Page 74 (1/1)

Bit by bit, the ie of a piece of paper fores, but I could still tell what they were--I thought I dialed quickly, trying to avoid cutting ed screen, and raised the phone to n: that meant the cell netas still up Civilization couldn’t have collapsed co stopped Silence reigned I waited a few seconds for the person on the other end to say so, and when they didn’t, I said, "H-hello? This is Sal Mitchell, looking for Nathan Kim Please, do you knohere he is?"

"Sal?" Nathan sounded almost confused, like he couldn’t believe it was reallyhih to dull the dru theround hum "Is it… oh, thank God, Sal, is it really you?"

"I think so," I said, sluainst the cool porcelain of the toilet tank "I’m really scared"

"I--" Nathan stopped for a moment I heard hi me this is Sally Mitchell? Can you confirm your identity?"

Someone else had to be there with hi sure he checked onit home than sorry and alone "I don’t like to be called Sally," I said That didn’t seeh, so I asked, "Are the broken doors still open? I want to co, unsteady sound, and the only way I kneas laughter and not tears was because it stopped "You can’t be serious You can’t really think we’re that easy to fool"

"I’ to fool anyone We went to the hospital to fix the arteries inlot when I ran away to distract the sleepwalkers fro make it to the car okay? I hope they did--and USAMRIID tookbubble inside the Oakland Coliseum and there were a lot of other people there and Colonel Mitchell wasn’t telling anybody I was a chimera which seemed sort of weird but I didn’t want to call hiuns and then…" I paused to take a deep breath, having run out of air so speech Once s were full, I continued: "Then Sher me prisoner while he took samples from me all sorts of samples like blood and bone marrow and yesterday he cut my head open so I’m afraid he took saet out and I don’t knohere I am but there’s sleepwalkers outside and I want to coet , Nathan didn’t laugh He didn’t say anything I could hear hi not to pant as I waited to see as going to happen next

Finally, quietly, Nathan asked, "Why should I believe that you’re still Sal?"

I blinked at the phone I had a dozen questions, and all of them seemed both equally important and equally frivolous Finally, I asked, "Can Sherhe had me captive, but the first time I learned how to talk, it took like, years Can he scoop people out of their heads and put new people in?" Belatedly I realized that I had just characterized tapewor ins, and I illing to extend that label to the rest of the chione for over aalley after USAMRIID quarantined the area Tansy never came back Mom’s had Adam under constant surveillance since you disappeared We didn’t knohether USAMRIID had you or whether you’d escaped, and there was too much chance you’d tell them where he was"

As the first chieneration tapeworure out hoe’d been created I wanted to be offended, but I couldn’t muster the es?"

"Beverly howled for about two days, which was a problee the quarantine vans at the time Minnie just took it in stride, like she always knew that you were going to abandon her so to thaw "Sal, is that really you?"

"It really is" I sniffled, relief washing overme almost dizzy I hadn’t realized how afraid I was that Nathan would never accept"I don’t knohere I a me in an old mall, and I don’t knohere that was either"

"We’re working on that," said Nathan "Fishy started a trace on this call as soon as it came in Not many people use my private cell number these days"

"So Fishy’s okay?" I putphone from the wall "Who else is okay?"

"How about I tell you about the dogs until we have a fix on you, just so I don’t slip up and say so monitored by someone else’s people?"

I smiled a little "I’d like that"