Laughter echoes off the hallways and I hear the clickety-clack of fingers over a keypad. My phone sits snugly in my hand like an old friend. There’s no service, but I can look at my pictures through the screen that got cracked at some point along the way. I mean, I didn’t even remember having a cell phone until someone handed me a cord and said, “Want to use this?”
Cell phones.
Computers.
Electricity.
Laughter.
I look around the room and watch everyone in motion, working as though nothing had happened—or was happening—outside this place. There are still Eaters out there. I know that. There are Hybrids on the run, slipping across the country like scurrying ants. There are Mutts in hiding—trying to figure out their next move. Both of their leaders are gone and no one told them what to do once the battle was over, or what would happen to them with a new person in charge.
“Name?” the man at the desk next to my chair asks. I glance at Wyatt one desk over and his eyes pierce mine. He gives the slightest of nods.
“Alexandra Ramsey.”
“Age?”
“Twenty.”
“Place of origin?”
I hesitate thinking back over the last year-and-a-half. Catlettsburg, Asbury, then Catlettsburg before that. I had a stretch of traveling from Georgia, but also spent time in Tennessee. I think past the Vaccine Center and PharmaCorp and Fort Shaw, all the way back to the beginning, when I met Cole and Wyatt. When I was still with my mother. I blink at the man whose hands wait over the keyboard for my answer.
“Raleigh, North Carolina.”
He types this information into a computer. A computer that hums and has white light. I watch as he scribbles something on a small, blue card with a plastic pen.
“Does that thing have the internet?” I ask, so confused.
“No. We just use it to save information. Fill out forms. What we don’t have is unlimited paper.”
I nod like any of this makes sense. Like it’s relevant to the world outside. “Right.”
“Take this to receive your rations; this includes clothing and food. Follow the arrow on the floor.”
I’m aware of the tremble in my hand when I take the card. Once I step away, Jude’s number is called and he replaces me. The same questions start again.
“Name?”
“Jude Hansen.”
I look up, a little lost, but perk up when I spot Wyatt waiting for me by the exit. There’s a blue-hued arrow painted under his feet.
“You okay?” he asks. I spot a similar card in his hand. “You look a little pale.”
“Yeah, I think it may be the effects wearing off.” I whisper. The EVI-3, which transformed me into a temporary Mutt for the battle between the Hybrids and Mutts, has finally worked its way through my system and I’m feeling it: Extreme fatigue and a slight headache over my temple. “I think I just need some water and a nap.”
Wyatt studies me. I know he’s worried about side effects from the drug. He didn’t want me to take it, but when do I listen? In the end, we both know it was the right decision. There’s little doubt I’d be dead if I hadn’t had a temporary booster shot of the EVI-3, giving me a dose of super-strength to survive that last battle.
Overall, I feel fine. The hyper focus is gone, the extreme strength and heightened senses—all faded. When I challenge his look he sighs and starts down the hallway. The sooner we check in, the faster I can find a place to sleep off the hangover.
At the end of the hall there is a window that overlooks the city below. We’re in Cincinnati, a place that is much bigger and better-functioning than I ever thought would exist again. The building is a government assistance facility, no longer needed for driver’s licenses or social security. It’s perfect for processing in new citizens like us. From what Walker told us coming in the night before, the entire city is 100% Eater-free. They have the power grid up, running water, and a functioning infrastructure. It’s basically the government-approved version of Avi’s Catlettsburg, although much larger and well-equipped. From what she told us, the government had multiple cities prepped for a cataclysmic disaster. Cincinnati is one of them. Well, I say Cincinnati. They no longer call it that. It’s been officially renamed New Hope. I roll my eyes at the name. These people are creating a new world and that was the best they could come up with?