“Sure thing, boss,” Jenna says, swerving the car left. She swats at Anthony’s hand. “Quit messing with that thing. I know where I’m going.”
In a matter of minutes she pulls up to what looks like a closed auto repair store. Out front is a metal box that says: “Free Charge.”
Anthony’s out the door before the car comes to a complete stop. I open mine and hesitate. The shimmering black car has followed us into the parking lot. Its headlights bathe us in an accusing glow.
“Hey, Patch!” Anthony calls. “I’m not sure if I know what I’m doing.”
I jog over and inspect the box. It’s a shiny silver with a red button on its side. Only one cord comes out of it, a metal clamp at its end.
“We need to open it,” I say.
“How?” Jenna asks next to me.
Anthony runs his hands all around the box. “It’s solid.”
“So bust it open,” Jenna says. “And hurry. We probably have less than a minute.”
Anthony straightens and sucks air into his lungs in a slow inhale. He holds his breath for a few seconds and then, in a lightning-quick move, smashes his fist into the side of the box. The metal buckles under the pressure.
I jump, startled by the violent action.
“Again,” Jenna says.
Anthony duplicates the process and on his exhale punches a hole right through the metal. He reaches in with his hands and begins to tear at the box until there’s a gaping hole in the back.
He wipes sweat from his brow with the back of his hand and says, “Now what?”
“Impressive,” I say and bend over to peer inside. There are two small metal squares side-by-side with wires attached to each of them. On one of them is a plus sign, and on the other a negative. I need to switch the negative charge with the positive.
“Attach the charging clip to your car,” I say to Jenna while I set to the task of switching the wires. It takes me a few seconds to locate the right ones, a green and yellow wire. They come apart easily, and I reattach them into the other’s location. After double- checking my work, I say, “Press the button.”
Just as Anthony reaches to touch it, I shout, “Wait!”
Inside, at the back of one of the small boxes, I notice a white switch. I flip it up. Had I not done this, I would’ve fried Jenna’s car. “Okay, now!”
Anthony pushes the button but nothing happens. At the same time there’s a humming sound, faint at first, but definitely growing closer.
“They’re coming!” Jenna says. “Why isn’t the car rebooting?”
Anthony rushes over to where the metal clamp is attached to Jenna’s bumper and wiggles it around. “Try it again.”
I hit the button and look up expectantly. The sound beyond the buildings in front of us grows louder, and the ground rumbles beneath my feet. I’m not sure what’s approaching, but my racing pulse tells me I don’t want to find out.
Just then Jenna’s car powers down. A few seconds later, lights flicker and come back to life.
“Get in,” Jenna says.
I’m already halfway into the car. The sound approaching is almost deafening. I expect to see some giant machine on wheels rounding the corner at any second.
“Let’s see if your little stunt worked,” Jenna mumbles as she presses on the gas.
The car darts forward, leaving the parking lot. Anthony and I turn around to watch the tracker car. It doesn’t follow.
Jenna laughs. “I can’t believe that worked! Maybe you’re not the dummy I thought you were.”
“Just drive,” Anthony says before I can say anything. “Fast.” He’s still watching behind us. After a few blocks he turns back around. “That was close.”
I shake my head, bothered by something. “We may have gotten away, but won’t the tracker have already sent information about this vehicle to the Institute? They may have already traced it back to Jenna.”
“Not mine,” she says. “It’s my mom’s and registered to her old boyfriend’s address. We also have different last names.”
Anthony taps his fingers against a center console; they leave prints against a shiny surface. “She’s right, though. It’s only a matter of time before they discover your mother has a child. They’ll start an investigation and discover who you are.”
“Then I’ll report the car stolen. This might surprise you, but I am a wonderful actress.”
“That might work,” Anthony says and lets out a long sigh as if he’s just realizing how complicated getting me out of the city will be. I really hate that I’m so dependent upon them. They’re taking huge risks for me, a perfect stranger. Somehow I need to find a way to repay them.
After a few seconds of silence, I ask, “What was coming toward us? The rumbling?”
Jenna and Anthony exchange glances.
“The Institute,” he says. “They come with one of their massive transport vehicles. It has to be very large to hold their soldiers.”
“The trollmobile,” Jenna says. “Packed with mutants.”
I remember the tall beast in the hospital. “Monstrous chests and small legs?”
“Yes, that sounds right. How did you know?” Anthony asks and swivels around in his seat to look at me.
“There was one at the Institute where they were holding me.”
“And you got away from him?” Jenna asks, her eyes wide in the rearview mirror.
I nod and sink into the seat.
They’re quiet for a minute until Jenna says, “So how’d you know to do that thing with the charger?”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on, Patch,” she says, “You can tell us. We’re pals now, right?”
I don’t say anything because I’m not sure how I feel about her, but we’re definitely not pals.
Her eyes narrow in the mirror. “I think you know more than you’re saying.”
“Leave her alone,” Anthony says staring out the window. “She’s had a difficult day.”
That is one way to put it, I guess. I ignore Jenna and ask him, “How did you smash through that box?”
He keeps his back to me as he speaks. “All of us with gold eyes have some kind of genetically enhanced ability, some more than others. I can exert great strength but only in short bursts. Any longer back there and my arm would’ve given out.”
“What about you?” I ask Jenna.
Her jaw tightens then relaxes. “Let’s just say that when they were handing out special abilities from the DNA pot, I got the crud on the bottom that has to be scraped off.”
“That’s not true,” Anthony says. “Your ability has helped us many times.”
“Whatever.” Jenna’s quiet after this.
I stare at the back of their heads, wondering what it would be like to have a special gift, something that sets you apart from others. “What about Colt?”
Jenna chuckles. “Colt’s a real freak, a one-of-a-kind. Where is he anyway?”
“He’s meeting us there,” Anthony says.
“But doesn’t he have the code to get us in?” Jenna asks.
“Yes.”
Although they didn’t answer my question, I stay quiet, listening to their conversation.
“And you trust him to show up?” Jenna asks again.
“He’ll be there.”
Jenna snorts. “You have too much faith in him.”
“Some would say I put too much faith in you.”
She laughs like it’s the dumbest thing she’s ever heard.
“Why don’t you like him?” I ask.
“He betrayed us,” she says.
“What did he do?”
“Enough,” Anthony says. “It doesn’t matter. He’s different now.”
“Sure he is. If you ask me, he’s just a typical Noc. Not even their own mothers trust them.”
I lean forward. “What’s a Noc?”
Jenna glances back at me. “A Nocturnal. Their DNA has been mixed with—”
“Turn here!” Anthony says, startling Jenna. She
turns the wheel hard, and I slide sideways along the leather backseat.
“Park in that alleyway,” Anthony points to her left.
She pulls in and turns off the lights. We sit in the darkness. The only sound is my breathing, which begins to quicken. I focus on my sore muscles to provide a distraction from what feels like a heavy blanket wrapping around my chest and smothering my face.
“So how long do we wait?” Jenna asks.
“He’ll be here,” Anthony says.
Just then a crashing sound rattles the top of the car, and I lay flat, afraid the roof might collapse.
“What the?” Jenna says and peers upward out the window. She moans loudly. “I’m going to kill him!”
Jenna exits the car. I’m slower to go out, since I’m trying to catch my breath.
Colt jumps from the roof of her car onto the ground while he pushes his arm through the sleeve of his long jacket and pulls it the rest of the way around him.
“You are so dead,” Jenna says, storming over to him. “Look at my car!”
Colt glances at a dent in her roof. He doesn’t grin, but there’s a twinkle in his eye. “Did I do that?”
I look at the crumpled metal then look up. The building next to us is at least twenty stories high. Where did he come from?
“I hate you,” Jenna says. She reaches into her car and presses a button near the ceiling. I back away at a sudden humming sound. The metal on the top of the car vibrates for a few seconds before the roof smooths itself back to normal. I stare in awe.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Colt asks. His tone is light, but he still wears a serious expression like he’s expecting a fight at any moment. I wonder if he knows how to smile.
“Over here,” Anthony calls. While I wasn’t watching, he’d moved to the end of the alleyway.
I follow after him. It’s dark, but I don’t have to worry about tripping over anything. The alley is also freakishly spotless, making me uncomfortable.
Behind me Jenna says to Colt, “Just give us the slip of paper so you can leave. I know you don’t want to be here.”
“You don’t know what I want,” Colt says. “You never have.”
“Oh please. As if you’ve ever wanted anything beyond food and money. You’re the shallowest person I’ve ever met.”
“Better shallow than a narcissistic drama queen.”
“Be quiet, you two,” Anthony says, over his shoulder. “We’re here.”
I look around, searching for our destination. A quiet street lies in front of us, and on each side are more of the same tall rectangular buildings. Perfectly neat and orderly. In some of these, faint light of those still awake shines out tinted windows.
“Where?” Jenna asks.
Anthony walks around the corner and stops at the shiny side of a smooth metal building.
“There’s no door,” Jenna says.
“The symbol,” Colt says behind us. “Eden.”
I follow Colt’s gaze. Just above my line of sight there’s a small drawing etched into the metal: a wide tree with full branches, twisting and curling. Two of the branches make a complete circle around the tree. Anthony runs his finger over the symbol. A blue light appears at the ground and races up to make the shape of a door. Beneath the circle a keypad appears.
“Read the numbers,” Anthony says.
Colt reaches into his pocket and removes the slip of paper Bram had given him. While he reads, Anthony punches in the numbers. “33, 14, 74, 21, 16.”
The door opens.
Inside, hurry,” Anthony says and glances around.
I walk in first to the darkened entryway. A smell reminds me of cranberries.
Jenna elbows me out of the way and says, “Move it, Patch.”
Anthony’s voice sounds through the darkness when the others have come in and the door has closed behind us. “Lights on.”
The room lights up. It’s spacious, more so than I expected. The walls are a pale green. Simple, square-shaped furniture fill a large living room. The others walk past me.
An office is to my left. I glance in, careful to inspect the place that is to protect me from the Institute. A lone brown desk sits in front of a giant picture hanging behind it. It’s of a man with dark hair, light brown, normal-to-me eyes, and a smile. He is an Original, like me. Something about his smile draws me in. While the others explore the rest of the apartment, I continue to stare at the portrait. The painting is encased by a heavy silver frame. At the bottom a plaque reads “Howard P. O. Edmonds.” I grimace. The name feels off. He doesn’t look like a Howard. I move closer and reach up, my fingers tracing the lines on the man’s face.
“What are you doing?”
I turn around. Colt is standing in the doorway. He removes his long jacket and tosses it into an empty chair. In this faint light, his black hair shows a hint of red.
“This man,” I say. “Do you know him?”
He’s quiet for a moment before answering. “He’s an Original and a brilliant scientist. He’s been trying to find a cure for us for years.”
“He looks familiar.” I keep looking at the man, waiting for my memory to unfold itself and reveal my life, but it remains locked.
“So you really don’t remember anything?” Colt walks into the room.
His powerful presence sends a chill up my spine the same way it did at the Rapture. I admit, it frightens me a little so I subtly step away from him.
“I feel memories floating around,” I say, “but there’s a fog preventing me from seeing them. Does that make sense?”
“It’s the drug.” His eyes flicker to my arm, then move to my hands, which are still raw from gripping the cables. “You must be exhausted. Why don’t you get some rest?”
“So what are we supposed to do here?” Jenna says from the hallway.
“Wait,” Anthony responds. “Go find a book to read.”
He walks into the office with Colt and me. Jenna lets out an exaggerated sigh as she follows after him.
“Hey, Colt,” she says when she sees us by the painting. “Feeling guilty?”
“Shut up,” he says to her.
I turn to Colt. “Have you met him?”
The muscles around his jaw bulge. “No.”
“How about you, Anthony?”
He’s quiet for a few seconds then says, “I met him once.”
Colt tilts his head then points at the bottom of the painting. “Look at his name.”
“Howard O. P. Edmonds,” Jenna reads, looking over our shoulders. “So? It’s a dumb name.”
“Read it again,” he says.
I say it in my mind. And then I get it. “Hope,” I say.
Anthony turns to me. “What did you say?”
“The first letter in each name spells ‘hope.’ Is that what you’re talking about?” I glance at each one of them. By their silence and the way their eyes are connecting, I feel like I’m missing something.
“This is stupid,” Jenna says. “I’m getting something to eat.”
Anthony calls over his shoulder, “Do it quick. We may have to leave at a moment’s notice.”
“Patch needs to rest,” Colt says. The name Jenna gave me sounds so wrong on his lips.
Anthony looks at me as if waiting for me to agree with Colt, but I don’t say anything. I want nothing more than to sleep, but if it isn’t safe, I won’t complain.
When I don’t answer, Anthony leaves the room saying, “We’ll rest until dawn, but then we’ve got to go.”
From the kitchen Jenna says, “We can’t just leave, Anthony. Our lives are here, our jobs.”
“You don’t have to come, but this is what I’ve devoted what little life I have left to. You know that.”
Colt leaves me to join them, but I stay back, lingering in the doorway of the office, unsure if I should be listening to what feels like a personal conversation. The three of them stand together, looking like a small family.
“But you can’t just leave me!” Jenna says. “What will I do?”
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Anthony smiles. “I’m sure you’ll find someone else to irritate.”
“But I want to irritate you.”
“Then you’ll have to make a decision. What about you, Colt? I could use your help.”
He shrugs. “I’ve got nothing better to do.”
“Oh great,” Jenna says. “Now I have to go. Someone has to protect you from him. He might betray you.”
“Stop that,” Anthony says, scolding her like a father would.
I leave the man in the portrait and join the others in the living room.
“What about the boy?” I ask, remembering the way he had screamed when the Institute took him away.
“Who?” Jenna asks.
“There was a boy in the hospital with me. Just a child.”
“Don’t worry,” Anthony says. “Bram will figure it out, but my responsibility is to you. We’ll get you to Eden where you’ll be safe.”
He disappears into a doorway, which I assume leads to a bedroom.
I think of the boy, how scared he must be feeling right now. I hope he’s okay.
Jenna returns to the kitchen. “There’s pizza. You hungry?”
“Cook two, I’m starving,” Colt says.
“I wasn’t asking you,” she says. “Patch, you, hungry?”
I nod, my stomach tight with hunger pains.
Anthony returns carrying blankets. “There’s two beds in the bedroom. Jenna and Patch can sleep in there. Colt and I can sleep on the couches.”
“Actually,” I say, “can I sleep in the office?” For some reason I want to be near the man in the painting.
“Are you sure?”
I nod. Out of the corner of my eye I sense Colt watching me. I resist the urge to look over and instead go into the kitchen to help Jenna.
“Here,” she says and hands me a long, metal tube. “You can cook it.”
I turn the device over in my hands, trying to figure out what I am holding.
Jenna removes a pizza from a refrigerator and places it on the counter. “Get to it,” she says. “I’m starving.”
“Right.” I look at the rod again, pushing all around it, but nothing happens. I try touching the end of it to the edge of the pizza, thinking maybe it will sense the dough or something. Really, I have no idea what I’m doing.
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