Fragments by Dan Wells Page B

her?”
    The girl flicked on the flashlight again, first blinding Marcus and then angling it
     away toward the photo in his hand. He looked at it again.
    “Look closely,” said the girl. “Do you recognize her?”
    “It’s Nandita Merchant,” said Marcus. “I already—”
    “Not her,” said the girl. “The child standing next to her.”
    Marcus looked again, holding the image close, peering intently at the little girl
     in the center. Her skin was light brown, her pigtails dark as coal, her eyes bright
     and curious. She wore a brightly colored dress, the kind a little girl would wear
     to a park on a summer day. The kind he hadn’t seen in twelve years. She looked happy,
     and innocent, and her face was slightly scrunched as she squinted one eye against
     the sun.
    There was something familiar about that squint. . . .
    Marcus’s mouth fell open, and he nearly dropped the photo in shock. “That’s Kira.”
     He looked up at the mystery girl, more confused now than ever. “That’s a picture of
     Kira from before the Break.” He looked at it again, studying her face; she was young,
     her round face soft with baby fat, but the features were still there. That was Kira’s
     nose, Kira’s eyes, and the same way Kira squinted in the sun. He shook his head. “Why
     is she with Nandita? They didn’t even meet until after the Break.”
    “Exactly,” said the girl. “Nandita knew about this, and never told anyone.”
    That was a weird way to phrase it, thought Marcus. Not “Nandita knew Kira,” but “Nandita knew about this.” “Knew about what?”
    The girl flicked off her flashlight, slipped it into a pocket, and plucked the photo
     from Marcus’s hand. “Do you know where she is?”
    “Kira or Nandita?” asked Marcus. He shrugged helplessly. “The answer’s no to both,
     so it doesn’t matter. Kira went looking for . . .” Kira was looking for the Partials,
     and he’d been careful never to tell anybody, but he supposed it didn’t matter in this
     case. “You’re a Partial, aren’t you?”
    “If you talk to Kira, tell her that Heron says hello.”
    Marcus nodded. “You’re the one who caught her; the one who took her to Dr. Morgan.”
    Heron didn’t respond, tucking the photo away and glancing into the shadows behind
     her. “Things are going to get very interesting on this island, very soon,” she said.
     “You’re familiar with the expiration date Samm talked about?”
    “You know Samm, too?”
    “Kira Walker and Nandita Merchant are vital to the solution of the expiration date,
     and Dr. Morgan is determined to find them.”
    Marcus frowned, confused. “What do they have to do with it?”
    “Don’t get distracted by details,” said Heron. “It doesn’t matter why Dr. Morgan wants to find them, just that she does, and she is going to, and Partials
     have only two ways of doing things: my way, and everybody else’s way.”
    “I’m not a big fan of your way,” said Marcus, eyeing the rifle. “Do I even want to
     know everybody else’s way?”
    “You’ve seen it before,” said Heron. “It was called the Partial War.”
    “In that case, I like your way better,” said Marcus.
    “Then help me,” said Heron. “Find Nandita Merchant. She’s somewhere on this island.
     I’d do it myself, but I have business elsewhere.”
    “Off the island,” said Marcus, and ventured a guess. “You’re looking for Kira.”
    Heron smiled again.
    “What do I do if I find her?” Marcus asked. “Assuming . . . that I look for her at
     all, because you’re not the boss of me.”
    “Just find her,” said Heron. She took a step backward. “Trust me, you don’t want to
     do this their way.” She turned and walked into the shadows.
    Marcus tried to follow her, but she was gone.

CHAPTER FIVE
    K ira crouched low in the brush, staring through her new rifle scope at the door of
     the electronics store. This was the fourth one she’d visited, and every one had been