The boat was pure luxury, just like the Uphiller had promised it’d be.
The engine’s rumble was low and even. It sounded expensive too, like C-suite Institute money. Anna ran her hand along its shiny wooden paneling. “I wish I was coming,” she said longingly. “You two better not forget about me.”
There were only two seats on the boat. Penny rode passenger side while I worked out the controls from the driver’s seat. Anna stood on the dock, looking small and forlorn.
Penny cleared her throat. “Anna, there’s something I want you to do, if you can. I hate to ask because you’ve already done so much. I’ve been back and forth on this for a long time, but the eruption clarified things. I know this is something I want. It’s important, not just to me, but for everyone.”
“Sure,” Anna said immediately. “What is it?”
Out of her pocket, Penny produced a thumb-sized flash drive. “I’ve been transferring files from the Institute. It’s got information for all the different programs. There are instructions once you plug it in.”
So when Penny said she was going fuck-it mode, this was what she really meant.
“Very illegal,” I said. I was both shocked and impressed by Penny’s boldness.
“I worked on this in the lab when you were getting stuff for Hugo,” Penny said mildly. “Even if the Institute somehow survives, what’s in this flash drive could change things radically. People are going to be able to access the same information that people with power used to hoard for themselves.”
“I’ll do it,” Anna said. Her eyes flashed. “For Helga.”
“Everyone should have these tools. Everyone should know how to make and maintain their own machines … and actually own them too. Things could be so different if the people who maintained the world—that is, if people who did the real work—had access to this technology on top of strong worker protection laws. There could be so many new outcomes, so many new possibilities for the future. Change is inevitable.” Penny’s voice was unwavering. “Improved lighting systems, expanded bus routes—hell, even stuff that doesn’t exist yet—it’s all possible when you know the source code, the schematics, the existing circuitry. Things can be better for everyone on both an individual and system-wide level with open access.”
“Better for everyone except those bastards who’d prefer to hoard everything,” Anna said, her voice shaking with indignation. I’m pretty sure her family would not be in favor of the things we were talking about, but I didn’t mention it. “That’s why we’re even in this position!”
Penny had been thinking about this for a long time. Longer than I’d even been alive.
“What can I say?” Penny smiled wryly. “I like to fix things.”
“I think there are some things that should be destroyed too.” Anna said, looking back at the hill with a scowl. She took the flash drive from Penny and pocketed it. “I’ll follow the instructions you left on here. I promise.”
“Thank you.” Penny exhaled. “Now my next step is to mod this baby into something more befitting two young women on the run.” She patted the side of the boat, looking thoughtful.
“We’ll improvise,” I promised her.
“I’m sure of that.” Penny grinned.
Anna stared at the two of us, suddenly crestfallen. “How am I going to see you again?” She huffed. “This really sucks for me.”
If there was a way, I knew we’d find it. Anna leaned over toward me, knocking Penny back in her seat.
“Watch it,” Penny muttered, but only halfheartedly. Goodbyes weren’t easy for anyone. Even she was a bit teary-eyed, though she pretended not to be.
The ends of Anna’s braided hair tickled my arms. She clutched my shoulders and looked into me like she was committing every part of me to memory. Her mascara was completely wrecked. “I’ll always have a place for you,” she said, “if you ever need one.”
“We’ll be around the archipelago for a couple of days at least. You can always come later,” Penny said in a muffled voice, somewhere underneath Anna’s torso.
Anna’s face was very close to mine. We looked at each other for so long that Penny, who was apparently very fed up with this, said, “Will you two just kiss already?”
Oh.
This was what Anna meant, about non-guys.
So I pulled her in even closer. A thousand different kisses whizzed through my Cog: kisses I’d seen in real life, kisses I’d watched on screen, kisses I’d read about in Penny’s magazines. I wondered what kind would be best, before giving up and going with what felt natural, hoping that it was good enough.
When I pulled away, Anna’s eyes were shimmering. In them were the first stars I’d ever seen.
Penny sighed in relief. “Good job, Helga. I wasn’t sure if you’d ever figure that one out.”
“We’ll find each other again,” I told Anna. “We have to.”
Anna’s death grip on me loosened. “Okay,” she said, with a watery smile. “I guess I can let you go then.”
“Thanks again,” Penny said. “For everything.”
Anna nodded. “You’ve got it.”
She looked like she was ready to spring into the boat with us if we waited around any longer. I shifted the throttle before I could change my mind altogether. Keeping Penny alive on an island was one thing. Keeping both Anna and Penny alive … even with my abilities, I wasn’t sure if I could tackle that one yet.
We sped past the docked boats, away from Amaris City. Anna grew smaller and smaller. We were in the middle of the green ocean now, surrounded by water on all sides.
Penny rummaged in her bag for a CD and slotted it into the player. Punk rock thrummed through the boat. I grinned. “This might actually be fun.”
She lit up a cigarette. Smoke drifted into the sky. “Oh, I plan on having lots of fun,” she replied.
There were so many islands we could head toward. Big ones full of rocky bluffs. Smaller ones on flatter land. There was an abundance of new fish and birds everywhere I looked. Even in the water, I could see the dark shapes swimming around the boat. And the sky was full of ravens.
I knew I could make it, especially with someone beside me. There was someone in this world I loved, who loved me back. Just the way I was.
Penny’s feet were up on the dashboard. She sang along to her CD, headbanging and chain-smoking, which I would really have to talk to her about once we were in a less precarious situation.
“Should we be quieter?” I wondered.
“We should be louder,” she grinned.
I turned the music up. I belted out the words with Penny. Nothing could faze me—not even the second figure now standing on the dock. Even with his limp ankle, Father was still doing his best to catch up to me.
“Shit,” Penny said, looking in the rearview. “That’s no good.”
But I knew Father couldn’t follow us any further. Anna was distracting him. Even with my ears, I couldn’t quite hear what she was saying. But I knew it was something to help me. She was probably threatening to sic her family lawyer on him or something, while he attempted to interrogate her about my whereabouts.
I had to keep going. I had to move on.
Penny threw up both of her middle fingers. “Fuck you,” she sang at him. “Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. And fuck the fucking Institute!”
The water rippled behind me, leaving an even wider berth between us and him.
My makeup was runny as hell. I wiped away bright glitter on my hand. It shimmered on my skin like the fish scales in the water.
“I love you,” I told Penny, hoping that it was enough.
“I love you,” she told me, and that’s how I knew it was.
There was time to turn back toward the place I was born into, but I didn’t want to do that now. Even with Anna trying to execute Penny’s plan, or even with me wanting to figure out my own situation with Anna—I still needed some time to figure myself out first. For now, I would go on. I was meant to go on.
I revved full speed ahead, with Penny at my side, into the wild unknown.
