Jonah's face hardened. “Are the parents…?” He trailed off
“Yes,” Ruby whispered, swallowing the lump in her throat. “I can’t do this, Jonah.”
“The TCA already knows she’s here.”
“She’s just a kid!”
“I understand, but I don’t think there’s anything we can do.”
Panic tore its way through her stomach, stomping through her chest and swarming her throat. “They don’t know she’s here. They didn't even know if there were any thermies left behind. We’ll tell them the whole family was killed. Or that Edward took her. We can hide her.”
Jonah reached forward, putting his hand on her shoulder. She yanked it away, shaking her head. He sighed. “Where would she go?”
“She can stay in the hotel with me. Or, I don’t know, okay? Maybe Lucas can look after her. But we can’t let the TCA know she’s here. They’ll kill her, Jonah.”
“Okay. We’ll take her with us.”
Her head shot up. “Really?”
“Of course. She’s just a kid, we can’t leave her behind. We have to get going though, agents are never too far behind a group like ours.”
They burst into the living room, finding Kavya sitting on the couch behind Ellie, gun trained on the small girl’s back as she watched television.
Ruby knelt beside the small girl. “Ellie, I need you to pack a small bag, okay? Just some clothes, a favorite toy, maybe a book.”
Ellie’s bright eyes clouded with confusion. “Are we going somewhere?”
“What’s going on?” Kavya asked, standing and putting the gun back in her holster.
“I’ll explain fully in the truck, but we have to get out of here before the TCA arrives. They can’t know about her.”
“They already know.”
Canned cartoon laughter sounded in the background, mocking the silence that fell over the room.
“Why would they know, Kavya?” Ruby didn’t bother to hide the accusation in her voice.
“Because I texted them as soon as I walked in.” Kavya straightened her back. She wasn’t particularly tall, especially compared to Ruby and Jonah, but she had an aura of authority, her features set in a serious line. “Because that is my job. Because that is OUR job. We work for the TCA, theThermophile Control Agency. That—” She pointed at Ellie “—is a thermophile.”
“SHE,” Jonah corrected, “is a little girl.”
“She stopped being a little girl the minute she was infected.”
“Enough.” Ruby stood and made her way to the kitchen, ignoring Kavya’s protests and Jonah’s worried look. She pressed her phone hard to her cheek, her voice low and fierce. “I won’t do it.”
“What?” Lucas’s tone crackled through, confused and unprepared for her defiance.
“It’s a kid,” she nearly bit into her phone, each word sharper than the last. “I’m not handing her over to be put down like a dog. She didn’t do anything wrong.” Ruby’s voice caught, but she didn’t let herself waver, summoning every ounce of resolve.
“Ruby—”
“No.” She cut him off. “I don’t care what strings you have to pull or who I have to talk to. I won’t do it. I’ll take responsibility for her once Edward is gone. Just… fix it.” Her voice was a strained whisper, the same way it had been when she’d begged doctors, long ago, for another answer.
“Let me see what I can do.” The line went dead, and she stood there. She closed her eyes and let out a trembling breath. Her stomach twisted at the thought of Ellie meeting that same end as Gerald,as Andy. This girl was innocent, a victim; she shouldn’t have to suffer for someone else’s horror.
Her phone buzzed, jerking her back to the present. Lucas’s message confirmed that the TCA would take Ellie in on the condition she enrolled in a softer version of the agent program. Ruby clutched her phone, relief mingling with lingering dread.
When she returned, Ellie clutched a bowl in her hands, chewing as she watched the cartoons. She looked up as Ruby entered the room. “Look, Ruby, Kavya reheated my mac andcheese and put on SpongeBob. I’m almost done though, so I can’t share.”
