The Fox Inheritance (9 page)

"The fairest," she whispers, and then I hear her gentle breaths of sleep.

Chapter 21

"Where to, Escapees?"

"Food," Kara says. "We need real food."

I climb in beside Kara. "Morning, Dot." I reach into my pocket, checking again for the ID that was trolled during the night. Apparently the network of pickpockets in Boston is alive and well, targeting tourists with temporary IDs. I still don't know what this will cost us. All I know is that it will mean a
favor
. In my old neighborhood, that wasn't a good thing. "Were you okay out here by yourself all night?" I ask.

"No one bothers with Bots. I mostly had to worry about a few large rats and, of course, Remote Deactivation. I'm on the run now too." She winks at me like we're partners in an adventure. "But I'm still here this morning, so I guess the Retool that I got last night worked. So far. But if you see me go suddenly dead"--she makes a face like she has been hanged--"you'll know they found me."

"I'm glad you made it through the night okay, Dot. I hope--"

"Food," Kara interrupts. "We're starving."

"Right," I say. "And then we head to my house." Kara glances at me but says nothing. I know my house wasn't first on her list of places to visit, but as far as I can tell, my street would be the closest to where we are right now. She'll concede on this. Last night was a good night between us. It gave me hope that maybe she was right. We'll make a life together, somehow, someway, but right now we're going into the heart of Boston in the light of day, and I'm nervous enough to keep hope on hold. What will we see? Who will we see? Other than land pirates and the shadowy figures in the basement who mostly ignored us, we haven't seen anyone in this new world.

At the end of the alley, Dot turns and takes us down another narrow street. Tall, decaying buildings rise up on either side, and they all appear empty. Windows are boarded up or broken. As we get farther down the street, we see signs of people. Sidewalks are swept, windows have shades, an orange cat eats from a bowl set on a doorstep, and finally, there are a few people out in cars or walking. At the end of the street is a large cart filled with baked goods and baskets of fruit. Dot stops and whistles to the woman tending the cart. "Hey, Lucia! Got a couple of tourists here. Lost their money. Can you spare a muffin or two?"

"Ah, you and your tourists," the woman says, shaking her head. She grabs a bag and begins filling it with muffins, fruit, and boxes of juice. "Always with the tourists. You'd think you were the Statue of Liberty." She walks over with the filled bag and hands it to Dot through the window. "You need a new line, Miss Liberty." She leans down so she can get a better glimpse of us and then grunts at Dot. "Maybe these two really are tourists. They don't look like your usual free breakfasts."

"Nothing usual about them at all," Dot says. "They're--"

"Dot!" I lean forward. Dot may be enamored with our Escapee status, but I don't know how Lucia will feel about it or how loose her tongue might be. "We're from out of town," I say to Lucia. "Lost our money. How stupid is that? But we really appreciate your kindness."

She frowns and nods at me.

"What trouble have you gotten into now, Dot?" She waves her hand and walks away. "Don't tell me! I don't want to know!"

"You're a gem among gems, Lucia," Dot calls after her.

"I know, I know...."

Kara is already biting into a muffin.

"Did you see that?" I ask. "Just like the old neighborhood." Kara doesn't answer, but I'm feeling better already. "Now on to Francis Street."

"Francis Street?" Dot says. "Let me check." She pauses, her eyes becoming unfocused for a moment. "No, I was right. No Francis Street in Boston."

Chapter 22

I thought maybe the street had been renamed or that Dot was simply wrong. So I gave her directions and told her to look for certain landmarks, and now I stand where my whole neighborhood once stood. It is not just Francis Street that's gone, but the street over from it, and the next one, and the next.

All gone. Massive transgrid pilings drill into the earth where there used to be a house. My house. Or my neighbor's. It's hard to know exactly where I'm standing with everything gone. My only point of reference is the river across the way from it all, and even that has changed. High walls border it now. Dot told us that ocean levels have risen so much, most of Boston is below sea level now and has to be protected by a levee system.

"Come back in the car," Kara calls.
"Let's go!"

I remember my iScroll and as a last resort turn it on, hoping there's a search app I don't know about. Maybe there's some mistake. Maybe I'm just not remembering right. It's been so long.

"Jenkins. Francis Street."

There is no response. The only thing my iScroll is programmed for are the shallow games that Dr. Gatsbro used to keep a gullible boy distracted. I picture his bloody head on the floor of the study again and feel none of the remorse of yesterday.

I stare, unable to leave. I know looking at ramps and pilings won't make my old life appear or bring back my family, but I search for anything, maybe just something in the air that still holds traces of my life. I don't believe in ghosts, but I can almost hear my mom calling me in for dinner.
Locke! Dinnertime. Your turn to set the table
. I can almost laugh at how naive I was. Miesha's right, I am just a boy. I half believed that my distant nieces or nephews would be right here, strolling the same streets. That I'd spot one who looked just like my brother or sister. They would spot me. We would recognize something familiar in each other. I'd go home and have dinner with them. That--

That there would be
something
.

"Locke! We're going to leave without you if you don't get back in the car right now."

Kara's right. We need to go. We need to find something to help us survive, and there's nothing here.

The trip across town is fast. Dot is able to use the commercial lanes that dump us right into the heart of the old city. The immediate waterfront has been spared the ugly levee walls. Instead, they are situated farther out in the harbor. The streets are still packed with tourists, and the street names are still the same. This bodes well for Kara.

"Turn here," Kara says. She leans forward, stretching, taking in every detail, like she is searching for a niece or nephew too. Or maybe something else.

Dot stops the car.

"What are you doing?" Kara demands.

"The street is closed ahead. Pedestrian traffic only. Fewer flattened Eaters and Breathers that way. But I can--"

"What are you talking about?" But Kara doesn't wait for an answer. She is already throwing her door open.

"We'll be back," I tell Dot. I hurry after Kara and call over my shoulder to Dot, "Meet you back here, okay?" I don't wait to see if Dot nods. I am rushing to catch up with Kara. I fall into step beside her like I know where we're going. The clothing and hairstyles of those passing us have changed, but people still look like people, and the streets are still crowded. "I think we almost fit in."

Kara stares straight ahead, ignoring the people around us. "We
do
fit in. We have every right to be here. Just you wait." Her voice is distant, like she is talking to someone else. Like she is someone I don't even know. This is the Kara that frightens me.

I grab her hand. "Kara, your house was over that way--"

She stops and faces me, tilting her head to the side. "You think I don't know where I live, Locke? It's
morning
. My mom would be at work. The firm is over this--"

"Kara. Your mom--" But I can't finish. Her eyes are cutting through me.
Your mom won't be at work
. She knows that. She has to. I squeeze her hand and nod. "Sorry. You lead the way."

A half block away, the truth is revealed, so I don't have to say anything. There is no sign. No firm. No help. The historic building is still there, but Brown, Kirk, and Manning is gone. Kara inquires inside.

"Who?" the receptionist Bot asks. "Can you repeat that, please?"

Kara shakes her head and runs out without answering.

On the sidewalk her breaths come in gulps. "Stupid Bot! Everyone knew Brown, Kirk, and Manning. The freaking Queen of England knew who they were."

Watching her is worse than looking at the landscape of pilings where my house once stood. There is nothing I can do to change this for her. I didn't cry at my loss, but I want to cry for hers. The pain claws at my throat, but I swallow it away. "It's been a long time, Kara," I whisper.

"My house! My parents would never sell the house. It's been in the family forever." She is already walking down the street in another direction, and I follow. If I could think of anything to stop her, I would.

Her pace is brisk. She bumps shoulders with others on the sidewalk without apology. I hurry beside her to keep up, trying to dodge the shoulders, elbows, and feet that she ignores. Within minutes we are turning down the priciest streets in Boston. We arrive at her house on Beacon Hill--at least what's left of it. The front wall is rubble, and a rotten door frame stands at the top of the stairs like a ghostly portal. The houses on either side are in the same state of decay. They are all fenced off with a sign posted in front of each one. The sign in front of Kara's says

B
OSTON
R
ESTORATION
P
ROJECT
P
ENDING
F
UNDS

F
ORMER HOME OF

S
ENATOR
J
OHN
F
ARRELL
, 2091-2186

She stares at the rubble without speaking.

"Kara, we knew that things would--"

"I don't even know who Senator Farrell is. It was our house long before he--" She takes off, running down the street.

I chase after her. "Kara! Wait!" I know where she's going. There's only one place left to go. She zigzags down streets. Geraniums, cobblestones, and black shutters race past our vision. Heads turn, watching us. We can't afford to attract attention. I strain to overtake her, but it's like she's on fire. She makes the last turn, and the crowds thicken. We weave in and out, and I lose sight of her several times, but we arrive at our destination at the same time. We stand in front of a perfectly restored brownstone of massive proportions. Bright red geraniums overflow from every window box, and a sign overhead declares its present use:

C
LAYTON
B
ENDER
A
RT
G
ALLERY
& M
USEUM

In a street-level window is a small, dark green plaque with gold lettering.

H
ISTORIC HOME OF
J
ENNA
A
NGELINE
F
OX

FOR WHOM THE
J
ENNA
S
TANDARD IS NAMED

Kara runs up the wide stairway, throws open the door, and enters. "Where is she?"

The woman sitting behind a desk is startled, but she smiles. "Are you looking for a particular artist?"

"Jenna Fox! Where is she?"

"On the next floor there's a fabulous gallery dedicated to artifacts from her childhood and historic period. Would you like to--"

"No! I mean the person. The real Jenna Fox. Where is she?"

The woman laughs. "Oh,
her
. She hasn't lived here in centuries. She's given a free long-term lease on this mansion to the Boston Art Guild to promote local artists. She's a great patron of--"

"
Where is she now?
"

The woman's smile fades. Her brow wrinkles, and she pushes her chair back a few inches. "Why, everyone knows. She's lived in California for years. Oak Creek. A small town just north of San Diego. I don't think--"

The woman stops talking. I watch the fear spreading across her face as she looks at Kara.

"Thank you," I say. "We appreciate your help." I pull Kara out of the gallery before the woman calls for help or security or whatever frightened people do now.

I hurry Kara along by the elbow, and when I look back, I see the woman has come out to the steps of the gallery and is watching us. I turn down the first side street and then down a narrow alley.

Kara still hasn't said a word. Halfway down the alley, I stop and take her face in both of my hands. "Kara," I whisper. "Kara."

She looks at me, her eyes dead. "California."

I lower my mouth to hers, wanting to take the deadness away from her eyes, wanting to be more important than Jenna, wanting to change something when I've never been able to change anything. I know immediately I have made the wrong choice. Her lips are hard and unresponsive. I pull her close to me instead.

"It doesn't matter," I say. "We'll be okay. We have each other. Dot will help us. Kara, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Locke," she whispers into my ear. "Oh, no. No
. Locke.
" I think she is finally reaching out to me, and I feel a surge inside, but then she pushes me away. She shakes her head, her eyes focused somewhere behind me. An icy chill tingles across the back of my neck, and I slowly turn around.

Chapter 23

"Hello, Locke. And my lovely Kara."