The Burn Zone (32 page)

“
You sure?
”

“
Yeah.
Just... a bad dream.
”

“
What about?
”

I tried to focus on the phone
’
s flashing light, but it kept reeling away, then snapping back in an infinite loop. I
took a deep breath, trying to calm down, when a second jolt hit me.

“
Shit, I fell asleep!
”
I hissed.

“
Sam,
it
’
s
okay—
”

“
It
’
s not okay.... Damn it, I have to—
”

“
Calm down,
”
he said quietly.
“
You
’
ve been in overdrive since yesterday. You were ready to hit the floor.
”

“
I don
’
t care!
”

Vamp glanced over at Nix, but he didn
’
t shush me. I could feel my anxiety start to spike when a flicker on the 3i tray made it fizzle. A notification flashed there.

“
What?
”
Vamp asked.

I flicked it into the foreground and saw little lines of Pan-Slav.

“
It
’
s him,
”
I said.

“
Who?
”

“
The shit, the Pan-Slav shit.
”
I checked his icon. It was pink.
“
He
’
s still on.
”

I sat up, running his chat window through the translator and going down the lines of text.

I
need help.

Help me, please. I
’
m scared. I want to go home.

I don
’
t know where I am.

“
He doesn
’
t know where he is,
”
I said, leaning back onto the pillow. The chat window floated between me and Vamp as he leaned over me.

Alexei, are you there?

I sent the message through the translator, hoping it would turn it into something that made sense to the kid. His little pink heart pulsed, ticking off the seconds.

“
What
’
s he saying?
”
Vamp asked.

“
Shh
.
”

Are you Sam?

I smiled.
Yes.

Is Dragan with you?

No, hut I
’
m going to help you. Tell me where you are.

I
don
’
t know.

“
Sam, what
’
s he saying?
”

“
He doesn
’
t know where he is. Hang on.
”

Tell me about where you are. Are you inside?

Yes. I
’
m in a small box. Like a closet.

Can you get out? Is the door locked?

No door.

There has to be a door. Is it dark? Can you see?

I can see.
Four walls.
No door.

I curled my fist in frustration. That didn
’
t make any sense.

Maybe it
’
s hidden. Try—

Metal walls and floor.
No windows. No doors.

What else is there?

A lamp.
Water.
A metal tank.
No more rations.

What else?

Nothing else.

“
He says he
’
s in a metal box,
”
I whispered.
“
He
’
s got a light, rations, water, and maybe an air tank or something.
”

Are you alone? Is a girl with you?

She was, but he only put me in here.

Who? Who put you there?

Dragon.

I struggled to think it through. Dragan stashed him somewhere, hid him so no one would find him, then ... what?

“
…I
have to take care of a few things, but I
’
ll be back for you. I will find help for you. I promise I
’
ll be back for you—
”

Dragan meant to go back for him, but he never got the chance.

“
Why keep him in a place like that?
”
I wondered out loud. Why lock him up in a box like that? Why him, and not the girl?

“
A place like what?
”
Vamp asked.

“
It sounds like he
’
s in some kind of cage or something.
”
I checked the message info again, hoping to get lucky.

Out of Range.

Can you remember anything you saw before he put you in the room?
I asked.
Any street names?
Signs?

I can
’
t read them.

“
Damn it.
”

Did you see anything that might
—

Dragons.
Paper monsters.

Festival stuff.
He could have seen that anywhere.

Don
’
t let them burn my country.

The words hung there.

Please,
he said.

I started to answer, but I didn
’
t know what to say. I wanted to tell him I wouldn
’
t, but I wasn
’
t sure I could do anything about it. If the weapon was still in Hangfei, which it probably was, I probably wouldn
’
t even be able to do anything to save myself.

We don
’
t hate you,
he said.
Please. My family is there.
My friends.
My school.

Alexei—

I don
’
t want them to die. Please. We don
’
t hate you. Please don
’
t burn us.

I couldn
’
t think of anything to tell him. I just lay there and stared at the words while Vamp leaned over me to grab his flashing phone. Before I could come up with anything, a new message popped up.

It
’
s happening again. They
’
re coming.

Who?

He didn
’
t answer.

Alexei,
who
’
s
coming?

His icon went gray.

“
He signed off,
”
I said, rubbing my eyes. Vamp leaned back into bed with me.
“
What
’
s up with your phone?
”
I asked him.

“
Eyebot
’
s done,
”
he said, squinting at the little screen.

“
Anything?
”

“
I
’
m not sure. What about the kid, he
have
anything useful?
”

“
Not really,
”
I said.
“
He can
’
t read anything, and Hangfei must have seemed like a maze to him. I don
’
t think he knows where the hell he is. He
’
s just stuck in some metal box somewhere with nothing but water and ...
”

Vamp looked up from his phone.
“
What?
”

“
Rations,
”
I whispered.

“
Didn
’
t they pay you a new ration sheet?
”

“
It
’
s gone.
”

“
What?
”

“
It
’
s gone.
...
”

Vamp nudged me.
“
You okay?
”

“
After an assignment, Dragan always comes home with a fresh ration sheet,
”
I said.

Dragan didn
’
t come back alone this time, though; he came back with two mouths to feed, and he had to ditch them somewhere. Wherever that was, they had to eat. He
’
d cashed in the ration sheet.

“
Give me your phone.
”

He handed it over and I flipped it around so I could see the screen. My head throbbed with each heartbeat as I traced the route Dragan had taken but when I saw it, I smiled.

“
There,
”
I said, snapping my fingers.
“
Render
’
s Strip.
”

“
Where the bomb went off?
”

“
Yeah.
”
Along with the government centers, all the private ration distributers worked out of there. That
’
s where Dragan had gone. It was after hours, and locked down because of the bombing, but he was a soldier and could get through.

I pointed to the screen.
“
That
’
s where he took them. The place is called Fang
’
s
Café
.
”

“
Maybe ...
”

“
It is
,
I
’
m sure of it.
”

“
No place was open to—
”

“
He knows the guy who runs it. They fought together. They
’
re tight. If it was an emergency, he
’
d help him no matter what time it was.
”
I tapped the screen again.
“
It
’
s him. I know it is. What time is it?
”