Ana glanced back to the bed and caught the pained look in Emily’s eyes. Ana felt her throat tense up. She wanted to say so much at that moment, but none of it had anything to do with a cure for Varrick.
Jordan wrapped his arm around Ana and pulled her outside of the room.
“He can’t die, Dad. There’s got to be a way, somehow.” Ana swallowed a lump in her throat.
Jordan gazed into her eyes, and softly clasped her shoulders. He nodded in silent agreement with her, but Ana noticed something else brewing behind his eyes. “Ana, please listen to me. Things will get worse before they get better. I wish I could—just stay safe, please. I can’t have anything happen to you. I think you need to stop with Treg for now. It won’t be long, you’ll be getting your assignments soon. Just please, I can’t have something happen to you and Varrick, too.”
“Dad, you’ve gotta do something.”
“Don’t worry, we will.”
Chapter 6
Varrick’s condition lingered on. His fever lowered a little, but he remained weak and spent most of the days in bed. Emily kept her watch over him, and Ana and Jordan chipped in as best they could.
Ana’s pairing assignment arrived with no fanfare or notice. She was surprised at how simply it came. A basic announcement that dictated just how she was to live the rest of her life came with the pomp and spectacle of chewing a bite of food. Her task assignment was Valentium Plant 915, the new one Vega had mentioned. And with it came her Pairing Assignment and Photo. Ana ran a finger over the picture of the man who’d be with her for the rest of her life. A thick mane of dirty blonde hair swept low, stopping just above his eyes. A heavy jawline and deep bluish eyes framed the rest of his face. Well, at least he won’t be bad to look at, she mused.
Once she had her assignment, and her life presented to her, Ana felt a calmness drift over her. It wasn’t her choice, but at least it was no longer a mystery. The certainty of it settled over her and she felt herself breathe a little easier. She was at least relieved that wondering wasn’t her big hobby anymore. Mom and dad were able to do it, why shouldn’t I, too? She supposed her days ahead were going to be filled with more regular work and discussions like her parents were having with her soon-to-be new family.
Ana sat down, her back to the base of the Digisign in front of housing unit 517 and looked toward the sunset one evening before curfew. Things were quiet outside the housing complex. An eerie stillness hovered over the area. Ana remembered something Treg had said about a calm before a fight, like an ambush.
The sudden feel of a hand on her arm sent a wave of panic through her. She stifled a scream, but quickly a hand was over her mouth and she was face to face with Vega. Her face was scraggly, her eyes wild. Vega glanced around for any signs of other people. Her eyes were steeped with fear. “Shhh, listen, there’s no time. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you this or do more, but I’ve been monitored for a long time. I’m making a break for the Outlands with the Action soon and you should think about it.”
Vega’s words confused Ana. So strange, hearing about these scary things like the Outlands and the Action as if they were safe places to run to for a change. She had always been told to avoid both of these and now it was the opposite. What was going on?
“What about Varrick? He’s getting sicker. They think it’s the Pox.”
Vega winced. “Listen, don’t let them take him in. That’s not a cure, you understand me?”
“Well, what then?”
“I know it’s a risk for you, going with the Action, but it’s the safest bet any of us have right now. Besides, I want to know what she told you.”
“Who?”
“You know who, Marlene.”
The memory of Marlene, cocooned in a mesh of electricity, popped into Ana’s head. She had been so desperate to escape.
Ana’s eyes met Vega again, and Vega nodded in understanding. “She was supposed to meet for pickup but Lebabolis upped their patrols and she was spotted.”
Ana took a shuddered breath. “She said to tell you she’s sorry.”
Vega shut her eyes tight. “She was a Warrior Product from Sector 3. We connected on the underground network the Action set up. She came here for something, but then she was spotted, and I couldn’t risk anything. Better one of us go down than these slip out.”
Vega palmed Ana’s hand and she felt a cold metal disc against her flesh. “This is what Marlene came for. It’s is a credential for the Action for getting onto one of the convoys. I want you to use it. You’ve got to move though, time is short. We can’t be too careful anymore. I’m afraid if I don’t go now it won’t be safe for me, maybe not even you.”
“Me? I haven’t done anything!”
Vega’s mouth bent into a sad smile. “Even if you haven’t, you’re associated with me. When they investigate Deviants, they first review anyone that person had contact with, anyone they could’ve reached and tried to turn—”
“Like one of their students?” Ana’s eyes widened.
“Now you’re getting it. I’m sorry, Ana. I didn’t want this for you, but you’d better stop worrying about your safety here and start thinking about how to survive this. You’ll be much better off in the end. I’ve seen you with Treg. Would he leave with you?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.”
“Well, you better be sure, but I suggest you look for another pick up and get yourself out of here fast. Use that credential, it’s the only thing that gets you on one of the Action pick-ups.”
“You’re making a break for it?”
Vega’s mouth formed into a line. “I’ve got to. Get out while you can. This will only get worse for you the longer you stay. Trust me, it’s the only way.”
Ana’s pulse quickened. Fear sent a deep ache into her chest and she felt rooted in place. She held the credential out to Vega. “I can’t. Not with my brother being sick. Now look, you’re saying Lebabolis can’t cure him and Marlene said something similar, but they’re treating people anyway, aren’t they? So exactly what happens to them?”
Vega looked at the credential and gave Ana another concerned look. She slowly gripped Ana’s arms, and bowed her head in thought. “I was on an excursion one day, doing a plant review, standard stuff. One of the operators wasn’t as secretive and they showed me what they do to people with the Pox.”
“What do they do?”
Vega’s eyes were rimmed with tears. She opened her mouth but paused. Her eyes flashed dread and Ana had an eerie feeling Vega was holding back just like Ana herself had with Varrick when he had asked about Realignment. The thought of whatever it was that Vega knew but seemed almost physically unable to repeat sent a sharp chill up Ana’s spine. “Come on, Vega, tell me.”
Vega’s voice shuddered when she spoke again. “Ana, best I can say they’ve been experimenting with a cure. It didn’t look too promising what I saw though. I don’t think you’d want your brother connected up like a piece of equipment.”
Ana’s arms got sore under Vega’s grip. She remembered Treg’s friend, who was at the top of his skills as a warrior and never returned after he became ill.
Vega took a shaky breath. “I’ve been hiding, but they’ve found me. More and more are being marked and I can’t promise you’ll be safe here for long.”
Ana felt torn to leave, but her brother held her in place. “How do I do this?”
“There’s a transport coming tomorrow evening. You’d be best to be ready for it and don’t wait a moment longer. Get Treg, get your brother, and get out of here. Remember, use that credential.”
Chapter 7
Ana ran into Treg the next day in the common area between the housing complexes and the wilderness, and she told him about the meeting with Vega. Ana paced, her head clasped between her hands. “The Action’s been brewing. This isn’t a few renegades anymore, it’s a movement. Charista’s turning up the heat on them, and will stop ’em.”
Treg gazed off, his eyes wide, a glimmer of hope bursting in them. “So, it�
��s all true then. Ana, you should go.” Treg’s words hovered over Ana for a second, and she at first thought she’d imagined them.
Leave Lebabolis?
Leave Varrick and my family, while Varrick is this sick?
For what?
A chance to live off of dirt and maybe get killed after a week of running? That’s if I don’t manage to get myself caught and sent for Realignment. Charista’s going to step up the penalties for people who leave, that’s obvious. She’s gonna want to make as strong an example for the rest of Lebabolis Products as she can.
“Sounds like they’re taking the sick too, from what Vega said,” Treg said.
“Maybe. Marlene thought otherwise.”
“It’s worth a shot, Ana. You and Varrick should go. Besides, who’d turn away a sick child?”
“What about you?”
Treg’s jawline twitched. “If you go, I’ll do whatever I can to protect you.”
“Yeah, but will you go?”
Treg looked back toward the housing unit, and a tinge of guilt crept over his face. They both knew at most Varrick would be with them for sure, anyone else of their family and friends were on their own. “Yeah. I can’t be a part of what they’re doing here anymore.”
Their eyes met and they both smiled. “The Circle.”
“Always.”
Ana sighed. “Do I really want to move him, Treg? What if something bad happens and I can’t take care of him?”
“Ana, something bad is already happening. At least for now you can do something about it.”
Chapter 8
Klaxon alarms blared in the Sector, with a broadcast warning:
“Deviants have been spotted in the area. All Products must proceed at once to Central Depot for Safekeeping until further notice.”
Ana’s comm unit rang and she at first figured it was another form of the warning, but the readout on her device had a different message.
Unit 517 Distress—Emily to Ana.
The message was simple, and in regular times it could’ve been just a check in or an alert about a Valentium core rupture at a plant, a concerned note from her mom about checking on her family. But these weren’t regular times, and a very uneasy feeling crept over Ana, her old worries about the future swept back over her and she’d gotten a terrible idea about her family, and what made them send that message.
This time, it wasn’t about a work assignment or a pairing.
This time, it was survival.
Treg reached for Ana. “Hey, you all right? What is it?”
But Ana said nothing. Instead, she bolted for the housing unit, with Treg’s voice screaming behind her to stop. Ana kept running until she was at unit 517.
A large crowd of Products had already begun exiting the housing complexes in the sector, including Ana’s. She watched as the horde of people were directed by the Sentries into lines that snaked down the pathways toward the Central Depot. The Products moved in a regular pace, and Ana noticed that their faces weren’t full of anything like panic. It was more resignation, response to another order.
They aren’t even questioning this, she thought.
She squirmed her way past the oncoming traffic and weaved through the hallways until she got to the door of her family’s unit. It had been pried open.
Ana called out for her parents and Varrick, but only silence greeted her. She pressed a hand against the door and swung it further. The furniture was thrown about and the video screen, displaying a deviant alert warning, hung over on its side.
Emily and Jordan were nowhere to be found.
Ana sank to the floor and looked at the table, its chairs overturned, where her family had eaten.
Maybe they heard the warning and left early?
If so, that doesn’t explain the mess someone made here. Ana clutched her head and raced back over the past few minutes, and her run in with Vega.
What’s going on, she wondered.
Were my parents the Deviants the alert was about?
And, where was Varrick?
Ana’s comm rang and her heart about stopped. It was a message from Emily. Ana had never heard this tone in her mother’s voice before. Her pulse quickened the more she listened to her mother’s frazzled tone.
“Ana, I hope this gets to you. There’s not much time, but you must listen. Don’t follow the evacuation to the Depot, whatever you do. Your father and I are heading off to help the Action and we want you to join us. I’ve hidden Varrick in the woods near where you and Treg meet. Find him and get to the border. Another run is coming soon and you need to be on it. We wanted to tell you more, but we’ve been monitored for a while now and there was no way we could’ve risked it without calling the Sentries down on us much sooner. Protect Varrick. Stick with Treg and you get Varrick to the convoys for the Action. Jordan and I are going to help the Action make their pick-ups across the border. Find Baudricort, he’ll explain everything. I love you, and I’m sorry.”
Ana was stunned. Her thoughts went to Varrick, and how he was left alone like that. As sick as he was, how could she have abandoned him?
A hurricane of emotions surged through Ana. She wondered if she’d ever feel settled again.
Ana’s thoughts went immediately to Varrick. She raced to his room but like the rest it was in shambles with him nowhere near. And he was due for his latest round of meds. A wave of panic hit Ana.
Did the people know about his illness, did they even care?
How could they have left him alone like that?
They always told me to look out for him and now they and he are gone. What am I doing?
Ana’s personal comm rang, it was Treg.
“Ana, are you all right?”
“I don’t know.”
Ana froze, her throat closed as if an invisible hand squeezed it tight. The room around her began to dim and she felt her heart race. A few seconds later, she gasped for air.
“Ana, talk to me.”
The concern in Treg’s voice snapped Ana back and she took a labored breath. “Treg, they’re gone. They’re all gone.” Ana’s voice shook with a sob. Her vision blurred with tears as she stood at the table, the one thing left undisturbed, a grim reminder of the only life she’d known, that was now and for always gone. She slammed her fist to the floor. The pain welled up and throbbed at her wrist. She paused and felt the soreness as it pulsated through her hand up to her wrist. She let the pain happen: it was the one thing right then she had definite control over.
Treg broke into her thoughts. “Hey, listen. They can’t be far. I haven’t seen any patrols around for Deviants, yet. Maybe they just got scared and headed to Central Depot for safety. Come by and we’ll look for them.”
“They didn’t go to Central, Treg. They’re with the Action, if they even made it that far.” She bit her lip as she scanned the ransacked room around her. “Treg, somebody trashed this place. If they left, why would anyone do that, unless they were looking for someone, or something? What about your folks?”
“They’re headed to Central Depot and joining the Warriors. Said it was better to go in than try anything right now. Too many armed soldiers around.”
“Don’t you have to report with the Warriors?”
“I don’t care about that right now. Let me help you. We need to find Varrick, make sure he’s okay.”
“Sure. Meet me back at our spot in the woods in ten minutes.”
“On my way.”
Ana let a few more sobs out, and soon felt a rage build inside her. The thought of her family possibly destroyed was too much for her. It was bad enough she was soon for leaving them under normal conditions, but the idea of that base not being there wasn’t anything she was ready, or even willing, to accept without a major brawl.
I’ll kill someone if he’s hurt. You bastards want a fight, you want a war? Test me on this, I dare you.
Ana spied one of Varrick’s jackets on the floor. She grabbed it on her way out. He’s still my family, no matter what. I’m not leavin
g him while I don’t know if he’s okay. She stopped at the door for one more look at the place she’d known, the life she’d known. The family she knew, her present, and even her future were all now steeped in chaos, and she just wanted something to settle so her feet could find steady ground again.
Ana grabbed a spare med pack for Varrick and fled outside. She started to bolt for the wilderness when she was stopped short by a hand on her collar. She turned into the agitated face of a Sentry. He clutched a rifle with one hand and gripped the back of Ana’s shirt tight.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Ana’s pulse rattled in her throat and she glanced around. “T-to find my brother. He wasn’t at home when the evacuation was ordered. I need to find him, I think he went to the woods.”
The Sentry said nothing for a few moments, his measured breath his only response. His eyes darted to the evacuation line and back to Ana. “You’ve got ten minutes. If you aren’t back by then, we’re coming after you, weapons hot.”
Treg and Ana scoured the area of the woods and yelled for Varrick, but nothing. The light was dimming. Ana sighed. “I’m not leaving without him. I’d rather die first. ‘Protect Varrick.’ That’s what mom said.”
Ana dropped to the ground. “It’s all going too fast. Treg, I don’t know anything anymore. All I know is I have to find Varrick. He needs me and I need . . .” Ana’s voice broke off in a whimper as she took off through the woods. She neared clumps of trees and bushes and ducked her head into gaping stumps and what looked like holes in the ground. “I won’t go anywhere he isn’t. If he gets sent for Realignment, I’ll be on the gurney next to him.”
Treg folded his arms. “Okay, I know. We’ll find him. Look there’s no way of knowing where he is, or if he’s still here at all.” His voice shook as the reality of what he was saying settled on them like a leaf drifting to the ground.
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