Sifters (Sifters Series Book 1)

by Shane Scollins

  “He went below deck.” Dia pointed. “Where’s Chloe?”

  Jocelyn shook her head. “I don’t know. We got separated.”

  “What do you mean you got separated, how?”

  “She went looking for you.”

  Suddenly bright floodlights popped on and lit up the deck. From a darkened doorway, Tallon emerged. Several kids followed him, all wearing these odd white bubbles on their heads.

  Dia hurried over to them. “Ray? Raiden? She looked up at Tallon. “Where’s Ray, where’s my brother?”

  Tallon pointed behind her. Ray stood blindly with his hands on the shoulders of the girl in front of him as they walked in line.

  Dia could feel something was wrong. “What’s wrong? Why’re they wearing these masks?”

  “They may be infected and contagious. We need to get them back on land.”

  “What?”

  “We have to get them back to shore and find the antitoxin in that building. It has to be there.”

  The boat suddenly shifted, turning to the side. “Who’s driving?”

  Tallon nodded to the cabin. “Chloe.”

  * * *

  Dia barely felt her feet touching the ground as she pushed her brother into the building. She tried not to show any favoritism as they hurried the kids through the doors and into the lobby. Ebo and two other people in white coats waited in the spacious but sparely decorated beige lobby.

  “This way,” Ebo said. “I’ve got to draw blood and get started.”

  Tallon pulled Dia aside. “They’re in good hands. Ebo and her team are the best there is.”

  Dia nodded. “I trust you.”

  “I have something to take care of. I need to go back into the city with Jocelyn. You and Chloe stay here.”

  Dia waved him on. “Go, we got it.”

  Jocelyn stepped toward Tallon. “We’re going after Arlon?”

  “You can’t stop me.”

  “I wasn’t about to.”

  Dia watched them walk outside and jump on their motorcycles. In a flash of bright headlamps, they tore away from the building.

  Chloe touched Dia’s shoulder. “C’mon, let’s go see if Ebo needs anything from us.”

  They headed down the hallway, but Ebo stopped them. “Girls, it’s best if you wait out here. I don’t have enough biohazard suits for everyone.”

  “I have to do something,” Dia insisted and tried to push past.

  “No.” Ebo put a stopping hand in front of her. “You don’t. Best thing you can do is be patient and let me do what I do.”

  Chloe put her arm around Dia. “C’mon, we need to keep an eye out anyway, just in case.”

  Dia took a breath and walked over to the far wall where she slumped into one of the blue plastic chairs situated under a bulletin board. The place looked like a medical clinic, which it was for the most part. It just probably hadn’t been used for legitimate purposes for a while.

  Dia stretched her arms above her head, wincing in pain. “I feel so helpless.”

  Chloe shook her head. “Don’t. You’ve done everything you could’ve. You did great.”

  “Thanks. So did you.”

  Chloe bit her lip playfully. “I know, I told you I’m a bad ass.” For the first time Chloe noticed all the blood. “What the…?” She pulled Dia’s vest down. “You’re bleeding?”

  Dia suddenly felt the pain burning a lot more. “Meh, no biggie, Tallon said the bullet had an exit wound.”

  “You’re still bloody.” Chloe stood and pulled her by the hand. “C’mon, we need to clean that up.”

  She led Dia into a small examination room and started going through the supply desk.

  “Really, Chloe, I’m fine.”

  “Shut up and sit down. Don’t make me kick your ass.”

  Dia smiled. Ordinarily people talking to her like that would piss her off, but when Chloe did it, it was with a certain bit of humor that just made her laugh.

  “Take that vest off, and your shirt.”

  Dia cricked her neck and looked at her shoulder but couldn’t see it well, so she leaned over until her image appeared in the mirror across the room. The hole just under her collarbone hurt like hell, but the entrance wound was not as large as it felt.

  “Hey,” Chloe pointed. “Get back there.”

  Dia eased back onto the table and flexed her shoulder.

  Chloe started to clean up the blood. “Looks like you ruined a perfectly good bra.”

  Dia shrugged her unwounded left shoulder. “Not like I need one that much anyway.”

  “Well, that’s the beauty of small boobs. Girls like us can go without and it’s not a tragic event.”

  “You have more than me,” Dia noted.

  Chloe chuckled. “Not much. Besides, yours are a perfect size. They’re perky.”

  “Perky, huh… my mother said that was a polite way of saying small.”

  “You should just take that bra off. You don’t want the blood to sit on your skin.”

  Dia felt like she was supposed to be bashful, but she wasn’t. She felt comfortable around Chloe even though she was attracted to her. But she didn’t want to mention that fact. Although Jocelyn had hinted that Chloe might like girls too, Dia would never assume something like that. Even in this crazy new world, being gay wasn’t always accepted. In fact, out in the sift, there were factions that would kill anyone like her as an abomination to their God and religion.

  Chloe worked on the wounds and then started adding gauze and tape until she finally stepped back. “There. You should be all good now.”

  From the drawer below the table Chloe pulled out a blue cotton top. “Here’re some scrubs.”

  Dia pulled the shirt on. “Thanks, Chloe. How’d you learn how to do this stuff?”

  “My neighbor, Darla, is a veterinarian. I used to work for her at the clinic. I’ve fixed up quite a few wounded dogs and cats.”

  “I guess a wound is a wound.”

  Chloe dried her hands with a towel. “Yeah, mostly, it’s all skin and blood.”

  Dia stood up. “Well, thanks again.”

  “Hey, it’s the least I can do for what you did for me. You saved my life.”

  “I had to.”

  “I know you were doing it for your brother, but you still did it for me. It means a lot to have a friend like you, a whole lot more than you know. I play the tough card, but sometimes I just need to, you know, just...” Chloe reached out and gave her a soft hug that lingered. It lingered so long it started to border on a lover’s embrace.

  Dia could feel her pulse start to quicken as Chloe’s hands moved on her back, then when lips touched her neck another feeling rushed her that literally took her breath away.

  Dia started to feel something she’d never felt before when they were cheek-to-cheek as their lips crept slowly toward each other’s. She felt a tingle in places that drove a desire, and finally she gave in and let her lips find Chloe’s.

  It was just a kiss, a soft and wonderful kiss. But it did something to Dia that she’d never felt before and didn’t want to stop feeling, ever. Every part of her body that was touching Chloe’s body seemed to melt into one being. It was so soft and tender, yet altogether something more.

  After several long minutes they eased their lips apart but let their embrace linger. Dia kissed her one more time and they stepped back, just staring into each other’s eyes.

  Chloe cleared her throat. “That was nice.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t expect that.”

  “Was that the first time you kissed a girl?”

  Dia smiled. “No, it wasn’t.”

  Chloe tilted her head. “So, do you like girls?”

  Dia rolled her eyes and turned a coy smile. “Duh.”

  Chloe stepped back. “I didn’t know. I mean, I had some feelings, but you know, sometimes they can be wrong. I didn’t want to assume. Did you know that I like girls too?”

  “Not at first. But Jocelyn hinted at it. She thought that’s why we were hangin
g out in the first place, but we didn’t discuss it.”

  Chloe squeezed her hands. “This is incredible. I was having these feelings, and I was like so guilty because I didn’t think you would. I’ve never been very good at sensing those things.”

  Dia laughed. “Huh, I feel you there, me either. Being out there, you never mention it. People out there—believe it or not—are not tolerant. They don’t want trouble from the religious groups, and they’re hardcore. They kill people like us.”

  “Yeah,” Chloe agreed. “In the city it’s not so bad. It’s accepted for the most part, but you still never know when you might find some bigot. I’m very careful who I tell.”

  “That’s smart.” Dia thought for a second. “Is that why you tend to push people away?”

  Chloe shrugged. “Maybe subconsciously. I rarely let the real me come out, maybe as a defense mechanism or something. Have you always known?”

  Dia nodded. “Yeah, pretty much since I was little. I remember at some point I started thinking married couples were weird. It didn’t make sense to me.”

  “Oh, my God, that’s so funny you said that. I used to think the same thing. I just thought they were like doing a job together or something.”

  They laughed.

  “Were your parents understanding?” Chloe asked.

  Dia nodded. “Totally cool. When I was about twelve, I had a homework assignment, and part of it was to write what job I’d like my husband to have. And I told my mother I didn’t want a husband. And she said, no joke, you want a wife, don’t you? And at first I was like, okay that’s weird, but then after thinking it over for a few seconds it made sense. It was like she already knew even before I had to say anything.”

  Chloe laughed. “That’s so cool.”

  “My dad was totally cool too. He just said you are who you are and that God makes us all special.”

  “That’s so neat. My father would have disowned me. He was like mister top end military man. And my mom, she was all about everything being normal in society’s eyes. She’d never be able to handle me now.”

  “What happened to them?”

  Chloe shrugged. “My dad died of cancer three years ago. He was pretty old. I mean that doesn’t make it better, but he was like seventy-five when he died. I was a late baby. But my mom died in a plane crash. When the solar storms hit she was in the air and the plane lost power they said. I dunno, like twenty five planes went down that day so who knows what happened. It seems like so much has happened since we were kids I can’t keep track.”

  “You’ve got that right.”

  “But Tallon is cool with it. He’s understanding.”

  Dia smiled. “He’s a big softie for you. I could tell right away how much he loved you. I thought he was going to kill me when he came in and I was standing over your body.”

  Chloe winced. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

  “Not your fault. I’m just glad you’re okay. It was kinda scary there for a while.”

  Chloe interlaced their fingers. “I’m so glad I found you. This world is so insane, and it’s so hard to find something good, let alone great.”

  Dia leaned in and hugged her. “I’m glad I found you too.”

  Chapter 36

  Tallon and Jocelyn stepped off their bikes and onto the sidewalk. Under the streetlamps, the chaos of the city looked hushed, and Jocelyn looked beautiful.

  “What?” she asked, looking at him. “What’s that look for?”

  He shrugged. “Nothing. Your hair looks really good, you look pretty.”

  She rolled her eyes at him. “C’mon, Washburn, you’re getting soft on me.”

  Alex stepped out of the brick two-story building with an attractive blonde in a black miniskirt on one arm and a sexy coffee-skinned girl in a pink dress on the other. To keep Alex safe, Jocelyn put him in the safest place in the city, inside the girls’ circle.

  Alex let his smirk turn into a smile. “I must say, this was a fine idea. Hanging out with all this beauty is spoiling me.”

  Jocelyn held out the USB stick to Alex. “Here, this is everything you should need.”

  Tallon asked, “I trust you know how to disseminate this in a way that it will get out to the proper people?”

  Alex smiled. “Trust me, cupcake, you do what you do, and I do what I do.” He held up the memory stick.

  “Hey,” Jocelyn stopped the blonde girl. “Millie, make sure no one gets near him except you and Lola.”

  Millie winked. “You got it, girl.”

  “And tell the girls to give me a few more days on that other problem.”

  Millie sighed. “Jocelyn, the girls are scared to death.”

  “I know.”

  “No, you don’t.” She glanced around. “Madison never checked in last night on her job from Queens, and she never came back to the house. We’re worried sick about her.”

  Jocelyn glanced over at Tallon. “Don’t worry, she’ll check in. Everyone’s just on edge right now, and she’s probably being cautious.”

  Mille shook her head. “You bet your ass they’re on edge. You have to find this guy.”

  “We will.”

  Millie turned back toward the door.

  Tallon looked to Jocelyn. “Wanna go for a walk?”

  “Sure.”

  They headed down the grimy avenue toward Madison.

  “I gotta admit,” Jocelyn said, “your instincts were good with Dia. She’s a good one. I think she’s got great potential.”

  “Yeah, she’s good for Chloe too.”

  “I agree.”

  Tallon smirked. “And she’s not competition.”

  “What?” Jocelyn pushed him. “You ass, what’re you trying to pull here? Telling me I look pretty, acting like I’m looking out for competition. What the hell, Tallon?”

  He shrugged. “Nothing, maybe I’ve been looking at things differently lately.”

  She shook her head. “You better not be screwing with me. I can’t take it again. I already fell out of love with you once. That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.”

  He stopped walking and put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ve really ever said it.”

  She huffed. “No, you didn’t.”

  “Well, I’m sorry now.”

  She blinked hard and started walking. “You didn’t owe me anything. You were honest from the start. You said you weren’t a relationship guy. You didn’t hurt me, I hurt myself.”

  “But you stayed friends with me.”

  She stopped to face him. “You saved my life. You’re the only person on this Godforsaken planet that I trust. I’d do anything for you, Tallon. Anything. And I’d rather have you in my life as a friend than not at all.”

  He nodded. “And I hope you know I’d do anything for you.”

  She smirked. “I know. That’s why I’ve stayed around.” She started down the sidewalk again. Jocelyn glanced at her phone and stopped in her tracks. “Sonofabitch.”

  “What is it?”

  She turned her phone so he could see the screen. “They found a body in Queens.”

  “Madison?”

  “Fits the description, fits the M.O.”

  Tallon flexed his jaw. “We’ll get him.”

  “Yes, we will. You promised we’d get him.”

  “I never break a promise.”

  She raised one eyebrow. “Where’re we going?”

  “To pay a visit to an old friend.”

  “Are you going to kill him?”

  “I haven’t decided yet, but I need him alive for a while. He’s the only one who could help me take down Cortech.”

  “But you want to kill him.”

  “Of course I want to. I’m trying to decide what the better punishment is.”

  “People that rich don’t go to prison. That’s one aspect of the new world that hasn’t changed. The rich are always untouchable, and that guy is as rich as they come.”

  Tallon knew she was right. Letting Arlon l
ive would only give him an opportunity to slip the knot. But killing him would be too kind a fate. If only there was something in between.

  * * *

  If not for Chloe, Dia’s nerves would be frayed. She didn’t do nervous, but this was as close as she’d gotten in a long time. Somewhere down that long hallway in which she paced, her only family was either being cured or dying a horrible death. All the commotion on the boat and the bubble on his head, she didn’t get to talk to Ray or see his face and tell him how much she loved him.

  Thankfully, what she was feeling for Chloe right now was something distracting enough to keep her heart from sinking into the abyss. Her mother always said that with good comes bad, the yin could not exist without the yang, which is perhaps why she was so uneasy. She felt so good about Chloe that she dreaded the bad being Ebo coming out and giving her bad news.

  “Hey,” Chloe touched her arm. “It’s going to be okay.”

  Dia nodded. “I hope so.”

  “No, don’t hope. Hope is a rope from which no one wants to swing. Believe.”

  “I want to believe.”

  “Then do it. Believe in everything positive, and it shall be.”

  Dia thought about that for a second. “Did you just become Confucius?”

  Chloe shrugged. “Dunno. Maybe I heard it somewhere, but I can’t remember.”

  “You’re always surprising me.”

  “Just wait until you get to know me.”

  Dia couldn’t help but smile. She’d probably smiled more since that kiss than she had in the past five years.

  Ebo finally emerged from around the corner and started down the hallway toward them. Dia thought she’d run to her, but her feet were stuck. She was trying to read Ebo’s face, but her brown eyes and straight lips gave nothing away. Dia felt Chloe’s fingers lace into hers and give a firm, reassuring squeeze.

  Ebo stopped a step from her. “We’ve done all we could. Now we just have to wait.”

  “What does that mean?” Dia asked. “Is my brother going to live?”

  Ebo nodded. “We will know in about two or three hours for sure. But the serum we found here was already synthesized and only needed a few tweaks. That saved us a ton of time.”

  Dia felt a smidgeon of relief. They weren’t out of the dark yet, but at least there was some light at the end of the tunnel. “When can I see him?”