“Who found them? Where were they? Tell me everything.”
“Noël found them, technically, but Sawyer and Bram were right there with her,” Leo says. “Noël said she was supposed to go for a run with Kerr, but Kerr never showed. When she went to find her at Jaako’s place, no one answered. She’d been staying there since her parents... well. You know.” He clears the tightness from his throat. “So, yeah, Noël decided to try Kerr’s place instead—but on her way, she saw Jaako and Kerr huddled together in one of the mezzanine alcoves. At first she thought they were just, uh... making out.”
Leo’s face takes on a deep red flush, and so does mine; is hethinking about Heath and me? Because I amdefinitelythinking about Heath and me.
“They were too still, though,” Leo continues. “Bram and Sawyer were nearby, saw Noël freak out when she discovered them unconscious, blood all over them.”
“This is—I just—no,” I say. “Was anyone else around?”
“I mean, yeah. It’s the mezzanine, you know? And it’s not like I was right there when they found them—Bram had to come looking for me. A crowd had gathered by the time I got there.”
“A crowd? Acrowd? How big of a crowd are we talking about?” It doesn’t make a difference, I realize, even as I say the words. If Noël had been the only one to see them, word still would have spread. Ifno onehad seen them, word would have spread. Unlike Mila, the absence of Jaako and Kerr—the golden couple—would not have gone unnoticed.
Heath comes to stand beside me, brimming with pent-up energy that could explode any second now. “Okay,” he says. “Okay. What are we going to do?”
We need to figure out how to handle this; he’s right. But I’m stuck on a thought: Mila was not in the same circles as Jaako and Kerr, not even close. Their circles were polar opposites.
So how is it that these three people—these three, who were never in contact with one another, especially since Kerr started spending so many nights at Jaako’s place—are the only ones who’ve died from the mutation?Lie low, linger, explode: there must be more at play here than with the original strain. Perhapssomething in each person’s DNA determines how quickly they succumb to it? Or maybe they were the first in contact with the original strain, and it has only just now turned into something deadly?
Whatever the reason, I have my work cut out for me.
My buzz screen vibrates—Haven.
“What’s going on, Lindley?” she says as soon as I connect. “Why am I hearing abouttwo new deathsfrom twelve-year-old drama queen Josie Hewitt? You have to know about this by now, right? We need to hold an assembly immediately so we don’t lose everyone’s trust—I mean, if we haven’t already—we need—”
“Haven. Stop.” I close my eyes, move into the kitchen, where I can talk without Leo and Heath watching me. “There’s no way we can assemble right now—that would be a complete disaster. Can you imagine how many questions? How volatile? I’m not giving any answers until after I have some time in the lab, and that’s the end of it.”
“I told you we should have told them the truth right from the start,” she says. “You’re right, thisisa complete disaster. And the longer you wait to address it, the less they’ll trust you. Sorry, but it’s true.”
It is true, and I know it. But I don’t see any way around it. It isn’t like half answers and reassuring lies will win any trust, either. “I’ll talk to them. Iwill,” I say. “Just not today.”
She sighs loudly on the other end of the call. For my benefitmore than hers, I’m sure. “What do you want me to say, then? I assume you just want me to do some faceless announcement and tell them everything is fine, not to worry?”
Faceless announcement, yes. They’d never believeeverything is fine, though, not after this. They wouldn’t believenot to worry.
“Tell them we’ve decided against holding an assembly because we’re spending time in the lab, and we’re focusing our efforts on how to stop the virus before it takes any more lives.” True enough. “Tell them it might not be hopeless, since it appears to be a different strain from what wiped out... everyone else.” Borderline lie, theit might not be hopelesspart, but also true enough. “And tell them to report to Medical immediately if they notice any signs of the contagion taking over—coughing fits, bloodbubbles, anything out of character or unusual.”
For once, Haven is quiet on the other end. “Quarantine?” she finally asks. “Curfew?”
“Pointless,” I say. It isn’t like Mila spent a lot of time around Jaako or Kerr, but they are our only three dead. Several of us were right there after Mila died, but we’re still alive—proximity to the bloodbubbles themselves doesn’t seem to make much of a difference. “Pretty sure we’ve all already been exposed, and that it’s just a matter of time.”
“I think I’ll leave that last part out,” she says drily.
“Probably for the best.” The idea that we’ve all already been exposed is unnerving, when I really stop to dwell on it: Is itinsidemeright now? It would have to be, right? How much longer do I have? How much longer do I have to try to save all of us?
How much longer will it even matter?
27
DROWNING IN AN HOURGLASS OF SAND
THREE TONES CHIME through the speakers as I join Leo and Heath back in the main room of my suite. Haven’s voice fills the space, an undercurrent of energy despite the heavy news she delivers:
“Attention, everyone, attention, please!” She pauses for a split second. “It is with great sadness that I bring you news of more death onLusca’s decks, this time from our own generation. We your leaders wanted to address these tragedies immediately and reassure you that we are doing all we can to contain the virus before it spirals out of control. Only three lives have been lost at this point—Mila Harper, Kerr Barstow, and Jaako Solano—and we hope to lose not a single person more. We have reason to believe this mutation may not be as destructive as the one that wiped out the first generation, and are already doing lab work in search of a solution.”
Leo raises his eyebrows at me, as I am clearlynotalready in the lab running tests. Close enough, though.
“We your leaders ask that you please go on with your daily lives as normally as you can manage,” Haven continues. “There is no quarantine or curfew in place, which should be reassuring—we don’t think there is a need for such restrictions at this time.”
