Page 62 of The Last Hope
Something’s wrong.
No talking, no lingering, we scramble off the bed and bolt toward the bathroom. Pulses in our throats.
“Franny!” Court calls.
I whip the frosty door to the side. Dark-blue tiles are wet and the showerhead is still spewing water. Franny lies naked beneath the spigot, conked out. Frailer than when I first picked her off the snow.
I squat near her, water soaking me. “Franny.” I lightly jostle her arm.
Her eyes flutter.
In response, wooziness tries to pull at my lids. Hurriedly, Court shuts off the shower and then hands me a fuzzy towel. I wrap Franny up and lift her in my arms.
Sensing her better now, a bump throbs at the back of her head. “She must’ve fallen,” I say, carrying her quickly to our room. “You canslipin those damned showers.”
Court rebuts, “You can drown in a bathtub.”
I set Franny gently on the bed and take a knee at her side. “Franny?” I peel a wet piece of hair off her face.
She fights to open her eyes.
Court is quiet for a second, concentrating on her senses. Heightening the link between them. “I don’t think she slipped.”
My muscles burn. “Someone pushed her?”
Court rolls his eyes. “Can you jump to a conclusion that makes more sense?”
I say a nasty Grenpalish word, never using it before with him.
His grays narrow. “That sounded vulgar.”
“It was.”
“Don’t… fight,” Franny whispers, stealing our attention tenfold. We shut our mouths, but only speak to ask if she’s okay, what happened, and to tell her not to sit up too fast.
She rolls onto her back, towel tucked around her gaunt frame. “One second I was lathering soap in my hands… and then the next, I’m groggily hearing you call my name while I’m… on the ground.”
“You fainted,” Court says, nodding. “You need more food and rest.”
Exhausted, uncontrollable tears spill from the corners of her eyes. “Fyke,” she curses. “I was doing good at the whole taking care of myself thing, wasn’t I? It’s not my fault. Icare.You know I care—”
“Heya, we know,” I cut in. “Weknow.” My eyes burn, and I turn to Court. Because his words will be having a greater effect. His opinion means a lot to us both.
“You’re not to blame,” Court says in his strict voice. “We were in a prison, Franny.”
She wipes at her watery eyes but they keep watering.
A knot is in my chest.
“Just rest here.” I comb her wet hair back and then stand. “Court and I will be grabbing some food, and we’re going to look into a database thing.” We explain the link, all that we need to learn and all that we decided.
She nods in understanding. “Go find some answers.”
FOURTEEN
Franny
No luck. We’ve hadnoluck in snooping for answers. Court and Mykal snuck to the computer without anyone noticing, but it took an hour for them to figure out how to use the machine and access its database system. Finally, when they broadly searched for “linking” or “bonds” between humans, nothing arose.
