The Bar Code Prophecy by Suzanne Weyn Read Free Book Online Page B

see.”
    The truck pulled away. Grace and Eric followed and were soon zooming down the roadway. Grace clenched her eyes shut and her arms ached from holding Eric so tightly. Although she’d always wanted to ride a motorcycle, she never thought she’d really get the opportunity. Her parents would never have allowed it. The experience was thrilling and terrifying all at once.
    After three blocks, she dared to open her eyes and observe the buildings going by as Eric zipped around corners, eventually turning into an alley between two skyscrapers. At the end of it, a wide garage door stood open. They pulled inside.
    Electronic doors closed behind them and the floor they were on began to descend. Grace realized they were inside a large elevator car that was transporting them several levels underground. Finally the car elevator clanked to a jarring stop.
    The wall opposite the one they’d entered through opened, revealing an immense underground parking garage. Eric revved the engine and drove slowly into the cavernous space, which was filled with cars, vans, and trucks, including several tractor trailers.
    “Where are we?” Grace asked as soon as she and Eric had pulled off their helmets. The elevator left their floor and then returned with Katie and Mfumbe in the truck.
    “This is your all-purpose hideout,” Eric said with a grin. “Katie calls it the ranch. Decode trackers can’t find us under here because we’re too deep underground.”
    “If a meteor were to hit Earth, do you think we would be safe down here?” Grace questioned, looking around at the immense, dank space with its gray walls and exposed pipes. Every so often the news report about the meteor would pop, unbidden and random, into her head. She wasn’t really worried about it; she simply couldn’t get it completely off her mind.
    “What?” Eric asked.
    Grace smiled wryly. “Sorry. It’s strange, but in the middle of all this craziness, I can’t stop thinking about the meteor that’s supposed to be heading our way.”
    “It’s supposed to pass us, isn’t it?” Eric answered.
    “That’s what they’re saying,” Grace agreed.
    Eric chuckled with a dark amusement. “I think we have enough other things to worry about right now.”
    “Absolutely, but are we deep enough underground to be safe?”
    “We’re deep enough to block a satellite signal. That’s all I know,” Eric said. “Don’t worry about the meteor. It seems like there’s one flying by every few years.”
    A young woman approached them, walking from across the garage. Grace immediately knew who she was — how could she not? It may have been illegal to have the poster of Kayla Reed openly displayed, because President Waters had declared her an enemy of the state. Still, her image was everywhere, and Grace would recognize the eighteen-year-old’s lean, high-boned face anywhere.
    Kayla and Mfumbe faced each other and held hands, clearly a couple. Kayla lay her forehead on Mfumbe’s chest and shut her eyes, as did he. They stood that way for several beats without moving.
    “What’s that about?” Grace asked Eric.
    “They’re telepaths,” Eric explained. “The early bar code resisters learned to speak with their minds. Many of them still communicate that way.”
    “Can you do that?” Grace was afraid the answer would be yes.
    “No. It takes too much training. I’d rather be climbing.”
    Grace covered her tattooed wrist with her other hand, suddenly ashamed even though the tattoo was supposed to be safe now. It suddenly felt all wrong to be bar coded here in the presence of these resisters.
    Lifting her head, Kayla caught Grace’s movement and smiled warmly. “It’s all right,” she said, brushing back her chin-length light brown hair as she broke away from Mfumbe and approached. “You didn’t know, and we didn’t get to you in time.”
    “I didn’t know what?” Grace asked.
    “You didn’t know not to get the tattoo,” Kayla replied.
    Grace waited for Eric