The Child Thief 5: Ghost Towns

by Forrest, Bella

  Jace picked up on my discomfort and kindly changed the subject. “What’s the story in here? Have you guys decided who is and isn’t allowed to volunteer yet?” he asked, raising his voice so the rest of the room could hear him.

  “Yep, and so far we have decided that absolutely no one is allowed to volunteer,” Ant said.

  It was obviously a joke, but it didn’t seem too far from the truth. I couldn’t imagine anyone agreeing on a mission team after the conversation I had listened to in the dining hall. But that wasn’t the first thing on my mind right now. Instead, I steered the conversation in a new direction.

  “Hey, does anyone know what team Robert is on?” I asked.

  Everyone turned and looked at me in confusion. I’d known it would seem like a really random question, but I wanted to know what he was doing in the school building—and what he had to do with Piper.

  “Oh, I forgot that you guys weren’t here for that,” Gabby said in a quiet voice.

  “Here for what?” Jace asked.

  “Robert was on the extended tech team,” Nelson added. “Meaning like, a backup team. It’s where Gabby and I started when Nathan said we could begin training with his tech team when we first got here.”

  That made sense. But it didn’t explain why he was in the school with Piper.

  “But I think now he’s working in the school,” Nelson finished.

  I shook my head in confusion. “I thought he was on the tech team, though,” I said.

  “Well, he was. Until he threw a massive fit when Nelson and Gabby were chosen to work with the main tech team for the Artemis job,” Zion said from the corner of the room.

  “Yeah,” Alexy added from beside him. “I’ve honestly never seen anything like it. I didn’t know anyone had the nerve to talk to Nathan like that. I thought he was going to get kicked out of Edgewood.”

  “Which he should’ve been,” Abe interrupted. “But instead, Piper said he’d put him on the teaching board at the school. So now he’s teaching code, I think.”

  Teaching code. Robert had to be the new tech teacher Rhea complained about.

  “It was a pretty public meltdown,” Nelson said. “And Nathan explained Piper’s offer to us the next day when we all noticed that Robert was no longer on the team.”

  “Why do you ask?” Jackie inquired.

  “We overheard Robert and Piper having a less-than-civil conversation in the school,” Jace said.

  That was probably all we needed to say. I didn’t like Robert under any circumstances, but it felt cruel and gossipy to tell the others that we had just watched him get smacked in the face by his new boss.

  “Well, are you surprised?” Jackie asked. “I mean, that guy is a jerk. He’s lucky Piper was even willing to deal with him.”

  I supposed she was right. I couldn’t see anyone getting along with Robert. He just must have done something seriously crappy to bring out that kind of reaction in a person.

  “In any case, it’s been a busy day, and I’m ready to hit the sack,” Nelson suddenly said in a no-nonsense tone. “So if you guys want to keep talking, you need to find a new place to congregate.”

  I was surprised by Nelson’s straightforwardness. But truthfully, I was also ready to start winding down for the night. We’d have plenty of time to talk again tomorrow when we got more details about the new mission.

  “We should all get to sleep,” Zion added. “Tomorrow will undoubtedly be another busy day.”

  No one argued with him, and a moment later people were beginning to rise and say their goodnights. Alexy and Zion left first, followed by Gabby, and then Ant, Abe, and Jackie. Kory lingered to walk back with Jace, who hugged me goodnight before leaving. Then Nelson and I were finally left alone.

  “Thanks for advocating for us back there,” I told her. “I don’t think I could’ve handled much more activity today.”

  Nelson sat on her bed and stared straight ahead at me. “Actually, I had some things I wanted to talk to you about privately,” she said.

  I looked up at her in confusion. “Is everything okay?”

  She had a strange look of sympathy and reticence on her face, like she was about to deliver bad news. It made me feel uneasy.

  “I couldn’t find the time to talk to you about it earlier, but I’ve been doing some work on our personal archive files,” she said.

  I sat down opposite her on my own bed, starting to feel fearful. Whatever news Nelson was gearing up to share with me, it didn’t seem to be good.

  “I wanted to find out more about our families. More about Rylo’s and Hope’s adoptive parents, Jackie’s sister’s new parents, Ant and Abe’s parents, and your parents, too. So I was searching public records after my tech shifts.”

  “Okay,” I said uneasily. “And what did you find out?”

  Nelson paused uncomfortably. My heart was beginning to race.

  “Well, Rylo’s parents are pretty much what I expected: wealthy business owners. Old money types. But Hope’s adoptive parents weren’t accessible by public records.”

  “What does that mean?” I asked.

  “It means they have some sort of security clearance that precludes inclusion in public records. On a hunch, I searched the personnel files we have access to through Artemis, and…”

  She had drifted off, but I kept my eyes glued to her.

  “And what?” I asked.

  “And, well, it was Hope’s adoptive mom, Mavis Preston, who had the security clearance. For work purposes.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t understand,” I said slowly.

  “Robin, that means she works directly for the regime. She’s a government executive,” Nelson finished.

  My vision suddenly went fuzzy, like there was a blackness in my peripherals that was threatening to overwhelm me, and I fought to keep hot tears from rising. Hope’s adoptive mother was a government executive. My head shook side to side involuntarily. How would I ever reclaim her now? How could I expect to take my daughter back from the most protected and wealthy class of people in the country? If I hadn’t already been sitting, I felt as if I would’ve fallen to my knees.

  Nelson stood and quickly walked toward me, kneeling beside the bed once she reached me. She grabbed my hand reassuringly.

  “Robin, we’re not going to let that stop us. We’re going to get her back,” she said.

  But I couldn’t look at her. I wanted to run far away and be alone. I closed my eyes tightly, and the tears began to pour over.

  Nelson stood and wrapped her arms around me, and as much as I wanted to be alone, I was grateful for her support and affection. She held me for a couple of long minutes while I cried. When she finally pulled away, I tried to straighten myself up on the bed and get composed.

  “It’s okay,” I said, wiping tears off of my face.

  We weren’t going to let that stop us. Even if our mission had just gotten a lot harder, I wasn’t going to let anything keep me from getting Hope back.

  But it wasn’t just about how much more difficult the mission had become. I was also more worried about Hope’s wellbeing now. Who was Mavis Preston, the woman who had adopted Hope? Could she possibly be a loving mother? Or was she an evil government stooge working for the dictator who had toppled our country, enslaved the poor, and kidnapped generations of children? I didn’t see how the two possibilities could possibly combine into one person.

  Nelson sat beside me on my bed and put her arm around me, and I leaned against her. Even in the face of awful news, I was so grateful to have her in my life. I wouldn’t know any of this without her. And the missions wouldn’t have even been possible without her help.

  “Robin, I know that was a lot to take,” she said softly. “But I have something else I need to tell you.”

  I pulled back. I could’ve laughed at that statement. It seemed so comical to me. What else could she possibly say that would be any worse than what she had already told me?

  I nodded. “Let’s get it all out in the open,” I
said, forcing a weak smile.

  She paused again, and then resumed speaking. “I did find your parents in public records. And it looks like Juno was still living in Millville right up until the Helping Hands evacuation. Which means she might be with the townspeople we’re hoping to find on this new mission.”

  I considered the possibility of finding Juno in some secret lair where the government was stashing poor people for an unknown reason. The thought was so far-fetched that it seemed silly to entertain. Despite the fact that I’d been entertaining it ever since I found out about the new mission.

  “But I found Culver, too,” Nelson continued. “The records don’t say much, but I did find out that he, um—”

  I knew what she was going to say before she said it. A part of me felt like I’d known back in Millville, when I hadn’t found his employee folder. I had secretly been bracing myself for it all along. But my heart still sank into my stomach when she finally said the words I had been fearing.

  “Robin, he passed away almost twenty years ago.”

  24

  I didn’t sleep much that night.

  I spent a lot of time thinking about my father. I had never known him, and now I never would, but I tried to imagine what it would have been like to find him and introduce myself to him as his daughter. The scenario felt hollow.

  I also thought about Hope and her adoptive mother, Mavis Preston. I seethed with hatred for that woman. Before, I had worried about whether or not she loved Hope and was providing her with support and affection. But now that I knew she was a part of the Burchard Regime, all I could think about was getting Hope far away from her. As far as I was concerned, by supporting the regime, this woman had aided and abetted in the kidnapping of millions of children. She was a monster.

  But she would also be a well-guarded monster with extra security and protections, and that made the prospect of getting Hope back less certain. Still, I would do anything in my power to fight for Hope.

  And I had nothing to lose.

  I was already wide awake by the time I heard my phone buzzing with a message the next morning. I grabbed it quickly from my nightstand and read. It was from an unknown number.

  Tech room in thirty minutes. -Sy

  Nathan had mentioned this new mission being big and involving lots of teams, which explained why his lead tech was calling us together. But I wondered how big the meeting would actually be.

  Nelson awoke to a similar buzz of her phone, and I realized that all members of Team Hood were probably getting the message at once. She read the text groggily and then lay back in her bed and stared up at the ceiling. I waited for her to break the silence.

  “How are you feeling this morning?” she asked gingerly, looking over at me.

  There was no honest answer to her question. I wasn’t sure how I was feeling. I was drained, afraid, angry, bereaved, confused…

  “Overwhelmed,” I answered after a pause. “But I’m ready for this meeting.”

  That much was certain. My father might be gone forever, and Hope might be an impossible task at the moment, but there was at least one family member who was still in reach.

  Juno.

  Nelson and I rushed through showers and getting dressed without any idle chitchat. She was respectful of my desire not to rehash the painful memories from the night before. I was all about motivation that morning and didn’t want to be bogged down by any extraneous details.

  When we were ready, Nelson slung a backpack over her shoulder, and then we were out the door and on our way to the tech building. We passed the dining hall without a second glance; Team Hood would’ve already been heading to the meeting. When we stepped outside, we found that it was another beautiful morning in Edgewood.

  We ran into Jackie and Gabby almost immediately, on the main street.

  “Guessing you guys got Sy’s text this morning, too?” Jackie asked as we began walking together.

  “Yeah, but I wonder who all is coming to this meeting,” Nelson said. “I thought it was just going to be us after our conversation yesterday.”

  “Maybe Nathan wants to open up the volunteer pool to other, more experienced Edgewood groups,” I said.

  I had been worrying about that prospect. The more volunteers we had, the less likely I was to get selected for the mission. But I had to go wherever it was that they were taking townspeople. I had to know what had happened to Juno.

  She was the only parent I had left.

  We entered the tech room just as a sizable procession of people was filing out, Zion and Cloyd among them. It was a group of large, muscular men and women, and I assumed that it was the combat team.

  “Zion!” Nelson called to him.

  He walked over to us as the rest of his team continued out of the tech building and into the street.

  “Aren’t you coming to our meeting?” Gabby asked.

  “Yeah, you’re going to have a hard time deciding who’s going to volunteer for this mission if you’re not even there,” Jackie teased.

  Zion shook his head. “I got different orders. The combat team just met with Nathan,” he replied.

  I furrowed my brow. “About the same mission we’ve been discussing?” I asked.

  “I’m sure Nathan will tell you everything you need to know,” Zion replied with a shrug. “I’ll catch you guys around.”

  Zion left us standing on the steps to the tech building perplexed.

  “Guess Nathan wasn’t lying when he said this was going to be a big mission,” Jackie said quietly.

  We walked into the tech room together, and quickly spotted Nathan talking to Sy in front of the large coding screen. There was no one else in the cavernous computer room yet.

  Nathan didn’t look up from his conversation, so Jackie, Gabby, Nelson, and I lingered awkwardly at the back of the room. Ant and Abe walked in next.

  “Did you guys notice a small army walking out of this building a few minutes ago?” Ant asked in an attempt at lighthearted humor.

  “Yeah, we were worried our favorite band of misfits was causing riots in here, and they had to call for backup,” Abe added.

  But the looks on their faces hinted at a much more nervous and tense undercurrent.

  “Nathan met separately with the combat team, it seems,” Nelson replied.

  “Just consider yourself lucky that you’re not on the flight teams,” a familiar voice said from behind us.

  I turned to see Kory and Jace walking up.

  “I saw Rio walking down the hallway in the dorms, and he said they met with Nathan at the crack of dawn this morning,” Kory continued.

  “I’d guess Alexy was in on that meeting,” I said. “So this is probably all of us.”

  At the front of the room, Sy and Nathan shook hands as if finishing their conversation, and then Sy began to walk toward us.

  “Glad you all got my message,” he said in a warm, baritone voice as he approached. “But Nelson and Gabby, I sent yours a little early. You’ll be joining us in the tech meeting after this.”

  “Wait, so should we not be in this meeting?” Gabby asked with a hint of fear and frustration in her voice. Nelson also looked confused and upset.

  “Of course you’re welcome in this meeting,” Nathan’s voice called from over by the coding screens. “We’ll just keep you two afterward so you can sit in with your team as well.”

  Nelson’s eyes lit up. She looked wide-eyed at Sy, who gave her a knowing wink and then walked out of the room.

  “We got selected for the tech team,” she said quietly to Gabby, who gasped and then smiled broadly.

  I beamed at their reactions. I knew they had been working on the tech B team, and that they had been selected to work on the A team for the final phase of Artemis. But now it seemed that Nathan had made the call to officially induct them into the core squad. And I didn’t know any two people who were more deserving of that opportunity.

  Nathan waved his hand to gesture us over, then, and we walked closer to the overhead scree
ns near Nathan while Abe’s voice echoed in my head. Band of misfits. It was true. We were a ragtag bunch with no one talent to unite us. But it seemed like Nathan had designated us a team for some reason, even as members like Nelson and Gabby began to gravitate toward their own teams. I wondered what the reason was for keeping the rest of Team Hood together so far.

  As we approached, the coding screens changed and began to display a new sight. I squinted up at them, trying to decipher what I was looking at, and as my eyes adjusted I started to make out the general outline of a map. There was a large green space in the middle, with a few gray lines running around it: roads and a forest. It was a satellite image.

  Nathan didn’t glance up at the image. He focused his attention on us.

  “We got these satellite images through Artemis. This is the uncultivated expanse of land between the abandoned factory towns,” he said.

  We kept our upturned eyes on the screen. The image was inconspicuous enough, just a forest between a few towns. But as I focused on those woods, they began to appear more ominous. The abandoned towns were situated around that very forest. Were people being hidden in there? Or, worse yet, was it a mass gravesite? At any rate, why was all this happening? What was Helping Hands doing? And why was the government so invested in it?

  “By backtracking a few days’ worth of images, we can start to see some activity,” Nathan continued.

  The screen began to change. It was the same basic picture, but we were now seeing little variations in things like cloud cover and lighting. It looked like the same image on different days. Nathan zoomed in on a particular image so we could see the roads more clearly. Six or seven large, hulking figures were on the road—and the first of them was turning off the road and toward the forest.

  “Cargo trucks,” I said out loud.

  Nathan nodded gravely. “With the information you two got from Ironfield, we can deduce that these cargo trucks may have been carrying people. The timing lines up.”

  I squinted at the image. It was horrifying to imagine poor people being transported like textiles or refrigerated goods in the back of a big truck. Were they confused? Were they afraid? I thought back to what the woman had said in Ironfield. Was there any chance that Helping Hands was telling the truth and they were actually housing people in temporary shelters on this land? If so, why were they keeping it hidden? And why hadn’t they started doing any of the repairs on the abandoned towns they had promised?