The Ones by Daniel Sweren-Becker Read Free Book Online Page B

coiled wires. Whoever this person was, he looked like he had parachuted in straight from an army-recruitment commercial.
    â€œNo. But we know you,” he said. “We heard you were attacked last night. And we heard how you reacted.”
    â€œWhat do you mean, we ? And how do you know that?”
    â€œI can’t get into it here, but I’ll fill you in later.” He handed her a slip of paper. “Come to that address tonight. We’re having a meeting, and you should be there.”
    Was this guy serious? He was acting as if the greasy-spoon diner in Shasta was teeming with spies. “Dude, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said.
    â€œThe Ones, Cody. We’ve decided to do something.”
    Cody felt a chill go down her spine as it dawned on her what this meant. There were others out there, others like her who saw what was coming and realized they had to act. Cody felt vindicated. She wasn’t crazy, and she wasn’t alone. But even with that thrill, she remembered what she had just promised James. She would stop acting so recklessly, stop making things worse. He was probably right—every rash action of hers had only made people hate them more. Surely whatever group this guy belonged to was doing that to an even greater extreme. Cody took the paper and looked down at the address, but she knew she shouldn’t go.
    â€œNo, thank you,” she said.
    He stared at her with piercing dark brown eyes and then reached out and grabbed her arm, his firm grip keeping her whole body in place. Cody knew she had every right to knock him away, to shout for help, to have her mom kick him out, but the power of his look stopped her. Cody saw a kindred spirit, someone equally as passionate and tempestuous as she was, but with a measure of self-possession that she had never been able to manage. She was shocked that such a balance could exist, that a person could radiate so much energy while staying perfectly calm. Even if she didn’t go to the meeting, she wanted to learn how that was possible.
    â€œWho are you? What’s your name?” she asked.
    â€œKai,” he said softly after looking over his shoulder. “So you’ll come, then?”
    She wanted to trust him, was practically willing to jump out of her seat and follow him out the door to hop on the back of whatever motorcycle he surely rode in on. But she thought of James, the amazing boy she loved, who had saved her life, who knew her better than anyone, who was always trying to protect her, who had the dimples and the curls, and who was probably walking back to her this very second. She couldn’t do that to James.
    â€œNo. I can’t.”
    Kai’s eyebrows furrowed. “I didn’t want to explain this here,” he said, frustrated, “but you deserve to know.”
    He stood up and leaned into Cody’s ear, their cheeks practically touching, tiny bits of electricity tickling her nerves. His tone was cold, but his breath on the back of her neck was warm. “As we speak, the government is working on a program that they think will solve the equality problem. They’re developing a technology to reverse the genetic engineering of all the existing Ones.”
    Kai paused.
    â€œThey’re calling it the Vaccine.”

 
    CHAPTER 4
    AS JAMES DROVE Cody home from the diner, she sat quietly in the passenger seat, staring out the window in a daze. James couldn’t figure out what was bothering her, but he knew from experience that he should probably be apologizing for something. It was never the small stuff that got James in trouble, like not holding open a door or forgetting that she hated cinnamon. In that sense, Cody was super chill. But if it was a mistake like not sticking up for her in front of his parents or disagreeing about something she thought was obvious, then look out, Cody was a pit bull. So as he drove along with the tension thick in the car, James racked