Part 7 (2/2)

”Nah,” said Aliah. ”We never told Paul anything, but as long as we stay like this, he seems to just leave us alone.”

”But he's always got his eye on us,” said Lilly. ”We think he knows.”

I thought about the surveillance insects, and the bats, and checked the sky above. ”Probably,” I said.

”Which means he'll have his eye on you, too,” said Aliah.

”Okay, but how did this even happen?” I asked.

The CITs glanced at one another.

”That,” said Lilly, ”is the big question. But don't worry, O. The point is: just stick with us, and we'll keep your secret.”

What we were talking about was crazy and serious, but at the same time, I had just heard Lilly shorten my name. I tried to keep my expression calm, like the opposite of how that made me feel.

”Cool?” She looked at me expectantly.

I glanced around at the CITs and realized that maybe I had just been invited to join their club, their secret gill-breathing, raft-swimming society.

”Yeah,” I said, and I tried to return Lilly's gaze like I had at the dock, saying that yes, I could do this. Only this time, I maybe believed that I could.

”Good.” She smiled.

”Can we stop with all the serious talk now, please?” said Marco. ”Dawn is going to turn on in, like, two hours.”

”Right.” Lilly turned to Evan and Marco. ”Boys, let's give our newest member a slingshot.”

”All right.” Evan didn't sound thrilled, but he stepped beside me, towering over me and smelling of some better form of sweat. Then he grabbed me under the arms. ”Hang on.” He sprang and hurled me straight up into the air.

I tensed, hoping I could keep my feet beneath me when I landed. Below, the other four fish dashed to the corners of the trampoline. ”Ready!” Lilly called.

I hurtled down, and the moment I squished into the trampoline center, they all stomped down too. I sank deep, then shot up into the night.

”Nice!” shouted Marco.

I arced through s.p.a.ce, losing my balance, c.o.c.king sideways. As I plummeted toward the black water, I tried to straighten myself, but I slammed into it in a chin-first belly flop. I dunked deep underwater, my chest compressing, and hung there, for a moment not knowing which way was up or down. My face throbbed. So did my stomach. Then, without even really thinking about it, I made a gulping motion that sealed my throat, and my gills fluttered to life. I sucked in water and relaxed.

A hand closed around my wrist. I looked over, and there was Lilly, cast in moonlight and blue, hair snaking around her, a siren calling to me: 'Come on.'

She pulled me deeper, toward the cold depths. I heard tinny splashes, and soon the other CITs were around me, and we were plunging into the dark.

As we descended into the abyss, I glanced from one outlined figure to the next and wondered how this had happened. Sure, there had been each moment-I remembered those-but it seemed like there had to be something more at work, like a plan or even a G.o.d, that had orchestrated this: me, Owen, suddenly something new, a creature of the deep, of mysteries. And I felt like I wanted to be down here forever, in Lilly's grasp, with these others who I almost dared to think of as my own.

PART II

[GAMMALINK CONNECTION LOADING... 100%-welcome back to the Alliance Free SignalCast-buffering-you want to know what EdenCorp is really up to, just look at the locations of the domes. They claimed that their placement was based on climate stability, but the proximity to ancient sites can't be a coincidence. Then there's the secretive EdenNorth complex. No one can confirm its location, but our sources say it's on the coast of Greenland, and is rumored to be some kind of modern-day Area 51. It was the first one they built. So you have to ask yourself: What is Eden hiding up there? And does it connect to what we've heard coming out of Desenna, the former EdenSouth? Rumors of some kind of awakening, or calling, that's only happening to certain rare people? They believe that it's the G.o.ds returning, but what if it's something else? Something ancient, like-connection fail]

Chapter 7

THE MOON PROJECTION SET OVER THE BLACK OUTLINE of the hills to the west, fading into the faint amber glow from the city. Camp Eden was located on a secluded inlet, hills to three sides and Mount Aasgard to the fourth. That distant hazy brightness was the only thing that indicated there was a city in here. of the hills to the west, fading into the faint amber glow from the city. Camp Eden was located on a secluded inlet, hills to three sides and Mount Aasgard to the fourth. That distant hazy brightness was the only thing that indicated there was a city in here.

As purple lights imitated predawn on the eastern curve of the dome, we emerged from the water, wading to sh.o.r.e like some kind of invading monster army.

Walking alongside the CITs, I considered that we looked like one of those groups, the kind I always saw from the outside, that seemed so exclusive, such a natural part of the universe, and you wondered how things like that formed, and why they didn't happen to you, and you wanted, just once, to be in one, and to know know what that secret, sacred thing was that created such an impenetrable unit. Apparently, gills could do it. what that secret, sacred thing was that created such an impenetrable unit. Apparently, gills could do it.

I felt the disappointing grit of sand, the pressure of solid ground beneath my feet. Back on land. Dragged down by that persistent tugging of gravity, eliminating possibility, turning me from shark back to turtle. I felt my gills sealing up, tucking themselves away until... when? Could this happen again? Tonight? I was already hoping, but would they really want me back?

Distantly, the blowers cycled to life to warm the air. SimClouds began to form along the dome edges. Humidifiers created a hazy effect. I found that my body was staying damp, the moisture not just evaporating right off, like it would have back home in the dryness.

The CITs had thoughtfully brought towels.

”Here,” said Lilly, handing me hers after my attempts to use my damp T-s.h.i.+rt only left me with sand streaks on my chest. Her lime-green towel smelled salty from sweat, and there was that strange metallic tinge of NoRad, and it was maybe a little dank too, from lots of uses between washes.

”Thanks.”

Birds had begun to chirp and dart around. Off to the north of the beach, a raptor of some kind was circling over the Preserve, a section of forest set apart by nets that reached all the way to the roof. I wondered if the bird was real or a robot.

”Time for bed,” said Aliah, starting up the beach. The CIT cabins were straight ahead, in the trees between here and the dining hall.

A clock hanging on the snack shack showed the time was four forty-five. Just over three hours until wake-up. I could already feel that I was going to be exhausted all day.

”See you later, Owen,” said Marco.

”Yeah,” I said, ”Bye, guys.” I picked up my sneakers and headed to the right.

There was mumbling behind me, then, ”Owen, wait up.”

I turned to see Lilly jogging after me, towel around her waist, her damp hair now chaotic. She walked beside me, brus.h.i.+ng at the dark tangles with her hand. I could see the faint lines of her hidden gills, like little pencil streaks.

”How are you doing?” she asked.

”Fine, I think.”

We left the beach and crossed the gra.s.s. The sprinklers were on, so we walked in S curves to avoid the spinning tentacles of spray. ”Oooh, water, watch out,” I said, trying to be funny. Then I flinched inside because what if Lilly didn't think I was?

But she chuckled. ”I know, right?” Then she was quiet.

The sky began to hint at blue. Color was seeping into the trees. A first ray of orange SafeSun lit the top of the flagpole to our left. We would be right back here, in a few hours, just like any other camp day. ”It's a lot to absorb,” Lilly said quietly.

”I guess,” I said. I figured she was right but I wasn't really feeling that way. The gill stuff already felt normal, a part of me like my arms or feet. Okay, maybe not that familiar. But still, it wasn't really on my mind, at least not as much as the fact that here I was, walking beside Lilly. Just a day ago she had seemed so mysterious, a member of another race of beings-which, it turned out, she was. But now so was I.

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