rebel-heart by Rakhibul hasan (best contemporary novels txt) 📖

labor class worked with their hands, but she didn’t realize they used them to do more than serve the elite. Warmth crept up her face as she thought how stupid she’d sound to someone like Kelli.

“Here it is.”

Lana looked from her hands to the massive, seven-foot-tall Tesla generator. It sat between the boardwalk and one of the buildings where the people had dragged it. Much like her, the generator sat useless. Yet it was the only familiar thing to her in the town. Lana’s hand went instinctively to the pocket with her micro before she dropped it.

She circled the generator. It was the size of a greencar—large enough to power the town. Aside from the chunks missing along the edges from the townspeople dragging it, it looked like it was in good shape.

“Don’t worry if it’s too much,” Kelli said. Lana couldn’t help feeling irritated at the assurance in Kelli’s voice, as if the town had already decided she wasn’t likely to hold her own.

She was tired of feeling that way.

Lana went to the side opposite Kelli and pressed her thumb against the keypad. The control panel opened. Though hibernating, the Tesla generator displayed no error messages. She flew through the options on the command panel. The metal panels on top of the generator opened like a flower, automatically adjusting themselves to catch the most sun. Lana looked around to make sure no one was watching then pulled her micro free. She set it on top of the control panel and assessed the results, then activated the generator’s artificial intelligence so it would adjust as needed to power the town. She returned her micro to her pocket.

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” she said, returning to Kelli. “It’ll take a couple of days to charge. There’s no energy stored in it right now. Once it’s charged, it’ll power the town for two weeks without a new charge or indefinitely, if I set it to recharge as needed.”

Kelli was quiet for a moment in surprise. “We’ll have to check the Tesla receivers in all the buildings,” she said. “I can’t believe you know what to do. The Harvard guy didn’t!”

“I was a good student,” Lana said, afraid to say more. Without her micro, she doubted she could do much more than turn it on.

“Now we know what to tell Mike!” Kelli said. “You can check all the receivers.” “Kelli, I really need to get to Colorado,” Lana said. “My family is there.”

“Lana, Mike won’t risk sending anyone over there, not after the three who went and never came back,” Kelli said. “And the soldiers say the same: don’t try it.”

“Please, Kelli. It’s important I see my … my father again. He needs me,” Lana begged. “I’ll check all the receivers and make sure the town will have energy before I go. Just please ask Mike to help me get across.”

Kelli’s gaze went to the generator. At last, she nodded. Lana almost sighed in relief. All Mike had to do was get her across the river. The rest, she’d figure out when she got there.

“Mike’ll be happy about this,” Kelli said, smiling. “He said only a fed could turn this on. I’m happy he’s wrong.”

“Me, too,” Lana forced herself to say.

“I’m going to let him know. You’re welcome to explore the town,” Kelli said as she started away. Lana looked back at the generator, dread in the pit of her stomach. She trailed Kelli. Jack trotted

ahead of them back into the town. By the time Lana caught up, he’d had been lured into one of the buildings by a little girl with a handful of uncooked rice. Lana stepped through the doorway, patting Jack.

“You must be Lana,” a woman said, rising from the corner with a sleeping child cradled in her arms. “This is the nursery. We watch the kids during the day while everyone is working!”

Jack was obediently following the girl in yellow that fed him rice. She led him to the other side, where a group of toddlers were playing with toys carved from the forest’s trees. Another corner contained crates full of sleeping babies while older children sat reading antique books in the center of the room. The children were monitored by a few teens, who sat in one corner laughing and talking.

Lana watched the toddlers greet Jack excitedly. They surrounded him, offering him whatever food they had and petting him.

“They love your dog,” the woman said. She moved to the nearest empty crate and placed the baby inside it. “I was just getting ready to head over to get their midmorning snacks. Want to come?”

Lana nodded. “I’m Melissa.” “Lana.”

“You came at a good time. It’s taken us a few weeks to get everything running smoothly. Well, mostly smoothly,” Melissa said. “Still a lot of us trying to deal with not having light at night or our favorite foods.”

“I can imagine,” Lana said. “But this is so much better than anything I expected.”

“Mike says along the Mississippi, all the towns are like this. We’ve been trading experts with the neighbors. No one here knew how to plant crops, but the next town over was made up of farm laborers. It’s working out better than any of us expected.”

“Winter will be rough,” Lana said.

“It will be. We’ve got plenty of wood, though, from the forest. That’s how they did it in the olden days.”

At least now they’ll have real heat, she thought to herself. The generator would be more than the town needed, even for winter.

“Has Kelli showed you around?” Melissa asked. “A little.”

“These are the kitchens. These buildings here each have a different purpose. Meat preparation there, breads and everything else there, then the last building is where we cook. We centralized all the ovens from the town into one area. The kids get snacks twice a day,” Melissa explained, leading them into the building smelling of bread.

“Where do you get fruit and vegetables from?” Lana asked, gaze skimming over the oranges in crates. “We trade for them or get them from the military. Not sure how they ended up with so many

oranges.”

“So the PMF and military really are helping.”

“They are. We invite them for dinner, but for the most part, they just do patrols and bring us supplies. Mike handles the coordination with them.”

Melissa motioned to a crate of oranges. Lana took one side and the redhead the other. They carried the crate back to the building acting as a nursery.

“I still can’t believe how nice it is here,” Lana said. “It’s not what I expected.”

“I think we all just want to make our new home as pleasant as possible. Most people didn’t get a second chance like we did. Kids, come eat!” The toddlers left Jack at her cheerful voice and crowded around the crate.

Lana watched, feeling more alone than she thought possible. The people of the town had barely survived an apocalypse Mr. Tim and others should’ve prevented. She should’ve prevented. Maybe if she’d paid more attention to the information coming in or been a better analyst … part of her knew there were no indicators she missed. Another part of her found that to be impossible.

“Jack,” she called. “Thank you, Melissa.”

Melissa smiled in response, her hands full with a toddler trying to steal another’s oranges. Lana stepped into the street and looked around. The people of the town were employed in

maintaining and improving their new lives. Lives she’d helped destroy.

If she didn’t get the Horsemen to safety, more might be lost. Greenie would find her or someone else would. She couldn’t risk staying here too long. Restless, she returned to her room in the warehouse and lay on the bed, thinking hard.

Dark fell, and several of the lanterns in the warehouse were lit. Hers stayed dark. She waited for Kelli to find her and eventually rose, hungry. She and Jack joined the others on the street, going to the bonfires. Lana looked around for Kelli and saw her near Mike at the far bonfire. Kelli’s features were drawn, her gaze distracted. She sat with a plate of food, not eating.

“Are you well?” Lana asked, approaching.

“Yes, thanks,” Kelli said. “I’m so sorry! I forgot you!” “I can find my way here,” Lana replied with a smile. “Go grab some food.”

Lana did. The woman carving this night’s kill gave her extra for Jack. Lana returned to sit by Kelli. When Kelli said nothing, Lana spoke.

“I met Melissa today,” she said.

“Melissa’s great with kids,” Kelli said. “I spent the day at the medical facility. My little one hasn’t been doing so well on his treatment.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. There was nothing in the supplies to help?” “Unfortunately, no. We’re taking it a day at a time.”

Lana felt for the quiet woman as she fell in to a sad silence. More soldiers in gray and black made their way down the bonfires, pausing to talk to Mike. Lana couldn’t relax until they’d left. Jack helped her

eat her meat and then finished off the rice and beans. She sat back, comfortable with the warmth of the fire. Kelli giggled as she fed Jack the remainder of her meal as well.

“Meat’s hard to come by,” Mike reminded them, crouching nearby. Though his words were firm, he patted Jack.

“Any news today?” Kelli asked.

“Just the usual. A few more stragglers, rumors of a new East-West War,” Mike summarized with a shrug. “A few of more of the feds’ secret supply facilities were found today. They were all open. Something must’ve happened to destroy whatever kept them locked. It’s a good thing for any survivors out there. The military is trying to find them all and pull out the supplies before anyone else steals them.”

“Were there a lot of them, I wonder?” Kelli asked.

“They’d found five already within the area they’re patrolling. Seems there are a lot of them along the river.”

“How wonderful.”

Lana was quiet. Mike’s gaze fell to her.

“Great job with the generator,” he said. “We didn’t think it would ever work.” “Thanks,” she said.

“I understand you want to cross the river.” Lana nodded.

Mike gazed towards the Mississippi. “We could use someone like you here. In fact, all the cities along the river could.”

“I really need to get to Colorado,” Lana said quietly.

“The PMF has subs. They can take you to the opposite bank, but they’re the first to say not to do it. No one makes it onto the bank with the security the feds installed to keep us Easterners from crossing,” he said with a shake of his head. “I’ll think about it. I’d rather see you alive and here than blown to pieces trying to get across the river. You could always wait a few weeks or so to see if they disable the security.”

Lana sought the words to convey her urgency without revealing just how important it was.

“The girl misses her family, Mike,” Kelli said. “She fixed the generator. She definitely contributed. If she wants to leave, she can help us check the receivers then go her own way.”

Mike sighed. “All right. I’ll talk to the PMF. None of us know enough about the receivers, so we do need your help before you go.”

“Of course,” Lana said, her hopes rising. “I can check them tomorrow.”

The couple exchanged a look. Mike rose and left. Lana shifted, sensing she’d said something to cause the silent communication between Kelli and Mike.

“If you’re alive, I’m coming for you. Just give me some sort of sign.”

Lana froze at the words. It took a long moment for her to register Mike hadn’t spoken them, and the familiar voice came from the implant in her ear.

“You feel all right?” Kelli asked.

“Yes, thanks. Just … I think I need some sleep,” Lana said, standing abruptly. “Come, Jack.” She itched to grab her micro or tap her ear and respond.

Brady—her Guardian—was alive! Lana’s body went on autopilot as