And just like that, the terror’s back. I push it down, try to drown it under the waters of my soul, keeping it under with both hands and watching it die.

“Why?” Elder’s eyes search mine. He’s not asking why someone would blow up the Bridge. He’s asking why someone would let Shelby die for it.

Chapter 59

59

ELDER

“NO, NO, NO, NO, NO,” SHELBY SAID.

The words circle my mind, and I know they’ll never leave.

Amy kisses me.

“No, no, no, no, no.”

Amy tells me that someone did this because of a stupid video Orion made. That whoever did this just wanted to make sure that we would never, ever leave the ship. Ever.

“No, no, no, no, no.”

Amy leads me to the grav tube and takes me to the Feeder Level. She shows me the hidden door and the stairs behind it.

“No, no, no, no, no.”

Amy pushes open the door, and light fills the hidden space behind it. It creaks open, but all I hear is:

“No, no, no—”

BOOM!

Another explosion, this one deeper than the first, rumbles the ground and shakes the foundation of the Hospital. Shingles fall from the Hospital roof and clatter down the sides of the building, smashing against the ground. The doors fling open, and people stream out, a pillar of gray and brown smoke chasing after them. Emergency ladders flutter from the upper stories, and people start climbing down, dropping a few feet to the earth and racing toward the Recorder Hall for cover.

“The frex—” I start, as Amy grabs my arm. Even from here, we can feel the rumbling under our feet.

“Why would someone blow up the Hospital?” she asks. Her words are hollow, but her eyes are filled with fear.

Smoke drifts from the doors on the ground floor but nowhere else. There’s no evidence of fire, no evidence of damage.

Amy’s face drains of color, and she’s paler than ever. “Oh, God. It wasn’t the Hospital that exploded—”

“It was the cryo level,” I finish for her.

“My parents,” she whispers. Her eyes lose focus; her mouth is slack. “There are stairs; they go down to the cryo level. I know where they are. I could—”

“Go to them,” I say, gripping her shoulders until she comes back to me. “Go now—but be careful. Whoever did this could still be there.”

Amy swallows.

“I don’t think that was a big enough explosion to destroy the cryo level.” I shake my head, considering. “No, I’m sure of it. They’re fine. They’ve got to be fine.”

I can feel her pulling away, but she’s still holding on to me, her fingers gripping my sleeve.