The man paused, looking at us one by one, as if waiting for a response. He got none.

“One way we could be useful to you would be for us to create a school, a place where you could live safely.” A younger blond woman was talking to us, but clearly her words were aimed at Jeb and my mom. Like they made decisions for us or something. “You’re very gifted at survival, but there are significant gaps in your education. We could fill in those gaps, help you realize your full potential.”

Again there was a pause while the government people waited for us to jump up and down with excitement over the idea of going to school. School was, of course, an unfortunate word choice on their part.

“To what end?” My voice was clear, no wavering.

“Excuse me?” The younger woman looked at me.

“What would you guys get out of it?” I asked. “Besides the sheer joy of helping us fulfill our potential.”

“We would get to study you, frankly,” said a tall, lean man who, I kid you not, looked just like Bill Nye the Science Guy. “You’re like nothing we’ve ever seen before. The idea that human children can actually fly is mind-blowing. While you’re at the school, we could study you, understand the physical changes that enable you to fly.”

“To what end?” I asked again. “So that you can make more of us?”

The man looked genuinely surprised. “No,” he said. “Just to . . . understand.”

I decided I liked him. Too bad he was one of Them.

“Okay, say you get to study us,” I said agreeably. “Somehow you get us to believe that it wouldn’t be a complete nightmare for us to be hooked up to sensors while we run on treadmills, or to hold our own in wind tunnels while you film us flying. Then what?”

Silence.

Chapter 9

9

AN OLDER MAN with the collar stars of a general spoke next. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what else?” I said. “You study us; you get the warm fuzzies from helping us with all that potential we have lying around. What else do you want from us?”

The general’s blue eyes were cold and intelligent in a ruddy, grandfatherly face.

“What makes you think there would be something else?” he asked.

“Um, because I’m not a complete moron?” I offered. “Because no grown-up has ever been completely straight with us? Because I don’t believe for one second that you’re giving us the whole story. I don’t believe for one second that all you want is to study us. You know and I know that you’ve got ulterior motives up that crisply starched sleeve. The only question is, when are you gonna show us what they are?”