40
After an hour of driving over relentless potholes, our van slows to a stop. The inside of the trailer reeks. In all the run-for-my-life excitement I didn’t realize the smell until we were about twenty minutes out of town. It’s like a skunk took a bath in two-month-old milk. Once we get out of here we’re gonna smell like this for days.
Even worse is the heat. It’s like a dark, smelly sauna. We’re breathing each other’s air, leaving puddles of sweat on the already dirty trailer. A meager stream of air flows in from the cracks in the doorway. I need someone to let us out. Like, now.
The van slows to a stop. I hear footsteps approach outside, then a soft muttering from up front.
“It’s the Cascadians,” Avery whispers.
I nod. “Bobby said something about a toll. We better not be part of it.”
Eva and Skandar exchange confused looks, but don’t press us for information. I steady the Pearl with my ankles, making sure it doesn’t bang against the metal and make any unnecessary noise. “If Barkley opens the door and turns us in, then we run. No questions… just bolt into the forest.”
Eva smirks. “Look who’s giving orders now.”
We wait and listen. I hear George’s voice, but the words are muffled. There are at least two others outside. One is a woman.
The conversation lasts a few minutes and ends with the slam of a door. The engine rumbles. I breathe a sigh of relief. Getting over these mountains is the first thing that’s gone right all day.
Skandar stretches his arms. “Anybody else think this place needs some in-flight entertainment?”
“Here,” I hand the Pearl to him. “Hold this.”
He cradles it in his arms, staring at the radiant glow coming from within. The van lurches forward. We’re heading down.
“I don’t know what we’re gonna find in Seattle,” I start, “but if you really wanna help, the best thing you guys can do is cover for me if Alkine shows up.”
Eva shakes her head. “He’s not here to stop you, Jesse. The cat’s out of the bag.”
“Has he told you anything? About a lab?”
She shrugs. “Listen, what you heard at that meeting is all I know. As far as I can tell it’s all he knows, too.”
“There’s a lab,” I mutter. “I saw it in my dream.” I wind my fingers around the chain necklace. “It’s where I was given this key. I think it happened right before Alkine found me. I remember Seattle, covered in mist.”
“The chemicals from the bombings,” Avery interjects.
I nod. “And I remember the lab. Everything in between is blank.”
“So you’re going to try to find this place?” Eva stares at the key lying on my chest. “You think it still exists?”
“It’s all I’ve got to go on,” I reply. “Maybe the key opens the door. Maybe there are answers inside. Why else would I be remembering it now, after so long?”
Skandar frowns, holding the Pearl in front of his face. “Meanwhile, there’s gonna be a whole army of Pearlhounds looking for this thing.”
“I’m not worried about them.”
Eva laughs. “ Jesse Fisher not worried about an army of government soldiers? Do I need to remind you about what happened back in Syracuse? And that was just one of them. A trainee, no less.”
“Yeah,” I start, “ that was back in Syracuse. Besides, you’ll hold them off.”
“Hold them off?” She grimaces. “What do I look like, a freaking tank?”
Avery scoots closer to me. “You owe him, Rodriguez.”
“For what? For saving his butt for nearly three years?” She crosses her arms. Apparently the generous, guilt- ridden Eva has left the trailer.
“For lying to him,” Avery responds.
She rolls her eyes. “Coming from you, that’s rich.”
Skandar darts his head around the side of the Pearl. “I never lied to you, mate.”
Eva sighs. “That’s because you’re incapable of lying, Harris. It would require a level of self-awareness that’s completely beyond you.”
He glares at her, confused.
“It doesn’t matter,” I say. “If you’re with me, be with me now. We’ll talk about everything else later.”
“If there is a later,” Eva mumbles. I pretend not to hear her.
Other than the occasional attempt to get a conversation going, we spend the next hour in silence. My mind attempts to formulate some sort of a plan, but it’s impossible. I have no idea what I’m getting myself into. If there’s a lab-if there’s anything — I don’t even know where to look.
And all the while Skandar plays with the Pearl like it’s some kind of toy. I know what’s really inside-a concussive force strong enough to flatten an army. I’ve seen it happen, triggered by my own hands. I’d never heard of a Pearl exploding before last night. These things have been poked and prodded, dropped off buildings and transferred to reactors, but never once exploded. Until I caught one.
The van comes to a sudden halt.
We freeze, careful not to make a sound. My heart thumps double-time, urging my body to get out of the tight space.
I hear the driver’s side door open and shut in one motion. We’re here. We must be.
Someone shouts, followed by a flurry of voices. George’s isn’t among them.
I press my ear against the wall. Just like back on the mountain, the individual words are too muffled to make out.
A loud blast rips through the air. The trailer wall vibrates with the echoing sound. I stumble backward, slamming my elbow on the metal.
Then it’s quiet again. I listen for George’s footsteps to come around the side. I wait.
Nothing.
Instead, the voices come back, murmuring at the front of the truck. The hairs on my neck stand on end. Avery squeezes my arm, sensing my tension.
Footsteps make their way from the van’s cabin to the side. Suddenly, I realize that we’re trapped. There’s no way to open the back door from inside the trailer. If this is who I think it is, then we’ve just cornered ourselves. Big mistake.
The footsteps tread around the van until they’ve reached the back door. I hear breathing, followed by the jangling of keys. The lock turns and clicks open.
We scoot back as the door rises, a crack at first. Even with my heart in my throat, I relish the breeze that streams in from outside. Polluted Surface air has never felt so amazing.
But as the door continues to pull open, my worst suspicions are confirmed.
This isn’t George or his son. It’s not Alkine.
It’s a mini army of soldiers wearing Unified Party combat gear.
They’ve got guns.
And they’re pointing them directly at us.
41
The soldiers’ faces are shielded by government gas masks, their bodies hidden behind thick, genderless uniforms. They’re completely anonymous.
The ones in front reach in to grab us but the leader motions them to stop, stepping forward and extending a gloved hand.
“The Pearl. Surrender it.” The voice sounds robotic and alien from behind the gas mask.
I glance over to Skandar, who clutches the green orb close to his chest.
“Count of three,” the soldier warns. The mass of weapons beep and whirr as they lock onto our chests.
