The Leaving Part 27

All over.

He held out a book to her. "I found this in my dad's stuff."

She took it from him and read the t.i.tle, and he said, "It was written before we were taken," and felt like she was back on that cliff of her life.

This time, her existence was . . .

. . . an A B Y S S.

"Hey," he said.

Catching her.

She flipped to the back and read.

Futuristic . . .

Eliminate childhood . . .

Memory-wiping . . .

Countdown . . .

"Where did he get this?" She felt her whole body wake up in a new way, all those lights going back on at once. "What does it mean?"

I'm going on a trip.

To the leaving.

Had she seen this book-read this book?

When she was five?

"I don't know," Lucas said. "I don't know how he even heard about it or where he found it. There's hardly anything about it on the web. And of course everything about us comes up first. But the author lives in Florida."

"We can't possibly have been in pods this whole time," Scarlett said.

Pods on Earth was arguably a worse theory than alien pods.

"Not literally, no," Lucas said. "I don't think so. It's really only the concept that's the same. They start with six kids as test subjects before the whole thing goes wide."

"And they don't remember anything when they come back?" Scarlett asked.

"No, they remember. But they remember an awesome childhood. An entirely fake childhood. And there are sort of hints that these new types of kids-ones who've been to The Leaving-when they come back, they just can't cope with reality, even though they seem like they have it all together. So the book is about how if you sanitize childhood, society will implode. Oh and the kids all know they're going; they know before that it's happening."

"Like I did."

She wanted to call for Tammy, but wasn't allowed to call her Tammy. She had completely mastered avoidance of the direct address.

"Come with me."

She went out to the backyard where Tammy was sitting on a folding chair with her feet in an inflatable kiddie pool shaped like a fish. "Have you ever seen this?" Scarlett held the book out.

"No," Tammy said. "Why?" She spied Lucas and sat upright.

Took her sungla.s.ses off.

"It's really you," she said.

"It's really me," he said.

Tammy stood and went to hug him. "I still can't believe it," she said. "That you're back. That Will's gone."

Lucas seemed receptive to the hug, and Scarlett hated to ruin the moment but . . .

"Have you ever seen this?" She held the book out again, more firmly.

Really wanting an explanation.

Needing something to shift and make sense.

She said, "It's a book about a society where kids are sent away for their childhoods."

"There were a bunch of books written about it." Tammy finally let go of Lucas.

Scarlett felt her breathing change and deepen. Had she been jealous? Of the hug? Of contact? She said, "This was written before it happened."

"My father had it," Lucas said.

"In that old RV?" Tammy returned to her chair and pulled her sungla.s.ses back down. "Did he talk to the police about it?"

"I don't know," Lucas said.

Scarlett looked at Lucas pointedly. "Let's go in and do that."

Back in the house, she stood at the kitchen aisle. "Where in Florida does he live? Were you able to find his address?"

"No, but I found the town. Tarpon Springs. We could go there, maybe. Ask around? My dad was e-mailing with his son a few years ago, but the e-mail I sent bounced."

"So we stop people in the street?" She had no idea what their next steps should be but for some reason felt that it shouldn't be calling the police. "What would we even ask him?"

"I don't know. Where he got the idea? If he has any theories about us?" A look of fear and excitement on his face all at once. "For all we know, it's him."

"Do you want to talk to Chambers?" she asked, making it clear in her tone that she didn't.

"What are you two plotting?" Tammy was there; she'd brought the scent of her sunscreen-coconut and chemicals-with her.

"Nothing," Scarlett said.

Tammy went to the fridge and refilled her lemonade. "Liar."

Scarlett said, "We were thinking of trying to talk to the author."

"You don't think Will did that already? Or Chambers?"

Scarlett started piecing things together. "Chambers would have shown it to you if he knew about it. He would have asked you about it, since I was the one who said I was going to the leaving. He would have asked us about it yesterday."

Tammy twisted her mouth to one side. "Suppose you're right."

Scarlett felt something inside her turn sour when she said, "It looks like in the book this is an advanced society that is aware of and in communication with intelligent life-forms on other planets."

Tammy's eyes turned beady.

Rightfully so.

Scarlett said, "I'll go with you tonight, if you let me do this."

Tammy picked up her lemonade and turned toward the hall. "You want to find someone like that. A writer. You go and you ask around in the bars." From down the hall she called out, "The dive-ier the better."

Scarlett turned to Lucas and almost laughed.

He raised his eyebrows and smiled. "It's actually a really good idea. What's tonight?"

"Long story," she said. "Should we invite Kristen?"

Lucas seemed to stiffen when he said, "If you feel like you have to."

Scarlett was shaking her head. "Not really."

Had to trust this.

Trust him.