Frozen (5 page)

“I don’t even think he saw all the other domed cities spring up,” September adds. “But they did, all based on his original design.”

“I thought we were talking about the years between the Quake and the War,” Bree interjects.

“I’m getting there, Nox.” Sammy takes a swig from his waterskin before continuing. “My great-grandfather had enough money to move to Taem with his fiancée. It was expensive to buy your way under a dome, but he got lucky, especially with the timing. Two months after his move, the Continental Quake hit: a half dozen widespread earthquakes in the course of three days. The coasts pretty much all fell into the ocean. The gulf ate its way up the center of the country. Rivers and streams flooded with salt water. Roads were upturned and cities toppled—including some domed ones. If the ground falls out from beneath a place, it’s not going to stay standing no matter how indestructible its outer shell is.

“People obviously panicked. My great-grandfather said the world outside still-standing domes became like a war zone. Everyone was looting abandoned stores, stealing from neighbors. Law enforcement was stretched too thin. Hospitals were over capacity. And then when the flooding didn’t slow, the government started barricading and controlling freshwater resources. Clean water went to the capital first, then the surrounding areas.”

“And it was taxed like crazy,” Bo chimes in. “I heard people muttering about that during my time in Taem. The farther water had to be shipped, the more expensive it was.”

“Not exactly how disaster relief should work,” Sammy says. “The West got furious—threatened everything imaginable, including secession. The capital ignored it all, and that, according to my great-grandfather, was when they attacked.”

“The virus?” Bree prompts. I know the one she’s referencing—the virus AmWest used to initiate war on AmEast—the very same virus that Frank’s lab workers transformed into the threat we faced in the fall.

“A Western movement dropped it in Big Water,” September says. “They were trying to take control of some water sources in that territory, but the damn thing mutated, spread, took on new forms. Even killed a bunch of the West’s own soldiers. Domed cities went on lockdown, but outside, people were dropping like flies.”

“And so began the Second Civil War,” Bo says rather casually, which makes me wonder how many times he heard these stories in Taem to become so numb. “The East staged a counterattack. Millions of lives were lost—to bombs, to disease. Point is, the country tore itself apart from the inside until two separate nations emerged: AmWest, their secession complete, and AmEast, led by Frank’s father, Dominic Frank.”

“And your great-grandfather was in Taem during all that fighting?” I ask Sammy.

“Yup, and the way he told it, Dominic was a decent ruler. It was only when Frank took over that things fell apart. Frank didn’t trust the people, so he stripped away everything he saw as a risk to a unified AmEast. Books, music, art—anything that could encourage debate or confrontation was declared illegal.”

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Bree says. “Debate’s a good thing. And why didn’t Frank focus on AmWest? They were clearly the enemy, not his own people.”

“Look, Nox,” Sammy says. “I get it. Really, I do. It’s messed up.”

“There has to be a reason. A motive.
Something
.”

September leans forward, firelight dancing on her face. “A few years after the War, when Frank was at college in Taem, his father—his mother and younger brother, too—were murdered. They were distributing water to communities in AmEast’s Western Territory—not far from where Group A now stands. AmWest soldiers stormed the square, shot Frank’s family and every Order member in sight. Then they took off with the water. The people of AmEast did nothing to stop it, and if there was a moment that caused Frank to snap, I’d imagine that was it.”

“That’s not the way my great-grandfather told it,” Sammy says. “His cousin was there that day; he said AmWest was only looking to take out the Order, but Frank’s family was killed in the crossfire. When the bullets stopped flying, AmWest apparently gave a speech about how the Franconian Order wasn’t the solution to rebuilding the country. It was a brand-new division back then,” he says quickly, reading the confusion on my face, “aimed at instilling peace between the two countries.”

“Regardless of its goals, AmWest never liked the Order,” Bo says. “They always felt that the people should rebuild the country together, not have it forced upon them at gunpoint by law officials wearing black. Sort of admirable, I think.”

September scoffs. “Well, they’re not teaching Sammy’s great-grandfather’s version of the event in school.”

“Of course not!” Sammy says. “Frank wants us to all believe the version where AmWest mercilessly assassinates his family. It paints him as an advocate for justice.”

“Are you saying you think AmWest isn’t despicable?” September counters. “After the virus that started the War? The fight they continue today? I mean, they just attacked Taem over the summer!”

Sammy rubs the back of his neck, but doesn’t answer.

“I think the point here is that Frank stepped into his father’s shoes with motives more deeply rooted in revenge than justice,” Bo says.

“But it’s the people of AmEast suffering most under Frank’s rule,” Emma points out. “People not even responsible for his parents’ death.”

“I know that. You know that,” Bo says. “But if it had been you in Frank’s place, do you think that day might have broken you?”

Months ago, when I was first in Taem, I saw an image of a family on Frank’s office wall. I understand now that Frank was the older of the two boys. His mother was smiling, her arms on his brother’s shoulders, his father looking stern. Frank’s family hangs there, always reminding him, always motivating him. I wonder if Frank’s ever noticed that his goal of avenging them has slipped into a territory that can no longer be considered admirable.

“So then he started the Laicos Project,” I say. “He began growing his soldiers, boys he could later replicate to fight against AmWest, to serve in the Order.”

“And girls,” Bree points out. “Boys
and
girls.”

Sammy nods. “Yup. You lot are just another piece in the puzzle of a man spiraling out of control. But of course, no one has stopped him. He is still bent on demolishing AmWest, and he fights that battle daily. And although he’s restricted the lives of people in AmEast, he’s also managed to keep up the work of his father, getting water to almost everyone in need. Rationed and highly taxed water, but still. Plus the Order is loyal to him, as are the majority of citizens in his cities. They know life’s far worse outside the domes.”

“Yeah, like in Stonewall,” I say. “Where he takes their water and gets them all sick in the process.”

“I never said it was right,” Sammy says.

“None of us have,” Bo adds. “But I can understand his motives in some weird, twisted way.”

I hate to admit it, but I can, too. I look over at Blaine, who is smiling as Aiden beats Jackson in yet another round of their game. I’ve already lost my mother to illness. I remember what it felt like to lose Blaine to the Heist. If they’d been taken from me all at once—murdered—I know I’d spend the rest of my life trying to avenge their deaths.

Aiden turns to play a round of his hand game with Blaine. The boy reveals scissors; my brother, a rock. Blaine reaches out to clunk Aiden with his fist, but he moves too quickly, or too forcefully, because Rusty lunges. Blaine is thrown backward into the snow. It’s not until he starts screaming, wrestling against the dog locked on to his forearm, that I’m jolted into action.

I sprint across camp. Aiden is trying to call the animal off, but it clearly has no intention of letting go. I throw myself onto the dog, latch my hands in his mouth, and tug. I’m bleeding almost immediately, but I pry harder, attempting to loosen the animal’s grip. His paws slash at me; his teeth clamp down. And then I feel someone else tug at the animal’s jaws. Jackson. His hands are still bound and yet he’s helping me force open Rusty’s mouth. The dog’s grip gives, and Blaine scrambles backward, cursing and clutching his arm to his chest.

“That dog is crazy!” he shouts.

Aiden puts a hand on Rusty, whispering until he calms. “He thought you were attacking me, that’s all.”

Blaine mutters a few curses as I kneel next to him. His forearm is a mess of blood and shredded clothing. I call for Emma, but she’s already there. Clipper hovers, flashlight poised.

Emma cuts Blaine’s sleeve open. She works swiftly, disinfecting the wound, washing away the blood, and dressing his arm in bandages. She takes the flashlight from Clipper to better inspect the rest of his arm—the minor cuts and scratches from the dog’s paws—and then focuses the light on Blaine’s face, his eyes.

“Blaine?” she says, her hand resting on his forehead. “Do you feel okay?”

He blinks rapidly. “It’s too bright.”

She looks at him hesitantly. “He’ll be fine.” Then she moves on to me and Jackson, examining our hands, shining her light in our eyes as well. She still looks confused when she finishes with the spy. Shaking her head, Emma packs up the gear and walks away to clean the used equipment.

The team is discussing what to do with the dog, which Aiden hugs as though it is harmless, but I’m staring at Jackson. He’s on the outskirts of camp, gazing into the trees like he’s thinking of running for it. The gag, which Emma loosened when she attended to him, hangs around his neck.

“You helped,” I say.

“Was there a reason I shouldn’t have?” When he looks at me, his eyes are too bright. Hopeful. I step away from him.

“We’re still keeping you bound and gagged. This doesn’t change anything.”

He shrugs. “It was worth a try.”

SIX

LATER, WHEN THE COMMOTION HAS
died down and people have settled back around the fire, I approach Blaine. We sit shoulder to shoulder, staring through the branches that scrape at the sky. The moon is bright, nearly full, and it makes the stars seem minuscule.

“I used to do this sometimes in Claysoot,” I say to him.

“Get bitten by dogs?”

I laugh. “Stare at the sky. When you were snoring too much, I’d sneak out to the crop fields.”

“I used to do the same,” he says.

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

“That you snored, or that I used the same escape?”

“Both.”

Blaine glances at my hands. “You going to have another scar to add to the list?”

“Nah. They should heal all right. What about you?”

He touches his bandaged arm and winces. “Not sure. But the dog’s dangerous. We should put it down.”

“Pa already discussed it. Rusty stays. He’s so astute, he’ll be able to warn us if the spy is up to something.”

“And he might chew someone’s limb off in the process.”

A star streaks across the sky, and we point to it at the same time, Blaine gasping at the pain the movement causes.

“If Pa thinks we should keep him, we’re keeping him,” I say.

Blaine turns toward me and even with the shadows obscuring his face, I can tell he’s hurting.

“You’re gonna side with Pa?” he says. “Over me?”

“If the dog attacks again, I’m on your side. You come first. Always.”

He turns back to the stars, smiling. “Always.”

I wake to Xavier’s foot jabbing at my sleeping bag.

“It’s your watch.”

I feel like I only just closed my eyes. “But Sammy always follows you.”

“Owen gave him the night off. Special birthday privileges.”

I grumble and pull on a few more layers, feel around the corners of the tent for my hat. Bree stirs beside me. Like most nights, she came to my tent just a few hours earlier, only this visit she was uncharacteristically sweet. I think she was trying to make up for her attitude during (and following) the archery match.

I know the two of us shouldn’t let our guard down so much in the evenings, but sleeping alongside her is the only small comfort that exists on this mission. It melts my fears, silences the constant worry, makes me brave in a way I’ve never experienced before. It also doesn’t hurt that I like the feel of her lips on mine—like the feel of her in general.

“Is it your hour?” she mumbles.

“Yeah. I’ll be back soon. Don’t go anywhere.”

But even as I crawl outside I know she will. She never stays through a full evening. She’ll sneak back to her own tent before I return from watch. Just like how she always darted back to her room on those nights we fell asleep together in Crevice Valley, leaving me to wake up alone, the only sign of her an impression on my pillow.

I head for the fire pit, where Xavier left the watch propped up on a stick. Fifty-eight minutes until I can wake Bo to take over. Three more minutes go by and my eyelids grow heavy. Another two and it’s a struggle to keep them open at all.

I hear the gentle crunch of snow. Bree, sneaking back to her tent as I predicted. But no, the sound is coming from the opposite side of camp. Near Blaine’s tent. He’s been pitching it at a distance because he’s been tasked with keeping an eye on Jackson, and if they stay too near Rusty, the dog spends the entire night growling.

A moment later, I hear whispers. Worried the spy is giving my brother trouble, I steal toward the voices. The nearly full moon makes crossing camp relatively easy and I spot Blaine standing just beyond his tent. Sure enough, he’s arguing with Jackson.

“The dog is no good,” Blaine is whispering, his voice tense.

“I’m not killing it,” the spy answers.

Blaine thrusts a knife at him. “It’s just a dog. Do it.”

“But Aiden . . . It will crush him.”

“He’ll think a wolf got to it. Or a coyote.”

“If you want it done so badly, do it yourself.”

Blaine must be scared senseless, asking Jackson to kill the dog in the middle of the night. Why wouldn’t Blaine come to
me
if he was so worried? I promised I was on his side just earlier.

“Blaine?” I call out. He sees me and grabs Jackson’s arm, yanking him closer. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” But his voice quavers slightly. “The spy had to take a piss so I was escorting him.”