Page 6 of Undone
Remy
We waited so long on that comfy couch that I started to doze again. I swear, I wasn’t usually so lazy, but my body wasn’t handling the excitement and injury very well. It just kept shutting down. But I sat up straight when Tater gave me a small jab in the side with his elbow. I glanced over at Linette’s mewling face of innocence and held back a burst of untimely laughter just as a woman in a sharp, black skirt suit came in.
She was one of the aliens. I used to envy their slender perfection, hair coifed like gorgeous fifties pinup girls, but now I saw it for the fakeness it was. Her mechanical movements and lack of expression. Tater went rigid beside me, and I tried to will him to relax. It was hard as she stood in front of us and peered down her nose, surveying us like objects.
“Welcome to the Baelese Base. You will each be interviewed. You are expected to answer all questions fully and truthfully. If you are found being disloyal or dishonest, your time here will be terminated.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Linette said, almost worshipful.
“Yes, ma’am,” I said quietly.
Tater nodded and said, “Of course.”
She eyed us a moment longer before calling for three men in black uniforms to come in and take each of us by an arm. Judging by the weird, stiff movements of the men, I don’t think they were human. In fact, I hadn’t seen a human here yet.
I caught a glance of encouragement from Tater before he was tugged in the other direction, out of the room. He was bigger than the soldier pulling him, and I knew it killed him not to overpower the jerk.
Be strong, Tater.
Linette and I were taken in another direction down the hall and led into separate rooms. Mine was sparse and immaculately clean. Lush maroon carpets. Bare walls. One ornate, dark table. Cushioned, matching chairs on each side. In the corner of the ceiling was a tiny camera. He sat me in the far chair and said, “Wait here.”
As if I had a choice. He locked the door on his way out. I sat there, bound wrists in my lap, wishing I could fix my messy ponytail, which was surely frizzy and drooping down my head.
I was pondering how stupid it was to feel vain in these circumstances when the door opened, and the very last face I expected to see stood there, staring back at me with a familiar, handsome smile.
“Senator Navis!” I cried.
If possible, his smile warmed his face further, and my heart gave a start. This man. I had admired him so long, since I was a teen. I followed his career in politics, tearing up at his heartfelt speeches to the people of Nevada. I cried so hard when he lost his wife in the car accident. The funeral coverage wrecked me. That was right before Thanksgiving. Right before the bombs killed all the other world leaders. He would have been president someday, before all of this happened, I was sure of it.
The others believed he was working with the enemy—that he was even their leader—but looking at him now, in person, there was no way. He had to be human. But he was able to walk freely . . . was he working with them? But why? Maybe he was faking allegiance, like me.
“I won’t bother you for long, but prefer to meet all of the new arrivals,” he said. I couldn’t help but smile. He was so laid back. Calming. But he didn’t attempt to come into the room. He stood in the doorway, thoughtfully surveying me, just as I surveyed him.
His face showed emotion. His movements were smooth, and he spoke more casually, using contractions and stuff. He was as good looking as any Baelese, but he let loose, where the others felt the need to appear perfect. What was his story?
“I understand you’re probably scared,” he said. “What is your name?”
“Remy Haines,” I responded.
“Ms. Haines.” He seemed to taste my name in his mouth, and I had to swallow to wet my throat. “Don’t be afraid. Just answer their questions honestly. Nobody will hurt you. And then we can talk more afterward. Okay?”
I nodded, sort of mesmerized. How could I be fangirling at a time like this?
His smile widened, and I had to swallow again, because whoa. How many times had I shivered when I saw that grin on television? It was so much more powerful in real life.
He closed the door behind himself and I was still reeling when a sharp dressed woman came in, her hair bone straight to her shoulders with a perfect part. She moved stiffly, like a badly animated character, as she sat in the seat before me and set down her paper.
“Remy Haines, I am Vahni, top advisor to Bahntan—”
“Bon-ton?” I asked.
“Our leader,” she said curtly, and I shut my mouth. “I understand you were found imprisoned at Dugway Proving Ground?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And how did that come to be?” She pulled out a piece of paper with a list of names. “You signed in at the high school in Lincoln County, Nevada on December twentieth, nearly four months ago, along with Rylen Fite, and Jacob and Amber Tate. But the four of you did not make it to the safety camp with the rest of your town.”
Safety camp? As Amber would say, that’s some bullshit right there. They bombed that camp with our parents and every other innocent person in our town. I had to grind my teeth together to keep from scowling. And thank God Linette gave us a common story to use.
