BooksBarbecue
Back Partials
Chapters (51)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Dedication
  4. Contents
  5. Part 1
  6. Chapter One
  7. Chapter Two
  8. Chapter Three
  9. Chapter Four
  10. Chapter Five
  11. Chapter Six
  12. Chapter Seven
  13. Chapter Eight
  14. Chapter Nine
  15. Chapter Ten
  16. Chapter Eleven
  17. Chapter Twelve
  18. Part 2: Three Months Later
  19. Chapter Thirteen
  20. Chapter Fourteen
  21. Chapter Fifteen
  22. Chapter Sixteen
  23. Chapter Seventeen
  24. Chapter Eighteen
  25. Chapter Nineteen
  26. Chapter Twenty
  27. Chapter Twenty-One
  28. Chapter Twenty-Two
  29. Chapter Twenty-Three
  30. Chapter Twenty-Four
  31. Chapter Twenty-Five
  32. Chapter Twenty-Six
  33. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  34. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  35. Part 3: Four Hours Later
  36. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  37. Chapter Thirty
  38. Chapter Thirty-One
  39. Chapter Thirty-Two
  40. Chapter Thirty-Three
  41. Chapter Thirty-Four
  42. Chapter Thirty-Five
  43. Chapter Thirty-Six
  44. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  45. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  46. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  47. Acknowledgments
  48. About the Author
  49. Credits
  50. Copyright
  51. About the Publisher

“We’re doing this for you,” said Haru.

“But I don’t want you to,” Madison insisted. Kira could see her eyes welling up with tears, her hand wrapped protectively around the small bulge in her belly. “If you want to protect my baby, don’t leave her without a father.”

“If I stay,” said Haru softly, “our baby will have a father for about three days. Four if we’re lucky. Kira’s right—if we don’t do something now, the baby will die, no question. But if I go, and if we can bring back a Partial, we might be able to save her.”

Her, thought Kira. They say it like they know, even though it’s still too early to tell. This is a real person for them. Can’t Madison see that this is the only way?

Madison’s voice cracked. “And if you die?”

“Then I trade my life for my child’s,” said Haru. “There’s not a father on this island who wouldn’t do the same.”

“You’ve sold me,” said Xochi, folding her arms. “I’m in.”

“I’m not,” said Isolde. “I’m with Mads on this one—it’s dangerous, it’s treasonous, and it’s a one-in-a-million shot. It’s not worth the risk.”

“Of course it’s worth it,” said Kira. “Say that it’s stupid, say that it’s impossible, but never say that it’s not worth it. We know full well that we might not be coming back alive, or successful, and I recognize that, and I wouldn’t have suggested it if I wasn’t ready to accept it. But Haru is right—trading any of us, even trading all of us, for the chance to start a new generation of humans is more than worth it. If we can actually pull this off and use a Partial to cure RM, we’re not just saving Maddy’s baby, we’re saving thousands of babies, maybe millions of babies—every human baby ever born for the rest of time. We’re saving our entire species.”

Isolde was quiet. Madison was crying. She wiped her eyes and whispered, staring plaintively at Haru, “But why does it have to be you?”

“Because until we can prove it was the right move,” said Haru, “this entire plan is illegal. The fewer people who know about it, the better. Jayden can grab a couple of more people as backup, but most of what we need is right here in this room, and that’s our only chance of getting away with it.”

“I still think you’re insane,” said Marcus. “Do you even have a plan? You’re not just going to grab a Partial and push the ‘cure RM’ button—even assuming you catch one, do you have any idea what to do with him?”