Flo runs a series of tests on me, confirming that the H2IV is all but gone from my system. As for me, the relief of being well again makes me feel like I could scale a mountain.
Harriet has arranged with Lexi that I will receive the antidote every 48 hours, so that I don't get so sick next time. Unfortunately, Lexi insists on giving me my next dose in person. In two days, we'll meet at a popular Throwback coffee shop.
When the Bunker is bustling with its usual activities and Justus leaves to check on his family, I manage to find a quiet corner to text Jo about what's been happening to me over the past two days, including my vision of the Chrysalis.
Supposedly my "destiny" is waiting for me there, but the idea of going alone gives me the creeps. Using the excuse that Leo knows that building better than anyone else, I ask Jo to bring him so the three of us can explore it.
An hour later we meet at the underground entrance to the Chrysalis. Jo looks impatient as she paces in front of the door, but Leo is completely still, staring blankly at the ground in front of him.
"What did you tell him?" I ask Jo, unable to look at Leo directly.
"Nothing," he says. "She's been grilling me about every piece of intel that Crew had gathered on Strand, and then she dragged me here. To the last place I want to be."
My hands clench into tight fists at my side. "What right do you have to be haunted by this place?"
"I thought you'd understand what it is to be tortured by your greatest mistakes," he says, and when his eyes meet mine, I'm surprised to see anger simmering in him, too.
"There are mistakes, and there is murder."
"You think I knew? That I had any part in the slaughter of those kids?" Leo's yelling now, and his voice echoes down the walls of the Lab. "Crew was a paranoid, narcissistic psychopath, and he knew that I had limits when it came to what I would do to advance Throwback rights. He never trusted me with the worst parts of his plan."
"Did you know about Circe Night? When those Strand executives were killed?" I demand.
Leo gives a short, sharp nod.
"What about those Evolved politicians that were mobbed on the street?"
"That got out of hand. Crew took it to a place I never dreamed even he would go. We were supposed to decide as a team who deserved death. Instead, he lit a fire and watched as the city burned."
"But you didn't leave! You stayed!"
"I had to make my move when the time was right."
"After you betrayed us," I spit.
"Enough. Both of you," Jo says. "We aren't here today to determine Leo's level of guilt, or to rehash the past."
"Fine," I huff. "Leo, get us in there. You go first so that any booby traps will take you out, not us."
"There are none," he says, and he sounds defeated, like all the fight has been drained out of him. "The only protection that still exists on the Chrysalis is the technology that ensures only people with cloned DNA can enter."
"Marie disabled that," I disagree.
Leo shrugs. "Crew had Dennis put it back in place as a nasty surprise for any Evolved who entered the building afterward."
My hands go cold at my side as I imagine what could have happened if Justus or Kat had entered this space for any reason. Their lives would have been snuffed out for nothing other than Crew's warped sense of justice, reaching from beyond the grave.
Leo pushes up the bar of old wood that covers a screen. It used to require a drop of blood for the door to open, but this time Leo just has to tap it.
We're immediately hit with the smell of stale air as our bodies are swept by the green light of the full-body scan. Three seconds later, a panel at the back of the room slides open.
The inside of the Chrysalis is just as I remember. A long white hall is lined with doors that lead to different rooms, lit by solar-powered lights that lining both sides of the hallway.
We peek in several of the rooms that used to house internet servers, and find that most of the equipment is missing. Down here at the lowest level of the Chrysalis, there are no signs of that horrible day when Elizabeth and Sacajawea were murdered.
"Are you going to tell me why we're here? Or what we're looking for, at least?" Leo asks.
Jo and I exchange a look. "We'll know it when we see it."
In my vision, there was a broken window on the second floor, so I lead us up the steps. At the entrance to the second floor, I stop, and pull a laser pen out of my pocket.
Leo notices, and his eyes narrow with suspicion, but he doesn't bother asking me why I'm armed. Next to me, Jo takes a gun from where she'd holstered it in the back of her pants and holds it at the ready.
With a deep breath, I push the door open. The scent of food cooking floats down the hall. Not the kind from a food dispenser, the kind that only smells this good when it's cooked on a real stove.
I remember that the second floor of the Chrysalis includes a large cafeteria that used to feed everyone in Crew's rebellion, as well as a series of meeting rooms where we would hole up to make plans. I spent hours on this floor when we were planning for Circe Night. As we make our way down the hall, the low hum of conversation grows louder.
"Someone's living here," Leo says, his voice hovering between a whisper and a growl.
We approach the cafeteria doors and I peek in, my eyes widening when I see that it isn't one person living here, it's at least fifty. The group is made up mostly of common clone types, and everyone seems comfortable with each other.
"Hey! You!" a voice shouts, and the noises in the cafeteria stop. Everyone looks toward our cracked door.
Leo moves to slam it shut, but I push it open instead. A tall man in his mid-thirties strides toward us, and I recognize him. A few weeks ago, he came to the Bunker's clinic to use the Annex and have his chip de-activated. We spent an interesting half hour chatting, and discovered that we were both cloned from historical figures who had been burned at the stake.
"Mr. Ramson, it's me, Joan," I say, and his face relaxes.
"Call me Hautey, Joan, please. And welcome!"
"Jo, Leo, this is Hautey. He came all the way from across the country to be one of the first to use the Annex."
Jo and Leo greet him, and I scan the rest of the crowd. Other than Hautey, I see mostly Macs, Mollys, a couple of kids who look like they might be the Dean clone type. A Sofia and Ram are cleaning up leftover food.
"Not to be rude, but may I ask what you are doing here, sir?" Jo asks. Her words are polite, but I can hear the wariness in her tone.
"I thought it would be obvious. We're starting over," Hautey says. "Everyone here is choosing a new life now that we cannot be tracked down by Strand. One of the young men at your clinic found a few of us huddling in a draughty room of the Lab, and told us about this building. Much nicer accommodations, I must say!"
A Sofia joins us, her forehead wrinkled with worry. "Is something wrong? We were told we could stay here for a little while."
"No, no Jenna, these are friends. Joan is one of the kids helping run the Lab's clinic," Hautey says, giving her shoulder a reassuring pat.
Her face relaxes. "Thank goodness. I keep expecting the authorities to show up and kick us out."
"We won't let that happen, no matter what," I promise. "Just don't go above the twelfth floor. There are things up there you don't want to see."
Jenna's face is serious. "Ed found the bloodstains on our first day here. The upper floors are sealed off except for a few adults who are scouring every inch."
"Enough of that kind of talk. Let me show you around," Hautey says.
We follow him as he takes us through the bottom three floors of the Chrysalis. Instead of rows of cubicles and computers, there are cots, a play area with ratty kids' toys, and one room with internet access where a cluster of Throwbacks are combing through job boards, looking for work.
Everything is neat and well-organized. I can't help but wonder why my vision sent me here, other than to make sure that we put up signs to keep any unsuspecting Evolved from entering the building and getting killed. But that's hardly a destiny.
At the end of our tour, Hautey leads us to a breakroom that is unchanged from Crew's time. We all pour cups of coffee and settle into the chairs. They're embedded with sensors that conform to suit the body sitting in it. It's one of the few pieces of technology that Crew left behind.
"The work you're doing here is great," I tell Hautey and Jenna. "Is there anything else you need? Food, supplies, technology?"
Hautey nods slowly. "All those things would be appreciated. But more than that, what we need is a purpose. Everyone is here for a reason—because they were hoping for something more than the lives we left behind. We want to be a part of building a better future for Throwbacks, and right now the heart of that fight is right here in Seattle."
When my vison comes this time, I don't black out or even feel weak.
The ninth floor of the Chrysalis is humming with activity, reminding me of the first time I ever visited this place. But this time, there are many more faces. Some are common clone types, and some are friends from Seattle Secondary.
In what used to be Crew's corner office, Harriet sits at a wide desk. Marie, Sun and Justus are clustered around her, and all four of my friends look exhausted. Marie's eyes are bloodshot, Sun's usually perfect wardrobe is wrinkled, and Harriet has dark circles under his eyes.
Justus looks worst of all. He's thinner than he is now, and his hands shake with physical exhaustion.
What's happened to them? When is this?
"I'm not even going to get to see her one last time before they kill her," Justus says, collapsing in a chair. "She's going to die, and she won't know how much I love her. How sorry I am."
"Stop it," Harriet barks. "She's not dead yet."
"Not yet, but soon. You must accept this," Sun says. His words are harsh, but his voice breaks with emotion, and he turns away from the group to compose himself. "She told us to use her death for something good. We cannot waste the opportunity she gives us this day."
My stomach heaves when I see the newsfeed scrolling on Marie's tablet. My image is attached to article after article, all saying the same thing.
Traitor Joan Fasces Set to be Executed at Noon on Treason Charges
When I hear the voice this time, it is gentler than before. Gentle, but just as certain.
It starts today. It ends sooner than you think. Have faith, and save them all.