Joan Undone

Chapter 47

Addie insists that I join her at her apartment for lunch the next day, so that she can see with her own eyes that I'm alive. Mom and Dad come, too, and all three of them hover around me.

"I'll get you some face cream for your scar, darling," Mom finally says, her tone hesitant.

"I've got bigger worries," I snap, and then regret it when she starts wringing her hands.

"We don't know the right thing to say," Dad says.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm trying to pull myself back together."

"You do not have to attempt that task alone," Addie reminds me, and I bury my head in her soft shoulder.

"Thank God you weren't with the rest of Aft's mob yesterday," I say, my voice muffled.

My words are met with silence, and I look up to see my parents and Addie looking at each other.

"What is it?"

"We were there. Did you think we would not be a part of your battle?" Addie asks.

Gratitude fills me so fast that I gasp. "You all made it out alive. It's a miracle."

"It's no miracle," Addie says. "Your parents are Evolved, and when I was rendered unconscious from the gas released by the National Guard, they raced me to an Evolved hospital and demanded that they save me."

I stare at my parents, who shift under the weight of my astonishment.

"We took advantage of the chaos of the day," my dad says. "The hospital staff made an exception when your mom threatened them with punishment from the governor."

"Thank you for saving her," I say, the words feeling so small compared to how big my relief is. I could have lost Addie yesterday too.

"You don't thank someone for taking care of family," Mom says. "Addie is family."

"She has taken care of us when we were high on Amp and raised our daughter," Dad says. "It shouldn't have taken us so long to understand what you've always known. Addie is family."

~ ~ ~

By the end of the day, Strand releases a vid of the grand takedown of Crew's band of terrorists. I have to hand it to Blake, it's a work of art. He splices together footage of the raid of the Chrysalis and the battle on the lawn of the capitol. The heroes of the piece are Lexi and some Evolved leaders at Strand whom I've never seen before. Maybe they're hired actors.

Harriet and I make cameos, probably to account for the vids Lexi released when our partnership began. But the vid doesn't resemble reality. There are no shots of the carnage of the day. The only dead body is Crew's. In Blake's vid, Lexi herself ends his life.

She is weary but triumphant as she delivers the last lines of the vid. "When an animal is feral, you must put him down. But when he is obedient, you let him serve. Strand will always be here to ensure that Genetic Replicants do what they were created for, and any deviation from that path will not be tolerated."

Her threat is chilling and unmistakable. After Crew's terrorism in Seattle and the Throwback mobs he incited, more Evolved than ever will be in favor of punishing Throwbacks who are perceived as a threat. The challenge to create a better, more equal world has never seemed more daunting or remote than it does now.

At the Bunker, our team has shrunk to Harriet, Justus, Sun, Marie, Kat, and me. Professor Wilde sent word that Isaac disabled the bomb, but he doesn't want to risk contacting us now. He called an extended holiday for the students at Seattle Secondary, sending everyone home until order is restored in Seattle. Even Alison and Tupac decided they needed to escape the oppressive atmosphere of the Bunker for a while.