“Take me to her.” I demand.
“Watch.” Amanda says
The unknown woman, who I sense is a pilot, puts her hand on Eliza’s hand. “Show me what you learned to do honey bee.”
The animal is a dead cat. Eliza considers it, closes her eyes, and the cat twitches. Magarat covers her mouth with her hand. Eliza concentrates on the animal for a few moments and then moves on to playing with a rag doll.
“Interesting, isn’t it Amy? She can do that without the organic matrix you call the fog. Very talented indeed but so misguided. I wonder what other tricks the woman, Thresh, taught your little girl? We can help you restore her, heal her — undo the things that witch did to your daughter. But we need you to give us the vials and tell the Raven to stand down.”
I’m paralyzed and anguished. “Give me Eliza. I need some time.” Theo grabs me as my knees buckle.
Amanda gives me a sympathetic pat. “I’m so sorry we had to do it this way. You gave us no choice bringing that — material — here. Hand me the vials. Please.”
My mind is swimming. I pull the glass containers out of my pocket and rest them in my palm. The liquid within resembles water. I wonder how something so seemingly benign can lead to the decline of a great civilization. My eyes close and I drop them on the floor, crushing them under my feet.
Amanda shouts. “Initiate biosecurity.” The guards run from the room and return with large guns. Before they can fire, the floor, walls, and screen in the room hiss and bubble, corroding before our eyes. One of the guards manages to release some flames from her weapon, but the gun quickly crumbles and fire jumps onto her uniform. She screams and falls onto the ground.
Theo and I jump through the hole where the screen once stood. Eliza, Magarat, and the woman stand, mesmerized by the commotion. Eliza jumps into Theo’s arms and I lead Magarat out.
Amanda’s clothes dissolve from her body. She’s trying to brush the material off but spreads it around, speeding the process.
I pause, considering her. “Amanda, I would recommend that you evacuate the building. I’ve no idea how long the beams will support the other floors.”
We run into the gardens surrounding the Institute laboratory on the shore of the lake. It’s a glorious day, the sun warmly greeting us. The building looks gorgeous, gleaming in the light, not yet betraying the infection eating it from within. I watch the Institute workers run out, their clothing in tatters and their weapons disintegrating in their hands as I lightly brush the three remaining intact vials in my pocket.
I yell to the Raven. “Run my dear ship. Leave this place before the disease gets you too.” I see the ship rising in the sky and then zipping away at an impossible speed.
“Did you send the ship to mars?” Theo’s incredulous.
“No, not yet. We’ll see what happens.” We watch as the building collapses from its considerable weight. Shattered glass and crushed metal roll into the lake.
On the horizon, the shapes of the Phobos and Fuerst appear. They are clearly cautious about approaching too close. The bacteria’s likely billowing in the air above, contaminating anything artificial that comes too close. I smile at the thought of Gorian throwing a tantrum in the Fuerst’s cabin, with Etch chuckling under his breath.
Grey, Amanda, and Vanne sit under a tree, with barely a stich of clothing on them. “Come on Grey, let’s get you some clothes.” He stands and walks with me to the village, leaving his companions behind.
Ricard greets us at the gate. “What do we do about the Institute people?”
I shrug. “Show them compassion. Let’s get them some clothes and shelter. I have no idea whether their people will come to rescue them given the danger that’s now here. Perhaps the Institute will ditch them just like they did our ancestors centuries ago.”
“What will they do?” Theo scratches his chin.
“I have no idea. Maybe you can find a couple of blacksmiths and farmers in there.” I take Eliza from his arms and head into town for lunch.
Grey yells at me. “What do I tell Ferris about Gorian?”
“I’m sure Etch will be back with her when he knows it’s safe to return. Gorian’s resourceful. She’ll be back, if it’s just to beat my ass.”
Eliza, Theo, and I navigate the street back to our house, when people start shrieking. A woman exclaims, “My necklace, it’s gone.” A boy riding a small bike he received from the Institute falls down as part of it disintegrates. People run from the streets as the Institute-made portions of their clothing melt away.
I hold Theo’s hand tight. “Looks like the goop has infected the town.”
“They’ll be alright,” he smiles. “Everything that matters is made of metal or wood and will still be around after this passes.”
Once we’re home, I sit Eliza down. “What’d they do to you honey?”
“Nothing. We just played.”
“What kind of game?”
“The lady asked me if I could wake up the cat. I don’t know how I did it. I just thought about being a cat and it moved. But it didn’t wake up.”
I’ve avoided trying it but it’s time. I focus my thoughts on my girl. I say with my mind, “Can you hear me?”
“You’re doing what my other mommy, the bad woman, did with me. You can talk without your mouth.”
“Can you do that too?
“Yes. Can I eat lunch now?
Chapter 65 – Aftermath
We’re eating lunch on a dock at the lake shore. Eliza throws rocks, examining the strange ways the ripples seem to expand and contract, rather than stretching out ever further. It is an odd place where the rules of nature don’t seem to work very well. Iggy and his children sit at the end of the pier talking. I lament that there is no way we humans, with the exception of Eliza, can understand their language.
“Poor Iggy.” Theo stands in front of our friend who’s unable to communicate with us because his transmitter fell apart.
I sigh, “It’s all my fault.”
He produces a tablet of paper and writes in perfect script: My children and I will survive. We need to learn sign language to communicate with you. First, we must eat. Without a food synthesizer, we will need to search for food in the lake. We will return soon.
A tear trickles down my cheek. I miss talking with him and now they must leave. “I’m so sorry, Iggy. I may have acted hastily. But I still feel I did the right thing. We’ll make an aquatic garden for you and your kids. We’ll grow the best greens you’ve ever eaten.”
Iggy nods, smiles in his toothless way, and he and his children slip into the water.
Samuel hands me a perfect apple. “You did right, Amy. There’s no telling what those people were up to. We’re safer in our own hands.”
“Thanks Samuel. The only person I’m worried about is Grey. He hasn’t seen Gorian in days and wonders whether Etch will bring her back.”
“Oh, she’ll be back. No way she’s leaving him and the baby alone.”
Ricard steps in from the city gate. “We’ve got some angry people out there.”
I frown. “We save them from Thresh and the brown death. Now they’re ready to lynch us.”
“Cooler heads will prevail Missus Marksman.” Ricard snatches my apple and takes a bite. “Show some patience. I’ve lived among them my entire life. They’re resilient and are already seeing the humor behind all this.”
“What humor?” I ask.
“They were acting like spoiled children — getting candy without earning it. We need to work for what we get. The kids have already learned enough to improve things around here immensely. We’ll be eating better and having less sickness. It’s all good and occurring at our own pace.”