Breathe by Crossan Sarah

Author:Crossan, Sarah [Crossan, Sarah]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2012-10-02T04:47:10+00:00

29

QUINN

I don’t want to be paranoid or anything, but Inger and Silas have been hunched together in serious debate for the last mile or so, and now, even though they saved my life, I’m wondering whether they’re planning to murder me. “We don’t really have a choice,” Inger says, nodding in my direction. Inger stops, takes out a tattered paper map peppered with small green crosses, and points to one of them. “Here,” he says.

Silas stops, too. “Where did you get that?” he asks, taking the map from Inger and examining it. I peer over Silas’s shoulder to see if I can work out where we are, but I can’t.

“I made it. Petra’s orders. Almost finished,” Inger says.

“You made this? And all these crosses are solar respirators?” he asks.

“Yep,” Inger says. He glances at me and then away.

“But what about the …” Silas begins.

“Most of them were dead already,” Inger says.

“And the ones who weren’t?” Silas asks. “You didn’t, did you?” Silas suddenly steps away from Inger.

“Of course I didn’t. It’s a map. Petra wanted a list of locations for emergencies. When I found one alive, I didn’t mark it down because we can’t be sure they won’t relocate.” He looks at me. “His canister’s parched. Tighten his valve,” Inger commands. Silas steps toward me and twists the valve of my airtank. For a moment I’m sure he’s going to twist it three hundred and sixty degrees and leave me a puddle of choking bones on the road, but he doesn’t.

“I’m reducing the density. Breathe normally,” he says. I feel the air start to thin, and I try to do as he says, but the drop in oxygen makes me panic and I begin to hyperventilate. “Calm down, will you?” Silas shakes me, making me feel even dizzier. I stagger backward and he has to catch me. He readjusts the valve on my tank, and once I can breathe again, I nod.

Silas and Inger give each other a look, then Inger grunts. “We don’t have a choice,” he says. “Let’s go.”

“What’s wrong?” I ask. I try to sound nonchalant. “How much farther?”

Silas and Inger exchange a whisper and abruptly change direction. “Guys?” My voice is a croak. Suddenly Silas stops and stares up at a tall, red-brick building and rubs his forehead.

“We haven’t seen zips for years, which means trouble. They’re on the hunt and Petra will need us,” Inger says. “If we try to share our air with you it will slow us down and we could be leaving The Grove in peril. Plus, we can’t even be sure we have enough in our tanks to get us all there no matter what speed we travel at. You need a lot more oxygen than we do.” Inger has taken on a military manner. He is even standing rigidly.

“In other words, if you come with us, you’ll die,” Silas says.

“We’ve reached an impasse.” Inger is solemn. I think that means he plans to put me out of my misery. And maybe he’d be right to do it: I’ve heard that suffocation is the worst kind of death.

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