"Madeline?"
There were a few other kids in the decontamination room, all looking as nervous as I felt. None of them responded to the page.
"Ms. Gervais?"
Oh. That was me.
I'd been through multiple identities during the war. Now that the Yeerks were gone, it was easier for me to use my last name. It wouldn't be safe to use "Madra", Darwin said, so I became Madeline. He still gets to call me Maddie.
"Yeah?" I responded.
"Your brother is on the phone."
"I'm about to go into outer space. Can it wait?"
"There's still security checks. Go ahead."
I rolled my eyes, left the pristine room, and was handed a phone."Hey, Maddie?"
"Hey, Da-er, Charles. How's it going?" I had no idea why he would be calling me. The foster fund had paid for our trips, and he had chosen South America. I preferred space. We'd only be doing a short flight-not long or far enough to get a glimpse of my namesake-but still.
"What do Taxxons look like?"
"How should I know?"
"You're the smart one."
"That's the problem with being twins. There's always this one and the other one. Why do I have to be the smart one?"
"Would you rather be the dumb one?" No. "I'm sending you a picture right now. Can you see it?"
I looked at the phone. There was an image emerging of a dense jungle. A dead body lay in it, ridden with bullet holes.
"Yeah, I can see it. And yeah, they look like that."