Pentimento: a dystopian Beauty and the Beast Read Online Free PDF Page A

insisted. "Don't waste my time. I don't like reluctant people. Either you want to risk coming with me to learn who the Beasts really are, or not."
    "Is this Pentimento really the answer?" a voice asked in the phone. It was a calm voice, a bit shattered and worn out, but grounded. It was as if it belonged to someone strong and confident, but with a broken heart. It was Colton's voice.
    Iris's eyes widened and her throat went dry once she recognized it. Was this what she'd hoped for, that her interaction with Cody would lead her to meet Colton? But wait. He wanted to come with her to practice the Pentimento? Why would he want to do this?
    "Answer me," Colton demanded, then stopped for a moment. She heard him ask Cody what her name was. "Iris," he said. "Your name is Iris, right?"
    "Yes." she said, hating how weakened she sounded all of a sudden.
    "If I come with you to the Ruins, is it possible that I might learn what happened to Eva?" he said.
    "I don't promise answers," she said. "But I'm sure it's a step closer to the truth."
    "Wait up," Colton said without hesitation. "I'm coming to meet you."

7
    “The Ruins are behind the Great Wall,” Iris said to Colton, who was trying to catch up with her energetic walking. Iris preferred to have Colton behind her. She didn't want him to see it in her eyes how much she liked him. When he first arrived, he hadn't even remembered her. He hadn't remembered that most amazing moment of eye-locking before Eva's death. Iris thought it was natural. She was always kind of invisible to him, and who was she kidding? They had that moment right before his girlfriend received the Call to death. Nothing he would really want to remember.
    “What?” Colton stopped. Iris had to turn around and face him. His black hair dangled down over his forehead, as he lowered his head down to talk to her.
    “We don't really have the advantage to slow down," Iris said, taking a deep breath, and forgetting she was talking to Colton. “We shouldn't spend a lot of time in the Ruins, or the Slugs who live there could hurt us.”
    "Slugs?" he wondered.
    Of course, Iris thought. Colton was no different from the other citizens who'd never heard about the Ruins, or the outlaws who lived in it.
    “I don’t care about any slugs, whoever they are,” Colton followed.
    "Then why do you look so confused?" She noticed the sparkling in his eyes had faded. Colton was grieving Eva's departure, but he was too proud to show it.
    “You never told me the Ruins are behind the Great Wall. No one’s supposed to go there.” Colton remarked.
    “Nothing of what we're about to do is going to be legal. It's one of the drawbacks of hanging out with me.” Iris really wanted to make an impression, and she was filled with nerves about hanging out with him. But she wasn't going to change who she was for him. She wondered if it was even legal to have a crush on Colton while he was freshly mourning Eva.
    “I haven't really thought about it," Colton said, a shade of sadness veiling his voice. This was a lesser Colton than the one her eyes had stalked all year long. "But I guess if the Ruins hold the secrets you're going to show me, it has to be behind the Great Wall. You're aware that this wall protects The Second from whatever danger lies outside, right?"
    "It's also the only place that still has buildings made of brick, stone, and wood," Iris thought she'd pique his curiosity, "instead of this metallic world we live in."
    “There are no buildings built of brick and wood anymore,” Colton grimaced, lifting his head at the fortress of silver buildings behind them. She watched him take in her note, and see how dull the world around them looked. Shiny, but dull. "The Council has destroyed any of those ancient constructions built in The First United States."
    "As long as you're with me, let's forget about anything they told you in school." Iris rather bragged. “I know you're used to believing the Council. It's time to open your eyes and