The Lost Code (22 page)

I picked one of the long, flat strands of grass. It snapped free. I held it up and pinched it in the middle and made a loop. I ran the bottom end under and back up through the loop, then around the back of the top half. Back down through the hole . . . I pulled the grass down, cinching it tight. I looked at my work.

Lilly clicked the buckles then knelt on the bag and wrenched the straps tight. She looked up. “What’s that?”

“A knot,” I said.

It’s called a bowline.
The voice in my head was familiar. It was Lük, a part of my mind now that we’d joined inside the skull. And yes, a bowline, that’s what it was. I knew more, too. “You can use it for tying off sails.”

“Is this more Atlantean Owen?” asked Lilly, almost suspiciously.

I gazed at the knot. I was a little bit proud of it. “Yeah, guess so.” I had a weird impulse and held the knot out toward her. “Here.”

Lilly’s eyes narrowed at the little twist of grass. “What?”

“For you.”

Lilly took it between two fingers. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“I don’t know. It’s just a little gift.”

A slight smile dawned on Lilly’s face. “You made me a knot out of grass.” She didn’t sound convinced, but then she stuck the little knot back in her braid. “Thanks,” she said, and then business Lilly returned. She stood up, hoisting her bag over her shoulder. “Ready?”

“Oh, sure,” I said, a little surprised that the moment had ended so fast. “You’re bringing your bag?”

“Yeah, this is everything that matters to me. And I don’t think we’ll be spending any more nights here. I still have this, too.” She indicated the knife at her waist.

We left the clearing. The only evidence of Lilly’s time there was the dried wax pools on the rock, ancient artifacts for future generations to try to decipher.

We pushed through the birch branches, to the water channel on the back side of the island. It wasn’t far to shore, but I felt a hesitancy that I hadn’t felt in days. If my gills were really gone, then I was just a land creature and water was an enemy again.

“You can do it,” said Lilly. She waded in up to her hips.

I started after her, missing the way that the cold on my legs used to bring my gills to life. There was a faint tingle, like the ghost of something that used to be there, but that was it. My feet felt unsteady on the rocks. I was tense all over and I could almost feel my cramp beginning to lock up.

I reached chest level and pushed out, swimming slow, keeping my head up. Lilly dove under, the bag dragging along the surface behind her. I paddled along, wishing I could keep up but feeling the lameness of my side, the protest of the muscles keeping my head above water, keeping me tied to the surface. I looked down into the green and missed that world.

By the time I got to shore, Lilly had her bag open again. Her gills were tucking away. She looked at me. “Nice work,” she said, and I felt like she was CIT Lilly again and I was just the little student, like our time together was being undone.

I climbed out of the water, through a little forest of water grass. As I did, something buzzed and landed on my forearm. I looked down to see something like a butterfly, but with a long, shimmery green body and four flat, iridescent wings. I raised my other hand, thinking if this was a robot like the butterflies, then we couldn’t afford to be seen—

“Don’t!” said Lilly. “It’s a dragonfly.”

Its long tail twitched.

“Is it fake?” I asked.

Lilly rolled her eyes. “No. Dragonflies aren’t fragile like butterflies. They’ve been around since, like, the dinosaurs.”

I held my arm close and looked at the ancient creature, thinking that maybe Lük had seen these in his world, too.

“You’re kind of like one,” said Lilly. “More than Frog-boy, actually.”

“Huh?”

“Dragonflies start life in the water as these swimmy things, and then they crawl out and turn into the flying guys. You know, metamorphosis, like you. And they’re one of the fastest flying animals.”

“Oh, cool.” I started climbing up the bank, and the little creature zipped off.

“’Course, once they fly they only live a few days. Just long enough to mate, then they die.”

“Thanks, Counselor Lilly.” I smiled at her, but she wasn’t looking, instead digging in her bag. I felt like yesterday, when we both had gills, we would have laughed together about that.

She pulled something out and tossed it to me. A bundle of sky-blue-colored fabric. I unrolled it and found that it was a T-shirt, a lot bigger than one I’d usually wear.

“It’s Evan’s,” said Lilly, still rummaging around. “But it should work for you.”

“Sure,” I said. More spells being broken. Why did she have Evan’s shirt in her island bag? Had he left it there one time after they’d hooked up? Had shirtless Evan been on the very blanket where Lilly had introduced me to rain, had kept me warm? I hated this.

She stood up, holding an armful of clothes. “Now turn around, and no peeking.”

I felt a little twitch of excitement that almost brushed away my Evan jealousy, but not entirely. I turned around and tugged the T-shirt over my still-wet body. Despite my recent muscles, it was huge on me, Evan-sized.

“Okay,” said Lilly.

I turned back around. She’d changed into jean shorts and a tank top. She had a bottle of NoRad in her hand and was shaking some into her palm. She reached up and started wiping it onto her shoulders.

“Do you—?” I started, but paused.

“What?” Lilly asked.

“Um, do you want me to do that for you?” I asked.

“Nah, I got it,” she said. She tossed me the bottle. “You should put some on, too. Up on the ledges we’ll be exposed.”

“Right.” I tried not to sound disappointed, but it seemed like everything was off, weird. There was some distance between us. Was it just because she was worried about the CITs? Or was it really because I was no longer a gill breather? But we were both still Atlanteans, so what was the problem? I couldn’t tell.

“Trail’s this way,” said Lilly. She was heading off to our left.

I finished putting the NoRad on and caught up.

“Now this.” Lilly traded the NoRad for a small package. An energy bar. “Tastes like bedsheets, but I don’t think we’ll be dining with the rest of camp today.”

“Right,” I said. “Thanks.” I tore open the package. I devoured the mealy, tan-colored bar, barely noticing the taste.

We hiked up through the pine trees, angling back toward camp. Soon, we hit a dusty trail that ran steeply up the hillside. We followed it as it switched back and forth, climbing steadily.

We started to be able to see out through the trees, to the sparkle of the lake and the distant gleam of the city. The trail became more uneven, and soon we were climbing up triangular rocks that formed a natural staircase. The trees were shorter up here, their branches tucked in tighter. The canopy gave way and we were in the bright SafeSun. It felt way hotter than down by the lake. I squinted and could see the lowest banks of globe-shaped lights, not that far up the wall. Their heat felt more direct, less like the sun. Back home, we’d had a pet lizard a few years ago that lived in a little aquarium with a heat lamp on top. That was what this felt like.

The trail opened up onto a short slope of crumbled rock, mica flecks sparkling within the dark-gray and brown boulders. Above, I could see the naked ledges of Mount Aasgard’s summit, like a collection of kids’ blocks piled quickly. Behind the small peak was the gray curve of the dome. A single ladder, painted to match the dome, ran up the wall. It was surrounded by a cylinder of bars for safety. I followed it up and saw that it became a staircase as the dome curved inward, and then a catwalk that led all the way out to the Eye.

From here we were close enough that we could also see the enormous triangular panels. This part of the dome looked nothing like the section over by the elevators. The panels were scarred with brown-and-red streaks from dust seeping through their seams. Black, spiderlike cracks zigzagged this way and that: radiation burns. Even the unscathed panels looked worn, beaten. This was definitely not a view that EdenWest would ever want its inhabitants to see.

We climbed up the scree slope and came out on the first of the ledges. I was breathing hard, Lilly less so. The ledge was long and narrow. A five-meter wall of angled rocks led up to the next one.

I noticed a long, straight cut in the rock by my feet, about a hand’s length wide and only a couple centimeters deep. It crossed the ledge, ending at the wall. There was another one to my right, the same width, running parallel. “Are these the Viking markings?” I asked Lilly.

“Yeah.” She whistled toward the higher ledge, making three short sounds, each curving from a lower to a higher note. “Just in case they’re here,” said Lilly. “Don’t want to barge in on them making out.”

We waited. No reply.

Lilly moved to the left side of the wall in front of us. There was a narrow crevice. She slid inside it and climbed, pulling up on fingerholds while bracing her feet between the two walls. I slid into the tight space below her. It was stuffy and smelled like hot rocks. I started up, wondering if I could do it and hating that I was back to worrying about things like this, and then I promptly slipped, raking my knees on the rough stone.

“You okay?” Lilly called down.

“Fine,” I mumbled. I had to focus! I wasn’t all the way back to being the turtle. I was just a dragonfly, changing. I gritted my teeth and started again, this time making it fine.

We crossed the second ledge, and I noticed more Viking lines carved in the rock. Looking down, I saw that these picked up where the ones on the ledge below left off.

We headed toward a low overhang of rock that created a black space beneath. Lilly stopped at the edge of the shadow. “You guys in there?”

There was silence for a second, then an answer, but it wasn’t Marco or Aliah.

“Who’s there?” a voice whispered.

“Who are
you
?” Lilly replied.

I touched her shoulder. “Wait.” I thought I knew the voice. I stepped into the shadows. “Dr. Maria?”

“OWEN?”

My eyes adjusted to the shade. Dr. Maria was sitting against the back wall of the small, low-ceilinged space, beyond a little fire pit made of blackened rocks that were sprinkled with ash.

She was wearing a black jacket, jeans, and heavy brown boots, all coated with trail dust, as was her tangled hair. Her black backpack sat open beside her, the medical kit spread out on top.

Across her lap lay the Nomad bomber from two days before. His face was blotchy, old bruises and scrapes turned a rotten brown, his tan skin now a sallow gray. His eyes were closed.

“His name was Carlo,” whispered Dr. Maria. She stroked his hair, only the hair didn’t move. It looked wet, but her hand made a coarse sound across it. There were spots of burgundy crusted on his ear and temple, deep stains on his collar. “He died this morning. I knew it was bad, but he was still able to walk, and talk, enough that I thought if we just kept moving . . .” Her words dissolved into quiet sobs.

“What happened?” I asked.

“After the attack in the Preserve, Cartier tortured him for information. Drugs, and . . . other methods. He wanted to know what Carlo knew about . . .” Dr. Maria looked up at me.

“About us,” I finished. “The Atlanteans.”

Dr. Maria nodded sadly. “I’m sorry, Owen, that I didn’t tell you more. I couldn’t . . . I mean, at first I wasn’t sure if you were even really the one, but, once I knew, I did what I could to help get you out. It wouldn’t have done you any good to know what was really going on here, before you understood what you were. I thought my people could get you to safety, and get the skull. . . .”

“It’s okay,” I said. “I know, now. I went to the temple. I found it.”

“I heard,” said Dr. Maria. “Paul flipped out when we realized you were gone from the Preserve. When Cartier radioed in that he had found the temple room and the crystal skull but had lost you two, I knew Paul would be on the rampage. I also knew they’d have found your blood sample with the Nomads, and they’d know I was the one who’d been helping them. So I grabbed Carlo while everyone was searching for you. Marco and Aliah told me you were going to meet up here—”

“You’ve seen them?” Lilly asked.

“Yes, they came to see Evan at the infirmary yesterday. They told me they’d been waiting for you up here, but you hadn’t shown up yet.”

“Where are they now?” Lilly asked.

“I don’t know,” said Dr. Maria. “I grabbed Carlo and ran right after that. I thought I could heal him. . . . So many complicated things I’ve done,” she whispered, “but I couldn’t save a simple life. . . .” Fresh tears fell.

I had a thousand questions for her, but I tried to hold them back, to respect her loss.

“I wanted to bury him,” she said. “His body deserves to be returned to Terra.”

“You know about that?” I asked.

“Yeah,” said Dr. Maria. “There are those of us among the Nomads who follow the teachings of Heliad-7, based on the words of the old ones. Well, not follow strictly; I mean, Dr. Keller herself is as crazy as Paul, but her teachings follow the Atlantean way.”

“Pyra said there’s another skull down in the south,” I said. I looked at Lilly. “Maybe it’s yours.”

“Maybe,” said Lilly.

“Pyra,” Dr. Maria moaned, like she’d known them, too. Then she looked up. “Wait, what do you mean—” but she didn’t finish.

We all heard the dogs, yelping, heading this way.

Dr. Maria gave a long sigh, a terrible, resigned noise. “Adios, Carlo.” She slid out from beneath him and then laid Carlo’s head gently down on the rock.

She stood and grabbed my arm. “Listen, Owen, take this.” She reached into her jacket pocket and thrust a small object at me. It was a round, orange plastic case. A sequence of numbers was handwritten across the top in black marker. Something rattled lightly in it. I took it and popped it open. Inside was a little plastic disk. “It’s a thumbprint,” said Dr. Maria. “The code on the top will get you into the lab, and that will get you into my computer files. You need to know what Project Elysium is.”

“But—”

Dr. Maria brushed past me. “Aaron, in the Eye, is a friend. He may not seem like it, but he helped me get the Nomads in. He can help get you out, okay? But first, go to the lab, behind the red door. Promise me.”

“Um, okay,” I said, “but what about you?”

“I have to go.”

The dogs were closer. We could hear their claws scraping on the rocks, their panting breaths between barks. The clap of boots now, too.

“And Owen . . .” I found Dr. Maria looking at me with big, sad eyes. “I’m sorry.” She glanced at Carlo one last time and started out.

“For what?” I whispered, following her into the sunlight.

She spun around and held a finger to her lips, then smiled at me gently. “For all of this . . . what I’ve been part of . . . for what you’ll soon learn. . . . Now go!” She waved me away like a child, then turned and sprinted across the ledge and out of sight among the high boulders.

Lilly emerged from the cave. “She left this.” She handed the black backpack to me.

There were scraping rock sounds from the ledge just below us. I looked toward where Dr. Maria had run. “We should—”

“No. She doesn’t want us to go with her,” said Lilly. “Come on, this way.” She ran across the ledge in the other direction.

I knew Lilly was right. I slung Dr. Maria’s bag over my shoulder and followed. We hurtled down the rocks and dashed into the pine trees on the back side of the ledge. We headed downward and circled around to the side of the scree slope, staying in the safety of the trees, then looked back up at the ledges. There was the Security Forces team, scaling the same crevice we’d used to get up to the cave.

“Owen!” It was Paul. He’d stepped out to the edge of the ledge. “There’s no reason to hide!” he shouted. “I know what you are! We need each other!”

Lilly’s hand fell on my arm. “Don’t listen to him.” She pulled me back further into the shadows.

“I know it’s confusing, Owen, but it doesn’t need to be! I can explain everything that’s happening to you. And no one else has to get hurt! You don’t want any more blood on your hands, do you?”

I hated hearing him, and wasn’t he right? Blood on my hands. Dead Nomads, Evan, even Colleen. If I was the reason for the temple, then I was the reason for EdenWest, and for all that had happened here.

“Look, we’re going to find you, either way!” Paul shouted. “Come out now, and I’ll guarantee that Miss Ishani is protected!”

I glanced at her. Paul knew just what to say.

“He’s lying,” Lilly hissed. “You know it.”

I nodded. I did.

A moment of silence passed. We stayed still.

“Have it your way, then!” Paul shouted. “But be prepared for the consequences!” He disappeared from the ledge.

“Let’s go,” said Lilly. We continued down, staying in the trees, until we were back at the base of the fallen rocks. We started sprinting down the trail.

Something began to drone overhead. We stopped. The sound grew quickly. “Duck!” Lilly shouted. I saw her leaping off the trail. I did the same, just as two small hover copters, like the ones we’d seen putting out the dome panel fire, buzzed over our heads.

I scrambled back onto the trail and turned to see them rising toward the mountaintop. High above that, I saw a figure racing up the little ladder along the dome wall. Dr. Maria.

The copters rose until they were parallel with her and hovered. A voice blared from a speaker on one of them. “Turn around and proceed down, now.”

“They’ve got her,” said Lilly.

“I repeat, turn around and head down—”

There was a crack. A gunshot. A flare of smoke from Dr. Maria, her hand extended outward. A glint of sunlight on the weapon she’d just used.

One of the copters jerked, angling away steeply as black smoke trailed from it. It wobbled in the air but stabilized.

The other copter fired back, a burst of machine gun fire.

I saw Dr. Maria’s body convulse, whipping back and forth like it was made of rubber. We were too far away to see the details, but we knew.

My fists clenched. My teeth ground together. No. Not another death, not our ally.
Be prepared for the consequences.
Paul’s words echoed in my head. How could I possibly be worth these lives?

“Let’s go, Owen. We have to keep moving.” Lilly tugged my wrist gently.

But I couldn’t. I stared for another second. Dr. Maria hung limply in the metal bars. I turned away, felt the backpack on my shoulders, and then I realized: “She knew. That’s why she left us her bag.”

“I think so,” said Lilly. “She also gave us a head start.”

I felt something fall away inside. Some floor, and from beneath it boiled up something dark, black and bitter, craving vengeance. “Then let’s take it.” I burst past her, leading the way now, running down the trail.