20

Selah quickly navigated at least twenty feet through the rushing, pushing crowd, feeling Bodhi’s hand on her back. He pushed her faster past several questionable stalls where people reached out with their product. She didn’t recognize what they offered. How did Bodhi know?

“I wonder if some of this stuff is legal. What was that he just offered me?” Selah frowned. That was the second time Bodhi didn’t answer her question. When they first came in he said the music was too loud, but it didn’t seem loud to her. Would it be fair to ask if he heard her?

Selah turned. Panic hit her. She stumbled and tried to turn back, but to where? Selah fought off a girl trying to turn her back in the direction they were traveling.

The girl continued to push her forward with a singular focus. “Keep moving or they’ll catch up. You’re not safe out here.”

“Who are you? Where is Bodhi?” Selah tried to look back. Why didn’t Bodhi yell? Confusion, loud music, and the bad smell assaulted her senses.

“No time. Keep moving.”

Her eyes darted around the crowd and back to the girl. “Wait. I know you. Burgundy . . . no, brown . . . no, beige. That’s it! Your name is Beige. You met my Amaryllis.”

The girl looked at her oddly and screwed up her lip. “Yes, my name is Baje. I know you must be Selah, but I don’t know nobody named Amaryllis. We need to keep moving if you want to stay free.” With both hands she gripped the material of the tactical suit at the small of Selah’s back.

“Her nickname is Rylla. Stop, I have to go back for Bodhi.” Selah tried to dodge the girl, who artfully recovered her subject with several sweeping hand moves.

“My brother will bring him, but you can’t go back there. They will kill you.” Baje grabbed Selah’s hand and pulled her between two colorful rug dealers and down a narrow brick alleyway. They traveled down wide stairs and turned left, then right. Selah ran a hand over the rough wall to maintain her balance at the dizzying pace. The structures reminded her of the adobe buildings in the back of the Mountain where Mojica had led them out—sunbaked mud and straw bricks.

“I have to go back,” Selah said. A door to the right of her opened and the girl pushed Selah in, closing it behind them.

Selah blinked several times to adjust her eyes to the dimmer light. A little boy with curly blond hair who had opened the door ran away with a pronounced limp. It looked as though his lower leg was trying to separate at the knee.

“Sit down and I’ll get you something to drink while we wait for them to bring your friend.” Baje gestured to an area of large bright-colored pillows piled on intricately patterned thin rugs in the corner.

Baje walked the length of the long narrow room and disappeared to wherever the boy went—perhaps a kitchen. That was the first time Selah noticed the young girl also had a decided limp.

She watched the girl walk back. Baje’s right leg was deformed at the knee. She handed Selah a cup sweating from a cold liquid. She smelled then tasted the liquid. The water, probably spring fed like at home, was wonderfully refreshing. The dome had sucked her moisture away and she hadn’t realized how thirsty she’d become.

“May I have more?” Selah held out the cup.

The young girl bowed her head. Her long black hair collected around her shoulders as she took the cup from Selah and hurried off for a refill. Her walk made Selah curious. She didn’t mean to stare, but she had never seen anyone with a deformed body part.

“What happened to your leg and that other boy’s leg?” Selah drank from the second cup. Two people with the same defect raised a multitude of questions.

“I was born this way, like all the kids here.” Baje sat beside Selah, fingering the material of Selah’s tactical suit. The girl’s clothes appeared to be a coarse, thin fabric printed in earth tones.

“What did your mother say happened?” Selah drank the rest and handed back the cup.

“I don’t have a mother. We’re the Outcast,” Baje said. She sounded bitter.

“Who cares for you?” Selah glanced around the clean and orderly room.

“Nobody cares about orphans. We watch out for each other. I have my brother Tuere, and he takes care of our little brothers. They’re helping him steal Bodhi from the Hunters,” Baje said.

“Tour? Is that the boy who killed the boar in the meadow this morning?” Selah said. The boy she remembered didn’t appear related to this girl.

“Yes, Tuere is the best hunter among us. We have enough meat saved for everyone all the way into spring,” Baje said. “Too bad he won’t be here for the next generation. Good hunters are hard to find. Our group is the best fed in a long time.”

“Next generation? Is this an orphanage?” Selah was enchanted by this girl. Her demeanor was gentle and tough at the same time, much like Rylla’s.

Baje made a face. “I don’t know what an orphanage is, but this settlement is the place of Outcasts. There’s a lady who watches over us till each one dies, then carts away the body.”

Selah frowned. “Body? Why are you dying? Someone should be giving you medical care.” It grieved her that children were so resolved to dying young. She instantly thought of the disease at Cleveland, but that didn’t cause a physical defect.

“We have a DNA defect that limits our lifespan to sixteen years and gives us this strange knee, usually on the right side,” Baje said.

“Isn’t there a yearly pill or something that citizens get to bolster their immune system?” Selah thought of STORM but didn’t know if other domes used the technology.

“I don’t know. I’ve never been into the city. Outcasts aren’t allowed,” Baje said.

A commotion filled the doorway as three boys hauled a groggy Bodhi in and dumped his limp form on a pile of pillows next to Selah. She noticed they each had some form of the limp, but the boys were all different. The lanky pecan-colored boy had thick curly hair, a younger boy had reddish short hair and freckles, and the last boy looked to be of Asian parentage with stringy black hair and almond eyes. Selah was confused. Brothers?

Selah checked Bodhi over. “What happened to him? Did they hurt him?”

Tuere held up Bodhi’s hand. “That pinhole there is a sure sign they stuck him with Twilight. He’ll sleep it off in an hour or so. They almost had him.”

“We outsmarted them all! They were big guys, grown men,” the other two boys chimed in.

“Can you go find Rylla and Mari, and my two security people?” Selah stayed beside Bodhi, rubbing his hand.

Baje shook her head. “I can get Rylla and the lady.” She motioned to the boys. They scrambled out the door. “But I don’t want no trouble from nobody, and if I bring your two security people in here, the other kids will throw us out. So no, we’re not rounding them up.”

“We’ve been in the dome for less than an hour. How could anyone know we’re here?” Selah figured the Seekers weren’t aware of her or they’d have contacted her right away like the Keepers.

“That’s funny. You stick out like a hairy tare in a wheat field,” Baje said. “The Seekers know you’re inside. Those were their Hunters trying to grab you two.”

Bodhi stirred. Selah leaned down to him. He fell quiet again.

Baje moved to check Bodhi’s pulse. She also looked at his eyes and hand. “He’s clearing nicely. He’ll be awake soon.”

Selah settled a bit, allowing her to concentrate on the girl’s conversation. A tremor traveled across her chest. “Why would you think Seekers want to hurt us?”

Baje looked directly into Selah’s eyes. “Because you’re a novarium.”

Fists banged at the front door. “Baje, open now!”

Baje dropped her chin to her chest and sighed. “Stop it! Don’t disrespect me.” She stormed to the door and threw it open. Three kids about her age tromped into the room. They did seem to be related to each other, with the same widow’s peak in the front of their thick dark hair and the same square chin. Selah had seen twins before but never triplets.

Selah backed up on the pillows, shielding Bodhi in case there was trouble. She couldn’t thrust in such close quarters or Baje might be injured.

“Why did you bring them here? We saw you save her,” the first boy said. “And then your brother brought the other one, heaping more trouble on us.”

“Let them have her and be done with it. It’s none of our business,” the second boy said.

“They’re not like the others. They don’t see us as Outcasts. Someone has got to stop the Hunters,” Baje said.

“Who cares what happens among the normals? We don’t want trouble,” the third boy said as he lunged toward Baje.

Baje stumbled back in surprise, but Selah was ready. She charged forward. The three separated and two backed off to the doorway. The one remaining squared off with Selah. “So you’re a novarium. Let’s see what you’re made of.” He moved forward with arms spread.

Selah spun and swept his legs. The boy crashed to the floor. Selah heard his two brothers snickering in the background. He tried to scramble to his feet, but she jumped on his back with one hand full of his hair and the other at his throat.

“I think you need to let me get my business done here, and we’ll be gone,” she said.

“Let Selah and her friends alone. They haven’t come to hurt us,” Baje said.

“You lie!” The first boy’s face contorted with a hatred Selah had never seen in someone so young.

Selah let go of the boy’s throat and backed off him. “You don’t even know me,” she said. “How am I lying?”

He struggled to get away and rise at the same time. “Because you novarium always say you’re going to help, and not one has ever helped any generation of Outcasts.”

“How do you know none have helped?” Selah returned to Bodhi’s side.

“Because there would be no more Outcasts. We’d all be cured,” Baje said.

The door opened and Tuere announced with a flourish of his arm, “Well, at least they didn’t get very far.”

Rylla and Mari entered and rushed to the corner. The three boys slipped out the door. Mari looked over Bodhi and asked Baje about the drug he’d been given while Rylla stood nearby talking to Tuere.

“I think we need to get out of this dome as soon as Bodhi wakes. This is dangerous, and we’re not prepared for this hostile an environment,” Mari said.

“Then buy some of the weapons I saw. I have to find the Seekers. We’re stuck here till I do.” Selah went back to rubbing Bodhi’s hand. The mark had receded to a dot.

“That’s a bad idea. The Hunters who tried to grab you work for the Seekers.” Tuere looked at Rylla.

“Thank you for saving Bodhi,” Rylla said to him. “Do we have to worry about them following us back to the transport?”

“Yes, but they don’t dare go in our woods, so we’ll take you that way,” Tuere said.

“Wait a minute, you two. I’m not ready to leave.” Selah stood up. She didn’t know what to do with Mari and Rylla against her plan.

“I think the kids are right,” Mari said. “We need to get you back where it’s safe.”

“No, it’s not going to get any better. They’ll still be chasing us tomorrow,” Selah said. She turned to Baje. “Do you know anyone who might know how to find an honest Seeker? Just one. All I need is one.”

Tuere and Baje both broke into laughter. The sound startled Bodhi and he jerked awake. His arms flailed until he opened his eyes and saw Selah. She helped him to sit upright and hugged him.

“Baje, may I have some water for Bodhi, please?” Selah saw the look Tuere gave Baje as she went off to the kitchen but figured it was sibling angst. She’d had her share of it back in Dominion. “Tuere, do you know anyone who can get me to a Seeker?”

“What happened to me?” Bodhi stood to test his legs.

Baje handed the water to Bodhi. “Hunters drugged you and tried to capture you. They do the dirty work for the Seekers.”

Bodhi rubbed the back of his hand. “This is a lot different from Cleveland. We need to go back to the transport and come up with another plan. We don’t know who to trust.”

“No!” Selah stood. “I’m not leaving. I just told them the same thing. They’ll still be chasing me tomorrow whether we have a plan or not. I need to find just one honest Seeker and we can get out of here.”

“Pasha will not like this, nor will Mojica and Taraji,” Bodhi said. He still seemed unsteady as he punched the comm link on his scrambler. Nothing happened.

“I tried that when we first got separated. They must have frequency scramblers inside the dome,” Selah said.

Bodhi muttered under his breath. He swayed a little before regaining his footing.

“I’m not giving them a choice. I want this done. We need to be on our way,” Selah said. The excitement had tired her, or maybe she just felt crushed that the Seekers were less than the caretakers they were bred to be.

“Contressa would know,” Tuere said. “She would know if there was an honest Seeker.”

Selah looked from Baje to Tuere. “Who’s Contressa? How do I find her?”

Baje slapped Tuere on the shoulder. “I think you’re more trouble than you’re worth, little brother. How can you be sure Contressa wouldn’t turn us in for Hunter bounty?”

Tuere hung his head. “She wouldn’t do that to us.”

Baje pointed a finger at him. “This is going to be on you if they throw us out.”

“Well, your time is up in six months, so you won’t have to worry about being on the streets. It will be me alone.” Tuere turned away from Baje. Selah saw his tears. So young to not have a future. Her heart ached for them.

Rylla stepped between them. “You don’t have much time left. Stop being mean.” Her lip trembled. Selah wrapped an arm around her.

Bodhi sat back on the pillows looking confused. His eyes drooped. Selah was sure the Twilight hadn’t worn off completely.

Baje softly told Tuere to find Contressa and bring her to the house.

“Did anyone find Mojica and Taraji?” Mari sat on the pillows next to Bodhi.

“We can’t bring them in here. It might be better to meet them at the three-hour limit,” Selah said.

“Whose idea was it to keep your security away?” Mari said to Baje.

“Not so much to keep them away from me but to keep them away from this location,” Selah said.

Rylla stared at Mari like she had dished out an insult to her new friend. She looped her arm through Baje’s and they walked outside.

“I don’t think we should get heavy-handed with a bunch of kids,” Selah said.

“They’re not that much younger than you,” Mari said. “This could be a trap to sell you themselves, like thieves stealing from thieves.”

“They went to a lot of trouble to help us and find you. I don’t think they’d have brought us together if they wanted to sell me off. They’d have kept us separated so we’d be easier to manage.”

Mari agreed. “I just get overcritical when people offer to help after all the resistance we’ve encountered. Are these kids really alone?”

Rylla and Baje charged back into the room. “Tuere found Contressa. She’s coming.”

A tall, slender woman, Contressa had black hair with a section of white-blonde highlights that cascaded almost to her waist. Side clips held her hair back from her face and her almond-shaped dark eyes. She stepped into the room like a graceful swan. Selah immediately liked her body-speak.

“I hear we’ve been unfortunate enough to have made contact with a novarium,” Contressa said. She didn’t look the least apologetic for the comment as she defiantly faced down Selah.

Baje wrung her hands. “Ma’am . . . Contressa, these people—this girl . . . her name is Selah—”

“Can someone translate for this girl so I don’t age a whole year waiting for the explanation?” Contressa appeared bored.

“I’m sorry. I’m trying to find the Seekers,” Selah said. “Tuere thought maybe you could lead me to an honest one, preferably one who won’t turn me over to Hunters.”

Contressa smiled. “How can you be sure I won’t turn you over to Hunters?”

Selah followed behind Contressa as she wove her way through the kitchen area and out the back door into a small enclosed garden of scraggly weeds and a few hardy perennials. Contressa led her to a stone table and benches.

“I brought you out here because the children don’t need to be involved. They wouldn’t understand,” Contressa said. She sat on the opposite side of the table and leaned forward with her elbows resting on the smooth stone.

“I’m not sure I understand,” Selah said. “To start with, what’s wrong with these kids, and how are they sisters and brothers when they look . . . so different?”

Contressa leaned back and tipped her head to the side. “You’re the first one to ever ask about the children. They are all brothers and sisters because they have no one but the others afflicted like them. Why do you care?”

“That’s a dumb question. When I see children who appear neglected I want to know why.”

“I would think your first thought should be about avoiding capture,” Contressa said.

“Forgive me for being different, but I’ve been chased for six months now. I’m getting used to being the target, so I don’t always put myself first,” Selah said.

“Fair enough. The children here have a DNA defect in an area that controls longevity and specific cellular growth affecting the knee joint. Because they only live sixteen years, they are disposable to this society,” Contressa said.

Selah tensed at the word longevity. Reminders of the Mountain sucked the breath from her. She inhaled sharply. “DNA always leads back to me and my blood. Do they use STORM here?”

Contressa smiled wryly. “Yes, we get STORM here once a year, but it’s degraded over time, and these kinds of defects show up when two people of a specific abnormality have offspring.”

“So what are novarium used for in this dome?” Selah knew it had to be related to blood.

“We don’t ask, we just sell your kind.”

Selah jumped to her feet and moved quickly away from the table. She poised for a thrust.

Contressa never flinched. “Relax. Sit back down. If I’d wanted you caught, the kids would never have gotten close to saving you. But they’ve never saved one of you from Hunters before. This makes me curious about you.”

Selah stared at her. The woman’s passive body-speak indicated she was being truthful. She was not a present threat. Selah relaxed but stood her ground. “What are you offering?”