Page 75 of After the Fall

Her stomach let out a grumble and I made a note to bring her a big breakfast. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen her eat anything. Her stomach churned with another hunger pang, one so strong I felt it beneath my palm.

While she was still asleep, I could get one more kiss. I let my lips linger on hers and then slipped out of the bedroom. She needed to rest.

When I came back to the bedroom, a beam of sunshine was trained on her like a spotlight. Her hair shone in the amber light and she looked like a glowing angel. I set down the tray of pancakes Gloria had made and slipped out the door. I wantedto tell her that I loved her one more time, but that was selfish. I needed to go.

I took one last look before I closed the door, then tightened my grip on the backpack and jogged out of the house to meet Joe.

He was waiting at the garage after spending his remaining hours with Tim. I wondered if our scientist had kept the new antidote he’d developed a secret. Over the past week, Tim had isolated a protein that showed immense promise for reversing Genocorp’s experiments. It had worked in simulations, but not on actual subjects, and the only test subject that would be able to confirm whether the antidote could work or not was Joe. The rest of us would rather die than live as human, and the man we’d captured, Jim, was too weak to risk it.

We needed Joe in his current form. If we turned him back into a human, he wouldn’t be able to help us with our plan.

“How’d it go with Tim?” I asked, studying his face.

He pulled up both his sleeves, revealing several Band-Aids. “Your scientist needs to get better at finding a vein. He took a lot of blood, but kept the experiment results to himself. I just hope it helps with whatever it is that he’s doing.”

Joe’s face didn’t give any sign that he knew what was going on in our labs, but he was a smart man. He had to know we were working on something to reverse the effects of the Genocorp experiments.

“Won’t that heal quickly?” Any time Tim had drawn blood from me, the prick marks disappeared within twenty minutes.

“I don’t think that my immune system is doing well.” Joe shrugged. “Hopefully Tim can get some good research from my mutant blood.”

“Did he give you…” I hated asking, but we needed all the pieces of the plan to be in place.

Joe pulled a tiny vial from his chest pocket. “It will be a painful death, but they won’t be able to get anything from me.” He smiled. “I wish I could be alive to see the look on Michelle Carder’s face when her billion-dollar experiment evaporates into a pile of goo in front of her.”

He was making light of the situation, but I understood.

“We’re going to rid the world of the Carders for good.” I clapped my hand on his shoulder. Joe Davis was about to save the world.

THIRTY-NINE

HARPER

I woke to an empty bed,though the warm spot beside me was proof that Wyatt had left not too long ago. There was no room in my heart for regret, or for the emptiness I felt inside. Right now, all that mattered was finding Savannah and figuring out what the hell Wyatt had planned for us.

But first, breakfast? My stomach growled in appreciation at the heaping plate of pancakes that I assumed Wyatt had left for me on a silver tray on the nightstand. I hurriedly shoved forkfuls of Gloria’s famous cakes into my mouth, eager to get started on packing. The suitcase wouldn’t do. If I was heading into Stirling County for the unforeseeable future, I needed to be practical.

Savannah was waiting for me in the kitchen, dressed in flannel and a puffy black Patagonia coat. I set my heavy pack down, my eyes dropping to her feet. “I never thought I’d see the day,” I laughed, taking in her chunky brown hiking shoes.

“I know,” she groaned. “I have no idea how they found a pair in my size, but here we are.” She grabbed me suddenly, her arms wrapping tightly around me.

“Oof,” I grunted. “Can’t… breathe.”

“Sorry,” she said after releasing me. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. It’s a lot to take in.” She was solemn, her normally put-together face wrinkled with concern.

“I’m kind of numb to everything,” I admitted. “How are you handling it all?”

“Oh, you know…” Her voice wavered, and with it, all the unspoken things, the fears we were too scared to admit out loud, drifted between us.

“Are we ready, ladies?” Fiona appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, also wearing a Patagonia jacket with flannel. She smirked as she took in our matching outfits. “Glad to see we all got the same memo.” She snapped her fingers. “Oh. Before I forget, Harper, your dad left something for you.” She pointed to the counter, where I noticed the small white jeweler’s box.

My brow raised. “What is it?”

“I don’t know. But I’m supposed to tell you…” She scratched her head, as if deep in concentration. “Wait. I want to get this right,” she sighed. “Don’t give up on me now. That’s it.”

My face must have registered confusion, because she added, “Sorry, that’s all he said. Wyatt and him were in a rush to hit the road. And we need to as well.” She clapped her hands together. “I’ll meet you outside. The good news is,” her eyebrow shot up dramatically, “I finally get to drive one of the new Lamborghinis.”

I laughed at Fiona’s attempt to ease the tension, and shoved the white box into the front pocket of my backpack. Dad’s gift would have to wait.

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