Botanicaust

worst of your son ’ s symptoms. But the doctors need genetic samples and access to his stem cells. ”
    The pit of his stomach tightened into a hard ball of hope and despair. “ You ’ re saying you can make him better? ”
    “ There are over a thousand markers for cystic fibrosis. I can ’ t make any promises until we see him. ”
    “ He ’ s far too sick to travel. ”
    “ Dr. Kaneka suggested you show us on a map where your people live, and perhaps we can arrange transportation. ” She tapped the surface of the coffee table and a screen lit up the center. Scrolling through several images, she halted on a series of haphazard lines and colors. “ We are here. ” She pointed to a dark brown splotch next to a word he didn ’ t recognize.
    Kaneka leaned in, and a tremor zigzagged up Levi ’ s spine. Like someone was stepping on his grave, his father used to say. Rolling one shoulder and stepping away from the doctor, Levi blinked at the map.
    The drawing looked nothing like the series of landmarks the trader had sketched. “ I don ’ t know what any of this means. I came from the east. ”
    “ The blue lines are major rivers. The red lines are old roadways. This way is north. ” She spun the chart so north was up.
    He frowned down at the diagram, trying to make sense. “ After we escaped, I just knew to head north and west toward the mountains. When we reached the reservoir, I hoped it was the landmark the salt trader talked about. Oh! ” He pointed to a spot where the blue line thickened. “ This could be the reservoir. ”
    “ Escaped … what do you mean? ” Rosalee looked up at him with drawn brows.
    “ The Blattvolk. They ’ d captured me and intended … well God knows what, but Tula pulled me from my cell and we ran. ”
    “ Wait, Tula — your companion — is Haldanian? ” Rosalee rose from her chair, her voice brittle.
    Dr. Kaneka scurried toward the door.
    “ You met her yesterday. You … attacked her. ” Levi put his hands up, palm out toward Rosalee, remembering Tula ’ s warning too late. This woman hated Haldanians. “ She ’ s not like other Blattvolk. She ’ s good. She almost died to save me. ”
    Rosalee put both hands over her mouth. Her eyes narrowed and she focused on Dr. Kaneka. The doctor said three or four words into the grate next to the door.
    She shouted something, and Levi rose as the sound of feet came pounding down the hall. With both hands she gripped Levi ’ s bicep, fingernails biting into his skin as a pair of men in red tunics appeared. Looking directly into his eyes, she said, “ Don ’ t believe a word they say. ”
    One of the men darted in and pressed a silver gun to Rosalee ’ s neck. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she slumped into the other man ’ s arms.
    “ What is going on? ” Levi asked as the only one in the compound who could understand him wa s dragged, limp, from the room.

T ula sat on the bed and flipped through the entertainment programs on the gamma pad. Nothing looked good, so she opened a game of chess. The hum of the mountain had become background noise, like an ever-present threat of a headache. The air, although not exactly stuffy, wasn ’ t truly fresh. Dr. Kaneka said they derived all their power from geothermal sources, which powered halogen lights to grow hydroponic foods. Recirculators scrubbed the air and underground springs provided all the water they would ever need. The only time a Fosselite ever went outside was for the yearly maintenance on the hidden cameras around the fortress.
    How could they stand it? Dr. Kaneka and the others had been holed up inside here over four hundred years. Centuries without seeing the sun or feeling the wind on their skin. Tula ’ s eyes ached from straining in the low light, and her lungs felt clogged in the heat and humidity of the cavern. She didn ’ t want to live forever if it meant never seeing the outside again. You ’ re assuming they ’ ll offer you asylum.
    Her heart turned over at the thought. Dr. Kaneka told her the committee was working on her request. She didn ’ t know how to admit she didn ’ t intend to stay – not without sounding like the reversion he accused her of being. She hoped they would support her mission to bring conversion to Levi ’ s people.
    She moved a knight on the virtual chessboard and watched the interactive program take her rook. She couldn ’ t focus. The gamma pad offered a lot of books, games, and some very old movies. But