Kira looked back at Vale, his maddening smile still pasted to his face. “First thing,” she said, and turned to follow Calix as she ran down the hall.

They reached the front door and Calix looked out carefully, peering up at the thick black storm clouds that filled the sky. “No rain yet. Come on.” She ran out, and Kira moved to follow her, but Samm caught Kira’s arm.

“Wait,” he said, and leaned in to whisper in Kira’s ear. His voice was so soft she could barely hear it. “Did you feel it?”

“Feel what?”

“Dr. Vale,” said Samm. “I felt him on the link. He’s a Partial.”

CHAPTER FORTY

Calix lived a few buildings away, and they made it just as the first acid drops fell and splatted on the ground. “The stuff ParaGen put in the dirt helps keep the plants safe,” said Calix, “but you don’t want the acid on you.” A large man stood in the doorway, holding it open for them to race inside, and chided them for cutting it so close.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed, Callie?”

“Never been hit yet,” said Calix, slapping him affectionately on the arm as she walked past. “Thanks for getting the door.”

“Anytime. These the travelers?”

Samm surveyed the lobby of the building, packed with eager onlookers. He looked back at the big man and nodded. “We are. We need a room for the night, if you have one.”

“He means ‘please,’” said Kira. “And thank you very much for your hospitality.”

“I have plenty of space,” said Calix, and pushed the button for the elevator.

Kira walked past her, looking for the stairs, and jumped slightly when the elevator doors slid open. “Holy crap.”

Calix raised her eyebrow. “You okay?”

“Where I come from I just . . .” Kira shook herself slightly and followed her gingerly into the elevator. “We don’t have enough juice to run elevators back home. I’ve never actually been inside one.”

“Neither have I,” said Samm, though Kira knew it was a lie. He was probably trying to avoid the inevitable question of why their past experiences had been so different. Calix pushed a button on the inside wall of the elevator—the highest floor—and the doors slid closed.

“This whole complex is powered,” said Kira. “Not just the hospital but everything. Where do you get the juice?”

“ParaGen had gone fully self-sustaining a few years before the Break,” said Calix. “We have power, running water, and of course the Preserve itself to protect us from the wasteland. There’s even enough land to ranch cattle, if we could find any live ones.”

“The chili at dinner had beef in it,” said Kira.

“Actually venison,” said Calix, and looked at Samm proudly. “I tracked the deer myself. I’ve been a full-fledged hunter for two years now.”

Samm nodded, which was a huge display of emotion for him. “Very impressive.”