“It doesn’t work close up, but we’re deep enough in the forest that it’s camouflaged from any random flyovers. The material’s like the tarp I used on the duo, it covers heat signatures so thermosatellite scans don’t detect us.”
She gestured for us to step in, and I nudged Adrien ahead of me. I was kept dry by my suit, but he was drenched. I followed him inside to a softly lit, small interior room. Rain spattered loudly on the roof and the walls.
Adrien’s wet tunic clung to him. His shoulders seemed wider than when I’d last seen him and his wiry arm muscles more sharply cut. But he looked thinner too, and when he turned I could see just how ripped-up his back was from the chute.
“Your back!” I said. His tunic hung in tatters and blood had dried from a couple of deep gashes below his shoulder blades. Deep bruises were already starting to bloom.
“Oh right, I forgot about it,” he said. He turned around so Jilia could see. She immediately reached out a hand.
I winced when she touched him, placing her hand on the worst of his injuries. Then as I watched, the lacerations wove themselves shut under her touch. I looked back and forth between the now smoothed skin and Jilia’s face, feeling my eyes widen. “You’re a glitcher?”
“Yep,” she said. “First generation, like Adrien’s mom.”
“Can you heal anything?” I asked.
“I can only heal minor wounds, knit tissue and sometimes bones back together, that kind of thing.” She saw my face drop and smiled apologetically. “I can’t deal with anything at the systemic cellular level, like allergies.”
I moved closer. Within a few minutes, the skin of Adrien’s back was completely smooth. Even the bruises were gone. His muscles rippled under his skin as he rotated his shoulders and breathed out a sigh of relief. “Good as new. Thanks, Doc.”
“That’s amazing,” I whispered, still staring.
“Have you had a lot of traffic lately?” Adrien asked.
“Busier than ever,” Jilia said. “A whole safe house got cracked last week, so our beds were full up. Most of them have moved on.”
Adrien must have seen my questioning glance. “The Resistance uses mobile tent compounds like this one for way stations.”
“We try to set them up outside all the major cities for travelers,” Jilia said. “Or so Rez operatives heading into the city on raids have a base station, or if a situation gets too hot for our people living in the city and they have to run.” She looked at Adrien. “But I can’t remember when it’s ever been this bad.”
Adrien’s face darkened. “It’s gotta be because of Underchancellor Bright. She’s got access to Rez prisoners now, and she can force them to tell her anything she wants. Safe house locations, encryption codes, anything.”
Something passed between them, a quiet communication of dread, before Jilia turned to me and smiled. “Come on, let’s get you inside. Tyryn was cooking up something that smelled delicious when I saw the duo beacon and came to meet you.”
“Tyryn’s here?” Adrien asked, his face breaking into a smile.
Jilia nodded. “And his sister Xona. You remember her?”
“She was just a kid the last time I saw her.”
Jilia’s face soured a bit. “She’s not little anymore. Tyryn brought her up here a few weeks ago. She’s been getting into fights with the other Rez kids ever since their parents died.”
“I heard about that.” Adrien’s voice was quiet. “Her mom and mine used to be friends.”
“Anyway, let’s get you cleaned up, and then you can say hi.”
I looked down at my suit. Spattered mud covered my legs, and, in spite of the oxygen constantly circulating, I could smell how sweaty I was. Everything had been happening so fast, I hadn’t stopped to wonder what came next. “So I guess I stay in this suit till we can get to the Foundation where I can change into another?” I asked uncertainly. I looked at the muddy, ripped outer layers.
“Oh no, no, I’ve got a new suit for you,” Jilia assured me quickly. “We shipped some here just in case. It’s much thinner and more flexible. It’s made of polysurtrate, a new tribond blend that won’t tear or even cut easily. And it allows a far better range of motion than the old model. You’ll love it. It’ll fit like a second skin.”
“But how do I get from this suit,” I pointed down at myself, “into another one without being exposed to the air?”
Jilia smiled. She pushed through a tent flap in front of her and gestured at us to follow. “One of the benefits of a portable research facility. This is the bathroom, normal shower and toilet on one side—” she pointed to one curtain partition covering the left half of the room, “—and this is the three-chambered, all-enclosed allergen wash-down station.” She pointed to a long, rectangular container on the other side of the room that was about seven feet tall and four elevator pods wide.
“And just in case, here’s an epi infuser.” She handed me the thin, stylus-sized device.
“Great,” I said weakly, my heart thumping at the thought of having to use it.
“I’m sure it will be fine,” Jilia said quickly. “Let me go get your new suit.” She turned and pushed through the flap at the far end of the room that must lead to another tent chamber.
Adrien stepped closer and put a hand on the small of my back. “You okay?”
I didn’t answer, just leaned into his chest. He wrapped his strong arms around me, pulling me in tight. Even through my thick helmet, I could hear the steady beat of his heart. He dropped his chin on top of my head and rubbed my back in gentle circles. I melted against him. I was exhausted, and his arms felt so good around me, I thought I might fall asleep right there.
He pulled away, looking intently at my face. I tried to raise the sides of my mouth into something that resembled a smile, but I was sure it looked more like a grimace. He laughed. “It’s gonna be okay. We’re safe now,” he said, giving my hand a squeeze. He nodded his head toward the container. “After you get the new suit on, you can finally rest. I’ll be waiting when you come out.”
Jilia came back with a shrink-wrapped plastic bag in her hands.
“After each cycle, the next door will open. Just move right through with it.”
The lights turned on as I stepped inside. The tiny chamber was about the size of a square elevator pod. The door closed before I could say anything else.
Almost immediately spouts dropped from the ceiling and from the walls, and the next instant a hammering spray assaulted me from all sides. The cycle lasted for almost ten complete minutes. A drain at the button suctioned up all the water as it poured down.
I was glad to peel off the suit and my sweaty underclothes in the next chamber, but it felt strange to strip completely down, knowing that outside this container only a mere spread of tent material separated me from the dripping green forest. I clutched the epi infuser in my hand after I dropped the last bit of the suit to the floor.
I paused and closed my eyes, not daring to breathe. I waited to feel any of the telltale signs of an allergy attack. But I could only hold my breath for so long, and eventually I had to take in a gulping breath of the steamy air.
I clutched the epi infuser tighter, my thumb on the release button. One breath, and then another.
I peeked one eye open.
No swelling, no rash.
I was fine.
I breathed out again as another set of sprayers came out from the sides. Instead of water, warm white foam spurted at me, followed by another pounding spray of hot water that left me certain that every millimeter of my body had been scoured raw.
After a bracing rush of air that lasted five more minutes, even my thick curly hair was dry. I stretched my neck and took a deep breath in, taking a moment to enjoy standing free from the restrictive suit.
I opened the plastic bag that held the new suit. It was smaller than I expected, made of dark blue stretchy material that was only about a centimeter thick. There weren’t any boots on the bottom, and I slipped my foot into the leg just like I would a sock. The suit pulled up snug around my waist. Really snug. I thought of Adrien holding me earlier in the bulky suit and wondered with a blush what he’d think of me in this one.
