"No, nothing like that. It's just... while he was sleeping, he was muttering a lot."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. He said the name, Eleanor."
I had every intention of sleeping until the sun was past noon, but I struggled to sleep all morning as I thought about what Cherry had said. Was the Eleanor he referred to,theEleanor? Did he know Myrtle? Maybe he'd seen her baby daughter somewhere in the bunker, and he could help me get her out and to safety.Finally, my body gave up and fell asleep out of exhaustion, and when it decided I was rested, I popped back up and stormed into the kitchen where the soldier waited, still tied down.
"I could really use a piss break," he complained. "And a smoke. Fuck, I need a smoke. I ain't ever gone this long without one. This is torture."
"Who is Eleanor?" I demanded, ignoring his complaints.
His face instantly shifted. His expression darkened. "Why?"
I repeated the question. "Is she Myrtle's daughter?" I asked after he still refused to answer.
"Maybe she is. Maybe not."
"What are they doing with her?"
He squinted. "Why do you want to know about that girl so badly? She ain't special."
"Her mother was."
"What do you mean?" he asked. "Was she a Young Lady?"
I paced, running my hands through my hair.
"She was in her twenties, yeah."
"No, it's a title. Was this Myrtle you knew a Young Lady?" He repeated.
I grabbed a chair, flipped it backward, and sat in front of him. "I have no idea. Tell me about the title."
Over the next hour, Milton explained what Young Ladies, Daddies, and DITs were.
"I was a DIT. That's why they're looking for me. There's only 15 of us picked each year. If I don't come home, there's a Young Lady who has no Daddy to be paired with."
"But why is it so important? There's already a cure."
Milton's face crumpled. "No there's not. You're lying!" He accused.
"No sir, President Harrison endorsed it himself. So long as you take it when you're young, you'll be fine."
"Give it to me." He demanded. "What is it, a pill? A little blue pill?"
He was oddly specific. I shook my head. "No, it's a shot. It's expensive. And you can’t take it if you’ve been exposed already. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if you've already started the transformation. To creepie."
"Fuck you," he spat. "Fuck you!" Milton fought against his restraints. "I'm not a creepie!"
"Not yet. I'd care to wager somewhere on your body, you're showing signs. It's been what, a month? Since that night the other soldier told you to run. You're well underway, I'm sure."
Milton froze. "How did you know about that? Were you there?"
I realized what I'd said and bit down.
Fuck.
"He'd said you were trying to rape someone. You didn't deny it."
