Vanquished (24 page)

Keegan hasn't been upset about any of this—not the journey here, or getting pushed around by Vin, or being told he was destined for hell. But now he's glaring at Fischer's hand on my arm. “Who are you?” he asks.

“This is Fischer,” I say. “He's the medic from the hospital. He takes care of my mom.”

Some of the fire leaves his eyes, but he doesn't stop watching Fischer. “You're the one who told her about all of this?”

Fischer nods. “That's right.”

“How do I know she can trust you?”

“Keegan please. I believe this. I do.” I turn to Fischer. “What do I do now? Mr. Elders said something about accepting a gift.”

“That's right,” Fischer says. “You pray to God and tell Him you accept His payment. Tell Him you know you've sinned, and the price for that sin is hell. You tell Him you're sorry for that sin, and you accept His gift of salvation from hell.”

Fischer had mentioned prayer that day we spent together at the levies. He'd said they prayed before each meal. “What does pray mean?” I ask.

His eyebrows shoot up. “Pray? It just means to talk to God. We usually bow our heads and close our eyes, just to show our reverence to God. And then we talk to Him.”

“You just talk to Him? Just like that?”

“I can help you,” Fischer says. He bows his head and closes his eyes, and then words a simple prayer. I follow him bit by bit. My ears burn and my heart races. Is anyone looking at me? But when I finish I'm glad I did it. I'm more than glad. I'm thrilled!

“I have to tell my mom about this,” I say quickly.

“She'll believe you, Hana. You can do it.”

Tears fill my eyes in a flash. I'm so thankful for his words I want to hug him. I can't do that, so I talk instead. “I read part of the Bible you gave me. I've never seen anything like it.”

“I know what you mean,” Fischer says with a lopsided smile.

Keegan doesn't say anything, just listens. I want to know what's going on in his head, what he's thinking. I don't ask though. He's been gone a long time, and we've both changed in that time apart. I'm not sure he still wants me probing around in his head.

The other conversations quiet down, and someone speaks up. “I saw the lights in the sky again.”

I spin around to see the speaker. It's a boy no older than I am. “I've seen them, too,” I say. “I saw them a few weeks ago, and again tonight. What are the lights?”

Mr. Elders's face wrinkles up uncertainly. “That's a question that is a little harder to answer.”

 

 

 

 

43

 

“We saw them a few weeks ago too,” the boy says. “I was with my friend, and he fell out of the tree we were sitting in. He's been in the hospital ever since. Now his family is gone. Just gone!”

My mouth gapes open. “You were with Markus that night?”

He looks at me for the first time, and I realize I recognize him. He goes to my school. “We were just goofing off, climbing trees and stuff. We see these lights in the sky, and Markus falls right out of his tree and hits the ground. I didn't know what to do so I ran for help. The guard had me show her where Markus was, and told me to wait with her until backup came, but I ran away. I heard Markus, though. He asked her what the lights were.”

That's why no one could see him. The thought sickens me. Whatever those lights are is a big secret, and the Greaters are willing to do whatever it takes to keep it.

“We believe the lights are a type of airplane,” Mr. Elders says. “Airplanes were used in the Early Days to transport people from place to place, and sometimes they were used in wars. They fly in the air, like a giant, flying car. They take a lot of fuel to run, so the question is who is flying the airplane and why. Most likely it's the Greaters, but what are they doing, and why don't they want anyone to know?”

Keegan and I look at each other. He's frowning and his eyebrows are lowered. “The direction of the lights was west,” he says. “Nothing is supposed to be out that way, but in Middle City 1, where I'm studying entertainment, there are jokes about a prison. They say it's where the Greaters send people who really make them mad. Supposedly, the Greaters have things grown and made, things like food, clothes, and furniture. No one takes it seriously, but they say it's in the west.”

The thought that our own leaders have secret safe places, places kept from us and possibly for their good and no one else's, is disturbing.

“This is something I haven't heard,” Mr. Elders says. “Thank you for sharing.”

Glancing at Keegan, I try to assess how he's taking all of this. He's listened to everything that's been discussed, but he hasn't said much himself. He's obviously not sure about the possibility of God, but what does he think about learning the Greaters aren't what they seem?

The meeting ends and everyone takes turns leaving. Keegan and I get ready for our turn.

“I'll see you tomorrow,” Fischer says. He glances at Keegan and then adds, “At the hospital when you visit your mom, I mean.”

“Right, I'll see you then.”

Tomorrow is my Test. I'll go first thing in the morning, and then go to the hospital to see her when I'm done. I can't wait to talk to her about God, and about salvation.

We bolt down the boardwalk and up the cobblestone pathway to the levies. A pang of loneliness hits me. I miss Mom more than words can ever express. Tears sting my eyes and I quickly wipe them away. The fog has gotten heavier since we were in the boat, and I need my eyes clear so I can see.

“Do you want me to go with you tomorrow?” Keegan asks quietly.

The grass at the levy is wet under my feet, and I slip. Keegan reaches to catch me so I don't go sliding down the hill. “Thanks,” I say. We keep walking. “I would love for you to come. It's better than going alone or with all the other kids from school who are testing. I was supposed to be with Jamie.” Saying her name sends another wave of loneliness washing over me.

“So it's true then, they really took her away.”

“Of course, and Ava and Markus, too.” I study him in the dark. I think of the information he offered up about the prison rumors. “Keegan, why are you willing to help Mr. Elders' people, if you don't believe in their cause?”

Emotions play across his face as we move onto the treed path back to our street. He shakes his head and frowns. "I don't believe what they say about God, but there were other things said in Middle City 1, stories about privileges the Greaters have that the rest of us don't have. I mostly ignored the rumors, but now I can see they might be more than rumors. Obviously the Greaters aren't what they appear to be. They're taking people from their homes and sending them away, they have secret flying machines and secret cities building them food, clothes, and who knows what else. They're refusing to give your mom the help she needs. Something's not right.”

I shrug. “Technically the ones who were sent away broke the law. Jamie got pregnant, and Markus was out past curfew. Maybe Mom's medical allowance isn't enough to pay for chemo.”

He shakes his head. “It still leaves the secret machine and city. That's not right.” He frowns. “I've met a lot of Greaters since I've been away, and now I wonder how they all feel about this. Do they know it's going on? What are they told?”

His words settle on my shoulders. “You're right. I think we've only touched on the first clue of this mystery.”

We're almost to our street now. The shady-treed path is all that separates us from our regular world. I'm not ready to go back yet. There's more to discuss. More to learn.

I turn to ask what others rumors he heard while he was away, but Keegan stops me and leans close. “That's not the only reason I'm helping though, Hana. I'm helping because it's important to you, and you are important to me. You know that, right?”

He's so close his warm breath tickles my face. My mind races, and yet the rest of my body is in slow motion. I can't move. All I can do is stare in his deep blue eyes that remind me of a cloudless day where I can see for miles. This is Keegan, the boy I have planned to marry since I was fourteen, the boy I have languished over and missed with every inch of my soul. And here he is in front of me now, in the dark, alone, and he's two inches from my face.

I understand the Greaters' laws about opposite sexes not being allowed alone. Jamie's warning about being with Fischer makes perfect sense now, only Fischer has never gotten this close before.

Pounding footsteps sound in the fog, and we snap out of our trance. I look at Keegan nervously, confused. He pulls me behind a set of trees.

“They were spotted coming from the riverboat,” the guard says into his tiny computer as he passes us. “The spotter said there were about a dozen in all.”

I just catch my gasp before it escapes. Someone saw us! I look up at Keegan with wide eyes. His nostrils flare, and he breathes deep.

Another set of running feet approaches from our street. What if the guards don't stop coming? How will we ever get home without being caught?

The two guards meet up somewhere out of our line of sight. “We got the old man, the leader. He's dead,” one guard says.

I cover my mouth to keep from crying out. Keegan puts his arms around me and pulls me to his chest. “We'll be fine,” he whispers.

“Who spotted them?” the second guard asks.

“Some girl,” the first one says. “I think her name was Lil or something. A student.”

Lil? Not Lilith. It couldn't be. Is that why she's been so nice to me? So she could get close to spy on me? I feel sick.

The first guard's computer beeps, and he speaks into it. “They got two guys,” he says.

Two people have been captured? What about Fischer? What will they do to him? What if they send him back to his Lesser city? Will I ever see him again?

I won't even be able to check until tomorrow after my Test, which almost seems like a joke at this point.

The guards disappear over the levy and we wait for an eternity.

Finally Keegan moves to check the path. “It's clear. If we're going to go, we better go now.”

I nod, cold without his body heat surrounding me. “Should we split up?” I ask. “So that both of us don't get caught?”

“No way. I'm not leaving you.”

We sneak into the darkness and check the road. Fog drifts ominously down the street, and I wonder if we'd even see the guards.

“Let's go,” Keegan says. We bolt across the street and hurry through the backyards until we reach my back porch.

Panic rises in me at the thought of going inside and this night being over. How can I lay down and rest when Mr. Elders is dead and Fischer might have been caught? My throat feels swollen shut and I swallow hard. “Thank you for coming with me tonight.”

Keegan watches me, his eyes serious. “You don't have to thank me for being with you.”

Is he going to try to kiss me now? Will I let him if he tries?

I'm relieved when he doesn't.

“I'll see you tomorrow,” I say. I slip into my house and immediately peek through the window to make sure he gets to his own yard.

When he's out of sight I go to bed, but sleep doesn't come. Tomorrow I will take my Test, and only after that will I find out whether Fischer is safe. Tomorrow my life may change forever.

 

 

 

 

44

 

The testing center is near the universities. I've come to this part of the city a handful of times, whenever I was visiting Mom or Dad at work, which wasn't often. All fifty of the graduating students from school are there. Easton sits wringing his thumbs together. A boy beside him says something, seeming to draw him out of his own private hell. Easton doesn't respond, only leans over and puts his elbows on his knees. The boy moves away, and Easton's alone again.

We sit in the large waiting area, a few making nervous chatter, but mostly silent. Some of the boys recognize Keegan and pelt him with questions about who he's met and what he's done while away.

The boy from last night is here, too. I'm surprised, because Markus and Ava are a year younger than me, so I assumed the boy was the same age. His presence makes my stomach drop, because that just makes it all the more likely that Fischer was caught.

Lilith sits alone in the corner. She doesn't look up, but she must have noticed I'm here. Everyone has made a big fuss over Keegan, and there's no way she missed it.

Is she surprised to see me? Does she feel guilty?

Should I confront her?

I look away, my decision made. I need to focus on my Test. I didn't even glance at the pamphlet they handed out after graduation. I was too occupied with meeting Fischer's group and helping Mom. What should I expect? They'll probably ask me questions about my interests. My hobbies. My loyalties.

I swallow my panic. What will I say? Will I lie?

Hours tick away. One by one, other kids are called back. There doesn't seem to be any set order for the Tests, they just call names randomly.

“You'll do fine,” Keegan says, breaking me out of my musings. “I didn't even try, and I still made Middle.”

I try to smile, but it comes off as more of a grimace. I wipe my sweaty palms on my pants and shift in my seat. “Why don't they just call me already?”

“They will,” he says.

Almost like he's made my request come true himself, a woman in a crisp blue blouse and gray pencil skirt appears. I only know what a pencil skirt is because once Jamie bought a book of old fashioned clothing trends from two hundred years ago.

“Hana Norfolk?”

It's about time.
“I'm here.”

She leads me to the end of a long hallway. “Here we are,” she says smiling, completely at ease.

“Thanks,” I mumble.