The Girl Who Dared to Stand (The Girl Who Dared #2)(9)

“Cali and I stocked this place a year ago—we have hydroponic pods, a water source, and several gallons of paint, ready to go.” I looked over to see him helping Maddox to stand.

Maddox had regained a significant amount of composure, but her eyes were bloodshot, her nose a raw, red color. “Tian and I can paint,” she said softly, earning an encouraging nod from Zoe. Tian uncurled her legs from where she was hugging them to her chest, and used a lash to lift herself to her feet.

“Should keep busy,” she mumbled, disconnecting the line and dropping heavily to the floor. She slipped a hand into Maddox’s and nodded, her gaze on the floor ahead of her. “It helps to keep busy.”

It occurred to me then that this wasn’t the first time Tian had lost someone; she’d watched her parents succumb to Whispers, a virulent bacterial infection that was extremely communicable, and colonized the brain, eating away at it until nothing remained. It had even affected her somewhat, but she had managed to survive.

And even now… Her eyes were still wet with tears, but they couldn’t hide the spark of determination behind them—which was more than I had hoped for. I was bolstered, seeing it. Knowing that she could still find reason, even hope, to keep pushing forward.

I had to do everything in my power to do the same.

“I’ll help,” Zoe said.

“After you and Eric get the rust hawks out of here,” I said, flashing her an apologetic look. “Be careful—their muscles tend to twitch even after death, and I don’t want anyone coming into contact with their venom.”

Even as I spoke, one of the rust hawks spasmed violently on the floor, the talons coming together with a sharp click, and Tian gave a startled shriek. Eric quickly crossed the room and planted another boot on it, stilling the frenetic motions.

“We got it,” he spat. “We’ll drag them back through the vents to the hatch and dump them into the river.”

“Make sure it’s clear before you drop them,” Grey said, and I looked over to where he was already prying open his second can of paint. “We’re more exposed here at the end of the greenery, without the mist from the hydro-turbines to obscure movement. Anyone on a catwalk nearby might miss one, or even two… but four rust hawks that are each the size of a toddler?”

Eric and Zoe both nodded, and I was grateful Grey was here. I wouldn’t have thought about that.

“You okay with that?” I asked, looking at Zoe, and she gave me a crooked smile.

“Says the girl who used to make me dissect her frogs in our biology class,” she said teasingly.

I smiled, and after a moment, pulled her into my arms, desperately needing a hug. She wrapped her arms around me, squeezing me tightly.

“It’s going to be okay,” she breathed, soft enough for my ears only, and I held her tighter.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I admitted. “And I feel like an awful friend for saying that.”

She tsked and pulled me tighter. “You’re not awful,” she said. “And I’m not sorry I’m here, although I am sorry for what it cost you. But we’ll worry about that later—you’re right to get us moving. Now… let me get moving.”

I chuckled and let go of her, albeit reluctantly. She gave me a genuine smile before walking over to Eric. Maddox and Tian had already moved, and were beginning to paint the walls.

Quess stepped up to me. “Should I help paint?” he asked, but I shook my head.

“Not yet. I need you and Grey. We need to map out the ventilation system, figure out what other rooms we can use. That is…” I glanced at Quess and Maddox, giving them a quizzical look. “Unless you guys already mapped it out?”

I was hedging my excuse on the hope that they hadn’t, and when both of them shook their heads, I permitted myself a small moment of relief. I had already been in the process of coming up with a back-up excuse, just in case, but was glad I didn’t have to push any further. The truth was, I wanted to get Quess’s opinion on Scipio to confirm that he was what he said: isolated from the Core. I wanted Grey’s opinion as well. But I didn’t want to alarm anyone else until I had to.

Grey had stood up while I was talking, and was watching me closely. “Shouldn’t we be worrying about getting this done first?”

I hesitated. He was right, of course, but… the Scipio secret was burning in the back of my mind. I believed him when he said he wasn’t a threat—but believing wasn’t the same as knowing, and I needed to make sure that we were safe from him. I had already been the cause of so much ill fortune. I couldn’t allow any potential threat—no matter how small—to jeopardize us.

“It’s important,” I said, trying to figure out how to proceed. “But there are other matters we should also discuss.”

“We?” Grey asked, his brows drawing together. “We don’t represent everyone here.”

I inhaled and exhaled. I saw his point, and could understand what he was getting at, but his need for equality was really getting in the way of things. “I know that. But I could use a sounding board for a few things.”

“Like?”

“Like…” I fumbled, looking for any plausible thing that wouldn’t lead to me blurting out as loudly as possible that there was a damned AI in a hidden office. “Our next move, for one thing.”