Allie frowns. “I’m so sorry, hon.”
He shakes his head. “It was a relief just to find out she was safe, okay? At that point I didn’t care what she was doing or who she was doing it for as long as it wasn’t Dad. And we hoped she could get you out.”
“I tried to convince the Major to let you go, Fiona,” Allie says. “I promise. But you’ve seen how he is. This mission is his life.”
“And mine, too,” I say back, more determined than ever to keep the Army from getting merinite. “You aren’t taking the element, but if you want to be buried with it feel free to stay.”
Graham lets out a frustrated grunt. “What are you, some syndicate boss now? Are you seriously threatening to kill us?”
“Why not? You’ve threatened me plenty of times. Good intentions or not, I refuse to let Radiasure be produced again.” I’m tired of listening to lies. Every time I let him in just the littlest bit, I get burned. “Brady, go for it.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Brady leaps into the air, and Graham barely dodges him.
“Wait!” Graham yells. “She’s not trying to make Radiasure!”
“Graham! Don’t!” Allie covers his mouth, her eyes wider now than at any time I’ve seen her. This piques my interest. So there is someone she’s told her top secret information to.
“Then what is she trying to do, huh?” I ask.
“She’s—” he tries to say through her hands, but she snuffs out the rest of the words.
“No, you can’t! I’ll get in huge trouble!” Allie says.
Graham wrestles his way out of her hold. “We’re already in trouble, and Fiona will never let us go if she doesn’t know the truth, trust me. But if we tell her, maybe she’ll actually help you.”
Allie doesn’t seem to like this assessment. She looks me over skeptically. I can’t begin to imagine what she’s hiding, but it must be big.
Brady looks in my general direction. “Fiona? What’re you thinking?”
“I don’t know, I’m kinda curious,” I say. “Seth? You wanna let them talk more?”
Seth shrugs as he shakily puts his hand to the wall. Crap, his vision must be messing up again—if he loses it Graham and Allie will get away. “They don’t seem to stop.”
I let out a long sigh, knowing we have to stall while Seth recovers. “Okay, Graham. You have one chance to convince me not to lock you and your girlfriend up forever. Use it wisely.”
Graham looks to Allie, and she gives him the smallest nod. He floats down slowly, as if he’s that confident in what he has to say. “She’s not trying to make Radiasure, Fi. Allie is trying to cure the mutations.”
The words bounce around in my mind as I stand there speechless. It feels like the world I know is crumbling under my feet, replaced with something I can’t even begin to imagine. “That’s not possible. They’ve tried for years.”
Allie looks hesitant. “They’ve also never had merinite—it’s the missing key. I’ve studied Radiasure my entire life, trying to figure out the process of mutation and how to reverse it. I have formulas to test. I just need the element to do it.”
“Are you saying…you can make people normal again?” I breathe out, the idea too tantalizing for my own good.
Allie nods. “That’s the goal.”
I put my hand over my heart, which is fluttering faster than it should. Normal. That would mean I could see myself. It would mean I wouldn’t have to deal with syndicates ever again. Seth and I wouldn’t have to fight over my invisibility. Everything I’ve ever wanted could be possible. And a lot more than that.
“If you want out of here,” I say, “then you have to swear to me you’ll never tell the Army where this place is located.”
“I swear.” Allie puts her hand on her heart. “On my own life. If you let me use the merinite—I’ll die before I tell them where it is.”
Her sincerity is shockingly clear, and I get the sense that she wouldn’t work for the military if she didn’t have to. All she wants is to make a cure, and she’ll side with anyone who can make that happen. I am now the one who can do that—so she’s on my side. Little does she know, I’m on hers, too. “Okay, then. You can take a small sample, but if you want more you have to come through us.”
“Of course.” Allie goes back to the water. “Though Major Norton may not be so easy to convince.”
“You better make it happen, because we can ruin this place.”
She looks at me, horrified. “Don’t do that.”
“Then don’t betray my trust.” I watch her take samples, suddenly excited by the prospect of what that merinite could become. Maybe too excited.
A cure.
Who could pass that up?
Chapter 28
As I head downstairs the next morning, I can’t quite believe what happened last night. Was it some kind of horrible, wonderful dream all wrapped into one? I don’t think so. Allie really did say she was trying to cure mutations, and from everything I know about her that makes much more sense than her being on some kind of power trip. She’s too soft for that.
Seth didn’t seem too happy that I let them go once I knew what they were doing, but he’ll understand eventually. This could change the world in a much better way, and it would definitely change my world.
The kitchen is still abandoned and dark. No coffee going yet. I decide to start it for Mom so she doesn’t have to wait. Then I pour myself a glass of milk and pull out the only thing I’ve eaten for breakfast for years. I’m still not tired of blueberry Pop Tarts. I wonder if I’ll ever get to the point where I can’t stand them because I’ve eaten so many.
A muffled giggle comes from the ceiling above me, which I can only assume is Spud. Trying not to gag over what might be going on up there, I rush to the living room and turn on the TV, volume on the verge of excessively loud.
The longer I sit in there by myself, the more uncomfortable I become. It feels unsafe, being alone like this. Even with other people in the house, I can’t help thinking I’m vulnerable. And after what happened with The Phantom yesterday…if he gets word about my cooperation with the Army I’ll be number one on his hit list.
In fact, I better just assume he’s already planning a horrific death for me.
My phone buzzes, and I open the text. It’s from Graham. The Major would like to see you tomorrow. Is that okay?
The thought of seeing Major Norton again makes me sick, but the possibility of a cure outweighs that. I have to know if it can be done. Sure. So I can go to school without being jailed?
A minute later I get Yes. Seth is also cleared now.
I’m sure he’ll be so happy. Or beyond pissed.
Is he ever happy?
Do you ever tell the truth? I type back, still mad that it had to come out like this. Why couldn’t he have told me upfront once he knew what was going on? That flight after he “rescued” me comes to mind, how he said even if it didn’t look like it he had my best interests in mind. He knew then how mad this would make me, but he picked Allie’s secret over me.
“Who’re you texting?” Miles says from the stairs. Spud is right behind him, and she’s dressed in one of his baseball shirts. She’s looking at her device as usual, her eyes flitting back and forth rapidly as she takes in the information.