a problem,” Marco added.
“Okay,” I said.
“Number two,” said Lilly, “you’ve got gills because of this place .” She swept her hand to indicate the lake, the dome.
I wanted to stay quiet, to just be cool with everything, but questions popped out anyway. “What does that mean?”
“Like we even know,” muttered Aliah.
“We do know a little,” Lilly snapped. “There’s something about this place that’s caused this reaction in us. Caused us to change, but we don’t know what. And number three, you can’t tell any of them what’s happened to you.”
“Who, you mean, like, the adults?”
“Especially Paul,” said Marco.
As Marco was saying this, Evan got up and started bouncing. He flipped into the air and dove into the black with barely a splash.
“But he knows about my wounds,” I admitted.
“Yeah,” said Lilly, “he knew we had the wounds too, when they started a couple years ago. There were five of us who got them first. The other was Anna. Her gills set the fastest, and when she showed them to Paul and Dr. Maria, they started doing all these tests on her—”
“Tests that made her sick,” added Aliah, sounding bitter, “but the more sick she got, the more tests they wanted to do. They said it was to make her better, but she said it was like Paul was looking for something, trying to figure something out, but he wouldn’t tell her what. . . .”
“And then she was gone,” Lilly finished.
“What do you mean, gone?” I asked.
“Like one day she just didn’t come back to our cabin, and Paul told us that her condition had gotten worse and she’d been sent to the hospital over in the city for advanced care. And we haven’t seen her since.”
“Can’t you ask someone to find out?” I asked. “Like, your parents or something?”
“Ha, parents,” said Marco.
“What?” I asked.
Lilly’s face softened, like her eyes had increased a size. “None of us have parents. We’re all Cryos,” she said. “Aren’t you?”
“No,” I said. “I’m from Yellowstone Hub. I live with my dad.”
“He’s the first non-Cryo to have the symptoms,” Aliah said, looking seriously at the others.
“That we know of,” said Evan.
“Anyway,” said Lilly, “there’s nobody we can ask about Anna. I mean, we tried, but Eden runs Cryo House, just like they run camp. Just like they run the whole city.”
“Mama and Papa EdenCorp,” added Aliah.
“We’ve asked people about Anna: our house guardians, hospital directors. Nobody ever knows anything,” said Lilly. “Bastards,” she muttered to herself. “She was my best friend.”
I felt a little tremor of nerves inside me. “So, are you guys being tested, too?”
“Nah,” said Aliah. “We never told Paul anything, but as long as we stay like this, he seems to just leave us alone.”
“But he’s always got his eye on us,” said Lilly. “We think he knows.”
I thought about the surveillance insects, and the bats, and checked the sky above. “Probably,” I said.
“Which means he’ll have his eye on you, too,” said Aliah.
“Okay, but how did this even happen?” I asked.
The CITs glanced at one another.
“That,” said Lilly, “is the big question. But don’t worry, O. The point is: just stick with us, and we’ll keep your secret.”
What we were talking about was crazy and serious, but at the same time, I had just heard Lilly shorten my name. I tried to keep my expression calm, like the opposite of how that made me feel.
“Cool?” She looked at me expectantly.
I glanced around at the CITs and realized that maybe I had just been invited to join their club, their secret gill-breathing, raft-swimming society.
“Yeah,” I said, and I tried to return Lilly’s gaze like I had at the dock, saying that yes, I could do this. Only this time, I maybe believed that I could.
“Good.” She smiled.
“Can we stop with all the serious talk now, please?” said Marco. “Dawn is going to turn on
“Okay,” I said.
“Number two,” said Lilly, “you’ve got gills because of this place .” She swept her hand to indicate the lake, the dome.
I wanted to stay quiet, to just be cool with everything, but questions popped out anyway. “What does that mean?”
“Like we even know,” muttered Aliah.
“We do know a little,” Lilly snapped. “There’s something about this place that’s caused this reaction in us. Caused us to change, but we don’t know what. And number three, you can’t tell any of them what’s happened to you.”
“Who, you mean, like, the adults?”
“Especially Paul,” said Marco.
As Marco was saying this, Evan got up and started bouncing. He flipped into the air and dove into the black with barely a splash.
“But he knows about my wounds,” I admitted.
“Yeah,” said Lilly, “he knew we had the wounds too, when they started a couple years ago. There were five of us who got them first. The other was Anna. Her gills set the fastest, and when she showed them to Paul and Dr. Maria, they started doing all these tests on her—”
“Tests that made her sick,” added Aliah, sounding bitter, “but the more sick she got, the more tests they wanted to do. They said it was to make her better, but she said it was like Paul was looking for something, trying to figure something out, but he wouldn’t tell her what. . . .”
“And then she was gone,” Lilly finished.
“What do you mean, gone?” I asked.
“Like one day she just didn’t come back to our cabin, and Paul told us that her condition had gotten worse and she’d been sent to the hospital over in the city for advanced care. And we haven’t seen her since.”
“Can’t you ask someone to find out?” I asked. “Like, your parents or something?”
“Ha, parents,” said Marco.
“What?” I asked.
Lilly’s face softened, like her eyes had increased a size. “None of us have parents. We’re all Cryos,” she said. “Aren’t you?”
“No,” I said. “I’m from Yellowstone Hub. I live with my dad.”
“He’s the first non-Cryo to have the symptoms,” Aliah said, looking seriously at the others.
“That we know of,” said Evan.
“Anyway,” said Lilly, “there’s nobody we can ask about Anna. I mean, we tried, but Eden runs Cryo House, just like they run camp. Just like they run the whole city.”
“Mama and Papa EdenCorp,” added Aliah.
“We’ve asked people about Anna: our house guardians, hospital directors. Nobody ever knows anything,” said Lilly. “Bastards,” she muttered to herself. “She was my best friend.”
I felt a little tremor of nerves inside me. “So, are you guys being tested, too?”
“Nah,” said Aliah. “We never told Paul anything, but as long as we stay like this, he seems to just leave us alone.”
“But he’s always got his eye on us,” said Lilly. “We think he knows.”
I thought about the surveillance insects, and the bats, and checked the sky above. “Probably,” I said.
“Which means he’ll have his eye on you, too,” said Aliah.
“Okay, but how did this even happen?” I asked.
The CITs glanced at one another.
“That,” said Lilly, “is the big question. But don’t worry, O. The point is: just stick with us, and we’ll keep your secret.”
What we were talking about was crazy and serious, but at the same time, I had just heard Lilly shorten my name. I tried to keep my expression calm, like the opposite of how that made me feel.
“Cool?” She looked at me expectantly.
I glanced around at the CITs and realized that maybe I had just been invited to join their club, their secret gill-breathing, raft-swimming society.
“Yeah,” I said, and I tried to return Lilly’s gaze like I had at the dock, saying that yes, I could do this. Only this time, I maybe believed that I could.
“Good.” She smiled.
“Can we stop with all the serious talk now, please?” said Marco. “Dawn is going to turn on
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