By late afternoon, I’d come up with the perfect solution to avoid Clyde and Anna.
The light drizzle had matted my green wig, but overall, my look was pretty much perfect. Oversized shirt, torn tights, platinum buckled boots. Big sunglasses obscured my face.
“This is not a disguise,” Penny informed me. “Everyone has been staring at you.”
We were in the Entertainment District, where I was busy checking out prospective romantic interests. The tension I’d felt earlier regarding the ground tremor had mostly dissolved. Music thumped from darkened buildings. Tourists walked in nervous pairs, clutching their purses and bags. All kinds of guys were out in the city tonight: blonds, brunettes, redheads. Guys with dyed blue hair. Uptight guys in beige trench coats. Bad-news guys with piercings.
None of them really impressed me.
“At least Anna and Clyde won’t recognize me,” I said. It was probably true. In any case—I looked great.
I adjusted the choker around my neck, fingers brushing against the base of neck, against the flap of skin covering my Cog. It was vibrating now, or maybe that was just my body. I felt so alive tonight.
We’d taken in a show a few blocks down the road. I laughed and threw popcorn at the stage, jeering and booing as was customary. The performers flipped off the audience and left without a finale. The audience went wild; it was a great event.
Penny and I karaoked our hearts out, thrashing and moshing in a private room as a silver disco light spun above. She’d traded in her white lab coat for a white mesh dress and her usual glasses for contacts. Her bare arms revealed her rotten girl tattoo.
She’d really let loose back there. I guess she had a lot of feelings to vent out, between her job, her rent, and dealing with me. The attendant urged us to never return after hearing our sing-screams reverberate through the walls. Penny and I raced down the steps, giggling as we stepped out into the rain.
Now we were here, taking momentary refuge under the roof of a mini-mart, plotting our next step for the evening.
“You remind me of myself, five years ago. Maybe that’s why I’m doing all … this,” Penny said, gesturing to the broader island before us. “This is probably why I’m here, even though I shouldn’t be. We should both be Uphill. Obviously.”
Hostesses called at us from restaurant storefronts, urging us to try various Downhill dishes. One of them held a sign for New Specialty Fish. The sign showed only the black outline of a fish with extraordinarily long dorsal fins.
“Are those feet at the bottom of the picture?” Penny squinted.
They were. Whatever fish they were serving had something large protruding from its underbelly.
“It just came in off the coast,” the hostess smiled. “It’s very delicious: a new style for us.”
I remembered riding around the bus at night and seeing strange animals off the tip of the island. Penny had already dismissed the restaurant, but my stomach fluttered uneasily as I looked at the mysterious outline. Was it safe to eat?
Was it a sign? And of what?
Amaris was filled with bizarre animals coming in at the borders. The longer I was alive the more aware of them I became. The flora and fauna were always coming up at the edge of civilization. Automatic lawn mowers were needed to keep the blackberries from swallowing up the whole hill. And this fish was only one example of what was to come. I knew the ocean was vast and filled with many life-forms.
On the bus, I’d seen things near the water, glowing in the dark. When I searched through my zoology modules, nothing came up. These were different creatures. New creatures.
Plus, there were the other uninhabited islands that made up the rest of the archipelago, not to mention the Pacific Ocean surrounding us. Who knew what else had formed there?
Dangerous things, maybe.
“There’s not one guy that seems like dating material around here. You haven’t seemed interested in much except for eating,” Penny complained, cutting through my murky thoughts. “We should probably head back—I have to be up early tomorrow at the lab again. I still have data experiments to finish, you know. I have work.”
“But it’s still early,” I protested.
And I haven’t seen anyone who’s my physical type. I haven’t found the perfect exterior yet.
Of course, these were things I couldn’t say aloud to her. Not yet.
“I need to be in bed.” Penny grimaced. “Gotta get up early for work. My landlord’s probably hoping he can kick me out and replace me with someone higher up on the Institute food chain, but he’ll have to personally drag me out kicking and screaming because I am not looking for a new apartment on top of everything else. I’ve gotta put in more hours at the lab.”
“Who is he?” I frowned. “I hate him.”
“Some guy who works at the Institute, of course. The Institute owns the hill—and the higher up you are, the more of it you own,” Penny said, popping open her black umbrella right as the downpour started. “Which is why, as a lowly lab assistant, I have absolutely nothing to my name except some old CDs. I appreciate your hatred, though. It’s very sweet, Helga.”
“I could get you the money,” I told her. “How much of it do you need?”
Penny laughed, edging away from me slightly. “I don’t think so. That doesn’t sound like a good idea.”
“Why not? You need money, and I can get it. Easy.”
“I’m fine,” Penny said, but it sounded more like a question than a statement. “Let’s just go.”
We walked home the long way at my insistence. The night sky was a murky haze of purple. I looked for stars everywhere but didn’t see any of them. The closest things to them were neon signs for restaurants and the bright street lights on every corner.
There were fliers advertising the upcoming show on bulletin boards and tree trunks. Clyde’s annoyingly smug, annoyingly gorgeous face grinned at me from all of them.
Penny fished out a cigarette from her bag, lit it, and exhaled. “That guy is really bad news. I’m worried, Helga. He can’t find out about you.”
I took the butt of her cigarette and ashed it out on his face, burning a hole right through his cheeky grin. “I know.”
“Hey,” Penny protested. “I wasn’t done with that.”
A couple of drunk tourists stumbled into us, drunk off blackberry liquor. The woman squealed when she ran against the side of my torso.
“Ouch,” she shrieked, glaring up at me and rubbing her arm. “Watch it.”
As she staggered away, I pilfered her wallet out of spite. Inside were silver tokens for the bus, a handful of bills, and a few IDs. I threw away her IDs while Penny stared at the pavement, humming loudly to herself, pretending not to see what I’d just done.
I know I was strong enough to break locks and bump tourists out of the way, but sometimes, it didn’t feel like enough to survive in this city. I was tired of being strong by myself, tired of tourists and Uphillers gawking at me, tired of Downhillers like Clyde trying to take things from me while giving absolutely nothing in return.
I was tired of being alone.
Even Penny had been in a serious relationship once. I wanted that … no, I needed that for myself. A partner—someone like me.
“You have to help.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Penny, you will, won’t you?”
Penny looked me square in the eye. “I will. I promise.”
If only I could explain what I really meant by having her help. Maybe now was the time. I steadied myself, taking a deep breath, and was about to tell her my big idea when it hit me—the smell of cloves, the clipping of boots against pavement.
I guess when you’re a Downhill DJ who’s used to scamming girls, you get pretty good at subterfuge. Because even with my killer instincts, I hadn’t seen him coming.
Clyde looked like he hadn’t slept. He usually looked like that, but now, it was rather alarming. The shadows under his eyes had grown shadows of their own. “I’ve been thinking about you,” he told me hoarsely. “For hours and hours I wondered to myself, How could a girl like you appear out of nowhere?”
I guess the green wig wasn’t such a great disguise, after all.
“Shit,” Penny whispered. “I knew we shouldn’t have chanced it going out tonight.”
“You broke into the morgue like it was nothing,” he continued.
“Helga, you did what?” Penny sputtered.
My retort was stuck in my throat. Just what did Clyde know about me?
“I overheard that older lady mentioning a doctor. She was talking about the one at the Institute, right? That new Cog Lab? Anna’s mentioned it before.”
Now Penny was silent too. Mostly silent. “Older lady,” she muttered. “What an ass.”
A purple bus rounded the corner, honking at us. Clyde didn’t seem to notice or care.
His long lashes dripped with beads of rain. “No one’s as strong as you,” he said. “You’re unreal.”
“What are you talking about?” I scoffed. He was bluffing. Had to be.
He didn’t know shit. He couldn’t prove it.
He twisted his silver thumb ring, flashing me what I’m sure he thought was a winning smile. “It doesn’t matter what you say, Helga. I’m going to find out just who you really are.”
“We need to go home,” Penny said in an even, calm voice. “You should get some sleep, Clyde; it looks like you need it. Good night.”
We walked away from him and wound through cobbled streets and side alleys. We passed ritzy bars with neon lights and trash cans overflowing with bands of rats and ravens—even a toddler-sized raccoon. The sounds of drunken karaoke, glasses clinking, and people moshing in abandoned warehouses gave way to the tantalizing sizzle of the Night Market. We pushed our way into the sweaty crowd.
Buildings loomed above us, spilling long and crooked shadows into the road. One of them was all too familiar. My heart jackhammered against my rib cage. Clyde was still following us.
“Keep going,” Penny hissed, under her breath. “Ignore him.”
Someone touched my back. Cold metal rings grazed my skin.
“You can’t get rid of me,” he said. “Not until you answer a few questions.”
“Leave me alone,” I screeched, ducking under a table of fresh blackberries.
Now I was full-on running, with Clyde in eager pursuit.
I zigged; he zagged, unwilling to give up. I ducked behind tourists and shimmied between vendor stalls. He was always just a few seconds behind me.
Somewhere along the way, we’d lost Penny.
“It’s okay,” he panted. “We can make this work, Helga!”
I whirled around to face him, suddenly fed up. “No, we really can’t. I’m done with you.”
The moonlight glittered on his skin, highlighting his sharp cheekbones, the taut musculature of his arms, his long and lanky frame. He wore his all-black Downhiller look like a second skin and the cityscape behind him like a glimmering cloak. He really was so beautiful.
But only on the outside.
“Hel-ga,” he said, drawing out my name. “I know you have something to do with that lab. You’re always hanging around with that old lady who works there. But don’t worry—this can be our secret. I won’t tell anyone as long as you stick with me.”
My back stiffened. “Are you threatening me?”
He shook his head. “Blackmail sounds bad. Am I that horrible? Just tell me the truth, Helga. Where did you really come from?”
I wanted to throw up. This was the guy I’d been upset over?
“You’ve been gross to me and Anna,” I said. My temper was flaring. I couldn’t stop the words from spilling out. “I bet you’ll never form your stupid band either. You’re probably also a terrible DJ!”
“I wanted to do this the nice way. But if you don’t do what I say, I’ll tell everyone that you’re not human,” Clyde said.
He looked so calm. I wanted to punch him in the throat, but I couldn’t cause a scene. Especially not now, with his threat hanging between us.
I turned on my heel, sprinting away. Another bus was coming. The lights flashed in warning.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I darted into the oncoming traffic, praying that my timing was right. It was going to be a close call, but I had to get moving. I had to get away from him before I accidentally revealed too much. Clyde couldn’t know what I really was, and if he respected me at all, he’d end this madness right now. He’d have to see how much he’d freaked me out. I had to count for something in his life, didn’t I?
Didn’t I?
I’d crossed over to the other side of the hill when I heard the long beep, the loud screech, and finally—the sickening, inevitable thud.
My heart stopped.
I turned around slowly.
There was a long dent in the front of the bus. And in front of the bus was Clyde, lying on the ground, completely still.
There was a growing pool of blood around him. His face was quite pale. When he opened his mouth, instead of words, more blood bubbled out. I crouched over him, seeing if there was anything I could do. Anything at all to save him.
He jolted suddenly, and then winced. He looked up at me with an unreadable expression. “Tell me … what you really are …”
Clyde’s voice was nearly inaudible, and his eyes were growing very glassy. His breaths came out ragged and slow—and then they stopped completely.
He was dead.