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Chapters (58)
  1. DEDICATION
  2. PART 1
  3. CHAPTER ONE
  4. CHAPTER TWO
  5. CHAPTER THREE
  6. CHAPTER FOUR
  7. CHAPTER FIVE
  8. CHAPTER SIX
  9. CHAPTER SEVEN
  10. CHAPTER EIGHT
  11. CHAPTER NINE
  12. CHAPTER TEN
  13. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  14. CHAPTER TWELVE
  15. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  16. PART 2
  17. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  19. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  21. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  22. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  23. CHAPTER TWENTY
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  33. CHAPTER THIRTY
  34. PART 3
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. PART 4
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  44. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  45. CHAPTER FORTY
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  48. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  49. CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  50. CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  51. CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
  52. CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
  53. CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
  54. CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
  55. CHAPTER FIFTY
  56. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  57. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  58. ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

A semicircle of strangers spread loosely in front of them, and Kira noticed now that they were holding spears and bows and here and there a gun. A young woman about Kira’s age stepped forward with a hunting rifle, aiming it with practiced expertise at Kira’s chest.

“Drop your weapons.”

PART 4

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

“Who are you?” asked Samm.

The girl with the rifle kept a perfect bead on Kira’s chest. “I said drop your weapons.”

Samm dumped his rifle on the ground. Kira was too shocked to move, still staring at the children, and Samm pulled her rifle from her shoulder and threw it down in the grass. “We’re not here to hurt you,” he said. “We just want to know who you are.”

The girl lowered the hunting rifle slightly, no longer sighting down the barrel but keeping it pointed in their general direction. She had long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, and her leather vest seemed rough and homemade. “You first,” she said. “Where’d you come from? No one’s crossed the mountains in twelve years.”

Kira shook her head, finally finding her voice. “Not the mountains, the wasteland. We’re from New York.”

The blond girl raised her eyebrow, and the crowd of people around her murmured in disbelief. An older woman stepped forward, holding a small child in her arms, and Kira stared at the little boy like he was a miracle in human form: three years old, plump and rosy-cheeked, his face streaked with dirt and whatever sticky food he’d had for dinner. He stared back at Kira in perfect innocence, studying her as if she were the most normal thing in the world, and then smiling as he caught her eye. Kira couldn’t help but smile back.

“Well?” the woman demanded. “Are you going to answer?”

“What?” asked Kira.

“I said that you couldn’t have come from the Badlands,” said the woman, “because the wasteland is all that’s left.”

Samm put a hand on Kira’s shoulder. “I think you tuned out, staring at the child.”

“I’m sorry,” said Kira, and rose to her feet. The crowd stepped back, but kept their weapons ready. Samm stood beside her, and she gripped his hand for support. “It’s just that . . . it looks like we have a lot of explaining to do. On both sides. Let’s start over.” She looked at the blond girl. “Start with the basics—are you humans or Partials?”

The older woman narrowed her eyes, and there was no mistaking the anger in them. Kira knew at once that this woman was human. Best to pretend we are, too, thought Kira.