once we’re up top…” He looks at me as if he’s trying to decide if that’s the case. “It’s win-win, Terra. I get you out of here, you get me to Sixteen. What better way to conduct my research than with a local guide?” He finishes with a lopsided grin.
“I can’t just bring you home with me. How would that look? I don’t need to give people any more reasons to keep an eye on me.”
“What do you mean?” Adam says, his expression suddenly curious.
I mentally curse myself. The last thing I want to tell Adam about is my recent fortune. Questions about the payout might lead to questions about what I was paid out for. And that will lead right to the machine I’m currently trying to smuggle in my pocket. “You would just stand out too much, a skyboy like you, slumming with us. How am I supposed to explain how we even met?” I say in an attempt to divert his attention back to the matter at hand.
“I think the truth makes for a pretty good story,” Adam says with a smirk.
“Ha. Right. Whilst scavenging in the middle of the night, I was chased by raiders over the quarantine line and had no choice but to touch contaminated material while I was trying to escape. Then I found a friendly telekinetic skyworld scientist in a magical underground forest. Yeah, I’m sure that’ll go over real well with the guardsmen.”
“I think, technically, I’m the one who found you.”
“Whatever. You probably have some kind of Tribunal-signed permission slip to be here, but if they find out that I’ve been in the ruins this long… It’ll be isolation, observation, and decontamination for me. Who knows when, or if, I’ll come back from that. I mean, I guess there is a chance I could be infected but… I don’t feel plague-ish. Do you?”
“Fit as a fiddle,” Adam says, patting himself down.
“But you see my point, right? It will be a lot less suspicious if I go back on my own.”
“I disagree.”
“Well, you’re fully entitled to. Regardless, I need to go.” I shift my weight as I move to leave, trying not to draw attention to the awkward way I’m still holding the backpack against my leg.
“What if I gave you something? In exchange for taking me back with you,” Adam says suddenly.
“Like what?” I say guardedly, already heading toward the door.
“I don’t know. A water filter, maybe.”
I turn back to face him. “You already gave me one of those, remember?”
He lifts one of his eyebrows. “I didn’t realize that was a gift.”
I feel heat in my cheeks. Of course he would want it back. And I’ve already taken something that isn’t mine. I squirm a little, unsure of how to respond, but the smirk on Adam’s face has already been replaced by a kind smile.
“Take it easy. You can keep that one too. I meant I could give you another one. It’s not just you, right? You take care of your younger brother. It’d be much easier if you each had your own filter. Or you could leave one at home—they attach to faucets too—and keep the other one portable.”
I purse my lips. He’s right, of course. It would make a world of difference for Mica and me. I can only imagine how much steel we’ll save if we can cross canteens off our purchase list. Still, I’m not sure I want to bring Adam to Sixteen. What kind of research would necessitate a visit there, when he didn’t even appear to know what or where it was until I told him?
“So what do you say?” Adam asks.
I feel the pressure building on me as he waits for my response. I go back and forth—yes or no, risk or reward—before I get an idea. The plan is already half-formed when I finally open my mouth.
“All right, fine,” I say. “You can come. We’ll figure out a story on the way. But I want the water filter first.”
Adam grins. “You got it.” He picks up a filter ring from the top of the table and tosses it at me. I reach out to grab it with my free hand but it zooms over my head. It rings out as it bounces on the floor
“I can’t just bring you home with me. How would that look? I don’t need to give people any more reasons to keep an eye on me.”
“What do you mean?” Adam says, his expression suddenly curious.
I mentally curse myself. The last thing I want to tell Adam about is my recent fortune. Questions about the payout might lead to questions about what I was paid out for. And that will lead right to the machine I’m currently trying to smuggle in my pocket. “You would just stand out too much, a skyboy like you, slumming with us. How am I supposed to explain how we even met?” I say in an attempt to divert his attention back to the matter at hand.
“I think the truth makes for a pretty good story,” Adam says with a smirk.
“Ha. Right. Whilst scavenging in the middle of the night, I was chased by raiders over the quarantine line and had no choice but to touch contaminated material while I was trying to escape. Then I found a friendly telekinetic skyworld scientist in a magical underground forest. Yeah, I’m sure that’ll go over real well with the guardsmen.”
“I think, technically, I’m the one who found you.”
“Whatever. You probably have some kind of Tribunal-signed permission slip to be here, but if they find out that I’ve been in the ruins this long… It’ll be isolation, observation, and decontamination for me. Who knows when, or if, I’ll come back from that. I mean, I guess there is a chance I could be infected but… I don’t feel plague-ish. Do you?”
“Fit as a fiddle,” Adam says, patting himself down.
“But you see my point, right? It will be a lot less suspicious if I go back on my own.”
“I disagree.”
“Well, you’re fully entitled to. Regardless, I need to go.” I shift my weight as I move to leave, trying not to draw attention to the awkward way I’m still holding the backpack against my leg.
“What if I gave you something? In exchange for taking me back with you,” Adam says suddenly.
“Like what?” I say guardedly, already heading toward the door.
“I don’t know. A water filter, maybe.”
I turn back to face him. “You already gave me one of those, remember?”
He lifts one of his eyebrows. “I didn’t realize that was a gift.”
I feel heat in my cheeks. Of course he would want it back. And I’ve already taken something that isn’t mine. I squirm a little, unsure of how to respond, but the smirk on Adam’s face has already been replaced by a kind smile.
“Take it easy. You can keep that one too. I meant I could give you another one. It’s not just you, right? You take care of your younger brother. It’d be much easier if you each had your own filter. Or you could leave one at home—they attach to faucets too—and keep the other one portable.”
I purse my lips. He’s right, of course. It would make a world of difference for Mica and me. I can only imagine how much steel we’ll save if we can cross canteens off our purchase list. Still, I’m not sure I want to bring Adam to Sixteen. What kind of research would necessitate a visit there, when he didn’t even appear to know what or where it was until I told him?
“So what do you say?” Adam asks.
I feel the pressure building on me as he waits for my response. I go back and forth—yes or no, risk or reward—before I get an idea. The plan is already half-formed when I finally open my mouth.
“All right, fine,” I say. “You can come. We’ll figure out a story on the way. But I want the water filter first.”
Adam grins. “You got it.” He picks up a filter ring from the top of the table and tosses it at me. I reach out to grab it with my free hand but it zooms over my head. It rings out as it bounces on the floor
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