Page 16 of Taken

I should have been panicking more about the possibility of getting caught by someone like Martha, given the rules about women speaking with outsiders, but something strange had taken hold of my insides, and it was squeezing… squeezing hard. I needed to do this. I needed to stand close to Mason and warm myself in his wonderful presence.

“Good. I really am glad to see you, Jolie,” he said. The timbre of his voice made me feel like I was melting all over again. It was deep and rough, yet there was also a hint of softness within. “It’s been so long. How are you doing?”

I gaped at him. He must’ve gone through hell and back in the Wastelands, and he was asking me how Iwas?

“I…um… I have been well,” I replied, wishing I wasn’t so tongue-tied. “I am very glad to see you too. To be honest, I did not think I would ever lay eyes on you again.”

He smiled. “I promised you I’d come back for you when you were eighteen, didn’t I?”

My eyes widened.

When I first met him as a child, I somewhat embarrassed myself by asking him to be my boyfriend. He rebuffed me, as he was nine years older and probably thought of me as nothing but a silly little girl, but he’d been kind enough to say that he would come to visit me again when I was older, so we could be friends.

I couldn’t believe he still remembered that promise, even after all this time and all the horrors he must have endured.

“You did,” I said with a nod. “But after what happened back then, I didn’t think it would happen."

He tilted his head to the side. “You mean the terrorist attack?”

“Yes, and the rest as well, of course.”

He was silent for a moment, and then he drew closer. “I wanted to come back here and make sure you’re okay. I’ve actually thought about you quite a lot over the years.”

I didn’t tell him this, but over the years I’d thought of him quite a lot as well. Meeting him was one of the last good things that happened to me in the outside world before the Great Reckoning. The happy memories of playing and chatting with him had run through my life like a thread of gold in the darkness throughout the subsequent years.

“Thank you for making such a long journey to check on me,” I murmured, my cheeks growing hot again. “I still cannot believe you would go to such an effort for me.”

“Anytime,” he said. “So you’re okay here?”

My brows knitted. Why wouldn’t I be? “Yes, of course I am,” I said, nodding fervently. “I thank our God every day for my good fortune, considering the state of the outside world. Not many people are as lucky as I am. They do not have food, water, shelter, and protection from all those horrors.”

Mason’s lips pressed into a firm line as I spoke. Then he nodded. “I suppose that’s true.” There was a reluctant note in his voice, though I wasn’t sure why. “The world can be a harsh place for a lot of people.”

“I would like to hear about you now,” I said shyly. “I still can’t believe you’re alive.”

His brows dipped downward in a puzzled expression, as if I’d said something very stupid. “Of course I’m alive. I mean, my teen years were kinda rough, but it wasn’t thatbad.”

I nodded slowly. It was probably painful for him to talk about the things he’d experienced after the Great Reckoning. I should not press him too hard for details. “Where have you been all these years?” I asked instead.

“New York, mostly.”

My brows shot up, and my right hand flew to my chest. “New York City?”

“That’s the one.”

I shook my head slightly with confusion. “I was told it was impossible to live there now.”

He let out a light chuckle. “I wouldn’t say it’s impossible. Sure, it’s got its ups and downs, but it’s still a great place.”

“So part of it has been rebuilt by the survivors in the area?”

“Rebuilt?” His brows drew together. I was confusing him, though I wasn’t sure why. “What are you talking about?”

I stepped over to a photo on the back wall of the Museum. “This is what happened to the big cities,” I said, pointing to the picture. It showed a nuclear bomb reducing tall skyscrapers to nothing but rubble.

Mason stared at me for a few seconds, and then he laughed. “You always were funny, Jolie,” he said. “You’ve totally perfected that deadpan delivery since I last saw you.”

“Deadpan delivery?” I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”

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