There Once Were Stars (21 page)

“Visitor?” Roe eyes me curiously. “So the party must have gone really well.”

“It was nothing,” I grumble, wiping my hands on my legs as my palms start to sweat.

“Come on, now, Greyes,” Evan laughs from across the table. “You’re going to give me a complex.”

My face turns red, and I stumble over my words. “Nothing happened.”

“What?” Roe’s brows shoot up. “You—and Evan?”

I shoot from my seat, knocking my chair over behind me. “We fell asleep talking.”

Roe bursts out laughing, and I mumble something about needing to go clean up as I scramble to the elevators. Embarrassment spreads across my face.

I take my time cleaning up before I make my way to the lab. I have never had to deal with a crush before, let alone watch it go public in front of my eyes. I need to stay on task and get back to business. I grab the glass magnifier from my room. If the triangle is really in the box, then we’ve got our match.

When the elevator doors open, I stand outside the lab, mortified at having to face everyone. With a deep breath, I walk through. Surprisingly, no one looks my way. I zip over to my spot near Waldorf.

He claps his hands at my arrival. “Glad you’re back. Take a look at this.” He pushes the open box in front of me. “I promise, I haven’t touched anything. I wanted you to have the honors.”

Waldorf’s excitement makes me smile. I start pulling out items, wondering if Carleton realized everything I selected was meant to throw him off. Just because he’s creepy doesn’t mean he’s smart. I hand each object over to Waldorf, who sets them on the table, recalling where they found each and every one of them.

“Your mother found this buried in some rocks in the meadow,” he says, or, “Your mother found this in the water near the shore at the river.” Each piece was a link to Waldorf’s past. By the end his eyes are watery.

He takes off his glasses and wipes his eyes with the back of his hand. “How silly of me. I’m an old softy, I guess. I do miss your mother sometimes.” He shuffles away, mumbling to himself, and I leave him to his thoughts.

Finally, I pull out the item I’m looking for.

You can’t tell at first that this object matches the glass circle. That’s something from my memories alone. Mom told me she found the magnifier in the outskirts of the forest, untouched by the Cleansing War, buried under stones and debris that had piled up over time. The regrowth of the forest uprooted a number of items from their grave, poking them up high enough for her to catch a glimpse. What had been hidden decades ago is now here in my hands. I pull the triangular stand out of the box and place it on the table in front of me.

“Where did your partner go?” Evan steps next to me.

“Memory lane got overwhelming.”

“Speaking of sensitive, are you okay? You ran out of the cafeteria pretty fast.”

“They put me on the spot.”

“They’re teasing. Who cares?” He reaches over and grabs my hand.

I pull it away, but instantly wish I hadn’t. Public affection isn’t promoted in the dome. “Easy for you to say. No one was bugging you.” I duck my head back down to my work.

“They sure did when you left.” He slides into Waldorf’s seat and puts his hand on mine again. I let it stay there this time. “What are you and Waldorf up to over here?”

“He’s looking for a missing piece to something he had of my mother’s.” I slide the triangle over to Evan. “Here it is.”

“This was your mother’s?” Evan picks up the glass and slides it into the empty space in the center of the triangle. “What does it do?”

“Nothing, really. It used to spin in the center of this stand. See, it’s a magnifying glass.” I hold the glass up to my eye and show Evan.

“What’s this line for?”

“That was never there before,” I say. “Someone must have put it there.”

“Maybe your mom did?”

“Why would she?”

“No idea. Speaking of your mother’s things, I’ve also been looking for something of hers. Your uncle said there was a map with markings on it showing where she hid the files. All of that was confiscated when the Expedition program was shut down, but when I got the maps from Geology, it wasn’t in the pile.”

I chew on the edge of my lip. “If I tell you something, do you promise not to be mad?”

He narrows his eyes. “That’s a loaded sentence, Greyes.”

“I took that map off Roe’s desk.”

“Nat!” Evan whispers, squeezing my hand playfully.

“I know. But I had no idea what you needed it for. I recognized my mom’s drawings and didn’t think you’d miss it. I’ve still got it in my room. Want to see?”

“People are going to talk.” His voice comes out playfully.

I hit Evan on the arm, but a tingle flutters across my stomach at the thought of us being alone together. I scoop up my mother’s things, and slide off the stool.

“Well, are you coming, or what?”

Evan slips next to me, and wraps an arm around my waist. I almost pull away, worried what everyone will think, but I don’t. If this dome is going to change, so am I.

“Wouldn’t miss time alone with you, for anything,” he whispers.

The map is sprawled across my bed, and Evan stands next to me, studying it. Three seemingly innocent words: River, Forest, and Meadow. To the unknowing eye, they blend in with the other notes Mom wrote all over the map. To us they are markers indicating something she has hidden on the outside; proof that could bring down the entire Order.

“These are the only areas she has actually labelled on the map.” Evan points to the words. “Everything else is just field notes. But they still don’t actually show us where to look.”

“Maybe it’s encrypted in the notes?” I point to the side. “
Found carvings in stone along river – need to go back and take tracings.”

“I don’t think she’d be that obvious.”

“I’m not sure what else to look for.” I shrug.

“What about her notebook?”

Evan sits at my desk where the notebook lies open. We’ve been at this for over an hour now, going back and forth between the two. Along with the notes in her diary about her expeditions, the margins are filled with things she had seen of interest: drawings of artifacts, sketches of landscapes, and tracings of different markings.

I set the triangular handle of the magnifying glass on the desk next to the glass, which Evan’s been trying to move around the map to see if the line matches up with anything. He has a musky smell to him today. I lean in and look over his shoulder and take a deep breath. He turns his head toward me.

“What do you think?”

“It’s nice. But then, you always smell good.”

“I think it’s time for a break.” He sits at my desk and looks up at me through his dark lashes, before wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me onto his lap. I nuzzle my face in his neck, brushing small kisses along his skin. A small moan escapes Evan’s lips, right next to my ear, sending goosebumps tingling down my neck.

“Nat! You’re a genius!” Evan pushes me off his lap.

“Wh-what?” I’m off-balance in more ways than one.

“The handle of the magnifying glass.” He picks it up. “Look at these symbols! I can’t believe we missed it.”

The three corners of the triangular handle each have a symbol scratched into the plastic surface. It’s hard to notice, unless the light catches it just right. One has three flowing lines stacked on top of each other. Another is the shape of a tree. The last is a flower. They’re crude, but obvious.

“So …” He looks up at me with his mischievous smile. “Look at your mother’s notebook. When she talks about the river, she draws three wavy lines in the margin. Same thing for the forest, but there she draws the tree. In the meadow, she draws a flower. Without the magnifying glass, you would never think it’s connected!”

“It still doesn’t help with the map.”

“You put the magnifying glass on the map with those three corners on top of those three words and voila!”

He sets the magnifying glass on the map inside the handle, adjusting both until he matches action with words. I peek over his shoulder at his handiwork.

The black line on the glass sticks out like a sore thumb. Only it’s not just a line, it can’t be. Against the white paper, placed in its correct position, it crosses with another line on the map, making an
X
. I suck in my breath. Is it possible? Did he find the spot where my mother’s files are hidden?

“I can’t believe it,” I whisper, excitement building in my chest. “You figured it out!” I squeal as I throw my arms around him.

He stands and spins me around. “We need to call a meeting tonight.”

The rest of the day drags on. Roe gets a message that Waldorf has fallen ill and will be taking the rest of the day off. I feel bad for him. Memories of my mother must have deeply affected him.

At night I lie in bed, wondering when Evan will come to get me. I listen to Tassie’s heavy breathing for about half an hour, until finally a soft tap comes from outside my door. I lift my mattress, pulling out the map and magnifying glass to take as evidence.

The same people as last time greet us from inside the cafeteria pantry.

“What’s so urgent?” Sophie taps her fingers on the table. “I don’t like going off schedule. It makes us more vulnerable.”

“This is important,” Evan says laying the map on the table. “Trust me.”

I spread out the map across the weathered table and everyone leans forward, to get a better look.

“You found Kaitlin’s map?” Mrs. Watson says. “Very good job.”

“It was right under our noses all along.” Evan winks at me. “And, check this out.” He places the magnifier on the map, lining up the symbols and words. “We did it.”

“You found the spot.” Mrs. Richards claps her hands.

Sophie picks up the magnifier and looks at Evan and me with a stern glare. “Do you remember where that line crossed now?” Her tone silences everyone.

“Yes.” Evan points to the map. “Right here. In the meadow, just before the forest. You can barely see the mark on the map but now that I know it’s there—”

Sophie smashes the magnifier on the floor. A gasp escapes my lips. “I can’t believe you did that!”

“You should be thanking me. Now, no one else can get their hands on this location.” She stands and grabs a broom, sweeping away the glass. I run over and grab the triangle from the debris.

“Waldorf will be suspicious if I don’t have this,” my voice cracks, as I try to explain. The puzzle my mother left behind has now been destroyed.

“We’d better get going.” Evan folds up the map.

A knock comes from the door. Sophie snaps her head up, her brows drawn together. She thrusts the broom at Evan, then takes a deep breath and adjusts her apron and walks to the door.

“Yes,” she says, opening it.

Roe walks into the room. My pulse starts to race as I try to think up an excuse for why I’m here. I quickly glance at Evan. Thankfully the map is folded and hidden back in his pocket.

“I thought you couldn’t make it on such short notice,” Sophie whispers.

Roe’s gaze lands on me before she speaks. “You’d better get out now. I came to warn you. The Order is on their way. Thankfully, I was in the lab when the transmission came through.”

The room disperses and everyone nervously waits by the elevators. Sophie stays behind to finish prepping for the day. The Richards leave first, followed by Mrs. Watson and Leta. Roe, Evan, and I wait for the next elevator to arrive. When it does, a Member of the Order is on it.

He salutes her. Roe obviously outranks him.

“Hello, Matthews,” Roe says, standing more erect. “I caught these two lovebirds sneaking a late night snack,”

“I didn’t realize they called someone else in,” he says.

“They didn’t.” Roe juts out her chin. “The call came across my radio, and it’s my area, so I thought I would come to see who it was. This is their second offense. They’ll be marked for a citation next time.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the Member says, ignoring us. Roe dismisses him and the four of us get in the elevator. Evan gets off on Floor 17. I get off on Floor 16. All I can think about is that I never would have guessed Roe was one of the rebels.

The next day Roe calls Evan and me into her office. News has already spread that we were caught together upstairs in the cafeteria after hours. A few people snicker behind our backs. If they knew what we had really been up to, I wonder who’d be snickering, and who’d be appalled.

“We were lucky last night,” she says after Evan closes the door. “No more emergency meetings without going through me first. Got it?”

“Got it,” Evan agrees.

“The Order has been tightening security since your arrival. I know some time has passed, but there are things happening in the Dome that you don’t hear about in the Axis. What did I miss last night?”

“We located Kaitlin’s hiding place,” Evan explains. “We couldn’t have done it without Nat.”

“Good.” Roe looks at me. “I had concerns when they assigned you to our division. I wasn’t sure whether you were a spy, seeing as you have a good friend at the Director’s side. I think they were hoping to get something out of you. Thankfully, your little romance has provided an excellent cover.”

I shift in my chair. Is that all this is between Evan and me? A cover for him to get his task completed? I hadn’t thought of that. He did push me pretty quick off his lap yesterday, when he figured out the map.

“What do you think my mother hid?” I speak up. “I know you say it’s proof, but what kind of proof are you hoping for?”

“Your mother had photos of people who had gone missing,” Roe explains. “She wouldn’t say where she took them, just that there was nothing we could do for them anymore. She buried those photos outside the dome and was going to expose the Director. She was betrayed before she had the chance.”

I’m shocked. “By whom?”

“I still don’t know,” Roe explains. “But I intend to find out before we allow any others into our little group. It used to be much larger; I’ve only regrouped with the most trustworthy ones out of those who are left.”

“What does that mean?” I quickly run through the people that were at the meeting last night. Could one of them have betrayed my mom?