I tried to blink but my eyes weren’t cooperating yet.
“No.” It was Micah’s voice. “Trust me, I’ve been through that experiment.”
I sucked in a breath suddenly and Micah chuckled.
“See?” he said. “She’s fine.”
“I wouldn’t have been heartbroken if she were dead,” Jules replied.
“Micah doesn’t kill Reboots. He’s superior to humans in that way.” It was Addie’s voice, dripping with disdain.
I knew the sounds around us. The rush of air, the hum of an engine.
I blinked open my eyes. We were in a shuttle.
Micah and Jules sat in the Reboot seats, guns in their laps. Addie was on the floor across from me, a rope tied around her chest.
I looked down. My own arms were bound tightly to my torso, but someone had taken the gag off my mouth.
I glanced back at Addie. She was keeping her panic under control, but her chest rose and fell too quickly, her eyes wide as they met mine.
Callum. I twisted around, trying to see the rest of the shuttle. Empty. It was only the four of us and whoever was piloting the shuttle.
“I told you living at the reservation was a privilege,” Micah said.
I managed to struggle up to a seated position, leaning back against the shuttle wall. “We were leaving your stupid reservation.”
“I figured that. Lucky you, I’m going to help you out.”
I tried to twist my body against the rope but it was no use. Micah knew not to take any chances with me.
I met his gaze. “Callum?” I’d tried to keep my voice steady but it shook, just slightly.
Micah raised one eyebrow. “Do you see him in here?”
“Did you hurt him?”
“By ‘hurt’ I’ll assume you mean ‘killed,’” Micah said. He leaned forward, putting his forearms on his thighs. “As your friend here pointed out, I don’t kill Reboots. Your boyfriend is fine. I’ll deal with him when I get back.”
Why wouldn’t he bring Callum along? I saw no reason to trust Callum, since he’d made it clear he was on my side.
Maybe because I was the only one who’d been openly defiant of him? Micah seemed to have an odd moral code, one he felt strongly about. Maybe Callum hadn’t warranted this kind of punishment yet.
I took a deep breath and forced myself to believe that.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
Micah smiled as he leaned back in his seat.
That was all the answer I got.
We flew for a long time. Too long. Hours. If we were headed south, we were to the cities, if not past them. If we were headed north, I had no idea where we were.
My stomach clenched at the thought. Finding my way back was going to be hard. Maybe impossible.
The shuttle had slowed and Micah walked to the pilot and murmured something before returning. He nodded at Addie, and Jules sprang out of her seat and grabbed her by the hair.
Micah yanked me up by the ropes binding my arms and spun me around to look at him. Behind me, a sudden whoosh of air blew my hair into my face.
My eyes slid to the shuttle door, where Jules held Addie perilously close to the edge. Outside was nothing but blue sky. The ground was small beneath us, dotted with trees.
Were they going to drop us out of the shuttle? I tried to take a steadying breath but the panic was beginning to spread into every limb.
Micah dragged me to the edge by my shirt collar.
“Say hello the humans you love so much for me,” Jules said to Addie, a crazed smile on her face.
I felt something on my fingers and found Addie’s hand fumbling for mine. I grabbed it and held tightly, trying to meet her panicked expression with calm. I wasn’t sure it worked.
Micah pulled me close to him, so he could stare straight at me. “Don’t hit your head,” he hissed.
He released my collar and slammed his hands against my chest.
I shot out of the shuttle with Addie, my fingers tightly wrapped around hers.
SEVENTEEN
CALLUM
OUR TENT WAS EMPTY. OUR CLOTHES AND BLANKETS WERE STILL piled in the corner.
There was no sign of Wren.
I pulled my head out of the tent and straightened, squinting in the sun as I scanned the reservation. Kyle and Jeff were still stationed in front of Micah’s tent, and they’d been joined by about fifteen other reservation Reboots, most of them over One-twenties.
Many of the Austin Reboots were scurrying to Beth, who was standing near the fire pit, hands on her hips. They appeared to be getting into some sort of formation, their faces tight with fear and anticipation.
Riley split off from the front of that crowd and jogged over to me. He was tense, constantly turning his head to scan the area around me.
“Where’s Wren?” he asked.
“I don’t know. She was going to find you.”
“I haven’t seen her.” Our eyes met and a hint of concern crossed his face. “How long—”
“Callum.”
I turned to find Isaac leading a group of at least thirty reservation Reboots. The new Reboot Micah had just killed was with them, as well as most of the Under-sixties.
“What’s going on?” Isaac asked.
“We’re leaving,” I said quietly. Wren had said Isaac had come around, but I still felt a flash of fear that they would rise up against us and go join the Reboots in front of the tent. “We’re going to Austin.”
“I’m sorry, we’re going where?” Riley gave me an incredulous look.
“We’re going to Austin,” I repeated, my eyes on Isaac’s. “HARC’s losing their grip on the humans there. We’re getting the weapons so we can take over the city.” I glanced at Riley. “You still have the fuel for the shuttles?”
“Yes.” He was still confused.
“We’ll fuel two shuttles and fly there.” I took a deep breath and looked at the crowd behind Isaac. Thirty or so behind him, and we already had a hundred Reboots from Austin. Together, we could take down the One-twenties, even if they were armed. “Will you help?”
Isaac paused for a beat. “When we get to Austin, can the Reboots leave if they want? Or do we all have to stay and fight?”
“You’re all free to do whatever you want,” I said, though I hoped they’d choose to stay and help.
“All right. I’m coming with you.”
I blinked at the quick decision. “Really?”
“Yeah.” He jerked his head at the Reboots behind him. “I don’t know about them, but I’ll explain what’s happening and let them decide.”
