It takes me a couple of seconds to realize that he doesn't know where to go from here and wants me to lead them. I step forward. “This way.”
When we make it to the center of the town, I realize that many buildings look the same. I'm not one hundred percent sure which of them might be the right one. I try to retrace the steps that KJ and I took and take an educated guess, picking the second building on my left.
Once through the front door and in the hallway, I spot faint footsteps in the dust on the ground. This is the right place. I lead them up the stairs and to the entrance of the apartment.
“It's in there.” I look back at 13, unsure of what his plan is.
“Guns up and enter,” he orders us. His confidence reassures me that he has a plan.
I crack the door open and lead with the gun, as I was trained, even though I know we won't find anything inside. We enter, and 13 signals with his hand for the other two drones to check out the rooms on the right as we check out the ones on the left. The drones proceed with stealth, and we hustle to the other side.
“Give me the vials.” He sticks his hand out.
I pull the socks from my pockets and unwrap them. “What are you planning to do?”
“Just be quiet and follow my lead.” He grabs the vials from me and runs back to the main room. “54, 46!”
They run back to the main room, guns ready to go off at any moment. I pace behind 13 with my own weapon ready in case things go south.
“Swallow these.” He hands a vial to each of them. They grab them and stare at the liquid in the vials. My heart pumps in my throat. I did not expect 13 to be this direct, and I fear for the glass vials. I'd hate to disappoint Paz by breaking either of them.
54 and 46 look at each other. 54 speaks. “What is—”
“We've been exposed to a foreign agent here that will break down our functions. This will stabilize it.” 13 does not sway from his role as a leader. “80 and I have already had ours. Now drink. That's an order!”
Both drones drink the liquid and hand the vials back to 13, who hands them over to me. I wrap them up in my socks again, which draws suspicious looks from 54 and 46.
“What did you give us?” 46 asks.
Before we answer, the drones collapse to the floor, and their bodies convulse with violence, causing them to slam their heads on the floor and walls. Both wail from pain as their bodies shut down. They gasp for air as their breath and movements slow. At last, they stop and lie motionless.
I step over to 46 and bend down next to him. I check his neck for a pulse and feel a faint pump about three times in fifteen seconds. Next, I lick my finger and place it under his nose. The sudden burst of coolness on my skin lets me know he's still breathing.
“Help me move them in here.” I motion for 13 to grab 54’s body as I lift 46 and drag him to the bathroom. Their forms are so stiff that they seem heavier than I’d expect.
We perch them up against the wall and check again to see that they are still breathing. Their bodies are motionless; they almost look dead. I hope that the vials do their trick and that the drones will start to turn when the symptoms wear off.
“So, we leave them here?” 13 steps out of the bathroom.
“Yes.” I close the door and lock it. “We'll come back tomorrow and see what has happened—if the contents of the vials do what we hoped they would do.”
We head back out to the front of the building and stand outside the door. I need to make sure that I can remember which building we left them in, so I look around for a rock or something sharp. Nothing stands out, but I spot the tip of my rifle out of the corner of my eye.
“What are you doing?” He looks at me like I'm crazy.
“I made a lucky guess when I chose this building. I don't want to be in the situation again. It's too risky.” I step to the wall next to the front door. I scrape the same image that I had etched above the door at the stadium with the tip of my rifle. One circular eye and one large chunk for my patch.
“I knew you scraped the eye and patch on the wall near your room. It looked fresher than the other carvings.” 13 smiles with pride at his sleuthing skills.
“Well, now there are two carvings. You can collect them.” I laugh. He joins in, and we walk away. We take a longer route back, trading mirth for most of the journey to the stadium.
The rest of the day, I keep to my room. My mind alternates between anxiety on leading this new crop of drones and visions of KJ and me. She is a distraction worth every lost moment that my mind strays, but if I can't focus on the main reason Farouk brought me here, it will be for nothing. If the scientists succeed in destroying the world, my time with KJ will be short-lived.
After one of the best nights of sleep I have had since I arrived, I wake with a renewed energy and focus. I shower and head to the exterior of the stadium to meet 13. He comes a few moments after me and thrusts a prod into my arms.
We speed to Badwater and run up the stairs to the bathroom door. The carving on the wall makes the building much easier to spot.
“You ready for this?” 13 sounds as anxious as I am to see the results of the liquid in
