“If a hundred people walk into an irradiated area, all hundred of them will get sick and die,” I said.
“Maybe,” Rosita said. “But this isn’t radiation. It’s a birth defect. And as my grandmother pointed out, it wasn’t just people who got sick. A small percentage of the livestock was affected as well, but the susceptible ones quickly died out. But for the pigs and the chickens, it was only one out of every twenty or so. She felt there was something more to it, something the scientists were missing. Yes, we fixed it, but she thought it was a deliberate act. And she thought if they were deliberately killing us, they were doing it for a reason. The only thing that made sense was that they wanted someone to come and get the planet all ready for them and then die off. That way the Earthers couldcome and resettle it at their leisure. They could resettle with an Earth government, not an independent body like we supposedly are.”
I shook my head. “We left hundreds of years ago. Nobody who made that decision would be alive now. I can’t believe somebody would do that. It’s so—I don’t know—evil.”
“Do you know who we were before we left Earth?”
Of course, I knew the story. Everybody knew the story. We were a mix of scientists and criminals. Undesirables mixed with volunteers. Those without homes, those who were crowding the planet without helping it mixed with dreamers who wanted to make a difference in the future or find better lives for their families in a new place not choked with pollution and crime and constant political upheaval. One generation in, and none of that had mattered anymore. It shouldn’t have worked, but it did. The close confines of theForlornhad been a melting pot. Both Grandpa Lewis and Grandma Yolanda had relatives from both sides of the original crew.
“I know,” I said.
“We were different,” Rosita said. “And that’s all that matters. That’s why I want to make movies.” She didn’t elaborate beyond that. Instead, she turned so we were eye to eye. She put her hand against the side of my face.
“I love you because you always see the good in people, Oliver. But you don’t like watching what’s going on outside your little circle because it conflicts with your narrow worldview, and it short-circuits that brain of yours. So instead, you just stick your head in the sand. That’s what makes you a great farmer.” She reached over to wipe something off my face. “But it makes you a terrible soldier. I need you to wake the fuck up, and I need you to get angry.”
I thought of the piles of dead people. I thought of little Henry in the pajamas Rosita’s great-aunt had made for him. Dead. I thought of Mr.Yanez, shot for no reason at all.
“That’s not fair. You were with me earlier. You saw the same things I saw. I already am angry.”
She reached over and kissed me where she’d wiped my face clean. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m saying it wrong. I was mad before because it was like you weren’t reacting at the injustice of it all. You just sort of accept things and move on. And it’s not a bad trait, Oliver. I mean that. It reminds me so much of…I don’t know…. You’re too kind of a person for this to be happening to. It hurts me to see people like you getting hurt. I know you’re fighting back. I wish it wasn’t happening at all. I’m sorry for getting so mad at you before. You know, the other night.”
I took a moment to take all that in. I realized then how scared she was. And with her little cousins missing, it was worse. She was all alone, and before, when I was basically ignoring all the warning signs, it made her feel even more alone.
“I’m sorry, too,” I said. “I’m sorry for being such a dick before. You were right, and I was wrong. You know, about everything. You’re right. I don’t want to see what’s out there. It’s scary enough right here. I don’t want to lose you, and I don’t want you to ever think I won’t be there by your side. I’m going to lose my sister, or at least I was before all this happened, and we don’t even talk about it. About her moving away. And it wasn’t until you broke up with me that I started to realize that I might actually be all alone. Like, really alone like Mr.Yanez and so many of the others around here. It’s terrifying to think about, and the thought that you might be feeling the same because of me makes me feel like a real asshole.”
She made a snort. “And all it took was an invasion from another planet to get you to realize that I’m always right.”
“Seriously,” I said. “I’ve never said this to you, and I’m sorry for that. I want to have a life with you, Rosita Zapatero. I want to be with you forever.”
Her eyes softened, and she kissed me again, more insistently this time.
After a moment, she pulled at her wrist, and her little camera burst into the air. I watched it for a second. “What, you want me to say all that again for your documentary?”
She grinned. “Actually, I was hoping you and I could make a—”
Roger interrupted. His voice was shockingly loud as he spoke through my bracelet.
“Oliver, it appears a large group of mechs has descended upon the Yanez farm and are engaging with the faux Rhythm Mafia insurgents.”
I groaned. “How many are there?”
“There appear to be four distinct groups of enemies, totaling twenty-seven mechs. Sixteen of the Light Recon mechs, six of which are Cheetahs. Nine of the standard Attenuators. Two Heavies. Four of the combatants are from Team Cannon Fodder, the same combatants from our last engagement. The largest organized team is a group called Thunder Thighs with twelve members. There is a group of six youths called the Skinners. The last five are all individual, unaffiliated gamers. The Thunder Thighs team is not live streaming their assault for free, but both Team Cannon Fodder and the Skinners along with two of the individual players all appear to have live feeds that I am able to monitor. I will give an after-action report once the engagement is complete. In the meantime, I have placed all assets in ready mode and will maintain it until the threat has passed. All light sources have been dimmed.”
Twenty-sevenmechs? Shit. That was a lot. I hoped they all killed one another.
“Wait, Cannon Fodder only has four combatants? Aren’t there five of them?”
“Benji Winters, also known as Chode, was unable to join in tonight’s stream and will likely not return during the duration of the event, leaving Cannon Fodder with only four members.”
“Huh. What are their configurations?”
“One Recon, which is a Cheetah, two Attenuators, and a Heavy.”
I took a breath. I remembered what that one guy had said just before Sam had peed on him.I’m going to come back here with a Heavy, find you, and tear you apart. “Okay, keep me updated.”
The Yanez farm was only about four kilometers away, and within seconds of the message from Roger, a distant explosion echoed through the night, followed by shouting from the people on watch. I groaned. I wasn’t going to be getting any sleep. I pulled myself up and brightened the light in the small, dusty attic, looking about, bathing in memories. Rosita also sat up, keeping her arms wrapped around me.
Another explosion ripped through the night. I pulled myself off the mattress and secured the armor around my chest, and Rosita and I slipped our way down through the trapdoor.
