by Rebecca Ann
I sighed. What to say? I didn’t want to scare her, but I wasn’t about to lie. “She’s gonna try really hard, sweetie.” I went over to her, and when I laid a hand on her shoulder, she buried her face in my chest. I led her over to my bunk, trying to ignore the way the hot, stale air drifted into the room from the open doorway, and we sat down. “She’s not gonna let anything happen to your mom.”
Sarah leaned into my side. “You promise?”
I blew out a breath. Oh boy. How to answer that? “Sweetie, I can’t promise, but—” I let the sentence fade as I pulled Sarah into another hug. In this moment, she needed the hug more than my rambling. “You’re not alone, sweet girl. I’m here, and so are Lily and her parents. There are lots of people here who love you.”
“Come on, Sarah,” Lily said as she came into the room. “We’ll go ask my dad when Lindsey is coming back. After I give Victoria her present.”
“Present? Whatcha got, bug?”
Lily produced an object from behind her back, holding it out. “We thought you might need this.”
I blinked, confused, and when Lily put the object in my lap and I ran my hands over it, it clicked. My cane! “Oh! Thank you!”
“You’re welcome! Dad got it in a few months ago, and we were gonna give it to you for Christmas, but when you left yours at home, we decided now was better.”
I undid the strap that held the cane in a folded position. It dropped with its usual click to the ground. I held the rubber grip, my body relaxed for the first time in hours. Lindsey and her family were angels. I wouldn’t have gotten through the last few years without them.
“We’re gonna go walk around. My dad said there’s a meeting in an hour,” Lily said. “And Sarah’s grandpa wants to talk to you.”
My mouth went dry, and butterflies danced in my stomach. I inhaled and let it out slowly. This was what I’d come here for. With a final breath, I followed Lily out of the room, swiping my cane from side to side. Might as well spend some time getting to know the place. “Lead the way!”
As I went through the sitting room and opened the main door, voices came from somewhere down the hall. Children’s voices. I smiled as I made my way to the steps. They wobbled under me, and I exhaled as my feet touched solid ground. As we walked down the crowded street, I looked over at Lily.
“What do you think about being here?”
Lily dragged her feet through the gravel. “I dunno. It’s pretty cool, I guess. Will we have to go to school?”
I laughed under my breath. Leave it to Lily to ask about school. She wasn’t one for sitting still very long. “I don’t know. We’ll have to see what your father says. We’re very lucky to be here.”
“Please, Mom already gave me the ‘we’re lucky’ lecture. I know we could be on those hovers to Ada.” I could hear an eye roll in her tone. “How long will we be here? I miss the park.”
I shook my head. That was the never-ending question. “I don’t know, honey. Hopefully not long.” As we headed down the street, I tried to tell where we were in relation to my apartment.
“Victoria?” Lily asked after a few seconds of silence. “Are you gonna get to see your mom?”
“I don’t know. I hope so.”
Lily didn’t say anything else, and we were quiet as we made our way to where Sarah’s grandpa wanted to meet me. I followed Lily and Sarah, also using her cane, through the crowded street and to a smaller building. Sarah led the way, walking up the steps and inside first.
“Grandpa!” she called. “Are you here?”
I went inside as a jingling sound split the silence, like keys on a keychain. A figure appeared from out of the shadows.
“Right here, sweet pea.” I recognized the voice as Dave’s. “You must be Victoria. Your father speaks highly of you. Follow me. We’ll go to my office.”
“We’re gonna go walk around and find my mom,” Lily explained.
“Be careful, girls,” I said as they walked out the door.
“We will!” Sarah called.
I turned and followed Mr. Babcock across the front room and through a door that opened into a long hallway. For a moment, the white light hurt my eyes, but as I adjusted to it, I noticed doors on either side of the hall. Mr. Babcock led me into a smaller room with a desk and two black chairs.
“Please, have a seat.”
I folded up my cane and sat down on what I now knew to be a leather chair. “Mr. Babcock, I first want to thank you for allowing us to come down here.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I’ll do anything I can to help our people. And on that note, I’m really glad you decided to join the resistance. We could use someone with your skills on the team. I was told that you had an idea you wanted to run by me.”
I swallowed, heart speeding up. Wow. Straight to the point. Okay. I could do that. “Yes. I heard that this place is going to be in the dark soon, and I have a solution for when that happens.”
“What do you propose?”
I played with my fingers in my lap, sweat collecting under my arms. This could go either way. He could think my idea brilliant or shoot it down. “I was thinking Lighters could donate their light to power the underground. On a volunteer basis. Only those that want to. I’ve been researching, and I think we can do it.”
Mr. Babcock leaned forward, but even then, I couldn’t see his expression. “You read my mind. I have invented a way to collect the light, but I need someone to help organize it. Would you be willing to take on that responsibility?”
I opened my mouth but shut it again, the air in here suddenly warmer than it had been five minutes ago. I hadn’t expected this. “I’m not sure,” I stammered out. “Can I have a few days to think about it?”
“We have twenty-four hours before the lights go out,” Mr. Babcock explained.
My legs twitched, my stomach in knots. What had I gotten myself into? “Okay, I’ll let you know by tomorrow morning.” I stood, unfolding my cane, my legs ready to collapse. “Thank you so much.”
“There’s something I want to give you. Your father left this for you. He didn’t want to risk someone finding it up top.” He held out what looked like a plastic bag. “These are memory cards. Audio files. I’m not sure what they’re of, but he wanted you to have them.”
The bag crunched under my fingers as I slipped it in the back pocket of my pants. “Thank you. And I’ll let you know what I decide.” I walked out of the room and down the hall, through the front room and outside.
My mind raced as I made my way down the street, not entirely sure where I was going. Right now, I didn’t care. My whole body tingled, and a sharp prickling started in my fingers. I fisted my right hand, my left one gripping my cane. People swarmed around me, coming at me from all directions. I tried to move out of the way.
“Victoria?” Diane’s voice somehow made it through the noise. “Are you okay?”
I shook my head. “No. I just need to get back to my apartment.” My voice shook as the nervousness I’d kept inside threatened to spill out like vomit. My body started to tremble, and I almost collapsed into Diane as her hand clasped my arm.
“Okay. You’re almost there.”
I nodded, too overwhelmed to reply as I let Diane lead me back to the apartment. I managed a thank you as I punched in the code to open the door. As it beeped, I pushed it open and hurried inside.
I barged into the bedroom, tossed the cane on the bed, and went to the wardrobe, fumbling in the duffle for my makeup bag where I’d put the bottle of the drug. My hands trembled as I opened the bottle and shook a pill into my hand. I went into the bathroom and washed it down with water from the sink. I exhaled. Now maybe I could think clearly about Mr. Babcock’s offer. As I exited the bathroom, my net-screen rang, and I snatched it up, pressing accept before the automated voice could tell me who it was.
Elizabeth’s hologram appeared before me, standing near the bunk bed. I couldn’t see anything except her glowing blonde hair. “Hi, honey. Are you okay? You look flushed.
”
I sat down on the comforter. “Yeah. I just got back from a meeting with the leader of where we are. He wants me to head up the donating project I was telling you about.”
“Honey, that’s great! Are you going to do it?”
I shrugged, gaze on the floor, ignoring the fact she called me honey. That wasn’t her place. Not yet, anyway. “I don’t know. I’ve never done anything like this before, but we can’t live here in the dark.”
“You’ll make a great leader, Victoria. I’m so proud of you for donating your light! I know it’s scary, but I know you can do it.”
I looked in her direction. “Oh, I’m not donating! I’m just helping organize people that want to,” I said a little too quickly. “I’m not ready to be off the drug yet.”
“I understand, but if you’re going to lead this thing, I think it might be a good idea for you to consider donating. They’re going to be scared and need someone to show them that everything will be okay. It’s not like on Ada where we were forced to exert ourselves when—” Her voice trailed off, and I could tell we’d gotten into tricky territory.
“When they experimented on you?” I whispered.
“Yes,” Elizabeth answered equally as soft.
I shifted on the bed. “How can you stand behind LIs returning to Ada after what Carmella did to you?”
“Because I’m not going to be driven from my home. I already lost you once. I won’t do that again. I won’t let anything come between us again.”
I tried to smile at the determination in Elizabeth’s words despite being tainted by years of pain. “I’ll think about it.” That was the best answer I could give her for now. “Elizabeth, I’m sorry, I have to go. I have another meeting to get to.” I stood and grabbed my cane, unfolding it. “We’ll talk later?”
“Yes, of course. And, Victoria?”
“Yeah?”
“I know this doesn’t mean much right now, but I believe in you. Whatever you decide, I’ll support you.”
I attempted a smile. “Thanks. I’ll let you know.”
I ended the call and headed out of the apartment. Halfway to the door, I froze. The bag Mr. Babcock had given me still crunched in my back pocket. In the panic of getting here and taking a pill, I’d forgotten about it. I pulled it out and tried to feel what was inside. Tiny blue squares. Memory cards for the net-screen. What were they, and why hadn’t my father given them to me the other night? I placed them under my pillow even though my mind screamed for me to listen now. I backed away from the bed. Nope. This could wait.
I glanced over my shoulder as I headed out of the room. With a sigh, I made it to the door and outside.
The hot air smelled of sweat and dirt. It made me gag. I tried to move as people pressed up against me, their voices nothing but a canopy of sounds, all laced with anticipation.
Focused on the people in front of me, I made my way to the dining hall. I walked inside and over to one of the long wooden tables that ran the length of the room. The glare from lights that hung down like spiderwebs bounced off the shiny wooden surfaces. I sat down at one of the tables, and the cold wood helped keep me focused. Otherwise, I’d spend the whole meeting thinking about the donation program and those memory cards. Maybe that was a good thing.
“Everyone!” Lindsey’s father called over the noise of people chatting and getting settled. “Please take your seat so we can begin. We have a lot to get through.
“First, I want to thank everyone for being here. I promise you’ll get time to settle in and get the lay of the land. There will be a tour after this for those interested. For those of you asking about jobs, there will be a sign-up sheet on the table in the back. We desperately need teachers and trainers as well as daycare workers for younger children.”
I slid off the bench and made my way to the door. If I decided to help run the donation program, I wouldn’t need a job. It would be one in itself. Opening the door as quietly as I could, I slipped through and headed down the steps. Now I could go and listen to those memory cards until the tour. I started down the street, but a familiar voice called my name.
“Victoria?”
I paused to let Diane catch up to me. “Hi! I’m sorry I left the meeting. I have a lot on my mind.” The words came without warning, but I didn’t turn away or try to duck my head. Diane was like a mother to me. I could tell her anything.
“Dave told me,” Diane said, and her arm came around me. “And I think you should help organize the donation program.”
I leaned into the embrace. No matter what happened in the days and weeks to come, I wasn’t alone. My mother and I may have reconnected, but she was still a stranger to me. The Coopers were my family. They’d accepted me from the moment I’d walked into their home with Lindsey at age ten.
“I don’t know what to do,” I said, my mind preoccupied to the point I didn’t notice we were heading down the street until I almost fell.
“Come on, let’s go talk at my apartment.” We were silent for a few moments as we started down the street, and then Diane said, “I just heard from Rick. The tour is starting soon, and then he wants to meet with resistance members.”
I nodded. “I’d like to go to the meeting, if that’s okay. I’m not an official member, but I really want to help.” I held onto Diane’s elbow, cane in my right hand. “Have you heard from Lindsey?”
“No, not yet, but she’ll be here with Shannon soon.”
We walked down the empty street toward the next apartment building, and Diane led the way up the steps. As she punched in the code and the door swung open, I let go of her arm and hurried inside.
“The tour should last about half an hour,” Diane said as she shut the door.
I used my cane to navigate the room, and when I found the couch, I sank onto it with a sigh. “Did you ever wish you could take away your powers?”
“I can’t say that I have.” Diane came over to the couch. “It’s harder for Invisibles. Only our teleporting ability can be taken. We can still communicate telepathically. But I do know some Invies that had their teleportation taken. On Ada.”
“Is there a drug for Invisibles?”
“Shannon’s dad was in the process of making it when he had to flee Ada and come here. I don’t know if he completed it or not.”
I fumbled with the strap of my cane, trying to work my racing thoughts into some sort of coherent response. “I really don’t know what to do. About the drug and my powers and doing this donation program. I want to help, but people will expect me to donate. I’m not ready for that. Not yet. I haven’t gone off the drug since I started taking it at age three.”
“Take it slow. Try not taking it for an hour, then two, and so on. Don’t rush yourself. Do what you feel is best. Don’t let anyone talk you into doing anything you’re not comfortable with.”
As the words settled within me, I hugged her. “Thank you.” I pulled back. “You have no idea how much you helped.” I stood from the couch, cane under my right arm. “We should get to the meeting—”
“Are you sure?”
I unfolded my cane. “Yeah. I’m okay.” I pushed up from the couch and walked toward the door. I didn’t have to decide anything right now, but when I did, it would be the right choice.
Chapter Ten
LINDSEY
I put on my hat as the hallway swarmed with people after a meeting that dragged on and on! “That took forever,” I muttered as I hurried after Mark through a cluster of Watchers. “My butt fell asleep.”
Mark rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t forever. An hour tops.” He pushed the button on the elevator, and it opened with a ding a second later.
I stepped inside, leaning against the back wall. “I still feel like we’re dragging these people to prison, even though we’re not.”
Mark pressed P for parking deck on the keypad. “We won’t be able to save them all. We only have a certain number of people to pick up, and hopefully we can get them all to—you know. Picking up more people than we are a
ssigned would be too suspicious. Now, we’re gonna hover over to our first assignment, drive the hover to the holding site—those old abandoned hotels—and then teleport our assignments to you know where.”
I took off my hat and put it back on, as if that would somehow take away the butterflies dancing in my stomach. As the elevator doors opened, the smell of trash assaulted my nose. It spilled from the trashcan by the elevator onto the ground. Guess no one bothered to clean this part of the station. “Let’s do this. What’s our first assignment? How many families are we picking up?” As the words left my mouth, I snapped my fingers. In all the craziness and trying to figure things out on my first shift, I’d almost forgotten about Shannon. “Shoot! I need to pick up Shannon! She went to a friend’s house.”
“Where does the friend live?”
“Baker Street. Irene Dawson.”
Mark glanced down at his net-screen. “Well, you’re in luck. The Dawson family is our first pickup. Then three more after that. The hover holds fifteen people. We might come to several empty houses, especially since most people in this neighborhood have kids at the LI school.”
“Really? Do the Watchers know that they’ve already left?” Dread settled in my stomach as we headed across the lot. I squinted into the darkness, trying to find the hover through the dim orange light illuminating half the deck.
Please let Shannon and the Dawson family still be home.
“Probably.” Mark took out a tiny black device and pointed it at the hover. It beeped, and the door opened. “So, we’ll run by the Dawsons and get them and Shannon.”
“And then what? Will we have other families to pick up?” I followed Mark up the ramp into the hover, blinking in the brightness of the cabin as a fluorescent light spilled over leather seats that wrapped around the outer wall. A curtain hung off to the right, which Mark disappeared through. I followed him. Dang. This was a lot bigger than the one Dad used to drive. I’d been ten when the law banning LIs from driving and owning hovers had been issued. I climbed into the copilot seat, resting my head against the headrest and taking off my hat. I put it on my lap, fumbling with the brim.