“Now.” My heart is beating out of my chest. The rhythm so fast that I feel dizzy. But I can’t wait. I can’t stop and think about this because there is a good chance I’ll talk myself out of it. I mean, it’s the best plan we’ve got, but I won’t deny it is dangerous.
“What the hell?” Theo snaps.
I look up at tiny window. “It’s light outside; they’ll be here. Regular as clockwork. We have to do it now.”
Standing, I head to the kitchen. We don’t have a lighter or matches for obvious reasons…but we can make a fire in the microwave.
“Piper, we should talk about this more first,” Evan says. He follows me to the kitchen area and grabs my wrist.
I turn around and frown. “You agreed that it was a good plan.”
“No, I agreed that it was a plan that could work. There’s a difference, babe. A massive difference.”
When we’re safely out of here, I’m going to obsess over the fact that he just called me babe. Right now, I need to convince him of my side. It’s all or nothing. We can’t keep waiting.
“Okay, but I don’t see what difference it’s going to make in an hour or even a week from now.”
“I’m not suggesting we wait a week, but we’ve given this about five seconds of thought. That’s not enough.”
“Evan, I need you to back me up right now.”
He tugs me closer. “I’m on your side, but I’m also thinking about everyone else here.”
“After last time, we said we’d all be in agreement,” Hazel says, folding her arms. She’s joined us in the kitchen with the others.
“Yeah, and then Lucie attacked the wall with a tiny plastic knife.”
“Don’t bring me into this,” Lucie snaps, scowling at me.
“Okay, enough,” Evan says, frowning at Lucie. He turns back to me. “Piper, think about this.”
“I have. You know we need to act fast. You all do. Why will no one admit what needs to be done here?”
Evan takes a breath and shakes his head. “Okay.”
“Okay, like we’re doing this now, okay?”
A slow grin stretches across his mouth.
My shoulders sag. “You think I’ve lost it.”
“I know you have. I just happen to like it. Let’s set this place on fire.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Theo interjects. “I’m not saying no, but can we at least take a second to think through how we’re doing this? They come in and open the doors…then what?”
“Six against three,” Evan replies. “We arm ourselves with the teakettle and toaster—that’s about all we have in here. They might not cut through drywall…or a chest cavity, but they’ll do some damage if you go hard enough.”
It’s better than nothing.
Theo nods. “Can’t say I’m overly confident, but I am so ready to get out of here.” He turns to Lucie and Hazel. “We die trying, not in a room fighting.”
“Ooh, we should all get tattoos of that when we’re out.”
Five pairs of eyes slide to me.
“I was just trying to lighten the mood.”
Evan shakes my comment off. “Let’s do this. Make sure you have something to fight with, everyone. I’ll light a fire.”
“You’re doing it?” I ask him. Here I was fully prepared to torch this place since it’s my idea, but I have to say, I’m glad Evan is volunteering so it’s not all on me.
“Have you ever set a building on fire before, Piper?”
“No, have you?”
He laughs. “I’m sure I’ll figure it out. Get a knife and wait by the door.”
I do as I’m told and follow Theo, Hazel, Lucie, and Priya to grab a knife, then head to the door.
You are certifiable.
Evan grabs the aluminum foil and stuffs it in the microwave. He looks back at me for a second before jabbing his finger on the button to start the microwave.
I watch as the foil spins and then catches fire. The microwave pops, and fire spills from the door, alighting the cupboards.
Evan watches the fire as if it’s the most interesting thing he’s ever seen, golden flames flickering in the reflection of his eyes.
“Evan,” I prompt.
He blinks, and his eyes snap to mine. “Sorry.” He steps back in line with us.
The flames grow as they spread toward the kitchen table and sofas. The wooden table is consumed by a bright orange blaze.
My eyes widen as the soft fabric of the sofa succumbs in seconds. They swallow it, raging across the sofa and spreading to the rough carpet.
I watch the inferno consume the room, growing at an alarming rate.
The heat the fire is giving off prickles on my skin.
Evan turns and walks over to me, putting his body just in front so he’s between me and the door.
“Are you ready?” he asks.
“Not in the slightest,” I reply. Just because I’m all for this doesn’t mean I’m ready for the fight.
“I’ve got you,” he whispers.
I cough as smoke begins to fill the room, rising to the ceiling.
Oh God, why aren’t they here yet?
Lucie takes a ragged breath. “What if they don’t open the doors? What if they decide to leave us to die?” Her eyes widen at the sight of the fire raging, obliterating the chair next to the sofa and the bookcase filled with DVDs behind it.
“They’ll come,” Evan tells her.
He sounds sure. I am, too. They’ll come. We just don’t know what will happen from there.
This is only the first part of the plan. We still have to get past them and then get back to town.
One step at a time or my head is going to explode.
I grip my plastic knife in my fist and reach for Evan with the other hand.
He rubs his thumb over my knuckles, and my lungs open, breathing easier.
“Haze, you okay?” I ask my best friend.
“Nope. I love you, Pipes.”
“Back atcha. But no goodbyes. We’re getting out.”
Behind us the fire rages, and smoke begins to fill the room.
Come on. Where are you guys?
Evan squeezes my hand, the solid muscle on his forearm tensing.
Oh God, they’re not coming…but the fire is.
37
There is nothing to do but wait and hope. It’s a different kind of feeling than what I’ve grown used to in here. There is an urgency to this hope. If they don’t come, we burn to death.
Flames grow higher, and the room clogs with smoke.
“Piper!” Priya screams.
Coughing as my lungs fill with smoke, I drop to my knees. “Get on the floor!” I shout, and we drop to the ground, covering our mouths and noses with our sleeves and collars.
The door clicks. Oh my God, it’s worked!
Evan’s eyes find mine. He can’t quite believe it, either. I mean, we knew they would have to, but they’re so sick and it wasn’t an impossibility that they would leave us to burn.
I turn around as Theo shoves the door. “Let’s go!” he shouts.
I watch the black smoke at the top of the room pour out the door as the fire roars. It’s only been one minute, but it feels like an eternity.
“Go now!” Evan orders.
Pushing myself to my feet, I grab Hazel and tug her along with me. Theo and Lucie are ahead with Priya behind him. Evan is last, his hand on my back, pushing me forward. We hit the door at the end of the waiting room and it opens.
We run through the clothes room as the fire rages behind us, creeping up like it’s personally trying to get us.
“Hurry,” Evan shouts.
God, the fire is growing so quick. How is it so fast?
Theo bashes into the next door, and we’re through the clothes room, the empty room, and the or
ientation room. Then the hallway to hell.
I sprint after the others and make it through the game room and out into fresh air. We did it. I turn to Hazel to make sure she’s okay. Evan grips my hand.
Where are Caleb and his friends? They’re not here. My eyes desperately scan the area for signs of them waiting. Are they somewhere in the woods, hiding with their gun?
“Which way?” Theo says.
“Near the road, but stay in the woods,” Evan replies.
There’s no time to worry about them—we have to go.
We sprint. My pulse is all I can hear.
I’m tired already, but adrenaline has taken over, coursing through my veins, spurring me on. We’re miles from town, and they might get up any minute, but we have to focus on running.
My feet thud on the dry, compacted dirt. “Go!” Theo shouts, pushing Priya and Lucie in the direction we need to run.
We don’t get far.
A gunshot echoes through the air, freezing my spine. We stop. All of us plant our feet.
I turn. Caleb is standing outside the door, arm in the air, gun pointing to the sky. No. Matt and Owen stand a step back from him.
“I don’t think you want to run another step,” Caleb says.
Evan lets go of my hand and laughs.
“Don’t,” I whisper. If Evan tries to take them on alone, Caleb will kill him. I can’t watch someone die in front of me, especially not someone I care about.
Caleb moves in closer and his groupies come with him.
Hazel, Priya, Lucie, and Theo move in, so we’re solid against them. But Evan is still in front.
“Evan,” I call.
He takes two more steps closer to the three of them.
What is he doing?
Caleb watches Evan, but I can’t place his expression. He looks unsure.
Inside the building, something smashes. Glass? No one pays much attention to the fire behind us; we’re having some sort of standoff. None of us willing to back down.
“Where do you want to be, Evan?” Caleb asks.
“What? What does that mean?” I whisper. Are they willing to let him go? Why?
Evan is going to get himself killed. We’re supposed to all get away. I don’t want him being the martyr.
“Evan!”
“Man, come on!” Theo shouts.
Evan’s eyes lock with mine, and for the first time, I have absolutely no idea what he’s thinking. I can usually take a pretty good guess, but right now, he’s closed off.
I step back, willing him to come with us.
“Don’t do this, come on!” I plead.
Caleb laughs. “So dumb.”
Evan turns around as Caleb, Matt, and Owen close in. Oh God, Evan, move!
They stop a meter behind him, and Evan tilts his head to the side. A slow grin spreads across his lips.
My mouth falls open. “No…”
“Come here, Piper,” Evan says.
I shake my head, my vision blurring with tears.
No, no, no, no.
My heart falls to my feet. This can’t be happening.
“What the hell is going on?” Lucie asks.
“He’s with them,” I whisper. All this time, he’s been one of them. “I don’t understand...”
How can he be with them? He went in those rooms; he did one with me; he was there for me. Caleb beat him. He sat there and took that. This can’t be real. Why would he do all of that?
What is wrong with him?
“Babe,” Evan says, holding his hand up. “Don’t be mad.”
Caleb chuckles behind Evan.
Don’t be mad!
“You’re… How?”
Hazel reaches out and puts her hand on my shoulder.
“I like you,” he says.
“You don’t even know what that means.”
“Our Evan here gets bored easily. He’s a genius, but he’s not happy to sit back and observe,” Owen says.
Evan’s eyes darken. “I wanted to experience it. How could I create something and have it succeed if I didn’t put myself—”
“Stop talking!” I snap, my heart tearing. “I don’t want to hear it.”
“Piper, you are the reason I came into the room. I wasn’t going to. I was just going to do room zero.”
I look away.
Evan continues. “But the second I saw you, I knew I had to break my own rules.”
“You’re sick,” Theo growls. Lucie leaps to him and grabs his arm.
“Caleb,” Evan prompts.
I open my mouth to scream, but I’m not fast enough. The gun goes off so fast, two shots, both ringing through my ears, and Theo falls to the ground, followed by Lucie.
“Oh my God,” I murmur, my eyes wide and fixed on their lifeless bodies.
I drop to my knees, and Evan uses the opportunity to his benefit. He rushes forward, grips my upper arm tight and drags me to my feet.
“Get off!” I scream, squirming in his grip. I yank my arm, but his grip is too tight. “Evan, let go! Get away from me! You’re sick, I hate you! Let go!”
I want to get back to Priya and Hazel. They’re huddled together, standing over Theo and Lucie’s bodies, sobbing. I don’t belong with Evan. I belong with them. I have to get away from Evan.
“You’re not sitting on the ground with them,” he snaps, holding me close to his chest.
“I hate you! How could you do this?” I thrash in his grip, but he tightens his arms around me until I can barely move.
“You’re taking her?” Owen asks.
“No!” I shout.
Evan looks over his shoulder and shrugs. “I like her. I want to keep her.”
I shove his chest with my free hand, but it doesn’t get me anywhere. His hold on my wrist is too tight. “I’m not a damn toy! Get off me. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Piper,” Hazel cries.
I thought he was my friend, maybe more than that one day. We had gotten close, he held my damn hand at night.
Wait. He wants me to go with him. Evan coming into the common room was an act, but we weren’t.
Hope ignites in my heart.
“Evan,” I plead, lowering my voice. “Think about this.”
He leans closer and my throat closes up. “I have thought about nothing else since the moment I saw you. The guys are going to give me crap for this, but I don’t care. I’m going to let Caleb finish this, and then you and me are out of here, okay?”
Okay? Is he really asking me if this is okay?
I don’t know what to say. Evan is clearly sick. But he somehow thinks he likes me, and right now that is the only chance we have. Caleb is standing before us with a gun, waiting for instruction.
“Evan,” I whisper. “I don’t want you to hurt my friends. Please.”
“There is no other way, Piper,” he says, stroking my cheek with the back of his index finger.
I swallow down the cringe and force my lips to smile. “Yes, there is. You trusted me with the fire.” That is currently spreading everywhere. “Trust me with this, too. Let them go, and I’ll come with you.”
“No way!” Hazel shouts. “Piper, shut up!”
Oh my God.
I look over my shoulder and widen my eyes at her, telling her to shut the hell up.
“Ignore her, she’s worried about me,” I say, cupping his cheek and forcing him to keep looking at me as he goes to face her. “Evan, for me?”
“He’s not going to fall for that,” Caleb says. He sounds bored, but he continues watching, waiting to see what Evan is going to do.
I’m not sure how far they will let Evan go. Will they allow him to let Hazel and Priya run?
I thought Caleb was in charge, but it’s the guy I thought I was falling for all along.
38
Evan
Piper wants me to let her friends go. I want to give her that. I want to give her the world and watch as she burns it to the ground around us.
She’s capable of that, and I can’t wait until she realizes it. There is nothing more exciting than watching someone reach their potential, but everything is so much different with Piper. It’s not like watching Caleb, Owen, and Matt realize they wanted to do this, too. They don’t mean to me what she does.
But I can’t give her this. I can’t let her friends go because as soon as Hazel and Priya go, they will talk. We’ll be hunted like foxes. I won’t ever be on the wrong side of the food chain.
“Piper,” I say. “You know I can’t do that. Your friends are going to go straight to the police.”
She turns to face them, her eyes wide and pleading. “They won’t. They’ll make something up; they’ll stagger their returns and tell everyone they couldn’t cut it on their own. No one has to know about this.”
Hazel nods her head fiercely, tears running down her cowardly face. She wouldn’t say anything, either, because she only thinks of herself. Priya is different; she would do the right thing, bound by morals and sticking to laws. Dull. Safe. Hideous.
My money is on Priya to squeal in the first five minutes. She’ll be straight down at the station before I’ve even had time to skip town. I’m not risking everything for these people. I don’t care if they live or die. I only care that I start again with Piper and Caleb.
“Babe, you don’t believe that,” I tell her. “I don’t want you to lie to me ever again.”
She lowers her hands from my face and turns her head back to me. “Evan, I need this from you. Please just give me this.”
“Don’t you see? This is the last thing before we can all get out of here.”
“Who is we?” she asks.
“Me, you, and Caleb.” Who does she think it is? “Piper, the world is ours.”
“I… Evan, no, this isn’t right.”
“Hush. I can see it in you, screaming to escape. Don’t worry and don’t think. I’ll show you. I’ll show you everything.”
Blinking through tears in her eyes, she drops her shoulders. “I’m not a killer. I could never hurt anyone.”
Caleb laughs. “I told you we should have sent her to room zero before you decided to bring her in on this, man.”
The Lost Page 20
