In the After

day Hutsen-Prime offered to fund my studies, to put me on a fast-track course. I finished high school when I was twelve and my undergraduate studies in a year and a half. That’s why I was here,” he explained. “I was in my second year of grad school when the Floraes arrived. In the few days it took them to reach this far into the country, a student working on a sonar project for the Navy discovered the creatures couldn’t stand the noise.”
    “And that student was you?” I asked, enthralled. Rice really was a genius.
    “No.” His voice was heavy. “I knew her, though. She gave her life to save the campus. . . .” He trailed off.
    “What happened?”
    “We were setting up the emitters,” Rice explained, his face pained. “We knew we had to expand in a circle, keep the Floraes on the run, away from the compound. We thought they were still far away, but suddenly one was right in front of us, at the center of the sonar radius. It didn’t know where to run, but as soon as it spotted us, it . . . rushed us.”
    His eyes lost focus and I could tell he was back there, in that awful place nearly three years ago.
    “It reached her first. And I ran. I thought I was dead for sure, the Floraes are so fast, but it stayed with her. I was lucky .” He sat up as he spit out the word bitterly, as if he were anything but.
    “A lot of people here don’t understand. I mean, they know the Floraes are real, that they’ve killed nearly everyone on the planet, but they’ve never seen one up close. They were here when it happened. They can’t understand what it’s like.”
    I sat up next to him. “I survived outside of New Hope with the Floraes. You couldn’t have saved her. You did the right thing by running away.” I placed my hand on his arm, my touch bringing him back from his memories.
    “Yeah. Well. That was a long time ago.” He shrugged. I gave his arm a squeeze before letting go. “We’ve positioned the emitters to optimize sonic output and we expand the area of New Hope a little each year. We’re even working on something for the Floraes. . . . You know, your mother would probably be the one to talk to about all this. I’m not sure what she wants you to know.”
    “Did my mother tell you I snuck into the lab?” I asked.
    Rice sighed. “Yes, she told me. I don’t know why you did that. You could have been sent to the Ward or expelled.”
    “I don’t know why I did it either. I saw the black door open and slipped through without even thinking.” I paused and looked around to make sure no one was in earshot. I lowered my voice. “I saw all the experiments you’re doing. You must have discovered something about the Floraes by now. Where they come from, why they’re here.”
    Rice fidgeted, adjusting his glasses. “Amy, I can’t talk about this. I can’t share our research with you. Even though you’re the director’s daughter, you’re still just a citizen. You haven’t even classed out yet.”
    “I don’t understand why this is all so secretive.”
    “It’s not, just . . . I mean, every citizen of New Hope doesn’t need to know every single thing that is going on. It would be too much for some people to handle.”
    I sighed and rubbed my face.
    “How is Baby?” Rice asked, changing the subject. “The director said you two were resting this past week. She’s not sick is she?”
    “No. She’s fine,” I assured him. “We’re just getting used to sleeping at night instead of during the day.”
    “I was worried about you two, hiding in your apartment all week.”
    “We weren’t hiding,” I told him, though that’s exactly what we were doing. I lay back in the grass and let the sunshine pour over me. After a few minutes of peace I sat up and gave Rice a weak smile.
    “Feel better?” he asked.
    “Yes, thanks. This was . . . necessary.”
    He stood, wiping the grass from his jeans, then held out a hand and helped me up. He looked down at me, his eyes shining intensely. “I have to get back to work, but I’ll see you after class. Okay?”
    I smiled and nodded. I walked back to my classroom with a strange mix of emotions. I liked Rice, trusted him. But when I slipped into my desk, I wondered about our conversation. Floraes outpopulated us thousands to one. We had to stop them. Someone in New Hope had to find the answer. I looked around the classroom, at the gifted and talented kids back from lunch, all working quietly on their proposals.
    I made my way over to