“Something else,” Dylan said, sounding reluctant. “Dr. Martinez is incredible. She’s helped us all and even welcomed me into her home. But she also let Jeb bring Dr. Hans here without warning anyone, even after what you told her about him. Even after he almost killed Fang. She let him come here. Didn’t that bother you at all?”

I spun around to look at him. “Oh, now everyone wants to jump on the traitor train to jerkville. You’ve been here for what? Two seconds?! This is my mom we’re talking about!”

He put a hand on my shoulder, and I stiffened. I opened my mouth to continue defending my mom, who is, as I’ve pointed out, the only mom I’m ever likely to have. But despite my little outburst, a tiny seed of doubt had taken root in me. Dylan’s instincts were usually pretty spot-on. And he always had my back, except for the whole leaving-Ella-behind-in-a-sea-of-cult-freaks thing.

I looked up and expected to find hurt or anger on his face, but he just looked sorry. And like he really cared about me. And then that rarest of rare things happened: I felt bad.

Then I looked at the concerned faces of my flock. So many times in the past, I’d ignored what they’d said and charged ahead, my mind made up about how it was going to be. But they weren’t saying this stuff just to mess with me or to make me feel bad. I shut my mouth abruptly and sat down.

“Wasn’t it your mom who convinced us all to go see the Gen 77 kids that morning?” Angel asked gently. “You didn’t want to go, and we were all on your side. But your mom said she’d like to go, and that’s why all of us got in Jeb’s plane. Which is why we almost died.”

I felt like I’d been punched in the stomach really hard. Everything in me wanted to tell them they were wrong, they were crazy. But the truth was that, as much as I loved my mom, and as much as I trusted her, I’d still known her for just a few years, and she was a grown-up. We didn’t have such a great track record with adults in general or with scientists in particular. Even though it really, really hurt, I trusted the flock with my heart, with my gut.

I had to think this one through and not go charging off.

Maybe I really am getting older and perhaps a tiny bit wiser.

“But my mom and Jeb got on the plane too,” I pointed out half heartedly.