In his quiet voice, she detected respect and affection.
“Who’s there?” The old man’s head came up and turned very slightly. His voice was strong, if a little breathy. “Is that you, Alex? Come around where I can see you.”
He moved around the wheelchair to squat in front of it and smile up. “Hi, Sam.”
“Hello, Alex. It’s been awhile. I’ve missed you. Missed our talks.”
Lena stepped forward and came around the wheelchair. She met his eyes, shiny and keen like a bird’s. His body might be failing, but his mind remained bright and sharp. She sensed intelligence there, and humor, and a wonderful, comforting sense of humanity.
“Alex. You brought me a guest?”
He nodded. “This is Lena. Lena, this is Sam.”
She leaned forward to touch the back of Sam’s left hand where it tapped upon and retreated from the wheelchair arm closest to her. She held it for a moment. “Hello, Sam.”
“You brought me a pretty guest!” His thin white brows rose in delight. He turned back to Alex, his lips twitching with amusement in a face crisscrossed with the seams of age and humor. Sam winked at the younger man. “You can go now. We’d like to be alone.”
In spite of the tension and confusion curling inside her, or perhaps because of it, a laugh burst from her. Sam reached his shaking hand out for Lena’s. Alex glanced at her for permission before he took her hand and placed it in Sam’s. The old man’s fingers closed around hers, and he closed his eyes. She could feel the Dust stirring within her, the almost-whisper at the back of her mind getting louder with his touch.
When Sam opened his eyes again, tears filled them. One rolled down his dry cheek. “Alex…,” he breathed. “You’ve found a treasure.”
Alex bounced in his squat. He swallowed and nodded his head. “I know.” He glanced up at her and away. “But she’s confused, Sam. She’s been told a lot of lies. I don’t think she knows what to believe. Or who. So I brought her to you.”
“To me?”
He smiled. “You know the truth. You lived it. Tell her, like you told me.”
The old man laughed, a dry, huffing sound that moved his entire body. “I had years with you. And you still didn’t believe. Not all the way. Not until you saw with your own eyes.”
“Yeah, well, that’s the next step.” Alex leaned in with an affectionate hand on Sam’s thin arm. “Will you talk to her?”
“Sure I’ll talk to her. What else do I have to do but stare at this wall?” He made his huffing laugh again.
Alex stood. “Do you need anything?”
“I wouldn’t turn down some nice water. What about you, Lena? Can he get you anything?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine, thanks.”
Alex crossed behind her, sliding one hand across her shoulders as he went. She shivered, and his attention dipped, noticing the involuntary response. He pulled his hand away and left.
Lena knelt down beside Sam. He regarded her, face serious. He still hadn’t released her hand.
“Alex is a good man with a thankless job.” His voice was firm. “But he does it so no one else has to. Remember that.”
“I will.”
He nodded. Once the bobbing motion started, it took him awhile to stop. “How much have they told you?” His voice had gone wispy and wan again.
She shrugged, at a loss as to where to start. “How it all happened. What the Dust really is. What we are. Where we came from.” She hesitated. “A little bit about me.”
“The basics.” The grimace on his seamed face seemed an exaggerated expression of impatience. “So I’ll start at the beginning of the end, then. My beginning. I was picked for the program when I was a kid, straight out of basic training. They were selecting for guys who had strong electromagnetic brain waves. Guys who could ace a biofeedback test. Once we were in, it wasn’t just training, though. They manipulated our DNA.” At her blank look, he explained, “They played with our genes, the stuff that makes us us. Made us stronger. Created a new dominant trait.