Small incoming vehicles detected.
My EP reveals the outline of two fast-moving figures rounding to the back of the building. I swipe at the console screen.
"Someone's coming." It could be Ben, but it may not.
"How do you know?" Aron's voice cracks slightly as he swings his head around to get a look.
I don't answer and scramble to get the pod fully engaged. Something inside calls for me to stop. I resist its urging.
As the pod barely lifts from the ground, scooters ridden by two helmeted men skid to a halt, blocking our exit.
Ben Porter
Meyer Quinn
Ben made it, and he brought Meyer. I let out a huge sigh of relief.
Meyer throws off his helmet, waving for me to stop. The scowl on his face easily indicates his mood with me. What did Ben tell him? Ben dismounts the scooter and hustles to my side of the pod. No other live forms show in my EP, but I swivel in my seat to check if they've brought anyone else.
I lower the pod and the underside clunks to the ground. At my right, Aron's face goes pasty. He'll start to change his mind if we stick around too long.
"Wait in here," I tell him. "I'll take care of this."
With a whoosh, the pod door slides up. Meyer reaches in and grabs my arm, pulling me out and to my feet. He eyes my newly blonde hair and shakes his head.
"What are you doing? This stuff is only going to get you and other people killed."
"There's more happening here than you know about," I protest and pull from him, not wanting Aron to panic any more than he already is. "Get in."
"Avlyn, there's always more than we know about."
"That was the identical problem in Elore. Too many secrets and half-truths. This place is no different," I say.
Aron flings open his door and moves from the pod. "Avlyn, we should go. If we don't, they'll re-arrest me and send you away."
Meyer stares at me, frowning, and his voice full of concern. "What does he mean they're sending you away?"
Ben scoffs. "I knew this would happen."
I shoot a glare toward Aron. "Didn't I tell you to stay in the pod?" Aron doesn't move and I resume my attention to Meyer. "Waters said that before the attack. He's relocating me."
Ben's eyes grow wide. "Where is he sending you?"
I lower my voice, stepping closer to the both of them. "All I know is Aron is scheduled for potential elimination. I can't leave him behind. It's not right. Waters won't tell me where I'm headed or what he's using me for. For all I know, he's as bad as Manning."
Meyer shakes his head. "You're making too much of this. Let's go back and talk it out with Ruiz."
"They were intending to let Aron rot in that cell while Elore bombed the detainment center!" I object. "No one else would have released him, so I did. They don't care about him—"
Meyer pulls me in again. "I get that you care about Aron's safety, and I respect you for that, but this is ridiculous." He leans in, whispering in my ear, "It won't work. You have no idea where you're going."
"It will work," I insist. "It has to."
Meyer lets go of my arm and draws back. "So tell me, what's your plan, anyway?"
My mind reels. I hadn't really thought that far ahead. The plan becomes pretty thin after getting us out of the city.
"Give me a little time. I'll figure it out on the way."
"Wait," Aron interjects, still standing on the passenger side of the pod. Apparently he has excellent hearing. "You're dragging me along, and you don't even know where we're headed yet?"
"You need my help and you're in no position to be choosy. Now get back inside," I yell. He doesn't move, but I flash him a scowl and he lowers himself in.
I address Meyer. "Come with us or let us go." Please come.
"No way," he says firmly. "If you do this, you'll get yourself killed. I'm not letting that happen."
Ben moves forward. "Meyer, get in the pod."
I flick my eyes toward Ben. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you before."
"It's fine." Ben activates the pod's back door. "We just need to get out of this place and all drop off the map."
Meyer stands in stunned silence for a moment. "I thought you were helping me escort her back in?"
Ben shrugs. "I guess I lied." He looks to me. "I knew I'd get him to come easier if he thought he was bringing you back in. Took less explanation."
Meyer blocks my path. His dark eyes filled with bewilderment. "I'm confused. You're just Avlyn's guard. Why would you want to go with her?"
"Ben's my brother," I admit, my mind still reeling at the truth of it.
"Your twin?" Meyer looks back and forth between the two of us. "I thought he was dead?"
"Me, too."
Meyer stares at Ben and you can almost see his thoughts revolving. "Wait. Can you do the same things as Avlyn?"
Ben breaks from Meyer's question and flashes me an expression of concern. "Just get in the vehicle." He climbs into the back seat.
"You have no concept of what you're getting into, Avlyn." Meyer stands firm. "Ruiz will guide us."
"I'd love it if she could, but I'm afraid Waters is in her ear." I grasp Meyer's upper arm. "If I go back, I'm gone, and Aron might spend the rest of his life in prison—if he's lucky. Most likely, they'll kill him, and if Waters discovers Ben's ability—which is likely now—his life may be over, too. I can't let that happen."
Meyer sighs and shakes his head. He's been in a similarly impossible position before. "Agreed, but I have to make sure you don't get yourself killed. We need assistance. Once we're safe, promise to consider letting Ruiz help. I can prove to you she's doing the right thing." He twists from me and peers into the back of the pod. "Toss me the tarp."
Relieved, I slowly reach into the rear of the pod for the fabric in back of the pilot seat.
Meyer tosses it over the two scooters, covering them completely. "They'll find them, but we'll be long disappeared before then."
Smiling, I pull open the front door and make for the pilot's seat.
"Do you know the coordinates?" Meyer asks, throwing an arm in front of me.
I stop and glare at him. It's not that I want to fly, but piloting the pod myself makes me feel more secure.
"No."
"Then let me fly. Please."
"You're letting him pilot?" Ben asks, studying Meyer suspiciously from the back.
"I trust Meyer with my life." With that, I climb into the spot alongside Ben. Aron has the passenger spot in the front next to Meyer.
"Where are you taking us?" Ben asks.
Meyer turns and smiles. "Oh, I have a place."
Chapter
Ten
On the flight, Meyer has me hack into New Philadelphia's mainframe and plant a few "red herrings," as he calls them. What fish have to do with coding, I'm not sure, but essentially I imbedded false information so they'd search for us in the opposite direction from that of our destination.
As the pod sweeps over the landscape, I'm amazed by the diversity of plant life and terrain, from scrub brush to tall green trees—Sugar Pines, according to my EP—and even some other trees with yellow and orange leaves. Elore's trees were mostly a pine variety, so other than on vids, I've never seen anything like this.
"Maybe you can inform us where we're going?" Aron asks. My eyes are drawn to his newly brown hair. From the back, Meyer and Aron look more alike than different. I reach forward and tap his shoulder, willing the nanos controlling his hair and eye color to return them to normal. As he turns toward me, I do the same to mine. He nods, probably realizing what I did.
Meyer sighs. "Gabrielle, the woman who raised me with Jayson, lives off the grid. Jayson gave me the coordinates in case of an emergency before he died."
Hearing Meyer mention Jayson's name pricks at my stomach. I didn't know he had a wife. "I'd say this is an emergency. Is she with Affinity?"
"She's with herself," he says. "A hacker, like you. Pretty quirky."
"Are you saying I'm quirky?"
Meyer chuckles. "Could be. She's a genius and a jack-of-all-trades. Most resourceful person I've ever met. She also has access to Underground Intel and communications that no one else seems to. If anyone can help us, it's her."
Thinking of Jayson and Gabrielle, I realize how I've left my own father alone in New Philly. I open my mouth to ask Meyer about him, but Ben touches my arm and my vision turns to white and forms the shape of a room. The walls shimmer in anticipation.
"Ben?" I call, still not really knowing what to expect from this new type of communication.
Nothing happens, but the code constructing the walls continues to blink faster. I shut my eyes and concentrate. From behind my closed eyelids, the space illuminates brighter. I press my eyelids together harder and take a deliberate draw of breath. A soft buzzing fills my head and grows louder and louder until I throw my hands to my ears.
"Ben!" I yell.
The buzzing stops, replaced by silence.
"I'm here," Ben's voice sounds from behind me.
I flinch and swing around, eyes wide, to my brother standing in our virtual space.
"What's going to happen to my father and Sanda?" I ask. "With all of us gone like this, there'll be a lot of questions. They might think he was involved, but he just found out about my ability a few days ago. My father doesn't know much."
"Sanda left the city this morning. She might be safe. I'm unsure about your father. They may detain him." Ben sighs. "Let's take this one step at a time. Getting you out of the city is my first goal."
I drop into a squat and comb my fingers through my hair. "This is not how I wanted this to play out. Do you know what caused Elore to attack?"
"Power play, most likely. Philly attacked them, so Manning's probably attempting to show that he's not weak."
I nod. "We can see if we can stream Elorian media when we get to where we're headed. Maybe this Gabrielle can help us sort this out."
He takes my hand and pulls me up. "I need you to know I'll support you by following Meyer there, but you have to promise me we will disappear for good soon. We can go somewhere our abilities don't matter."
I sigh. "It seems so selfish."
"What good are we if we're dead, or if someone's using our ability for the wrong reasons?"
The pod jolts, throwing me into reality as it prepares to land.
"Sorry that was so rough," Meyer says with a laugh. "I haven't flown for a while."
"Told you I should have flown," I mumble under my breath.
Aron sighs. If he wasn't already, now I'm confident he wonders what he's gotten himself into.
Meyer situates the pod below a group of evergreens to make it less conspicuous from above. The four of us climb from the pod onto a landscape browned by the autumn air. Wispy clouds float in the atmosphere high above.
"This way," Meyer calls, swiping his handheld as he starts off, leading our tiny group.
"I don't see anything," Aron says, gazing around at our new surroundings.
I shrug and pass him, trailing behind Meyer through a clearing of flat, scrubby grass that scratches across the fabric of my pants. When I catch up to Meyer, he turns his head toward me.
"Can you tell us exactly what we're doing here?" I ask as we walk. "This needs to be a team effort."
"Look, if we were going to go anywhere, it would be Gabrielle's. It's safe and she'll know what to do, but to be honest, I'm not feeling right about having Aron with us long-term."
I want to argue with him, but it's no use. Meyer might be right. Aron's a wild card, and I could be forcing him into an unnecessary risk by staying with Ben and me. Getting him out of New Philadelphia might have been enough.
"You positive you just don't want him with us?" I ask.
A smirk crosses Meyer's lips. "Now why would you think that?" His face becomes increasingly serious. "I'm trying to be practical."
"Fine. I'll consider it as long as we find a secure place for him."
"We will," Meyer promises.
"We will what?" Aron asks as he and Ben come up in back of us.
I catch Meyer's eyes and quickly divert the conversation. "Gabrielle's place is up here."
"Right," Meyer agrees, studying the instructions on his handheld. "See the grouping of rocks there to the left? The coordinates say it's the location."
A green glow illuminates lightly from and around the rock formation in my EP. It can't identify it, but it knows something's there.
"But there's nothing there," Ben says.
"I know it looks that way." Meyer dashes to the rock formation, and I follow with Ben and Aron behind. He pauses in front of it and swipes at his Flexx, letting out a chuckle. "Hope she's home."
I smack him lightly on the arm and he flinches.
"What?" he says and returns to working on the handheld, a broad smile overtaking his face.
Ahead of us, the ground shimmers and disappears, revealing a metal hatch. Some sort of camouflaging tech, similar to the kind that covered the panel to the tunnel when we attempted our escape back in Elore, but maybe even more advanced. The hatch slides back, revealing a staircase. My stomach roils, memories rushing forward. This is too similar to the tunnel where Mother died.
"We're here," Meyer announces.
"And you're sure she's trustworthy?" Ben asks.
"These days, I'm unsure anyone is completely honest," Meyer admits, "but yeah. I trust her."
"Then let's go." Aron sprints ahead and disappears down the stairs.
~ ~ ~
The staircase ends at a wide corridor, illuminated by a line of lights running along the ceiling. The glow warms some of my tension away as the four of us make our way through the hall.
Meyer's handheld buzzes. He stops and quickly swipes on it to respond. To the left, on the wall, a small panel slides back, revealing a security pad.
"She knows we're here, but is taking precautions. I know there is a little town a few miles from here and occasionally they send traders up," Meyer explains, placing his palm on the pad. A light at the top transitions from red to green.
"Approved. Welcome, Meyer Quinn," says a disembodied female voice.
Next to the pad, a door reveals itself in the wall and skates back. A plump, brown- skinned woman dressed in a loose tan shirt and navy pants stands in the opening, arms spread wide.
"Meyer, it's been too long," she says in a gravelly, low-pitched voice. She looks to be about forty-five.
He moves to embrace her. "A year."
She lets him loose and clears her throat. "So, who are these people, and why are you here?"
"It's complicated. May we come in?"
Gabrielle eyes us and turns to gesture us in. "Be my guest."
She leads us down a dim hallway to a room filled with several media viewers. My EP fills with information, overwhelming both my vision and thoughts, so I blink twice to deactivate it for now. On a table to my left rests a disassembled micro drone, parts strewn out over the surface. Aron walks to the table and retrieves one of the pieces.
"Little project I'm working on," Gabrielle says. "I kind of dabble in lots of things."
Aron returns the tech to the surface.
Meyer stuffs his hands in his pockets and smirks. "So, we're kind of in trouble."
"Hon, I wouldn't expect much less," Gabrielle says. "You were always in trouble. But how'd you go dragging these other nice people into the whole mess?"
"Why do you assume I'm the one who caused it?" Meyer asks, eyeing me.
Despite my hesitation, we tell Gabrielle the entire story. Everything: how Ben can sense my emotions and was even able to contact me in my mind; that we can immerse into a computer system to hack it. Now Meyer and Aron know the whole of it, too.
A shiver travels through my entire body at the thought. The more people who know about us, the more vulnerable we are. I catch Ben's tight expression and am fairly certain he feels the same way.
"And who's this guy?" Gabrielle nods to Aron.
"Aron is a frien
d of mine from Elore, but not a member of Affinity," I explain. "Philly captured him on our escape."
"It's not like I'm going to hold not being a part of Affinity against him." Gabrielle chuckles. "Since I left them years ago myself."
"Aron's a genius with drone tech," I offer.
Aron, continuing to stand alongside the disassembled drone, shifts his weight and smirks enough to form the dimple on his cheek.
"‘Genius' is a bit much," he protests modestly, looking at me. "I saw how you handled the drones I built."
Heat crawls up my neck. I did shoot the tech with ease, but I'm a different case than most.
"I'll have to put you to work while you're here." Gabrielle walks to Aron and slaps him on the back. His eyes widen and he moves to the side. His reaction to Gabrielle must be how I was the first time I met Jayson.
"We need a place to stay for a few days and make a plan," Meyer continues. "This was the best place I could think of. Maybe you can figure out somewhere for us to go to lay low long-term?"
Upon hearing Meyer's words, guilt hurls through me. By joining us, he's giving up everything.
"I'll give it my best shot. I have several places you might be able to go long-term, but I need to do some digging." Gabrielle steps over to Meyer. "This place is somewhat remote, and it should buy you some time. You have three days. And store your pod in my underground hangar."
Meyer looks to me and I nod. "Three days should be enough," he agrees.
Gabrielle addresses Ben and me. "Now, let's dig a little deeper to understand this ability the two of you seem to have."
Chapter
Eleven
In the hall outside my room, Meyer tosses me something. I catch it and examine the clear, rectangular plastic package holding a beige bar. "What's this?"
"Breakfast. It's cherry."
"Hmm." I tear the package with my teeth and stuff the wrapper in my pocket, trying to banish thoughts of a plate of pancakes from of my head. Meyer had all sorts of talk about non-printed food, but I've barely been able to enjoy any since I've been out of Elore.
"Gabrielle came in and spoke to me this morning," Meyer says between bites of his own bar. "From her sources and from poking around in the Underground net, she thinks she found some location prospects, but we need to make sure they're safe. Later on, when we have time, we'll try to patch you two in and get additional intel, but first she wants to study some of your data. Apparently, she stayed up late last night and coded a program."
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