Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
“I miss them.”
He squeezes my shoulders as I type in my sister’s name.
Maven J. Hollis: Northeast quadrant
My heart stops as I reread the words and look at the photo. Her hair falls just below her chin, shorter than I’ve ever seen it. Her face is leaner. This is an older, more reserved Mae than I knew. Her expression is close to a smile, but not quite.
“Is this real?” I choke on the words as I look up at Marcus. “Is my sister alive?”
“Hopefully. She was as of the update.”
I cover my mouth with my hand, sobbing. I hadn’t even hoped she made it. Even with all communications offline after the virus from a darkened power grid and disabled cell towers, I thought my family would find a way to contact me if they were alive.
Mae is alive, and I might as well be on another planet. I can’t get to her. It hurts deeper than anything else could.
“We have to find that flower.” I swipe the tears from my cheeks, resolved. “And then I have to find my sister.”
PART THREE
36
You’ve heard of catfishing? Certain orchids are so perfectly able to mimic female wasps that they can fool male wasps into trying to mate with them. The males then, inadvertently, pollinate the flower. So if you see a wasp on Tinder, swipe left.
- Excerpt from the Introduction to Plant Biology course taught by Dr. Lucinda Hollis
Seven cells were carved into a hillside that faces the ocean when the Dust Walkers’ camp was built. Three of them are large enough to hold many people; the other four were designed for just one each. The cells are all empty, except for one of the smaller ones.
I’m walking alone down the path that descends to the cells, the lapping of ocean waves providing a peaceful backdrop. It’s the morning of the fourth day since we found McClain, and it’s my third day in a row of bringing him breakfast.
Marcus protested me coming on the first day, but I reminded him that solitude isn’t a punishment for a man who’s been alone for more than a year and a half.
“Oatmeal and toast today,” I announce, sliding the dish through the small opening at the bottom of the metal bars.
The reinforced steel cell seems like overkill for the slight man inside. I don’t know if McClain is trying to starve himself to death or if he’s ill, but he doesn’t look well.
I sit down on the ground, setting my own bowl of oatmeal beside me. McClain keeps his gaze focused on the ocean’s waves and doesn’t make a move toward his breakfast.
“Have you ever heard of flamboyant flame trees?” I ask him.
He shakes his head in answer.
“They thrive in tropical climates. They’re actually very cold-intolerant. And when they bloom, they’re covered in beautiful orange-red flowers. But their blooming season is short— a few months at most.” I pick up my bowl. “So what if the flower we’re searching for has a limited blooming season and that’s why we haven’t been able to find it?”
He clears his throat. “It’s a good theory. I was searching during the transition from dry season to wet season, though. That’s the least likely time for tropical flowers to be dormant.”
“But maybe you didn’t search in the right place at the right time.”
“It’s possible.”
I scoop a spoonful of lukewarm oatmeal into my mouth, breathing in the mix of saltwater and the light, sweet scent of plumeria.
“The people at Rising Tide are starving,” I say.
“Marcus isn’t withholding food to be cruel.”
Interesting that the man Marcus detests is defensive of him.
“I know, and I understand why he’s doing it. But food is precious here, and I think you should eat yours.”
He doesn’t respond, but a few seconds later, he picks up his bowl and takes a bite of the oatmeal.
After both of us eat our oatmeal in silence, he says, “We didn’t study the effects of turning aromium off and on. If Marcus is doing it, he may reach a point where he can’t turn it off.”
I don’t let my alarm show. Even though I know there are risks to turning our aromium on every day to search and off when we get back to camp, there are also risks to not turning it on.
We heard a group of Tiders in the jungle yesterday. We hid and stayed quiet until they’d passed. But we could encounter them at any point, and we’re walking targets without aromium.
I stand, brushing the dirt from the back of my pants. “I hope that doesn’t happen, but no one can convince him to stop doing it at this point.”
McClain looks up at me through the thick lenses of his glasses, his brow furrowed. “The long-term effects of aromium haven’t been studied, either. We fast-tracked everything.”
“The solar array was damaged in the last storm.”