Numb

by Isabelle Carey

  Abigail is one of them. She's not in handcuffs so that's a good sign. I don't pay attention to the agent escorting her to the ambulance to join my father. I don't even care for the Amber Army soldiers either. My eyes only focus on Abigail and I feel terrible for the way I treated her before I left earlier. I wish I could make it up to her somehow but I won't be able to even tell her I'm sorry. Not anymore. I chide myself for not saying it when I had the chance. Abigail had cut me off but I still could have said those two little words.

  Abigail's face is unreadable and she's playing her role well. I love her for it. Sweet, clever Abigail. Her life is about to suck but I believe that she will face whatever happens bravely. Abigail, as well as my father, is at least safe for the moment.

  A rumble overhead and three Zeppelins appear, spotlights shining from their undersides like lighthouse beacons. Their silvery armor plating gleams in the moonlight and they fly around the area, searching for me. The rumble of their engines pierces the night and up ahead, faces turn to stare up at the airships. I bet that some of my neighbors are working hard to suppress the marvel they feel at this unusual sight.

  It's imperative that I leave right this instant, make a beeline for the abandoned train yard, and drop into the sewers. But once again, I don't move a muscle. I'm thinking hard. I can't say goodbye to my family quite yet. I'm compelled by a reckless desire to follow the ambulance, as it cranks to life once Abigail and the White Agent are inside. I have to see where my family end up, that way I might be able to help them escape later.

  My father will be sent to BioLife; I am sure of it. Abigail's fate lies in an orphanage, but which one? There are over a dozen homes for children whose parents had given them up for various reasons. It will take me far too long to check each one of them before finding Abigail again.

  I risk everything to follow the ambulance when it leaves the crime scene.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Liam

  My stomach growls in protest for the lack of nourishment when I arrived at BioLife in the back of an ambulance. I ignore and exit out of the cramped space. Behind me, Abigail Tatum emerges out into the night, looking up at the glass structure in front of us with disinterest. On the way here I read in her file that not only was she born here, but she also spent several weeks in one of the hospital rooms recovering from a bout of pneumonia when she was four years old.

  The paramedics inside prepares Tatum's gurney for transport into the facility. I stare towards the building and watch as several people emerge from one of the entrances into BioLife. I can hear the rushing of the Utopia River nearby, the place where Charlotte Tatum managed to escape after killing Representative Emerson.

  I squint against the lamps lining the pathway, as well as the gleam of the full moon. I can barely make out a hint of gold that's out of focus until the newcomers come within visual range. I then spot several Amber Army soldiers designated to meet us here. Accompanying them is none other than Dr. Greyson Prescott.

  His first name reveals a lot about Dr. Prescott. His greasy hair is gray and his thin eyes are also gray. His face, lightly carved with wrinkles, appears so apathetic that it's almost to the point of boredom. He's tall and has a sloping figure, his arms and legs too long to be allowed. He stands well over six foot five inches and walks with a jerking limp, as though he's standing upon stilts.

  Dr. Prescott and the two Amber Army soldiers flanking him on either side halt directly before us. Dr. Prescott glances at me before his eyes flick towards the paramedics who are emerging out of the back of the medical van.

  "We have a private room already set up for Mr. Tatum," Dr. Prescott says by way of a greeting, addressing those who are pushing the gurney.

  My own eyes find Mr. Tatum, who's out like a light. He was sedated during the ride because he kept asking about Charlotte. After the twentieth inquiry, one of the paramedics stabbed him with a needle and pumped several milliliters of some kind of silver fluid into his bloodstream. Within seconds, he was fast asleep.

  The paramedics nod and push the gurney past our group and towards the building. Abigail moves to follow without hesitation but one of the soldiers seizes her left arm, stopping her dead in her tracks.

  Abigail doesn't struggle but she looks back at me of all people when she says, "My father."

  "He will be well cared for," Dr. Prescott speaks before I could even begin to think of what to say to her. "But you will not be going with him."

  For a moment, Abigail appears to want to disagree with Dr. Prescott. Her face contorts slightly before looking solemnly grave. She stares at him but doesn't say anything else. Then, she turns her gaze towards the retreating backs of the paramedics until they disappear through the front doors of BioLife.

  At that moment, I see little Caleb Donovan watching his father being escorted out of his office. Caleb and Abigail are one in the same right now. I shake the memory from my mind and turn my full attention to Dr. Prescott.

  "Are you going to study him?" I ask Dr. Prescott. "Continue the work started by Dr. Cato?"

  Dr. Prescott looks at me again. His eyes tell me that he's slightly taken aback by me referring to my mother as Dr. Cato.

  "Precisely," Dr. Prescott replies. "There's a reason why he's survived for two years with Black Death and it's my mission to find out why."

  "What about the girl?" I want to know, trying to prevent myself from looking at Abigail and into those eyes that remind me of Charlotte.

  "She will be taken to the World State Orphanage," one of the Amber Army soldiers takes charge and speaks up. Dr. Prescott was under the auspices that he was in charge around here and he was sadly mistaken. There's something about Dr. Prescott that makes me want to arrest him. He just has a sleazy look to him and I don't trust him at all. For as long as I have known him, he always seems to only want to do things that benefit him, and that's rebel behavior to me.

  I nod, having assumed that was going to be Abigail's fate from the start. "Charlotte Tatum is on the loose," I reveal to them. "She wasn't at her home when we went there to arrest her. By now, she will have found out that we're on to her for murdering Noah Emerson. She will flee but if she's like any other criminal who has given up on the Purge, then she will care deeply about her family. We need to have some kind of plan to capture her."

  "That's the plan," the soldier tells me. "We're going to bait Charlotte by using her family."

  "How so?"

  "Before we discuss the plan further, we have other business to attend to," the second soldier enters the conversation. "Agents Ramos and Bailey have spoken highly of your many accolades, Agent Cato. After all, you put your own mother in jail, a formidable feat. Your devotion to justice and to the perfection of Paradise has made you an ideal candidate to join the Amber Army. But first, the capture of Charlotte Tatum lies before you, the ultimate test. If you manage to lay a trap for her and make her the crowning jewel of all of the hundreds of criminals you have imprisoned during your short but prolific career, a spot among our ranks awaits you as a reward for your hard work."

  I am briefly stunned but I don't allow my face to betray my inner surprise. The Amber Army has taken an interest in me and that's the pinnacle of aspirations for a White Agent if ever we had one. Agents work their way up to the top to either become superior agents like Ramos or soldiers for the Amber Army.

  "What's the complete plan?" I need to know my orders, what I must do to find Charlotte Tatum and fulfill my destiny as an Amber Army candidate. "How are we—am I—going to set a trap for her?"

  "First, you must make sure that the media catches wind of everything concerning Charlotte Tatum's family. All news broadcasts must report the locations of the criminal's father and sister, so she will have no problem finding out where we have sent them. Once she obtains this information, we will lure her in by giving her the impression of lax security. BioLife and the orphanage will be heavily fortified of course, but most of the guards will be in disguise. Nurses, doctors, teachers, receptionists, we will station
Amber Army troops and White Agents at both places. The moment she attempts to infiltrate one of the places, you will be there to detain her. You know firsthand how scum like Charlotte Tatum operates, and so you will head a team at one of the locations you deem that she will be most likely to try and break into."

  Abigail flinched slightly when the soldier called her sister scum. I was the only one present to notice this out of the corner of my eyes.

  "If she has any sense, she will avoid a return trip to BioLife," I analyze as if I have known Charlotte Tatum my entire life. "She would have to be insane to return to the very place where she committed an atrocious crime. On the other hand, she may risk coming to BioLife because she might suspect that we think that she won't do it because of what happened here. After all, she has already succeeded in penetrating BioLife's security measures already. She may believe that she could succeed again."

  The Amber Army soldiers nod in comprehension. "All right. You can be in charge of the BioLife team."

  To this, I shake my head once. "No," I disagree. The Amber Army soldier falls silent and waits for me to continue. My interruption was definitely unexpected. "I'll lead the team at the orphanage. I will escort the girl there." I glance at Abigail who stares back at me with a vacant expression. I can't help it. My eyes lock on to hers for just a split second and my mind flashes back in time, shuffling through all of those occasions that I spied Charlotte while on the monorail. How could the girl I thought was special enough to be a White Agent murder a government official? It doesn't make sense to me. I never suspected it for a second that she was capable of something like that. I'm good at reading people but I can never learn enough about person simply through observation alone. Maybe I missed something, some kind of a sign that would help make sense of everything now.

  "Why the orphanage, Agent Cato?" The soldier inquires. "You just said that the criminal might return to BioLife."

  "I know," I admit softly. "But I also said that she would only do so if she doesn't have any sense. She's a cold, calculating killer—" I nearly cringe when I speak those words because I'm unsure if I believe what I'm saying "—who craftily posed as Ava Suarez when she entered the facility to end Emerson's life. She's intelligent and seems to carefully plan out her endeavors. The orphanage will be her choice. She almost got caught at BioLife and that's a big scare for people like her. They believe that they're invincible, that they can get away with anything, until we prove them wrong. The orphanage will provide a new challenge for her, a way to redeem herself from her nearly botched job. There's more room to maneuver there if she finds herself in a tight spot and a lot of kids around her age so that she could blend in well."

  "Okay, the orphanage is all yours then," the soldier tells me. "If you're right, then you will be an Amber Army recruit before you know it."

  I nod and say nothing more. Dr. Prescott takes his leave, rushing off to get started on his preliminary analysis of Mr. Tatum. Silently, I hope I'm right so that I could serve the nation of Paradise as a soldier of the Amber Army, protecting the Core from SAFE rebels that long to destroy it. But secretly, I also hope that I'm wrong for Charlotte's sake. I'm still haunted by a nagging thought that continuously tell me that Charlotte is innocent. The entire investigation is different that any I have ever worked before. The camera glitches that suggests tampering, the odd behavior of the killer as revealed by the concierge, and Ramos withholding vital evidence from me are enough to suggest that something is amiss here.

  I'm torn like never before, split between the promise I made to uphold the laws of Paradise and my personal thoughts that all is not as it seems with this particular case. I'm inclined to do my job and trust that Charlotte Tatum is the true killer and that I will be bringing her to justice in some shape, form, or fashion. But will I? I'm an investigator. I should continue to investigate and find physical proof that Charlotte is guilty, but it's difficult when the prospect of joining the Amber Army stands before me blocking my path to what is right. It's the Amber Army or Charlotte. I have to choose one. I can't have both.

  Unless I can find the true killer if it's not Charlotte. It will be difficult. I will have to backtrack and review information I have already reviewed. I need to obtain the evidence that Ramos is keeping from me. I have a few connections around the agency that might be willing to assist me. The Amber Army has turned the investigation over to me. I control the reins so Ramos should give me the evidence or I will uncover it myself.

  Several cops join me to take Abigail to the orphanage. With a small army in tow that watches Abigail like a hawk, I slide into another patrol car and ride off into the night, my mind racing.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Charlotte

  Currently Listening To: "The Fighter" by Gym Class Heroes

  I spent the last few days scouting out BioLife and World State Orphanage.

  It feels like I've lost Scarlett all over again, only this time I've lost two people who I care for—who I love—very deeply. Like I was torn between trying to save Scarlett and protecting my father and Abigail, I find myself split into two yet again. I'm going to sneak into one of these places, maybe even both eventually if I can puck up the courage to do so, but I have to make a decision. Do I risk going into BioLife again, a place of nightmares for me now to visit my father and tell him that I'm okay and that I'm going to fight to clear my name of this atrocious crime? Or do I chance the orphanage, a place unfamiliar to me, to find Abigail and tell her I'm sorry for pushing her and promise her that one day I would rescue her somehow.

  I silently weigh my options as I sit incognito at a table outside of a restaurant across the street from the gated orphanage. I know a little about the layout of BioLife but my father is in a different wing than the mating clinic, so my route to him will be new to me. It would require a new identity, as I'm certain that if I stepped foot in there again as Ava Suarez, I would have to pass at least a thousand tests to confirm my identity. And I wouldn't be able to pass most of them. Certainly I would have her credentials and I would be in disguise but one vector scan and my true identity will be revealed.

  I would need a new identity, which my new friend Aidan Richardson can help me with, a task he's all too eager to perform because he thinks I'm attractive. I try not to think about Aidan's opinion of me. He only met me a few days ago and I have my concern for my family to worry about; nevertheless, Aidan's constant reminders that I'm pretty are one of the few positive aspects in my life right now.

  On my first day of scouting BioLife, I located my father's room easy enough as it was the only one crawling with doctors and nurses nearly all the time. Masquerading as a nurse would probably be the easiest route to him. Every half an hour, a nurse, sometimes two, enter his room to check on him. With a false identity, I can slip into his room during one of the solo nursing shifts.

  Twice a day, at around noon and seven in the evening, Dr. Prescott or another doctor calls to run all sorts of tests on my father. I know what they're doing and despite the good intentions behind it all, it makes me sick. My father has quickly become nothing than a lab monkey and I can't help but think that Dr. Prescott's intentions are not as good as everyone else's. I've seen him traipsing through BioLife as if he owns the place. I don't trust him with my father as far as I can throw him, which says a lot about him since I'm not strong enough to pick him up in the first place.

  I think about the orphanage then. World State Orphanage. The largest home for wards of the state in all of Paradise. It's a gated community that rests on a hilltop just on the outskirts of the downtown area. Two security guards patrol every entrance and exit from checkpoints dispersed at even intervals along the fence enclosing the multi-acre yard. No guards are stationed outside of any complex so once I'm through the gates, I should have no problem getting to Abigail somehow.

  I'm still young enough to blend in as an orphan so that's a possibility. Only a huge problem with that would be sneaking past one of the security posts. The gate is impossible to scale, alive with s
o much electricity from the Grid that one touch would cause me to explode upon impact.

  The plus side to the orphanage though is that I have more options for disguises than BioLife. Instead of infiltrating the orphanage as an orphan, I can choose between instructors, security guards, and even truck drivers making deliveries. At BioLife, I'm limited because nurses and doctors are the only people who have access to my father's room. But at World State, the possibilities of disguises are endless.

  Two things trouble me about both places however. The first is the billboards that constantly flash information about my family and me in all of their black and white glory. As a fugitive, I expect to continually spot my giant face staring down at me from a digital ad, but not pictures of my father or Abigail. As of late, my father has become just as popular as I, though for a completely different reason. Since he has shattered the record books by surviving the Black Death for such an extended period of time, the people of Paradise are as apathetically hopeful as they can be that Dr. Prescott can find a cure from studying my father. I seethe with surprisingly suppressed rage every time I glimpse any news of the progress—or lack there of—that Dr. Prescott and his medical team are making.

  Poor Abigail. News feeds always showing her adjusting to life in the orphanage. Cameras follow her around like some kind of twisted reality show. I hate watching the segments, knowing that I'm to blame for her fate; nevertheless, they have been useful. I now know Abigail's entire daily schedule from the clips that show throughout Paradise on billboards, televisions, or computers, nearly once every hour.

  As much as I kind of enjoy knowing that my family is okay, as well as their locations, the constant reminders unnerves me because I feel like those who are in charge of my investigation are taunting me. If I didn't know any better, I would say that they want me to risk my freedom and come to either BioLife or World State. I know their game well. They want to draw me out of hiding so that they can easily capture me. The sad thing about it all is that I'm planning to spring their trap one way or another.