Geery sighed.
I streamed.
Geery sighed.
Geery paused for a long moment. she finally streamed.
What if I did get caught? They’d lock me away in some dark cell for the rest of my life. Maybe execute me. But there were worse things. Like giving up on Jesse. I tried my best to sound convincing.
Geery let out an exasperated sigh.
I tried to ignore her condescending tone.
Geery smirked. Loudly.
My face grew warm.
The heat centered behind my eyes. I blinked several times.
Her voice softened.
A short time later I sat next to Dad at the kitchen table and placed my hand on his so that he could sense my sincerity. “Do you think you could ever keep something from Mom?”
He looked surprised. “I don’t know. Why would you ask this?”
“It’s just that there’s something I need to tell you, but it would be disastrous if Mom found out.”
“Oh I don’t think so. You had better keep it to yourself.”
“It’s really super important Dad, I swear. And it would only be for a couple of days.”
“Two days? Such as until we transport back to Nreim?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
He pursed his lips, thoughtful, and then studied me with his kind brown eyes. “Not enough information. What more can you disclose?”
“Nothing for now. Not without telling you what it is. I can tell you that it’s not because of her, but because of who she works for. I think there might be a leak, or someone intercepting messages.”
Dad nodded his understanding. “Are you implying that it would be in her best interests to have the information withheld?”
“Uh, possibly…”
“If it meets the criteria for the Linkmate Directive…”
“That’s right! Your inbred desire to always act in your linkmate’s best interests. I think we can work with that.”
“If she were to unwittingly pass on confidential information to an informant, it could jeopardize both the agency and her position with them.”
I sat tall, smiling. “Exactly.”
“I cannot make guarantees.” He nodded, thoughtful. “But I will attempt to keep my silence, if it is at all possible.”
I studied him. This was a risk, even if he didn’t tell Mom. But what else could I do? “I’m on to something big. Really big—” The words came pouring out quickly, urgently—“and I need to go to school. And I’m going to see Everett. But not in a romantic way or anything. And it’s really, really important that I go.” I gulped to fill my drained lungs, then waited, watching him.
“You say it’s a big development?”
I nodded, sensing his wariness.
“And which part do I need to withhold from your mother?”
“Just that I’m on to something. You can tell her I went to school.”
He pondered the favor I was asking, obviously hesitant to give his permission to something Mom would adamantly oppose.
“Someone sent me a message,” I continued. “And if they’d wanted the agency to have it they would have sent it to them.”
He looked away, rubbing the bridge of his nose, then looked back. He started to speak, then stopped, scratching his chin, then eventually started again. “Should I be worried about you?”
“Maybe,” I said honestly. I doubted if I could hide all of my fear anyway. “But I’ll be as careful as I can.”
He sighed and took my hands in both of his. “Just promise you’ll return to this domicile immediately after work.”
I jumped up, then touched my forehead to his to show my respect for his decision. “I have to go to the store first,” I said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I dashed out the door before he could change his mind.
Within the hour I had turned my bedroom into a mini-chemical lab, complete with a camp stove and about twenty various household products. The purchases had used up the last of my emergency cash. But it’s not like I would need it for anything else.
I worked quietly but urgently, mixing the ingredients the way Geery had outlined in the file. The best time to use the microscope at school was during my work shift. And tomorrow afternoon we’d be preparing to leave, so it had to be today. Gym class was the best time to get a DNA sample from Everett—which started in just a few minutes.
I poured the florescent green brine—set in a base of anti-freeze—into an empty water bottle, screwed on the cap, and slipped it in my backpack. Gym class started in ten minutes. I pulled the pack onto my back and broke into a jog before even getting to the front door. My pace quickened when I got to Palm Avenue and had a straight run to the school. I thought about Dr. Tom. I’d never sensed anything from him but patience and kindness—a typical lunar-force.
Then I thought about the two college boys, one dead and the other in jail for a murder he didn’t intend to commit; the mother who killed herself; and the other who ran over her own child.
And I remembered Becca in the pool.
Lacey lying on that bench with her shirt ripped open.
I lengthened my stride, pushing against the gentle breeze. If anyone clocked my speed I’d be classified as a track star. And reprimanded.
I ran directly to the empty locker room, changed into my gym clothes, and hurried into the large gymnasium.
“Johns, you’re late!” Mrs. Daines yelled. “You’re on the green team.”
They were playing basketball, which was perfect. Except that Everett was also wearing a green jersey. And the fact that I’d never actually played the game. But I’d watched one once. I’d just have to make it work. I ran onto the court and snatched the ball from Everett, driving it to the hoop. Everett stayed calm. So I stole the ball a second time. Then a third.
Finally he grumbled something indiscernible under his breath. I dribbled to the basket, smiling, and made a layup—my third basket. The team cheered—all except Everett. Perfect. One of our team members threw the ball in to Nick. I dashed past him, stealing it, then barreled down the court. Exhilarated from the game and my new-found skill, I stooped low and shoved past Everett, knocking him to the side.
“Watch it! This isn’t a one-man game.”
I flashed a cocky smile and drove towards the basket. “Prove it!”
“It doesn’t work that way Johns!” Everett yelled.
The ball swished through the net and I grabbed
it. “You jealous?”
“Just chill, okay?”
I tossed the ball to a girl waiting to take it out, and smiled again. “No problem.”
This time, Everett stole the ball from Nick before I could get there. At least that’s how I made it look. “That’s my position,” I hollered and came up from behind, swiping at the ball.
Everett clutched the ball in both hands and turned to me. “We’re on the same team you idiot!”
“What did you call me?” I swatted at the ball again. My fingers grazed his hand this time, my nails digging deep.
Everett pulled away, yelling and clutching one hand with the other.
I took a long stride backwards with my hand behind my back, just in case Everett could sense emotions.
“What’s going on here?” Mrs. Daines called out.
“Oh my gosh,” I gushed. “I am so sorry. I didn’t mean…”
Everett held up his hand, showing a large scrape on the backside.
Mrs. Daine’s face went red. “You two…out…NOW!”
I stepped off the court, staying several feet away from Everett. “I am so sorry,” I called to him with all the sincerity I could muster. “I really didn’t mean to hurt you. I just get so worked up.”
“Just watch yourself.” I didn’t have to be close to know that he seethed with hatred.
I broke into a run, heading for the locker room. Mrs. Daines yelled something, clearly not happy with me, but I didn’t stop to listen. I opened my gym locker and dug out nail cleaners and the water bottle filled with green liquid. I carefully scraped Everett’s skin from beneath my nails, dropped the glob into the bottle, then sealed it back up and tucked it carefully into my backpack.
The rest of the school day seemed to move in slow motion. I couldn’t shake the fear that Everett had figured out why I’d scratched him. Or that either Dr. Tom or Dr. Alison could sense that I was up to something. And that one of them would be waiting for me in the science lab after school.
In art history, Dr. Alison behaved as she usually did, except for a slight trembling of her hands. And the feeling in the room was off somehow. I suspected it might have felt the same as that horrible first day, except that Dr. Alison was doing a better job of blocking her emotions. I kept my eyes focused on those anxious trembling hands, and kept a careful record of her lecture. But nothing else was out of the ordinary. I rushed from the room when class ended, eager to get away from the odd sensations, and anxious about my next move.
Jesse joined me on my walk to work. “Mira.” He put his hands on my arms, then dropped them, his eyes locked on mine. “How is your thinking going?”
“Fine,” I said. “I guess.”
Jesse motioned for me to follow him to the janitor’s closet. I hesitated. I needed to go there alone today. But I couldn’t tell him that, so I followed. Once inside, he closed the door of the cluttered room. “I just need to tell you that I’m sorry I fell in love with you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I didn’t mean to. I know it messed everything up for you. The way you’re supposed to wait until you’re grown. And find the right linkmate. One with that three-hundred-point match. I ruined all that for you.”
I couldn’t have loved him more. “Jesse, I don’t regret falling in love with you for a minute.”
He swallowed nervously. “I know you explained the repatterning, and how it’s not possible with me. But I assume…when you go back…that you’ll return to how you were? That you’ll be able to start over?”
“I…I don’t know.” I lied.
“I can’t stand the thought that maybe I’ve damaged you in some way. I have to believe you’ll be able to move on after this.”
“I am not damaged,” I insisted. There was no point in letting him know the truth. Besides, I wouldn’t trade my love for Jesse for anything, even if it was just for these few weeks. “Listen Jesse, if I do have to leave…and I promise to try to let my pattern go back to how it was…will you promise to do the same? To move on and find someone else?”
“No. I can’t even imagine…”
“Neither can I. But if I’m willing to try…”
Leo entered the room before Jesse could respond. I took a step back. Picked up a bottle of bathroom cleaner. Leo went to the sink to wash out a mop. Jesse picked up a vacuum and shrugged it on. “Ready?”
I studied the bottle in my hand, trying not to look flustered. “You go ahead.”
Jesse hesitated, as though he might wait anyway. But I motioned to the door, hoping my eyes sent the message that I meant it.
He grimaced with confusion then reluctantly walked out.
I snatched up my own vacuum and swung it wide, knocking several bottles on the opposite shelf. They crashed to the floor. “Oh my gosh!” I exclaimed. “Let me get this.”
Leo stooped over the mess just as I’d hoped. I bent next to him, knocking him off balance. I grabbed for him and awkwardly pulled him upright. With my heart pounding heavy in my chest, my fingers searched out the ring on his belt. “I can’t believe what a klutz I’m being today.”
Seconds later I tucked Leo’s master key into my pocket while rushing to the water bottle in my locker. I retrieved my backpack and slung it over my shoulder, being careful to keep it upright. I then dashed towards the science lab, glancing anxiously from side to side.
My fingers trembled as I unlocked the door, my gaze darting up and down the walkway. Fortunately it opened on the first attempt.
I slipped inside and gently placed my pack next to the nearest microscope. It didn’t matter which one I used, since each was as archaic as the next. I pulled the water bottle filled with Everett’s tissue out of my pack and gasped. Geery really was a genius. The tiny piece of Everett’s skin had grown in mass by at least fifty times.
Identifying the extinct chromosomes—or lack of them—would be easy. Any first-year biology student from Nreim could do it. The trick was doing it with a microscope from a high school science lab on Earth. And it would take at least ten clean samples if I was going to use it as evidence.
There was no telling how long I had. Leo could notice the missing key and come looking for me. One of the Stones or Everett could even be watching the room right now.
After a couple of long slow breaths—in through my nose and out through my mouth—I placed the tip of a scalpel on the goopy mass in the bottle. My hand quivered. I gripped it with my other hand, then carefully made a thin slice into the bloated tissue and smeared it on a glass slide.
I scanned the first sample from one side to another. It wasn’t as easy to view as I’d hoped, but after several minutes of study I felt confident that it was clean of defective chromosomes. I smeared on a second. Eventually a third. All clean.
The door squeaked. My head shot up.
“Mira?” Jesse stood in the doorway, his eyes wide. He took a step towards me, staring at the microscope. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” I stepped in front of the microscope, blocking it from his view. “I’m not doing anything.”
“How did you get in here?”
“I was just doing…homework.” It was a stupid lie. Dr. Tom was my biology teacher. If he was the one watching he’d know I didn’t have homework. “Let’s just go.”
“Can I help?” Jesse asked. “With whatever you’re doing?” Before I responded I saw recognition come into his eyes. He understood this had something to do with our problem. “I didn’t know it was you in here. I’m sorry.”
I looked at the scalpel covered in Everett’s tissue. And the water bottle filled with evidence. Either they—whoever they were—saw it, or they didn’t. There wasn’t much more to lose at this point. “Do you mind if I just keep going?” I asked.
Jesse’s shoulders slumped. “No. I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything.”
“Yes. Try really hard.”
Jesse walked out and closed the door—the smell of his worry lingering behind. I retrieved the bottle and started my f
ourth sample. I was on my fifth when my cell phone buzzed. It was Trevor.
>>Have you seen Becca? She’s not where we usually meet after school.
CHAPTER THIRTY
The scalpel clanked onto the table. I told myself that this could be coincidence. Becca could be off playing. She tended to get distracted that way.
But the odds of Becca getting lost, and Trevor texting me, at this exact moment…
I should have just left with the tissue sample like Geery had suggested. I’d just been so caught up in finding a way to stay with Jesse. But now that they knew about the tissue, they’d find a way to get it too. They’d keep hurting people until I gave up.
I retrieved an empty Gatorade bottle from a trash can in the corner and slopped tissue into it—only enough that the original looked almost as full. I slipped the Gatorade bottle into my pack, did a cursory cleaning of my work station, and ran outside with the water bottle in my hand.
“Jesse!” I called. I ran to where he was waiting at the end of the walkway, holding up the water bottle. “I thought I was on to something that would let me stay here. But I’m not. I failed.” I looked into his eyes, but addressed someone else. “Take this,” I said, thrusting the bottle into his hand. “Destroy it. I didn’t find anything. It’s useless. I’m going home Wednesday morning with my dad.”
Jesse took the bottle, stupefied. “Are you talking to me?”
“You have to believe me. I give up. I’m going home.”
Jesse looked at the bottle in his hand, then up at me. “What do I do with this?”
“Take it to the sink in the janitor’s closet. Wash it down the drain. And put this key back.” I held up the master key. “I’m going to start walking home and I expect to find Becca somewhere along the way.”
“Let me take you.”
“No. Go do it now. Becca’s lost. And I don’t think we’ll find her until you dump out that bottle. Call when it’s done.” I turned toward the road, but was engulfed with Jesse’s grief. He honestly believed that I had given up and was going home. And that’s how it had to be, no matter how much it killed me. I pushed forward until I could no longer feel him. Then I turned around, blinking back tears. He was still watching me, the stupid bottle in his hand. “Go!” I shouted. “Just go!”
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