Still airborne, Aspen had been flying for about an hour and a half and guessed she was at least two-thirds of the way there. She was passing over Rutland when she felt a presence above her. She turned her head slightly to see what it was and realized, too late, that a hawk was diving straight toward her. The hawk was swooping in for breakfast and she, in her little bird body, was on the menu. Judging from the speed of its approach, she couldn’t outfly the hawk—it was much larger and faster than she was. She didn’t have time to take cover anywhere as it was now just feet from her, talons extended. Her only defense was to shift in midflight.
She assumed a hawk’s body and watched as her likeness slowed its descent, retracted its talons, and regarded her quizzically. It flew alongside her for long seconds before veering off in another direction, seemingly convinced that breakfast would have to be found elsewhere.
She shifted back into a bay-breasted warbler as soon as the coast was clear, hoping she was high enough off the ground for the sudden change to go unnoticed by anyone below. It was important that she maintain the body of this smaller bird. A larger bird, like a hawk, was sure to grab the SEA’s attention.
Flying was a lot easier than she’d ever imagined. She was actually starting to enjoy herself a little. At a steady altitude of five hundred feet, her view was spectacular.
She had never spent much time in Vermont. The landscape was truly breathtaking. Pristine white snow blanketed the ground and clung to the bare branches of maple, oak, and birch trees. Towering pine trees with snow-covered needles jutted up into the skyline like proud older siblings.
From her vantage point, Vermont resembled a wintry wonderland. The feeling of freedom was intoxicating. All things felt possible. Everything was within her grasp. This war that the president insisted on waging seemed finite and incomprehensibly foolish from up here. Flying, she decided, put all things in perspective. Every Shroud should be able to fly. She felt a sudden longing to share this incredible experience with Tora.
She flew on for another fifteen minutes and arrived at what she assumed was her destination. A twenty-foot-high electrified fence, topped with barbed wire, encircled the entire property. She’d sensed the electrical current in the air from over a mile away. It vibrated through her body like loud music.
Increasing her altitude slightly, she flew along the property’s perimeter to familiarize herself with the layout. The building in the center of the property was massive. At twelve stories high, it was wider than it was tall. The corners of the building were rounded, giving it an odd oval-shaped appearance. Every surface of the building, including the roof, was covered in mirrored glass. SEA personnel almost certainly had a crystal-clear view from inside the building, but all Aspen could see from the outside was her own reflection.
After several sweeps from above, she realized there was no place to safely land on the building without being noticed. Maybe her best bet was to land on the ground outside the building, search for an entry point, and go from there. She started her descent and caught sight of three black Suburbans with tinted windows. They were all flying the American flag.
The vehicles slowed to a stop in front of the gate. Two armed guards flanked the first Suburban in line, unlocked the gate, and swung it open to allow the vehicles entrance. Instinct told her this was her chance. The plan was risky and full of holes, but she couldn’t waste time perfecting it. She realized this is where she and Tora were different. Tora would be reining her in right now, cautioning her against doing anything rash.
Without giving it further thought, she folded her wings and dove toward the ground. The sudden acceleration gave her an adrenaline rush. She extended her wings at the last second to land softly on the ground behind the last Suburban in line.
That was fun. Now what? She couldn’t simply hop onto the roof and hitch a ride inside. The guards would definitely take notice of an avian passenger, no matter how small. She needed to hide under the car, which meant she had to climb into the car’s undercarriage somehow. Time to come up with another animal fast.
The guards were approaching the last car now. She watched their boots make tracks in the snow and heard men’s voices asking for identification. Still in bird form, she hopped under the car and out of view. She looked around, thinking.
If she shifted into a mouse, she’d be too short to reach the car. Squirrels were good climbers. She’d certainly seen enough squirrels in her life to be able to shift into one. She extended her wings and hopped along the ground until she felt her body grow heavier and longer as fur replaced feathers. She glanced down to take stock of herself, relieved to see the fluffy squirrel tail exactly where it was supposed to be. She reached up and pulled herself into a crevice, hugging the car’s metal undercarriage as it pulled away.
* * *
Skye absorbed every bit of information Tora threw at her. The girl’s intellect far surpassed that of most kids her age. She suspected Skye would be stiff competition in a battle of memory.
Tora closed her laptop. “Show me how to override the torches in tunnel eight, section K.”
Skye swiped at her watch face until she came to the appropriate screen. A few taps later, she was exactly where she needed to be to control the lights in that part of the sanctuary.
Tora nodded. “What about the door in tunnel fifteen, between chambers two and three?”
Skye didn’t even look up from her watch as she swiped and tapped faster than Tora ever had.
“And if you wanted to increase the temperature in here by a few degrees?”
“I already did that a while ago. I was cold. Hope that’s okay.”
Tora smiled, leaning over to give her a sideways hug. They’d already reviewed battle scenarios and safety precautions. Skye had kept up with no problem. She reached into her pocket and withdrew the same type of earbud she had given to Aspen. “From now on, I want you to wear this at all times. I’m giving one to everyone here. This will allow us to stay in contact 24/7, no matter where we are in the sanctuary. Aspen has one. I’m wearing one, too. See?” She moved her hair aside to reveal the earbud.
“It’s so tiny. I can barely see it,” Skye said, pushing her own earbud in place.
“Just tap once to turn it on, twice to turn it off. Like this.” Tora demonstrated, and Skye imitated the gesture.
“Will I be able to hear Aspen when she gets back?”
“You’ll know she’s back the same moment I do.”
“Cool.” Skye removed her earbud and studied it. She frowned, looking back and forth between her watch and the earbud.
“Is something wrong?”
“We’re the only ones here, right? Just Alpha Genesis and the newborns?”
Tora nodded. “Everyone else was evacuated.” She saw Skye’s wheels turning. “Why? What are you thinking?”
“With the SEA on the way, wouldn’t it be better if each of us could open the doors ourselves? That way, none of us would get stuck. Everyone would be able to move around the sanctuary freely and not have to depend on you, me, or Michael.”
Tora nodded. “That would be preferable, but there aren’t any keypads near the doors. My father and I didn’t want to run the risk of someone hacking their way in.”
“You installed a voice recognition system in each chamber, right?”
Tora nodded again, remembering the voice messages she and Aspen had left for Skye her first day here.
“Do you have more of these earbuds?”
“A lot more. Why?”
“If you let me borrow your laptop, I can program the system to recognize the voice of everyone in Alpha Genesis, so every door in the sanctuary will open when we tell it to. All I would need is a voice sample. I saved the recording that Aspen made for me the other day, so I can program the system to recognize her, too. I think it’s safer that way. If something happened and you couldn’t get back to entry point twelve, she’d be stuck outside. This way, she can open the door and let herself in.”
Dumbfounded, Tora stared at Skye.
“Sorry.” Skye shook her head and cast her eyes to the floor. “It’s a stupid idea, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s a brilliant idea. You may have just given us the edge we’ve been looking for. What do you need from me?”
“Your laptop.”
Tora handed it over without hesitation.
“What’s your passcode?”
“Ice queen.”
“Before today, that’s pretty much how I thought of you.” Skye met her gaze and smiled. “But I like you much better this way.”
“Me, too,” Tora admitted with a wink.
“You’ll have to hide the earbuds on both sides of every door in the sanctuary,” Skye went on. “I’ll write the code from here while you’re doing that.” Her fingers were already flying across the keyboard. “There are a lot of doors in this place.” She glanced up. “Maybe you should ask Oscar and the pack to help you.”
Convinced she was talking to a mini-Aspen, Tora decided to do just that. She kissed Skye on the forehead and hurried out of the bedroom to find Oscar and his pack. She didn’t know how much time they had until SEA soldiers arrived, but something told her there wasn’t a second to spare.
* * *
Aspen hung on for dear life as the car pulled into an underground garage and the doors sealed shut behind them. Two men climbed out from the SUV and opened the rear door. A third pair of shoes—much shinier than the other two—joined them. She looked on in disbelief as the tip of a black cane made contact with the ground, just inches from her hidey-hole under the car.
This had to be the man she had come for. Gaylord Cobbledick.
Hank was right. She should search for his parents and give them a good talking-to.
Men from the other two Suburbans walked over and waited near the man with the cane. Six bodyguards? Talk about overkill. He was obviously important to the SEA and, quite possibly, a target for assassination. But since Shrouds were too busy hiding and trying to stay alive, she couldn’t help but wonder from where the threat was coming. What Shroud in their right mind would attempt to assassinate a high-ranking SEA official? Other than her, of course. Except she wasn’t there to assassinate him. She was there to gather intel, return with reinforcements, and abduct the sonofabitch. Her plan did sound pretty insane, now that she thought about it. Even so, she was committed to seeing this through and giving Alpha Genesis the bargaining chip they needed.
With six bodyguards surrounding him, how the hell was she going to follow her quarry without being seen? If she let him go into the building without her, chances were she’d never be able to find him again in the time allotted. Think, Aspen. Think.
Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak sprang to mind. Something like that sure would come in handy right about now. Shaking her head to stay focused, she tried to plan her next move.
“Prestwick, will you fetch me my trench coat, please? It’s just right there on the back seat.”
Aspen listened as the rear door opened. Prestwick’s shoes disappeared as he climbed inside. He was back in a flash, trench coat in hand.
“Here you go, sir.”
“Thank you.” The trench coat fell to the ground. As the old man knelt to pick it up, the strangest thing happened. He waved a hand under the car and held the pocket open for her to climb inside.
Telling herself she was crazy for following the old man’s lead, she released her grip from the car’s undercarriage, shifted into a mouse, and scurried into the pocket in the amount of time it took him to sneeze. He was clearly stalling to give her enough time. But why? Once inside, she felt the coat being lifted as the old man stood.
She was jostled around in the pocket as she imagined he was sliding each of his arms into the coat. “There, that’s better. Let me see if I have some tissues.” He reached into the pocket and gently touched Aspen with the tip of one finger. “I’m afraid I must have left them at home.”
“I’ll get some inside for you, sir. If you’ll follow me.”
Aspen remained as quiet as a mouse. Careful not to snicker at her own joke, she held on for the ride as they stepped inside an elevator. Instead of going up as she’d anticipated, the elevator began a slow descent.
Her mind raced with plausible explanations for this new development, but there was only one that made sense. The six men surrounding Gaylord weren’t bodyguards as Tora had thought. They were there to keep the old man from escaping. He had to be a Shroud. How else would he have known she was hiding under the car?
But why would the SEA keep one Shroud alive while murdering countless others? Unless they believed he was more valuable than a Shroud. The only thing more valuable than a Shroud was a Myriad. In the government’s view, their success in exterminating Shrouds from the population was all but guaranteed if they had a Myriad under their control.
Had she just played into their hands by willingly offering herself up to the enemy? Her heart hammered inside her small body. She thought of the newborns, Oscar, Tora, Skye, and the rest of Alpha Genesis. Everyone was counting on her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to prepare herself for what lay ahead.
* * *
“That’s the last one,” Tora said to Skye. Armed with tubes of rock adhesive, she, Oscar, and the rest of the pack had split up to install earbuds at every single door inside the sanctuary. The earbud’s gray color was perfectly camouflaged against the jagged surface of the tunnel wall. After she gathered her materials and turned back to inspect her handiwork, even she couldn’t spot it.
“Copy that,” Skye said, true to her role as mini-Aspen. “If all of you could stay where you are for just a minute…” Tora heard fingers typing furiously on a keyboard. “There. That should do it. Go ahead and test it out. Oscar, you first.”
“What command should I use?”
“Open sesame,” came Skye’s reply.
Tora, Oscar, and his pack had a good laugh. Tora knew if Aspen had been there, she’d be proud of her newfound protégé.
Satisfied the new voice command system was up and running, they agreed to meet back in chamber one.