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When I dared look again, Harley was staring up One hand still held hers, his thu methodically over her cool, lifeless palm, back and forth, back and forth

"Why did she leave me?" he whispered to the painted metal sky above us

Because this wasn’t an accident

It couldn’t have been an accident

Kayleigh loved the pond Loved to sith the koi She’d dive under with handfuls of feed in her grip and uncurl her fingers underwater so the shy fish would dance up to her and nibble froer than anyone I knew No one could catch her when she swah couldn’t have died by accident Not in the water

I stared at as left of her

Pale yellow square patches lined the inside of both her arms Doc’s med patches--the ones that made you fall asleep This--this hat killed her Not an accident A choice Kayleigh put herself into a watery bed and made sure she would never wake up Suicide We knew itabout how , trapped on this ship, for weeks Months Just little things, a co we noticed Not until--

My eyes drifted fro, almost-still waters behind her I looked farther, over the reeds and lotus flowers on the far edge, rass

Where they crashed against a metal wall

A hard, cold, relentless e My eyes burned as I followed a seaher up, until itAbove that, I kneas the Shipper Level, and above that, the Keeper Level

And beyond that--beyond tons and tons of impenetrable h had never seen

And she couldn’t live without the sky

22

AMY

ELDER FINISHES HIS STORY AS WE ENTER THE CITY I WANT TO say soo, and there’s nothing to really say, anyway

I’ve never been this far into the City before The whole Feeder Level looks different now, in the h there’s not that , when I used to run, and day--this false sun doesn’t move across the sky, doesn’t paint the horizon with pink and orange and blue

The City is bigger than it looks from the other side of the Feeder Level When I look at the City from the Hospital or the Recorder Hall, it seehtly colored boxes stacked one on top of the other, and the people are almost too tiny to see

But here, it’s different The streets are crowded Men--and a feo their loads behind the Produce, meat, boxes, bolts of cloth--all fly from one street to another It’s louder than I expected People call to each other across the street, and a couple at the corner are shouting at each other, waving their ar bad has happened, but no--it’s wafting frorill

The City itself seems more chaotic too There are so many people And for the first time, I really think of theine their lives Thehis cleaver into a rack of ribs Is he bored or hiding anger behind the brutal attack on theand fanning herself--what’s made her want to leave the co on?

And ill they all do when they find out the truth? How much of the City will be destroyed when they discover, as they inevitably will, that Godspeed isn’t even h I keep my head doary of these people who could so quickly turn on reets therin back at hirins fade when their eyes slide to h They hiss "freak" so softly that Elder doesn’t notice I carefully pullsure all of it is hidden

"Harley’s fa me down the street "That’s in the middle of the City"

Each block is named for what the people there do Wescent of blood in the air mixed with a trace of rancid fat Flies buzz in the s and drift lazily over the slabs ofto be processed

"Can you wait here aI should take care of"

I nod, and he walks into the butcher’s on the corner I creep closer to listen Two h there are five workstations in the building

One of the es his partner

"Oh, u his bloody hands on the stained s the man that he prefers to be called Elder "Where are your other workers?"

The lance nervously at each other The first turns back to the cow he’s butchering, sawing away at a leg bone with a hacksaw The other man stands at his counter, unsure of what to do "They--well--they didn’t cos "We told the in at least three head, but"

"But they didn’t come in"

Theabout it?"

He keeps wiping his hands on his sainst that dirty thing "It’sit’s, uhit’s not our place"

"Not your place to do what?"

"To tell others to come to work"

Elder’s jaw clenches He leaves, letting the bell at the door say his farewell

He storreetings frorowls atLazy He never had to deal with that People obeyed him, and they didn’t dareon this ship ran smoothly"