A Crack in the Sky (17 page)

“A sanctuary from the storm at the end of the world …,” Eli said. “A place some long-ago Outsider says he saw in a dream. Come on, do you really believe that?”

He nodded. “I’m not alone. There are many believers. Hundreds have given their lives in this final quest—the search for the Wild Orange Yonder.”

Eli stared. The Wild Orange Yonder?
This
was the truth the voices had promised? This was the great answer? Eli had taken a huge risk in coming here, and it was because he’d been hoping for some revelation, some important insight that would explain everything. But this wasn’t it. This was just Fogger nonsense. It was nothing at all.

He shouldn’t have come. He should have known.

He felt again the intensity in the boy’s eyes. He wondered who he was talking to and what was underneath the mask? If he pulled it back, would he see real skin that was red and mottled from the sun?

And with that thought he was suddenly even more afraid of him.

“Eli, has it occurred to you why you called out to us?”

“Called out to
you
? I didn’t. You came to
me
.”

The boy shook his head. “The CloudNet is a powerful sedative. It manipulates the senses and defines the world for us. Without our ever being aware of it, it influences how we perceive and interpret everything around us. It draws us in. Most people can’t resist the pull, but occasionally somebody comes along who can. For reasons we don’t understand, they’re just better at it than others. I’m one of them, Eli, and I think you’re another. You’re here, aren’t you?” He paused. “Eli, I believe you’re one of us.”

“No!”

Heads turned. He’d spoken louder than he’d meant to. But Eli wasn’t like this boy and his Fogger friends. Not in any way.
He never would be. It was time to go. The second the tram came to the next stop he was going to leave. Lines from the
Alice
book flashed through his mind.

He reached for the lever. “I’m going.”

“You need to understand how few of us there are,” the boy said, his voice urgent. “Of the quarter million people living in this dome, we have perhaps a hundred agents. They’re scattered throughout the organization, but none are at the very top tier. With your help, though—”

“My
help? You’ve got to be kidding!” Eli considered shouting for assistance, but the other fake Outsiders were watching, and he worried about what they might do if he did. Instead he yanked his arm from the boy and turned on him. “You know what I think? I think you and your cause are pathetic. Sneaking around with masks and working against the company when it does so much to keep all of us safe. You’re a bunch of cowards.”

His fists were balled up tight. The tram slowed and came to a halt at Dyerville Station. It wasn’t near his house, but who cared? He would walk home. He was about to pull the lever and drop to the floor, but then he noticed two Guardians slipping in through the far porthole. The masked boy saw them too.

“There,” Eli said. “You can run, but it won’t help. It’s all over for you now. They’re coming.”

But to Eli’s surprise the boy didn’t leave. Instead he looked
directly at Eli and pulled up his mask. Now Eli could see his face. He wasn’t an Outsider after all. He was a regular kid, a boy only a year or two older than Eli was. He looked ordinary, with dark hair and just a little acne on his chin. Any other time Eli might have passed him on the street and never picked him out as different.

“The other day you told us that if you were the last chance to save a dying world, you’d take that chance. Did you mean it?”

“Yes,” Eli answered, too stunned to lie, “I did.”

The boy nodded. “Then we have more to share with you, somebody we’d like you to meet.” The Guardians were already drifting in their direction. The boy pulled his mask back down and reached for his ceiling lever. “Be careful, Eli,” he said as he started to sink into the crowd. “They are always watching.”

Who?
Eli wanted to ask, but it was too late. By then the boy had already slipped through a crowded pocket of passengers and was moving toward the porthole. The Guardians seemed unaware of him. Eli watched as the three kids in Outsider costumes passed out of the tram, the last people through the porthole before it closed. His heart pounding, Eli tracked their progress through the transparent wall. He tried to follow where they went, but he lost them in the swarming crowd.

The tram was moving again.

9
a few innocent questions

When Eli got back to the house, his mind was reeling. No Cooldown? The CloudNet manipulating people’s minds? None of the things the masked boy had told him made sense. But then again, what did he expect from a Fogger?

Marilyn was waiting on his chest of drawers. She raised herself on her haunches and glared at him. Ignoring this, he told her everything that had happened.

How could you do something so stupid?
she asked after a long pause.

Eli kept his voice low in case Claudia was nearby. “How was I supposed to know what would happen? It’s not like I had any idea ahead of time.”

What did you expect? You followed the instructions of a Fogger-hacked droid! At the very least, didn’t it occur to you that somebody on the Bubble could recognize you? What if your family finds out?
Her whiskers twitched.
Reckless, that’s what it was. A foolish risk!

He didn’t say anything right away. After their argument he was glad she was even talking to him. It was a good sign. “I’m sorry about what I said, Marilyn. About your chip and about wasting time with machines. I was just worried about you. Let’s just forget it, okay?”

The mongoose chirped softly and rubbed her paws together as if she were carrying the weight of the world. It was amazing to Eli how human she sometimes looked.
It’s not me you need to worry about, Eli. It’s your family. You’d better hope they don’t find out what happened, because if they do I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes tomorrow
. She leveled her gaze at him.
You haven’t forgotten, have you, about the Festival of Optimism?

Eli’s stomach sank. In all the excitement, he had indeed forgotten, and now he realized the timing couldn’t be worse. What happened today wasn’t exactly his own fault, but still, he’d met with a Fogger, an anti-InfiniCorp criminal. It was arguably the most disloyal thing he could have done. In any case, he was certain his family would see it that way if they ever found out. Which was why the thought of having to face them tomorrow was making him feel suddenly nauseated.

I’m glad to see you at least have the good sense to be ashamed of yourself
.

He lowered himself onto his bed. “Why do I do these things to myself, Marilyn? I don’t know why you put up with me.”

Marilyn looked like she’d been struck. After a moment she dropped to the floor, raised herself to her full height, and narrowed her orange eyes.
Because, you dense, selfish boy, you’re my only friend. You’re all I have!

With her whiskers pulled back and her teeth bared, to
anybody else she would have been a fearsome sight. Only then did it occur to Eli that she was fully awake, which could mean just one thing: she’d stayed away from her dream game all this time. She was his only friend, and he was hers. But now he realized that he hadn’t been a very good friend to her lately. Meeting her eyes, he felt like the worst person in the world.

“I’m sorry,” he said, looking away.

Her whiskers twitched again.
What are you going to do?

“What choice do I have? I’ll go to Grandfather’s tomorrow. At least I can ask Sebastian. Maybe he’s heard of the Friends of Gustavo.”

I wouldn’t do that. Keep this to yourself. You don’t know who’s safe to talk to and who isn’t
.

“Safe? Of course Sebastian’s safe. He’s my brother.” He flopped back onto his pillow and stared at the ceiling. “Listen, I know it sounds weird, but there’s something out there. I can’t help sensing it. That kid on the Bubble, he lifted his mask. He showed me his face and let me see into his eyes. He didn’t have to do that. And he looked as normal as anyone else.” He let out a long breath. “I don’t know what’s going on, Marilyn, but I feel like I need to figure it out.”

All I know is that you need to be careful, Eli. Don’t let your guard down
.

Eli slept badly. The whole following morning he kept expecting Uncle Hector or another of his uncles or aunts to suddenly materialize in a cloud and accuse him of disloyalty. Father and Mother were coming home so they could travel to Grandfather’s together, and before they arrived he imagined how
they would corner him. They would inform him they’d heard all about the Fogger and ask him why he’d disappointed them yet again.

But none of it happened. Nobody even brought it up.

This was a good sign, of course, but Eli realized that just because the ax hadn’t fallen yet didn’t guarantee that his secret was safe. His was a family of mysterious and powerful people. He knew better than to relax just yet.

At Grandfather’s celebration he kept to himself until Sebastian arrived. When he did, Eli watched his brother parade through the packed ballroom, shaking hands and greeting everyone. It seemed to Eli that he’d grown taller in his weeks at the Program. The CloudNet cameras followed his every move. With his silicone shoulder pads and reflective robe, he looked more like a real executive than ever.

Everyone made a big fuss over him.

Eli waited for his chance to speak with him alone. He kept trying to get his attention, but it wasn’t easy. After a quick hello there was always some interruption. Uncle Demetrius needed him, or Spider would call him over to address some business issue or other. After having so many unpleasant incidents with Spider, Eli was bothered more than ever to think of Sebastian working so closely with their strange cousin. But there was no denying that Sebastian looked happy. And it wasn’t his fault he was so busy. He worked for the company now. He had real responsibilities.

Eli’s moment finally came later in the afternoon. Sebastian was in the hallway, checking his InfiniTalk messages, so Eli made his way over to him. When Sebastian saw him, he grinned. “Just a sec,” he said, raising a finger. “Answering a ping.”

Rather than waiting for another of his uncles to interrupt again, Eli took him by the arm and pulled him through a nearby door into one of the sitting rooms. It was empty. “What are you doing?” Sebastian asked, ending his transmit. “That was important!”

Eli closed the door. “I need to talk with you about something. You need to promise you’ll never tell anyone. Okay?”

Sebastian looked wary. “I guess so.”

Eli took a deep breath. “Have you ever heard of the Friends of Gustavo?”

“No.”

“How about something called the Wild Orange Yonder?”

He shook his head.

Eli dropped his voice even lower. “Has anybody in the Program ever mentioned anything to you about using the CloudNet to control people’s minds? Have they talked about the Outsiders and the end of the world?”

Sebastian studied him, his expression growing darker. “I don’t believe it. You’re still obsessing about that nut job we saw, aren’t you? Why can’t you just let it go?”

“No, that’s not it—”

He held up his hand, obviously uninterested in hearing more. “God, Eli. What’s the matter with you? I’m beginning to wonder if you caught brain fever out there. You’re starting to sound like a Fogger.”

Eli didn’t think that was fair. He was only asking. He was about to say so, but then Sebastian’s InfiniTalk howled. Sebastian tapped his ear. “Just a sec,” he said to Eli after a moment. “Another company ping.” Fuming, Eli waited while Sebastian
received the transmit and sent his response, his voice calm and commanding. Eli realized the change in his brother went deeper than just his new clothes. There was a new authority in his manner, a confidence that hadn’t been there before.

At last Sebastian tapped his ear again. “Look, sorry to do this to you, but I gotta go. The office needs the quarterly numbers and … well, I have to get back right away.”

“Listen
to me!” Eli said, grabbing his sleeve. “Yesterday I rode the Bubble. There was a boy dressed like an Outsider. He came up to me and—”

By then Sebastian had already pulled his arm back and was walking away. “You don’t get it. I really don’t have time for this.”

Eli wanted to grab him by the lapels and shake him, but on the other hand he could imagine how pathetic he must seem, still whining about Outsiders and the end of the world. He looked away, focusing on the window so Sebastian wouldn’t see him turn red.

“Listen, I’m sorry. Hey, would you look at me?”

Eli did.

“I know what this is really about,” Sebastian said, his tone softer now. “You’re worried about getting into the Program. I totally understand that. Everyone feels the same way until they get the news. But seriously, you need to let this stuff go. Everything works out in the end. The company makes sure of it. In the meantime, you have to pull yourself together.”