58
Aura sat with the other Shines surrounded by tall stacks of books, creaky old furniture, and mountains of dust.
Did all resistance leaders start this way? If she’d wanted a nice office, she was probably in the wrong line of work.
She couldn’t complain. Well, she could, but what was the point? They were lucky to find this hideaway near Hacienda Hills. The basement gave them a quiet, relatively secure place to regroup and figure out what to do next.
She knew she needed to get these girls organized, to find some direction. Find out what happened back at TYL. Find out where her mother and all the other underground prisoners went. Find out who killed Perfume. Find out who was pushing Coutant’s buttons. Find out who got all the biological information Dr. Hope excruciatingly collected. But how? They weren’t an organized army. They weren’t so much renegades as refugees. She didn’t have a St. Crispin’s Day speech in her, nor did she think they would listen if she tried. The only reason this group remained together was that no one knew what else to do.
Ohm was a rumor, not a reality. None of them had any reason to believe this Shine paradise existed.
But those nagging nightmares kept coming…
She knew she couldn’t rest so long as her mother and all those girls were prisoners. And the people who tortured them went unpunished.
“I feel like a mole,” Dream groused, hand on her chin. “When did we last see daylight?”
“Cheer up,” Twinge said. “At least we escaped. No one knows where we are.”
“But I miss the sun. This is making me nostalgic for rehab.”
“You’d feel differently if you were there.”
“True. But there was a pool. And a view of the ocean.”
“Here are the facts, Dream. Someone tried to kill us. Every single one of us. They may have missed the target, but they killed some innocent people. Furthermore, we used our Shines. Every single one of us. Meaning we violated federal law. Face it—there’s nothing waiting for us out there except Mordock.”
Aura felt a shudder course through her body. She had managed to get out before Dr. Hope’s experiments progressed too far—barely. “I will not let them experiment on me again. No matter what. Never.”
“Easy to say. But once you’re locked up in Mordock, I doubt if they give you a wide range of choices.”
“Then we have to be damn sure we never end up there.” Dream pushed herself to her feet and left the room. “I’m going to pretend I’m watching tv on the imaginary sun deck.”
Mnemo entered, carrying a book. “All quiet on the Western front, Aura?”
“A little too quiet. By the way, if I haven’t thanked you lately—thanks for coming up with our escape plan. And our hideout.”
Mnemo shrugged. “No prob. People don’t realize Gearhead’s potential. She did a terrific job. In a short period of time. With very little briefing.”
After they used the vanquished soldiers’ boat to return to the mainland, Gearhead jacked a choppercar and got them away from the coast just as emergency services arrived. Gearhead had never hotwired a boat, stolen a car or flown a chopper, but Mnemo had read books on the subjects. “You two make an excellent team.”
Mnemo actually blushed. “Well…I think so.”
She peered at the normally reserved girl’s awkward expression. What was that about? “Hiding out in this library was a great idea, too. Easy to get in. And no one ever seems to come down to the basement.”
“It was boarded up years ago when they went to electronic data storage. Most of the librarians don’t even know it exists.”
“How did you know about it?”
“I used to work here,” Mnemo answered. “Upstairs, I mean.”
“You were a librarian?”
“Library aide. For a while. Used to sneak books down here so I could read without being bothered.”
“Did you quit the library when they sent you to TYL?”
“No. I quit before.”
“Why?”
“I’d read all the books.”
“You mean, all the books that interested you?”
“I mean all the books.”
“In the entire library.”
“Yes.”
“Every single one?”
“Some twice. The ones I liked. Even though rereading is completely unnecessary for me.”
“Because you remember everything you read. The first time.”
Mnemo shrugged.
“I think you should be leading this outfit, Mnemo. You must be off-the-charts smart.”
“True. But you’re our leader.”
“I’m not very good at coming up with plans.”
“That’s what you have me for. And Gearhead can execute and Tank can fight. But you stood up for Shines—and yourself—from the start. Everyone remembers that. Sure, we’re girls, so we’re gonna fight and argue and act rude to one another. But you looked the man in the eye and said, This is wrong. You gave us a cause.” Mnemo smiled. “A resistance movement can’t survive without a cause. But with one—there’s no telling what might happen.”
“You’re making too much out of me, Mnemo. I’m not the strongest or the smartest. I’m not sure some of the girls even like me. And this is never going to work until I can get their…if not affection, at least respect.”
“Give it time. We don’t have to move immediately. I’m still working on my blanket.”
Twinge jumped back into the convo. “Blanket? You taking up crochet?”
“The feds have a lot of ways of finding people that aren’t public knowledge. Because they probably aren’t constitutional—though after the PA2, who knows what the Constitution means anymore? It certainly doesn’t protect us much.”
Twinge blinked. “You lost me at blanket.”
“I’m talking about electronic surveillance. Monitoring the airwaves. Looking for heat signatures. Scanning with satellites.”
She cut in. “I told the girls no texting.”
“They got it. But I want to create a dampening effect. An electronic blanket that will block all kinds of detection or surveillance—without creating a void that would attract attention.”
“Have you ever done anything like this before?”
“No. But I’ve read several books by people who think it’s theoretically possible. I’ll need some specialized equipment. Gearhead thinks she can get it.”
“Procurement seems to be her specialty. One of them.”
“Did I hear my name?” Gearhead entered the dusty room. “In connection with a proposed criminal act?”
“I won’t ask you to do anything that goes against your principles.”
“Well, before you could do that I would have to acquire some principles.”
“Be careful. It’s pretty obvious there are people who want to kill us.”
“You think it’s the SSS?”
“That’s a distinct possibility.”
“I’ll keep my eyes open for freaks in white.”
“Just be careful.” She walked through a door to the other part of the basement. Which they called the “living room.”
Tank was in the corner bodybuilding—lifting enormous stacks of hardcover books into the air. Dream sat on a dilapidated sofa staring at a blank wall. Was she imaging a television? And where was Harriet?
She plopped down in an empty spot on the edge of the sofa. “What’s on?’
“My favorite websoap,” Dream replied. “But I’m not watching it. Because I’m here.”
Guilt trip received, thank you. “Did they let you watch it in rehab?”
“No. But Harriet kept me up to date.”
“She can do that?”
“Without even trying hard. Intercepts the whole show and summarizes the plot. Which doesn’t take all that long.”
“That’s amazing.”
“It could be more amazing. I wish we could hook that girl up to the cloud.”
Yes, that would be the highest and best use of her powers. Streaming third-rate entertainment. “Dream—can we talk for a minute?”
“If we must.”
“Back when we were fighting the soldier dudes…you read that guy’s dream and gave us useful intel.”
“Useful for about a second.”
“I can see the potential for your Shine being even more helpful in the future. But I thought you only read dreams. Like, when people are asleep.”
“Dreams leave residue. Often in fragmented form. But they lodge in short-term memory. Even when people think they don’t remember their dreams, a part of their brain does.”
“And you can read that?”
“Till it fades.”
“Even when people are awake and walking around?”
“Yes.”
“So basically—you read their minds.”
“I wish. That would be useful. There’s only so much you can get out of a dream. Read Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams?”
“No. Mnemo probably has.”
“Freud has fallen out of favor with many therapists. But when it comes down to the central concept of that book—that dreams have meanings that can provide insight into the dreamer—he was dead-on. But I don’t always know how to interpret the dreams.”
“Any chance I could persuade you to do more reading on the subject?”
“Know where I could find any books?” Dream grinned. “That was a joke.”
“After library hours, I’ll send Mnemo up to find some appropriate reading material.”
Dream pushed herself up off the sofa. “Not as much fun as staring at the wall. But I’ll have to make do.”
Twinge plopped down in the vacated seat. “Got anything for me? I’m getting antsy.”
“Haven’t thought of anything yet. But give me a minute.”
“Hard to come up with any use for this revolting power of mine, I know.”
“Hey, your revolting power saved our butts out there. Tank would’ve gotten drilled if it hadn’t been for you.”
“She’d probably have survived.”
“Maybe, maybe not. She’s tough, but—”
“She’s useful. That’s what she is. So are you. So is Mnemo and Dream and for Gandhi’s sake, even Harriet. Everyone’s useful but me.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is.” Twinge pressed a hand against her forehead. “I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to inflict a pity party on you.”
“I don’t mind.”
“I’m sure you have more important things to do. I’ll just go…help someone digest their food or something.”
Twinge started to leave, but she pulled the girl back. “Can I ask you something?”
Twinge shrugged.
“You know, when I first moved into 4A, I was sure you didn’t like me.”
“When you first moved in, you were probably right.”
“Can I ask why? I’m not fishing for compliments or trying to put you on the spot. I just—everyone keeps acting like I’m the leader. But not long ago I didn’t even think anyone liked me.”
“Not inconsistent. People rarely like their commanding officer. That’s why they command respect.”
“I’d rather be liked.”
“Sweetie, we don’t need another princess. We’ve already got one.”
“But still. Why didn’t you like me?”
“I notice you’re using the past tense. Are you sure I like you now?”
“No.”
Twinge swatted her on the shoulder. “You crazy sister. How could I not love you? You’re the wacko who got us into this insane clownfest.”
“But before. Why didn’t you like me?”
“You might as well ask why I didn’t like anyone.”
“Okay, why?”
Twinge stared at her for a long time. “Because first, I’d have to like myself.”