Crossed

It continues to rain as Ky flips through papers. He finds a page of handwriting practice and thinks back to when his father taught him to write, starting with the letter “K.” Ky didn’t want his father to teach the other children how to write because if everyone can, “[he] won’t be special” like his father when he becomes the Pilot (266). Ky’s father said he only wants to be the Pilot to help others. Ky recalls a few more memories: In the first memory, his father remains loyal to the Rising while maintaining trade with the farmers who refuse to join. In the second memory, his father teaches him how to wire. In the third memory, Ky is old enough to know how risky his father’s actions are. Ky asked him to keep his head down and be more cautious, but it was no use; his father was bold and “never knew when to stop” (269).

Meanwhile, Cassia is absorbed in the book she’s reading. Indie sends Ky a silent message; she found something for them to look at together later.

Cassia tries to focus on looking for books about the Rising, but writes a poem about Ky in her head instead. No one else in the group has any luck. Frustrated at their lack of progress, Cassia steps outside for some air. She realizes Ky doesn’t want to find the Rising—he’s only helping for her sake. She asks Ky for “the rest of your story,” and he obliges (273).

Ky imagines an ideal life with Cassia in the Carving, reading poetry and farming the land. They’re happy, but their dreams are haunted by the faces of their abandoned loved ones. Cassia and Eli keep searching through documents in the cave, while Ky goes to a house in the township to meet Indie.

Ky catches Indie looking at something hidden. She lets him look at a display of Xander’s Match photo, as she was the one who stole Cassia’s microcard from her Match banquet box back in the work camp (in Chapter 6); this was the object she needed to hide on the airship (in Chapter 8). Indie shows Ky the coded canvas map she found in the library cave: It shows the Carving and the river, leading through the plains and into the ocean. Ky breaks the code quickly and confirms that the island in the sea is the location of the Rising. Indie insists that Ky is the Pilot. She asks him to leave with her right now so they can go to the Rising together.

When Ky refuses, Indie relents, saying it doesn’t matter. She deduces that he’ll end up joining the Rising because Cassia wants to be part of it; he can’t let her join without him because Xander’s secret for his Match is that he’s already part of the Rising (as a double agent). Ky’s reaction confirms her theory. He warns Indie against joining the Rising. He deduced that it wasn’t Indie’s mother who built a boat and tried to sail away from the Society, but Indie herself. He burns the canvas map, holding Indie back while she cries.

Cassia continues her fruitless search, admiring more stanzas of the “I did not reach Thee poem” as she calls it, and she browses an illegal-market trade ledger (290). She remembers Xander’s notes and pops out the rest of her blue tablets, looking for any information she doesn’t already know.

Hunter arrives, startling Cassia. He explains that he initially wanted to escape with the other farmers, but Sarah was too sick to travel. He’s returned to fulfill his end of the bargain and show the group how to find the Rising. Hunter needs the map Indie took to lead them. Cassia and Hunter leave Eli where he sleeps in the cave and find Ky standing over the burning map.

Cassia grabs the map and stomps out the flames, salvaging most of it. She confronts Ky about hiding the map, the Rising, and Xander’s secret—which he still refuses to tell. Ky says he won’t join the Rising, and he won’t return to the Society. He proposes the group join the farmers instead. Cassia asks why he would lie, keep secrets, and rob her of choice. Ky reminds her of the time she sorted him, back in the Borough. He accepts that he “will never reach” Cassia (297): He will never join the Rising, not even for her.

Hunter promised the other farmers that he would permanently seal the library cave before he left the township. He plans to do so by using explosives to create a landslide. Ky offers to help him wire in exchange for something from the cave.

Cassia, Indie, and Eli pack and prepare the library cave for the explosion. Indie finally shows Cassia her own stolen microcard, the object she exchanged with her on the airship. She coaxes Cassia into viewing the microcard. Cassia sees Indie gazing at the photo and realizes the latter has feelings for Xander. The thought stirs something in Cassia, kindling desire for both Xander and Ky. Indie returns Cassia’s belongings so she can make an informed choice about her future. Cassia sees her red tablet and considers taking it. In the end, Grandfather’s memory convinces her not to.