The Ones (9 page)

By the time James had parked his car and started walking up to school, he had already begun to regret this decision. Immediately, it was clear that everyone milling around outside was staring at him. As James approached the entrance, his friend Andrew from the debate team fell in stride with him.

“Are you crazy? You're the only One who showed up today,” Andrew said nervously.

“What am I supposed to do, become a hermit?” James replied, and kept walking toward the door.

“Yeah, exactly. For today at least.”

“Andrew, the List has all my information on it. My name, my address, my photo. If someone wants to find me, I can't stop them.”

“Well, I think someone does. And you just made it pretty easy.”

James followed Andrew's gaze and saw Marco and the rest of his Bench Mob blocking their path. As James slowed down and stopped in front of them, Marco held up a piece of paper. It was a printout of James's info from the List.

“You're famous, buddy. I found you on the Internet,” Marco said with his signature half smile.

As usual, Marco's buddies reflexively formed a semicircle around James. He wasn't on the edge of a cliff this time, but it still wasn't very comfortable.

“Yeah, I guess so. Breaking news, huh?”

Andrew put his hand on James's shoulder. “Come on, you should get out of here. I'll ride home with you.”

Marco nodded. “That's actually a good idea. You should probably get going.”

James shook loose from Andrew's grasp. “I'm not leaving. I'm going to my history class.”

“James, trust me, let's go,” Andrew said.

“No.”

Marco started laughing and turned to his posse. “Look, guys, they're debating! You two are the best we've got?”

James shrugged him off and began to walk forward. But Marco stopped him with a stiff forearm to his chest. “I'm serious,” Marco said, “beat it.”

James tried again to walk toward school, but Marco pushed him backward. The first push wasn't that hard, but the second one was. It startled James, and he saw in Marco's eyes that he was serious. He was ready to throw down right in front of the school if James gave him the slightest opening. So James didn't lift a finger, but he kept trying to walk. Another push, harder this time. Marco was strong, and each shove sent James scuffling back through the parking lot.

Finally, after six, seven, eight times, James had enough. He felt the same sensation buzz up into his ears that he'd experienced right before he pummeled his brother. It wasn't as foreign this time, and he knew what it meant—what it could allow him to do. He had hoped to avoid reaching this point, but that willpower left him now. Marco was obviously not going to stop.

After the last push, James took off his backpack and threw it on the ground. He looked Marco square in the eye.

“If you really want to, fine. Let's do it.”

And then, just as James stepped forward to meet Marco face-to-face, a car came speeding into the parking lot, its engine roaring and tires squealing. The car steered right for the crowd that had gathered, forcing people to jump out of the way. And just before it hit anyone, the car screeched to a halt right next to James and Marco.

The passenger's side door swung open. “Get in, you idiot.”

James ducked down to look inside. But he already knew what was happening, recognized the car instantly—and the voice as well.

“Now, James!”

It was his brother.

*   *   *

When they had driven long enough in silence, James finally turned to Michael, ready to speak, but he was immediately startled by the grotesque bruising around his brother's nose, a purple-and-green oil stain that was spreading out over half his face.
Oh, great
, James thought,
so where were we?

Feeling guilty, he took a breath.

“Thanks,” James said. “I was fine, but still…” He paused for a second. “And I'm sorry about last night.”

“I'm just running an errand for Dad. He asked me to get you, and I did.”

James nodded. If Michael didn't want to talk, that was fine. The cold shoulder was better than a super-deluxe head clamp.

They rode in silence again for a while, and James could tell they were headed for Arthur's office at the university. He had started down the same road the previous night, before he found Cody and the New Weathermen at the church. James wondered where she had run off to now, grateful at least that she hadn't joined him at school. He knew that he needed to find her soon, that they had a lot to talk about. But for the time being, he could tell he was stuck in protective custody.

Michael shuffled in his seat and rolled the window up. “Look, James, I don't agree with what happened this morning. You know, with the List.”

“Really? I thought everyone in the Equality Movement was for universal exposure.”

“I'm not part of the Equality Movement,” Michael said quickly. James gave him a dubious look. “You know, not officially or anything like that.”

“But you agree with them. What's the difference?”

“I agree with the principle of equality—of course I do! Who doesn't?”

“
They
don't!” James shouted. “Putting
equality
in their name is just a gimmick, a marketing tool. The Equality Act is going to pass next week, and it will mean they can just snap their fingers and say I'm an enemy combatant. They can detain me for no reason and strip me of all my rights. Does that sound equal to you?”

“You know what else isn't equal—”

“I know, I know, I KNOW! Me! Me being alive isn't fair, I get it, Michael!”

Michael shrank back as James became crazed. “So what should we do?” James continued. “I don't mean the whole world—what should
you
and
I
do about it? Should I disappear? Should I chop off a leg? Poke out an eye? What can I do so you don't hate me?”

“I don't hate you.”

James took a deep breath, taking solace even in such a backhanded compliment.

Michael continued, though. “But I hate what Mom and Dad decided to do after Thomas died.”

“Yeah?” James responded. “You and me both.”

*   *   *

James and Michael signed in as guests to the science building and found their father in the cramped, cluttered office that was down the hall from his laboratory. The college lab was always buzzing with undergraduate chemistry majors, but Cal State–Redding was particularly known for agricultural engineering. California had a lot of farmland, no water, and avocados, oranges, and tomatoes that were ripe all year—some pretty smart people were making that math work. Arthur had been a professor there for twenty-five years, and he and his team were called the Veggie Whisperers. They could make a piece of produce do whatever they wanted.

When James walked into the office, Arthur jumped to his feet and rushed over to hug him.

“Thank God you're okay. I was already here when I found out what happened. What a despicable act of treason.” Arthur turned to Michael. “Thank you for catching up with him.”

“So what now? Am I grounded in your office or something?” James asked.

“No. But you're certainly not roaming around by yourself like nothing happened. There are horrible things happening all over the country. So for now, for today, you can hang out here. I'm sorry.”

James plopped down on a tiny sofa and sighed. “Well, it's not your fault. At least I can take a nap—”

“It is his fault.”

James and his father jerked their heads toward Michael. Did he really just say that?

“Excuse me?” Arthur said.

“Come on, Dad, don't tell me you didn't see this coming. You're too smart for that. Seventeen years ago, you and Mom made a choice. You must have known this was going to happen eventually.”

James looked over to his father, waiting for him to explode. He had never heard his brother talk to him like that. Michael wasn't just needling him—he was being downright confrontational.

Instead of flying off the handle, though, Arthur went back to his desk, slumped in his chair, and looked forlornly at the ceiling.

“You're right, Michael. You're absolutely right. I did know this would happen one day. And whatever this thing is that's going on between you two … I saw that coming, too. But I made myself blind to it, refused to acknowledge the reality. Your mother and I wanted a child. To keep this family intact. It was that simple. So we made a choice and here we are. People do reckless things when they want something badly enough.”

James couldn't believe what he was hearing. He could barely muster the courage to look his father in the eye, but he had to ask. “So you regret it, then?”

Arthur turned to James and held his gaze for a long time. “Of course not. I cherish you, James. But now I see it. If we had it all to do over again—and by we, I mean everyone—we should have never mixed up human beings with this terrible technology.”

James's discomfort was turning to anger now, especially because he could see his brother nodding smugly out of the corner of his eye. “Well, you did
mix us up
in it!” he exclaimed. “And I'm here! So are thousands of others! Should we just be locked away somewhere to solve the problem for you?”

“Of course not, James. You're not understanding me—I didn't mean to upset you. You are a beautiful human being, and you deserve to walk around with your head held high. But I do believe there is a way to solve this problem. Before the country burns itself down. There has to be a middle ground, a compromise. I have faith we can figure that out.” Arthur paused for a second, then laughed and stood up. “But what do I know … I'm just a guy who needs to go check the internal body temperature of some zucchinis.”

Arthur gathered some folders and headed for the door. “Michael, do me a favor, stick around with your brother for today at least. We'll figure out the next step when we're all home later.”

Michael and James exchanged a frustrated look but didn't push back. Then, before Arthur could leave, there was a loud knock on his door. He opened it to reveal a soldier in full combat gear standing in the hallway. James immediately noticed the size of the assault rifle hanging off his shoulder. It was a pretty startling sight in the middle of his dad's lab.

“Professor Livingston, I need you to sign for this package.” The soldier was holding a small cardboard box and a digital clipboard. He tried to hand Arthur the box, but Arthur was startled and shifted his body to block the doorway.

“Not right now, please. I'll get it later,” he said.

“Sir, I have strict orders to make this delivery. You are required to accept it and confirm your receipt—”

“All right, all right, I'll sign. Give it to me.”

James watched as his father took the box from the soldier, pinned it under his arm, and quickly signed the scanner. Without turning around or saying another word to his boys, he stepped out of his office and walked briskly down the hall. James found the whole exchange utterly bizarre. And before his father rushed away, James had a second to glance at the delivery sticker on the side of the package.

It was sent from the National Institutes of Health.

 

CHAPTER 7

IT DIDN'T MAKE
any sense to Cody. There had to be a mistake.

She wasn't on the list of Ones. The List of Ones came from the government. The government ran the program. There was no record of her being part of the genetic-engineering pilot program. And yet …

Cody couldn't admit what this might mean. Not yet; it was too much to think about. That was why she had run out of the house, sprinted down the street, and ducked into Shasta's foothills. She kept going higher and higher, like she always did with James, but this time she didn't head for their usual spot. She needed to be alone, so she slalomed through the pine trees, charting an unknown course. The harder she ran, the easier it was to stop her mind from racing. So she ran until exhaustion, but eventually there was no farther to go. She was at the top of a bluff, chest heaving, tears coming, brain starting to function again. And now she couldn't escape from it. She had to acknowledge it was true.

Cody was simply born this way.

There was no fancy science behind it. No lucky lottery win. No grocery shopping for the right genes. No special advantage, no predetermined path to intelligence and beauty and fitness. Everything that Cody had attributed to being a One was just her regular old self. Even as her entire identity and all her relationships were thrown out of balance, Cody couldn't suppress a powerful feeling that was leaping from every cell of her body: pride.

When she kicked everyone's ass in a cross-country meet—that was her. When she got straight As—her. When she caused a fender bender crossing the street because a gust of wind blew at her skirt—too much of her.

But as validating as this was to realize, Cody now also had to admit that her entire life had been a lie. Ever since she could walk and talk, she had always been told she was a One. So that was how she behaved. That was what informed everything she did. That was how she interacted with everyone she met.

And that was how she fell for James.

Besides all the superficial reasons, they were drawn to each other because they shared an uncommon bond. A different perspective on the world and also a responsibility that they both took very seriously. A responsibility to pay the world back for their good fortune. Cody knew she would be a doctor; James knew he would go into politics. And then, as the events of the past few months put them on an emotional roller coaster, they had grown even closer as pillars of support. The foundation of that relationship was now a lie, and Cody didn't know what that meant for them.

Her feelings toward her mother were even harder to pin down. Anger, disappointment, confusion … and maybe sympathy? No, Cody couldn't forgive her—not yet, at least. She had lied to Cody every day for sixteen years. She had deprived Cody of growing up as her true self. She had run her own little science experiment without any regard for how it might end.