then reached down and squeezed her hand.
And her heart burned with conviction. “But I’m going to find out.”
26. GRATITUDE
Only a few minutes’ journey through the woods – Isaac and Alessa struggling to keep pace with Joe’s springy, loping strides – Joe slowed near a tall outcropping of boulders mixed between brambling tree roots on the side of a hill. Joe turned in a slow circle, grunting and motioning towards an opening in the nearby rock face. They had reached their destination.
Isaac took a deep breath and looked to Alessa, who also seemed to be steeling herself for whatever they would find in that hollow.
Joe grunted more forcefully, urging them into the cave.
“You’re sure about this?” Isaac said quietly to Alessa out of the corner of his mouth, his eyes darting between the crack in the rocks and Joe’s hulking form pacing in the shadows.
Alessa closed her eyes for a moment. “He’s showing me memories of Janie,” she replied.
Isaac inched forward and something crunched under his foot. He looked down.
Bones. The cave entrance was littered with bones.
He prayed that memories weren’t the only thing left of Janie.
Alessa inhaled deeply and then slowly released her breath. He could tell she was thinking the same thing, but also trying to have faith that Joe was still Joe.
“Let’s go,” she said, stepping carefully between the macabre debris and toward the opening in the rocks.
“Here.” Isaac caught up behind her and extended the flashlight in his hand.
She took it with a grateful nod, and he could see the trepidation in her eyes. He placed his hand over hers. “Whatever we find, we’re together,” he reassured her.
She bobbed her head in affirmation, and shined the light into the cave.
A flash of dirty-blonde hair buried in a mound of limbs immediately caught his eye. His stomach clenched with equal parts hope and fear.
“Jo!” he called, pushing past Alessa into the narrow space.
He knelt beside the huddled mass, still not quite sure what he was seeing in the dark.
But when a small head lifted and familiar large, brown eyes peered up at him, squinting against the bright beam of light, he knew he was witnessing a miracle.
Josephine was alive.
“Jo!” he cried again, this time with relief, and he threw his arms around her, cradling her small, shivering body against his chest. She was so tiny, and so thin, but she was alive. Somehow, incredibly, she was aliv
e.
There was movement behind Jo’s back, and quietly a wry voice croaked, “Nice to see you, too.”
“Janie!” Alessa called out. It was only when Alessa lunged to Isaac’s side, changing the shape of the flashlight’s beam, that he realized Jo had been cuddled in Janie’s lap.
Alessa reached around him and threw herself at her sister, sobbing in disbelief at their good fortune.
“How can this be?” Alessa whispered, mostly to herself. “You’re really here…”
The flashlight had fallen to the ground in the commotion and landed at an odd angle, making it difficult to see through the gloom, but Isaac could tell Alessa was clutching at her sister and convincing herself she was whole, much as he was doing with Jo. The little of Jo’s skin he could glimpse in the dark looked smooth and unbroken, if a little grimy – there were no visible signs of radiation poisoning, he saw with relief.
“Alessa.” Janie’s voice was weak, barely audible. Isaac looked up and saw that she was looking beyond Alessa’s shoulder, her eyes wide. “Alessa,” she repeated with alarm.
“Oh no, it’s back!” Josephine buried herself in Isaac arms.
Isaac turned around and saw Joe’s monstrous form silhouetted in the opening of the cave. He roared a savage growl and scampered away again.
Jo and Janie collapsed back against the sloped stone walls, breathing heavily.
“I guess it’s still not hungry…” Josephine murmured.
And Alessa laughed, and somehow, Isaac knew everything would be okay.
27. DISARRAY
The Developer closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nasal cavity between two long, bony fingers, trying to drown out the bickering of his leadership team with more constructive, organized thoughts. It wasn’t working.
“Enough,” he finally wheezed, forcefully enough that the table quieted down around him. “Enough,” he sighed, eyeballing them one by one.
The Doctor motioned towards the General. “Is it true, what he’s saying? The search parties have no inkling where the girl might be?”
“Can’t say I didn’t warn you,” the General sneered. “I said we shouldn’t have trusted your little pet to deliver the most important –”
“It’s true,” the Developer cut in, ignoring him. “So far, the search teams have not been successful.” He deliberately avoided making eye contact with the Draftsman.
“B-b-but is there even hope?” the Economist questioned. “Can she p-possibly still be alive, on her own, all these days after the blast?”
“The chances are probably slim,” the Draftsman sighed.
“Even so,” the Doctor countered, “if we can at least recover her body, that would be better than nothing.”
The Developer nodded. “We haven’t given up yet.”
“And what about Phoenix?” the Draftsman inquired. “She can’t offer any assistance?”
The Developer shook his head. “She was knocked unconscious during the explosion.” He decided to leave out the part about waking up to find one of the mutants dragging the child away into the woods – he didn’t think that information would be very productive at this point.
“So, she’s useless,” the General gloated. “Does that mean we can get rid of her finally? Or at least find a better use for her,” he leered.
Fixing the General with a steely glare, the Developer replied, “We have found a better use for her. She’s expressed interest in working on the dramas, she’s starting her training today.”
“What good can she do there?” the General spat.
“It will keep her occupied,” the Developer asserted, “while I’m working on a different angle. I may need her still.”
“I could suggest a few angles,” the General smirked lasciviously.
“That’s not what I meant!” the Developer sputtered.
The General shrugged. “Suit yourself. Only thing she’s good for, in my opinion.”
“I think we’ve heard enough of your opinions,” the Draftsman declared with finality.
Recovering himself, the Developer called the meeting to a close. “I’ll keep you all posted on the progress of the search.”
“And your side project?” the Doctor inquired.
“When I have some results to share,” the Developer agreed.
“Very well, then,” the Draftsman concluded.
“For Paragon,” the Developer professed, standing and raising his fist to his shoulder.
“For Paragon, always,” the others repeated, emulating his gesture. And for the first time, the Developer thought he heard a weary note to their reply.
It was time to get their plans back on track; he hoped the wildcard up his sleeve would do it.
28. SPECULATION
The first rays of dawn pierced the opening of the cave, and Alessa cracked her eyes wearily. They needed to get back.
“Isaac.” She prodded his shoulder. “Wake up.”
He rolled over, yawning, and patted an outstretched hand in the direction of her face. “Where’s your snooze button?” he drawled sleepily.
“Very funny,” Alessa deadpanned. She turned to her other side and mussed her sister’s tousled brown hair. “Janie.”
Janie just groaned but sat up, blinking the sleep from her eyes. “What’s going on?”
Alessa was gratified to see that she had already seemed to recover some of her strength, even after just one solid meal. Jo was dozing contentedly next to Isaac; Alessa decided to let her rest as long as possible.
By this point, Isaac had sat up. He was rubbing his eyes and peering towards the entrance to the cave. “Is the sun even up yet?”
“Just barely,” Alessa admitted, “but we need to get back. Carlos was expecting us last night – they’re going to come looking for us soon.”
As if in response, a deep huff issued from outside the cavern, and a large, intimidating shadow crossed the opening.
“And what about… him?” Janie’s voice was quiet, as if she were trying the pronoun on for size. Alessa knew she was still having trouble believing the hideous creature that’d been holding her captive was Joe.
Alessa shrugged. “We’ll have to leave him here for now, I guess.” She was reluctant to let Joe out of her sight, but they all knew what would happen if Carlos and crew saw him, and they couldn’t let that come to pass.
Janie picked up a stray bone from the dirt floor. “And you’re sure these aren’t human?”
“You’d know better than us,” Isaac yawned.
“Not really,” Janie muttered, dropping it with a hollow thud. “We were mostly unconscious all this time. I only woke up when I heard him fighting off other… things… outside. We’ve basically been hibernating.”
“I don’t understand how you’re even still alive,” Alessa mumbled, looking at her sister with gratitude and awe.
“We had water,” Janie explained, motioning towards a trickle of condensation running between the rocks in the back of the cave. “Not a lot, but enough. No food, but didn’t have the strength for anything else anyway. And anyhow, we kept waiting for it – for him,” she corrected, “to turn us into dinner.”
Isaac knocked on the hard stone wall. “Yup, and no radiation coming through this. We can thank Joe for getting you inside in time.”
Another grunt of acknowledgement sounded from outside the cave.
“What happened exactly?” Alessa asked. Yesterday they’d just focused on getting Janie and Jo fed and clean and restored for the journey back to camp; she had so many unanswered questions.
Janie shook her head. “I only remember leading up to the blast. I was in the kitchen. Lizzie showed up, acting suspicious – she was being really unusually nice to Jo, and I spied through the supply racks that she had a gun in her waistband. Something just didn’t feel right,” Janie explained. “So when Lizzie left with Josephine, I followed. We got about a 20 minute walk away from base. Next thing I know, I’m waking up here and too tired to really do anything about it.”
Isaac looked quite disturbed by this revelation. “You think Lizzie was kidnapping Jo? You never saw her after the blast?” Alessa got the sense that he wished he could get his hands on her.
“Like I said, I didn’t see much. But no, no signs of Lizzie.”
“If Joe didn’t bring her back here, she’s almost certainly dead,” Alessa reasoned. “Between the radiation exposure –”
“– and the Stuck,” Janie added.
“– I just don’t see how she could have survived this long,” Alessa finished.
Isaac huffed. “Good riddance.” He gathered the sleeping child up in his arms and made to stand. “So are we heading out?”
“Yes, let’s,” Alessa agreed. She unfurled into a crouch – as tall as she could stretch in this little hollow in the rock – and reached for Janie’s hand to help her up.
Janie tottered to her feet and leaned her weight against Alessa’s side.
Alessa gripped her arm. “You got it?” Her voice was dotted with concern.
“Yeah,” Janie panted. “Let’s just… take it slow.”
Their ragtag party emerged from the crack in the rock face, shielding their eyes from the rays of the now fully-risen sun. Janie was steadying herself against Alessa, Jo still slumped tenderly over Isaac’s shoulder.
Joe, likewise, was crouched off to the side behind a boulder, shielding his large, popped pupils against the ravages of the sun. He peered up at them, taking one step out from behind the rock, and Alessa was overcome with a wave of uncertainty and concern – she got the impression that he didn’t want them to leave.
“We’ll be back,” Alessa soothed, putting her hand out in a placating gesture. “We have to get help,” she explained, nodding toward Janie, who was looking weaker and weaker by the moment.
Isaac, Alessa noticed, was busy looking anywhere except at Joe. She sighed.
“We won’t be gone for long,” she added, her heart clenching at the hurt she could feel Joe trying and failing to hold back as he eyed his brother. “I promise.”
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