A Million Suns (Across the Universe 2)

The words circle my mind, and I know they’ll never leave.

Amy kisses me.

“No, no, no, no, no. ”

Amy tells me that someone did this because of a stupid video Orion made. That whoever did this just wanted to make sure that we would never, ever leave the ship. Ever.

“No, no, no, no, no. ”

Amy leads me to the grav tube and takes me to the Feeder Level. She shows me the hidden door and the stairs behind it.

“No, no, no, no, no. ”

Amy pushes open the door, and light fills the hidden space behind it. It creaks open, but all I hear is:

“No, no, no—”

BOOM!

Another explosion, this one deeper than the first, rumbles the ground and shakes the foundation of the Hospital. Shingles fall from the Hospital roof and clatter down the sides of the building, smashing against the ground. The doors fling open, and people stream out, a pillar of gray and brown smoke chasing after them. Emergency ladders flutter from the upper stories, and people start climbing down, dropping a few feet to the earth and racing toward the Recorder Hall for cover.

“The frex—” I start, as Amy grabs my arm. Even from here, we can feel the rumbling under our feet.

“Why would someone blow up the Hospital?” she asks. Her words are hollow, but her eyes are filled with fear.

Smoke drifts from the doors on the ground floor but nowhere else. There’s no evidence of fire, no evidence of damage.

Amy’s face drains of color, and she’s paler than ever. “Oh, God. It wasn’t the Hospital that exploded—”

“It was the cryo level,” I finish for her.

“My parents,” she whispers. Her eyes lose focus; her mouth is slack. “There are stairs; they go down to the cryo level. I know where they are. I could—”

“Go to them,” I say, gripping her shoulders until she comes back to me. “Go now—but be careful. Whoever did this could still be there. ”

Amy swallows.

“I don’t think that was a big enough explosion to destroy the cryo level. ” I shake my head, considering. “No, I’m sure of it. They’re fine. They’ve got to be fine. ”

I can feel her pulling away, but she’s still holding on to me, her fingers gripping my sleeve.

“Go,” I say gently. “I can do this. I’ll take care of the ship—you take care of your parents. But . . . ” I pause. “If you see anyone . . . or anything—if it’s not safe down there, come back to me. Right away. ”

She gives me a slight nod and runs to the stairs without a word.

I turn and face the ship.

60

AMY

MY HEART THUDS IN MY THROAT, AND IT MAKES ME WANT TO throw up. I’ve been so focused on everything else—Elder, the murders, the mystery—I’d nearly forgotten the most important thing.

My parents.

Trapped in ice, in the cryo level, sleeping.

Helpless.