Free Viral Nation by Shaunta Grimes Page A

very well behaved. And no one would want to room with Heather Sweeney. Have you ever met her? She’s really awful. I mean—”
    “No. No, I haven’t met her. I may know her father, though.” Bennett leaned back in his seat. “And unlike the Academy, we work with service dogs quite often here at Waverly-Stead.”
    “You do?”
    “Absolutely. There are skills we need to continue to ensure the health and safety of this country’s citizens, Clover. We don’t let anything get in the way of developing and making use of those skills.”
    “You mean those people,” Clover said.
    “Excuse me?”
    “The skills belong to people.”
    “Well, yes. Yes, of course.” Bennett tapped his right forefingeragainst his temple. “Your mind is a gift, Clover. At Waverly-Stead, it is an asset that will allow you to help your fellow citizens.”
    “Help them how?”
    “As a Time Mariner.”
    Clover choked on her next breath, and Mango lifted his head. “Kids aren’t Mariners. No one is, until after they graduate the Academy.”
    “You’re right. But some lucky children—children with skills the Company depends on—are on the Mariner track. They start as Messengers. Do you know what a Messenger is?”
    Clover recited a primary school textbook definition. “Messengers travel forward and gather the news from two years in the future, then bring it back to be analyzed so that problems can be solved before they occur. Messengers are the front line in the defense against a return of the Bad Times and essential to the operation of the world’s most effective justice system.”
    Bennett smiled, showing a mouth full of very white, very straight teeth. “Exactly. Messengers protect us against another civil war or outbreak of disease. They are a big part of making sure that we can all live without fear. Waverly-Stead is dedicated to making sure that the Bad Times never happen again.”
    Clover pulled up whatever information she had about Messengers. Since the scope of what they did was so narrow, there weren’t very many of them. Being a Messenger usually led to becoming a Time Mariner, traveling forward through the portal under Lake Tahoe and working with the information the Messengers collected. There were more Static Mariners, those who didn’t travel through the portal, than Time Mariners. Everyone on the Mariner track, including Messengers, made up the Company’s military ranks.
    Clover didn’t exactly know how those on the Mariner track were chosen, mostly because it wasn’t described very well in herschoolbooks or lessons, and it had never occurred to her that she’d ever need to care.
    Apparently, they randomly swooped kids up from the Academy. Not exactly something they bragged about.
    “How can I be on the Mariner track if I don’t graduate from the Academy?” she asked.
    “You’ll learn here. Starting today with your first mission.” She waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. Instead, he said, “Your guardian will continue to receive your rations and extras, of course, since Messengers don’t live in the barracks.”
    “My guardian?”
    Bennett raised a dark eyebrow and leaned back in his seat. “That’s your brother, isn’t it?”
    Right. Her brother, who had no idea where she was. “Can I talk to him about it first?”
    Bennett gave her a tight little frown and shook his head. “There isn’t really anything to talk about, is there?”
    “My brother will be really worried if I’m not there when he gets home from work.”
    “He’ll be made aware of the situation.” Bennett leaned back in his chair and watched her, like he was trying to gauge something. She couldn’t figure out what, and that made her nervous.
    “I’d really like to go home before I make any decisions. I can come back tomorrow.” Clover came to her feet. A tight knot gathered in her belly, and she clenched Mango’s lead in both hands to keep from flapping them as excess energy surged down her arms. “I have to talk to my