Life On Ventus: The Illusionist's Enigma

By Rob De Hart

Book Two of the VITA Cycle

Fifteen-year-olds Will, Pikabo, and Iggy escaped death on Aqua only to find greater peril on Ventus. The world has suffered a global pandemic that killed billions. The one remaining government rounds-up the surviving children and brainwashes them in a centralized encampment. Using their powers, creative problem solving, and teamwork, the teenagers must work together to evade capture and find a way off this upside-down world. The threesome can't do it alone and are forced to rely on a band of renegade teens and a reclusive illusionist, each with special abilities of their own.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rob De Hart
• Release date: Aug 29, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301332144

Rob De Hart

Rob De Hart was born and raised in West Los Angeles, California. He went to High School in Santa Monica, CA and earned a BA in Psychology from UCLA. He is married and has two young adult children both away at college.He has written three books in the four-part VITA Cycle:Life On Aqua - The Astronomer's CipherLife On Ventus - The Illusionist's EnigmaLife On Terra - The Time-Drifter's Echo

Book preview

Life On Ventus

The Illusionist’s Enigma

Book Two of the VITA Cycle

By Rob De Hart

Copyright 2013 Rob De Hart

Smashwords Edition

This book is available in print at most online retailers.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Dedication

To my friends and family for their love and support of Aqua, and for their encouragement and impatience for this sequel.

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Books by Rob De Hart

Life On Aqua

The Astronomer’s Cipher

Book One of the VITA Cycle

Life on Ventus

The Illusionist’s Enigma

Book Two of the VITA Cycle

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Table of Contents

Prologue

Life On Hold -Or- Hold On Life

Part One – Abandoned Together

Chapter One

Three Tired Powers -Or- Three Powered Tires

Chapter Two

Wilsy -Or- We’ll See

Chapter Three

To Marshal a New Frontier -Or- New Tier to Marshal Affront

Chapter Four

Her Tranquil Eyes -Or- Tranquilize Her!

Chapter Five

Breakout -Or- Outbreak

Chapter Six

Safeguards Initiated -Or- Guards Safe, Initially

Chapter Seven

Show of Programming Magic -Or- Magic Show Programming

Chapter Eight

Secret Monitors -Or- Monitor Secrets

Chapter Nine

Turnip Communication -Or- Communication Upturn

Chapter Ten

Girl Skates for Chase -Or- Chase Girl for Steaks

Chapter Eleven

Never See the Sea -Or- Never the CC

Chapter Twelve

Admissions of Fault -Or- Vaults of Admission

First Interlude

Weapons Hidden -Or- Hidden Pawns Weep

Part Two – Banded To Get Her

Chapter Thirteen

Beckoned Home -Or- Homing Beacon

Chapter Fourteen

Oh, Row D! -Or- Rodeo?

Chapter Fifteen

Four Not Bargained For -Or- No Bargain For Foe

Chapter Sixteen

Sussing Out Precincts -Or- Succinct Outpourings

Chapter Seventeen

Hospitality Cred -Or- Hospital Credit

Chapter Eighteen

Red Cot Handled -Or- Caught Red-Handed

Chapter Nineteen

Beverage Overflow -Or- Leverage Overblow

Chapter Twenty

Standing Untied -Or- Standing United

Chapter Twenty-One

Peekaboo, I See You -Or- Pikabo, I.C.U.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Vice of Demise -Or- Device of Mice

Chapter Twenty-Three

Waves of Motion -Or- Wave of Emotions

Second Interlude

Falling Out of Time -Or- Timing of Fallout

Chapter Twenty-Four

Desperate Insurrection -Or- In Separate Directions

Epilogue

President Named -Or- Name Precedent

Prologue

Life On Hold

Or

Hold On Life

From the Field Book of Dr. Thomas Banks:

20th January, 1997 KE

The sekond opinion was no better than the first. The diagnosis of the blood disease has been konfirmed. Even with aggressive kemotherapy, the doktors only give me one year to live – 15 months at most. At least I have time to put my affairs in order for Maggie. She puts on a positive facade around me, but I know my terminal kondition will be hardest on her. She’ll have to put her life on hold to kare for me.

It seems last Saturday’s lekture was my last. I did meet an interesting kouple afterwards. They introduced themselves only as Sterling and Solana. The gentleman seemed to know quite a bit about my research. Perhaps my theory of alternate worlds and energy-emitting portals isn’t as outlandish as it sounds.

The next two perigean spring tidal events do not involve water. They should not be visible on Aqua. The next event on this world isn’t for another 14 months. I hope I kan hold on to see it.

****

Part One:

Abandoned Together

Chapter One

Three Tired Powers

Or

Three Powered Tires

Sunday, May 6, a.c. 12

The powerless personal watercraft carrying three worn-out fifteen-year-olds finally made landfall. Will was the first to disembark, and he used his super-strength to push the water scooter out of the water and onto the beach. Remaining on the Sea-Runner, Pikabo’s body succumbed to her utter exhaustion. She slumped over the handlebars and closed her eyes, desperate to recover from the overuse of the water-powers that she acquired earlier that morning. And even though it had now been two hours since Iggy had endured the onslaught from three fire-wielding attackers, he too was still not fully recovered. He stayed seated behind Pikabo and rested his head on her back.

Standing on the beach, Will looked down at his two closest friends in the world. Well, if they were still on the world of Aqua they would be his closest friends. Now that they had transported through a portal to the alternate world of Ventus, Pikabo and Iggy were now Will’s only friends in the world.

Ventus was the third world that Will had been too in his 15-year life. Will Clayton was born on Earth, known to some by its Latin name Terra. As a newly-turned one-year old, Will was pushed through a portal powered by earth and water and was transported to Aqua. He was found by Maggie Banks, widow to the late fringe astronomer Dr. Thomas Banks. Maggie witnessed the event and raised the baby as Will C. Banks, her adopted son. The portal from Earth to Aqua changed Will. He was gifted with the earth-powers of super-strength and the ability to increase his own gravity and density making him immovable and invincible to physical attack.

That morning’s portal from Aqua to Ventus didn’t change the molecular make-up of Will or Iggy, but it did change Pikabo. Pikabo Rivers was born on Aqua and the portal to Ventus was her first exposure to a power-giving vortex. She was gifted with water-powers, but they didn’t know the specifics of her new abilities, except the only ability she had shown in the two hours thus far. Pikabo was able to move the ocean water. She had used this ability in two ways that morning, the first of which saved her life and the lives of her two friends. Under attack from three fire-throwing enemies, Pikabo generated a huge wave to snuff out the fire-balls and pile-drive the men headfirst to the deck of their boat – knocking out each of them. She then created a wave of water to propel her powerless Sea-Runner to the island they just landed on.

The portal was Iggy’s first exposure to a vortex as well, but Iggy didn’t acquire any new powers from it. Ignacio ‘Iggy’ Quemador was born on Aqua like Pikabo, but acquired his fire-power gifts at birth. His father, known as Bradley Marsh, Captain Marquez, or simply the Captain depending on who he dealt with, was born on Ignis and was gifted with fire-powers when he and his two Lieutenants, Sanchez and Tavarez, fell through a portal from Ignis to Aqua. These men, the same three men that attacked Will, Pikabo and Iggy earlier that morning, obtained the abilities to generate and throw fire, as well as the ability to be unharmed by heat and flame. Iggy inherited these altered genes from his father and was bestowed the same powers.

Will decided to let his friends rest and he told them he was going to look around the island of the Florida Keys they landed on, or whatever this world called this archipelago of over 1700 islands that extended over 100 miles east-southeast of the Florida peninsula.

He headed northeast along the shoreline until he came to a gap in the wild brush revealing a trail that entered the heart of the island. He hiked up the trail at a slight incline, only pausing once to look back at his friends just before the trail took away his direct line of sight of the beach.

Will meandered left and right through the brush for only about a minute when he came to the start of a single-lane asphalt road. Looking southeast, he saw that the road rose steadily in elevation until it disappeared beyond a plateau about a quarter mile inland. Will entertained the thought of hiking up the road alone, but decided against it in favor of returning to his friends on the beach.

Will turned to head back down the trail when something flashed in his peripheral vision. The Sun was still fairly low on the horizon and its rays were being reflected straight into Will’s eyes by a moving vehicle racing down the asphalt road. Will knelt behind a bush. He had no idea what the world of Ventus was like, and he thought it best to be very cautious in his first interaction with the native residents.

The vehicle hummed to a stop only 35 feet from Will’s position. Will was so surprised by who was driving the vehicle that he didn’t notice the strangeness of the vehicle itself. It was the size of a golf cart with a short flatbed behind the single bench seat. The flatbed was covered with solar panels, and instead of a steering wheel there was what could only be described as a video game controller attached to a post that maneuvered the cart’s single front wheel.

The driver was a young girl no older than Will. She had long red hair tied back into a ponytail and was wearing an oversized gray-camouflaged jumpsuit with a matching cap. Around her waist she wore a utility belt with a wide array of items attached. She grabbed one of these items and pointed it into the bush where Will was hiding. Will looked down and saw the bright green glow of a laser light dancing on his chest.

I see you in there, said the girl. Come on out with your hands where I can see them or I’ll scatter you into a million pieces.

Will did as he was told. He raised his hands above his head and stepped out from behind the bush. He was fairly sure his earth-powers would protect him from any bullet-like projectile, but he and Pikabo never tested his ability against lasers.

The girl kept the laser sight aimed at Will’s chest and cycled through a series of questions.

Who are you? What are you doing here? Did you come on that small boat with the other two? Are you vaccinated? We don’t have any vaccine if that’s why you’ve come.

The girl didn’t give Will any chance to respond until she repeated her first question, Who are you?

The vaccine questions concerned him, but Will responded honestly out of habit.

My name is Will C. Banks. I did come on the boat with my two friends, but I don’t know anything about any vaccine. Should I be worried?

All you need to worry about right now is my atomizer aimed at your chest. What are you doing here?

A flood of explanations flooded Will’s mind. He thought, I could tell you the whole truth that we came through a portal from an alternate world trying to escape a fire-wielding madman and his two henchmen, but he decided to be much vaguer but still truthful in his response.

We’re lost. Where are we?

The girl didn’t answer. Her facial expression changed from focused determination to frightened distress. She switched off her laser, raised both her arms in the air, and stared off into the distance behind Will.

Will instinctively turned his head to see what caused the girl’s anxiety, but was immediately grabbed around his arms by two burly, camo-wearing men. Before Will knew what was going on, his wrists and ankles were shackled with thick, metal restraints. Both men kicked Will in the back of his knees and he collapsed to the ground.

The men left Will alone and concentrated their attention on the girl.

Nice uniform! said one of the men, sarcastically. Hey Dax! Looks like we have a new Cowgirl in our ranks, he joked.

Dax wasn’t in such a joking mood, OK, girly. Put down the atomizer, drop to your knees and put your hands behind your head.

The girl followed the instructions precisely. She looked up at the men with a defeated gaze, but that expression too changed when her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Will had burst out of his thick metal restraints and was leaping toward the two men. With his arms outstretched, Will hit both men in the back of their necks simultaneously, sending each of them to their knees. Will then elbowed the temple of the man on his right and kicked the chest of the man on his left. The first man was knocked out cold and fell to the ground. The second man was launched ten feet into the air and collided with a tree. He slid down the trunk and slumped to the ground, also unconscious.

The girl stood up and looked at the two men and then back at Will. I don’t know how you did that, but the rest of the Cowboys will be out looking for these men soon. Get in the trike. We gotta get outta here.

No. I have to get back to my friends on the beach. They could be in trouble.

"They are in trouble, said the girl, Big trouble. The Cowboys have already rounded-up your two friends and are taking them to the Ranch. I saw the whole thing from the top of the landing strip. They wrangled one of my friends too."

Cowboys? Rounded-up? Ranch? questioned Will.

No time to explain. We have to go. I know where your friends are being taken and I’ll help you get them back. But we’ll be no good to them if we get rounded-up too.

The girl jumped into the trike and pushed a series of buttons on her game controller. The trike hummed to life and she whipped it into a U-turn, faced it back up the asphalt road, and stopped.

It’s now or never, Wilsybanks. I can help you get your friends back. I owe you that much for saving me. Are you coming with me or not?

Will wanted desperately to run back down the trail and see if what she said about Pikabo and Iggy was true. He quickly thought, neither Pikabo nor Iggy would let those two men follow me up this trail without trying to warn me. This girl is right. They must have been captured or rounded-up. They must have been too exhausted to use their powers or simply outnumbered.

You promise you’ll help me find my friends? asked Will.

Is the Plague painful? replied the girl.

Huh? What? said Will.

The girl shook her head. You weren’t kidding when you said you were lost. Yes! I’ll help you find your friends. Now get in!

Will jumped into the trike. The girl pushed the joystick forward with her left thumb and the trike took off. She then pressed the red button with her right thumb and the trike went into overdrive. The acceleration pushed Will back into his seat as the trike sped up the asphalt road, over the plateau and out of sight.

****

Pikabo and Iggy had shackles on their wrists and ankles and stared at each other with regret. They were sitting opposite each other inside the back of a paddy wagon that was making its way to the Ranch. The transport’s four walls as well as the floor and roof were made of solid steel and the only light that entered shone through a small barred window that was part of the locked door at the back of the wagon. They weren’t alone.

In addition to the two unseen Cowboys in the cab of the wagon, there was a third person in shackles sitting next to Iggy. He was boy, young man really, maybe a year older than they were. He had a strong build and big, dark black eyes, a pointy nose, and no chin to speak of.

I guess we should’ve fought back, said Iggy.

We did the right thing by cooperating, replied Pikabo. Besides, we’re both still spent from using our... Pikabo glanced at the pointy-nosed boy, ...well you know. We didn’t do anything wrong. I guess that beach is off-limits or something. Once we get to wherever they’re taking us, I’m sure we’ll be able to sort everything out and they’ll let us go.

The boy let out a loud grunt and murmured, Fat chance, under his breath.

Both Iggy and Pikabo surmised that the boy knew something they didn’t. Iggy was about to barrage him with a ton of questions, but Pikabo acted first and tried the kill him with kindness tactic.

Pikabo extended her open hand toward the boy. I’m Pikabo and this is Iggy. We’re not from around here. Do you know where they’re taking us?

The boy recoiled and stared at Pikabo’s open palm. He smirked and then looked back down at his ankle shackles.

Pikabo tried again. "Who are these men and why did they chain us up?

The boy flashed a sarcastically confused look at Pikabo, smirked again and shook his head, but he remained silent.

The way I see it, continued Pikabo, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. We are all in shackles and have been taken prisoner by these men – our enemies. That makes us friends – allies. We need to work together. Now I’ve told you our names. Will you tell us your name?

Squirrel.

Both Pikabo and Iggy looked at the boy again and thought the same thing, What a perfect name.

Do you know anything about these men or where they’re taking us? asked Pikabo.

They’re Cowboys and they’re taking us to the Ranch.

What do they do at the Ranch? Herd animals?

Exactly! smirked Squirrel. Except we’re the animals.

****

Chapter Two

Wilsy

Or

We’ll See

Sunday, May 6, a.c. 12

The asphalt road plateaued onto an abandoned airfield. The girl at the trike’s game-controller helm turned right down the runway toward a small, two-story building that once served as the air traffic control tower. The girl released her thumb from the red-button booster and then hit a complex series of buttons on the controller. Directly in front of them, a 15 foot wide by 20 foot long ramp lowered from the level of the tarmac. The trike travelled down the ramp and was plunged into darkness. Once the three-wheeler was off the ramp, it stopped on level ground. After the girl hit another series of buttons on the controller, the ramp rose back up to its flush position on the surface and lights began to flicker on in the underground chamber.

The red-headed girl remained seated in the trike and held out her left fist in the open space between her and Will. Wilsybanks, my name’s Scout. This is our HQ. We’re safe here.

He looked at Scout’s fist. I’m not from around here. What am I supposed to do with your fist?

You bump it, Wilsy.

Will made a fist, bumped knuckles with Scout, and said, Where I come from we shake with open palms. And it’s just Will.

Shaking hands is not a risk I’m willing to take with you. We just met. Scout jumped off the trike, pressed a sequence of numbers on a keypad alongside one of only two doors in the chamber, and strode through it once it opened.

Will jumped off the trike and caught up to Scout who was stopped halfway down a narrow hallway.

Sorry to have to do this, Wilsybanks.

Will wanted to correct Scout on his name and ask, do what? But before he could say anything, Scout pushed a large button on the wall and four separate waterfalls of mist rained down from the ceiling ahead of them down the hall.

Decontamination. Just a precaution. Follow me.

Scout walked through the four misting waterfalls and waited for Will at the end of the hall. Will shut his eyes and followed. Scout pushed another button and the misting stopped. She then pressed a series of numbers on the hallway door’s keypad. The door opened and they stepped into a large room with an assortment of couches, beanbag chairs, and television sets.

A small girl no older than seven flittered up to Scout. She had tangled blonde hair, dark eyes and a pointy nose.

Squirrel got rounded-up! squeaked the little girl. He got caught trying to save me. It’s all my fault!

Scout put her arm around the girl, It’s not your fault, Birdy. I was monitoring the whole thing. Either both of you would have been round-ups or one of you. Squirrel made sure it was only one and decided to protect his little sister.

We’re gonna get him back, right? squeaked Birdy, as tears started to run down her cheeks.

Of course we’re getting him back. You know we don’t leave anyone behind, said Scout.

Birdy wiped her tears, took a deep breath and stood up straight. I volunteer for the mission.

We’ll see, we’ll see said Scout. Where’re Hacker and Rabbit?

They’re both with Tinker in the Comm. Birdy gestured at Will, Who’s he?

Will didn’t want to be introduced as Wilsy or Wilsybanks, so he introduced himself to Birdy. He stuck out his left fist and said, My name’s Will, and I’m gonna help Scout get your brother back. My friends have been rounded-up too.

Birdy bumped fists with Will and flittered away, bounding over the arm of a nearby couch and landing in a nest of blankets and pillows.

Well done, Wilsy. You catch on fast. I like that, said Scout. "We call this room the lounge, but it serves purposes other than lounging too. Follow me to the Comm. We need to act fast.

Will followed Scout through a kitchen and into a small room with computer equipment on every wall and switches, lights, and knobs everywhere. Sitting inside the room were two boys and a girl all around the age of fourteen. The girl wore large, noise-cancelling headphones with furry bunny ears glued on top. She had white-blonde hair, very pale skin, and was in her pajamas with fuzzy slippers on her feet.

Sitting next to the girl was a boy typing furiously on a computer keyboard. He was a little pudgy for a young teenager, with brown skin and unkempt hair. In addition to his fingers that danced on the keyboard, the other feature that stood out was his piercing light-brown eyes that didn’t stray from the computer monitor.

On the floor of the room was a boy elbows-deep inside an electronic device that was too deconstructed to know what it was or what it was going to be. He had a tall, wiry frame with hazel eyes and long brown hair that was tied back in a ponytail.

Let me guess, said Will. This must be Rabbit, Hacker, and Tinker. Will pointed correctly to each as he said their names.

I guess you’re not as lost as I thought you were, said Scout. Guys, this is Wilsybanks.

Will let out a huge sign and rolled his eyes at Scout.

Scout picked up on her mistake. Sorry, this is Wilsy.

What’s a Wilsy? asked Hacker without looking away from his computer screen.

I don’t know, said Scout. She turned to Will. What’s a Wilsy?

"My name is Will – C. – Banks. Not Wilsybanks or Wilsy. And you can all call me Will. Just Will. And it means strong-willed warrior."

Hacker looked up at Will. So did Rabbit, who shouldn’t have heard anything spoken in the room with her headphones on, but somehow she heard everything. Oh! they each said in unison, quite impressed. Tinker kept tinkering.

"Why’d you say your name was Wilsybanks? I thought you were daft! exclaimed Scout. Will is much more appropriate from what I’ve seen."

She turned back to her team. Rabbit, Hacker, the Cowboys have rounded-up Squirrel and Will’s two friends.

Way ahead of you, Scout, said Rabbit. Radio chatter confirms three round-ups are being transported to the Ranch.

Hacker, do you know where exactly they’re being taken?

They’re entering that information now. We’ll see in a few seconds, said Hacker.

Scout used the time to converse with the mechanic, Tinker, the work you did on the booster really makes the trike hum. Good job.

Tinker didn’t look up but gave Scout a thumbs-up.

I did notice on the way in that the third decontamination mister was a little spotty.

Tinker gave the OK sign, pointed at his current project and then did an arching movement with his pointer finger in the direction of the misters.

You’ll get to it after you’re done here. Thanks, said Scout, but it’s no rush.

Got it! blurted Hacker, still staring at his computer screen, his fingers furiously pounding his keyboard. Looks like Stockades A, C, and E are being prepped in Stable One.

That’s the best news I’ve heard all— Scout was cut off by Hacker.

Wait a minute. They’re also prepping Exam Rooms One and Two.

Oh no, said Scout, deflated.

What? Are the Exam Rooms bad? asked Will, concerned.

Scout stepped back from Will with a face of panic.

What is it? Tell me! shouted Will.

Exam Rooms are used for one of two things. Either someone’s been seriously injured or worse...

What? What’s worse than a serious injury? asked Will.

Infection.

****

The paddy wagon with Pikabo, Iggy, and Squirrel approached the outer gate of the Ranch. The driver handed three plastic cards to the Cowboy at the checkpoint gate. The Cowboy scanned each one with his handheld device. The screen of the device then instructed him to do a visual check of the wagon’s cargo to confirm the presence of the three rounded-ups. All three youths saw the Cowboy peering through the barred window and then heard him instruct the driver to proceed through the gate.

If that guy came in here with another needle in his hand, I would have melted it on the spot, said Iggy, still rubbing his arm from ten minutes earlier, when a medical checkpoint Cowboy stabbed him with a hypodermic needle to draw some blood.

There will be a time and place for that kind of action, said Pikabo, rubbing her own arm. I sure hope Will is alright. We could use his... Pikabo wanted to say powers, then strength, but settled on, "We could use his support right now."

Iggy understood and Squirrel didn’t – and that was the point. In addition, Pikabo knew very little about these Cowboys and didn’t put it past them to have the paddy wagon bugged with surveillance equipment.

Why do you think they took our blood while we’re still being transported? wondered Iggy. Couldn’t they have waited until we reached our destination?

Pikabo shrugged her shoulders and was about to say, beats me, when Squirrel offered his explanation.

It’s like you guys are aliens from another planet, said Squirrel. Pikabo and Iggy flashed the whites of their eyes at each other. Squirrel continued, They’re checking your markers, of course.

Right, of course, our markers, nodded Pikabo, but not understanding. She looked at Iggy and acted as if she was going to explain it all to him. Very slowly and stalling on purpose she said, They – They take our blood – They take our blood to check – They take our blood to check for markers – They take our–

Squirrel interjected. Pikabo was relieved. They check your genetic markers to see if you have a natural immunity against the disease. And, of course, whether you’ve already contracted the disease or not.

The disease? questioned Iggy.

Yeah! The Plague! shouted an exasperated Squirrel. I don’t know why they still check for that stuff. No one can survive on this planet being exposed to the disease for the past eleven years unless they have the marker or have received the vaccine. It’s all a waste of time if you ask me.

Waste of time. Right, nodded Pikabo. But she didn’t think it was right. Nothing was right. Everything was wrong. She’d been on Ventus for about three hours and in that time she’d exhausted herself to the brink of losing consciousness, was captured and shackled by a militia of Cowboys, and now had probably been exposed to a disease they call the Plague.

The paddy wagon stopped, the rear door opened, and the three round-ups shuffled out the door as best as they could with only ten inches of freedom between their shackled feet. Two Cowboys immediately took Squirrel through the nearest door of the complex and Pikabo and Iggy were taken somewhere else by another two Cowboys. They were led around Squirrel’s building to one on the opposite corner of the Ranch.

Along their walk across the center of the Ranch, they saw just the opposite of what one would picture in their head of a place called the Ranch. There was no dirt ground, no wooden structures, and no livestock of any kind. The entire compound was surrounded by a twenty-foot fence topped with barbed wire and High Voltage signs posted every ten feet. There were six pristine buildings standing along the edges of a single, enormous slab of concrete. The buildings were austere; there was no embellishment or splash of color anywhere. Everything was gray, even the solar panels atop each building’s roof. In the center of the Ranch stood a single signpost. There were six, light-gray signs affixed to the post, each pointing in different directions at one of the six buildings. In darker gray letters they read: Bunks, Mess Hall, Storage, Saloon, Stables, and Infirmary. Squirrel had been taken into the Stables. Pikabo and Iggy were being taken to the Infirmary.

The Cowboys each held their gray plastic cards up to an electronic reader positioned just outside the Infirmary doors. The outer doors opened and Pikabo and Iggy were escorted down the hall. They noticed everything inside the Infirmary was automated. The lights flickered on and off as they walked down the hall, and the interior hallway doors opened automatically upon approach. The Cowboy escorting Pikabo stopped in front of the fifth door on the right side of the hall. Iggy’s escort stopped at the sixth. Simultaneously, the Cowboys held up their plastic cards to the electronic readers outside their respective doors. Exam Room One and Exam Room Two opened and Pikabo and Iggy each shuffled in with the physical encouragement of their escorts. The doors shut behind the two fifteen-year-olds and the Cowboys stood at attention in the hallway outside their doors.

****

Rabbit! What’s going on in the Infirmary. What do you hear? commanded Scout, taking on an authoritative voice that Will hadn’t heard since he was interrogated by Scout near the beach.

The medical staff is meeting now and discussing the blood work of two round-ups in the Exam Rooms, a boy and a girl, replied Rabbit.

And a boy has been logged into Stockade A of Stable One, added Hacker.

What are they saying about the blood work? asked Scout. Do they have either the marker or the vaccine?

One moment, said Rabbit, and she held her index finger up in the air. Neither subject has the marker... Neither has been vaccinated.

It’s a.c. 12. How can that be? said Scout. Do they have... Are they?

If it were possible, Rabbit’s face turned