And so, my new life as one of only five children living within Central Control began. I don't understand why I am not allowed to go home- aside from the fact that it takes over a year for me to recover well enough to function properly again- but eventually, Grandfather explains it to me. Central Control has been a tightly-kept secret for years. Centuries, even. Ever since the very founding of our colony world.Now that I know about it, I can't be allowed to talk to anyone else about it. They wanted to use their mind machine to wipe my memory, but after one of the scientists made the mistake that resulted in a drug interaction- that nearly killed both of us- it's no longer safe to even try it. As far as my family knows, I just vanished. Grandfather too... he can't go home, either. He will stay with me at the mountain, stay with the Ten... he will be one of the world's heroes that tries to keep

After two days of resting- and eating absolutely everything in sight- I was back on my feet and ready to go. I had a closer fix on where the tracker on Janice's key was signaling from. It would still be something of a hike, and I'd have to find a safe place to hide for a night or two, but it was better than where I was before Captain Case and her people showed up.I took a little time to call my grandfather. He chewed me out, but not very much. He was just grateful to see me alive. After verifying that my table scanner was still working properly, he gave me a few tips on how to deal with Janice if she got obstinate.I figured that if she'd been taken prisoner as I had been, she wouldn't have a whole lot of choice but to cooperate with me, no matter what I asked.Captain Case and her crew took me all the way to the d

The moment it seemed safe enough to move out in the morning, I headed out to the transport depot in the ration center. I needed to catch a ride to the far north. It wouldn't be easy, but I still had a few bags of sparkly things that could practically guarantee cooperation. The little things I'd swiped from Vanessa's house. Thinking about her gave me a pang... as much as I wanted to be free of her, I hated to see her suffer such a horrible death. I'd had enough with suffering in general.I checked, and as I'd been told, there was only one truck going that way. It wouldn't go all the way. I'd have to hope I could find a transfer, but it was a start, at least.The driver was easily bribed by the shiny diamonds and told me to hop in the back. He didn't mind doing a favor for the captain, but the officials at his destination would be far less forgiving, so he'd have

We took the kids into a room that resembled a dormitory. Everything was broken down, the beds were cobbled-together scrap, and the blankets were threadbare, but it was better than nothing. At her request, I told the kids a story while she supervised teeth brushing. Once they were all tucked in and had gone to sleep, she led me down another hallway to a smaller room.It had once been some kind of office. She had converted the desks into a bed. It was the first time I'd seen an effort- outside of the Dame's place- to create something comfortable and inviting. There were even bedcurtains to block out the chill breeze from the broken, boarded-over windows.Just as I thought it was odd to have something so relatively luxurious for a guest room, the door slammed behind me. I froze, a trickle of fear tingling on my neck. Had this been a trap?

A few hours later, Candy surprised me with a warm shower. The only intact facility like that in the whole town, from what she said."There's a hidden tank on the roof that I painted black to absorb sunlight," she explained. "There's not a lot of water, but at least it's warm. To conserve, we should share the facilities.She was determined not to let me go any sooner than necessary, but she had a good point.After the heat chased away the shivers from the broken windows, I quickly dressed, mentally reviewing my plan. I was about to leave the bathroom when I noticed something out of place. A bottle on the counter... nearly full of pills. I picked it up and looked at it, feeling a hint of dread. "Candy? What's this?"She raised her eyebrows, shooting me a look of exasperati