"WREN."
The soft voice made me stir, and I winced at the pain that shot through my neck. I was leaning against
something, my cheek pressed against a lovely warm and solid object, and I forced my eyelids open.
My head was on Callum's shoulder. I'd fallen asleep. I took in a surprised breath and jerked into a
sitting position, swinging around to see if we were safe. The streets were deserted, bright with early
morning light.
"I thought you might want to move before everyone starts getting up," Callum said, a smile tugging at
the edge of his mouth.
"I fell asleep?" I asked stupidly.
"Yes."
"I'm sorry." I couldn't believe I'd passed out. For hours. Anyone could have snuck up on us.
"It's okay," Callum said, stretching. "I stayed awake and kept watch. Plus you look all cute and
nonlethal when you sleep."
A blush crept up my cheeks and he leaned forward to kiss me, making me blush more deeply.
"Um, yes," I said when he pulled away. "We should probably move before the streets get too
crowded." I wasn't sure of the best place to hide, but we did need to get to the other side of town, closer
to the fence at the city line.
"Should we try to get me some clothes?" Callum asked as he reached for his helmet and strapped it
on. "I don't really mind being in my underwear and shorty shorts, but this might attract unwanted
attention."
"Maybe," I said, holding back a grin. I glanced around and stood up to slowly peek into the open
waste bin.
"Are you really looking for clothes in the trash?"
I held up a dirty paper bag. "We could make holes in this."
"I think my wearing a paper-bag dress will actually attract more stares," he said dryly.
I tossed it back and reached for my helmet, glancing around. I couldn't see any humans, but I could
hear the shuffle of a few of them nearby. We would need food eventually—my stomach was feeling a little
empty—but my first concern was getting across the city before it got too crowded.
"No one has come over here recently?" I asked.
"No. I've heard officers occasionally, but not for a couple hours."
"Thanks," I said, leaning back against the wall and smiling at him. "For keeping watch."
He brushed his fingers against my hair, running them down the ponytail. "Of course. You can sleep on
me any time you want."
His eyes were soft, different than I'd ever seen them, and I wanted to crawl into his lap immediately
and take him up on that offer. When he leaned forward to kiss me I let him, just for a moment.
I pulled away and took a quick glance around, strapping my helmet on as I jumped up.
"Time for our morning run," I said. "Maybe we can get to the other side of town without being
spotted."
He nodded as he got to his feet, and I wrapped my fingers around his wrist as we sprinted out from
behind the trash bin and took off down the alleyway. We hit the dirt road and I let go of Callum to pump
my arms as we cut away from the center of town, to the tents and the worst of the slums. My feet pounded
the dirt, and I glanced over at Callum to see if he was okay.
He was gone.
I skidded to a stop, my breath coming in big gasps as I frantically whipped my head around. I took off
back in the direction of the school, flying around the corner again.
There was nothing. Not even a human. Clothes flapped on the line in the backyard of a house next to
me and I jogged away from the noise, straining to listen for a sign of him.
Panic surged up my chest with such force that I clapped my hand over my mouth to keep from
screaming his name. Giving away my location was not the smart thing to do.
I closed my eyes and listened. I could hear people running, a few shouts, but nothing that sounded like
Callum.
But humans shouting and running couldn't be good, especially with a Reboot on the loose. I sprinted in
the direction of the shouts, coming to a quick stop at the corner of a building when I realized it was HARC
officers yelling orders at one another. I couldn't see them but they were close, no more than a block or
two away.
What if they'd already found him?
What would I do if I couldn't find him? Just head to Austin without him and hope he made it by
himself?
The idea was so ridiculous I almost laughed. I turned down a random street and broke into a run. I
never would have escaped without him. I would have stayed in my little white cell, happily, numbly, until
I died.
I wasn't going anywhere without Callum.
I stopped in my tracks, all thoughts of staying hidden and safe flying from my brain.
I screamed his name so loudly my throat ached in protest. But I yelled again, listening desperately for
a response.
"Wren!"
The distant yell came from back toward the schoolhouse, and I took off at top speed, ignoring the
gawking humans wandering out of their houses.
I recognized the sounds as I passed the schoolhouse and headed for the center of town. The hysteria,
the angry shouts. I'd heard it before, when humans had caught themselves a Reboot.
I rounded a corner and spotted Callum running toward me as fast as he could. His battered pants
flapped as he sprinted, his knees and thighs exposed and bloodied.
Behind him was a horde of angry townspeople. There were about fifteen of them, most of them
without weapons, but they were being joined on all sides as humans ran out of their houses to see what the
fuss was about. It wasn't often they got to face a Reboot without HARC's protection, and clearly they
wanted to take advantage of it. They kicked up dirt as they ran, and the air was full of it, obscuring their
faces and making some of them cough.
Callum had already taken a beating. His face was bruised, one of his arms bent at a funny angle, and I
barreled toward him.
A boy about our age caught his uninjured arm and yanked him to the ground, but Callum kicked him in
the chest so hard he flew to the other side of the road. If I hadn't been focused on getting him to safety I
might have smiled in pride at how quickly he reacted.
He scrambled to his feet, fending off a woman trying to bash his head with a baseball bat. Relief
flooded his eyes as I surged forward and caught the bat, snatching it out of her grasp and tossing it as far
as I could. A hand clamped down on my shoulder and I heard gasps from several humans as I landed flat
on my back.
They all grabbed for me, yelling things that I couldn't understand. A hand went for my neck and I
snapped it, my eyes burning into the man's. I kicked and grabbed the gun from my pants, their greedy little
hands all trying to get to it so they could put a bullet in our brains.
Callum shoved aside a man directly in front of me and pulled me to my feet, dragging me out of their
grasp. I whirled around, pointing the gun in their direction. A few backed off, hands raised in surrender,
but most kept right on coming.
I only had a few bullets left, so I fired one shot into the leg of the human who looked the fastest and
took off in the opposite direction with Callum.
"You're monsters!" I heard a woman scream. "You're soulless monsters!"
The humans were tiring, falling farther and farther behind as their inferior lungs and legs gave out. We
flew down the streets, over the dirt roads, into the ugliest part of town. As we approached the old medical
building I glanced behind us again and realized we had lost them for good.
I came to a stop next to the one-story building and pressed my hands against my thighs as I gasped for
air.
"I'm sorry," Callum said, leaning against the building as his chest heaved up and down. "I should
have . . ." He shook his head with a little shrug.
I looked up at him, the anxiety from earlier setting in even though he was standing in front of me. I
tried to hide my fear, to push back the sick feeling that kept resurfacing as it hit me that I'd come very
close to losing him, but I must have failed, because he gave me a questioning, confused look. I dropped
my eyes from his. I didn't know how to put the sentence together, to tell him that I had been terrified of
something happening to him. It sounded pathetic in my head. It would sound worse out loud.
I cleared my throat. "What happened?"
"A couple guys grabbed me. I tried to yell, but they had me by the head. They dragged me to an alley
so . . ." He frowned at me. "So they could all get a hit in, I guess? They really hate us, huh?"
I hesitated, then nodded, because it was the truth. He lowered his eyes in disappointment.
"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "It's my fault. I've worked this area a long time. They despise me. They
probably wanted me."
He shrugged. "It's not your fault." He reached up, rubbing his hand against his head. "But they took my
helmet."
I hadn't even realized it; I was so distracted by my ridiculous feelings. There was no point in
disguising my horror.
"Yeah, it's not good," he said with a sigh.
It was definitely not good. The officers would aim for his head and there would be nothing to block
their bullets.
"Do you know where they took it off?" I asked.
"When we got to the center of town, I think."
I glanced back, like I might actually be able to see it from here.
"You can't go back," he protested.
The alarm sounded, proving him right. The roaring of shuttles approaching filled the air and I shoved
the gun in my pocket, and pressed myself against the side of the building with Callum.
"What should we do?" he asked, looking up at the sky.
"Shhh."
The shushing noise came from inside the building, followed by a sniffle, and Callum and I spun
around. The wood was old, the white paint peeling everywhere, and I caught movement inside through the
cracks. I leaned closer and someone gasped.
The door next to me swung open and I jumped away from the little girl who appeared. She blinked at
me with tired eyes, squinting in the sunlight.
"Grace!" a terrified voice called, but the little girl just stood there, looking up at me.
A messy-haired teenager ran to the door and scooped Grace up in her arms. "We didn't do anything,"
she said, backing away as she hugged the girl to her chest.
"We're not here for you," Callum said, his voice edging on annoyed.
Her eyes lifted to the shuttles in the sky, then dropped back to us. "You can't stay here."
I looked out at the open space in front of us. The patchy grass led to a small clump of trees several
yards away, but they were skinny and missing half their leaves. They wouldn't provide any cover, and we
were sure to be spotted if we spent too much time out in the open.
"Did you escape?" she asked.
Neither of us responded and I felt a twinge of pride that Callum didn't trust this human.
"You can't stay here," she repeated. "I'm sorry. I know you . . . can't help it"—she gestured to us
—"but you have to go." She pointed to the left. "There's a ditch over there. It's kind of covered by some
trees. You could try hiding there."
I looked at her in surprise as Callum tugged on my arm. "Come on," he said, studying the sky. "We
have an opening."
I let him pull me, glancing back at the teenager. "Thank you."
"Yeah. Good luck."
I took off in a slow run behind Callum, one eye on the shuttles. They were scattered in other areas, but
one was facing partly in our direction.
I sprinted across the grass to the patch of trees, praying they hadn't spotted us. The small hole looked
like someone had started digging a grave and changed their mind about halfway through. It wasn't very
deep, but it might do.
Callum jumped in and I followed, sliding down the dirt. The ditch wasn't big enough to stretch out so
I pulled my legs to my chest.
I pressed my face into my knees as a shuttle whirred closer, willing them to keep going. If they saw us
we were dead. One helmet, wide-open space, and a gun with only a few bullets left.
The shuttle landed with a thunk and I tried to fight back the rising sense of dread.
"Did I say thank you?" Callum whispered. "For getting me out? If we die I just want to say thank you."
I pressed my lips together and stared at the ground. You're welcome seemed a stupid thing to say since
we might be seconds from death. I'm sorry might be more appropriate.
Boots crunched on the grass, saving me from having to speak at all.
"That building's deserted," a HARC officer said. "Check it out in case they're hiding inside."
I let out a long sigh as I realized they hadn't seen us run to the ditch.
"There's just some kids in there," another voice answered. "They said they hadn't seen anything."
"What are they doing in there?"
"Living there, from the looks of it."
"All right, pack 'em up. We'll drop them at the orphanage on the way back."
I closed my eyes, a weight settling on my chest. There were few places worse in the slums than the
orphanage. I had made elaborate plans as a kid to avoid it at all costs in the event of my parents' death.
"No!" I heard the shrill scream. "We're fine! You can't!"
I clenched my hand around a fistful of dirt, pushing back the odd urge to jump out of the hole and help
them.
The yelling continued for a long time, while the officers combed the area. I wanted to press my hands
against my ears like I did when I was little, but I was afraid it would look weird and pathetic to Callum.
When they piled into the shuttle and took off I breathed a sigh of relief more for the end of the
screaming than for my own safety.
Callum leaned his head back against the dirt, giving me a tentative smile. "You all right? You looked
really intense there for a while."
"I'm fine." I stood up and peeked out of the hole. It was quiet and deserted, the door to the medical
building swinging open in the wind. Only one shuttle remained in the air, about half a mile away. The
others must have landed around Rosa.
"I need to get you a helmet," I said.
"What? No. We should stay here. We're probably safe here until tonight."
"And then we have to get over the fence at the city line, where there will be armed guards. The
chances of us making it across are pretty slim with helmets. Without . . ."
"What are you going to do? Go back into town and look for it?" he asked.
"I think I have a better shot at taking one of the officers'."
He moaned. "That plan sounds worse."
"You should stay here," I said. I didn't want to take the chance of losing him again, and he was right.
We'd found a pretty safe spot.
"I don't think you're actually listening to me," he said with a hint of amusement.
"I'm listening; I'm just not responding."
He shook his head, a smile twitching at his lips. "Fine. I'll stay here. Try not to die."
"If you have to move for any reason, come back as soon as you can. I'll wait here for you."
"And if you don't come back?"
I paused, not sure. "I'll come back."
"Excellent Plan B." He laughed, running a shaky hand over his face. I frowned and he looked at me
curiously. "What?"
"Why are you shaking?"
"Oh." He glanced down at himself. "I don't know. Maybe I'm hungry."
I dropped my eyes to his other hand, shaking in his lap. Panic swelled in my chest so suddenly I turned
away so he couldn't see my face.
Shaking.
Like Ever.
I took a deep breath, determined not to freak him out. It could just be hunger. He'd been at HARC only
a few weeks. They probably wouldn't have started him on the shots yet.
They couldn't have.
"I'll try to get some food," I said, digging my fingers into the dirt to hoist myself out of the hole.
"Don't worry about it; I'm fine."
I swung my legs over and got to my feet, turning to face him. He looked small, his bare chest dirty and
bloodied, the skin of his long legs peeking through his torn pants in weird places.
"Maybe I can get you some clothes as well."
"Sure. Grab me a book, too, while you're out. Something funny."
I thought he was serious, until a grin spread across his face. "Just come back, okay? I don't need
anything else."
I smiled and nodded, letting out a whoosh of air as I turned my gaze back the way we'd come.
All the humans would be on the lookout for Reboots now. I looked down at my clothes. Even the ones
who hadn't seen me would immediately recognize the all-black clothing as Reboot attire.
I pulled my shirt over my head, turning away from Callum as I made sure my white undershirt covered
my chest. It did. I passed the shirt down to him, took my helmet off, and removed my hair band, shaking
my hair out in front of my eyes.
"Are you doing a striptease first? I'm on board with that." Callum smiled up at me.
"I'm trying to blend in. Do I look human at all?"
"Just keep your eyes covered. That's really the only difference between us and them."
It wasn't, but I nodded anyway and pulled my gun out of my pants, leaning down to hand it to him.
"Only use that if you have to. There aren't many bullets left."
"Maybe you should keep it."
I shook my head, stepping back from him as he tried to hand it to me. "At least fire it if you're in
trouble, okay?"
"Okay."
"And put my helmet on," I said, tossing it to him.
"No, you should take it. It's too small anyway."
"It's fine. I can't wear it without drawing attention." I nodded as he strapped it on. It sat too high on
his head, but it would work well enough.
I took a few steps, making an effort to slow down and add a bounce to my step. Humans were more
clumsy, disjointed, and haphazard, but I had to make an effort to conceal my stride. I glanced back at
Callum and tried to return his smile. Sucking in a deep breath, I faced forward, head down.
I turned onto the paved street that separated the slums, ducking my head farther even though I didn't
see any humans. The houses grew sturdier and bigger as I headed back to the center of town.
I'd grabbed assignments out of several houses on this street. It was slightly less depressing during the
day. I'd always thought of all the houses in Rosa as ugly crap piles, but they looked almost cute in the
sunlight. They were mostly identical, little two-bedrooms with a tiny window in front, but a few of them
had flowers in the yard or a garden off to the side.
I'd never noticed the gardens before.
Footsteps sounded on the pavement behind me, and I took a swift look back. It was just an old guy,
swinging a bag as he walked.
I quickened my pace, my feet barely skimming the sidewalk until I remembered that would attract
more attention. I slowed and shoved my hands in my pockets, letting my shoulders rise up to my ears.
"You look like a monkey when you do that." My mother's laughing voice filled my head.
"Stand up straight, Wren. Lift that pretty face. I don't know where you got that face from, darlin',
but you don't need to be hidin' it."
I closed my eyes as the old man passed me, my mother's face filling the darkness. She'd been right;
she wasn't pretty. She was gaunt even before she slipped fully into her addiction, never possessing the
full cheeks or round hips that earned other women appreciative looks.
I hit a cross street and glanced to my left. Humans scurried past, probably headed for their homes.
Two officers appeared from behind a building, guns ready.
I darted to the other side of the brick building, peeking around to see the officers slowly surveying the
street.
My hand instinctively went to my head to make sure my helmet was straight, but touched only my hair.
Right. I left it with Callum.
One good shot from the officers and he'd be waiting forever.
I should have told him to go without me if I didn't come back. Maybe he would anyway.
An odd nervous flutter crept into my chest, and I tried to push it down with a deep breath. So I didn't
have a helmet. I was still stronger and faster than these humans. I could take them down before they got a
shot off.
I heard someone approaching and I took a deep breath before turning to look straight into the woman's
eyes. Her mouth formed an o as she backed away, and for a moment I was worried she wouldn't scream.
But of course she did.
I raced to the other side of the building, pausing long enough to let the officers see where I was going.
The woman took off as they pursued me.
I leaped out just as they rounded the corner, aiming my foot for the shorter officer's neck. The other
one lifted his gun and I slammed two punches into his face before he could pull the trigger. He hit the
ground next to the other human with a grunt.
I leaned down, my fingers poised to snap his neck, when he held his hands up in surrender and
frantically shook his head.
I paused, glancing at the other officer wheezing on his knees. I should kill them anyway. Surrender
shouldn't mean anything. I reached for his neck again, but stopped when he squeezed his eyes shut and
looked away. It didn't feel right with him just lying there like that.
I grabbed his chinstrap instead and unsnapped his helmet, yanking it off his head. I tucked it under my
arm and grabbed their guns off the ground.
"Please," he said quietly.
I frowned and straightened, shoving the guns into the back of my pants. "Give me your shirt."
He looked at me strangely but unbuttoned his black shirt and held it out to me. I backed away slowly,
my eyes fixed on them, but neither made a move to follow me.
I regretted my decision as soon as I disappeared behind the building and broke into a run. I should
have killed them. They were probably on their coms now, telling the other officers my exact location.
I ran another block and crouched down against the side of a house, listening for the sounds of officers
coming.
Nothing. If anything, it was quieter, as if the humans had all locked themselves away in their houses.
I straightened my legs and lifted my nose, searching for one more thing before I went back to Callum.
Food.
I didn't want to risk returning to the shops at the center of town. Stealing from one of the houses was
probably the best bet.
I pressed my ear to the house right next to me, but I could hear voices inside. I scurried across the
lawn to the next one, and the next one, listening for silence.
The fourth house was quiet. I walked around back and leaned in to listen again, but still nothing. I
yanked on the back door until the lock broke and it swung open. The tiny kitchen was deserted, but a loaf
of bread sat on the wooden counter. I snatched it and checked the refrigerator, but there was no meat. I
should have expected that. Most people in Rosa considered it a frivolous expense.
"Looking for somethin'?"
I jumped, pushing the door closed and aiming my gun at the young woman in front of me. Her eyes met
mine calmly as I backed toward the door.
"Don't scream," I said. "I'm just going to take this and go." I hugged the bread to my chest.
She held her hands up. "I'm not screamin'. But—"
I gestured for her to be quiet as the sounds of yelling and running drifted in from outside. Officers
shouted orders at one another and I gripped the gun tighter, my eyes searching her face for a sign I should
wrap my hands around her neck to stifle a scream.
She just stared at me.
The voices faded and I peeked out the door to see them scattering in all directions. I turned back to the
woman.
"Will you keep quiet for a few minutes?" I asked.
"Will you leave me half that loaf? My kid will be hungry when he gets home from school. There's not
much else. You may have noticed."
I lowered my gun, uncomfortable under her gaze. I wasn't used to humans looking into my eyes, and
her light eyes were locked on mine.
The guilt that pressed down on my chest was the worst I had ever felt, and I let out a sigh and put the
loaf on the counter. I would have been thrilled to come home from school to find a loaf of bread on the
counter. Although I think I was thrilled by any food at all as a kid.
The woman took a knife out of the drawer and held it over the bread, until I shook my head.
"It's fine," I said, pushing the door open. "Get your lock fixed; I broke it."
She stared at me again, her face impossible to read. There wasn't a trace of fear, or hostility, or
anything, really. She just stared.
I turned to leave, tucking the gun in my pants.
"Kid, wait," she said. She sliced off a generous piece of bread, wrapped it in a cloth, and handed it to
me.
I slowly took it, holding it out for a moment to give her the opportunity to change her mind, but she
didn't.
"Thank you," I said.
"You're welcome."