Enders(18)

“How many Metals do you think there are?” I asked.

“I’m guessing my father has close to fifty. So there’s about another fifty out there somewhere.”

“Have you heard of a Starter named Emma?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so. No. She someone you’re looking for? Or avoiding?”

“She’s Helena’s granddaughter. I promised I’d find her.”

“I understand,” he said, hands in pockets. “You just have to realize, not everyone wants to be found.”



That night I dreamt I was standing in a field alone at night, with tall grass up to my waist. One tree stood in front of me. A red tree.

The Old Man walked out from behind the tree. The pixels on his mask danced and chased each other, glowing blue and giving off that slight buzzing sound.

“Callie. Where have you been?” he said in his raspy electronic voice. “I’ve missed you.”

“I thought you were gone,” I said.

“I’m right here, Callie. You know that. I’ll never leave.”

He approached. I backed up. Hyden rose from the tall grass underneath the tree. I thought he was going to help me. But he stood beside his father, walking toward me.

“We’ll never leave,” Hyden said.

As they got closer, all I could see were the blue pixels.





CHAPTER SIX





When I woke up, it took a moment to remember that I was at Hyden’s place. My head hurt. It could have been whatever Hyden used to sedate me. Or it might have been my chip. I blamed a lot of things on my chip these days. Anything that messed with your head that much had to have side effects.

I went into the cramped bathroom, showering quickly because I wanted to go find Redmond. Alone.

But when I went into the main lab, Redmond wasn’t there. Hyden stood at an airscreen, his sleeves rolled up, punching in codes. Before I could duck back out, he spotted me and waved me over. Surrounding him was a magical clutter of weird plasmas, elements that looked like bundles of tiny threads, the ends floating in the air. Liquids moved through invisible tubes.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m working on a blocker for you,” he said.

“So my chip can’t be tracked?”

“Don’t get too excited. It could take a while.” He stepped away from the airscreen.

“Redmond made a temporary one for me.” I felt the back of my head. “It’s still there, it just doesn’t work.”

I thought about my dream last night. How could I trust the son of the Old Man? My mom used to quote an expression, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Hyden clearly had the technical genius of his father. But what else did he have?

He gave me a curious look. “Do I make you nervous?”

I shrugged. Was I that easy to read?

“I know,” he said. “You woke up thinking, what am I doing with the Old Man’s son?” He wiggled his fingers in a spooky motion. “Just because my father is a monster doesn’t mean I am. In fact, I know exactly what I don’t want to be, because of him.”

“And sons never turn out to be a lot like their dads?”

“Well, you’ll just have to watch me to make sure I don’t go to the dark side.” He ran his hand through his hair and stared at his airscreen. “I’ve been working twenty-four-seven to try and stop him.”

Hyden had to feel responsible. Because he was. He was the one who’d come up with the technology.

“And now we’re running out of time,” he said. “He escalated everything with that bombing.”

I stared at one of the tubes near him. A rainbow of colors flowed through it.

“Wasn’t it a waste for him to destroy a Metal?” I asked. “He can’t make any more.”

“It was worth it to him to get you. Which he almost did.”

I turned at the same time he did and accidentally brushed his bare arm with my hand. Hyden recoiled, held his arm, and squeezed his eyes shut as if to will away the pain.

“Are you okay?” I remembered the way he’d reacted at the parking garage.

He sucked in a breath. “It’s nothing.”

But it obviously was something. He opened his eyes. A flush of embarrassment came over his cheeks.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, not making eye contact.

“I didn’t mean to,” I said. “What’s wrong, Hyden? What happened to you?”

He looked at me as if he wanted to explain but couldn’t find the words.

“I have to go. Sorry,” Hyden said over his shoulder as he left.



The sterile lab was empty. I went into the hall, wondering where else a scientist would be. Then I smelled coffee. I followed the smell, and it led me to the kitchen.