Reboot (18 page)

He held his arms away from his body and scrunched his face up in a way that made me want to gather him into my arms. That would only make it worse, though.

I couldn’t look at him anymore, so I pressed my palms against my eyes and wished I’d paid closer attention to Callum’s healing time. Ten minutes? Twenty?

I squeezed my eyes shut, but when I pushed the image of Callum’s pain-filled face out of my head all I saw was the drug den.

“Stay really still.”

I took in a sharp breath as the memory came crashing down, as clear as if it had just happened.

“Don’t look at her.”

It was my mom speaking, her putrid breath caressing my face as she whispered in my ear and locked her arm around my tummy so tight it hurt.

I didn’t listen to her. I had looked up, past the other humans huddled in fear around the den, to the face of the Reboot in the center of the room.

She saw me staring, her light green eyes shining in the darkness.

“One-thirteen.”
She spoke to the other Reboot and he turned. She pointed at me.

“What?”
he asked.

“It’s a kid.”

“So?”

“So she shouldn’t be here, should she? Look at this place.”

“That’s none of our concern. We’re just here to get the assignment.”

“But—”

“Seventy-one,”
he interrupted sharply.

She closed her mouth, turning to look at me sadly as she left. I’d stared even after she was gone, wishing I could follow her.

My mom must have noticed, because she pushed me off her lap, her face angry and disgusted.

My heart beat strangely from the memory, the faces of my parents flooding my mind. My mom had been blond, like me, although her hair was darker from the dirt and grease. My dad had big bushy eyebrows that were constantly knitted together in sadness or deep thought.

I clenched my hands against my helmet, willing the images out. I hated it here. I didn’t want to remember these things. I didn’t want to go to Austin. The pain that hit my chest was so intense that for a moment I thought someone had shot me.

“Wren.”

Callum’s voice jolted me out of my thoughts and I looked up to see his adorable worried face.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

His skin hadn’t healed everywhere yet; I could see wounds closing and turning pink in front of my eyes. But he looked so much better that I was struck by a wild urge to throw my arms around his neck.

“Yes. Are you?”

Callum turned and pressed his body against mine, placing his palms flat against the wall behind me. I mashed myself into the brick, taken aback by his sudden closeness.

“How did you do it?” he asked, eyes twinkling as he smiled at me. “How did you get Leb to help?”

“I went on a solo mission with Leb, and I captured this human who said they were helping Reboots escape. Sending them to some Reboot reservation. I made a deal.”

“Something about his daughter?”

“I had to promise to go rescue her. She’s a Reboot in Austin.” My words came out strained, breathless. I couldn’t speak right with his body so close to mine.

“What is this Reboot reservation? Reboots are really just living there? Free?”

“I don’t know. I doubt it, to be honest.”

“So we get Adina, meet these humans, and then go to this reservation?”

“Yes.”

“Where are we going to go if it’s not there?”

“I don’t know,” I said, the panic gripping my chest again. “I didn’t think about it. I was just . . .” I stopped, hoping I wouldn’t have to finish the sentence. But he only raised his eyebrows in question. “I didn’t want you to die.”

He slipped his hands over my cheeks and tilted my face up so I had no choice but to stare into his dark eyes. I’d thought he couldn’t get any closer, but he leaned in and my body folded into his. His chest rose and fell against mine and I let my hands rest on it.

“Thank you.”

I blinked, not expecting gratitude. Not sure if I deserved it. I didn’t know what to say in response, but he wasn’t looking at me like he expected one.

He had to give his helmet a little shove and dip his head down to kiss me, but I didn’t believe he was actually going to do it until I felt his lips gently press against mine. My body jolted in surprise and I felt him smile against my lips.

And I was totally gone.

My toes needed no urging this time. I rose up on them as far as I could go and wrapped my arms around his neck. He dropped his hands to my waist and hugged me against his body.

It wasn’t how I had thought it would be. Kissing had sort of puzzled me. As a human I had thought it seemed dangerous—an easy way to spread germs. As a Reboot it had confused me. I wasn’t entirely sure why people liked doing it.

Now I was only confused as to why a person would want to kiss anyone but Callum.

When he lifted his head from mine I almost pulled it back down again, but he smiled and I didn’t want to miss that.

“I told you you liked me.”

I laughed and utter delight danced across his face, like he hadn’t been sure that statement was true.

He stepped away and pulled what was left of his shirt over his head. He unhooked his helmet, carefully placed it on the ground, and studied his pants, which were more like shorts with a few strands of fabric. I could see his black underwear poking through. He plopped onto the ground and I slid down the wall next to him. My brain wanted to continue running but my legs were limp and wobbly suddenly.

“That really hurts, by the way,” he said, holding his arm out to look at his new skin. “Have you ever been burned?”

“Not like that,” I said quietly, my voice shaking.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, scooting closer to me. “Were you worried about me?”

I crossed my arms over my chest and mock frowned at him in response, which made him smile wider. He reached for me and I felt a blush cross my face.

“Callum, you’re in your underwear.”

“I have pants on. Sort of.” He reached for me again, his eyebrows furrowing when he took one of my hands in his. “You’re cold. Come here.”

“Aren’t you cold?” I asked as he pulled me into his lap and I wrapped my arms around his bare shoulders.

“No. It’s not cold.”

I thought he was going to kiss me, but instead he leaned forward and buried his head in my neck, his lips gently pressing against a spot that made my stomach do a happy dance.

“You smell so good,” he mumbled, kissing my neck again.

“No, I don’t,” I said, trying to move away in embarrassment. “I smell like death.”

“You’re crazy,” he said with a chuckle, holding me tighter. “You’re not dead. You don’t smell like death.”

“I was dead a long time.”

“And now you’re not. Hence the alive smell.” He lifted his head and pressed his lips to mine.

I meant to push him away with more force, but my body didn’t actually want him to go anywhere. His lips left mine only by about an inch.

“We shouldn’t stay here too long,” I said.

“Why not? It’s so cozy. The fresh night air, mixed with the perfume of rotting trash. It’s beautiful.”

“They’ll be—” I stopped as I heard the sounds of footsteps approaching.

“No visual,” I heard an officer say. “Nine dead, couldn’t have been long ago.”

Callum looked at me in surprise at the number and I focused on the ground, afraid of seeing disgust in his eyes.

“Get ready to run,” I whispered in his ear.

“Check in there,” an officer yelled.

Footsteps crunched on gravel in our direction and I held my breath, afraid to move even an inch. The lid to the trash bin banged open, hitting the side of the schoolhouse above our heads. Trash rustled as the officer dug around inside.

“All clear,” he yelled. The footsteps faded, the yells from the other officers disappearing in the distance.

Callum grinned, bouncing me in his arms until I cracked a smile. “Why am I not surprised you picked a good hiding spot?”

“We got lucky,” I said, unhooking my helmet and setting it on the ground.

“I wouldn’t look too hard for us, if I were them. Not if they know it’s you they’re up against.”

“I . . . um . . . those nine guards . . .” I cleared my throat. I wanted to ask if he was horrified that I’d killed all those humans, but he didn’t look horrified. I didn’t want to bring it to his attention that perhaps I was a monster, and not someone he should be kissing.

“I know,” he said quietly. “You had to save us.”

I gave him a relieved smile, letting out a slow breath. Maybe, if I’d tried harder, I could have just injured a few. I decided not to point that out to him.

“I want to do something while we’re in Austin,” he said, giving me his big eyes. “I want to go see my family.”

I immediately shook my head. “No. That’s not a good idea.”

“But we have to go anyway, right? To get Adina?”

“Yes, but—”

“I just want to see them. Tell them I’m okay.”

“They won’t . . .” I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t tell him they wouldn’t want to see him. That they would consider their son dead, and this boy only an illusion who looked similar.

“They’ll want to see me,” he said in response to my unspoken words. “I know HARC says we can’t have contact with our families, but they don’t know my parents. And my brother, David . . .” He rubbed his hand over his short, dark hair. “We were actually sort of close. I think he’d want to see me.”

I didn’t know his parents, either, but I could guess their reaction if a monster who looked like their son showed up on their doorstep.

“How old is your brother?” I asked.

“Thirteen.”

“He didn’t get sick when you did?”

He shook his head. “No, he was fine when I died.”

A thirteen-year-old would probably be more accepting of a Reboot than an adult, given that it could still happen to him at any time. Still, with his parents there I didn’t see that going well. “I don’t think you should go.”

“I have to,” he said, pushing an escaped strand of hair behind my ear. “And I’d prefer it if you came with me.”

I sighed. He’d go whether I came or not.

“You know I’d probably get killed in under an hour without you,” he said.

“With the way things are going, I’d be shocked if we even make it out of Rosa.”

“You just took down nine officers by yourself. I think we’ll be fine.” He inched back against the wall, wrapping his arm tightly around my waist when I started to scoot away. “Are we going to try to leave Rosa tonight?”

“I think tomorrow night will be better, don’t you? They’re all on high alert and they’ll be expecting us to try to break out now.”

He nodded in agreement. “We should stay here awhile. They probably won’t check this area again.”

“Hopefully,” I said, sliding off his lap and settling next to him. He slid his hand into mine and leaned over to press a soft kiss onto my cheek. I shifted a little closer, until his warm arm rubbed against mine, and lowered my gaze to hide the goofy smile spreading across my face.

“WREN.”

The soft voice made me stir, and I winced at the pain that shot through my neck. I was leaning against something, my cheek pressed against a lovely warm and solid object, and I forced my eyelids open.

My head was on Callum’s shoulder. I’d fallen asleep. I took in a surprised breath and jerked into a sitting position, swinging around to see if we were safe. The streets were deserted, bright with early morning light.

“I thought you might want to move before everyone starts getting up,” Callum said, a smile tugging at the edge of his mouth.

“I fell asleep?” I asked stupidly.

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry.” I couldn’t believe I’d passed out. For hours. Anyone could have snuck up on us.

“It’s okay,” Callum said, stretching. “I stayed awake and kept watch. Plus you look all cute and nonlethal when you sleep.”

A blush crept up my cheeks and he leaned forward to kiss me, making me blush more deeply.

“Um, yes,” I said when he pulled away. “We should probably move before the streets get too crowded.” I wasn’t sure of the best place to hide, but we did need to get to the other side of town, closer to the fence at the city line.

“Should we try to get me some clothes?” Callum asked as he reached for his helmet and strapped it on. “I don’t really mind being in my underwear and shorty shorts, but this might attract unwanted attention.”

“Maybe,” I said, holding back a grin. I glanced around and stood up to slowly peek into the open waste bin.

“Are you really looking for clothes in the trash?”

I held up a dirty paper bag. “We could make holes in this.”

“I think my wearing a paper-bag dress will actually attract more stares,” he said dryly.

I tossed it back and reached for my helmet, glancing around. I couldn’t see any humans, but I could hear the shuffle of a few of them nearby. We would need food eventually—my stomach was feeling a little empty—but my first concern was getting across the city before it got too crowded.

“No one has come over here recently?” I asked.

“No. I’ve heard officers occasionally, but not for a couple hours.”

“Thanks,” I said, leaning back against the wall and smiling at him. “For keeping watch.”

He brushed his fingers against my hair, running them down the ponytail. “Of course. You can sleep on me any time you want.”

His eyes were soft, different than I’d ever seen them, and I wanted to crawl into his lap immediately and take him up on that offer. When he leaned forward to kiss me I let him, just for a moment.

I pulled away and took a quick glance around, strapping my helmet on as I jumped up.

“Time for our morning run,” I said. “Maybe we can get to the other side of town without being spotted.”

He nodded as he got to his feet, and I wrapped my fingers around his wrist as we sprinted out from behind the trash bin and took off down the alleyway. We hit the dirt road and I let go of Callum to pump my arms as we cut away from the center of town, to the tents and the worst of the slums. My feet pounded the dirt, and I glanced over at Callum to see if he was okay.

He was gone.