Talen

by Shay Savage

  Again, the hallway is lit, but no one is around. We stick close to the walls and duck into doorways and adjacent hallways whenever we can, just to be safe. Regardless of our presence here before, no one has bothered to place guards in key places, which I take as a sign that there simply aren’t very many guards here.

  My father will come with more though. He never goes anywhere without them.

  We slip inside the generator room and make our way across the catwalk. Aerin checks out the map and the generator specs while I stand guard.

  “I can override the cooling system,” Aerin says. “There’s a kill switch, and I can jam it so no one can just walk up and switch it back on. As long as no one notices too soon, it should overheat and blow.”

  “You don’t sound very confident.”

  “Like I said, this is all new to me.”

  “How long will it take?”

  “Just a few minutes to rig it,” she says. “If you mean how long before it blows, I don’t know. I’d have to know how much pressure this geyser is producing, the size of the pipes leading up from it, and…well, you understand.”

  “No time for that.”

  “No.”

  “Did you see another way out?”

  “I did,” she says, “but I don’t think it’s a viable option.”

  “Why not?”

  “We’d have to go through the offices to the north,” she says. “I don’t think we’d get very far without being seen.”

  “Stick with the usual route, then?”

  “Yes.”

  I look toward the double doors leading to the offices where we overheard the conversation about my father’s visit. Lights shine from the windows in the top of the door, but I see no movement from the other side. I hear the clanging of metal on metal as Aerin jams the cooling system, and then she’s at my side.

  “Let’s get out of here,” Aerin says. “If I’m reading the gauges right, the cooling system is already running hot. This may happen fast.”

  As soon as we start up the catwalk, the door leading back to the ladder opens, and armed guards step through. Behind us, I hear the office doors open.

  “Well, isn’t this a nice little reunion?”

  It has been years since I’ve heard his voice, but I don’t have to turn around to know my father is behind me. Aerin lets out a yelp as she is grabbed from behind and forced to the ground.

  “Don’t even think about it.” I see Officer Ford in front of me, weapon aimed at my face. “Get your hands up, and don’t you dare reach for those knives.”

  Ford moves in front of me, and two burly, hairy arms grab my wrists and wrench them behind me. I’m shoved to my knees on the catwalk, and my hands are bound behind me. Aerin is beside me, also bound, and one of the guards holds a gun to the back of her head.

  “Is this what you’ve been doing since you ran off?” my father asks. “Living in the middle of a mountain?”

  I don’t even look at him.

  “I told you he would still be here somewhere,” Dad says. “Bring them into the office.”

  Aerin and I are hauled to our feet and pushed through the double doors, down the corridor, and into an office. Inside, I recognize Mark Harp from our previous visit as he places two metal chairs in front of a large desk. Aerin is shoved into one chair, and I’m shoved into the next. My father walks around the desk and sits in a big, luxurious seat before he leans forward and smiles.

  “It’s been a long time, Theo,” he says. “Last time I saw you, you were in cuffs, too.”

  “Thanks to you.” I curl my lip in a snarl.

  “You brought it on yourself,” he says with a nonchalant shrug.

  “President LaGrange, we can use one of the offices as a holding cell, but we won’t be able to hold them there for long.”

  “We won’t have to,” my father says. “They won’t be here long. Dr. Harvey is preparing a place for both of them in his lab. We need to perform a little research, and they’ll do just perfectly.”

  I glance at Aerin and see the color drain from her face.

  Before I can say anything, a woman walks through the door, wearing a long, white lab coat and wire-framed glasses. She has dark hair and a pale, heart-shaped face. She looks vaguely familiar, and I wonder if I might have seen her at my father’s office in the past.

  She looks up at me and then over to Aerin, and her already pale face goes completely white. The clipboard she holds nearly drops to the ground as her hands begin to tremble.

  “Aerin?” she whispers.

  Aerin, who had been glaring at my father, whips her head around, and her mouth drops open.

  “Mom?”

  Chapter 23

  Everyone in the room exchanges quick glances with everyone else, all with confused and shocked expressions. No one looks more surprised than Aerin.

  “Mom?” Aerin says again.

  The dark-haired woman, who I now realize looks familiar because Aerin looks a lot like her, straightens her shoulders and takes a deep breath.

  “Hello, Aerin. I’m so sorry all this has happened.”

  “What do you mean, you’re sorry?”

  “I had no idea you were one of the intruders,” she continues.

  “Jennifer?” My father raises his eyebrows at the woman. “Is this your kid? The one you sent west all those months ago?”

  “It is,” Jennifer replies. “She had been gone for so long, I assumed she had died in the mountains. I never thought I’d see her again.”

  “Mom, what are you doing here?”

  “I sent you out here without really understanding everything myself. You had been gone so long, I had to go to President LaGrange to talk about my suspicions. He arranged for me to travel west and learn the truth. I looked all up and down the coast, but there was no sign of you. Once I returned to the capital, I learned the whole truth, and…well, my perspective changed.”

  “Your perspective?”

  “Harry, do they really have to be tied up?” Jennifer looks to my father.

  “He does,” Officer Ford says quickly. “I’m sorry, Dr. Kearny. It has to be this way.”

  “Take the knives and untie them,” Dad says with a dismissive wave. “They’re not going anywhere, and he’s only dangerous with those in his hands.”

  Ford grumbles quietly as he pulls me to my feet and yanks my knives from their sheaths. He hands them to my father, who drops them unceremoniously into the garbage can next to the desk. My hands are freed, and I rub at my wrists as Ford removes Aerin’s bonds, and we’re both shoved back into the chairs.

  I look over at her and wonder why I never asked her for her last name. Aerin Kearny, daughter of Jennifer Kearny. From everything Aerin has told me about her mother, I don’t understand what she could be doing here in this place with my father.

  “Have a little care,” Jennifer says. “That’s my daughter.”

  “Your daughter killed two of my men,” Ford says. He stands up as if straightening his back would give him more height and places his hand on the baton at his belt. At least he’s holstered his weapon. If he pointed it at Aerin again, I might throw caution to the wind and just end him.

  “I killed them,” I say quickly. “Right after one of them put a gun to her head.”

  Jennifer glares at the guard, who takes a step back and stares straight ahead.

  “Sounds like we all need a little chat,” my father says.

  I cringe at his familiar, smug tone. He’s been using it since I was a child, usually when he thought I needed a good life lesson. He also used the same tone when he had me locked up.

  “President LaGrange is trying to save us, Aerin.” Aerin’s mother sits awkwardly on the edge of the desk to look at her daughter. “He’s had to make some tough choices, but he only wants what’s best for us all. You understand better than most about what happened all those years ago. It’s amazing any of us survived at all. If we don’t act now—act on some of those hard choices—we’re going to be wiped off the plan
et.”

  “You’re taking his side?” Aerin’s voice cracks.

  “It’s not about sides, sweetheart. Science isn’t political. I’m not interested in where someone came from or what schooling they’ve had, but we need to save as many people as possible as efficiently as possible. Sustaining the Naughts simply isn’t an efficient way of saving the human race.”

  “Efficient?” Aerin shakes her head violently and looks away.

  “You kids just don’t get it,” my father says. “It’s all right. I understand. You aren’t as proficient at thinking long-term as we are. I can’t fault you for that, but you are going to have to listen and accept some facts.”

  “Naughts are scattered all over the place,” Jennifer says. “We can’t collect them all and get them to a safe area. The quakes are going to continue, and I’ve identified the four areas that give us the best possibility of survival. Two of those are in the valley just east of here.”

  “These areas aren’t large,” my father says. “You haven’t been home, so you don’t know what’s been happening there. It’s much worse in the capital now than it ever has been. More quakes have done more damage. We’ve lost the two factories we had, and food production is crawling. We can’t keep up. The only answer is to move to the center of what’s left of the continent, where the quakes aren’t as violent.”

  “And to do that,” I say with the thickest sarcasm I can muster, “you have to get rid of the people there because actually working with them is beyond your capabilities.”

  “You see?” My father throws up his hands and looks at Jennifer. “This is what I was telling you about. No concept of what’s actually going on.”

  “I’m sure they’ll understand if we just give them the opportunity,” Jennifer says. “It’s difficult to accept. You know it took me some time.”

  “I don’t need time to figure out that you only care about Thaves. People in the valleys who have to struggle just to survive don’t get any consideration from you. You don’t even see them as human.”

  “Of course they’re human.” Jennifer leans over a bit to look me in the eye. “I do know that. I’m not a monster. Like I said, none of this is easy.”

  “He’s a monster,” I say, nodding toward my father.

  “And you’re willing to just kill them off?” Aerin stares at her mother in disbelief. “You always told me we needed to protect everyone, not just Thaves.”

  “If it were possible to save them all, you know I would,” Jennifer says. “I don’t like the idea of losing any lives, but…”

  “But it’s not possible.” Dad leans back in his chair. “I’ve known that for a long time. I tried to tell you, Theo—some people are just better options.”

  “Better options?” Aerin and I say in unison.

  “We can’t possibly save everyone, Aerin.” Jennifer turns back to her daughter. “What makes more sense? Save the doctors, the scientists, and our leaders? Or do you think we should save someone who weaves baskets?”

  “What gives you the right to decide who’s worth saving?” Aerin starts to stand but is pushed back into her seat by Ford.

  “Don’t fucking touch her again,” I say in a low, dark voice. “If you think I need my knives to hurt you, you are wrong.”

  “Because we’re the ones with the knowledge,” my father says, ignoring my threat to his guard. “We have the knowledge. We have the resources. We have the expertise, and we have the power to make those decisions. It’s about time both of you start to realize that.”

  “Power.” I laugh humorlessly. “That’s what this is really all about, isn’t it? You and your power. You couldn’t control me, so you got rid of me. You couldn’t control Naughts, so you try to have them all killed. It doesn’t work, so you just keep trying and failing again. That’s why you can’t let go, isn’t it, Dad?”

  “You are the one who can’t let go,” he says.

  “You released a virus, and when that didn’t work efficiently enough, you decided to burn their villages. If you think I’m going to get behind you on that, you’re crazier than I thought you were.”

  “I did not release a virus.”

  “Sure you didn’t.” I roll my eyes.

  “Harp, please locate Dr. Harvey and bring him here,” my father says.

  “Yes, sir, President LaGrange.” Mark Harp gives a quick salute before marching out the door. A few minutes later, he returns with a bald, chunky man with a white goatee.

  “Dr. Harvey,” my father says, “will you please explain the virus outbreak to my son here?”

  “The one from the CDC?” Dr. Harvey asks for clarification. “The original outbreak?”

  “Yes, that one.” My father narrows his eyes at the doctor.

  “The CDC was compromised during the original eruption. Several viruses were released into the general population.”

  “That was a century ago,” I say.

  “Yes, and it takes quite some time for a virus to travel this far without the benefits of motorized transportation,” the doctor replies. “We believe the H1N1 flu virus mutated into the rodent populations, then mutated again to infect the human population. It took some time. There were earlier cases, but the epidemic came much later.”

  “And tell him why it only impacted Naughts.” My father waves his hand in the air.

  “It didn’t,” Dr. Harvey replied. “It impacted those who were exposed. Many Naughts choose to live off of rodent flesh, so they were impacted at a much higher rate.”

  “You see, Theo?” Dad places his hands on his desk and leans forward. “I had nothing to do with it.”

  “Just because he says it’s true doesn’t mean I’m going to believe him.”

  “That does actually make sense, Talen.” Aerin turns toward me. “Naughts do eat rodents, especially around the capital.”

  “You believe him?” I ask.

  “I’m saying it’s possible.” She looks longingly at her mother, and I reach out to grab her hand, but Ford stops me. “Don’t listen to any of this, Aerin.”

  “She’s obviously brighter than you are,” Dad says. “She can see the logic.”

  “Fuck you!” I stand, ducking immediately as Ford tries to grab me. I spin around, grab the edge of the trash can, and spill the contents—including my knives---onto the floor. With a quick tumble, I grab both knives and right myself with them now securely in my hands before pointing the tips at my father.

  “Your decision to burn Plastictown was your last decision.”

  Ford draws his baton, but my father tells him to stand down. Ford does so reluctantly.

  “What are you going to do, Theo”—my father laughs loudly—“kill me?”

  “Yeah. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

  “You don’t have it in you, son. You never did.”

  Before I have a chance to prove just how wrong he is, an alarm blares, nearly deafening us all.

  “That has to be the generator!” Harp runs out the door.

  My father holds his hands over his ears, and I use the distraction to shove Ford against the wall, smacking his head hard. I grab Aerin’s hand and follow Harp.