out? California and Texas cut bait. No one is going to stop this.”
Caroline thought of the doctor who had tried to help her. Maureen. Her name was Maureen. It seemed important to her to remember a name instead of just a title. “There will always be goodness in the world.”
“No,” Jen said. “Everyone’s out for themselves now. The sooner you come to terms with that, the better.”
“They’re not. There are still small acts of revolution to be had.”
Jen scowled. “That time will never come. I know what you’re thinking, Caroline. But all your sappy movie moments, all your inspirational quotes, all your idealistic visions of a greater nation aren’t real life. At all.”
It had always boggled her mind how Jen could correctly analyze her words and read so much into them. “These things happen in real life,” Caroline said. “Not just in the movies. Tiananmen Square. The democracy movements in the Middle East. The overthrow of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe. People quietly fighting for change.”
“That’s not going to happen here,” Jen said bitterly. “We’re complacent. Always have been, always will be. We threw together a document that was far too advanced and far too perfect and after almost two hundred and fifty years we’ve gotten used to being the beacon for the rest of the world. We don’t know any better. We’re like dandelions in the wind. We’ll latch onto something for a few seconds and then blink and the moment is gone. It’s over, Caroline. It never started.”
Jen had never been a bleak person. But her words were stark, depressing. “What happened to you?” Caroline asked.
“I could ask you the same fucking question. Maybe being in here has made you batty.”
There was no doubt of that, but Caroline hoped a bit of her sanity remained intact. She shook her head from side to side and Jen laughed. At her. Jen was laughing at her. Jen had never laughed at her before, not really. It made Caroline feel ashamed.
“There is no humanity left,” Jen said. “It’s all been snatched away. God knows how they managed to do it so quickly. Maybe we’ve been primed for this longer than we thought. I stupidly hoped we’d put up more of a fight.”
“There are good people left,” Caroline insisted.
Jen grabbed her arm. “Yeah, and they’re all in here sporting tattoos. Lambs for the fucking slaughter.”
Jen was no cynic. Caroline had never heard her talk like this before. “There’s a rebellion,” she whispered, hoping the guards weren’t listening in. “There are people fighting to stop this.”
“No, there isn’t,” Jen said. “The states that seceded are perfectly happy to leave the other forty-eight alone in exchange for not being bothered. Just like every NATO country, every disaffected and apathetic citizen, every person who’s somehow still allowed to live as long as they don’t mess with the status quo. There’s nothing left.”
“You don’t know that.”
“And neither do you. You don’t know what it was like driving across the country. It was surreal. It appeared normal, but it was like there was this weird film over everything. Nothing was quite what it seemed. But I noticed one thing – you don’t mess with the government and they won’t mess with you.”
“As long as you’re not gay, or rich, or an atheist, or a member of a minority group.” Caroline grew frustrated. “Have you forgotten about Katie?”
As soon as she said the words, she realized the obvious. Jen was alone. Where was Eric? And where was Kathleen?
No matter, for the mere mention of the name was enough to snap Jen back to attention. “Don’t talk about her!” she shouted.
Caroline’s stomach churned as a wave of nausea swept through her body. “Where’s Katie?”
Jen shoved away from her, leaning against the wall.
“Where’s Katie?” Caroline repeated.
Jen put her head in her hands and started rocking back and forth, humming to herself.
“Where’s Katie?” Caroline yelled. She yanked Jen’s head up, the pain in her broken fingers forgotten. “Tell me where she is, Jenny.”
Jen bit her lip. “No,” she said. “No no no.” She stared at Caroline, her eyes vacant.
Caroline tugged at Jen’s shirt. “Tell me what happened.”
It took a minute. A little more prodding. A few soothing words, a reassurance that Caroline, her friend, was here with her and they’d both be okay. A dirty lie, especially considering Jen’s previous statements, but it was enough to make her start rambling. At first Caroline couldn’t make out what she was saying. She could only hear bits and pieces through hiccups and