“As soon as Justin gives the go-ahead, we will give the patients the treatment. I’m very hopeful,” Dr. Hempel said, trying to reassure me.
I continued to cling to the fact that Caine trusted Dr. Hempel.
Dr. Pooley went back to work, so I took the opportunity to ask Dr. Hempel one additional question. “What happens to the person who supplied the antibody samples? What does it mean that their antibodies are diminishing?”
“These samples came from someone who somehow survived the virus. As a result, they developed antibodies that made them immune to contracting it again. I think you knew this already.” He raised his eyes from the microscope viewer to peer at me.
I bit my lower lip, but made no motion with my head or eyes that would confirm or deny the truth of his supposition.
“But now, she is losing her immunity. Wherever she is—and I presume she is close to Dr. Caine Quinton—I hope she has learned the proper protocol for dealing with infectious diseases. She should no longer rely on her own immunity to keep herself safe from the Samael Strain.”
~~~~~
In the decontamination chamber, I pulled down on the lever and drenched myself in the sterilization substance for twice the recommended length of time. A knock on the window made me look up. West was on the other side of the glass, motioning for me to hurry.
I continued into the next room, where a woman as suited up as I was helped me strip out of the hazmat suit and threw each piece of equipment into a biohazard waste container. I stripped down to my bra and panties—thankful there were no windows in this room—then hurriedly dressed in my sapphire-colored pants and satin top.
The clothes still baffled me, yet I felt prettier in them than I’d ever felt in my life.
When I finally exited the decontamination chambers, West waited for me with an unreadable expression. An alarm and a voice message were sounding overhead, one I hadn’t heard inside the lab. “What is that?”
“That’s the public announcement system.”
“What’s it saying?”
Worry was etched in the V that formed between his eyes. “Mother has called a city-wide meeting.”
chapter thirty-two
West
Though my heart raced like a hummingbird as I wondered what would prompt my mother to call a public assembly, I could hardly take my eyes off of Cricket. The blue satin that draped across her shoulders made the sapphire of her eyes stand out even more. Even amidst the devastating conditions that had reunited us, I constantly pondered ways I could make our very different lives join together.
As we entered the common area, I also couldn’t help but wonder if today would be the day she discovered why very few people wore the royal blue that Mother and Justin had insisted she wear since she’d entered New Caelum. Would she believe me when I told her that I’d had nothing to do with the decision?
Though I didn’t fight them over it.
We entered the vast multi-leveled atrium from an entrance near the top of the structure. Cricket looked up to the expansive glass roof, and then down at the thousands of people who had gathered below. Thank goodness she was too busy taking in her surroundings to notice that scores of people were staring at her—at us. I knew the reasons for their stares were complimentary—a result of the color she wore and of course, her beauty—but stares like that would make even the most confident person feel self-conscious.
I grabbed Cricket’s hand and pulled her behind me to a balcony where we could watch Mother’s speech alone—a benefit of being born of privilege. Cricket walked immediately to the edge and leaned over.
I instinctively reached out a hand and held on to her waist. She looked back at me, and I explained, “I’m sure the railing is secure, but I don’t want to test it. It’s a long way down.”
She smiled. It was a beautiful sight. She didn’t show it often. She hadn’t had a lot to smile about lately, I supposed.
She turned, and I looked out over the atrium. The color of dress on each level of the tall space tended to be fairly uniform. The lowest level was mostly green; the next level up was mostly purple food preparers, and so on. It was like a vertical rainbow. The top level, where Cricket and I stood, consisted mostly of white and black, with a very few sapphire blue mixed in.
“What do all the colors mean?” She was seeing colors she’d already seen—black, white, pale blue—but I suspected this was the first time she had seen green, yellow, red, or the light beige worn by the lowest of the classes.
It was also the first time she had asked about the colors’ meaning.
“They all have different meanings,” I told her. “Most reflect what type of job you hold: white is for doctors, powder blue is for nurses and other healthcare workers, green is for our gardeners and food growers, and black and dark gray are for the top level officials and their family members, including council members.”
“Do people ever get to wear more than one color?”
“Only if they hold more than one job, but that’s highly unusual. The colors hold a lot of meaning, and people are usually very proud of the colors they wear.” I sat in a chair behind her. “Any news from Dr. Hempel?” I changed the subject before she asked about her own color. I wasn’t ready yet to explain her sapphire blue.
She turned to me, and almost immediately, lines formed along her forehead. “What do you mean?”
“Is he any closer to a treatment?” How would I tell her that she was right when she suspected my city was infecting innocent people with a horrific disease?
“Oh. Yes. He has a treatment he wants to try on one of the other sick residents tonight.” Worry was etched in the lines around her squinted eyes. “As soon as he gets approval from Justin.”
I tugged on her hand, leading her to sit beside me. “What’s wrong? You look worried. Did something happen in the lab?”
Her brows furrowed and she shook her head. She seemed to be holding something back.
“Hey.” I rubbed my thumb across her hand. “Tell me.”
“I want to believe that there are good people inside your city, but West, I’m afraid they’re testing the treatment on random patients they injected with the virus.”
I pulled her forward and wrapped my arms around her in a hug. “I promise you, Cricket, I’m going to find out what’s going on here. And if anything like that is happening, I’ll do everything I can to stop it.” I kissed the side of her head before releasing her.
Although what she’d just said was certainly enough reason to put a worried look on Cricket’s face, I was sure there was more to it. She was holding something else back.
And how could I blame her? Wasn’t I holding back my own share of information?
She continued to take in the atmosphere outside of our little balcony, refusing to make eye contact with me. “This is all just very overwhelming.”
Suddenly, she lifted her arm and pointed. “Hey, look! There’s Dax.” She stood.
I suppressed a growl of frustration. Sure enough, Dax stood in a balcony directly across from us, flanked by a couple of representatives from leadership staff. Why was he here?
“Who is he with?” she asked.
“Those are some of Justin’s staff members.” I searched for Justin, but didn’t find him. Had Justin made sure that Dax was here? Did he specifically want him to witness this public assembly, whatever it was about?
“He’s dressed in a dark brown. What does that mean?”
“It means he’s a guest of New Caelum’s leader,” I lied. There was no color for guests, because New Caelum didn’t receive any. I examined Dax more closely. He wore a GPS tracker-bracelet on his wrist, and the people I’d identified as Justin’s staff were actually a couple of city guards dressed in off-duty attire.
Dark brown was actually the prisoners’ color. We didn’t have many, but when we did, we had to dress them in something that set them apart.
She turned and narrowed her gaze. “What does my color mean?”
“Well, it uh…”
A crackling over the loudspeaker saved me from answering. Mother had appeared at the podium. “Hello, New Caelum.”
She spoke into a microphone, and loudspeakers carried her voice to every level of the atrium. I leaned in to Cricket and whispered, “Every citizen of New Caelum can hear Mother’s broadcast, even those a mile away in different buildings. The city was designed from the very beginning so that announcements could be heard throughout the city. Open communication has always been a fundamental principle of New Caelum. Mother never wanted to hide the truth from the citizens. What happened this past week has been the first time she’s kept a major secret from our people.”
“You mean the news that Bad Sam is back.”
I nodded.
Mother continued. “Welcome. I come to you today with grave news.”
Cricket glanced over at me, concern in her eyes, before facing forward again. Mother moved her head slowly, making eye contact with representatives in each direction and on every level of the atrium. Was she going to be honest with her people and tell them about Willow?
She leaned in close to the microphone again. “Representatives from outside of our city have come to us.”
A low roar of astonished chatter broke out. Cricket scooted forward on her seat. Her head turned toward Dax, who looked over at Cricket, then back to Mother. Cricket’s hands began to rub back and forth against the fabric over her knee.
Mother raised her hand to silence the crowd. “It’s all right. The visitors have been quarantined and sufficiently examined and tested for any and all infectious diseases. They are not a threat. They bring information to us—valuable information.
“I know that you want to know what’s happening in the outside world. I have wanted to know, as well. Now we do. The outside world fought hard against Bad Sam, but our sources tell us that the deadly virus is back.”
Screams erupted. Many people cried out, “No!” There was so much shouting all at once that I couldn’t even understand most of it.
Cricket stood abruptly, knocking her chair over backward. She turned to me, “Get Dax in here with us, now! The mob will kill him out there.”
“Cricket, I can’t—”
“Make it happen, West!”
chapter thirty-three
Cricket
West ventured to the other side of the atrium.
The crowd was cheering. Dax was standing in front of two of Justin’s staff members, but I could see the stun guns on their belts. And given how close they stood to Dax, they were clearly guards. I had known West was lying to me when he’d said brown was the color guests wore. He’d told us earlier that day that New Caelum had never received guests inside the city walls.
West appeared behind Dax, spoke to the guards, and gestured in my direction. He also conversed with Dax, who glanced briefly toward me and then nodded to West. I was relieved when West, Dax, and the guards all began walking in my direction.
By this time, the crowd was settling down. President Layne approached the microphone again. “We here…” She spoke slowly, giving her people time to quiet further. “We here inside New Caelum are strong.” She emphasized the word strong with a fist pump. “Our walls are secure and our air is clean.” Citizens of her city were hanging on her every word at this point, looking to her for—what? Hope? “These people only got inside our walls because we allowed them inside.”
My fingers curled into fists; my fingernails dug into my palms, nearly drawing blood. How dare this woman tell these people that the outside was infected with a deadly virus? She had to know that the only reason outsiders had contracted Bad Sam was because the citizens from within New Caelum had taken the virus to them.
She was a different person yesterday—weak, feeble, submissive in front of Justin. But now? She was a model of the strength and hope this city needed.
All based on lies she spoon-fed the people before her.
“It was planned,” I whispered to myself. West had said that some people inside the city had been grumbling to get out. They were ready to explore the outside again. To own land. To live on their own. To run their own lives and make their own decisions. Apparently, someone inside New Caelum didn’t want that to happen. Someone with power—someone who would lose control if the people discovered that the outside was inhabitable and ready to be rebuilt.
“Hey.” Dax’s voice behind me made me jump.
I turned and threw my arms around his neck. “You’re okay,” I breathed.
“What is this, Cricket?” he asked against my neck.
“I don’t know.” I released him and looked at West. The guards stood at the door. They didn’t take their eyes off of Dax.
President Layne continued to speak. “To show you just how strong we are, I’m here to announce changes being made within leadership. Changes that will prove we are ready for anything. Our ability to lead this city and to sustain our way of life will last for as long as we need it to.”
I turned to West. “Do you know what she’s doing?”
He only shook his head, his eyes glued to his mother.
Justin suddenly appeared and stood beside President Layne. The smile and confidence on his face, just minutes after the city had been told that the world outside of New Caelum was still plagued with disease, reeked of arrogance. Yet the people all around us cheered when they saw him. They whooped and hollered like he was a rock star.
My mouth fell open, and I stepped even closer to the edge. West stepped directly beside me to my left. Dax was just to my right and slightly behind me. I could feel the heat of anger radiating from his body as he hovered there.
“There’s going to be a wedding,” Layne said. She nodded as the people exploded in cheers again. She and Justin traded glances that could only be described as loving—a stark contrast to what I’d witnessed between them since I arrived. These people were very different people when standing in front of their citizens than they were in private. “That’s right. Your vice president and I are going to marry. And you all are invited.” A huge smile lit up her face as she scanned each section of the atrium, one by one.
I narrowed my gaze at President Layne. The people around her gawked at her openly, hanging on her every word. Ecstatic grins spread across their faces upon hearing the news of a wedding, even amid the turmoil of the virus’s resurgence outside.
Dax’s brief touch to my forearm steadied me slightly, but that changed when President Layne lifted her head and looked directly up at us. Justin joined her, making eye contact only with me. Goose bumps formed along my arms, and a chill skipped down my body. I wanted to retreat into myself.
“Oh, no,” West said beside me. He grabbed my hand and squeezed. The contact made me uncomfortable, with Dax standing on the other side of me.
President Layne smiled. “If you’re excited about that, the next thing I have to tell you is really going to blow your minds.” She and Justin joined hands, and with their free hands they gestured toward the balcony where West, Dax, and I stood. “There will be two weddings.”
Everyone turned, and when they saw us, there was a collective gasp in the room.
“What is she talking about?” I asked through gritted teeth. West had told me that President Layne and Justin had some ludicrous plan for me to stay—but marriage?
West’s mouth hung open. “I can’t believe she just did that.” He stood motionless, like he was terrified to move.
The people staring up looked on with equal parts excitement and shock. While some were clearly overjoyed by the news, many whispered behind cupped hands.
“They don’t even know me,” I said.
“Friends, we will formally introduce you to my son’s lovely bride in the coming days. For now…” I didn’t even hear what President Layne said next. Her voice sounded like it was coming from some faraway tunnel.
Why was someone on the inside so hell-bent on keeping me inside New Caelum? This was far bigger than just the personal wishes of President Layne and Vice President Rhodes. I glanced at West
, who looked as perplexed as me.
“I’m an outsider,” I said. “They should have a thousand questions.”
“I know I do,” Dax said.
My spine stiffened. I had forgotten he was even there. Turning slowly, I faced him. “Dax, I have no idea why she’s doing this.” And part of me didn’t care. I had no intention of staying inside New Caelum, no matter what their plans.
“What is going on here, Cricket?” Dax said angrily. “You don’t even know this guy, let alone these crazy people who shut themselves off from the world and turned their backs on humanity.”
“Dax, there’s so much you don’t know. I just need you to trust me for now.” What was I saying? Apparently, there was a lot I didn’t know either.
Dax’s lips parted as he stared at me in disbelief. “Trust you about what? You’re not thinking about staying here inside New Caelum, are you?”
“She does know me,” West interrupted, sliding an arm around my back and gripping my waist. “And it’s none of your business if she stays here.”
I closed my eyes tight, wishing this could happen so differently. But I’d promised West I would pretend—that I would be who they wanted me to be in public while West figured out what was going on.
“The hell it’s not my business.” Dax grabbed my arm and tugged me toward him, though I resisted and stumbled backward against West, who steadied me.
The guards moved closer, hands on their Tasers. I threw myself in front of them. “Dax, please.”
“Please what, Cricket?” He stepped to me and grabbed my arms. “You’re not thinking straight.”
“Let her go.” West now had his own Taser in his left hand, while motioning for the guards to stand down.
Dax searched my eyes. “What the hell? You know you only have one more day, and you better be long gone from here.”
“I know. And I’m going to need for you to give me that time in order to figure a few things out.” I placed my hand on Dax’s cheek.
“You’re looking at me the same way you did at the hospital. Right before you asked me to run away so I wouldn’t contract Bad Sam.”
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