The Ark. Laura Nolen Liddell

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СКАЧАТЬ it’s coming.”

      “There’s a lot of clarity that comes from knowing it’s today, though,” I said.

      He turned to me. For a moment, I imagined he could see through those dark glasses, straight inside me. Maybe he could. “Are you seeing things more clearly, Charlotte?”

      It was weird when he called me that. Put me in a different frame of mind, somehow. “Maybe. Nothing I like, anyway.”

      He smiled. “I like you well enough.”

      It was strange to laugh. “I like you too, Isaiah. Nothing I like about myself, I mean.”

      Kip was staring out the window and had nothing to say about that, to my surprise. Isaiah continued. “You have a long way to go, then. What about you, Cassa?”

      “What about me?”

      “Would you want to know?”

      “Doubt it. I have clarity. People suck, and everyone who pretends otherwise gets rewarded. It’s bollocks. We’re all on our own. Death doesn’t change anything.”

      “Then why did Kip go back for Charlotte, I wonder?” Isaiah said.

      “Because Char…” she paused. “Because Char has better tricks.”

      “That must be it,” he said softly. He took his hand away from mine, finally, and I pressed mine into my leg, because it was still slightly warmer than the rest of me. Isaiah straightened in his seat. “We passed Boston yet?” he asked.

      “Why?” Cassa said. “The OPT’s in Maine.”

      “No reason. Just like to feel oriented.” His fingers slipped underneath the dash, and I mimicked his posture, sitting straight, facing forward. Was he trying to find the glove compartment? I didn’t look at him again, to keep him from drawing Cassa’s attention. She was Kip’s mirror: gazing out the opposite window, a strange expression on her face.

      “Maybe an hour back,” I said. “We went around.”

      “I’d have been happy to let you out, Mole,” said Cassa. “I still am. Not that you’d have found where you’re going.”

      “No need, Cassa. I’m going with Charlotte, here, for a little while.”

      “I’m sure you’ll be very happy orbiting the sun together. Tell me, do bodies decay in a vacuum?”

      Isaiah smiled, and his fingers continued to work. “I reckon they might.”

      The question about Boston had thrown me off. Isaiah grew up there. Other than juvy, it was the only home he’d ever known, but I didn’t see why he’d ask about it.

      Unless his family had lost the lottery.

      It was strange to think about. I’d taken for granted that I’d have had a spot on an OPT, if my record were clean. But then, my father had major influence over the lottery. Everyone else had nothing but hope. If they’d known there were people who could tamper with the results, they wouldn’t even have had that.

      I wanted to ask Isaiah about whether he’d had news from home, but it felt wrong to talk about something so personal in front of Kip and Cassa. His fingers were still under the dash, and he was unusually chatty, so I decided to follow his lead. “Do you think it’s like they say, up there?”

      At my question, he paused for an instant before continuing whatever it was he was up to. He opened his mouth to reply, but Cassa was quicker.

      “Oh, you mean will everyone have a fresh start and the same stuff as everyone else? And we’ll all be equals? Of course we will. And we’ll be attended by unicorns and fairies.”

      I snorted at that. “How long has civilization been around? Six thousand years, give or take? Ten? Our species gets a clean slate, plus all that experience. Humanity could finally get it right.”

      Kip finally spoke. “You believe that, Char?”

      “She’s just stupid enough,” said Cassa.

      I thought for another moment. I needed to keep Kip and Cassa talking. It would be easier to beat them if they let down their guard. “I don’t want anyone to die. But it seems like we have a real shot at… utopia. Whatever you call it. Democracy.”

      “No, we don’t,” said Cassa. “Because it’s being built by the same people who broke the current system. You bunnies don’t get it. You’re either weak, or you’re strong. The people on the Arks will be stronger than the ones left down here, but they’re still just people. Before long, it’ll be every man for himself. Just like here. That’s why we’ll need the Remnant.”

      “That’s still the plan?” I asked. “Find the Remnant, escape to space?”

      “You got a better one? Kip says they’ll recruit at the launch site.” Cassa sounded less sure of that than I expected.

      “Recruit?” said Isaiah. “Group like that doesn’t need to do much recruiting. You join up or you die.”

      “I thought you didn’t believe in them,” said Cassa. Her voice made her sound unsteady. I pictured her trying to catch her balance, and I realized all at once that Cassa didn’t believe in the Remnant any more than I did.

      “I don’t,” Isaiah answered. “But I sure don’t believe they’re recruiting.”

      “Kip says—” Cassa cut herself off. “Never mind.”

      There was a long silence, and it finally dawned on me that Cassa wasn’t trying to find the Remnant at all. She was just following Kip. Right to the end.

      The sun continued its final arc across the horizon. I ran a finger over a small, circular burn on the roof of the car. I imagined Meghan scoring a real, sure-enough cigarette, then driving out of town to enjoy it. That way, her behavior wouldn’t reflect badly on her son, the prison guard. Maybe she’d even gotten it from him.

      Click, snap, CLICK. The car jerked to a stop, jolting me from my thoughts about Meghan. My seatbelt bit into my shoulder, forcing me back into the seat.

      “What was that?” said Kip. “What’s going on?”

      I shrugged.

      “Maybe a short?” said Isaiah. “I could check it out.”

      “How dumb do you think we are?” said Cassa. “Char, you go.”

      “To look for a short? I have no idea—”

      “I’m going,” said Kip. “Pop the hood.”

      Kip had barely set foot on the ground when Isaiah leaned across my lap, reaching to the other side of the steering wheel. “I’m on it,” he muttered. A moment later, the trunk popped open, followed by Isaiah’s door.

      “Mole! Mo— Isaiah. Get back here,” said Cassa.

      He called back to her without slowing down. It was the loudest СКАЧАТЬ