After school, I helped Anna with her homework while I made dinner: wakame soup, roasted carrots, and spinnemelon, a protein-enhanced, nutrient-loaded fruit engineered in Nuevo Leben. It's brown, stringy, and tastes like sweaty socks, but has helped our community survive for so long. We're supposed to eat it at least twice a week.
Grandma sat on the balcony reading a book—or staring at the ocean. Sometimes, I thought she pretended to read out there so Anna and I wouldn't notice her grieving for our mother, always with the tiniest bit of hope that her boat would appear on the horizon, or she'd come walking up the beach.
I, on the other hand, didn't hold onto such foolish thoughts. It saddened me that Grandma wouldn't accept my mother's death and at least try to move on. Poking my head outside, I told her to eat dinner without me because I was going out.
I hopped on my bike and rode down the beach past the school. Anxious thoughts whirled through my mind—abducted Nobles, a spot in Nuevo Leben opening for Tia's family, Alicia's network recruitment, and of course, my conversation with Ronan. The pieces had to connect but I didn’t yet know how, but something big was happening. And I had a strong feeling that Ronan knew what it was but after our cryptic conversation that morning, I made a different choice. Waiting for others to offer me information was not in my nature.
I rode by the pier where I was supposed to meet Ronan and instead kept pedaling toward the water lab. Lockdown or not, I'd bang on the door until Cal and the other Nobles gave me answers.
The sun fell behind the buildings, and the loss of light made me antsy. My pace quickened, but the sound of voices in a heated conversation pulled my attention back to the pier. I turned the bike around to find two guys and a girl, all a few years older than me, walking my way. I'd seen them around before but didn’t know their names. They stopped talking and gave each other odd looks, like they knew who I was and didn't want me to hear what they were saying. "Hey," I yelled.
"Hey, yourself," one of the guys answered back as they continued toward me. "Do any of you know Ronan Altkind?" They all did the odd glance thing again. A lump formed in my throat as another thought occurred to me. What if Ronan was behind the abductions? He did have that Noble badge on the beach, and was outside my apartment in the rain.
Now I was alone on a dark beach with three strangers. Why had I opened my big mouth when I should’ve kept riding to the water lab.
"Yeah, we know Ronan," the girl said tugging on her short black pigtails. A raised purple scar crossed her left shoulder and disappeared down the front of her green tank top. I tried not to stare. The taller guy by her side carried a sizable stick, and my stomach lurched. Had they sent Ronan to lure me in? To get me here alone in the dark? Was I next?
"Do you know where I can find him?" I asked, my voice shaking.
"He's gone," said the stick-wielding guy. His straggly hair blew across his face in the evening breeze.
"What do you mean he's gone?"
The girl smirked at him and looked back at me.
"You're Barrett Sykes, right? The future Noble?"
I nodded, stunned by the recognition. "Didn't Ronan tell you? He'll be back in a couple of days," she said. "He had to leave town to prep for the mission."
"Enough, Sara," the shorter guy said, scrutinizing my blank expression. He was super thin with spiky brown hair and reddish skin, like he'd spent way too much time in the sun. "She obviously doesn't know."
"I'm sure she knows, Pensey. Ronan said he'd handle talking to Barrett," Sara said.
"Ronan talks about me?" I sounded more giggly-school-girl than I'd meant. I cleared my throat and lowered my voice, "Are you part of the Network?"
"How much do you know about that?" Pensey asked.
I wasn't about to admit that Ronan hadn't told me anything about the group, and I'd heard it at school from my gossipy friend, Alicia. The three surrounded my bike, like a pack of predators. I had to play it cool and get the heck out of there. Kicking off the sand, I started pedaling past them, but Pensey jumped in front of my bike and easily took control of the handlebars.
"Did Ronan talk to you or not? Pensey pushed.
I tried not to react, but I'm sure my eyes betrayed my fear. I didn't know what to say, and fortunately, Sara got me off the hook.
"Hey guys, if we're going to talk about this, we need to be in a safer location." She placed a gentle hand on Pensey's shoulder, and he backed off. "We don't know who might be listening," she added.
Sara, Pensey, and the tall guy, whose name I hadn't learned yet, motioned for me to follow them away from the shore where a lone surfer leaned against his board, staring at the waves. Maybe he was the abductor.
For the second time in my life, I feared for my safety. After my parent’s deaths, the Nobles did everything in their power to ensure Nuevo Leben was a well-guarded village. We produced clean water and vegetables, medicine and technology. We were important. But now, that all seemed futile, and I didn't know who to trust.
I walked my bike behind them, afraid not to follow, and after ten minutes of navigating small side roads through town, we got to a ration station. Generators buzzed and sputtered nearby, breaking the eerie silence. I set my bike against the wall and followed Ronan's friends upstairs to the rooftop greenhouse, which glowed pink from the grow lights. We stopped beside the guavas, which I thought strongly mimicked armpit odor. I’d rather eat spinnemelon.
"Now what?" I asked since no one had said anything.
"Now, you tell us what you know about the upcoming mission," Sara said.
"Well, I know it involves finding the three missing Nobles, and that it's dangerous. Oh, and that it's a big secret," I said, trying to ignore how weird everyone looked in this light.
"Fucking Ronan," Pensey said under his breath, then turned back to me, "So, he told you nothing."
"If Ronan was meant to talk to me about this, then where exactly is he? And by the way, what is your name?" I asked the tall guy.
"I guess we sort of skipped introductions. I'm Liam, and this is Sara. She's with me," He put his arm around the girl, "and Pensey here is our fearless leader." He gave Pensey a hard slap on the back so he'd stop cursing under his breath about Ronan's failure.
"So, you're the leader of the Network?" I asked.
"I'm the leader of the current mission. The Network goes much higher than me," Pensey said.
"The Noble Council is in charge," I whispered, relieved beyond belief that they were working for the Council and not there to abduct me.
Sara nodded.
"Well, you've made a mistake. I'm a future Noble. The Council would never recruit me for something this dangerous.
"That's not exactly true. Nobles need to know what Nuevo Leben is up against," he said directly to me. "All future Nobles are assigned to join a Network mission after initiation. Of course, given the current status of things, it is your choice."
"You mean the lockdown?" I asked.
"That's right," Sara chimed in. "The stakes have never been this high. I'm not going to lie; this mission is one of the most dangerous we've faced. We have all sworn to protect you, and all the Nobles, but we're confronting new threats."
"Threats like outsiders breaching our perimeter security and abducting our most important people?"
"Yes. And unfortunately, we don't know what we'll come up against out there," Liam said.
I gulped. Certain I looked as if I'd just been hit in the face. I assumed out there meant the world beyond Nuevo Leben.
"When does the mission start?" I asked.
"We'll leave the day after Ronan gets back. He's doing some last-minute recruiting and prep work. We'll need a lot of muscle on this trip." Sara said, finally answering my question about Ronan, but again making me wonder why they recruited Alicia. If they needed muscle, she was not their girl.
"How do you know where the Nobles are?" I asked.
"One of our contacts in Old North America said some boats came in with new people. We think they might be near the Gulf Coast of Old Florida." Liam said.
My eyes narrowed, and a lump formed in my throat.
"In Old North America?" I had no idea people even lived in Old North America. I'd heard rumors of travelers, barbarians, and meat-eaters, but nothing as organized as Liam suggested. And this group of people, sitting with me in a familiar little greenhouse in our small village, had actually been there.
"Are you alright, Barrett?" Pensey asked.
"Yes," I said, light-headed. "I didn't realize people from Nuevo Leben traveled that far."
"That's what the Network does," Liam said. "We keep track of new communities that pop up to assess their trade potential or recognize threats before they become serious. Most are communes or tribes happy to be left alone or cooperate, but some are working towards hi-tech."
"Which makes them dangerous," Pensey added.
"But it's also why we're assuming they want our Nobles," Liam said.
"So, this mission, Barrett, we need to know. Are you in or out?" Sara asked.
"Oh," I had that hit-in-the-face look again. "I don't know, I mean, I'm needed at the water plant, and I have my sister to think about, and my grandmother, and school, and—"
"Let us know by tomorrow," Pensey cut me off. "Here, take this," he handed me a folded paper. Get these things together for the trip. And I don't think I need to tell you this, but don't say a word to anyone about us or the mission. If you're with us, come to the gate at the northeast wall tomorrow at 4:00 pm. We're training the new recruits outside the borders."
I nodded, unfolded the paper, and saw a list. A short one.
- 8 oz. water container
- Portable water electro-deionizer
- Jacket, blanket, extra socks, scarf, hat, or bandana
- Protein supplements (as many as you can carry)
- Knife, ax, or weapon of choice
"Weapon?" I asked.
"Yeah, things can get pretty hairy out on the road," Sara said. "We've been in our share of fights.” She instinctively rubbed her hand over her scarred shoulder. "Usually, it's over food and clean water, but you never know what some people are after." She hugged her knees protectively after she said that, nervously twitching her fingers and toes.
My eyes went to the scar on her shoulder again and then back to the list. I had everything except for the jacket. Maybe Grandma had one I could use. But what was I even thinking? I wouldn't need any of these things because I wasn't seriously going to leave Nuevo Leben on a rescue mission, especially with a 'weapon of choice.' Pensey, Sara, and Liam were on their feet, ready to leave. I followed them out of the greenhouse in silence and returned home to a sleepless night.
The next day, I met Alicia at school and pulled her into a bathroom. I filled her in on my greenhouse meeting with Ronan's friends and told her about Sara's giant scar. Her eyes grew enormous with fear.
"Alicia, you can't leave Nuevo Leben and put your life at risk for this mission.
"What else can I do?" Alicia asked. "It's my job."
"I don't know. Maybe I can appeal to the Noble Council so you and I can stay behind and act as the Network's contacts or something. We can keep a lookout for strangers," I said.
"Yeah, maybe. That doesn't sound too bad."
"I don't think I could just pack up and leave Anna and Grandma anyway," I said.
"No, I don't want to leave either, but my brother is going, and I'm sure they wouldn't have recruited us if they didn't need us. We can't let our community become a target. If we don't do anything, who knows how many more Nobles will go missing? We've got to think about that, too, Barrett."
It surprised me to hear Alicia talk like that. I didn't know she cared so much. Alicia also didn't have a young sister and grandma at home to look after, or responsibilities at the water lab. Alicia and Tommy came to Nuevo Leben as orphans when they were toddlers, and raised by the village. They weren't Nobles, so I guess it made sense they'd been recruited. It made no sense I had.
A group of younger girls walked in, chatting away about meeting some boys by the pier after school. Alicia rolled her eyes at me. "Come on," she said, "Let's go somewhere else."
"Let's talk later. I've got to get to class."
"Do you really think that's what's important right now, Barrett?"
"Um, I guess so." I hadn't even considered doing something else.
"What we need to do is get Jensen and fill him in. He's gonna want to know about this now that it involves you. Plus, his brother is a Noble. He should know what's happening." Alicia said.
"Wow, you really can't keep a secret." She stuck her tongue out at me as I stifled a laugh. "Just come one, Barrett."
I'd never seen her so deliberate. All my life, I'd known Alicia to be a sweet yet slightly shallow person, but today, I gained a new level of respect for her. Me, on the other hand? I felt like a coward—and I didn't like it. I stood outside the bathroom with a blank expression on my face. "Are you coming or what?" she asked, already several paces ahead of me.
"Yeah, I am." I fought my fear and followed Alicia in the opposite direction of my engineering class. We spotted Jensen walking into physics. Alicia took off at a run and intercepted him at his desk.
"Come with me," she said. "You're not doing physics today."
"Alright!" he said. "Surfing instead?"
Well, that was easy. Jensen walked right out the door, not even worrying about being discreet. He seriously hated physics, and I wondered how often he skipped class. Alicia, too.
"Oh, hey Barrett," he said when he saw me. "Why aren't you in class? What's going on?"
"We'll tell you outside," Alicia said.
Jensen’s brow furrowed and he threw his arm around my shoulder.
"Are you okay?" he asked, putting his head against mine.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but we need to talk to you." I loved it when he was affectionate. I put my arm around his waist and walked out of school with my rebel friends.
"We can go to my place," Alicia said. "No one is there, and I live the closest anyway."