Zane watched London grow through the wide windshield.
He saw the rooftops as they drew nearer, the ancient chimneys sprouting from the old roofs like tiny saplings. Dotted trees became brighter and more vibrant as their color differentiated itself from the white blankness of the clouds. Broken asphalt streets rose up like monsters, cracks snaking across them, old cars careening down them. Zane saw a multitude of flowers in a variety of colors, and thought that it was what Joseph's mom's garden must have looked like: a pinwheel of rainbows.
Despite the magnificence of the older locations in London, the shiny new additions lured his eyes. Magnificent structures formed completely of glass. Aside from certain rooms that demanded privacy, of course. Zane caught glimpses of people scurrying through the enormous office buildings like ants in a jar.
The tallest skyscraper reached for the clouds, its pointed tip just grazing the white emptiness. Zane never heard Mallory walk up beside him.
"The Foreign Embassy for Preservation of the Environment," she said. "FEPE, for short."
"It's magnificent," Zane whispered, his eyes never leaving the structure.
"Climate change wasn't something they could overlook anymore," she said. "FEPE has managed to slow humans' greenhouse gas emissions and supplement nearly every fossil fuel with renewable energy like wind or hydro. Just off the coast is an enormous open-sea turbine farm, large enough to power London and most of the nearby areas."
Zane whistled. "I've been living under a rock," he said sadly. He sighed. "The world is far larger and more complex than I ever imagined."
Mallory crossed her arms. Her eyes gazed into the city streets, where people could be seen pointing up at the jet in confusion. "New Vancouver was completely self-sufficient," she responded. "You had no reason to know of the outside world."
"I never knew there was an outside world,"
"Dude, seriously?" Mallory looked at him, her black hair swinging in motion with her head. "Nobody ever told you there was a whole world out here?" Her nose piercing flashed. How she'd gotten it back, Zane would never know. Maybe she'd had more than one.
"Nope," he told her. "But I intend to take this new world by storm, and show it who I am."
"That's the attitude," Mallory approved. She punched him softly on the shoulder before walking away. He rubbed the shoulder absentmindedly, his brain struggling to comprehend the ancient structures as well as the sparkly new skyscrapers. London was a blend of old and new with no in-between.
His thoughts drifted, and he found himself realizing just how far he'd come in the past two days. Forty-eight hours ago, he'd been in a damp tunnel with a bullet wound in his leg. Now, he was on a jet landing in London. It was almost impossible to comprehend the changes in his life.
He had healed himself of a major, possibly lethal gun wound. They had stumbled across Daisy's twin sister and a fellow experiment of Wawrzynski's. He had used his unnatural abilities to incapacitate soldiers whose vast numbers would have been impossible to defeat in normal circumstances. They had stolen a jet and exploded two planes that launched nuclear missiles at them.
And Joseph had kissed him. It was the most bizarre event of all. He'd never been kissed before, and he'd never felt anything so strong as his desire to kiss Joseph again. He wanted to kiss Joseph again and never stop, forget about Wawrzynski and London, and just feel Joseph's lips against his forever.
It was a confusing feeling for Zane. Not confusing in a physical or emotional way, but in a mental way. Still effortlessly hardwired into his brain was the quota of children he would be required to fill in New Vancouver, and the woman he would be forced to marry to meet those demands. He couldn't shake off the feeling of complete betrayal on his part, but he didn't care anymore. It was always in the background, but he refused to acknowledge it. He was not in New Vancouver anymore. His choices were his and his alone.
He was snapped out of his reverie by a yell from Jonas. "Ten minutes and we land!" he yelled. "In a cornfield."
Mallory's loud voice echoed throughout the plane. "Why can't you land this shitbucket anywhere normal?"
"You think I have permission to use a runway?" he yelled back. "We're probably going to be arrested as it is."
"Why?"
"We're in a military combat plane, dumbass!"
Grumbles sounded from Mallory but Zane couldn't make any of them out. He didn't know if he wanted to. Probably not.
He headed to join his friends, sitting down beside Marcus near the bunking quarters door. Marcus's cowboy hat seemed intent on invading his personal space, but he let it do what it liked. It helped keep Marcus's personality bends at bay.
"I wonder what a shock they got to look in the sky and see a combat plane flying low over the city," Daisy said, a laugh in her voice.
"I doubt they'd even know what to do if we attacked." Mallory chuckled. Marcus laid a hand on her arm.
"So does Wawrzynski," Anastasia said. "Why do you think he's targeting London? They haven't seen war in around a century. He anticipates no resistance." Her red hair stood out against the stark gray metal, and again, Zane found it almost blinding.
"He'll find it, though," Marcus said, a dangerous glint entering his eyes. Zane remembered seeing the same look in the tunnel when he faced the soldiers. "From us." Zane shivered at the intonation. He struggled to remember how he had ever thought of Marcus as harmless and goofy.
"We've got to be subtle," Zane said. "He doesn't know we're in London,"
"We assume he doesn't," Daisy said conspiratorially. "He could have set up fake emails for you to take and knows exactly where we are in this second. Those two jets and the autopilot could have just been nudging us toward distrust. He may have hoped we would fight among ourselves."
Zane sighed. Wawrzynski could be argued to know everything. The man was unpredictable, and Zane hated him for it. Zane was new to the world of unpredictability, and Wawrzynski wasn't making it any easier on him. "Let's adopt a new policy," he said, looking at Daisy. "We assume Wawrzynski knows everyone and everything, and absolutely everywhere we go. That way we'll never underestimate him."
Daisy pointed finger guns at him. "There you go,"
"So," he said. "Now that Wawrzynski knows where we are-" he winked. "-we should lay low until the attack comes. Try not to be noticed. Blend into London so it's practically impossible to discern us from them."
Daisy returned the wink. "I agree," she said forcefully. "London is a big place. Wawrzynski will need a lot of people to search the whole city. Also, the old portions of London have underground tunnels and hidden nooks and crannies."
"Assuming we can avoid capture upon landing." Marcus tugged at a thread on his collar. "They won't appreciate a jet armed with nuclear warheads landing in their airspace."
Daisy turned the finger guns on Marcus. "So as soon as we land, we book it for the city,"
"If that's how you want to phrase it, sure,"
"It is how I want to phrase it,"
"Alright, then,"
Daisy wrinkled her nose in mock disgust and turned to Anastasia. The two girls soon dove into a whispered, urgent conversation of which Zane could discern nothing.
Mallory turned to Marcus and Zane, a glint in her eye. "We're gonna stop a war," she said, and her tone made Zane want to believe in her statement truly. However, he knew their chances at success were slim, for Wawrzynski was always ahead of them.
"We're gonna try," Zane said, giving her a hesitant glance.
She shook her head. "We will." Her feet crossed in front of her, one over the other. "We can't afford to fail."
Zane shrugged. "War has happened before," he said. "I see no reason why, if we succeed, Wawrzynski will stop. I see the immediate reasons why we need to stop this, but we'll never eradicate war entirely."
"Zane, I know you don't have the greatest grasp on the whole helicopter view thing," she said doubtfully. "But there are a lot more people in this world than you think. No world war has ever been fought solely with nuclear weapons. They were utilized once and the aftermath and radiation left over still kill people today. That was two bombs. Wawrzynski, allied with Japan, has a whole arsenal. If he succeeds, the whole world will be polluted with radiation and suffering."
"What does he hope to get, then?"
"Cities like New Vancouver, I'd guess," Mallory said. "Places protected from the effects of nuclear war that he can exert complete control over. He'll be the savior of humanity. With his god complex and, if this war succeeds, his god status, he will be the most powerful person in the universe."
Zane sighed. "We're the only ones who can oppose him,"
Mallory nodded. "And I'd bet anything, since we eluded him, he's drafted more innocent kids to turn into obedient, vicious weapons. And this time, he may succeed."
"I don't doubt it,"
It was only then that Zane realized Joseph wasn't there. He had been so engrossed, he hadn't taken stock of everybody in the bay. Joseph was nowhere to be seen, so there was only one other possible place he could go.
Zane stood up abruptly, startling Marcus. He mumbled an apology before turning the knob on the door to the bunking quarters.
Inside were two sets of prison beds, one on top of the other, that brought back heinous memories he wanted to forget. Small closets disappeared into the wall, lined with New Vancouver military outfits. The room was barely furnished, and the mattresses on the beds were dingy and springy, with sharp steel splinters protruding from the thin fabric.
Joseph sat on the floor nearby, his head rocking in his hands. He wasn't crying, but he couldn't be far off. Zane's mood immediately dropped as a result.
He lowered down next to the other boy, crossing his legs.
Then he noticed the knife.
"Oh, no no no no no," Zane said, reaching for it. "Joseph, no."
Joseph moved it away from his grasp. "I can't do this, Zane," he said, tears pooling in his blue eyes. "I wanted things to stay the way they were in the tunnels and outside New Vancouver, but they didn't."
Zane again reached for the knife which was gripped in Joseph's hands, turned towards his own chest. Again the boy moved it away. "Joseph, we'll get through this together,"
"Get through what, Zane?" he spat. "We don't know what's going on, we don't know what we're doing. You say we're going to stop a war, but how, Zane? How are we going to do any of this?" he tucked his legs closer, the knife inching closer and closer to where his heart beat beneath his chest. He shivered and a tear dripped down his face. "I just want to go home,"
"I understand," Zane began.
"No, you don't!" Joseph said vehemently. "You can never understand. You barely knew your parents. You had no connection to them. My mom was my whole world, and I was hers. She's all alone now, and I can only picture her sitting withdrawn at the table, her flowers wilting and her pies burning in the oven. And I know I did that to her. I could have been a model student, a model citizen, but I had to make myself known. I had to make them recognize me. Because of me being me, she's all alone."
"It's not your fault," Zane said, scooting closer. Their hips brushed together and his shoulder bumped the other boy's.
"Isn't it?" he demanded. "I decided to be myself instead of being who they wanted. My wrongly tied tie, my hair in shambles, sitting like a hooligan, that all brought me here now, and it took my mother where she is right now."
Zane felt intense concern for Joseph, and he really didn't want the other boy to kill himself. He had to save him. He couldn't lose Joseph. "Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" he asked. "I could've helped."
"You couldn't," Joseph said. "You can't." His gaze turned to the knife. He breathed shakily. "You don't know how hard it's been to act like everything was okay. But I did it for you, Zane. For all of you."
"Joseph," Zane said. "Please don't. I need you."
Joseph looked at him, his eyes wet with unshed tears. They were bright red and pleading. His chest was heaving, his breaths shallow and forced. He didn't say a word.
Zane didn't stop talking. "If it weren't for you, I'd be with Wawrzynski right now, fighting his battles, giving him success. You're the only reason I saw the evil in New Vancouver, in my life. Keeping you safe was what fuelled me to escape, and it's brought us here. The only reason I'm sitting here next to you is because of you, Joseph. I can't live without you, and I know that if you do this, I will too." His voice was shaky, but every word was true.
Joseph's eyes never drifted from his, but the knife clattered to the ground. "Never stop fighting for your freedom," Joseph said. "Not mine, yours. You matter just as much. You underestimate yourself, but I can't live without you either."
"I don't want to lose you, Joseph," Zane said. "Please don't tell me things are alright if they're not. If what you need is to unload everything on me, I'll listen."
"What if all I want is to kiss you and make it all go away?" Joseph asked, regaining some of his familiar wit.
Zane pretended to ponder this. "I'll allow it," he said, thinking of Joseph's lips on his. When Joseph's gaze dropped again, he picked up the boy's chin in his hand. "I'll always be here, Joseph. I'll always be here to help you."
Joseph kicked the knife across the floor, and it disappeared under a pile of military uniforms in a far closet. He stood up shakily. Zane shuddered at the fact that, if he had come a minute later, Joseph might not be there at that moment. The thought occupied his brain for a short time before he dispelled it. Joseph was there then, that's all that mattered.
Joseph offered him a hand, and Zane's brain flashed to a moment many days before, when Joseph had offered him his hand upon leaving the choosing ceremony. He smiled at how far they'd come.
Joseph, his tears dried, never even glanced to where the knife disappeared. "Thank you," he whispered, his hand never releasing Zane's. His eyes were full of emotions, and Zane recognized the same ones in himself. Hatred. Hope. Dismay. Want.
Joseph was watching him expectantly. "You know, I seem to remember proposing an idea to dispel all my problems?" he said, shooting Zane a sly glance.
"You flirt," Zane said, his cheeks blushing.
Joseph stayed silent, watching Zane, but his eyes were tilted downward as if he were watching Zane's lips instead of his eyes. He smiled, and Zane smiled back. The boy seemed to be waiting for something.
Zane stepped closer to Joseph. Their faces were inches apart. Joseph's breath hitched. Zane's mind flashed back to his conversation with Daisy and Jonas, which seemed like a lifetime ago. I don't know what I'm feeling. He took another step. I can't compare it to anything because I've never felt anything like it before. He placed a hand on Joseph's chest, his palm splayed. His other still grasped the boy's firmly. He gently pushed him back against the metal wall. Joseph bit his lip.
All my worries disappear. He stepped between Joseph's legs. The boy gasped. How did you feel when he kissed you? Zane leaned closer. Joseph's deep blue eyes gazed into his.
He needed Joseph. Joseph needed him. Without each other, they felt their personalities would combust and return to the New Vancouver stereotype. Zane knew that even Joseph, the rebellious, awkward, unique boy, was scared of losing himself. And Zane was terrified.
Free.
He kissed Joseph.
Joseph kissed back.
Everything vanished in a flash. The jet, London, the others, the knife. It all disappeared and was replaced with Joseph. It seemed to happen the same way for Joseph, but his thoughts, feelings, and urges were replaced by Zane. Each boy occupied all of the others' thoughts, and it was like a shared mindset, a promise of better things to come. Joseph's suicide attempt had been spurned by thoughts of his mother and leaving her hundreds of miles away. If Joseph needed help getting through whatever he was going through, Zane would help him, even if he only needed Zane right beside him.
Zane felt the boy's body heat against his open palm. He felt the soft lips against his. He felt as free as he had before, possibly more.
Zane closed his eyes. Joseph's free hand drifted to his waist, alighting on smooth skin, and he shivered. Joseph felt it and chuckled against his lips. Zane pushed a little harder for emphasis.
Joseph's body felt locked in place like a puzzle piece, like it was where it was meant to be. His head tilted slightly downward because of the height difference and his arm slotted perfectly in place at Zane's waist. Zane felt like a whole person where he had only been half before.
Zane broke the kiss and pulled his face back. They were both smiling stupidly, grins plastered across their faces from ear to ear. Joseph's hair had fallen over his forehead and it slightly covered his marvelous eyes.
Zane cocked his head. He laughed. "Why do you taste like Froot Loops?" he demanded, not able to stop the laughter.
"Shut up and kiss me," Joseph said. Zane smiled, but it wasn't because of Joseph's words. It was because he had a sense of purpose now, not a seemingly far-away dream of stopping a war. He had saved Joseph, and he would do it again in a heartbeat. He no longer felt vaguely directionless even when he had a destination. He felt empowered now, for he knew people needed him, and not just for their experiments.
"You're the boss," Zane said. "Although we only have about two minutes."
Joseph pretended to ponder this. "That's enough,"