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  The guard shifted his weight, and Julie slapped him in the face, pushing his forehead right up against the barrel of the pistol.

  “To the emperor’s quarters.”

  “Why?”

  No response.

  Julie hit his jaw with a stiff left cross.

  “I don’t know. Orders from Twenty-six.”

  “Orders from Twenty-six? What?”

  The guard shrugged. “She’s staying with the emperor now. Says she’s carrying the heir. He’s busy securing the palace. She ordered us to bring her Twenty-seven. We just follow orders.”

  Malcolm clocked him on the head with the back of the gun, knocking him out.

  He exchanged a look with Julie that told him she didn’t know what was going on either then turned his attention to Anna, who was pale and shivering.

  “She might be going into shock,” he said over his shoulder to Julie as he approached the girl. “Do we have anything to keep her warm?”

  Julie shook her head. Malcolm wrapped his arms around Anna, whispering to her that everything would be all right, that if she could just hang on, they would all be safe soon. He wished more than anything that it was true. He knew it was not.

  “How about something to eat or drink?” he asked.

  “Nothing.” Julie looked around. “Unless you have something in that bag.”

  His satchel. He’d grabbed it before they’d left his cell. It must have fallen off his shoulder during the fight.

  “Thank God, you saw that,” he said. “It’s got the vials of George’s serum in it.”

  Julie’s face lit up. “That might help her, actually. The red serum is the same as the ones I give the girls in the baths before setting them free. You think you can carry her through the incinerator chute while she’s unconscious?”

  Malcolm shook his head. “I don’t know if I can.”

  “I’ll help you,” Julie replied, already rummaging through the satchel. “She’s only had one dose, and another will help immunize her against the plagues down there, not to mention give her back her strength after she awakens from the injection.”

  “I don’t want another dose,” Anna whispered.

  “What? Why?” Julie sounded incredulous.

  “I made the wrong choice,” the girl said, her voice shaking. “I took your vial, and I had the worst nightmares then when I woke up, reality was even scarier than my dreams. Everything has fallen apart. It’s all my fault.”

  “Oh, honey,” Julie said in a motherly tone that set Malcolm’s heart afire. “Everything was going to fall apart anyway. You had nothing to do with this.” She waved her hand around. “And you don’t have to take another injection, but at this point, it’s the best thing. Either you stay here while Malcolm and I go down to The Levels to find help—all alone and in the dark with a predecessor who obviously wants you dead—or you come with us, blacked out for the worst of the journey, and awakening with superhuman abilities.”

  Anna was silent, and Julie sighed.

  “I know, they both suck. But it’s the best I can do. And we could really use your help. Do you still trust me?”

  Anna hesitated, rolling her eyes back into her head and rubbing her temples. Then she breathed out heavily and nodded. “You’re the best friend I’ve got,” she murmured. “I’ll do it.”

  Chapter Ten

  Julie looked behind her when Malcolm grunted under Anna’s weight. The girl was slight, but unconscious, even a hundred pounds would take a toll atop the shoulders.

  “We’re almost there,” she said, meaning to be reassuring. He flashed her a look that almost stilled her entirely, the hope and trust in those dark eyes reaching right into her soul. She wanted to cry with the meaning of it, with the unfairness of it, too.

  She’d finally found someone to love and cherish, and they were stuck in this nightmare. She didn’t want to trek on. She didn’t want the sirens blaring. She didn’t want to go down into an incinerator. She wanted to be back in Malcolm’s room, visiting as his lady guest.

  In that moment, she wanted to take all her revolutionary planning back. Screw the people down below, the girls and everyone. Her whole life had been lived for other people, and now, happiness had been within her grasp. She’d thrown it all away. For what? A slim chance of a better world for people who weren’t her?

  What about her? What about her own happiness? Malcolm could have upgraded her to girlfriend then wife. They could have been safe, warm and happy within the confines of Terrecina.

  Still, she reasoned as she turned back around and trudged on, she owed it to George to do her best to bring his dream around. He’d saved her, after all. If not for his kindness—and genius—she’d be dead, a victim of the procreation program. This life was better than no life at all. And if they succeeded, if by some miracle, they stopped the abuses above and the starvation and death below, wouldn’t that be worth it? And it wasn’t as if Terrecina would be safe forever. The emperor’s war would ravage the small island. Nothing was safe, really. They were doing the right thing, even if it was hard.

  She shook her head at herself, blanching. All she knew was that she wanted Malcolm’s warm bed and body surrounding her senses. She didn’t want to be here.

  She remembered the warnings George had uttered about love being the enemy of change then felt ashamed. Yet again, he had been right. So much depended on her—on them—and she was willing to throw it all away for a few nights of fuzzy memories. Weak.

  Malcolm was breathing heavily behind her now. She couldn’t hear it over the sirens, but she felt it in her mind’s enhanced eye.

  “Just a few more minutes,” she said, not daring to look at him this time. She needed to refocus, to get a grip on her feelings and put them away. She was a leader now, a leader of a revolution. She’d do well to act like it and lose the lovesick teenager routine. She straightened her shoulders and set her jaw as they came into the kitchen area. Without a word, she led Malcolm around the tables to the back end of the room where a large, black machine sat, empty and ominous.

  There was a hatchway on the top where the cooks threw the bad food and other rubbish to be burned then sent down the chute to The Levels. The first part had ladder-like steps fused into the metal. If any debris got stuck and clogged the piping system, someone needed to be able to get down there to clear it out. Then the trash landed on a conveyor belt where it was mulched and dried. It went down another steep tunnel, this time with no handles, and ended up in the fire room at the very base of the bubble separating Terrecina from the rest of the world. It would be burned to ash. A hatch systematically released twice a day to allow the soot to fall to the ground in a pile.

  But there was an escape route. Once in that room, they could crawl through the emergency piping meant for flooding and, eventually, come out into the Terrecina countryside where a few of the old ships were waiting for them on a landing base at the very outskirts of the island, on what used to be an outpost base when Terrecina had simply been a stopping ground for scientific research.

  With the emergency system in place, the fires wouldn’t start when they were scheduled to. Or so Julie hoped.

  She fumbled with the hatch lock, jerking it open with a clang. The door creaked opened, but thankfully, all sounds were still dulled by the constant blare of the alarms. She motioned for Malcolm to enter the chute first.

  “It’s going to be difficult,” she shouted to him over the sirens. “Hold on, let me tie her to you.” She grabbed some tablecloths from the nearest tables and fashioned a large wrap. Anna lay in the middle, curled up awkwardly against Malcolm’s back and held in place by the fabric. Julie tied the ends across Malcolm’s chest, and the feeling of his muscular frame against her fingers brought back heightened emotions. If they all died here, she didn’t want it to go unsaid.

  She grabbed his hands, and his nearly black eyes peered into hers, in question.

  “If we don’t make it,” she said, pausing so that her voice didn’t crack. “If we don’t make
it, I want you to know I love you.”

  A smile lit up his face for a moment, and he pulled her into him, crushing her against his body. He wrapped his strong arms around her head, making her feel protected and wanted. He kissed her temple.

  “I love you, too,” he said.

  Julie straightened and shrugged out of his embrace. There’d be enough time for mushiness later. Now, they had to get through the pipes. Searching her memory banks for what George had told her all those months ago, she instructed Malcolm on climbing down the chute and hopping to the conveyor belt.

  He led the descent, so Julie could close the hatch behind them. If anyone suspected they’d come this way, she had no doubt the emperor would override the emergency system and turn on the fires. The door slammed with a satisfying clunk that reverberated through the tunnel. Of course…now, they were trapped. The only way out was through the pipelines at the very bottom. This was it. No going back.

  The cold metal cut into her already worn hands, the rough surface snagging her skin and making her palms ache. She counted the panels as they descended, to keep her mind off the pain. One rusted-out, disgusting, molded-over panel, two, three. She noticed some greenery growing toward the top that fizzled out as they made their way farther down. The heat from the flames must sanitize the tube closer to the incinerator chamber. After long minutes of climbing, and just when Julie thought her arms would give out, she heard a thud below her. Her ears were just clearing from the incessant ringing they’d endured at the palace, and the reverberations from Malcolm’s jump hurt her head. It must have jostled Anna, too, for the girl was stirring by the time Julie made the leap herself.

  Julie stumbled on the rubbery surface of the conveyor belt, the fire-proof material giving more under her weight than she’d expected. Malcolm reached out a hand and steadied her, flashing a reassuring smile as he did.

  “Nice job,” he said. “We must be almost there now.”

  “Your optimism never ceases to amaze me,” she said with a reluctant twist of her lips.

  “What is going on?” Anna’s muffled, groggy voice emerged from the tablecloth across Malcolm’s back.

  “We’re busting out, honey,” Malcolm told the girl. “Hang tight.”

  “I don’t feel good,” Anna complained. “And the dreams. It’s dark and cold. They’re chasing me.”

  Julie nodded, understanding exactly what Anna was talking about. The serum took no prisoners with the havoc it wreaked on the mind.

  “Well, Anna, in this particular case, your dreams are actually no worse than reality, so you may as well sleep and get your strength up. We’re going to need you on the ground, and the serum you’ve taken will rejuvenate you, as soon as it’s done wrecking you.”

  “How comforting,” the voice snapped before sighing. “This better be worth it.”

  “I feel the same way,” Julie replied, fear curling around her heart. This was a huge risk. What if it wasn’t worth it? What if they ended up destitute and hungry, rummaging through garbage heaps in alleys for food in The Levels. Like all the others. Just because she’d once been a Special One didn’t mean she could save the world. It was incredibly foolish to try.

  Malcolm’s hand caught her chin and forced her to look up at him, his jaw working under the strain.

  “Don’t think like that,” he said. “You are special, and we can do this.” He shook his head. “We have to do this.”

  His words were comforting, but one thing caught in Julie’s mind. “Hey! You read my thoughts!”

  Malcolm grinned. “I must have solved the equation correctly. I’m also feeling stronger. Do you think you can make it if we start again right now?”

  Julie nodded and allowed him to take her hand as they walked over the bouncy conveyor belt toward the fire pit.

  Energy surged through Malcolm’s veins. He could see even though the area was pitch black. He felt alive; he felt powerful. He felt nearly invincible. And through it all, he felt incredibly frightened.

  The enhanced attributes were just some of the effects of the serum. He’d have to wait and see what else the injection would bring. He knew firsthand that calculus equations, theories and postulations looked great on paper but often came with unforeseen hardships. He and Julie might feel like heroes, but they were truly no more than their own guinea pigs.

  He led the way, a quivering Anna on his back. Her weight no longer hindered him at all—another bonus of the serum. Julie’s hand in his felt warm and right, and his insides clenched when he thought of her confession of love. He knew how he felt about her, but he couldn’t help but wonder if she really loved him or if the stress of the situation had her reaching for emotions she wouldn’t have felt otherwise.

  She’d seemed so intent on not allowing him in emotionally. The turnabout made his head spin, and while he’d dreamed of a happily ever after, he didn’t want to pin his hopes on a phrase uttered in fear.

  Still, it was uttered.

  His thoughts circled around and around those words, and he knew he was avoiding thinking about the next step of the journey. Even if they made it through the fire pit, he didn’t know how to fly a ship. He thought back to the simulated lessons George had given him so long ago. He’d wondered at the time why they were wasting their hours playing video games. Now, he smiled. He should have known that no time with George was wasted. He only hoped he remembered the commands, and that the real thing wasn’t much harder than the game.

  The belt ended at a dark opening, a huge circular tunnel that reminded Malcolm of old London’s Tube structure.

  “What’s the best way down here, Julie?” He walked toward the opening, feeling the smooth surface and hoping the answer wasn’t “jump and hope for the best”.

  Instead of answering, Julie let out a piercing scream that bounced off the metallic walls and echoed throughout the chamber. Malcolm spun around with arms raised, ready to fight off any opponent. But he saw nothing until Julie pointed at the ground behind them. Which was moving. The ground was moving. And hadn’t the belt been blue? The wave of movement hurrying toward them was unmistakably brown, even in the dark. And it was making a wretched high-pitched sound.

  “Rats!” Julie shrieked and stumbled toward him. He caught her weight, the squeaking of the rodents now drowning out the mechanical clunks and clangs of the claustrophobic food tunnel. Without thinking, he thrust her over the edge of the belt and jumped after her. The tube was hard and unforgiving. His bones thudded against the walls as he tumbled head over heels through the darkness. He tried to spare Anna from hitting the edges then suddenly it was no longer an issue. Malcolm let out a yell as he free fell. He spread out his arms, waving them around and trying to catch something, anything. Even with superhuman abilities, hitting the ground at this speed would be lethal.

  Despite his efforts, he felt nothing, and they plummeted for what seemed forever. Finally, Malcolm heard a thud below, and before he could worry about Julie’s welfare, he hit the bottom. Hard.

  While the impact jostled him and knocked the air out of his lungs, he couldn’t help but notice he was still alive. Still breathing. His joints ached, and he would be bruised, but as he tentatively moved his limbs, nothing seemed broken. The material beneath him was soft, flaky. He held some of it between his fingertips and rubbed them together, bringing them to his nose. Ash. They’d landed in a pile of ash.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, the question aimed at both Julie and Anna.

  The women mumbled in response, which told him they were alive and not in excruciating pain. He rolled over, trying to find some stability in the softened soot. He stood, and his feet sank into the mass up to his knees. They’d have to be extremely careful. One wrong move, and the ash could give like quicksand, burying and smothering them within seconds.

  “Julie,” he whispered, scared now to cause an ash avalanche. “Where are you?”

  “Over here!” she called back, her voice to his right.

  “Shh!” he warned. “Don’t stand up. This
stuff could swallow us whole. Let’s catch our breath and concentrate on seeing in this darkness. I could see up there, could you?”

  “Yeah,” Julie said, “but I can’t see anything here.”

  “I think the fall took too much energy. We need to recover. But we need to be very still and quiet so that this pile of crap doesn’t come tumbling down on us, okay?”

  “Okay.” They spent many minutes doing nothing but breathing, small moans and groans coming from Anna in her makeshift sack. The poor girl had fallen back into the nightmarish sleep of the serum. Finally, the area started coming into focus. Malcolm could see his hand in front of him, and he focused on it, willing himself to study its smallest detail. When he could see even the lines on his palms in crisp clarity, he risked another whisper.

  “Okay, I can see well enough now, you?”

  Julie grunted assent. “It looks like this pile goes on forever. How do we know which direction to go? And how do we move without sinking?”

  Malcolm surveyed their surroundings. To his left, the landscape, if one could call it that, seemed to dip down consistently, and they’d come from the right. That meant that the food would come from his right and leaving toward his left. It was worth a shot anyway.

  “Follow me,” he said. “We’ll have to army crawl on our stomachs. Try to hold your breath and not take in the particles. They could make you dizzy, and we can’t afford to pass out.”

  “We’re in the fire pit,” Julie said redundantly, and Malcolm only nodded. “Well,” she said, “at least, there won’t be any rats down here. They’ll all have been burned to a crisp.”

  “And you call me the optimist,” Malcolm laughed. He wanted to touch her, but instead, he turned away and started crawling toward nothing in particular, hoping he was going the right way.

  Julie followed the puffs of dust ahead of her, keeping her path slightly to the side of Malcolm’s so as not to tread the same ground twice and spread out the weight. Ash particles flew into her eyes and clogged her throat making it difficult to see or even breathe. The fact that the ash was so high indicated it was about time for the daily dumping.