Page 5 of Kingdom of Tomorrow
When I passed her and cleared the last of the stone, I expelled a sigh of relief. I would go home and—
“Arden Roosa!”
The unfamiliar voice halted me in my tracks. Hoping against hope someone from the Department of Edification and Labor had come to tell me there’d been a mistake, my mother owed nothing, and I should report to the Center ASAP, I pivoted. Surprise jolted me when I spotted the speaker. Mr. Smiles, the guy from the waiting room.
“Yes?” I said when he stopped in front of me. Oh, wow. Sunlight adored the symmetrical perfection of his features, turning him into a work of art come to life. He was far more handsome than I’d realized. And tall. Around six two, with broad shoulders and lean strength packed inside a blue shirt and a pair of dark slacks.
“Hi.” He peered down at me with sparkling eyes. A grin teased the corners of his mouth. “I’m Shiloh Cruz. I thought you should know my name since I learned yours. Gotta keep the scale between us balanced.”
As people passed by, I remained rooted in place, my brain train veering onto a fresh track. He’d chased me down to ... flirt?
I responded with blunt honesty. “You shouldn’t miss an appointment with your life adviser to speak with me.” I wasn’t worth it. No one was.
“I met with him earlier. I was—okay, please don’t be creeped out, but I was leaving when I spotted you. I decided to hang around.” His grin developed a bashful tinge. “I seized my chance to introduce myself.”
Heat seared my cheeks. “Let’s back up a minute. There’s a scale between us?”
“I really hope so.” He punctuated the words with an earnest nod.
A big, toothy smile threatened to bud. “You’re the first person I’ve ever met who considers a scale a good thing.”
“Because it is. I’ll reveal a fact about myself to you, then you’ll reveal a fact of equal value about yourself to me.”
Ah. “A tit-for-tat situation.”
“Exactly.” He winked, and it was the cutest thing. “Walk with me?”
Tomorrow, my life would slip off its axis; I should enjoy my freedom while I could. Also, he smelled like sandalwood, a man musk that should be classified as a mind-altering drug. “Yes. I’d like that.”
We moved along the sidewalk at a leisurely pace. “I’ll start,” he said. “I have an older half sister and brother. They’re twins. As children, we were as obnoxious as you might imagine. Not that I’ll ever complain. They taught me physical combat, psychological warfare, and how to sense suspicious activity.”
I snorted. “They sound fun.”
“They are. Mostly.” He nudged me with his shoulder. “Now it’s your turn. Enlighten me, please. Tell me all about Arden Roosa.”
“It’s just my mom and me.” Once, though, there’d been four of us. My chest squeezed. Soon after the death of my sister, Amelia, my dad took off. “Mom is my best friend.”
“I love that.” Shiloh beamed, as if I’d given him a long-awaited gift. “I’m twenty-three years old, and I’m working as a medic.”
Oh, how interesting. “What field?”
“Nope.” He shook his head, a lock of hair falling over his brow. “Give me my tat. Age and vocation or subject of study.”
Silly, charming man. “I’m twenty. I’ve worked a ton of odd jobs the past two years.” Everything from calling citizens to inform them of delinquent tax payments to manning an assembly line of meal bars. The world’s most tasteless but affordable staple. I’d even monitored the robot-dog camera feed for a time. “My passion is agriculture.” I offered no more, merely arched a brow, demanding a response to my previous query.
He braced, as if expecting a blow. “I specialize in ... the Madness.”
Clearly, he expected me to freak out. Maybe run from him. Many medical professionals avoided anything related to the Rock, too afraid of becoming infected themselves. “That’s an interesting choice.”
At my lack of dismay, he sighed with relief. “My grandparents were killed during the Great Regret. I’ve made it my mission to find out why and how to prevent such a tragedy from ever occurring again.”
“That’s awful. Not your mission,” I clarified, “but your loss.” The Great Regret was a terrible stain in our history. A time when a myriad of infected broke at once, murdering thousands of innocents in a very short period.
“It really is. I have so many questions. Why does the infection incubate faster in certain hosts? What causes people to ultimately break? Is there a way to make treatment more humane?”
His enthusiasm warmed my heart. And, since he’d clarified for me, I did the same for him. Leaning closer as we walked, I said, “I’m determined to solve the Soil and Seed Anomaly. For me, there’s nothing more satisfying than watching tiny seeds mature into a big crop. When my hands are in the dirt, I’m single minded.” Unwavering. “There’s no world outside of what I’m doing.” Little frightened me. I tasted a measure of genuine peace, and oh, it was divine.
“I know I only just met you,” he said, his words heartfelt, “but I have a feeling you’ll succeed.”
