49

NOAH

Min and Tack were slogging through the binders.

“For a week we know nothing,” Tack grumbled, dropping another into a growing discard pile. “Now there’s too much information available. Great joke, universe.”

He turned to Min. “Whatcha got?”

She blew a stray hair from her mouth. “Telemetry studies. Projected movements of celestial bodies. Comet decay and orbit aerodynamics. In other words, nothing that explains what Project Nemesis actually intended. You?”

Tack pointed to the closest shelves. “Those up top are about satellite tracking systems. I think. I’m honestly not sure—this is the most boring stuff I’ve ever laid eyes on. The middle ones seem to be the ‘What the Hell Should We Do?’ section. There’s a whole binder about building a giant space station, but the front page is stamped ‘DISCONTINUED.’ Guess that idea never got into orbit. Same with the one about a cave complex in West Virginia.”

He lifted the binder in his hands. “This guy here discusses a missile defense strategy. Spoiler alert—it’s a no-go. Seems like they spent a long time debating what to do about the death star, then decided nothing would actually work.”

But they did something, I wanted to shout. We’re alive, and Nemesis is gone.

I was sitting at a workstation, making no effort to help. I’d promised to investigate the computers, but had immediately run into a firewall. Everything was password protected. Engrossed as they were in the endless wall of binders, Min and Tack seemed to have forgotten I was there.

I didn’t mind. Events were moving too fast. An opportunity to gather my thoughts was more than welcome.

Because I felt great again. Like a weight had been lifted.

My mother hadn’t abandoned me.

She’d made a mistake turning me over to these lunatics, but she’d also tried to reverse it. And the ruthless SOBs had killed her for it. My mother died fighting for me. She cared about me to her last breath. I nearly choked up just thinking about it.

Had she ever really had cancer? Was she poisoned, or infected somehow? Or was she removed more directly, under some cover story? I’d probably never know. I briefly wondered if my father was in on it, but dismissed the possibility. Hunter Livingston would never let the government take something he considered his.

As terrible as the knowledge was, it didn’t stem my exhilaration. In the past few days I’d learned that my mother hadn’t abandoned me, and that I wasn’t actually crazy. Quite the opposite—I was special. Chosen. The centerpiece of something important.

Min moved to attack the last row of binders. I almost shook my head. Obsessed with the mechanics of the conspiracy, she wasn’t seeing the big picture.

The two of us were a part of something that would shape world history.

No, not just a part—we were the fulcrum of the whole thing. The files said as much! I didn’t know what to do, or how to act, but my worthless feeling had evaporated, maybe for good this time. Whatever came next, I wouldn’t be afraid.

I was born for this. Built for this. I could handle anything Project Nemesis threw at me.

Tack shoved another binder aside and stood, stretching his arms and legs. He spied me doing nothing and rolled his eyes. “Care to lend a hand, Noah? Or is this your smoke break?”

Irritation flared, but I covered it. “The system is encrypted. I can’t access any files. I’m surprised the DVD played, to be honest.”

Tack nodded unhappily, glancing at the window into the sealed chamber beyond. “I’m guessing that’s the computer in there. Looks a little more intense than a ThinkPad.”

Across the room, Min grunted. “Come look at this,” she called.

She was examining the bottom row of the last bookcase. “See the dust pattern? There were more files here at one point, but they’re gone. I’ll bet you anything they explain what the troops did to us in town square.”

“What does the last one say?” Tack asked.

“Most of this section catalogs natural disasters around the planet. Seismic readings. Volcanic activity. Tsunamis. All the bad stuff, even some of those weird animal reports. I think they were recording possible symptoms of the approaching death star. What’s spooky is that these records go back almost forty years. How long have they known about Nemesis? How’d they keep it secret?”

“The no-joke possible end of the world?” Tack scoffed. “By whatever means necessary.”

His gaze flicked to me, then away. They’d killed my mother to protect their secret, and that was nearly a decade ago. Who knows what else they’ve done?

Min was scanning the room. “We need an index for these files, or we’ll be here forever.”

“Doubt we have that long,” Tack said seriously. “Ethan and Sarah will come looking for us eventually, and the doors are all unlocked.”

“Can you work on that? Sealing this building up, I mean. Not to lock us in necessarily, but definitely for when we leave. I don’t want Ethan having access to these records until we have a plan for how to deal with him.”

“We could stay in here for a while,” I said, thinking aloud. “There must be some supplies that are ready to use, and this is a perfect place to hole up.”

“Hiding underground.” Tack’s lips quirked. “That a specialty of yours?”

“Do you have a better—”

“Enough,” Min said wearily. “Noah might be right, Tack. Just see if the silo can be secured. If not, there’s no point in staying. This could be a giant prison as easily as a safe house.”

Tack turned, spoke grudgingly to me. “The doors above are computerized. We probably need network access to activate them. Did you check every terminal in here?”

I shook my head, suddenly feeling defensive. “These computers must all be on the same network. I doubt there’s an unsecured access point in the same room.”

Tack rolled his eyes, stomping down to the second tier of workstations. “We won’t know until we check, now will we?”

Min was squinting at the shelves, trying to decide where to look next. She pulled a binder at random and opened it. Moments later she slammed it back with an angry grunt. “That one had Lowell’s student files in it. Looks like everyone got a copy of my dental records.”

She half turned. “Want to help?”

I nodded quickly, hoping she wasn’t disappointed in my systems search.

“Pick a spot and dig in. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

But before I could move, Tack shouted across the room. “Guys? Think I have something!”

I spun, red-faced. Tack was hunched over a terminal on the lowest tier. One I hadn’t bothered checking, too caught up in how special and important I clearly was. Cursing myself, I followed Min as she hurried to join her friend.

“Whatcha got?” Min asked eagerly.

Tack shot me a smug glance, then turned back to the monitor in front of him. “This one didn’t ask for a log-in. When I jiggled the mouse, it came up right away.”

The screen was empty except for a red circle. Inside it were two words in black letters.

ENGAGE PROGRAM

We stared, no one moving or speaking. There was zero ambiguity.

“Seems pretty straightforward,” Tack said finally.

“But engage what?” Min rubbed her forehead, as if hoping an answer could be physically wrung from her brain. “For all we know, that button might lock us in.”

“Let’s check the rest of the stations first,” I said quietly.

“Like you didn’t do the first time?” But Tack was already moving. We tried the last few. All required a password, so we returned to the monitor with its single perverse option.

Tack glanced at Min. “We might as well just do it. You know we’re going to eventually, so it’s pointless to drag this out. What if this command allows access to the computer in there?” He pointed to the machine beyond the window.

“What if it launches a nuclear missile?” Min countered, but she spoke again before Tack could respond. “You’re right. We’re going to do it anyway. Go ahead.” Her gray eyes shot to me. “You okay with that, Noah?”

I nodded, shoulders tense. “There’s not really a choice to make.”

“Always take the mystery box!” Tack crowed, cracking his knuckles. “Here we go!”

Mouse. Click.

The circle blinked once, then disappeared.

A Klaxon began blaring. Red lights flashed.

Every muscle in my body tensed. Then slowly, ponderously, the control room began to spin.

No. It’s an optical illusion. Only the front wall is moving.

A curtain of solid metal was sliding into place behind the central window. That, or the chamber beyond was somehow rotating out of sight. Either way, the result was the same—view of the machine vanished, replaced by a steel barrier several feet thick.

“I think we just sealed the computer away,” Min whispered.

I swallowed. “Let’s hope it was just that room, and not this one.”

Tack ran to the door and disappeared. Seconds later he was back. “The cage is still here. I don’t think we’re locked in.”

I exhaled in relief.

An image appeared on the two big screens. I recognized it instantly. “That’s a map of Fire Lake. The whole valley, actually.”

Min was staring at the display. “What’s that glowing dot?”

“Town square?” Tack guessed. “Did these jerks watch the gassing from here?”

My pulsed quickened. “No, it’s a building. That’s Town Hall.”

Min’s eyes glittered with reflected light. “Where no one can get inside.”

“Oh crap, look!” Tack was pointing down at the workstation. A drawer had slid open, revealing a single unmarked keycard inside.

I held it up. “Seems pretty clear, right? Go there.”

Min bit her lip. Nodded.

Tack snatched the card from my fingers. “Let’s do it.”

•   •   •

An earsplitting siren echoed from the center of town. I could guess where.

We parked a block away and snuck in on foot. Tack had managed to lock the outer door to the silo before we left and was confident he could get back inside. The drive had been tense and silent. It’d been forty minutes since we’d “engaged the program” in the control room. I worried that whatever we’d set in motion, Ethan and Sarah would find it first.

Most of our class had gathered on the sidewalk before Town Hall. Ethan and Derrick were trying to force the door while the Nolan twins paced the roof, searching for a way inside. Everyone else watched with their hands over their ears.

Peering around the corner of a nearby building, I didn’t see any of the group who’d fled after Tack’s murder. Carl and Sam must’ve eluded the search parties. Good for them.

“What do we do?” Min whispered.

I rubbed a hand over my mouth. We had the keycard, but there was no way past the mob. “Maybe wait for them to leave, then come back?”

“Screw that.” Tack straightened. “Just follow my lead.”

He strode into the street, heading directly for Town Hall.

“Tack!” Min whisper-shouted, but he didn’t break stride. She covered her eyes for a beat, then fired after him. Without a better option, I followed.

Tack reached the group before anyone noticed him. Then heads whipped his way. Shouts erupted—another classmate, back from the dead. Everyone gave him a wide berth as he strolled up the steps like he was about to mail a letter.

Ethan turned, shock registering at finding my friend right behind him. Tack grinned.

Ethan was gripping a crowbar in one hand. “Thumbtack! You’re an idiot for coming here. Thanks for making things easier.”

“Close to opening that?” Tack shouted over the siren. “Doesn’t seem like you’ve made any progress.”

Ethan took a step, but Derrick held up a hand, eyeing Tack nervously. “So you’re back, too, huh? What’s going on, Tack? You’re not dumb enough to show up here without a reason.”

“I missed you guys. I thought we could get a group marriage license.”

Ethan’s jaw worked, but he made no move.

I was standing with Min at the bottom of the steps. She looked ready to pounce if necessary. One of my hands unconsciously adjusted my belt. I’ll help if it comes to it. I will.

Derrick wiped sweat from his brow. “Last chance, man. Don’t give Ethan another reason to pound your ass. Unless you like getting smacked around.”

Tack spat on the flagstones. “Better than getting stabbed in the heart.”

Derrick winced. “Let’s not do this right now, okay? Both you guys. I’m tired. I don’t understand how you’re standing there. I just want that damn alarm to stop wailing before I go nuts!”

“Maybe this will help.” Tack held up the keycard.

“Where’d you get that?” Ethan demanded sharply.

“I bought it on eBay.”

“You think I won’t—”

“Y’all chill!” Derrick shouted, stepping between them. “Tack, if you think that’ll work, be my guest. Just turn off that freaking horn!”

Tack stepped around the larger boys, approached the port, and applied the card. For a moment, nothing, and my spirits sank. Then the sensor blinked green twice. The alarm ceased.

“Oh thank God.” Derrick placed both palms over his eye sockets. “I was about to lose it.” Ethan said nothing, but a pink wave was creeping up his neck.

The door to Town Hall swung open. A second, louder siren sounded. Everyone recoiled, holding their ears as they retreated down the steps. After ten seconds, it stopped. I found myself shoulder to shoulder with Ethan, who was staring back up at the door.

A figure emerged.

Gliding from the shadows, it halted at the top of the steps.

The blood drained from my face.

Black Suit.

He paused, observing us from behind his sliver sunglasses.

“Bastard!” Min charged the steps, but Tack snaked forward and grabbed her around the waist. “You son of a bitch!” She fought to break free, but he held on doggedly. “Don’t, Min! He’s a killer. Use your head!”

Min was beyond caring, rage twisting her delicate features. “You did this! All of this. I’ll kill you, I swear it.”

Black Suit regarded her dispassionately. “You’ll kill me?”

Min stopped struggling. Stared daggers at our lifelong tormentor.

“I will. Or die trying.”

“How, Melinda?” the black-suited man said softly. “You’re already dead.”