In the After

into groups and had to solve a puzzle. My group was the fastest . . . .
    “Hannah, not now. I have to talk to Amy—” Rice clapped his hand on his mouth, alarmed.
    Baby took a step back, her eyes wide. She stared at Rice with an intensity I’d never seen before. Then she opened her mouth and sounded out the syllables.
    “Han-naaa.” Her voice was soft and hesitant. I couldn’t believe the sound came from her. That’s me , she signed slowly, Before .
    I leaped up and hugged her, the tears pouring down. Baby could talk. She had a name. I turned to Rice, who was watching us with a look of dread. “How did you know her name?” I demanded.
    Rice was breathing heavily. “I think maybe you should sit back down, Amy.”
    I went to the couch and pulled Baby onto my lap, unwilling to let her go.
    “I . . . I don’t know where to start. . . .” He took off his glasses and cleaned them on his lab coat before returning them to his face. “Baby—her name was Hannah then—was in foster care, just like I was. Hutsen-Prime chose us. Some of us, the older kids, they tested us and singled us out. We were given special treatment, an education beyond anything we could ever hope for. Some of the children . . . the little ones . . . they took care of them. They also used them for experimentation.”
    Baby was an experimental subject? Suddenly it was all clear and the truth hit me like a brick. “Is that why she has that mark on her neck?” I asked.
    “Yes. The research team your mother was working with was not only looking for a weapon; they were looking for an antidote. Something ally soldiers could take to keep them immune from the bacteria.”
    “What does that have to do with . . . ?” I sucked in a breath. “They were testing the bacteria on children ?”
    Rice sighed. “Children who had no family, who were lost in the system. Children who wouldn’t be missed if they had an adverse reaction. The mark is the injection site.”
    I hugged Baby close. I couldn’t bear to think of her as Hannah, as some test subject with no parents to protect her. “And you were a part of all that?”
    “To a small degree, yes. I was still only a child myself.” He looked at Baby. “They lost so many of their original research subjects. . . . When I saw Baby that day, when I saw the mark, I remembered her. She was always so playful, so friendly with the other children. She was one of my favorites. Amy, I knew her. I have been trying to protect her.”
    “Do you think she is immune?” I thought of the wound on her leg. Was it a Florae bite?
    “I . . . don’t know. I’ve been secretly testing her blood but I haven’t found anything that would help us.”
    “You’ve been testing her? Rice, if my mother found out . . .” If Dr. Reynolds found out .
    “I don’t know what they would do to her,” he admitted. “I’ve tried to keep her under the radar.”
    “You’ve been keeping her safe,” I said, seeing Rice with new eyes. “Please, you have to keep helping her. I might not always be around.” I started to tell him about Baby’s hearing.
    “I know.” He smiled. Baby told me , he signed. “I’ll protect her.”
    I was only allowed a moment of shock before the door opened loudly. I turned, expecting my mother had come to check on me, but instead I was greeted by Marcus and two members of the Elite Eight. I scrambled to my feet but immediately Marcus grabbed me and pulled me away from Baby.
    “Sorry, kid,” he said, “I have to follow orders.”
    “Rice!” I looked to him, pleading.
    “What is this about?” Rice asked, his voice surprisingly forceful. He moved closer to me and took my hand.
    “I don’t answer to you,” Marcus sneered.
    “Not yet, but you may one day,” Rice reminded him.
    Surprisingly that made Marcus pause. “Talk to Dr. Reynolds. He gave me strict orders.” Marcus dragged me toward the door.
    “Rice!” I screamed as my hand slipped out of his.
    Baby tried to follow but I signed, Stay with Rice. He will keep you safe . The last thing I saw was Rice’s horrified face as he clutched a crying Baby.
    In the hall, they shoved me into a large body bag, and Marcus hefted me to his shoulder, carrying me like I was a sack of laundry. I wanted to fight, to lash out, but I knew I couldn’t take on Marcus plus two of his muscle-bound cronies. I was shoved onto a hard surface and heard a motor start.
    After a short ride, they carried me somewhere inside a building—I