Redwood: Servant of the State by Jaxon Reed Read Free Book Online Page A

ago. It’s pretty, no?”
    We rounded a corner, and a head popped out of a nearby doorway. A boy about my age. His hair was light, not as blonde as mine. I’d call it a dirty blonde. It popped back inside, then a moment later it popped out again with two more heads just like it.
    “Hello! What’s this?”
    “A newcomer!”
    “Stranger! Stranger!”
    We stopped and Ella’s laughter tinkled out.
    “Marcus Savitch, meet the O’Donnell triplets: Jacob, Jason, and Jeremy. I’m sorry, I can never tell which one’s which.”
    “I’m Jason. The ugly ones are my brothers.”
    “Who you calling ugly?” one of them said. The other landed a rough punch on Jason’s shoulder.
    “Ow!” He slugged the offender on the chin. Then the other one punched both of them and they all started swinging fists and insults.
    Ella laughed again. “Those boys. Always fighting. Come on, Professor Cruz is right over this way.”
    We walked into a building slightly larger than the others. Behind a table sat an older man and woman, and a young girl about my age. All had tan skin and dark hair. They stood when we entered and stared at me. Obviously, nobody is used to newcomers around here, I thought.
    “Professor, this is Marcus Savitch. Professor Kalinowski sent him with the shipment today.”
    “I see. Glad to meet you, Marcus. I’m Curtis Cruz. This is my wife, Melody. Our daughter, Consuela.”
    I shook hands all around. His daughter said, “You can call me Connie.”
    I nodded. “You can call me Marc.”
    “Consuela, why don’t you give Marcus a tour of the station?”
    “Okay, Daddy.”
    “Marcus, you realize we’re going to have to hold a meeting to discuss you.”
    I nodded. My gut wrenched. I knew they’d have to investigate me. I thought, certainly they’ll get rid of me when they find out what I am, what I’ve done. I wondered if they’d just kill me or turn me over to the Redwood Agents.
    “Let me round everybody up, and we’ll figure it all out. You two come back in half an hour.”
    -+-
    There was no way to escape, even if I wanted to. Near as I could tell, there was no way down to the ground without using a synthetic bird or PHUs or QCs. Or something. I asked Connie about it.
    “Mainly we get around with the birds, if anyone needs to leave the station. But nobody goes too far. Sometimes the Rangers make a trip to Redwood City and back. We do have some personal helicopter units people use to go short distances through the trees.”
    I nodded, making a mental note to try and find out where they kept their PHUs in case I needed to make a getaway.
    But as I thought more about it, my stomach sank deeper. Even if I did escape, where would I go? Near as I could figure, Kalinowski was at least a hundred miles away. Redwood City was over a thousand. Maybe I could strike out on my own and hole up in an experiment station somewhere. The thought of being completely alone depressed me, though.
    Connie didn’t notice, she was busy pointing out the sights. She hadn’t stopped talking since we left the Professor.
    “This is our house. I live here with my parents and Dee Dee. Hey, Dee Dee!”
    A girl’s head popped out of a window. Her eyes grew wide when she saw me.
    “Who is that?”
    “Come down here, and you can meet him.”
    She came out a minute later, and I was struck by her beauty. Jet black hair. Light skin. Her eyes were flecked with several colors, but green seemed dominate. She stretched out her hand to shake mine.
    “Diane Fremont.”
    “Marcus Savitch.”
    Her hand was cool to the touch. Mine was hot and sweaty.
    “Do you, uh … do you live here too?”
    “Yes she does,” Connie said. “We’re sisters!”
    Dee Dee smiled, her cheeks dimpling. “Well, I’m sort of adopted. I was smuggled out of New Texas when I was three. The Cruzes took me in and raised me.”
    Curiouser and curiouser, I thought. Professors and their families living out here alongside Rangers? Smuggled babies from New Texas? Surely