Generation M (32 page)

“This place is weird,” Jordan said.

Sandy nodded in agreement. “On the morning of her evaluation, Lisette refused to repeat the phrase that everyone in her family had died in the first epidemic.”

Abby shot forward. “Why would they make her say that?”

Sandy grimaced, and Abby understood why. It wasn’t Sandy’s idea to run the colony this way, but she had played a role in it.

“Everyone’s parents had died, and many of the children had lost older siblings and relatives. Doctor Perkins wanted every member of Generation M to focus on the future. He wanted them to bury their pasts.”

Abby shrugged. “Jordan and I are here. Touk will see that we’re alive.”

It was hard to believe they were having this conversation. They should have seen Touk already.

Sandy looked away for a long moment.

When she turned back, Abby drew in a sharp breath. Sandy’s narrowed eyes were glistening, seeming to burn with rage and smolder with despair. Abby’s heart stopped. What awful thing had happened to Toucan that would elicit such anger and sadness?

“Your sister won’t know you,” Sandy said in a quiet voice. “They performed a medical procedure on her brain that essentially erased all her memories of her family. If they hadn’t done that, Doctor Perkins would have expelled her. You, your parents, your home, your sister’s former friends, those memories only exist deep in her subconscious.”

A moment passed before Sandy’s words fully sunk in. Then Abby chuckled in disbelief. “Toucan will know us. We’ve lived with her all her life.”

Jordan made a face and nodded. “Trust me, she’ll know us.”

Sandy sighed. “I don’t want you to get your hopes up. Many of Lisette’s memories were erased. You have to prepare yourself. I’m going to have you speak with Doctor Ramanathan. She’s been taking care of your sister since they released her from Medical Clinic 3.”

Sandy led them to an area of the underground bunker that housed the kids of Generation M and then into an office that Doctor Ramanathan shared with other scientists. Sandy wanted to stay with them, but her radio squawked out another medical emergency, and she rushed off.

Waiting for Doctor Ramanathan, Abby and Jordan were alone in the office with nothing but their thoughts.

“We’re buried in her subconscious,” Jordan scoffed. “I wonder if she dreams about us.”

“She’ll remember us,” Abby said. “Maybe not right away, but after a few minutes, she will.”

“How could she forget Timmy and Danny?” Jordan asked. “They were friends for life.”

“We’re taking her with us no matter what she remembers,” Abby said.

“Definitely,” Jordan replied.

She and Jordan made a pact with their eyes to go along with their strong, verbal agreement.

Doctor Ramanathan entered the room and introduced herself. “Please, call me Chandra.”

Appearing as tired as the rest of the adults, the scientist wore a white coat and was tiny. The top of her head only came up to Abby’s nose. She had black hair that was tied up in a bun.

Abby decided she would call her Doctor Ramanathan. How could she be on friendly terms with anyone who had done that to Touk?

“I can see the resemblance,” Doctor Ramanathan said. “Lisette will be right out. I asked her to wash her face and hands. I’m responsible for the girls in Unit 2A. When Lisette left Medical Clinic 3, she moved straight into my unit.”

“Doctor Ramanathan,” Abby said. “We’re leaving in a few days, and we’re taking our sister with us.”

“You can’t stop us,” Jordan added.

The scientist smiled, but her eyes looked sad. “We all understand that you are her family, and we will support whatever decision you make.”

A moment later, the door opened and Toucan stepped out. Abby’s insides froze, melted, refroze, and then turned to steam, all within half a second. Touk was beautiful, stunning in fact. Abby had expected to see a wild mop of red curls falling to her sister’s shoulders and hiding half her face, but the stubble of red hair revealed the brightness of Touk’s eyes. The last time Abby had seen her sister, she was weak and feverish, on a couch in a dusty building just outside Colony East. Now she was taller and stronger, and when she grinned, Abby saw she was missing a tooth.

“This is Abby and Jordan,” Doctor Ramanathan said. “They want to talk to you.”

“I know you!” Touk cried, looking straight at Abby. Abby felt as if she had turned into a million particles of powder and was floating above the table like a cloud. “You’re the girl on the television. You’re really pretty.”

Jordan made a face. “You were on television?” he asked Abby.

“I’ll tell you later,” she replied. “Can we be alone with our sister, please?”

Doctor Ramanathan nodded. “I’ll be in the next room. Just knock on the door if you need me.”

“Bye, Mother,” Touk said.

Abby spun her head toward Jordan as he did the same toward her, trading looks of shock.

“That’s not your mother,” Jordan said.

Touk grinned. “I’ll bet you all the chocolate in the world that she is.”

“Touk, do you know who I am?” Jordan asked.

“What’s Touk mean?”

“It’s short for Toucan,” he said. “When you were born, you had a really big nose. Abby said you looked like a Toucan. Mom liked the name so much that she started calling you Toucan.”

Touk’s grin contracted. “Mother calls me Lisette.”

“She’s not your mother,” Jordan said in a loud, insistent tone.

Abby saw a wave of confusion pass across her sister’s face. Then the grin returned. “Chandra is my mother. I’ll bet you five pieces of candy.”

“I’m Jordan. I’m your brother. I’m Jordie.”

Toucan giggled. “Jordie. That’s a silly name.”

Jordan pranced around the room. “I used to carry you on my shoulders. We’d go to the library on Castine Island. Our dad worked there.”

Toucan’s look of confusion returned, and then Abby noticed she had clenched her fists and was shaking uncontrollably. Jordan was frightening her.

Abby bit her lip hard. Maybe Sandy was right. Toucan really did not know them, at least not yet. Her memories would return, though, later today, or perhaps tomorrow. They had to take it slow with her.

Abby squeezed her brother’s arm, and they made eye contact. He understood her message immediately. He should back off. He sighed, producing his own expression of confusion.

Abby walked up to her sister. “I like your hair. Can I touch it?”

Touk’s eyes widened with fear, but her curiosity seemed to sweep that away, and she cheered up. “Yes, I want to touch your hair too.”

Abby reached out and lightly dragged her fingertips across Touk’s scalp. Heat flowed into her hand, up her arm, and straight to her heart. Abby felt the same radiant energy spreading through her head and down her neck and into her chest when Touk ran her fingers through her curls.

Abby kneeled so she was face to face with her sister.

“That is a pretty necklace,” she said, pointing to the silver heart that dangled from a silver chain around Touk’s neck.

“Sandy gave it to me. She said it came from the tooth fairy.”

“You know what the tooth fairy used to give me?”

Touk shook her head.

“A dollar for my tooth,” Abby said.

“What’s a dollar?”

Abby swallowed the lump in her throat. “Just a piece of paper. Can I hold your hand?”

Toucan stuck out her hand. Abby gently took it in hers and closed her eyes, concentrating on the small slender fingers. Abby had often feared she would never again experience the sensation of holding her sister’s hand.

“Tell us about your friends,” Abby said and led Touk to the table. Abby sat cross-legged on top of it and Jordan did the same. They used to sit like this on a picnic table back on Castine Island, and Abby hoped small gestures would help trigger Touk’s lost memories.

Toucan told them about some of the girls she lived with. Lydia was always serious. Molly had nice hair. Zoe, her best friend, was messy. Charlie, the only boy she mentioned, liked to trip them during recess.

“Hmm,” Abby said. “I don’t like boys who trip people.”

“I tell him to stop it,” Touk said.

Abby cocked her head. “Charlie listens to you?”

“I put my hands on my hips.” Toucan demonstrated. “I look him in the eye and say, ‘Charlie, would you like it if someone did that to you?’”

Abby burst out laughing, and Jordan rolled his eyes. He was soon doubled over laughing, and Abby was laughing so hard there were tears dripping off her cheeks. Touk first looked somewhat confused, but she got a mischievous gleam in her eyes, and then she started giggling. For a moment, all the sadness and horror in the world evaporated, and the magic of shared laughter brought the Leigh family closer together.

“What about Timmy and Danny?” Jordan asked, trying to catch his breath. “Are they still your friends?”

“Who are they?”

“They live on Castine Island. We’ll take you there to see them. We’re leaving in three days. You’re coming with us. The first place we’ll stop is Mystic, Connecticut.”

Touk clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. Abby knew she was trying to act brave.

Jordan told her about the fun things she would do once they arrived at Mystic. “A few five and six year olds live near the clinic. You’re going to love them.”

Touk’s lower lip trembled, and the pace of her breathing quickened. A wet sheen coated her eyes. Unable to stay brave any longer, the dam burst and tears poured from her eyes.

Jordan was trying too hard, pushing Touk to remember, and rushing her at a time when patience would yield the greatest results. He didn’t realize he was threatening to take Touk from the woman she believed was her mother and from kids she thought were her best friends.

It happened fast. Before Abby could try to comfort her sister, Touk hopped off the table, ran to the door, and rushed into the next room.

Doctor Ramanathan emerged. “I suggest we give Lisette a chance to calm down.”

“You are not her mother,” Jordan snapped. “She’s our sister. We want to spend more time with her.”

“Lisette says she doesn’t want to see either of you right now,” Doctor Ramanathan said. “Should I bring her out?”

“Yes,” Jordan said.

“No. We’ll come back.” Abby tugged her brother’s arm. She was his big sister, so she could do things like that.

An hour later, they were back again, and the message from Doctor Ramanathan was the same. Abby smiled to hide the ache in her heart. “Thank you. We’ll come back later.”

They returned three more times, and each time learned that Toucan didn’t want to see them.

“We’ll see her in the morning,” Abby told Doctor Ramanathan.

Jordan went to help package pills for the Grits to distribute, and Abby returned to her room, where she collapsed in her bed from sheer exhaustion and cried herself to sleep.

Jordan had grown taller and stronger, and he had changed in more ways than Abby could imagine. Her brother had a huge heart, and he was in love with a girl who seemed to be just as much in love with him. Regardless of all those changes, Jordan still couldn’t hide anything from Abby. The moment he stepped into her room, the look in his eyes told her there was something important on his mind.

“Hey, how’s it going?” he asked.

Abby heard another topic rumbling behind the words.

“Spit it out,” she said.

“There’s a flight today going to the airport next to Colony East.” Excitement spiked in his voice. “They’re taking pills to Mark. They’re setting up Wenlan’s clinic as one of the main distribution centers. They need lots of help.”

“You want to go?” she asked.

“If you want me to stay, I’ll stay. I’ll stay with you and Touk, and then we’ll all take the truck to Mystic together. Abby, it’s your call.”

“Go.”

His jaw dropped. “Don’t you want me to stay?”

“I’ll be fine. I promise.”

“It’s because I scared Touk, right?”

Abby sighed. “I wanted to say the same things you did. You just beat me to it.” She shrugged. “We have to coax the memories out of Toucan.”

“I’m sorry for the way I acted.”

“By the time Touk and I get to Mystic, I bet she’ll be remembering things left and right.”

Jordan’s brow pinched. “What if she doesn’t remember anything at all?”

“She will,” Abby assured him. “It might take a week or a month.”

“What if she never remembers?” Jordan persisted.

Abby pushed that thought aside. “Is Toucan our sister?”

“Yes.”

“Will she always be our sister?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, that’s the answer. She belongs with us.”

“You’ll get her to remember things, I know it.” He threw his arms around her. “Be careful, okay? In the truck, don’t let Touk sit too close to the back. You hit a pothole, and she’ll fly out.”

Abby nodded as Jordan dispensed other words of advice. They had reversed roles. Jordan had become the bossy big sister, and she was the twerpy little brother who didn’t have a clue what to do. In truth, they had both grown and changed and taken on the best qualities of the other.

Jordan hugged her again, and before Abby knew it, her little brother was gone.

Just before Abby rapped on Doctor Ramanathan’s door, she took a deep breath and reminded herself to go easy on Touk. She viewed her sister’s memories as frightened animals, hiding away in a cave. They would emerge when they felt safe, and the way to create a sense of safety was to make Touk happy.

Toucan clung to Doctor Ramanathan’s leg.

“Where’s Jordie?” she asked in a whisper.

“He’s playing with someone else today,” Abby said, trying hard to smile.

Touk immediately relaxed and let go of the scientist.

Abby had arranged for Toby to meet her and Touk in the cafeteria. Every familiar face might trigger a memory. She had instructed Toby to make no mention of anything outside Atlanta Colony.

When she and Touk first entered the cafeteria, Abby guided her to a bowl filled with butterscotch candies and chocolates.

Touk grabbed a large fistful.

Abby wagged a finger. “Only three, please.”

“Five,” Touk said, clutching her haul of candies.