Free United as One by Pittacus Lore Page A

hurries through the hallways of Patience Creek to go about their tasks, I pull Adam aside. He looks pale as usual, with the addition of some dark circles around his eyes. Everyone at that meeting had a little bit of similar wear on them. Invasion fatigue is setting in.
    â€œYou all right?” I ask him. “What did they do to you?”
    Adam stares at me, shaking his head. “I’m fine, John. It was nothing. I should be asking how you’re doing.”
    I figured that was coming. Everyone who knew Sarah—from Sam to Walker—all of them keep looking at me like I might fall apart at any second. I hate that. I don’t want to be coddled. I want to fight. I was at least hoping that when it came to Adam, I’d get a pass on the sympathy. Never thought I’d be yearning for some cold Mogadorian logic.
    â€œI’m dealing,” I tell him, and am surprised by how much edge is in my voice.
    â€œAll right,” Adam replies, obviously getting the hint. He holds up his hands to show me his wrists where the handcuffs are still attached to them. “You mind getting these the rest of the way off?”
    â€œYeah, sure. Forgot about those.”
    â€œIt was more about delivering a message to that Lawson guy than getting me out of chains,” Adam says. “I get it.”
    â€œWell,” I reply with a small smile. “You did look uncomfortable.”
    â€œSo did all those soldiers.” Adam laughs. “It was a good move. You showed strength.”
    I light up my Lumen again, this time focusing it so that it’s limited just to the tip of my index finger. Careful not to burn Adam, I melt through the lock mechanisms on the cuffs until they fall open.
    â€œWhat kind of questions were they asking you?” I ask while Adam rubs some feeling back into his wrists.
    â€œLike I said, it wasn’t so bad. They wanted to know weapon and ship schematics. They wanted to know about the structure of the Mogadorian government and military, which is easy because they’re basically the same thing. They wanted to know what will happen to Mog society if Setrákus Ra is killed.” Adam shrugs. “I would’ve told them all these things even if they hadn’t put me on lockdown and kept me up all night.”
    â€œHuh,” I say, thinking for a moment. There was actually a question in there that I’d never thought to ask myself. “What will happen when we kill Setrákus Ra?”
    Adam smiles at me, appreciating the certainty in my voice. Then he runs a hand through his stringy black hair, looking thoughtful.
    â€œWell, I don’t remember a time when there wasn’t a . . . ‘Beloved Leader.’ I’ve got no concept of what our world was like before. Hell, I doubt my parents would even remember. Setrákus Ra rewrote our history books, so, according to them, we weren’t much more than animals before he came along and ‘raised us up.’”
    â€œI guess it’s too much to ask that they’d just give up and go away,” I reply.
    â€œWithout strip-mining Earth like they did Lorien, the fleet doesn’t have enough fuel to go anywhere.” Adam pauses thoughtfully. “Over a long enough timeline, though, they might go away. . . .”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œFor all his bluster in that so-called Great Book of his, Setrákus Ra never actually fixed the fertility problems we trueborn experience. He can grow an endless number of vatborn soldiers. Doesn’t change the fact that the trueborn birth rate is totally stagnant.”
    â€œSo the trueborn will slowly die off,” I say, trying to keep my voice suitably grim considering the company, but really feeling nothing for the slow extinction of Mogadorians. “And the vatborn?”
    â€œAs far as I know, the secret to creating them would die with Setrákus Ra.” Adam sees my smile and holds up a cautioning hand. “You need