Following her instructions, I listened as the box swallowed my coins with a crunch, but when the tone sounded in my ears, I couldn’t remember Adam’s private number that would connect me to his wrist screen. I’d never dialed it before—I only knew him by his icon, and even that would only have connected me to his private Network message center. “What if I don’t know the number?” I gasped.

“Dial 411. You can look it up.”

I pressed the buttons, and, to my surprise, a recording directed me to say the city and state I was trying to reach. I followed the prompts, but unfortunately his information was unlisted.

“This is impossible.” I slammed down the phone. “Without technology, a person could go missing. They could disappear.”

“Yes, they could,” Crystal said, putting her arm around me. “Being off-grid forces you to keep the people you love close, that’s for certain.”

“How am I going to get in touch with him?” I threw my hands up in frustration as we walked back to the trailers.

“Send a letter? I’ll give you a stamp.”

“To where? I don’t know his address.”

“What about his Network? You could use a library computer, create a new account, and private message him.”

I shook my head. “So many people want to get to Adam, he charges to read messages, and my currency account is frozen. But maybe we could go together and you could message him for me? I’ll find a way to pay you back.”

“Sorry, hon. I don’t have a currency account.” She linked her arm with mine.

“How do you get your stipend, then?” I asked, my jaw falling open.

“I don’t. Favors are my currency.” She laughed. “Maybe you have to wait for him to come to you. It isn’t a bad thing, you know.”

“I guess…” There’s got to be another way.

I stared at our shadows as we walked, our silhouettes melded together by the umbrella, and an idea formed.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

March 1, 20X5

Truth: Waiting for what you want is worthless. If you want something to happen, you have to go after it yourself.