Time passed and I wasn’t any closer to a solution. I marked the hours by the arrival of food and water. The meals were delivered on trays slid through the panel into my cell. If Hank would believe me, I’d tell him he was going to be exiled with the rest of us. But Hank never came to my cell without Ponife.
The metallic scrape of my panel opening woke me from a light doze. A hand held the end of the tray. I recognized the thick callused fingers and an idea popped into my head. I removed the meal and seized his wrist, yanking his arm inside my cell.
The element of surprise would only net me a few seconds. “Listen, please,” I said before Bubba Boom could break free. “One minute.”
He stopped. “Thirty seconds,” Bubba Boom said.
“You once told me the Controllers wouldn’t torture or trick people. But I’ve been tortured and tricked.”
“You lied and were spying for Jacy,” he said.
“So? When the Committee was in charge, we didn’t torture or trick the Travas. We treated them well. Anne-Jade wouldn’t even resort to strong-arm methods to get them to help us repair the Transmission. And we had no plans to recycle the Travas either.”
“The Controllers won’t kill anyone. You’re trying to confuse me.”
“No, I’m not. Think about it, Bubba Boom. I’m at Ponife’s mercy. He’s forcing my cooperation. Just like the Pop Cops did to you long ago.”
Silence. I pressed my advantage. “You also told me we’re their children who have run away. Do you even know why we ran?” I released his arm.
Bubba Boom drew it back and closed the panel. I hoped he would think about what I had said, but I had no idea if I had reached him or not.
A few meals later, my panel slid open. No tray came through, but Bubba Boom peered at me from the other side.
“The Transmission is repaired,” he said.
No time left. No idea how to stop the Outsiders. No hope of rescue. Anyone who had the resources or determination had been captured.
“Did they tell you what’s next?” I asked.
“Yes.” He waited.
“Are they still planning to send everyone out into Outer Space?” I asked.
“How do you know?”
“Ponife told me.”
“Did he tell you that those who aided the Controllers will be allowed to stay?”
“No. Fosord said everyone.”
“You’re lying.”
“I wish I were.”
Bubba Boom shut the panel.
The next time my door opened, Ponife rushed in. His agitation was clear. I braced for pain, but he yanked me to my feet and dragged me from the cell. It was the first time he had touched me. He was surprisingly strong. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the X in his hand.
He hurried me to a room in Sector E5. Five Outsiders lay on a row of beds. Blood drooled from their mouths and they were all curled on their sides as if in agony. Bubba Boom, Hank and a few others hovered nearby, but they looked panicked.
I didn’t wait for orders. Running to the closest Outsider, I felt her pulse. It raced and her skin felt clammy. She shook as a spasm seized her muscles. I opened her eyes. The whites were stained red.
“They had acclimated and were doing fine,” Ponife said.
“We need to get them to Doctor Lamont, now.” I shouted to Hank and Bubba Boom to help me carry them. The beds didn’t have wheels.
They jerked, but remained frozen in place.
“Hurry! They’re dying,” I said.
Ponife said, “We will bring the doctor—”
“No. She’ll need access to her medicines and equipment.” I pulled the slight female Outsider upright and managed to get her weight over my shoulders.
Bubba Boom followed my example and swept one of the Outsiders up in his arms. Without waiting to see if the others followed, I bolted for the lift between Quad A5 and Sector B5.
We carried them down to the infirmary.
Lamont pushed a gurney over to me. “What’s wrong?”
I rattled off what I had learned as I laid the Outsider on it. Without hesitation, Lamont took control, shouting orders and checking vitals. I filled syringes and fetched instruments.
Bubba Boom and Hank helped as well. Ponife and the two others who had carried the Outsiders stood to the side, keeping out of the way until Lamont ordered them to bring canisters of the Outsider’s air mixture down from level five.
We worked for hours and saved three of them. The other two never recovered. I closed their eyes, arranged their arms and covered them with a sheet. When I looked up I met Bubba Boom’s gaze. He had been watching me.
“I’m sorry,” Lamont said to Ponife. “We did everything we could. They were just too far gone. Do you need me to prep them to be recycled?”
“No. We send our dead out into Outer Space.” Ponife didn’t act too upset. “Come, Trella, we must return.”
“No.” Lamont stepped in his way. “I need her help.”
“I will send you plenty of helpers.”
“She knows what to do. You saw for yourself. I don’t have the time to train another.”
He hesitated.
“Where do you think she’ll go that you can’t find her?” Lamont asked.
“Do not leave the infirmary,” Ponife said to me.
Hank, Bubba Boom and the other maintenance men followed Ponife. Before he left, Bubba Boom once again met my gaze. He gave me a slight nod. Hope touched my heart for the first time in weeks.