Текст книги "The Star Dwellers"

Автор книги: David Estes

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Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 21 страниц)

Chapter Twenty

Tristan

Sitting next to Ben the next day, I feel discouraged. The rest of the yesterday’s meeting didn’t go very well. We gained the support of five additional VPs, although the other Moon Realm leaders ridiculed them for it. So now we have eighteen out of forty-two, less than half. It’s not what any of us had hoped for.

“Will eighteen subchapters be enough?” I ask.

“Jonas,” Ben says, “you know how it works as well as I do. What are your thoughts?” I can tell Ben doesn’t feel like talking about the rebellion right now. And I know why. His wife was there. Adele’s mom. Like me, all he’s thinking about is the fact that she’s okay, that she’s a general in the star dweller army, and he’s wondering whether Adele found her, whether she is okay, too. All I want to do is get out of this strategy meeting and talk to Ben in private.

Jonas is speaking and I try to push aside my personal thoughts to focus on what he’s saying. “…without a majority, the Moon Realm can’t technically declare war on the Sun Realm, or form a military alliance with the star dwellers.” He pauses, waiting to see if I have any questions. I nod at him and he continues. “However, each individual subchapter can act unilaterally if they wish. But then the other Moon Realm subchapters might align themselves with the Sun Realm, in which case we’d have—”

“A civil war,” Ben finishes grimly. “Which is the last thing we want. Because then we’d be fighting our own people at the same time as the sun dwellers.” Ben’s voice is strong and determined. Evidently he’s been able to temporarily store his personal thoughts, too.

“But I just don’t see how we can get the support we need,” I say. “You heard the others. I don’t think any of the other VPs are anywhere close to supporting the rebellion.”

“What do you think, Vice President?” Ben says across the table.

Morgan’s been silent through the entire exchange, her hands clasped in front of her, looking calmer than a moon dweller subchapter after midnight. Unfolding her hands, she thumps the bottom of her palm on the table softly. “We have to get the star dweller leaders up here. Show the rest of the VPs that they’re friends, not foes. Share information. Having them gawk at the proceedings like a bunch of ghosts at the bottom of a screen is not helping.”

“The generals didn’t seem like they would budge on the three-day deadline,” Maia points out. “And they didn’t seem interested in meeting with us until we’ve reached an agreement.”

“What about your wife?” I say, immediately wondering if I should have brought it up. My eyes flick to Ben and I relax when I see the smile behind them. “I mean, can’t she do anything to help get the generals up here?”

“So you knew the whole time who she was?”

“I just guessed it, but I was fairly certain,” I say. “That’s why I was so shell-shocked at the beginning.”

Ben nods slowly. “She surprised us all. I had hoped she was alive and well, of course, but I never thought she would be part of the star dweller leadership already. But, knowing her, I suppose I should’ve guessed it.”

“Tristan has a point,” Morgan says. “Can she help us gain favor with the Star Realm?”

“I’m sure she is already doing everything she can. But, of course I will contact her. I’ve been itching to speak to her ever since I saw her on that screen.” I can’t help but smile when I see the look on Ben’s face, the longing, the desire to be reunited with his wife, and to find out about Adele.

Before anyone can respond, the door flies open and Ram is here. I’d almost forgotten he wasn’t in his usual spot in the corner. “Sir, there’s something you need to see,” he says to Ben, motioning to the screen, which is already descending from the ceiling.

We all turn to the video just as the screen changes from black to a live feed from the presidential steps in the Sun Realm, my father’s usual press conference location. He’s already addressing a crowd gathered before him. “…come to my attention that the Moon and Star Realms have been unable to reconcile their differences, despite the assistance that my son and I have offered. Clearly, the star dwellers have been the instigators, although it is my understanding that they have been able to garner some support within the Moon Realm. We all now face a very dangerous situation, one that could affect the lives of the citizens of the Tri-Realms for many years to come.” He pauses and scans the crowd.

“It is my belief that the violence and acts of rebellion are being carried out by a small number of individuals, and that the vast majority of our people continue to support the government and their leaders. Therefore, after much discussion and the weighing of many potential peaceful solutions, I have had to make a difficult decision, but one that I know is the right one. The sun dweller army will step in to neutralize the rogues and arrest or destroy their leaders, so that our citizens can go back to the safe and peaceful lives they’ve grown accustomed to.” The crowd is hanging on my father’s every word, hushed and leaning in, as if he’s some sort of a priest.

“We will protect the Moon Realm from those who seek to destroy it!” The crowd cheers as my father pumps a fist in the air. “Even now, we have stationed several platoons of sun dweller soldiers at key locations in the Moon Realm, and they await my orders to move in on the traitors.”

A flurry of questions erupts from the reporters, but my father waves his arms to silence them. “I only have one more thing to say and then I must return to my duties.” He pauses again, and this time looks right at the camera, his eyes darker than I’ve ever seen them. I cringe as I feel his eyes on my own. A horrible, sinking feeling enters my heart. I’ve seen that look on his face before, usually preceding a threat or punishment.

“For those of you who are traitors out there, whether you be star dwellers, moon dwellers, or sun dwellers…be prepared to face the consequences of your actions, which will be brought down like a hammer on you and those you care about. That’s all for now.” Even before the crowd explodes, he’s off the steps and back inside the building. A shiver ripples through me. He was talking to me—I know it. …consequences of your actions…brought down like a hammer…those you care about…

Any anger I have for my father is lost in a cloud of fear at that moment. I don’t care what my father does to me, but those I care about? If he touches Roc, or Adele, or Ben, or Elsey—I don’t know if that’s something I could bounce back from. My heart is hammering and I don’t realize the telebox has been turned off until Ben says, “Tristan, why don’t you and I try to contact my wife.”

* * *

I feel like I’m on an emotional rollercoaster. The fiery pits of anger gave way to love and compassion for Roc, and then my father’s speech sent me into a swirling vortex of fear for my friends and my maybe possibly hopefully more-than-a-friend (someday?). And now I’m giddy with excitement. Because I’m about to see Adele again. She’s alive; as I always hoped, prayed, knew. It was confirmed via electronic message by Adele’s mother.

Roc seems just as excited as I am. Finally, I’ve found something to bring him out of his funk and it takes all my self-control not to give him a hard time about it. Because his excitement is about a girl, too. We’re acting like a couple of school boys. It took some convincing to get Ben to agree to Roc being part of the meeting, but once he did he was able to persuade his wife to invite Tawni. And of course Elsey is here, too, and her level of excitement dwarfs both of ours combined, and that’s saying something.

“Oh, Father, won’t it be simply delightful to see Mother again,” she says, beaming from ear to ear.

I expect Roc to mimic her, but apparently he’s so stoked that he can’t even bring himself to joke with his new best friend.

“I couldn’t have put it better myself,” Ben says, his arm around his daughter. Although Ben has been a lot of things since I met him—stoic, fatherly, wise, kind, level-headed—this is the first time he’s seemed so light. It’s like he’s just floating around, not a care in the world, his head as light as a balloon, ready to lift him away to a better place, to where his family can be together. The contrast of his lightness against the heavy gray stone walls around us is strange.

“Do you think she’ll remember me?” Roc says, chewing on his nails.

“Duh, of course she’ll remember you, dork,” I retort. We’re all acting like a bunch of loons and I’m determined not to say anything crazy.

“Don’t listen to poor, unromantic Tristan,” Elsey says, putting an arm on Roc’s shoulder as she counsels him. “Yes, she will remember you and all of your charm.”

“Did you hear that, Tristy? I’ve got charm,” Roc says, punching me lightly on the arm. At least he’s joking again.

The screen goes white, and then black, and then white again, and for a moment I’m worried that technology will let us down and we won’t be able to have the video call. But then the picture emerges and my heart flutters when I see her.

Adele looks the same but different. If anything, she’s gotten more beautiful, her hair darker and fuller, her eyes greener and sharper, her face more heroic. She smiles lightly when she sees me—or so I think. I should say something, but my tongue is tied, so I just smile back at her. Now who’s the loon?

“My dear,” Ben says.

“Hello, Ben,” Adele’s mom says.

“Thank god you’re alive. That you’re all okay.”

“And you,” she says, smiling. “A fine mess we’re all in.”

I’m ignoring them and just staring at Adele. She’s looking back at me and suddenly it’s awkward and we both look away at the same time, laughing.

“Mother!” Elsey exclaims. “Oh, I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you, too, honey. How are you?”

“Oh, the orphanage was dreadful, but my dear Ranna was the best friend I’ve ever had. I’m okay now though. Adele saved me and Father is taking very good care of me.”

Adele’s mother looks at her with such love in her eyes—the way my mom always looked at me. “Yes, Adele has done much for our family.”

Elsey’s eyes light up. “Oh, and you have to meet Tristan and Roc—they helped save me and Father, too!”

“So I heard.” There’s a twinkle in her eye and Adele blushes. Sometimes she seems so strong, like an iron bar, unbreakable. And other times she’s vulnerable, like now. Both sides of her excite me. “Well, any friends of Adele’s are friends of mine. I’m Anna.”

My tongue is still flopping around helplessly in my closed mouth, so Roc beats me to the punch. “I’m Roc,” he says, winking. “You have two very cool daughters, Mrs. Rose.”

Anna laughs, high and musical. “Don’t I know it,” she says. “And please, just call me Anna.”

“It’s so nice to meet you, Anna,” I say, my voice quivery. I just spoke confidently in front of every last one of the moon dweller VPs and now I can barely string a sentence together in front of Adele’s mom. I hope she doesn’t notice.

“Thank you both for what you’ve done for my family, for my girls,” she says. “We owe you a lot.” The conversation seems to just be bubbling along casually, like an underground brook, and I haven’t said anything of substance, anything that’s in my heart.

“Adele, I—” My mind is like an old chest, full of odds and ends and balls of string, and I scrabble through it, trying to find the right words—the perfect words. She’s waiting for me, her head cocked slightly to one side, her expression almost scared, like I might embarrass her in front of her parents. “I’ve missed you,” I finish.

There’s silence and I’m afraid I’ve upped the ante on awkwardness too far.

“And I’ve missed you, Tawni,” Roc says quickly. I gape at him and then smile. Good old Roc. Elsey giggles. Ben chuckles. Soon everyone’s laughing, except for Tawni—who’s ultra-pale features have turned crimson—and Roc, who’s suddenly found interest in a black mark on his left shoe.

The ice is broken—no thanks to me. Finally, Tawni says, “I’ve missed you all,” very diplomatically, but I can tell her eyes linger on Roc’s face slightly longer than the rest of us.

“We might be able to see you all in person soon though,” Adele says, her first words since the conversation started.

My heart is thundering and I can’t hide my excitement. “Really? When? How?”

Anna laughs again. “We’ll get to all that. But first we need to get everyone up to speed.” The next hour is an exchange of information. First Ben tells our story of escaping subchapter 26 and our flight to the Resistance headquarters. Then he talks about the political challenges we’re facing, the animosity amongst the VPs, the pressure being added by President Nailin. When he talks about my father, I look away, chew on the side of my mouth. He doesn’t mention what my father told Roc and me.

When he’s done, I look back at the screen and Adele’s eyes meet mine. My breath catches in my lungs and I feel pulled toward her. I’d give anything to just hold her hand again, like that night. I can almost feel the beautiful shivers in my arm, caused by the simple act of her running her fingers up and down my hand. Almost.

“What happened to you after we left, Adele?” It’s my voice, but I didn’t plan on saying anything.

There’s no awkwardness between us anymore. It’s like we’ve known each other for years. She recounts her story as if she’s talking directly to me, and I find myself unable to release her gaze. When she tells about the sun dweller soldiers passing so close to where she and Tawni were hiding, I feel my heart racing in my chest, hoping against hope that the next scene isn’t one of violence. Thankfully, the sun dweller soldier passes from the story like a wraith in the night.

I find myself gripping the table as she tells of their bout with the Bat Flu and their unexpected awakening in the Star Realm infirmary. When she finds her mother I feel tears in my eyes, which I fight away. She finishes with, “We did it, Dad.” She glances at Tawni and the two girls smile at each other with purpose, like their bond has been forever strengthened by what they’ve been through together.

“I knew you would, Adele,” Ben says, pride in his eyes. His expression changes and he’s all business. “So you’re telling me what Nailin is saying is true—that you’ve seen sun dweller soldiers in the Moon Realm?”

Adele nods. “I swear it. But the generals don’t believe us.”

“Don’t, or won’t?”

I miss the subtlety of the question, but Anna nods in understanding. “I’m not sure and I may never know.”

“So what’s the plan? How do we find a solution before the three-day”—Ben pauses, looks at the ceiling—“make that two-and-a-half-day deadline?”

“We’re coming to the Moon Realm,” Anna says firmly. There’s a twitch of excitement in my chest.

“Who?” I say.

“All three of us,” she replies, and I can’t keep the grin off my face.

“The generals?” Ben asks.

Anna shakes her head, her lips pursed. “Unfortunately not. The others won’t support a trip to the Moon Realm. We’ll be leaving secretly. Maybe having one star dweller general in person will be enough to convince the moon dweller VPs.”

“It’s a long shot.”

“It’s our only choice.”

Ben nods grimly in agreement. “How will you get here?”

“The Resistance train line from subchapter eight here. But to get there we’ll have to go through the tunnels. We can’t risk using the public trains. They’re being watched.”

“Be careful.”

“We will.”

I can tell the call is wrapping up and there are so many things I want to say to Adele, but I can’t bring myself to do it in front of everyone. I wish we could talk privately.

“Mom, Dad,” Adele says. “Can Tristan and I have a minute?” It’s like she read my mind.

“Of course,” Anna says. “Ben?”

“No problem from my side,” Ben says, giving me a wry smile.

Anna and Tawni stand up to leave and I swear Tawni flashes Roc a grin before moving out of the picture. I watch Ben and Elsey walk out the door. Roc lingers for a minute, waiting for them to exit, and then says, “Now, I don’t want any funny business in here. I’ll leave a shoe in the door.”

I’m glaring at him, but I hear Adele laughing. “Don’t worry, Roc,” she says, “no funny business—I promise. And I’ll do some probing with Tawni, see what she thinks of you.”

Roc’s brown skin flushes and he moves to the door. “Uh, thanks,” he says before scrambling out.

“Thanks for getting rid of him,” I say when Roc is gone.

“I knew that would do the trick.”

I smile at her. “I really have missed you,” I say, feeling more comfortable sharing my feelings with each passing second.

“I…wish you were here,” Adele says. Her words sound sincere, but I can sense tentativeness behind them. “Look, Tristan, something happened I need to tell you about.”

Here it comes, she’s not interested in me, I think, but I reply, “Adele, whatever it is, we will get through it together.”

“There’s this guy…”

My heart sinks into my stomach. “Oh,” I say.

“No, Tristan, it’s not like—”

“No, it’s okay. I understand. You barely know me, I chased after you like some crazy stalker, I shouldn’t have expected—”

“Will you shut up!”

The power in her voice makes me stop talking and just stare at her. My heart hurts and my mind is blank. I wait quietly to hear what she has to say about this guy.

“I like you,” she says, and her simple words send tingles through my skin. I ignore them, waiting for the but…

Instead she says, “You, Tristan. Only you.”

Huh? “Maybe you should have started with that,” I say and she laughs.

“I’m not very good with words,” she says, “a side effect of not talking to humans for almost six months.”

“So you were talking to animals then…or aliens?”

She laughs again, even though I know it’s not one of my best jokes. It makes me like her even more. “Mostly myself, and even then I only spoke in my head.”

I smile. “I’m not great with words either,” I say. “Sometimes I just stick my foot in my mouth before I start speaking to save myself the trouble later.”

I’m enjoying the conversation and I’m hoping we can just keep talking like this, and not go back to the thing about this guy, whoever he is. Or not. “So this guy…” Adele says, and I cringe, waiting for the hammer to drop. “Stop it! It’s not bad news, I promise.”

“Okay, just hit me with it quickly.”

Adele sighs. “There’sthissergeantnamedBrodyandhetriedtokissme,” she says in a rush.

I heard everything she said but only four words really register: tried to kiss me. “What do you mean, ‘tried’?” I ask. Fire is pumping through my veins as I picture a little squirt of a guy puckered up and leaning into Adele, trying to sneak a kiss. And then my knuckles collide with his face, knocking him into the next Realm.

“He was teaching me to shoot a gun—you know, as part of my training—and then he just thought there was something between us, so he tried to kiss me.” She rushes on, “But don’t worry, I didn’t let him. I pulled away. It was nothing.”

“Then why are you telling me?”

“I just thought…we should be completely open with each other. That is, if we’re serious about seeing each other.”

I let out a deep breath that I realize I’ve been holding in my chest. I’m relieved. It really sounds like it was nothing, and she’s just trying to be honest with me. “Thank you. I…I’m sorry if I overreacted. I’ve just had a lot of anger in me lately. Because of my father.”

She smiles. “It’s okay, sorry about how poorly I handled telling you. So we’re okay?”

“Most definitely. Now if we could just bring peace to the Tri-Realms, perhaps we could go on a proper date.”

“Oh, is that all we have to do,” she jokes.

“Yep, that’s it.”

The door opens and Ben says, “Sorry, we’re out of time.”

“Adele, I have to go, but I’ll see you soon, right?”

Her jaw is as firm as truth. “You can count on it.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Adele

My heart is beating with all the strength of a miner’s sledge. Talking with Tristan was incredible and reminded me all over again why I almost kissed him back in the Moon Realm.

Tawni and my mom are waiting outside of the conference room, chatting like best friends. My mom’s telling stories of me as a kid and Tawni’s laughing. “There were mashed beans all over the ceiling,” my mom says, her words mixing with her laughter.

Tawni shrieks with laughter. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” she chuckles.

“Ha ha. I can hear you, ya know.”

“Oh, hi, honey,” Mom says, pretending she just noticed me. “How’d everything go with…Tristan?” She raises her eyebrows twice.

“Fine,” I grumble, wishing I’d never opened up to her about my feelings for him. For some reason I thought now that she’s a general she’d be cooler about boys. But no, she’s still just acting like a mom.

“Well, you two are very cute together.”

“Mom! You haven’t even seen us together.”

“Call it Mom-dar. There are some things that a mom just knows.”

“She’s right, you know,” Tawni says, not helping things.

“Whatever,” I say, trying to brush them off the subject. “When do we leave?”

“Anxious to go see Tristan?” Tawni says, refusing to let it go. But this time I’ve got the perfect comeback.

“How did I miss the sparks flying between you and Roc?”

The crimson on Tawni’s face is worth every word. “What? There’s nothing…we’re just friends.” Her voice is about as believable as a politician’s.

My mom’s tone is back to business. “We’ll leave immediately. There’s no point in trying again with the generals—they just won’t budge. Go get your things and don’t tell anyone where you’re going.”

“What about Trevor?” I say, not trying to hide my sarcasm.

“He already knows and will be coming with us. He’ll help you get ready and escort you to meet me.”

My face feels like it’s about to explode. How can she trust that creep? I’ll be shocked if all the generals and half the army aren’t waiting to arrest us. “Let’s go, Tawni,” I say coldly.

I grab her hand and leave my mom without saying bye. I’m just too angry.

We pass a few soldiers in the hallways but they don’t speak to us, barely look at us. We’re just a couple of random girls. We make it back to the bunkrooms, which are empty, with all the female soldiers off doing whatever it is that they do all day. Training, I guess.

For us, packing is like a thirty-second process. Tuck everything into our small packs, fill our brand new army-provided canteens, splash a little water on our faces, and we’re ready to go. As we head for the door, I realize I’m missing one important thing: the gun. The gun my mom gave me, the gun I hope I never have to use. I’d rather just leave it hidden under my pillow, forget it ever existed, that my mom ever thought it wise to give it to me. But I can’t. It’s got her name on it. My name.

“One sec,” I say.

I throw the pillow back and reach for the gun, but—

–it’s not there.

I pull back, alarm crossing my face. “What’s the matter?” Tawni asks.

“My gun—it’s missing.”

Tawni’s brow furrows in that way that could only look cute on her. “Maybe you already chucked it in the bag and just forgot.”

I know I didn’t, but I check anyway. It’s not there. Or in Tawni’s pack. Someone took it. No, not someone…

“Trevor!” I exclaim. “He must’ve stolen it when he realized I was on to him. We’ve got to tell my mom right away!”

Squinting, Tawni says, “Hold on a minute. We don’t have any evidence. I know he’s been acting strangely, but it’s quite a leap to say he’s stealing weapons now.”

She’s the voice of reason, as usual, but I won’t be deterred—not this time. “I know it’s him, and I’m not going to sit by while he screws up everything for us.”

I whirl around and storm toward the door, not caring if Tawni follows.

I gasp and my eyes widen when I see him standing before me, gun leveled at my head.

I freeze, my heart thudding in my chest.

Time seems to stop for a moment and I wonder if it will be my last.

“Adele, you shouldn’t just jump to—” Tawni starts to say and then stops, letting out a tiny squeal.

“Hello, ladies,” Brody says, standing in front of the open door. I didn’t even hear it open when he came in.

“You?” I breathe. I’m in shock. Why is Brody of all people pointing a gun—no, not a gun, my gun, I realize—at my head?

He laughs, deep and not at all friendly. Not at all like the kind laugh I’d heard from him over the last two days. “For being the daughter of such a smart woman you’re pretty dense,” he says, sneering.

“I don’t understand,” I say.

“How could you?” Brody says. “I’ve had you wrapped around my little finger from the moment I laid eyes on you. I tend to have that effect on women.”

The arrogance on his face is chilling. Even when faced with rejection, he thinks I was into him. “You’re the spy,” I say, as I finally realize what’s happening.

“Obviously. You’ve been thinking Trevor the whole time, right? You really should have trusted your mother’s judgment more. But alas, hindsight is twenty-twenty.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I’m not a complex person, Adele. The sun dwellers just pay more, that’s all. They buy weapons, food, clothing, all of it.”

“You work for the sun dwellers? But why would they want to fund a rebellion?” My mind churns through the facts, trying to fit them all together.

“A rebellion? Ha! Hardly. The only thing that’s happened so far is the Star Realm fighting with the Moon Realm. A perfect opportunity for the Sun Realm to come in and reestablish peace, stabilize the Tri-Realms, play the heroes. And at the end of it all, the Sun Realm is stronger than ever and the others…well, they’re more pliable than ever.”

My mind is racing. All along I thought we at least had a chance if we could just agree on a common enemy. The sun dwellers. The President. But now I find out the entire thing has been orchestrated by the Sun Realm? I’m in complete shock—and angry at myself for not putting two and two together; I knew something wasn’t right about how well-supplied the star dwellers were, if I only had more time I could have figured it out…

But I don’t—and I didn’t.

My feet are frozen to the ground. They may never move again. And even if they could, what could I do against Brody and my gun? If I tried anything he’d just shoot me between the eyes. Suddenly it all makes sense why he offered to train me to shoot. I thought he was being nice, trying to help me; but no, he just wanted to show me that he doesn’t miss his target, so that when the time came for this confrontation, I’d be afraid, frozen, exactly like I am now. How could I be so stupid? So trusting?

Brody laughs again. “I see those cute little wheels spinning, Adele. Have I blown your mind? I had no choice. You were going to ruin everything with your rogue trip to meet with the Moon Realm leaders, so I thought I’d just stop by and share some information. You know, like any good friend would. And guess what? There’s more, and this bit is for Tawni too.”

“This has nothing to do with her,” I say, my jaw clenched. Despite the gun in my face, I’m feeling fierier all of a sudden. He can do what he wants with me, but not Tawni. I won’t watch another friend get hurt.

“Au contraire, my moon dweller friend. You see, Tawni’s been beating herself up for a while because her parents turned your parents in to the Enforcers, right? I mean, that’s what started all of this. The Enforcers kicked down your door, blah blah blah, grabbed your parents, blah blah, threw you in prison, blah-blibbety-blah.” My fists clench and my leg muscles tighten. The pleasure he seems to be getting from all of this is really starting to piss me off.

“Get to the point,” I growl.

“Now, now. Temper, temper. My point is: Do you really think Tawni’s parents figured it out all on their own? I’m sure they’re very smart people, but no one knew your parents’ true identities except the Resistance. Well, it just so happened that I’ve been an honored member of the Resistance for more than a year now.”

I freeze. He did it. He tipped off Tawni’s parents. I’m two seconds from rushing him, from taking my chances with the gun, when I realize something.

“Why are you telling us all of this?” I blurt out.

He grins. “Now you’re catching on. I just wanted you to know what I’ve accomplished. And in a minute it won’t matter anyway, because you’ll be dead. Both of you.”

He’s going to kill us. My mind is whirling. Everything he told me before now was a lie. Even—

“Was all that crap about everyone in your family dying a lie?”

“Ha ha ha!” he laughs. “I’d forgotten about that. No, they died, all right, but not the way I told you. You should have seen the look on your face when I told you the story. Pathetic, just like them. They were useless pawns with no ambition, so I killed them.”

It’s not until I hear him say it—no remorse in his voice—that I know what he truly is: a psychopath. We have no chance to talk our way out of it. The only option is to take our chances fighting. Even if I get shot, if I can just distract him enough for Tawni to escape, to tell my mom what happened, maybe…

“No more questions? I’m weary of this conversation anyway. Say goodbye to your friend, Adele.” His finger tightens on the trigger as a smile flashes across his face.

One second before I die. Make the most of every opportunity. My dad’s words. I leap to the side, hearing the crack of the gunshot, followed by a muffled thump and a groan. I feel nothing. No flash of pain. No searing heat spreading through my body. No tickle of trickling blood. Nothing.

More thumps and groans—the sounds of a struggle. The gun booms, much closer to my ear this time. I roll to my feet and spin around, trying to take in the scene before me with just a glance. Brody is on top of Trevor, who’s lying in a pool of blood. The crimson rivulets are meandering toward me and instinctively I twist away from them, regaining my feet.

Tawni is next to me, screaming, her face contorted with fear and disgust. Brody has killed Trevor, and we’ll be next if I don’t do something. Our only chance is now, right now, no time to think, to plan, to strategize.

With a horrific yell I charge Brody, slam my shoulder into him, thrust him off of Trevor. At the same time, I search frantically for the gun in his hands, ready to wrench it from his grasp. To my surprise, his hands are empty, and I naturally scan the stone floor for the weapon.

“Adele,” a voice says next to me. “It’s over.”