The Lair Read Online Free PDF Page B

something important. Whether I should be or not, I’m in a position of power here.” She gave me a small, sheepish smile. “I need to—you know—use my powers for good. Not evil.”
    “Fine. But that doesn’t mean putting yourself in danger.”
    “I’m not planning on being reckless, but I need to help. To do something concrete. Besides, I think seeing me do things will help morale. In case you haven’t noticed, things in the cave are getting tense.”
    “Yeah, I noticed. I’m not an idiot.”
    Her lips twitched just a little. “So then you noticed how skittish all the Greens are. I don’t think I’ve seen a single Green leave camp since we got here. Since that guy was exposed just before we arrived.”
    I knew she was right; I just didn’t know what to do about it. I pushed a hand through my hair.
    “They’re scared,” Lily said.
    “Wouldn’t you be?” Hell, I knew the answer to that question. Of course Lily would be scared, but that wouldn’t stop her from doing something, not if she thought it was important. “Look, it’s going to take a while for people to get over it, that’s all. I’m not going to force anybody out of the caves.”
    “Of course not; I’m not saying you should. But if the Greens see me outside, going on food raids or helping with the solar panels, it’ll help them get over their fears.”
    “Their fears are totally rational.” Too bad Lily didn’t have rational fears to balance out her sheer guts. “It’s dangerous out there.”
    “So what? We should all just hide in the caves and starve?”
    “Obviously not. But I’m not going to send a bunch of untrained Greens into danger just because they have cabin fever.”
    “So train them!” Lily threw up her hands in exasperation.
    “The Elites—”
    “The Elites are overextended. Right now, the Elites do all the food raids, they do all the patrols. It’s not so noticeable now, because there aren’t enough warm days for you to send people out every day, but spring is here. And there are only forty-three of you. And nearly a hundred Greens. We Greens have to pull our weight.”
    She was right about the Elites being overextended, but I didn’t want to admit it because I didn’t have any clue how to fix it. “Look, right now I need to focus on getting these solar panels installed. When I get back, I’ll try to think of some way to encourage the Greens to do more.”
    I turned and walked to the other side of the Hummer, hoping that if I looked busy, she’d take the hint and head back inside. But she followed me to the driver’s side instead.
    “That’s the beauty of my plan,” she said, her voice eager. “You don’t have to encourage anybody to do anything they don’t want. Just send me out on the next food raid—”
    A bark of hysterical laughter burst out of me. Lily on a food raid? Fifty-plus miles from the safety of Base Camp? Wandering around an unknown city searching for supplies she could pillage? What a nightmare. “Tell me you’re joking.”
    “It’s the perfect solution. You know I can handle myself out there. And if the other Greens see me doing these things, some of them will want to do them, too. I know they will.”
    “No,” I said automatically. “Absolutely not.”
    “You need us to go find food, damn it.”
    “No, Lily. Right now, the only thing I need is for you to be safe. For you to get your ass back in to Base Camp.”
    “Carter, I can’t—”
    “Lily, you have the Tick gene. If you get exposed, it’s all over. And I can’t live with that.”
    “Well, I can’t live by hiding in a cave.” She stepped closer to me, her eyes blazing. “I can’t stand by and do nothing. I have to have some purpose here. And I know I’m right about the Greens. There is no way Base Camp can continue to function like this.”
    I stayed silent and prayed like hell that she would back down. Instead, she bumped up her chin again and said, “And I can’t spend the rest of my life hiding from