Dispersion

  “You’re leaving?”

  Swallowing my bite, I nod.

  “When?”

  “In about twenty minutes,” I say.

  She sits down to my left, fighting back emotion. I pretend not to notice it.

  “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

  I pat her hand. “We haven’t had much time,” I say, neglecting the real reasons why I didn’t ask her to come.

  “We’ll be back,” Jess offers from my other side.

  “I can come with you. You know I’m reliable and could help,” Leah says, her watery eyes wide with hope.

  I want to agree and let her come with us. No matter what she’s done, I can trust her to have our backs if the time comes and we have to make our move.

  I sigh. It’s not fair to bring her into danger. I can’t make another innocent person a casualty of my battles, especially one who has feelings for me I can’t return.

  “No, Leah, you need to stay here,” I say. “It’s not safe for you to come with us.”

  She puffs her chin out. “But you’re bringing her, aren’t you?” She gestures toward Jess sharply.

  Jess’s hand freezes as she’s about to take another bite of her meal. Slowly, she puts her fork down and gives Leah all of her attention.

  “It’s not safe for her here. You know that,” I whisper, trying to keep anyone else from hearing me. We’ve had enough incidents in the Mess Hall already. No need to add another one to that list.

  Tears well up again. “I don’t want you to leave. This is all my fault for opening my big mouth. That’s what started all of this, isn’t it?”

  I open and close my mouth as I struggle to find the right words. While she was the catalyst, she isn’t necessarily what caused this situation. There’s an infection that courses through the population of Veritas’s humanity. It cuts deeper than the virus that turned countless people into the Letum. How do I articulate that to her?

  “This was going to happen regardless,” Jess answers for me. “Our secret wasn’t going to keep forever.”

  “You don’t blame me?” she asks, nearly begging for forgiveness.

  “No, I don’t. Eventually, the truth was going to get out about how some of us are Planned. It was only a matter of time,” I say.

  She wipes an escaped tear away. “I wish I could come and help.”

  “You can still help, Leah,” I mutter, once again keeping my voice down to avoid the prying ears.

  “How?” she asks, sitting up straighter.

  “It’s not stable here, and I’m worried about how much things are going to change when we come back,” I say.

  She leans closer and whispers, “What do you want me to do?”

  “I need you to be my eyes and ears here while I’m gone. Watch Silas and whoever he trusts and speaks with the most.”

  Jess tilts her head at my words but gives no other indication that she’s listening.

  Leah, with the rebellious glint again, asks, “What are you going to do?”

  I exhale a sharp breath and keep my voice low. “When we come back, I’m going to need your help to change the status quo—it’s not sustainable.”

  “I’ll do my best. I promise. They never gave you a chance. That’s not right,” she says as she peeks around to make sure no one else is listening.

  “I’ll be back,” I assure her.

  Almost knocking over the rest of my milk, she pulls me into a fierce hug. Before I can react, she leaves without another word, wiping her eyes as she goes.

  I watch her walk away, feeling guilty for leaving her, especially since I’m taking Thomas with me. She’ll have to be fine without us.

  “Ready?” Jess asks, breaking my attention away from Leah’s exit.

  I smile at Jess, place one arm around her shoulder, and kiss her forehead. “As long as you’re with me.”

  -----

  I open the door and take in a deep breath of the fresh air. About a hundred yards ahead of us, the rest of the group is waiting by the rusted trucks. I close my arms together to fight off some of the morning’s chill. It won’t be long now before this mild autumn turns into winter.

  All of the trees are preparing for the shift in seasons, turning their leaves a beautiful array of oranges and yellows, soon to turn the same monotonous brown when they die.

  I let out a sigh and take a step forward. When there’s no movement behind me, I ask, “You coming?”

  There’s a small hesitation before her footsteps follow behind me. I wait for her to catch up so we can walk alongside each other.

  “You didn’t want Leah to come with us because she cares deeply about you, right?” Jess asks, voice even and controlled.

  My step hitches, but I keep walking forward. “There’s that.” I rub my thumb on my freshly shaven chin. “More importantly, she’s also the only one I can trust who won’t lie to me here.”

  Jess’s eyebrow flicks upward.

  Feeling like I have to elaborate, I keep talking. “I know she has a big mouth sometimes, but she means well and wouldn’t intentionally do anything to harm us.” I shake my head. “I don’t trust anyone else at this place.”

  I smile weakly at her and hasten my steps. We’re still about fifty yards away, and Dominic is waving at us impatiently.

  “You’ve changed, Elliot,” Jess responds quietly.

  I slowly turn to face her, afraid of what I might see in her expression. She pushes her escaped hair behind her ear, and there’s a sad smile on her lips.

  “You’ve come a long way from when I first met you,” she says.

  I’m unable to maintain eye contact. “I’ve watched almost everyone I’ve cared about die, and I’ve killed a man.”

  Jess steps closer and brushes my hair across my forehead, waiting for me to look at her again. When I finally do, she says, “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

  “What do you mean then?” I ask.

  Her eyes search my face. I’m not sure what she’s looking for.

  “You’ve found the strength to get through it all.” She bites her bottom lip in thought. “I think you’ve found yourself. Don’t forget who you are.”

  She places her hand on my chest to get me to stop moving. Almost tentatively, she stands up on her tiptoes and waits for me to kiss her. I pull her in and take what comfort she can offer me.

  When our lips break apart, she leans her forehead to mine and whispers, “Thank for you waiting for me to come back.”

  I squeeze her hand and let out a deep breath at the sound of Dominic calling us over to him. Without saying anything else, the two of us walk—hand in hand—toward the starting location of our next journey together.

  “Took your time this morning,” Dominic mutters, though there is no real malice in his voice.

  “We’ve a strict schedule that I expect everyone to follow. There’s no need for us to be away from our families longer than necessary,” an unwelcome voice calls out.

  I stifle an internal groan at the sight of Jonah’s fake smile.

  “You’re coming, too?” I ask in a higher pitch that gives away my surprise. I can’t believe Silas would let him leave his side.

  “Of course. I’m the only person Silas can trust to supervise the mission to make sure it goes smoothly and doesn’t take any detours,” Jonah replies. He puffs out his small chest in self-importance.

  “I’m in charge of this trip. Don’t forget that.”

  He pats my shoulder. “Are you?” Jonah turns his back and addresses the group. “This is probably the most important trip we’ve gone on in our lifetime. If this goes well, we’ll bring back the technology to ensure the protection of Veritas and our people.”

  At the sound of his voice, Josie lets out a loud cry in protest. Allison hunches over and tries to silence her.

  “If this trip is so important, why are we bringing them?” Isaac asks, clearly not wanting to be here, but I requested it. I want to make things right with him. That’s only going to happen if I can get
him out of the compound and open his eyes to how things really are.

  Dominic glares at Isaac, but it doesn’t contain any of his previous menace. Isaac, noticing this, smiles at my brother and raises his eyebrow in an open invitation to say something.

  “Enough,” I say in warning. No matter how lost Dominic may be, I know my purpose. I glare at Isaac, thankful that I’m taller and stronger than he is.

  Callie, sensing the change in atmosphere, lays her ears back and steps closer to Jess.

  Isaac places his hands in the air in a placating manner. “It’s a fair question. Bringing a baby, a new mother, and a pregnant woman isn’t exactly an ideal situation for an important mission.”

  “We all know about the territories from living there, not from some skewed lesson in school,” I say, appreciating the irony that that’s how we first learned about Veritas, though we called it something different.

  “Give it a rest, Isaac,” Leah calls out. “It’s not his fault your brother-in-law attacked him.”

  Leah struts toward us, dressed in the same casual pants and shirt as everyone else. She’s carrying a small bag, as if she thinks she’s coming with us. Her lips are in a tight smirk, eyes lit up in that same mischievous glint I’ve seen so many times before. This time, however, I don’t find it amusing.

  I ask, “What are you doing here?”

  She drops her gaze.

  Jonah answers for her. “She requested to join us and I saw no reason to deny her. Can you?”

  He smirks and winks, waiting on my response.

  I bite my tongue and gesture to the trucks, wanting to dispel some of the tension and move on. The sooner we get going, the sooner we’ll be done.

  “Let’s load up,” I say.

  The trucks are older with rust covering the hoods. They were made without solar power and run on gasoline, like the car Andrew and Chris’s parents drove when they died.

  In the bed of the trucks, all of our supplies are smashed together. We have enough food and water to last us all around a month. What takes up most of the space, however, is all the extra fuel. It makes sense—there’s not going to be another refueling point as we travel to and from Potentia.

  The four of us, with Allison holding her daughter, make our way to the closest truck.

  “No, your group will not all ride together,” Jonah’s voice calls out from behind.

  Allison snaps around. “Why not?”

  “It’s an order from Silas,” Jonah says.

  “He doesn’t trust us,” Jess whispers. “He wants us separated.”

  Instinctively, I put my arm around Jess’s waist. I’m not letting that happen. Leah watches this with a slight frown.

  “I’ll go with Allison and Josie and you and Jess can go in the other truck,” Dominic mutters.

  Jonah rubs his gun and winks at me. I sigh. Silas must’ve given that instruction because he was worried we would try to overtake one of the trucks if we were all together.

  That’s not where we would be a threat, however. None of us ever learned how to drive a car manually. Even at my grandparents’ cabin, the mode of transportation they relied on most was solar powered.

  Jess leans in and mutters in my ear. “Let it go. This isn’t where we make our stand.”

  I nod tensely. “Very well. Let’s head out.”

  Leah eyes me expectantly and gestures toward our truck. Being stuck in a small space with the two of them is a horrible idea.

  I shake my head and turn my back on her, but not before watching her get into the truck with Allison and Dominic, her shoulders slumped.

  “Come on, Callie,” Jess calls and the dog jumps into the truck full of excitement.

  Thomas, another one of my recruits, chuckles at Callie’s joy. “Has she ever ridden in a truck before?”

  “None of us have,” Jess responds, her dry tone silencing Thomas.

  Once we’re all loaded, Thomas puts his key in the ignition and it roars to life, much louder than the solar-powered vehicles the territories produced.

  I put my hand on Jess’s thigh and she leans her head against my shoulder. I close my eyes in disbelief at how much everything has changed—yet again. When I open them, the compound is fading in the distance as we head toward Potentia.

  We’re going back.

  About the Author

  Originally from Plano, Texas, Robin is a graduate of Kansas State University and currently lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her dog, Juno, cat, Cat, and plenty of bottles of wine. Dispersion is the second novel in a three-part series that explores the provocative and divisive theory of genetic planning.

  For more information on Robin and her upcoming projects, visit her website at www.robinberkstresser.com.