“Drugs? An audio pulse? Hypnosis?” Counteracting all the options seems impossible, especially out here.
“My bet is drugs.”
So is mine, especially after talking to the man on the other side of the fence. I consider telling Tomas about the man, the vial he gave me and the truth serum the Testers will dispense to us. Withholding the information feels like a betrayal. Only, I don’t know how to explain why I have not shared this information with Tomas up until now. I had good reasons, but Tomas might not understand. The last thing we need right now is hurt feelings or recriminations. I will have to find another time to tell him.
Instead of sharing my secrets, I ask, “How can we fight a drug we don’t know or understand?”
“I don’t know if we can. I guess once we get back to the Testing Center we’ll have to figure out how they plan on administering it. Maybe one of the staff will tell us if we ask in the right way. If they put the drug in water or something, we’ll have to act like we drank it. Then pretend we don’t remember anything from before our arrival at The Testing.” He takes a step toward me and runs a hand over my cheek. “I’ve done and seen things out here I don’t want to relive the rest of my life, but I can’t imagine not remembering the first time I kissed you.”
His lips find mine with a passion that takes my breath away. Maybe it’s the fever that causes me to shiver as he kisses my cheek, my neck, my lips. But I don’t think so. I wrap my arms tight around his neck and return his kisses with my own—hot, urgent, needy. A deep yearning fills me as I struggle to get closer, although we are wrapped together so tight, I doubt air could pass between us. But it doesn’t feel like enough. And when Tomas steps away, we are both left panting and wanting more.
But more will have to wait. We’ve been away from our microphones for long enough. Any longer and the Testing officials will wonder about our silence. Tomas places one last, incredibly sweet kiss on my lips, takes my hand, and walks me back to our camp.
When we arrive, I pretend to wake up, ask questions about what happened while I was asleep, and listen with a smile as Tomas weaves a tale about a squirrel he tried to capture. I don’t know if those listening are amused, but I am.
We eat lunch and mount our bicycles, hoping to travel another thirty miles before dark. Only, I’m not sure I’m going to make it that far. The pills are no longer controlling the sizzling pain in my arm. Or if they are having an impact, my arm is worse than I imagined. Ten miles along, I find my body slowing down. Tomas encourages me to keep pedaling, and I do try. But my pace doesn’t pick up. It is all I can do just to stay balanced and moving forward.
Another ten miles along the road, it is Tomas who stops and points out a shape running along the northern fence line. I squint into the sunshine, trying to make out the details of who it might be. Certainly another Testing candidate. By the gait I believe the candidate is male. Tomas then points behind us. Far in the distance is another figure stumbling along the road. Friend or foe? We keep moving forward, hoping to avoid answering the question.
Two more miles and I can no longer pedal. My head is spinning. My throat is dry. The wounds on my arm scream so loud it is hard to focus on anything else. I tell Tomas I have to stop.
Unwrapping the bandage, I prepare for the worst and find it. The wounds are swollen and hot to the touch. When I was a kid, I fell and opened a large gash on my leg. Dr. Flint was away from the colony, so Mom patched up the wound and made me stay in bed. Several days later, my leg looked a lot like my arm currently does. Luckily, Dr. Flint had returned and knew what to do. He gave me a small dose of something for the pain, broke open the scab, and squeezed yellow and white pus out of the wound along with a small piece of metal. The contaminated metal was the source of the problem.
I’m certain the scabs on my arm now trap whatever poison is infecting me. And there is no Dr. Flint. Only Tomas, me, and my need to survive.
Tomas starts a fire. He boils water and pieces of the towel I took from the Testing Center to use for bandages since I have used all the ones in the medical kit. Meanwhile, I sit down, take several more pain pills, and ask Tomas for the scabbard to his knife. He gives me a strange look, but slides the knife out, unstraps the case, and hands it over. Before I can question what I’m about to do, I bite down on the thick leather, grab the top of my left arm, and squeeze.
Had I not been seated, the pain would have brought me to my knees. As it is, my stomach heaves, my eyes tear, and my lungs gasp for air as my fingers dig into my flesh. Bit by bit the scabs break free of the skin and pus—yellow and green and swirling with milky-looking blood—streams out. I gag at the stench of meat left too long in the sun. I realize the meat smell is coming from my arm and begin to cry. But I don’t stop squeezing. Pus runs down my arm. Tomas takes the bandage I removed earlier, dips it in water, and begins to dab away the infection as it oozes out. But no matter how quickly he works, there is more to take its place.
The world swims in and out of focus. I double over from the pain. And still I squeeze. My fingers move alongside the middle of the wounds and squeeze again. Then lower still.
Tomas talks to me, but his voice sounds miles away. I can’t make out his words. Time loses meaning as I force the infection from my body drop by putrid yellow drop. I only stop when the wounds stream blood red. No yellow. No green or white. No infection—for now.
I free my fingers from their viselike grip and let Tomas clean the stinging open cuts with hot water. He uses the last of the ointment and wraps my arm in sterile wet cloths. He rocks me back and forth and whispers that everything will be okay. That I should sleep. He’ll make sure I stay safe.
My dreams are filled with equal combinations of horror and happiness. Ryme and Malachi help me bury the girl without eyes. Zeen forgives me for stealing from him and reminds me to call home with the Transit Communicator when I get the chance. Roman grins as he walks through a door and abandons me to a group of watchers who scratch me over and over with their claws and then explode before my eyes. My father’s arms rock me for hours the way he did when I was little. The rocking stops. He cocks his head to the side and tells me I have to get up. Someone is here.
My eyes snap open.
I can feel Tomas breathing in the dark beside me—slow, steady breaths that speak of a deep, restoring sleep. Taking care with my arm, I push my body to a seated position. I flex my fingers on my injured hand. They move easier than yesterday. The rest of the arm and shoulder doesn’t feel as swollen, and either the medication has finally kicked in or the worst of the pain is gone. I blink back tear
s of relief, and out of the corner of my eye see something shift in the shadows. Holding my breath, I wait for it to move again. I catch a glimpse of its size in the fading moonlight. Big. Human. One of the mutated inhabitants of this area or a fellow Testing candidate? From the way the shadow moves, I think it’s a candidate.
Our fire has burned out and we are camped in a ditch behind a set of bushes, which probably makes it hard to spot us. But daylight isn’t far away, and the candidate doesn’t look like he’s in a hurry. He’s slowly picking his way across the ground about fifty yards away and is coming in our direction.
Slowly, I reach out my arm, trying to find my Testing bag. I am panicked when I realize it’s not nearby. Tomas must have moved it after I’d fallen asleep. And with it, my gun.
I squint into the darkness, trying to locate the bag, but its dark color camouflages it from sight. Without knowing our new neighbor’s intentions, I don’t dare move around. Lying back on the ground, I nudge Tomas and whisper in his ear, “Another candidate is out there.” His eyes spring open, alert and fearful. Then he nods to let me know he understands. Together we hold our breath and wait.
The snap of twigs and the rustle of leaves tell us our fellow candidate is closer. The first gray rays of dawn chase the darkness as I peer under the bushes. No one is there.
Tomas raises an eyebrow and shakes his head. He doesn’t see him either. The other candidate must have already passed us by and is traveling toward Tosu City.
“I think we’re safe,” Tomas whispers. A branch snaps under him as he sits up.
I hear the whistling of the knife flying through the air a moment before I see it in the pale light. That extra second saves my life as I dive to the side and watch the blade sail into the bushes behind me. Our attacker gives an angry shout as I scramble to my feet and look around for my Testing bag. Tomas draws his knife and races forward as I spot the bag sitting on the ground next to my bicycle over fifteen feet away. The sound of metal on metal tells me our attacker has another weapon and Tomas and he are now engaged in battle.
Tomas cries out as the attacker’s long, wide knife bites into his side. And that’s when I get a look at the other candidate. His face is thinner and his cheeks hollow, but I would recognize that sneer anywhere. Roman. And now he is pulling his knife back and preparing to strike Tomas again.