In the After

What is happening? Baby asks.

I don’t know. I hug her to my chest, ignoring the pain in my shoulder. I’m so very tired. The adrenaline has left my system, draining my energy reserves. I think we’ve been rescued.

Like the princess in my book?

Sort of . . . Are you scared? I stroke Baby’s hair and hope we are being rescued and not just captured.

No. I was at first, but that woman isn’t one of Them. She won’t hurt us. She is so sure, even though the woman has hurt me. I rub my throbbing shoulder, the pain getting worse with each passing second.

Are you scared, Amy? Baby asks, needing reassurance.

No, I lie, pulling her closer.

Why didn’t you let that woman know you understood her? Baby asks. You know loud speak. You understood Amber.

I think we should wait and see before we tell them anything. I try to explain. Maybe it will be better if they think we don’t understand them.

Okay, but I think that everything is going to be happily ever after.

I hope for her sake she’s right. If not, we have a backup plan. I touch the small bulge at my side. They took away Baby’s gun, but I still have mine.

I adjust Baby’s weight so she isn’t pressing against my aching shoulder. I rest my head on hers and wait.

“Wake up.”

I open my eyes with a start. The woman in the black suit is shaking my extremely sore shoulder. I pull away and glare at her.

“We’re here, sunshine,” she tells me with a smirk.

I narrow my eyes at her and scowl. She tilts her head, studying me for a moment. Even annoyed as I am, I am struck by her beauty. She is about my height, but with more delicate features. Dark hair, dark eyes. All business, she reaches down and pulls me to my feet. She is stronger than I would have thought and I mentally scratch the idea of this woman as delicate.

Baby stands without help, and I hold her hand firmly.

The door to the ship opens, revealing a warmly lit room. The woman steps out into the light. Baby and I look at each other. She smiles nervously, excited. I sigh. I can see no other option but to follow.

I walk forward, squinting against the brightness. My bare feet make contact with the soft ground. I feel the grass between my toes and think it is pleasant before my heart jumps into my throat.

We are outside in the daylight.

Baby panics. She tears her hand away from mine and tries to climb back into the ship, but the door has already closed behind us. She runs to me and buries her head in my waist. I search frantically for someplace to hide.

The woman crosses her arms and watches us with an amused grin. “This is a secure area. There’s no threat.”

In the light of day, I can see her features more clearly. She is gorgeous, but there is something else just under the surface that mars her beauty. There is a cruelness in her voice and I can see it again and again, in the way her lips curl, in her deep brown eyes.

“The Floraes, the creatures, they can’t get to you here,” she tells me. When I don’t react, she continues, “I think you can understand me just fine,” she says, staring into my eyes. I look at the ground, unable to meet her gaze. “You need to follow me, now.” She turns.

We have to get out of the open. Baby clings to me, desperate to find a safe place to hide.

The woman said that They can’t get us here and I believe her. What choice do I have?

Baby nods, her eyes still searching. I have to admit that I am unnerved too. There is grass and a few white buildings, but no creatures as far as I can tell.

Where are we? Baby asks into my hand.

I think we’re about to find out. Let’s keep our signs a secret for now, okay? I want to learn as much about our captors as possible before revealing anything. Signing using only one hand limits what we can say, but we’ve always had leeway in our language. If you live closely with someone long enough, a deep intuition develops; Baby and I are always on the same page.

We follow the woman away from the ship toward a large, squat building. We are led through a black door into a small room. The woman pushes a button on the wall and speaks, “Kay here with those two post-aps.”

A scratchy voice replies almost immediately. “Kay, you know you’re supposed to bring them to orientation. Dr. Reynolds is at lunch.”

“Look, Rice, I radioed in that they were hostile and gave you our ETA.” She looks over at me and winks. “These two aren’t fit to be among the general populace. What’s the holdup?”

The voice on the intercom pauses. “Bring them in,” he responds in a defeated tone. A buzzer sounds and the woman pushes a panel on the far wall. A section moves, sliding open to reveal a doorway.

The woman, Kay, motions us through. “Come on, girls, time is money.”

I smile. There is no money anymore. Time is nothing anymore. Kay catches my smile and I immediately regret it. Now she knows for sure that I understand her.

We walk through the door and everything is white, sterile. We wind our way down several passageways, occasionally going through a door or up a flight of stairs. Nothing is distinguishable. Finally Kay opens a door and directs us inside a large room, painted a pale blue. After the white blandness of the hallways, I welcome the color change, but I realize that is what whoever is in charge wants. Kay has pegged us as hostile and blue is a calming color. I scan the rest of the room, empty except for a metal table and four matching chairs. It looks like a police interrogation room from a movie, Before.

Kay doesn’t follow us inside. “You guys hold tight, all right?” she says with a smile bordering on sincere. “You’ll be okay, kiddo.” Maybe she isn’t cruel, just a little malicious. She shuts the door and Baby and I are alone.

What’s that noise? Baby asks. There’s a strange humming.

I go to the door and try the handle, but it won’t budge. I don’t know, maybe the lights? I didn’t think it would be unlocked but it was worth a try. I trudge back to the table and sit in a chair.

Baby shakes her head. It’s loud and . . . She’s struggling with her chair. I can’t move it in, she says. It’s stuck.

I look at where the chair meets the floor. It is bolted down. So is the table. I sit back and shrug. It’s so we can’t take them, I tell her.

Really?

No, it’s so we don’t throw things around when the people come to question us.

Oh. Baby looks disappointed. When are they coming? she asks, suddenly excited. She realizes that we are going to meet more people.

I don’t know. It’s cold in the room and I can hear the air conditioner running. I look at the ceiling and notice a medium-sized vent big enough to push Baby through if I have to. I hear the door lock release before it swings open. No open signing, I remind Baby. She nods.

“Hello there,” a teenage boy stumbles into the room, holding a stack of papers. He reminds me of the boys I went to school with Before. Not the jocks or the popular kids. The geeky ones, who looked a little socially uncomfortable, but you always knew they were going to go to Harvard and change the world. He looks up and I wonder who decided it was a good idea to throw him in a room with potentially hostile people. He looks only