The Extinction Trials(89)

This shop didn’t have any sort of reception area or office, only a deep workshop area with a roll-up door that opened onto the street. Alister was in the back, behind several scooters that Owen assumed had been fixed and were waiting on their owners to retrieve. Alister was banging on another near the back wall.

He looked up when Owen and Blair approached.

“Didn’t figure you for a scooter mechanic,” Owen said.

“I told you, I can fix anything. I told them I would fix anything—so long as it couldn’t run me over like that bus did.”

Owen laughed. “Can’t say I blame you.”

Blair turned to him. “I should get back.” She smiled. “Will I see you around?”

“Maybe.”

As Blair walked away, Alister stood and washed his hands at the sink, eyeing Owen as he dried them off.

“They give you the old Union sales pitch? One society. One mind, blah, blah, blah?”

“You sound less excited than you did in the observation room.”

“I don’t get excited about anything anymore. That’s part of getting older.”

“Actually, I think complaining is just part of your way of life.”

“Maybe there is hope for you, Owen. And yes, you’re right. I complain. And I comply. And I fix things. That’s my life.”

“Yet the mesh lets you stay. Unpacified.”

Alister eyed him. “It does. It knows when someone is just frustrated—knows the difference between someone planning to do the world harm and someone who just needs to vent.”

“So, it knows what I’m thinking?”

Alister stared at Owen. “Not fully. Not yet. It hasn’t been long enough. But it will. Right now, it’s mapping your brain. It’s sort of… what would Will say… installing itself.”

“That’s a terrifying thought. Surely, it is for you too?”

“Change is terrifying. All change, not just The Change. But that’s life. You weigh what The Union takes from you and what they give you, and you make a call. That’s how it goes.”

Alister bent down and tossed some of his tools into a nearby bin. “You hungry?”

“I was hoping to find Maya.”

Alister stared at him for a long moment. “Lunch is a lot easier to come by. Let’s start there.”





It turned out that Alister’s home was above his shop. It was cozy, with an open floor plan kitchen, living, and dining room, but the warmest thing inside was the woman who walked over and hugged Alister when he arrived. She was tall with long brown hair and eyes that Owen felt held a sea of kindness.

“I didn’t know we were having company,” she said after breaking the hug with Alister.

“Carmen, this is Owen Watts. He’s a former firefighter, general do-gooder, and a na?ve pain in the rear who saved my life out there.”

Carmen nodded to Owen. “Sorry about the introduction.”

Owen held his hands up. “Don’t worry, I introduce myself that way too.”

Carmen laughed and smiled. “Well, we’re very happy to have you here. Belden told me he had some very good companions out there that refused to leave him behind.”

Owen turned to Alister. “Belden?”

The man shot him a look. “Not another word—only she calls me by my first name.”

Owen shook his head and they settled at the table, where Carmen served them sandwiches—easily the best meal Owen had eaten in what felt like ages. It was nice to have solid food again. And the normalcy of sitting at a kitchen table with friends. And Alister was a friend. Or perhaps more.

After lunch, Carmen left to run some errands and Owen returned to the main reason he had come to see Alister.

“I want to see Maya.”

The older man shook his head. “Impossible.”

“Why?”

“She’s in one of the entry terminals.”

“Why is that a problem?”

“Your mesh doesn’t give you access. Not yet.”

“When will it?”

“After the mesh has fully integrated with you. When it can detect any thoughts that might harm The Union.”

“It can’t now?”

“No. Not yet.”

“But you can take me to see her.”

Alister’s silent stare was all the confirmation Owen needed.

“Please. I just want to see her. You’re the only chance I have. Before… before they pacify her.”

Alister shook his head.

Owen glanced at the door where Carmen had just exited. “I think you know exactly how I feel right now. You’ve been in the same position. Kept from the person you love and running out of time. I just want to see her—to talk to her one last time.”





Chapter Sixty-Seven





In the observation room, Cara lay down on the couch, trying to see a way out of this prison.

In a way, she felt exactly as she had during the Fall.

In the hospital, the corridors had been filled with gurneys and people. As time passed, the staff disappeared as they joined the ranks of the fallen.

She had worked herself to the point of exhaustion. In fact, the last thing she remembered was collapsing in an operating room.