The sound of the clanking gate drew Aubrey’s gaze back to Kara, who now stood, small and fragile, in the chain-link room.
“Kara Meyers,” the voice announced. “Negative.”
There was a sigh of relief in the warehouse. Kara’s friend let out a cheer of support, and a small applause erupted as the door on the left swung open and Kara stepped out to the waiting soldiers. They smiled at her, and one put his hand on her shoulder as he led her to the waiting armored vehicle.
The speaker squawked again. “Aubrey Parsons.”
Panic swept through her body, and she turned to Jack, throwing her arms around him.
“It’s okay,” he said, his voice weak. “You’ll be okay.” He hugged her tightly, one arm around her waist and the other cradling her neck. “Whatever happens, you’ll be okay. I’ll make sure.”
“How?” she whispered, tears flowing freely down her face.
“I don’t know. But I’ll get you out.”
“Aubrey Parsons. Please proceed to the exit gate.”
She pulled back from him, her hands still gripping his shoulders. “Promise me. If I go Positive that you won’t try anything stupid. Don’t get killed.”
“I’ll get you out,” he said, his eyes hard and dark.
“Promise me,” she demanded. “Now.”
“I won’t do anything stupid.”
He pulled her closer. She couldn’t be a Positive.
“Aubrey Parsons, proceed now to the exit gate or you will be extracted.”
Jack ended the embrace and took a step back.
“Go,” he said urgently, taking her elbow and pointing her to the walkway. “I’ll meet you down there.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
She squeezed his hand briefly and then stepped out onto the dirt path.
The gate that had seemed so far away suddenly felt too close, and the high chain-link walls made her claustrophobic, even though she could see through them.
The soldiers at the side were watching her approach. They looked nervous, as though she might attack at any moment. Had that happened before? Like Nate?
She wondered what she’d do, if she could actually do something powerful. If she had powers like Sibley had talked about, if she could fight. Would she break out? Would she attack the soldiers to rescue Jack?
Would Jack attack the soldiers to rescue her?
He’d never forgotten her, even when she’d betrayed him and left him alone. It seemed so obvious to her now, and she wondered what had made her forget about him all of this time. She wanted to make it right. If that was even possible.
And then she was at the gate, too soon.
There was a loud buzz, and the gate unlatched. She grabbed the heavy metal handle and pulled it open, and went inside. Up close, she could see that the room wasn’t chain-link like everything else was—the walls and roof were made up of tightly spaced steel rods. It wasn’t a room; it was a reinforced cage.
She turned to look back at the warehouse, but had a hard time picking Jack out of the crowd. Her eyes just weren’t good enough anymore. She wished she could see his face.
The door fell closed and locked.
Aubrey held her breath. When they declared her a Positive, she would also be a criminal. They’d know she tried to hide it and falsified records. Would they care? Would she go to jail? Would it be a war crime?
“Aubrey Parsons,” the voice said. “Negative.”
An uncontrollable smile broke across her face, and she waved back at the group as they cheered.
The door on the left clicked open. She rushed out to the soldiers, feeling elated and free. The towers weren’t watching her now, and the fences weren’t trying to hold her in.
A soldier approached her, smiling. “Sorry to make you go through that. Hop in the vehicle and we’ll get you out of here.”
Grinning, Aubrey jogged to the large armored truck and climbed into the backseat next to Kara. She’d done it.
“Jack Cooper.”
She left the door open to watch Jack as he came down the path. He walked faster than the others had, almost running by the time he got to the gate. Aubrey shouted to him and cheered as the door opened and he stepped into the cage. They’d be back home soon, and things would be different.
“Jack Cooper,” the voice said. “Positive.”
“What?” The smile faded from her face.
Jack stood in the center of the cage, not moving. Kara took Aubrey’s hand, but Aubrey shook her away.
“No,” Jack shouted. “I’m not sick. I’m not Positive.”
“Jack Cooper,” the voice said calmly, “please proceed to your right.”
Aubrey leapt from the truck, running to the cage. She could hear a flurry of voices behind her, and the tinny squawk of the loudspeaker, but she ignored it. Jack met her at the wall of steel, yanking and tugging on the gate.
“Jack,” she shrieked, reaching through the bars to touch him. She could only get her hand in up to her wrist.
The loudspeaker blared. “Step back!”
Jack grabbed her hand, a look of panic in his eyes.
“I’ll disappear right now, right here,” she whispered fiercely. “They’ll have to take me with you.”
“Don’t you dare.” He let go of her hand and tried to push her away. “You’re free. I’ll get out.”
“But I can do it right now, and then I can go with you,” Aubrey insisted, forcing her hands between the bars and grabbing his shirt.
“No! If you’re free you can get me out. Who knows what will happen if we’re both Positives?” He took her hand in his own.
“I want to come with you!”
“No. You get me out.”
“I will,” she promised,
“Step back!” the voice repeated. “We will use force.”
“Go,” he said, pushing her hand through the fence. “Don’t get killed like this.”
Pain burst through Aubrey’s head and rippled down her body. It was as though she were being beaten with a baseball bat, but couldn’t tell where she was getting hit. She saw Jack stumble and collapse. Her legs felt like overcooked noodles, and she could barely muster the strength to bring her weak arms to her ears. Noise was coming from somewhere—piercing, thundering noise that seemed to sap all of her energy and cripple her brain.
And then, as suddenly as the noise came, it disappeared, leaving her crumpled in a heap, unable to move.
She felt a hand on her shoulder, and saw that she was being dragged away from the cage.
The world was silent. Whatever had happened had completely deafened her.
“Jack,” she shouted, though she couldn’t hear her own voice. “I’ll get you out.”
NINETEEN
ALEC SAT UP GINGERLY AND swung his legs over the side of the bed. He took a breath and wheezed at the pain. He tried to focus his bleary eyes. A bare, hardwood floor. A worn La-Z-Boy draped with an afghan. A stack of quilts. A plate of food—a sandwich and potato chips—that he hadn’t touched.
“I’m sorry ma’am,” a young man’s voice said in the other room. “Nobody hates this more than me. They took my own nephew, little Levi. Yeah, you know him.”
Alec couldn’t hear the old woman’s voice, but he could hear the old man snoring loudly in a neighboring
