Heath?
I craned my neck to see the van operator. The volume of the retro music decreased.
“Not too bad.” The deep male voice from within the van sounded like the trumpets of an approaching cavalry. “How about yourself?”
It’s him. Relief and hope rushed through me.
“Heath,” I yelled out. “Heath! Help me.”
“What’s going on? Who’ve you got there?” Heath leaned far enough out of the van’s window that I caught a glimpse of his face.
And he saw mine.
“Well, hello there.” He sounded friendly but bewildered.
“You know this girl?” The guard holding me relaxed his grip on my shoulders marginally.
“Yeah. She’s… a friend of mine. I asked her to stop by.”
Now the guard released me completely, taking a step back and muttering the word, “Sorry.”
The short guard turned around and looked at me. “You didn’t mention that.”
Playing along with Heath’s cover story, I said, “You didn’t give me a chance.”
The guy turned back to Heath. “There’s nothing on the schedule about it.”
Heath gave him a sly grin. “Well, I didn’t exactly want it on the books… if you know what I mean.”
Now when the guard looked at me, it was in a whole different way. He gave a low chuckle.
“At work? Wow. You’ve got a pair, kid.”
He offered Heath a congratulatory fist-bump. “Hate to tell you this, but something’s wrong with her chip—it set off the sensors. So you’re not gonna be able to sneak her in.”
“Oh,” he said, sounding surprised. “Thanks for letting me know. I guess we’ll have to take a ride then instead.”
He extended an arm from the van window, waving me toward him. “Come on. Get in.”
Speaking to the guard again, he said, “I’m gonna report for work a little later than usual today. You didn’t see me, okay?”
“Got it.” The guard chuckled.
“I owe you one man.”
Heath beamed at him as I scrambled into the passenger seat, shaking and staring at the squeaky-clean floorboard, willing myself away from there like Dorothy in that classic vid I’d watched as a child.
It was warm inside the van, and there was a really nice scent to the air, like citrus and spices and woods. The song Heath was listening to, while not exactly relaxing, was actually one of my favorites.
Though my friends were all about AI-generated synth pop, I’d been listening to this kind of turbulent, anarchistic retro music for the past several years since my dad had introduced me to his favorite anti-establishment bands from his youth.
Mom hated it, so he’d said it was our shared guilty pleasure. I’d never known anyone else who liked speed metal outside of the two of us.
“Just play it cool,” Heath murmured to me, under the cover of the singer’s screaming vocalizations before ordering the van to perform a U-turn in the Gideon Corp driveway.
“Have a good one,” the guard said as the van pulled away from the gatehouse. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
He lifted his hand in a sort of salute, which Heath returned.
Neither of us said a word as the vehicle drove to the next block then, at Heath’s command, pulled to the side of the road, stopping alongside the curb.
His body shifted, and I finally met his gaze. Just like the first time I’d seen his face, recognition jolted me.
I know him. I was sure of it. But how?
“You,” he said. His tone was bemused. “What are you doing here?”
“You remember me?”
A grin. “Yeah, you’re the girl who tried to commit suicide by driverless van. Never works, by the way.”
Something inside me sank with disappointment. That wasn’t the kind of recognition I’d been referring to.
“I wasn’t suicidal. I was distracted.”
“Who is it?”
The question coming from the back seat startled me. I hadn’t seen anyone else in the vehicle. The voice was high-pitched—a girl?
“Is this your friend, Heath?”
A small, curious face popped in between us as the speaker leaned forward.
Oh. Not a girl. A boy. A little boy. My mouth dropped open.
He offered me a big gap-toothed grin, and I couldn’t help but smile back, though I was beyond stunned. I’d never seen a child before.
I mean, yes, when I was a kid, I’d been surrounded by other kids on the base. But I’d never seen anyone younger than me and Ketta and our classmates at school.
We’d been told there was no one younger than us alive in the entire world. And yet here was a child of no more than eight or nine.
Why would our parents and teachers have told us that if it wasn’t true? Add it to the list of lies and unanswered questions.
But maybe Heath had the answers, and improbable as it was, I was with him. I’d found him.
Well, actually, he’d found me, but the result was the same. I was about to get some answers.
Heath answered the boy. “No. Just… someone I met yesterday. This is…”
He looked at me waiting for me to fill in the blank.
“Mireya,” I said. “Hi.”
“Hi,” the child said. “I’m Daniel. Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”
“I’m… taking the day off. Why aren’t you in school?”
He scrunched his nose into the bunny face and laughed. “Silly. Because there aren’t—”
Heath interrupted. “There aren’t any schools our parents consider good enough for him. Daniel’s homeschooled.”
I jerked back in surprise. “He’s your brother?”
“Yes, and Heath doesn’t have to go to school anymore because he’s a genius,” Daniel announced.
Heath laughed and ruffled the younger boy’s hair, clearly amused at his little brother’s hero worship. “Thanks, kiddo. Actually, I aged out a year ago. So… what are you doing out of school?”
“I got a pass for the day,” I lied with surprising ease.
Heath’s eyes narrowed, moving over me from head to toe. “You got permission to leave the base, and you decided to use your freedom to come here?”
I picked up the tale I’d started and weaved a few more threads into it. “Sure. We’ve been studying industrialists and business magnates in school, and of course Gideon came up. So, this is sort of a field trip. Independent study. I figured it’s right here in Atlanta, why not stop by?”
Heath’s head wagged side to side. “Okay whatever.”
He chuckled. “I’m afraid you’ve wasted your time and your cab fare, though. There’s no access allowed to non-employees.”
“So I discovered. Thanks for the rescue back there, by the way.”
I directed a pointed glance at the little face still smiling between us. “So Daniel works there, too? Or is it take your brother to work day?”
“Oh. Yeah, well, something like that. He’s an exception. Our dad works there—that’s how I got this job. We were on our way to visit him.”
“Are we still going, Heath?” Daniel asked.
Oh no.
Heath had been nice enough to intervene for me with the guards, but he’d expect me to get out of the van now and watch him drive through those reinforced gates, leaving me standing outside in a puddle of ignorance.
I’d left the base to find him, to talk to him. I couldn’t let this opportunity slip through my fingers.
“Maybe I could come along.”
“No,” Heath barked. Then his voice softened. “You don’t have an authorized chip. As you’ve already discovered, security isn’t too fond of that. Ben back there is a buddy of mine, but someone else will flag you for trespassing, and it’ll be this big hassle, and then my dad would have to get involved.”
The reluctance in his eyes was clear, and it was tinted by something else, something more serious. Fear, maybe?
Now that I thought about it, it was probably really hard to get a job at Gideon headquarters. I certainly didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize Heath’s job—or his father’s.
“Never mind. I wouldn’t want to get you or your dad in trouble,” I said.
He nodded and gave me a tight-lipped smile, but his eyes warmed.
“Maybe I can ask my dad, and then we could come back out and get you,” Daniel suggested.
Heath turned to his brother with a mischievous grin. “I have a better idea.”
Then he turned his charm on me. “Since Daniel’s taking a day off from school, and you’re… free for the day…”
The way he emphasized the word told me he doubted my story about having permission to skip school.
“… why don’t we all play hooky together,” he continued. “I could show you around the city—or we could go somewhere else. I have transport. Looks like you’re on foot. You’ll see a lot more this way.”
My heart leapt. This was perfect. I didn’t care about getting inside Gideon Corp anyway. What I’d wanted was to find Heath, to ask him some questions and figure out if he really did know me—or anything about me.
But then it occurred to me… I didn’t actually know this guy. What if he looked familiar because I’d seen his face in one of those true crime vids that all seem to run together?
Maybe getting into a vehicle with him hadn’t been my smartest move.
“Yay!” Daniel’s childish voice rose an octave. “An adventure.”
Heath laughed at his brother’s ebullient reaction then glanced at me again, waiting.
Well, it wasn’t like I would be going somewhere alone with him. There was a child in the van, too, and Heath seemed like such a doting big brother. How bad a guy could he be?
I released my bottom lip from where it had been pinned in between my teeth. “Sounds great.”
“Great.”
Heath gave the command to get the van back on the road, and we pulled out. Glancing over at me, he said, “You should put on your safety belt. Sometimes clueless pedestrians step out into traffic and we have to make a sudden stop.”
“Ha ha.”
I looked around for the button to activate my belt, scanning the console and armrest for the proper control. I wasn’t used to riding in transports.
Obviously reading my confusion, Heath leaned across me and swiped a small lighted panel on the upper left interior over my shoulder. The belts snapped into place across my lap and torso, and I let out a giggle, feeling strangely out of breath.
Heath leaned back, giving me a brief smile. “There you go.”
I nodded weakly and said nothing, because I’d figured out the source of that heavenly scent I’d noticed.
It was not an air-freshening function in the van. It was him.
When he’d stretched across my body, the fresh, masculine scent had flowed around me, making me almost dizzy with pleasure. How could a human being smell that good?
As we cruised through the city streets, it was a struggle to sit straight in my seat and not lean closer to him. No doubt our excursion would end rather abruptly if I were to bury my nose in his neck.
Heath gestured for the surround sound to come back on, and the music resumed, but at a lower volume than before.
“You like Wrath Against the Man?” I asked, still astounded to find someone else my age who was into the obscure dated musical genre and my father’s favorite band in particular.
“This is me and Heath’s favorite song,” Daniel answered for him. “Right Heath?”
“Right. But it’s not ‘me and Heath’s,’” his big brother corrected. “It’s ‘Heath’s and my favorite song.’”
Turning to me, he shrugged. “One of my friends was really into it. Before I knew it, I was hooked, too. The words just get to me, you know?”
“Can I play my game while we drive?” Daniel asked.
Heath smiled. “Sure. For a little while—but don’t tell Mom I let you.”
“Okay,” Daniel agreed happily.
Heath gave him a stern look in the rearview mirror. “And don’t turn the volume up to blasting in your auditory implants.”
This time Daniel’s tone was sheepish when he said, “Okay. I promise.”
“So, where do you want to go?” Heath asked me once Daniel was settled. “What would you like to see?”
I turned to look up at him.
Wow. At close range, his eyes were absolutely stunning. The combination of that blue-green gaze and his intoxicating scent made it hard for me to think.
“The… beach?” I finally managed to whisper.
He nodded. “Tybee Island is the closest beach. It’ll be a bit of a trip, though—about an hour and a half at best. Some of the smaller roads around there don’t have mag-rail, so we’d have to put the van in wheels-down mode part of the trip.”
“That’s fine. I don’t mind.”
“Okay then. Tybee Island, it is.” He instructed the van’s navigation system, then to me he said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the ocean.”
“I’ve never seen it,” I admitted.
His gaze slid to me. “Is that right?”
“It’s true. I… I’ve never left the base before.”
“Ever? Oh wow. I guess I’d better make this tour a good one then.”
We both laughed and settled in, listening to music and watching the scenery whipping by the window.
Or rather, I watched the passing buildings, the sea of humanity, the fascinating aerorails speeding train passengers over our heads in criss-crossing patterns.
It was all new to me—Heath had probably seen this cityscape a million and a half times.
“Did you grow up around here?” I asked.
“Yep. Right here in good ole Hotlanta.”
“You never… lived on the Air Force base? Or maybe had family who lived there?”
His brows quirked with amusement. “No. Why would you ask that?”
“It’s just… you look familiar to me. Do I not look familiar to you?”
My heart thrummed in anticipation of his answer. This was it—the moment of truth—the reason I’d left the base for the first time ever today.
One of his brows lifted along with the corners of his mouth.
“Well, I never forget a face I’ve nearly plowed down in a van, but other than that, no.”
A sinking sense of defeat drained all my energy and left me dizzy and confused. Apparently, we really had never met before our collision yesterday afternoon.
If Heath hadn’t been the boy in that birthday party photo, if he hadn’t known me before my eye color change, he couldn’t tell me anything about what was happening to my classmates—or why my parents might have lied to me.
Where did that leave my search for answers?
“But… then why did you act so funny that day?” I asked. “About my eyes?”
His face colored, and he cleared his throat.
“I didn’t realize I acted funny. I… thought your eyes were pretty. I remember that distinctly. Anyway, a lot of people think they’ve met me before,” he continued. “I must have a really common-looking face.”
I could not have disagreed more with that statement but opted not to embarrass myself by expressing how extraordinary I found his looks.
Studying his entirely uncommon face, I decided my impromptu escape from the base wasn’t a total loss.
My quest for answers might have been fruitless, but I was on my way to the beach with possibly the world’s most appealing delivery man—who had amazing taste in music.
What were the odds? There was no way everyone in his occupation was so young—or so charming and intelligent.
It made me wonder how he’d ended up in the position instead of pursuing higher education after finishing high school last year.
Most of the nation’s colleges were going out of business or would be soon, but there were still educational opportunities available for adults who wanted to better themselves and their stations in life.
“Working at Gideon Corp must be interesting,” I prodded.
His brows lowered, and the edges of his mouth tightened as he stared out the window. “That’s one word for it.”
“You don’t like your job?”
“No, it’s fine. It’s just…” He bit off the sentence and darted an uncomfortable glance at me.
“You don’t like Gideon?”
He scowled. “Now why would I not like working for the most successful company in the world? For a genius who saved the world’s industry by providing robot labor to stand in for the humans lost in the Calamity? Who perfected biological limb and organ replacement and engineered proxy livestock to feed the planet and stave off certain world starvation?”
I shrugged at his oddly bitter recitation of Apollo Gideon’s many accomplishments.
“I don’t know. Maybe you don’t agree with the way he does things.”
He shook his head and puffed out a breath. “You know what? Let’s not talk about work. This is our ditch day, right? Let’s pretend for one day there is no work or school and just enjoy it.”
“Okay.” I smiled, liking the idea and having no desire to argue with him.
In my case I was also pretending there were no parents back at the base who were frantic right about now after my failure to show up for the appointment with Dr. Rex.
Heath and I made small talk the rest of the trip, but words deserted me entirely when the van reached the shoreline. He ordered the vehicle to park facing the water.
“We’re here,” he announced, as if it was necessary to tell me.
To say I’d never seen anything like it was a massive understatement.
The images of the ocean I’d seen on vid screens were nothing compared to the real-life vista in front of me. Pale sand met deep blue infinity, stretching as far as I could see and melding into the lighter blue sky at the horizon. I was breathless with awe.
“Can we… get out?” I asked.
It had occurred to me that the beach might not be available for public access, though at the moment, I wanted nothing more than to feel that scalloped sand under my bare feet and touch that vast blue beauty.
Heath laughed. “Of course. Why do you think we’re here? To look at it once then turn around and go back?”
He opened the van door and got out, helping Daniel climb down from the raised platform.
The little boy shrieked with delight and took off across the parking lot toward the sand. Heath removed his work coverall, revealing the t-shirt and shorts he wore beneath it, before following his brother. I exited the vehicle more slowly, barely taking my eyes from the view.
Even if looking had been the extent of it, it still would have been worth leaving the base for. This place was incredible.
A breeze lifted my hair and filled my lungs with the freshest air I’d ever tasted.
Following Daniel and Heath, I stepped from the hard pavement into the sinking, shifting sand. It overflowed the tops of my shoes, so I stopped and pulled them off, walking the rest of the way to the ocean barefoot. It was a strange sensation—rough and yet relaxing, like a grainy foot massage.
When I caught up to Heath, he was standing at the edge of the water watching Daniel, who hadn’t bothered to remove his shirt before splashing into the surf, fully clothed.
“There goes the tech in those clothes,” Heath said. “Oh well.”
The little boy laughed again and again as he was thrown off-balance and toppled by the surprising power of the waves.
I was concerned, but when I looked up at Heath’s face, he was smiling.
“Is it safe?”
His gaze shifted to me. “Sure. As long as he doesn’t get too deep. You going in?”
“Me?”
I hadn’t thought about it until Heath asked. My heart leapt to attention, and my skin tingled with anticipation. But I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to.
This was so different from the still, clear water I was used to at the base’s family recreation pool. I’d never swum in saltwater.
Or water that moved under its own power. Still, it did have a certain allure.
“You’re not scared, are you?” Heath asked. There was a teasing tone in his voice and a look of challenge in his eye.
“No.” My tone sounded more defensive than I’d have liked. “I don’t see you jumping in. Maybe you’re scared.”
A wide smile spread across his face. With both hands, he gripped the bottom of his shirt and lifted, pulling it up and over his head.
My breath left my body so fast I felt light-headed. I’d seen shirtless guys before—at the pool on the base.
Not one of them looked like this. Heath’s body was lean and powerful. I didn’t know they even made stomachs with that much muscle.
He didn’t seem to notice my ogling, thankfully. At least I hoped he didn’t. In any case, he ran into the ocean without a look back, whooping when he reached the water.
Daniel turned when he heard his brother’s voice then charged toward him, splashing with every footfall.
They were adorable together. It made me sad, thinking of the baby sister I’d lost. None of my friends from school had younger siblings, of course, so it wasn’t something I’d thought about much—what I was missing. But seeing the relationship between the brothers made my heart ache with a sweet pain.
“Hey—why are you still on the shore?” Heath called out, adding, “Chicken.”
He and Daniel had stopped horsing around and both stood facing me, waving for me to join them.
Daniel had his hands tucked up under his armpits, flapping his skinny arms like wings as he made funny “bok bok” noises I supposed were an imitation of clucking.
Heath copied him, acting like a very large, very wet chicken, and I laughed at their silliness.
Heaving a sigh of resignation, I approached the water, stopping when my toes encountered cold sand. Much colder than the dry sand further back from the surf.
“How does it feel in there?” I asked warily.
“Perfect,” Heath said.
“Great,” Daniel shouted at the same time.
Okay then.
I took one step forward, and in the same moment a wave rushed the beach and covered both my feet up to my ankles. I let out a squeak. The contrast between the air temperature and the water was shocking.
“You’re both liars. It’s so cold,” I whined.
“It’s fine. You get used to it.”
Eying Heath with suspicion, I inched forward until the chilly water surrounded my calves and then deeper, to where it almost reached the bottom edge of my long shorts.
“I’m not too sure about that. I think I’ll just sit on the beach.”
Daniel made a couple more clucking noises as I retreated, until Heath lifted him and threw him into the deeper water. He popped to the surface, howling with laughter. I waded back out and sat in the warm, dry sand, watching them play.
The sun felt heavenly, different somehow, from the sun at home, though it was less than three hundred miles away.
That thought arrested me. This place felt like a world away from the base.
Why had my family never come here together? We didn’t own a car, but we had access to transportation.
In fact, the more I thought about it, the less sense it made to me that I’d never been off-base before. It didn’t seem normal.
And the fact that I’d never wondered about it before yesterday… I didn’t know what to make of it all.
