Chapter 15

chapter Fifteen

But that was exactly what he wanted. The realization flowed thick and slow through me, inching its way to my guts. He wanted me to show him what I could do, to be willing to fuel my abilities with the same kind of viciousness pumping through

him.

I turned my back on him again, my fists tightening with his triumphant chuckles.

Had the anger even been mine, or had he pushed it into me?

"Everything okay back there?" Cate called over her shoulder. "Hang on tight, we're almost there."

Whatever Marlinton normally looked like, it was that much worse under the cover of gray clouds and a layer of misty rain. Strange and terrible enough to distract even Martin from the games he was playing with my head.

The deserted shopping centers with broken storefronts were disturbing enough before we cut into the first neighborhood of little brown and gray and white houses. We passed a number of empty cars along the street and in driveways, some with bright orange FOR SALE signs still stuck in the back window, but all of them covered in a thick skin of brown, rotting leaves. The cars were surrounded by piles of junk and boxes-furniture, rugs, computers. Entire rooms full of rusting, useless electronics.

"What happened here?" I asked.

"It's a little hard to explain, but do you remember what I told you about the economy? After the attack in D.C., the government was thrown into a tailspin, and one thing led to another. We couldn't pay off our national debt, we couldn't provide money to the states, we couldn't provide benefits, we couldn't pay government employees. Even small towns like this one didn't escape. People lost their jobs when companies failed, and then they lost their homes because they could no longer pay for them. The whole thing is terrible."

"But where is everyone?"

"In tent cities, outside of the big cities like Richmond and D.C., trying to find work. I know a lot of people are trying to go west because they think there's going to be more work and food available, butwell, I imagine it'll be safer. There's a lot of looting and vigilante groups roaming about here."

I was almost afraid to ask. "What about the police? Why didn't they stop them?"

Cate bit her bottom lip. "It's like I just told you-the states couldn't afford to pay their salaries, so they were let go. Most of the police work is done by volunteers now, or the National Guard. That's why you need to stay close to me, okay?"

It only got worse when we passed the elementary school.

The pastel jungle gym, or whatever was left of it, was stained black and twisting toward the ground. Clusters of birds were perched along its broken backbone, watching us as we blew past the stop sign and turned the corner.

We passed what must have once been the cafeteria, but the entire right side of the building had crumbled in on itself. The rainbow mural of faces and suns painted on the other side of

the building was visible just beyond the tangled web of yellow police tape blocking off the wreckage.

"Someone planted a bomb in the cafeteria, just before the first Collection," Cate said. "Set it off during lunchtime."

"The government?" Martin pressed, but Cate didn't have an answer for him. She switched her blinker on as she made another right, signaling her turn to no one in particular.

A city with no people.

My breath fogged up the window as we left that neighborhood behind and sped toward another strip mall. We passed a Starbucks, a nail salon, a McDonald's, and another nail salon before Cate finally pulled into a gas station.

I saw the other car immediately-a tan SUV, a kind I had never seen before. The man leaning against it wasn't pumping gas. That would have been impossible. All of the gas pumps were beaten in, their hoses and nozzles strewn across the

concrete.

Cate honked, but the man had already spotted us and was waving. He was young, too, at least as young as Cate, with a small build and dark brown hair that fell over his forehead. As we got closer, the smile on his face bloomed into something brilliant, and I recognized him then as the man from Cate's thoughts. The one she had pictured in dazzling colors and lights as we left Thurmond. Cate barely had the car in park before she threw her door open and bolted straight for him. I heard her let out a sharp laugh as she threw her arms around his neck, knocking into him with so much force that the sunglasses flew off his face. Martin's sweaty palm touched the spot where my neck met my shirt collar, giving me a light squeeze, and that was it for me. I pushed the car door open and stepped outside, whether Cate wanted me to or not. The air was damp with a thin mist of rain, brightening the trees and grass into an electric green. It clung to my cheeks and hair, a welcome relief after spending the last few hours confined with Martin the Mouth Breather, who seemed to be coated with something perpetually sticky. "-they found Norah about a half hour after you left," the man said as I walked up. "They sent two units after you. Did you run into any trouble?" "None." Cate had an arm around his middle. "But I'm not surprised. They're stretched so thin right now. But where are your-" Rob shook his head sharply, a shadow passing over his face. "I couldn't get them out." Cate's whole body seemed to slump. "OhI'm sorry." "It's fine. Looks like you had more success than I did-is she all right?" Both of them turned to look at me. "Ah-Rob, this is Ruby," she said. "Ruby, this is mythis is Rob." "Such a boring introduction!" Rob clucked his tongue. "They've been hiding the pretty ones at Thurmond, I see." He held out his hand to me. A large palm, five fingers, hairy knuckles. Normal. By the way I stared, you would have thought his skin was covered in scales. My hand stayed pressed flat against my thigh. I took a step closer to Cate. There wasn't a gun in his hand, or a knife, or a White Noise machine, but I could see cuts and bruises, some fresh, crisscrossing the back of his hand, all the way to his wrist, where the angry red lines disappeared beneath the sleeves of his white shirt. It was only when he pulled his hand back that I noticed a spray of small red spots on his right shirt cuff. Rob's face tightened when he saw where I was looking. That same hand disappeared behind Cate's back, tightening around her waist. "Total heartbreaker, right?" Cate glanced up at him. "She'll be perfect for inside jobs. Who could say no to that face? An Orange ." Rob let out an appreciative whistle. "Damn." People who valued Oranges. Imagine that. "Is Sarah all right?" I pressed. Rob only looked confused. "She means Norah Jenkins," Cate said. "The name Sarah was just her cover." "She's fine," Rob said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "As far as I know they're still questioning her. I'm sure our eyes in Thurmond will update us if anything changes." My hands suddenly felt numb. "Is Cate your name?" She laughed. "Yes, but my last name is Conner, not Begbie." I nodded, only because I didn't know what else to do or say. "Didn't you say there were two of them?" Rob was staring over my shoulder. On cue, I heard a door open and slam shut behind me. "There he is," Cate said, clucking like a proud mother hen. "Martin, get over here! I want you to meet your new comrade. He'll be driving with us to Georgia." Martin strode up and took the man's hand before Rob had the chance to offer it. "Now," Cate said, clapping her hands together. "We don't have much time, but we need you to wash up and change into something a little less conspicuous." The SUV let out a steady chime as Rob opened one of its rear doors. As he turned, a few scattered rays of sunlight caught the metal handle of the gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans. I took a step back as he reached for something inside the car that I couldn't see.