"How was training today?" Mom asks, sitting down with a tray full of food.

"It was amazing," I say mid-chew, my mouth full of asparagus. It's seasoned with garlic and tangy lemon juice, and the combination sends a thousand savory particles dancing over my taste buds.

"Weren't you just reading?" she asks. "That's all I did in the morning. Then I saw Dr. Patel."

"What did he say?" I ask, setting my fork down.

She takes a bite of food. "I'm fine. I just need some minor procedures."

Declan sits down with his dinner, and takes a sip of his coffee, even though it's evening. "Alright, Declan," Mom says, more brightly now. She's trying to change the subject. "We've both been reading all day, so now we get a break. Story time."

He smiles. "You're determined."

"Take a few more sips of coffee," she says, "and then I want to know how you survived without a scratch or even a year's wrinkle." His smile slips and he looks away in shame. Mom does the same. "Sorry, did I say something wrong? I didn't mean to be offensive."

"No, you didn't," he says, taking another sip of coffee. Black, strong. It carries on his breath as he exhales. He looks up at me over the frames of his glasses, and the corner of his mouth lifts. "Stories are important. Friends share stories."

I smile.

"So thirty some years ago, Winston, Alexander, Phoebe, and Gunther Quail were all close friends and colleagues at Harvard University."

"Gunther Quail?" I ask. "I know that name. How do I— He's the one the soldiers said wanted to find me."

"That makes sense. He is the head scientist at the bunker. I was a student at Harvard and actually roomed with Gunther's younger brother, Hugh. That's how I met them, and then I TA'd with Gunther when I was getting my Doctorate in Botany."

"If Daniel is with him, could he be a scientist?" I ask. "Do you think he would keep our family alive?"

"If Daniel is anything like you," Declan chuckles, "then yeah, he could very well be a scientist. The others too. Gunther loves collaborations. That is, until he has to accept partial credit. While the leaders and Gunther worked there, they collaborated on a project, which would allow them to cryogenically freeze living things indefinitely without any cellular damage. Gunther extracted a compound from the kidneys of the Western painted turtle which allows the animal to freeze through hibernation without any cellular damage and reanimate come spring. He and Alexander worked closely together to create a synthetic replica of the compound that would be strong enough and effective enough to work on mammalian species, even humans. While they worked on the compound, Phoebe and Winston created a chamber to keep the organisms frozen indefinitely. They claimed they weren't having an affair, but watch them, tell me what you think. It was quite the topic of conversation among us. Hugh said he saw them once, but I don't know."

"Anyway," Mom says, shifting in her seat.

"Right, so, they wanted to create something that could outlive us all, should anything happen to our species. After some tests, they were able to successfully freeze and reanimate our test subject rats. They published the results in a scientific journal, and not even a day after publication, the Department of Defense called them and basically told them they would provide all of us with the money and space we needed to complete the research if the whole team came down to DC.

"Before we knew it, we were basically handed a blank check, and given a lab in a top secret underground bunker just outside of the capitol. The D.O.D. had other scientists and professionals on contract, because by the time we arrived in Washington, the connections between the instruments and the geothermal energy sources were already hooked up. The scientist who did that, Dr. O'Neill, is still with the government, too.

"Anyway, we were able to reconstruct our experiment there and create chambers large enough to house nearly all endangered species. Some were large, freestanding cubes, while others were more like drawers in a shelving system. By the end of that year, we created a frozen ark. The government asked all of us to stay in DC and work for them full time. That's when they gave us our next assignment: To prepare enough chambers and vials of the synthetic compound for all of the major government officials and private contractors. They told us that it was their backup plan in case anything was ever to happen. We didn't think much of it, so we created an entire room within the bunker just for the individual human chambers.

"When we finished the project, Winston, Phoebe, Alexander, Gunther, Hugh, and I stayed in DC. We worked for the government as consultants for various projects, not thinking much more about our own. We bought homes, started families, and settled into normalcy. When the first bomb went off in New York, we were all dragged into the bunker for protection. It was us, other contracted scientists, and top officials, including the President. Once we were inside, the military officers held us at gunpoint and walked us into the room we had created for our project. All of us were injected with the compound and forced into chambers. That's the last thing I remember. Then, once I defrosted, I worked as Dr. Quail's assistant on his biology projects again."

"What about your families?" Mom asks.

"Well, I didn't really have one. I only had Hugh. I mean, I had my parents back in Connecticut, but they never even visited, so... yeah. Still, only authorized personnel were permitted inside the bunker. A lot of people's families didn't make it. We checked once we were defrosted a couple of years ago. Phoebe couldn't find her husband or daughter, and Gunther and I couldn't find Hugh."

"Why a couple of years ago?" Mom asks. "What changed?"

"We were told that radiation levels were finally safe and that it was time to begin rebuilding our country, but earlier this year, everything changed. They suddenly wanted us to speed up everything, they started sending out the collector droids, people started changing and acting weird, and then President McCleary started moving people to the estate of George Cooper. As in Roberts and Cooper."

"Where's that?" I ask.

He shrugs. "They never told us. They refused to tell us a lot of things, so we found out most of their secrets on our own. Take for instance, the secret that the mission from Janus was coming home early. So we left before they came back, and we would have to deal with Cooper and Roberts; but Gunther stayed. It must have been hard for Alexander, they were like family, but honestly, I'm glad he's not with us anymore." He takes one final swig of coffee, and his eyes widen. "Nathan is coming over here."

"Dr. Patel told me about him. Which one is Nathan?" Mom asks, turning around to face the rest of the cafeteria. "That blonde boy?"

"Oh my God, Mom, turn around," I say, hiding my face, but it's too late. A tray full of chicken and asparagus is set down beside me.

My eyes roll up to Nathan's face as he asks, "I'm not interrupting anything am I?" His lips turn up in a crooked grin.

"Just a nice dinner," I say into my food.

"Great, so then I'll just take a seat," he says, and does exactly that. He moves around the table and sits in the empty space beside Declan. "Figured I should get to know you a little better since you're my competition in the bio department," he says, ignoring his food, and resting his elbows on the table. "So, Isla, tell me about yourself: Why did the leaders pass you through to scientific training?"

"I fought off the collector droids. And you?"

"I stitched myself back together," he boasts.

I scoff. "What does that even mean?"

He smiles and turns to Declan. "You want to explain it to her, Kunkle?"

Declan groans. "We found him with a gash across his abdomen, but it was sewn together with thread and a rosebush thorn. He was alone, without a group or anyone when we found him, so he had to have done it himself."

"And?" Nathan asks, finally taking a chomp of his chicken.

Declan sighs. "And the stitches were perfect. Dr. Patel only changed them to avoid infection."

"And I was pushed through to advanced medical training. So you fought off the droids, huh? How does that qualify you for scientific training?"

"Wow, you aren't much for small talk, are you?" Mom asks, interrupting his interrogation.

"Small talk is for small people," Nathan says. "And you are?"

She forces a smile. "A small person, I suppose. Beatrice Blume," she says, extending her hand, and he shakes it quickly. "I'm Isla's mom. I'm training in mechanics with Dr. Clark."

"You were passed through too? What did you do?" He peeks at the top of her wound. "Anything to do with that scar on your chest?" Nathan asks flippantly.

"A collector droid got me, and no, that has nothing to do with my intelligence or my talent with mechanics," Mom says, pulling the top of her white suit closed.

I hate that he spoke like that to her and that she covered her scar because of him. She should wear her scar proudly, not be ashamed. It shows she sacrificed everything for her daughter. What is nobler than that?

Just thinking about how Nathan just treated her ignites the muscles beneath my skin, and all I can do is tighten them to keep them from exploding.

"Any more questions?" Mom asks.

"Nah, I'm good with you," Nathan says. "Now back to you, Isla. How'd you stop the droids?"

I tighten my fingers into a fist beneath the table and take a deep breath before answering, "Magnets."

"Why would that work?"

Declan chuckles to himself, but when he realizes that Nathan is serious, he explains. "Because of the electromagnetic current that powers them. Jeez, even I know that."

Nathan stares him down, too long for comfort, then shifts his focus slowly back to me. "Isla, if you want to be the next Declan Kunkle, be my guest; but I don't see why they wouldn't just put you into mechanics with this scarred one here if that's why they pushed you through to scientific training in the first place."

I feel like my muscles might burst from my skin, and I can't hold back my fury anymore. I'm stiff with anger, and all I want to do is slap him in his stupid pancake face. But I take a breath and ask as calmly as I can, "You know what?"

He takes a sip of water. "What's up, Red?"

This time deep breaths can't stop the boiling in my chest. "You're lucky you knew how to put a thread through your skin," I tell him. "But honestly, that doesn't take much skill. It only proves that you can problem solve. Good job, now you're as evolved as an ape. But I know about things that matter, like electromagnetic currents, which power basic machines, and how to treat people so they don't want to kill you," I say, spitting the words at him. "Dr. Kunkle knows about these things too, and so does my mom, who has a name by the way—it's Beatrice—and you will use her name when referring to her in the future. Because if I ever hear you refer to her by her scar again...." I have to stop before I say something I will regret. "You may think I'm weak, but I'm strong. And I'll show you. Are we clear?"

He's about to answer, and I can tell by the way he lifts his brows that it's going to be snarky, so I keep talking.

"You train in medicine, so you know that most of the medicines you use come from plants, right? Or are you one of those scientists who only understands their narrow specialty? Because, you see, I've actually been studying plant-based remedies and medicines all my life, and I controlled our garden and, by extension, the health of my family."

I don't know why it took so long, but saying it out loud, I hear how important my job was, whether or not anyone recognized it.

"So, you're not as smart as you think you are. I could definitely teach you a thing or two about botany or biochemistry or even pharmacology if you know what those things are."

Some Deathless from the tables around us are listening now, and they laugh at my dig. Nate shifts uncomfortably in his seat.

"Nate, you can joke around with me all you want, but the second you start insulting my people, you need to be ready to face me," I say, raising my voice and standing up from my seat.

Nathan's mouth hangs open. I'm just as surprised with myself as Nathan appears to be, and from what I can tell, so is the rest of the cafeteria now.

"And you're not better than me!" I'm yelling now, but I'm not done yet. "So the next time you want to come over here, you better leave your arrogance in the lab, because that's all you have!"

Some of the Deathless ooh and aah, some laugh, and some clap. Nate's cheeks redden with embarrassment, but he looks furious.

The loudspeaker buzzes awake. "Isla Blume, please report to the Captain's dining room. Isla Blume." My name echoes against our still bodies.

I slam my tray against the table before picking it up again, I'm not sure why. To get out my anger, maybe. Or maybe to show Nathan how forcefully I can hit something. Either way he jumps in his seat.

"Oh, and Nathan," I say, "you may only ever call me Isla, and him Dr. Kunkle. Got it?" He closes his mouth and stares at me, but I don't back down. I lean over the table, holding his gaze, and whisper, "I'm not weak, Nathan. Don't mess with me."

I turn away and feel his eyes pressing into my back as if his gaze could pierce me, but I continue toward the trashcans and the exit. The cafeteria is alive with gossip about what just happened, but I try to focus on the sound of my steps against the white floor and of my tray slamming into one of the dish containers over the trashcans. I stomp up the stairs and slam the door shut behind me.

As I march down the hallway toward the Captain's dining room, I allow my anger to die. Tears begin to cloud my eyes, but I can't cry now. I need to regain control before reaching the room where I imagine the leaders must be preparing to scold me for how I behaved just now. Why else would they call me in at the exact moment I was screaming at Nate? I don't want to let any of the tears to fall from me, but they do, and all I can do is push them away before I see the leaders.

Time to take it, I think when I reach the wooden door. The cast iron eagle judges me as I turn the knob. 

Part two of Chapter 10 continues in the next section, but let me know what you think of Chapter 10 so far in the comments! :-)