“Why?” I whispered.
The muscles moved in her throat as she swallowed hard. “I would rather die than go through the pain of that disease again. But I’d also rather die than be confined inside the suffocating walls of this city. That’s not going to change.” She looked away, hiding her eyes from me.
“You not wanting to live inside this city with me doesn’t change how I feel. Or how I know you feel.”
“I can’t, West.”
“You don’t have to admit your feelings to me. Not yet. But you will… eventually. For now, we’ll play it your way.”
She looked up at me through a veil of dark lashes, evidence of her once-dark brown hair. “I will not stay in this city, West. No matter what I’m feeling.”
My lips twitched knowingly. I hated that she felt like my city was a prison, but given how she had been treated since she’d arrived, I couldn’t blame her. “I will help you,” I said.
She lifted a brow.
“Under one condition,” I added.
“What is that?”
I leaned in close to her ear again, attempting to keep our conversation private and taking in her sweet scent. “Justin wants me to convince you to stay inside New Caelum. You have to give me the chance to at least try. Or at least look like you’re giving me a chance.”
She pulled back with a raised brow. “What do I have to do?”
“I need you to act like my charm is working when we’re in front of Justin and my mother, or anytime we’re in public. I can’t stop this feeling that Justin, Mother, and the council are planning my future but haven’t bothered to tell me about it.”
Not to mention that one of them was behind the Bad Sam outbreak. And I was going to figure out who.
~~~~~
Cricket was dressed in a different sapphire dress the next morning. Picking at a plate of eggs and bacon, she sat with Justin and Mother at the dining room table. When I entered, she set her fork down and placed her napkin beside her plate. I gave my head a little shake, warning her not to get up. She sighed silently in response.
She was ready to see Dax and was not going to be very patient about it.
But after our talk last night, she’d have to practice a little self-restraint. We had to make Justin and the others believe that Cricket was considering a life inside New Caelum—force them to let their guard down where that was concerned.
“Good morning.” I leaned over and kissed Mother on her cheek.
“Morning, Westlin,” she responded, her voice curt. “You will meet with me later this morning to discuss how to handle food distribution on the south side of New Caelum.” Mother sounded more like her old self, the person she was before Willow had come down with Bad Sam. Justin didn’t even look up from the news screen on his PulsePoint. He was rapidly swiping through the morning’s headlines.
I walked the length of the table, grazing Cricket’s shoulder as I passed her. Anything to touch her. When I glanced back at Mother, I saw her staring at Cricket. Something was definitely different about Mother compared to the previous night. She seemed more… normal, maybe.
I grabbed a piece of toast and some bacon. Premium meat, like bacon, was only available to the highest class of citizens within New Caelum. There simply wasn’t enough to spread throughout the city.
“Cricket, how did you sleep last night?” Mother asked.
“Fine, President Layne.”
“Mother, how is Willow this morning?” I asked, drawing her attention away from Cricket.
She looked across the table at me, her eyes ice cold. “She’s in critical condition and in need of a cure.” She turned back to Cricket. “Cricket, how close was Caine to a cure to the virus?”
Cricket cleared her throat. “Well, we thought he was close.”
“What do you mean?”
“He treated some infected rats, and it was going well. They seemed to be getting better, but just before I came here, the last of the rats that we thought had a chance at survival died.” Cricket’s face fell, and I knew it was not only because they’d failed to find a cure, but because she hated that they were forced to experiment on the rats.
Mother’s lips pressed into a thin line. “I see.”
“I’m truly sorry about Willow, ma’am. I would like the opportunity to help Dr. Hempel in the lab. I’ll do anything I can to make sure your daughter finds relief.”
Mother set her coffee cup back on the matching saucer, letting the ceramic pieces clank together. “Why have you pretended to be someone other than Christina Black?”
I moved to the edge of my seat and almost stood to defend Cricket, but she swallowed hard, rotated her shoulders back, and faced Mother. “President Layne, I have not meant to offend you or the memory I have of you helping me when I was twelve. I only meant to protect myself.”
Cricket was nicer about it than I would have been. I didn’t understand what had gotten into my mother. I was glad she wasn’t the person she’d been last night, but—had she always been this direct and cold?
I guessed that maybe she had. Perhaps I had just never thought about what her tough exterior might look like to the outside world. The people on the inside knew of the sacrifices she’d made to keep them safe.
“Well, I thank you for coming to my daughter’s aid,” Mother said. “And I know that West was more than pleased to hear that you were alive.”
I couldn’t believe Mother could say that so plainly, without even acknowledging that she was the one who’d led me to believe that Cricket was dead in the first place. “What the hell, Mother? Of course I was pleased—you’d led me to believe that my best friend had died of the most painful disease ever known to man!”
I stood, letting my napkin fall to the ground. Mother simply stared at me, her mouth agape. I moved closer to Cricket.
“We’re going now. Cricket and I have a lot to do today, including checking in on Dr. Hempel.” How I could possibly make finding a cure to history’s most deadly disease sound like such a mundane item on our to-do list was beyond me.
Cricket pushed away from the table, and I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the door. The guards stepped aside when we approached, letting us pass without incident, but two of them followed us as we headed in the direction of the detention center, where the city detained lawbreakers.
Fifteen minutes later, after passing through several aboveground tunnels, we arrived at a complex south of the government officials’ quarters and stopped in front of a nondescript door. I noticed Cricket taking several deep breaths.
“You okay?” I asked.
She pulled her hand from my grasp. “Yes.” She looked up at me, pleading with eyes that matched her deep blue dress. “Would it be too much to ask to let me talk to Dax alone?”
My heart sank a little. There was something between Dax and Cricket. He wasn’t just protective of her—there was more. And she, too, seemed to have feelings beyond simple friendship for him.
“The guards aren’t going to allow you to speak to Dax by yourself, Cricket. That’s not within my control.” And if it were, I wouldn’t have allowed it anyway.
She stared at the door. “It’s fine. Let’s just go in.”
chapter twenty-nine
Cricket
I entered the holding room ahead of West and stopped abruptly when I saw Dax. “Oh my gosh, Dax!” His face looked like it had been used as a punching bag.
He was seated at a plain table, and stood when he saw me. His metal chair scraped against the floor. He nervously wiped his hands on his pants as he circled the table to meet me. For a moment his face brightened, and he opened his arms like he was about to embrace me, but then he saw West behind me and his expression faltered, his arms returning to his side.
I ran the few steps to him anyway. He slipped an arm around my back and hugged me briefly. I pulled back, letting my hand hover over his bruised cheek and busted bottom lip. Clearly, Dax had not received the same treatment I had. His left eye was swollen and circled in dark
red, which mixed with the beginnings of a deep bruise running from his nose and across his cheekbone. Dried blood decorated his split lip. However, he was clean. I was sure he had been forced to take a decontamination shower and had been subjected to a complete physical and blood tests.
I glared at West. “Is this how New Caelum treats their guests?”
West shrugged. “New Caelum doesn’t receive guests. No one from the outside has ever entered the walls of New Caelum since they were closed off. Until now.”
Dax had yet to say anything. I hugged him again, laying my head against his chest. “I’m sorry I pushed you away. I hated to hurt you. I just wanted you to be safe.”
He smoothed my hair. “Are you okay? They haven’t hurt you, have they?”
I shook my head, looking up at him. “Dylan?”
That’s when he backed away. His lips tugged downward. “He’s really sick, Crick. I don’t think he’s going to make it.” He redirected his gaze to West and scowled. “And your two friends…” His voice lowered, harsh and gruff. “They’re even worse. They’re bleeding from open sores and from their eyes.”
Dax’s voice lacked compassion, and he curved his fingers into fists at his side. “New Caelum did this to my brother. They used two of their own people as weapons. And now they’ve sentenced them, and my brother, to die.”
Dax tried to step around me, but I threw my body in front of him. “Look at me,” I said, grabbing his face and directing it toward mine. I knew West wasn’t responsible for the virus spreading. “The doctor here, the one Caine sent me to see, is working on a treatment. Caine says this doctor is the best.”
Dax’s face fell even further, if that was possible. “I’ve got a message from Caine. He told me not to tell anyone but you.” He stared around me to West.
“The guards won’t allow it,” West said behind me.
Dax nodded, though he looked disappointed. “Fine. The guards can be in the room, but West goes.”
I turned to West. He squared his shoulders, preparing for an argument.
“Give me two minutes,” I pleaded. “That’s all I need.”
Anger flashed across his face, but he relented. “Fine. But if he hurts you in any way, the guards will—”
“What? Kill me?” Dax said in a whisper, purposely keeping his voice out of earshot of the guards. “I got that message loud and clear when your people shot at Zara and me a couple of days ago.” He put an arm around me and pulled me in closer, in a somewhat possessive hold. “I’m the last person who’s going to hurt her.”
West held up two fingers. His jaw was set in rigid lines. “Two minutes.”
I nodded.
When West was gone, I led Dax over to the only two chairs in the room. We sat, and Dax held both of my hands while he stared straight into my eyes. “Caine said to tell you that there’s a problem with some of the antibody samples. The earlier samples had higher concentrations of antibodies than the ones he took more recently. He said you’d know what that meant.”
I stared blankly at Dax while I digested the information, processing it for the truth it revealed. If what he was saying was true, my blood was becoming less and less useful as a treatment for the virus. “Did he say which samples I have with me?”
“He said that some of the samples you’ve delivered to New Caelum should do the job.”
But future samples might not. In other words, I might no longer be protected against Bad Sam.
“What does all this mean, Cricket? I’m so scared for my brother. And for you.”
I leaned in and wrapped my arms around Dax while fighting back tears. I couldn’t let him see how much this news upset me. “It’s going to be okay. I’m not sure what it means, exactly,” I lied. As tears threatened to burn my eyes, I hugged him tighter. “I’m sorry they hurt you.”
He pulled back. “How do we get you out of here?”
“I can’t leave yet—not until we find the cure Dylan needs. Dr. Hempel has better equipment than Caine. He might be our only hope.”
“What can I do to help?”
“I’m not sure.” I touched his cheek, but he grabbed my hand and began rubbing it between his palms. “Is Zara okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, she’s fine. The New Caelum goons shot at us as we fled the outer gate. One bullet went through her coat, but it only grazed her arm. She’s pretty pissed though.”
“At the New Caelum goons or at me?”
“Both.”
I chuckled. Though Zara and I hardly ever got along, she knew I didn’t mean her harm. “I’ll make it up to her.”
West cleared his throat behind us, letting us know he was back.
I squeezed Dax’s hands. “I’ll come back soon. We only have two more days before Dr. Hempel is out of time. The executives here don’t know what the time clock means yet. I was trying not to cause a panic. But if the people of New Caelum know what’s good for them, you and I will walk out of this place before that clock hits zero. And we simply have to have faith that we’ll have enough time left to save Dylan.”
I stood and was about to walk away when Dax grabbed my forearm. “Be straight with me. Who is West to you? Are you with him?” He nodded toward West, who could clearly hear him.
I wished Dax could take those questions back, but I knew he couldn’t. How could I explain just how complicated my relationship with West was?
“We have to go,” West said behind me.
My silence was all the answer Dax needed.
~~~~~
The guards who had trailed us here followed us again. I couldn’t breathe. I stopped and placed my hands on a wall, keeping my back to West.
Dax’s words echoed inside my head. The antibodies to Bad Sam that flowed through my blood were weakening. Maybe surviving Bad Sam didn’t guarantee immunity forever. It wasn’t like we knew everything about this virus, and we certainly didn’t have any long-term studies on survivors, seeing as I was the only one.
West placed a hand on my shoulder. “What did he tell you?”
I took in a deep breath, willing my pulse to slow. When I thought I’d be able to speak with a calm voice, I turned and faced West. “You either let him go, or you put him somewhere more comfortable and instruct your goons not to touch him again.”
West opened his mouth to say something, stopped himself, then started again. “I’ll talk to Justin.”
“Do you want to know why I left New Caelum when I was twelve? The real reason?”
“I’ve been wondering about that ever since I found you again.”
“I didn’t want to live in a city where a person is protected and cared for based on how much money they have, or the importance of the knowledge they hold.”
West cocked his head. “What are you talking about? That’s not true.”
“It is true. The people of New Caelum were only allowed inside because they had enough money to buy their way in—or because they had power, or some special skill needed to sustain a city of people that may never venture back outside. Oh, and of course they included a handful of peasants to cook, clean, and serve them.”
“That’s not fair. It all happened so fast. Our country was dying. Makeshift hospitals were popping up everywhere, trying to save people. No, not save—they could only make the sick comfortable as they died. There was nowhere to hide, and humanity was dying off. My mother and the other leaders of this country made hard decisions, but they did it in order to save humankind. They had the foresight and wisdom to create a place where they could shut out the deadly virus. They couldn’t let just anyone in.”
A hysterical laugh escaped my lips. “Do you hear yourself? ‘Couldn’t let just anyone in?’ Our country was dying, and the smartest medical professionals, scientists, and engineers in the world, along with the most powerful politicians in our country, turned their backs on the world, right when their skills were needed the most. Sure, New Caelum saved a chosen few, but they abandoned the rest—just closed their doors and let them die. They turned their back
s on the brave people who were actually trying to do something, actually out there trying to help. People like my parents.”
“I’m sorry about your parents. Mother was always sorry about your parents.”
“I left because I couldn’t bear to see your mother every day for the rest of my life. And Caine gave me a way out.”
“What do you mean?”
“Caine and your mother were friends. They knew each other from back when they worked together at the Raleigh Medical Center. Your mother was on some sort of presidential cabinet out of Washington, but she traveled to Raleigh. Caine was on the original governing board to form New Caelum as soon as the Centers for Disease Control predicted that Bad Sam would be near one hundred percent fatal. But something made him decide not to be a part of New Caelum. And when he found out I was sick, he offered to take me with him. Your mother allowed it.”
West was silent, gazing into the distance.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Nothing… I don’t know… There was something my mom said when she told me you were gone. I can’t remember…” He gave his head a little shake. “We need to go. We need to check in on Dr. Hempel. And then later, you and I have plans.”
I cocked my head.
“I’ve been ordered to convince you to stay within New Caelum. You promised to let me try.”
I groaned. There was no way I was staying inside this cold, sterile place. On the other hand, I really wanted to learn how the city operated. “You’ll make sure Dax is well taken care of?”
“Yes.”
“Fine. I’d like you to show me around New Caelum. After we see Dr. Hempel.”
chapter thirty
West
I dropped Cricket at the labs and made sure she was suited up securely inside the best hazmat gear New Caelum had to offer. She’d seemed more jittery than usual ever since she’d had her two-minute talk with Dax. Considering she was immune to the deadly disease we all feared, she seemed awfully nervous about entering the laboratory wing.
I held her shoulders, urging her to look at me. “You okay?”
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