Botanicaust

tubes.
    She spotted the man bent over a console at the far side of the structure. “ Excuse me! Koil? Some youngsters left the Garden. Have you seen any signs of them? ”
    He looked up and scratched his shock of black hair. “ Not that I ’ ve noticed. You ’ re welcome to look around. ”
    Stumbling, she scoured the yard for any clues. She looked underneath each vehicle in the rows. Jo Boy would have led the girls here, she was sure. He ’ d been infatuated with the moving cars. Maybe they were inside one of the skimmers, protected from the onslaught of UV, smart enough to wait for nightfall to journey wherever they thought they were going. God, she hoped!
    No sign of the children. Her heart fell and her head spun. She couldn ’ t think straight with all this UV. What else might they look for?
    Food .
    Of course, food. Through the walls of the electronics store next door to the skimmer lot, she sighted a picture of the distinctive striped ribbon of candy she gave her patients. The Candy Maker ’ s shop.
    Head spinning, she forced herself to continue her search. Koil was looking mighty adorable with his mussed hair and smooth buttocks as he leaned inside a skimmer. Blinking hard and reminding herself it was just the sunlight, she flicked him a flirty little wave and purposefully strode toward the candy shop.
    The walls of the shop were privacy screened, and the only advertisement of wares was the picture on the sign above the door. The pungent, green scent of boiling syrup wafted from the open door.
    Mr. Schumaker wasn ’ t at the counter when Tula entered, so she took the liberty of looking around. They weren ’ t up front. Another set of privacy screens hid the rear portion of the store. “ Mr. Schumaker? ” she called.
    The plump and glistening candy maker appeared from the curtain covering the door to the back room. Through his chloroplasts, his face was flushed from working over the hot syrup. “ Tula! How are you? Out of candy so soon? ”
    “ Three children ran away from the Garden this morning. Have you seen anything unusual around your store? ”
    He mopped his forehead with a cloth behind the counter. “ Now that you mention it, one of the crates I keep spent pines in was open this afternoon. I sealed it back up, of course. ”
    Tula grasped his arm. “ Take me there. Now. ”
    He led her through the curtain, past a huge stove with three boiling kettles, and out the back door to a dusty yard. Several nuvoplast boxes as tall as her chest rested in one corner. “ It was this one. ” He pried the lid off and the scent of rotting agave struck her nostrils.
    She leaned over and peered into the crate, her eyes watering. Underneath a layer of fibrous waste, she saw the smooth line of a child ’ s thigh. “ Rhomy? ” She pulled aside the contents of the box to find Rhomy and Nika curled together beneath the vegetation. Mr. Shumaker gasped. Tula didn ’ t look at him as she ordered, “ Call Medical. Now. ”

    Levi ’ s heart lurched at the sound of footsteps on the stairs. He remained on the cot, body tensed. In his mind, he ’ d run through possible scenarios a dozen times. They all felt horrible.
    He had to do this.
    But it wasn ’ t Tula. The sickly-green man Tula argued with sauntered straight to Levi ’ s cage. Levi ’ s heart picked up double time. Did they somehow discern his plans? The muscle in his jaw twitched as the man paced a full circle around the enclosure in silence. The man scowled and gloated at the same time, and a kernel of worry for Tula took root in Levi ’ s heart.
    “ Tula? ” His voice scratched from his throat.
    A malicious smile crept over the green face. The man smoothed the beads hanging from his neck and stepped closer. He said something Levi couldn ’ t understand.
    Levi grew truly concerned. All the Haldanian words he ’ d learned fled his mind. He rose, edging toward the bars. “ Where is Tula? ”
    Again the man spoke, his nostrils flaring. Then he laughed and pointed at the gamma pad on the floor of the cell.
    Levi picked up the pad. He offered it to the man.
    Again the man laughed. Taking the pad between thumb and forefinger, he disappeared up the stairs without another word.

    Minutes after Tula found the girls, Burn Operatives had located Jo Boy stumbling drunkenly across the Burn. He had refused to come peaceably. The Ops had followed procedure and taken him down.
    Sitting numbly by the hospital beds where Rhomy and Nika lay unconscious, Tula