“I’m needed here, Finn, especially now, but I would like for you to go and represent Unity.”
I try not to show how stunned I am. This is bigger than anything he has ever asked me to do. “You should send someone more experienced, sir.”
“I’ve spent the last year making sure there wouldn’t be anyone more experienced than you, and I don’t believe I wasted my time.”
“You haven’t,” Timothy says firmly.
I only manage to nod, feeling lightheaded.
Dino smiles. “Good. The general will assign a few Defenders to join you. I would have preferred a bigger force, but the general’s right about not attracting unwanted attention.”
“When should I leave?”
“Soon. There’s still some work for you here in the coming days.”
“I would like to accompany Finn,” Timothy says.
Dino shakes his head. “The people of High Hope are not used to seeing someone like you. It’s best if we keep the Defenders focusing on keeping Finn safe.”
I understand Dino’s logic, but the thought of being away from Timothy for so long worries me more than the journey itself.
“He can sense danger better than any Defender,” I say. “I’ve also been to High Hope before, and they have mutants living in the city, so Timothy will be less of an anomaly than he is here.”
Dino still looks reluctant as he says, “Fine, but both of you better be careful.”
“We will,” Timothy says. “I wonder if River and Josh might also be there.”
“I can try speaking with Mother,” I say.
Dino nods. “Worth a shot. Now, I don’t want to decide for the general who will be the Defenders to accompany you, but if Caden were to ask for this assignment...”
My heart beats faster thinking of that possibility, though it will hurt if he refuses. Still, there’s no other Defender I trust more to keep me and Timothy safe. “I’ll talk to him.”
Chapter 4
Caden
I’m standing in a dense forest, surrounded by thick fog. Silhouettes shift through the gray, jolting me with every snap of a branch. They’re close, but I can’t see them, nor do I want to. I know who they are.Whatthey are. Their earthy smell slips through the fog, climbing up my nose.
Something pointy travels up my back, and I can tell without looking it’s a tail.
I wake up screaming in my bedroom, the foggy forest lingering in my peripheral vision. I shake my head until it fades, my heart drumming hard. Nightmares have never been a problem for me, and I’m not keen on that changing. The closest I came to facing them was while sleeping next to Finn. Poor kid can’t get through a few nights without waking up screaming at least once.
I wipe cold sweat from my forehead and look out my window. It looks like early morning from the way the lighting system is set up. I push through my grogginess and stretch. I’ve barely been here a day, yet I already miss the feeling of fresh air in my lungs. Once you get used to the outside world, you realize how claustrophobic the Hive can be. After I enlisted, the only thingthat kept pulling me back was Josh, but he went and enlisted without telling me a few years later, and we rarely got to return at the same time.
Then came Finn, and for the first time in years, Iwantedto return to the Hive. But the distance between the sacrifices each of us was willing to make grew into a chasm. Even now, we’re still standing on both sides, waiting for the other to compromise.
Or maybe he’s done waiting. He could have found someone else during my long stays away from Unity.
Is it okay for me to say that I’ve missed you?
Would he have said that if there were another man in his life? I’m not sure I have the right to ask him.
I take a freezing shower to push away the last traces of sleep, then put on a fresh uniform, but without the armor—if I can’t feel safe in my home, there’s not much point in fighting to protect it. Although I also felt safe when I was sixteen, right before the Raiders invaded and killed my brother Ruben and hundreds of other innocent civilians. I may rarely dream, but I remember every single minute of that day like it happened yesterday. Just as I saw the Defenders approaching and allowed myself to feel relieved, I turned my head to find Ruben’s lifeless eyes staring at me, as if accusing me of letting him die.
I take my spare gun and slide it into my holster. Later, I’ll need to sign for a new rifle. I leave my apartment and go to the shopping area, which is already filled with people who either work here or have come to shop before starting their day. In the Hive, unemployment isn’t a thing. If you have nothing to do, something will be assigned to you—worry not.
I say hello to most people I see, which is unavoidable when you’re surrounded by the same familiar faces for your entire life. Riders on bicycles pass by me in their designated lane, even though you can get from one side of the floor to the other in about thirty minutes on foot. Before I can decide where to grab breakfast, I hear, “Yo, Anderson!”
