“Good.” I hear Zeen sigh. “That’s good. Cia, I’m sorry I was so angry. I shouldn’t have let you leave without saying goodbye. I was jealous because you got what I thought I wanted. I didn’t know . . .”
I think about the hurt I felt when Zeen disappeared before I left for The Testing. Of all of us, he is the most passionate. The easiest to upset. The quickest to react when his emotions are stirred and hardest hit when those he loves are wounded or taken away. Which is why I understood his absence when my family said their farewells and why I can honestly say, “It’s okay. Besides, if you hadn’t stormed off, I would have asked permission to take this Communicator and you would have turned me down. I wouldn’t have made it through the last couple of months without it.”
“You should have heard me yell when I saw your note.” Zeen laughs. “Mom said it was a small price to pay for how I’d behaved, since I might never see you again. She didn’t want me to come, but Dad understood why I had to. Cia, there are things happening here. Important things. I don’t know if Michal told you, but these people are going to end The Testing. The leaders here have a plan that will change everything. It’s dangerous.”
“Zeen . . .”
But Zeen isn’t listening. When I was little, Zeen used to talk to me for hours about things I didn’t understand, but I didn’t care. I loved listening to his voice and knowing that he understood the things he talked about. But he doesn’t understand now.
“Zeen . . .”
“And it’s complicated and will take too long for me to explain. I can’t talk for much longer or someone will come searching for me. With everything going on, they’re slow to trust. Even with Michal’s endorsement. I think they would have arrested me the minute I walked into camp if it weren’t for—”
“Zeen, stop!” When there is silence, I say, “Michal’s dead.” My throat tightens. Tears prick the backs of my eyes. Saying the words aloud makes them all too real. “I saw him die.”
“Cia, that can’t be true.” But the hitch in Zeen’s voice tells me he is shaken by my words. “I would have heard if Michal died. Symon or Ranetta would have told us.” Zeen’s soothing tone is the same one he used when I was small and thought there were monsters lurking under the bed. Only there is no soothing me with kind words now. I know these monsters are real.
“Symon wouldn’t have told you because he’s the one who killed Michal.” I look at the clock beside my bed. Five minutes have passed. If Zeen is right, people will soon come searching for him. I don’t want them to hear him talking into the Communicator and think he’s a spy. There is so much to say. So little time to say it in. I have to decide what is important now and what can wait until we can arrange another time to speak.
“Michal brought Symon the proof the president needs to sway the Debate Chamber vote and end The Testing in a peaceful way. I was hiding nearby.” I can still see the way the rebellion leader looked when he raised his gun and fired. Two shots. Then Michal fell to the ground. “I heard Symon say that he and Dr. Barnes created the rebellion to control those who want to bring an end to The Testing. The rebellion isn’t real.”
“The rebellion is real, Cia.” Though Zeen keeps his voice quiet, I can hear the anger, outrage, and disbelief bubbling below the surface. “Don’t you think I’d know if it wasn’t? These people are ready to fight in order to bring change.”
“I know they are. That’s what Dr. Barnes and Symon want them to do.”
“Cia, that can’t be true. I talked to Ranetta and Symon. Symon—”
“Killed Michal. You can’t trust Symon.” I’m not sure about Ranetta. “Michal did, and he’s dead.” Once again panic simmers inside me. Zeen has to believe. “Symon’s job is to make sure that the rebels fail. If the president loses the Debate Chamber vote and the rebels attack, Dr. Barnes and Symon will have Safety and Security teams waiting. They’ll say it is the only way to keep the rest of the city safe. If we don’t do something, the rebellion will fail. More people will die.”
“Wait. If you’re right . . .” Zeen takes a deep breath. When he speaks again, his voice is barely a whisper, but filled with conviction. “You have to get out of Tosu City.”
“I can’t. There are reasons.” The bracelet on my wrist. My friends who would be left behind. Zeen, who is in the middle of the rebels Dr. Barnes intends to kill. The last is the only thing I know how to fix. “Zeen, you should go. There are lots of buildings that aren’t used very often here on campus. You could hide in one of them.”
“No one is supposed to leave camp without a direct order from Symon or Ranetta.”