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Julius laughed. “Truthfully? I haven’t the slightest idea. As I said, you are utterly unremarkable in every respect but one: you survived when all others did not. That’s what appears to have stoked Jim J’s obsession with you, in addition to his relationship with your mother and his…eccentric beliefs. You escaped him, and now he believes you to have some extraordinary power that he wishes to harvest. His Vessel.”

“And he thinks killing me will do it,” I said dully. “I know that part.”

He chuckled again, though not warmly. As though he was laughing at me. My skin prickled with discomfort.

“Certainly,” Julius replied. “That’s one of his many goals. But as much as he’d enjoy killing you, I assure you there are things he wants more.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “Such as?”

“Control of all the compounds in the area,” he said evenly. “And more besides.”

Whatever that means, I thought uneasily.

“All the compounds in the area,” I repeated. “And you’re the head of whatever organization owns them, I suppose?”

Julius gave a short nod. “I told you: I am known as the Sire. The compounds are the creation of the Omega Corporation, which I founded before the Fall.”

“The Omega Corporation?” I asked with a frown. Before the Fall? I studied his features again and came to only one conclusion: he must be much older than he looks. It wasn’t terribly surprising, I supposed; many of the wealthier residents at the Cave underwent cosmetic procedures to look younger, and if he was the head of the organization, then he had access to the best.

His lips twisted. “That’s a story for another time. I believe you wanted to know more about why you’re here.”

He cleared his throat. “We took note of Jim J’s fascination with you early on. And when the Order began to infiltrate the Delta—to convert our people to their cause—we implemented countermeasures. One of those countermeasures was to turn their own false idol against them…and thus, the Sole Survivor was born.”

“I’d hardly call myself their idol, false or not,” I said, perturbed. “What’s the sole survivor?”

Julius arched an eyebrow at my tone, but eventually answered.

“We took the story of your survival at the Cave and used it to our advantage. Using crafted footage, we created the character of Claire Ainsley—a brave woman who survived the Order’s attempts on her life and was rescued by Omega forces, returned to the Omega compound, and now works with our leadership to spread the tragic, harrowing tale of her survival. She attends regular events and speaking engagements to bolster our cause and warn of the dangers of division during this precarious time. We branded her as the Sole Survivor, because she was the only one who survived the purge at the Cave, and is living proof of the compounds’ resilience and determination.”

I had no idea how to respond to that, so I looked back at the screen, where the Sole Survivor version of me still stood, poised at the lectern. She was beautiful, graceful…and utterly terrifying. She was their power manifested, their ability to lie and manipulate and concoct a story that benefited their narrative no matter what.

“I’m not the sole survivor,” I informed him, feeling no particular need to protect Asha any longer. “Asha escaped, too.”

Julius’s condescending chuckle told me that he thought I was a stupid, clueless little girl who knew nothing.

“Who’s that again?” he asked with derision, but when I opened my mouth to reply, he waved impatiently at me. “Oh right, your little friend on the radio. It doesn’t matter; nobody cares. What matters is that Jim J chose you.”

I swallowed hard, unsure what to say. “She’s likely dead now, anyway.”

“Good,” Julius replied, blowing out a breath. “I have enough on my plate without tracking down and eliminating women who are counterproductive to our cause.”

I stared at him, wide-eyed. When I could think of no reply, I decided it was best to move on.

“The fact that the compounds are connected was never common knowledge when I lived at the Cave.” It wasn’t what I truly wanted to say, but it was a question that nagged at me.

“That’s true,” Julius replied with a nod. “Shortly after the Cave was destroyed, and it became clear that the Order was intent on acquiring more compounds, I made the decision that their connection must be made public. It was necessary to show our residents how our way of life was at stake.”

I frowned. “So, you’ve just been showing everyone this fake footage of me? How has that worked? No one would’ve ever seen me in person.”

A sly smile curled his lips. “Correct. Which is how we circle back to why you’re here. From the beginning, we told all other compounds that you lived in the Omega compound—what we consider the ‘capital’—and we told Omega residents you lived elsewhere. It worked for many months, and calmed the unrest in some of the compounds following the loss of the Cave.”

“But?” I prompted.

“We planned meticulously,” Julius continued, an acrimonious bite in his voice. “When we discovered the Order’s ideology had infiltrated some of the Delta’s leadership, I decided to step in, personally, to oversee the compound. I implemented a strict curfew, banned public and private meetings of more than three people, and had the Mayor and his officials publicly executed via firing squad.”

I stilled. Even by compound standards, his measures were brutal. As authoritarian as the Cave had been in retrospect, we’d never had a public execution in my lifetime.

“What we didn’t plan for was that a third of the Delta’s military would revolt, throwing this place into chaos. They formed a rogue militia and garrisoned themselves in the warehouse district. They’re still there, even now.” The disdain in his voice was unmistakable.