I WAS MET WITH LAUGHTER AS I TURNED THE CORNER TO CALLUM’S old house. A group of human kids sat on a front lawn to my left, but when they spotted me they quieted. One of the girls leaned over and whispered something to a boy, and his eyes widened.
I instinctively reached for the weapon on my belt, just in case, but there was nothing there. I’d given all my weapons to Addie days ago.
A grin spread across the boy’s face when I glanced back up at them. “What’s up, One-seventy-eight? They described you as taller!”
I laughed, and when I faced front again Callum was standing on his porch, watching us.
“Hey!” he called, his voice amused. “She can’t control her height!”
I hopped up the steps and pressed my lips to Callum’s, smiling as he pressed a hand into my back.
“They do describe you as taller,” he murmured against my lips.
I pulled away, trying to stand straighter. “Better?”
“No.” He quickly kissed me again and pushed open the front door, holding his arm out for me to go first.
I took in a deep breath as I stepped inside. I hadn’t seen Callum’s family since that day they’d come by the facility. He’d visited them a few times, but I hadn’t gone with him. When he’d invited me to come to dinner, Addie had clapped her hands like this was exciting. It mostly just made me uncomfortable.
The house didn’t have any more furniture than the last time I’d been here, but the smell of meat cooking drifted out from the kitchen. Callum’s dad stood next to a table already set with plates, one hand clasped around his opposite arm.
Mrs. Reyes turned around, spoon in hand. She smiled when she spotted me. It even seemed genuine.
“Hi, Wren.” She put the spoon down and walked across the kitchen, holding her hand out. “Nice to see you again.”
“You too.” Her hand was warm and when she smiled she looked like Callum.
David bounded into the kitchen as Mr. Reyes shook my hand. He lifted his nose in the air.
“What is that?” He peered over his mom’s shoulder. “Where did we get meat?”
“Callum brought deer meat,” Mrs. Reyes said, walking back to the stove.
I turned to him in surprise. “Did you go hunting?”
He snorted. “Yeah, right. Isaac gave it to me since we’d been helping him with construction so much.”
I nodded. Callum and I had both been working on rebuilding Austin, since I’d turned down every request to police the streets or leave the cities to assess the situation in the rest of Texas. There were plenty of Reboots—and even a few humans—more than willing to take on that kind of job. I wasn’t doing it anymore. Nor was I training anyone. I’d enjoyed that once, but I couldn’t stomach the idea of training Reboots for combat any longer. I’d seen enough fighting.
I didn’t even like carrying a gun anymore, which was why I gave them all to Addie a few days ago. The world felt different after I’d chosen not to kill Officer Mayer. After I killed someone I would often feel this far-off sense of guilt, like I knew it was an emotion I was supposed to be having but didn’t actually feel. But when I didn’t kill him, I suddenly felt proud of that decision, like it was totally mine.
And then Callum had looked at me like I was a hero when I told him and I decided I had no more use for a gun.
“Is deer meat good?” David asked, like he doubted it.
“No idea,” Callum said, sitting down at the table and gesturing for me to do the same.
“Yes,” I said as I slid into a chair. “I like it.”
Callum’s mom seemed delighted by this, though I wasn’t sure why.
David plopped down into the seat across from me, his eyes darting between me and Callum.
“Did you decide where you’re living yet?” he asked Callum.
“We’re at the facility for now, until they finish the repairs at Tower Apartments. I rented the small place across from where Wren and Addie will be.”
His dad looked between us with concern. “Are you sure? It’s not really that nice over there.”
“It’s nicer than a HARC facility,” Callum said with a laugh. “Besides, the slums aren’t so bad. Especially now that HARC isn’t around anymore.”
“You could both stay here, you know,” Mr. Reyes said softly to Callum. I knew they’d asked him to move back in and he’d declined. He said it was too weird and almost claustrophobic after spending time out on his own. I could see his point. We had separate apartments for now as we adjusted to life outside of HARC, though we would probably end up spending more time together than apart. Even so, I’d never had a room all to myself, and it was an interesting change.
“I think we’re okay.” Callum smiled at his dad. “But thank you.”
Callum wrapped his arm around my waist and kissed the top of my head as we walked away from his parents’ house later that evening. The sky was dark, the roads mostly deserted.
“I think they might have liked me a little,” I said, glancing up at him.
He laughed. “Yes, they did. Don’t sound all surprised about it.” He swooped down and kissed me, swinging our hands as we walked.
“A new batch of reservation Reboots came in today,” I said, glancing at Callum.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. They seemed pretty skeptical about our setup here, but it’s better than Micah’s was, I guess.” I laughed. “You should have seen Tony’s face when he saw a Reboot baby. I’m not sure he’s recovered yet.”
“Maybe some of them will want to help us out at the capitol. Every government meeting is me and maybe one other Reboot with all these humans.”
“It’s your own fault you get along so well with humans,” I said, grinning at him. He pretended to look annoyed, but I knew he liked being a part of forming a government that included humans and Reboots.
There were a few humans and Reboots out walking around as we neared the schoolhouse, but there were less people in Austin than before, since some had decided to go back to their hometowns. And some humans had gone to New Dallas, which was apparently almost entirely human occupied. Tony said they were keeping an eye on it. I wasn’t surprised. I never expected all the humans to jump at the opportunity to hang out with a bunch of Reboots.
A bonfire was lit in the empty field in front of the HARC facility, like it had been every night since we’d come back from Rosa. The Reboots had been gathering there most nights, and sometimes a few humans came. Tonight Gabe was sitting next to Addie, an arm slung around her shoulders.
She grinned when she spotted us and jumped to her feet, pulling Gabe with her. “How was the dinner?”
“Good. Deer meat.”
“That’s really not what I meant.”
I smiled, rolling my eyes. “It was good. I acted normal.”
Callum made a gesture like “so-so,” and I playfully punched his arm as he laughed.
A flash of movement caught my eye, and I turned to see Hugo striding into the facility with another Reboot, both their faces grim.
“I’ll be back, okay? I’m going to go check on the new Reboot situation.”
Callum nodded, wincing a little as he looked behind me at the facility. A shuttle from New Dallas had dropped a bunch of sick kids at the Austin fence yesterday, and we’d already had three new Reboots.
“Do you want me to come with you?” he asked.
“No, I’m fine.” I knew he was just being nice. He’d been with me yesterday when one of the kids Rebooted, and I could tell it upset him to watch.
“I’ll meet you in our room later?” he asked, slipping his fingers through mine and pulling me closer.
I nodded and rose up on my toes, pressing my lips to his. He looped an arm around my waist, practically lifting me up off the ground, and I laughed as we broke apart.
I stepped back, resisting the urge to kiss him again when he grinned. I could do more of that later.
I turned and headed for the facility, crossing through the dark, deserted lobby and jogging up to the second floor. As I opened the door, a blast of light and noise hit me, and a few Reboots I recognized from Rosa smiled as they walked past and into the stairwell.
Hugo stood with a few guys in the middle of the hallway, and he jerked his head behind him. “There’s two that just died. And one of the girls from New Dallas died while you were gone, but we don’t think she’s going to Reboot. It’s been too long.”
“How long is too long?” I asked.
“About three hours.”
“We should stay until four hours, at least. You never know.” I glanced down the hallway. “Which room?”
“Third door on the left.”
I headed down the hallway and pulled the door open. This floor had once been used for research and experimentation, and the rooms looked similar to where I was tortured in New Dallas, although we’d tried to make it homier. The computer and other equipment had been pushed against the wall, and we’d covered the hard table in the middle of the room with a few blankets. A girl about fifteen or so was motionless on top of them, a young Reboot in the chair next to her.
“You can go,” I said, holding the door open. “I’ve got it.”
“It’s probably too late,” he said, stretching as he got to his feet.
“I know.”
He walked past me and the door shut quietly behind him. I sat down in the chair next to her makeshift bed, glancing quickly at her face. She was pale, her dark hair splayed across the pillow. I’d seen her yesterday when they’d brought her in, but she’d been too sick to talk. None of the others had known her name.
I sighed as I rubbed a hand across my forehead. I wondered if her family had let the human leaders in New Dallas take her, or if the city wasn’t letting anyone with KDH stay. We clearly had a long way to go with them.
The girl’s body jerked suddenly, and I took in a sharp breath and jumped up. I kept my arms at my side, because I didn’t think I would have wanted strange people touching me as soon as I Rebooted. But I would have liked someone there. That I knew for sure.
Her body lurched several more times before she opened her bright green eyes. Her fingers clenched the sheets and she gasped, her head snapping around the room. Her gaze finally settled on me, panic on her face.
I braced myself for screaming, but it didn’t come. Her chest rose and fell quickly, but she just stared at me silently.
I let out a tiny sigh of relief as I smiled at her. “Wren,” I said quietly. The “One” of One-seventy-eight was on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it back. We weren’t keeping track of the numbers anymore.
She ran one hand down her arm, a worried expression on her face. “How . . . how long was I . . . ?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “You’re awake now.”