The Remnant

“Let me stop you right there. I’m not going to steal for you. Not anymore, anyway. Not after last time.”

“You just kidnapped a judge. When are you gonna quit pretending you’re so much better than me?”

“Better than you? Mr. King of the Remnant?”

“I found something I believe in. I’m not going to apologize for that, either. You’re just mad ’cause I’m right.”

“Oh, you’re really onto something there, Ise.” I shrugged at him and forced my voice down a notch. I had no idea why I found his words so irritating. “How’s this? I believe in not stealing anymore. Especially not for you.”

“We were friends for a long time.”

“Until we weren’t.”

“I didn’t have to be your enemy, little bird. I—” There was a long pause. “But you don’t hear the things I tell you. You think you know better. But this is the end. It’s me or the airlock. So maybe you’ll listen now.

“I said you have skills. I wasn’t talking about stealing. There’s more to you than that. You care about your family. I may not understand it, but I’ve always respected it. You want to belong somewhere. No, don’t deny it. You always have. ’S’why you got in with those clowns down below,” he said, referring to the group of thieves I’d run with back on Earth. “And you can be very convincing when you want to be. You keep a level head.” He looked thoughtful. “I can work with that.”

“Work… how? What did you have in mind?”

“My life… your life. I find I believe in more than just the people in the Remnant. I believe in the fact that we’re all still here. They did their best to keep us off the Arks, but here we are. We’re alive. We’re fighting.”

He rubbed his hands together, and it occurred to me that he was nervous. He was trying to convince me of something, and he actually cared how this turned out. Regardless of how he was acting.

“And I think that, in spite of everything that’s happened, deep down, you do too. You may not see it yet, but on some level, you and I are on the same side. And none of this would matter except for one last thing: we both believe in second chances. A clean slate.” He looked up from his hands. “You and me.”

I couldn’t even imagine what that might look like. He was right the first time: I was trapped. I couldn’t exactly waltz back into the Remnant on his arm. I was their enemy. “So, that would mean…”

“I thought about this a lot. It’s like, we betrayed each other. I’m not sorry that I used you. I had my reasons, but I could have gone about it differently. No one should have died.” He took a breath. “You have to forgive me, Charlotte.” He swallowed. “I’ve forgiven you.”

I frowned at him. “For what?”

He took a moment before answering. “For always choosing everything else instead of me.”

There was a slow silence between us.

My mouth hung open until I spoke, uneasily. “I’ll come with you, but I’m not your friend, Isaiah.” As much as I had once liked him, six weeks in his prison had given me plenty reasons to remain cautious. I shook my head. “I think you know that.” I paused, so that my last words hung in the air like poison. “And I don’t forgive you. For anything.”

He laughed, and the bin was full of the sound. It wasn’t a real laugh, and it didn’t sound like Isaiah. It lacked confidence. It was too loud. “So.” He clapped once and stood up. “You’re in.”

“It’s like you said, Ise. I don’t exactly have a choice.”

“Good enough for me. Let’s get out of here.”

I crossed my arms, still standing. “Where are we going?”

He shook his head. “Still not listening, are you? Don’t even pay attention at your own sentencing. The airlock, little bird. The airlock.”

Six (#ulink_27d833b1-7995-5fb6-9b01-8c87d83af2fc)

He was gone before I stood up, and I was left alone to wonder just what he was up to this time, and why he thought I could help. Possibilities piled themselves around me with no clear answer. Breaking into Central Command, which governed the vast majority of the North American Ark, to steal another program, maybe? Luring Eren back to the Remnant’s prison? My certain death in the void of space? He’d mentioned my family, but he was in for a big surprise if he thought I’d ever betray them.

I took a moment to scan the bin for anything I might be able to use. Sure, Isaiah and I were pretending to be friends again, as far as I knew. But I still had plenty of other enemies out there. Best to be prepared.

I already had a gun. Why Isaiah hadn’t asked for it was beyond me, but I sure wasn’t about to give it up without a fight. I ran a finger back and forth over the tape on a small plastic bin until it warmed slightly, liquidating its bond to the bin, then eased it off and used it to secure the gun to my upper thigh, making sure the safety was engaged. It wouldn’t hold for long, especially if I started running, but at least I could get to it easily. I found several crates full of identical rolls of electric wire, complete with wire cutters. I unspooled it greedily and wrapped several feet around my waist, high above the band of my prison pants. I looped one of the smaller wire cutters into the center of my bra and tucked its handle into my wire-belt, then pulled my shirt down over it.

There wasn’t much else worth taking. I couldn’t tell most software from scrap metal, so I sure as heck couldn’t make use of most of what was there, but I did find a few tiny computer chips sharp enough to pass for razors. I grabbed a few of those before leaving. I took one last look around the bin and nodded. I had weapons. Isaiah had been right: I wasn’t dead or back in jail. Yet.

Things were looking up.

Isaiah, it turned out, was waiting patiently at the end of a long, double row of Remnant guards.

I had never seen a Remnant guard in livery before, but these were dressed in black, Central Command-issued uniforms. The kind that blocked bullets. I spared a moment of appreciation for Isaiah’s people, who had probably gone to some trouble to procure them, while simultaneously suppressing a shudder at the memories the uniforms evoked. The result was something like an ungainly shrug.

If anything, it should have been encouraging. It meant the Remnant had conducted raids on Command supplies. It meant they hadn’t given up.

“Nice outfit,” I said to the first. She closed the bin door behind me without responding.

“You all right?” Isaiah asked me.

“Yep,” I said slowly, eyeing his army of personal guards. “Just fine.”

“Get the team out here,” he said to the guard nearest him. “Have it locked. Let’s go.”

The guard behind me took my arm, and I jerked away. “Hands off.”

She sighed and turned to Isaiah expectantly, giving me a clear view of the shock of bright red hair sticking out from under her cap.

“She’ll be fine, Mars.”

The guard lifted her hands in resignation. “After you,” she said tersely.

“Wait,” I said, studying her face. “I remember you.” She’d been at Isaiah’s side when he came to retrieve me from Central Command during the battle, to beg me to return to the Remnant with him. I hadn’t exactly come quietly, so to speak.

She raised an eyebrow. “Congratulations.”

Our little tussle had ended with her on the ground, unconscious, thanks in no small part to Isaiah, who’d turned on her at the last minute to keep her from hurting me further. I gave her a fake smile to go with her sarcasm. She did not return it.

As we wove through the bins, the guards flanked Isaiah and spread out ahead of him. They’d clearly had some practice with their formation. I tried to fall in with the ones right behind him, but they kept slowing down at the end of each bin, checking the aisles before allowing Isaiah to proceed through the intersection, so I kept nearly tripping. To make things worse, “Mars” seemed not to want me to walk directly behind Isaiah, so she kept placing a hand on my arm whenever he stopped. I kept right on knocking it away. She’d give a little snort, and we’d start walking again. It was all a little awkward, to be honest.

After about the fourth snort, Isaiah turned around.

“Why don’t you walk up here, Charlotte? Give me someone to talk to.”

“Sir, I really can’t advise—” Mars began.

“It’s fine,” he said shortly.

She sighed again, and I avoided shooting her a smug look as I sped up to take Isaiah’s outstretched arm.