Marked

Chapter Twenty-Five

The wait was the hardest.

They sat gathered outside the infirmary, hoping to catch any scraps of information anyone would drop during conversation.

So far, they had nothing.

Nurses and doctors worked quietly and the steady beeping of monitors drifted from behind closed doors.

It would be a while before they let anyone who had been rescued out with the others but the need to be close when they did was almost a physical force.

Juan leaned his head against the wall, tapping one thumbnail against the other. Hector sat next to him in a crouched position and Rachel tried not to think too much of their kiss earlier that day. Her priority had to be finding out who had been found, not daydreaming about the way his mouth had felt on hers.

It was clear in the set of the Hernandez brother's faces that they were only there out of moral support. They had seen their mother killed and their younger sisters taken by the capital. They had nobody to look forward to seeing.

Finding her mother among the rescued was a long shot, so she didn't allow herself to even hope.

After all, she had never had that kind of luck.

But it was Simone they were all really there for.

She paced the hall so many times Rachel thought she would leave a permanent mark on the floor. Back at the compound, Simone had had a full family- two wonderful, loving parents and a younger sister.

Rachel hadn't seen any of them when the poachers had gathered up the compounders so she prayed—for her friend's sake—that when the time came, at least one of them stepped through those doors.

What felt like a string of silence later, Debra rounded the corner and strode toward them, a tray of food and drinks balanced between her skinny hands.

"I figured I wouldn't be able to convince any of you to join me for dinner so I brought you something to eat instead."

"Thank you, Debra. We appreciate it." Hector replied.

"No problem. What are counselors for?"

She set the tray down with a clatter and tiny cups of green liquid sloshed around and almost spilled over.

Rachel picked one up and downed it, her face twisting a little at the sour-sweet taste.

"Lemonade," Debra explained. "There used to be this saying before the transition. If life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. But you can't really make lemonade without sugar..."

Rachel looked at Debra as she awkwardly trailed off.

If she was trying to give a motivational speech, she wasn't doing a very good job.

"How long do you think it will be before anyone is cleared to join us?" Hector asked.

He tipped his head back and the green liquid disappeared into his mouth, leaving behind a residual line of water across his bottom lip.

Rachel shook her head, willing herself to stop being distracted by him.

"It's hard to say. First, they need to be physically evaluated and then pass their simulations. Most people can fly through those with no problem. Others," She eyed Rachel but her gaze flitted quickly away as if she realized she was being rude. "Take a little longer. You guys probably won't find out anything tonight, though. I know you don't want to hear this but why don't you try to get some rest and come back in the morning with a fresh mindset?"

"I think you're right," Juan said, standing from a chair in the hospital's waiting area. "It ain't doing us no good just sitting 'round here like idiots. Either way, they're not gonna let us see anyone so we might as well catch some z's while we can."