“I’m so sorry, Ella” I said, rubbing her back. “I know it’s hard. It’s hard not knowing who to trust or where to turn. My life has been so weird that I pretty much expect to be betrayed, expect weird things to happen. But I know it’s different for you.”
“I can’t believe it!” Ella sobbed. Iggy stroked her hair, which had started drying in the warmth of the fire.
“Listen,” I said, “I was thinking. How about we take you to your aunt’s place tomorrow after a good night’s rest? I’m sure Tia Cita will let you hang out there till we figure out what’s going on with Mom. We’re going to find Mom and Jeb and get the r
eal scoop. Maybe we’ll be surprised. Maybe we’ll need to rescue them. I’m not sure.”
“No!” Ella said, her face still streaked with tears. “I’m going with you! I’m staying with you and Iggy!”
I shook my head. “I wish you could, but we’re going to be flying. I promise we’ll come back for you. Okay?”
Ella didn’t look like it was okay, but she nodded yes and wiped her eyes. We sat there together in the moonlight, sharing food we had “acquired” from Ella’s friends back at the campfire. Almost everyone I cared about was here, all in one place.
With a couple of major exceptions.
48
THE CROWD WAS so loud, Fang almost jumped. The kids were all on their feet now, and Fang motioned to the others to stand up. Reluctantly, Fang’s gang joined the chant: “Save the planet! Kill the humans!”
“Whoa!” Holden said next to Fang, scanning the crowd. “When we got here, everyone looked weird and happy, but pretty normal, you know? Now look around.”
Fang quickly studied the gathered assembly.
“Oh, my God,” Maya said slowly. “Where did they come from?”
“I guess they must have been drawn in by the crowd,” Fang replied. “They must have been hiding their… freakiness, at first. Kind of like you and I hide our wings sometimes.”
“We’re different, but we’re okay,” said Star. “But these guys…”
“What happened to them?” Kate asked. “The same thing that happened to us? Will we become like that?”
One of every ten kids in the audience was… genetically altered. Growing up in the School, trapped in their dog crates, Fang and the flock had seen lots of genetic combinations that didn’t turn out as cute kids sporting big wings. And he was seeing it again, right here.
They weren’t horrible disasters—they could breathe and walk and talk. Some of them even looked pretty human, except for, say, scaly skin or lizard eyes or claws for hands. But others were definitely freakish, and a bunch of them looked as though their combinations were not meshing entirely and breaking down.
“Will you join me in a song?” Beth asked over the frenzied roar. She stood center stage and began to sing. Gradually, the audience stopped chanting and began singing.
“I didn’t know where I was going
I didn’t know where I’d come from
But then one day I got the message
That I could save the world.
The One Light has shown me the way.
Because we’re Gen 77
The skies will be blue, the seas will be green
But to get there, the blood must flow red.
We will become less, we will become more
We’ll kill all the humans
And we’ll save the world.”