Nothing.
Torin’s entire apartment complex had been reduced to mere rubble. She watched as he fell to his knees with his head in his hands. She slowed her pace and lifted her hand up to halt the others. They stood behind her, watching her watch him in his moment of agony.
A hand fell gently on her shoulder. It was Naia. “You should go to him.”
Emery remained silent, then nodded. She approached him with caution, afraid that if she startled him, he’d run away like a stray dog. “Torin,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
His head remained in his hands for a few minutes longer. Finally, he looked up, face blotchy, eyes rimmed with red. “Everything is gone.”
She sighed and knelt beside him, putting her hand on the nape of his neck. “Not everything.”
Surprisingly, he smiled.
“I suppose you’re right,” he said with a nod of his head. “Things are replaceable. I just don’t know how I’m going to create the gas capsule without any of my equipment.”
Unsure how to respond, she kept her hand on the nape of his neck and gazed up into the sky. They sat in silence for a few moments, unmoving. As the clouds parted, an idea struck her. And it was pure gold.
She stood up and whirled around to face her family and friends. “Does anyone know where we can find a car?”
They looked at one another with confused expressions.
Emery rubbed her hands together. “Time to go old school.”
+ +
It didn’t take long for them to find an abandoned car lot on the outskirts of downtown Chicago. Emery scanned the vehicles, looking for one that would fit all of them. Unfortunately, their options consisted of only four-passenger cars. She walked over to one that looked similar to her car in Dormance, then turned to face the group. “Okay, there’s six of us and only four seats.” She shot her father a knowing look, hoping he’d understand what she was suggesting.
Byron cleared his throat. “Right. Well, we could take two cars—that is, if I knew what it is we’re doing and where we’re headed.”
Emery laughed, purposely ignoring his request. “The funny thing is, I think I’m the only one who knows how to drive.”
Naia smiled and turned toward Byron. “She does make a valid point.”
Emery waited for her father to make the executive decision, but he stayed silent, so she made it for him. “Naia and Torin, you’re coming with me.” She gestured for them to get in the car. “You three stay here,” she ordered as she pointed to her father, sister, and Riley.
Alexis’s face fell. “But Em, where are you going?”
Emery opened the driver’s side door to the car and ushered Torin inside. “To fix this mess once and for all.”
“That doesn’t answer my question,” her sister said, but Emery wasn’t paying attention. She bent down as Torin eyed the strange contraption in front of him. “I know you’ve never driven a car before, but I need you to hotwire this one.”
His face lit up at the request. “So retro.”
She rolled her eyes. “Do you think you can do it?”
“Seriously?” He lifted an eyebrow. “Are you really asking me that?”
“Just hurry before my dad or sister ask me any more questions.”
She could hear her father and sister quarreling, trying to figure out how to handle the situation. “Naia, do you really care to know what the plan is?”
Naia shrugged as she opened the passenger side door and hopped in. “I’m just along for the ride.”
“Emery Parker!” her dad shouted again. “I demand to know where you’re going and what you’re doing this instant!”
Just as she was about to give in and respond, the car roared to life. She grinned. Perfect timing, as always.
She turned around to face a concerned friend, and a bewildered father and sister. “What I need,” she said as she collected her thoughts, “is for everyone to trust me. Do you think you can do that?”
The group hesitated, then slowly nodded in unison.
“We should be back in four or five days, maybe sooner.” Her father opened his mouth to speak, but she could already guess exactly what he was going to ask. So she continued, “Hopefully, when we’re finished, the T-Ports around Chicago will work again and we won’t have to drive back.”
“How can we get ahold of you if we need to?” Alexis asked.
“Call Torin’s holophone. I’m sure the city’s signals will be restored in no time.” She flashed a reassuring smile, then walked over to where they were standing. She wrapped Riley in a hug, then moved onto her sister, then her father.
Byron squeezed one of her shoulders and nodded. “I can’t believe you’re jetting off without telling me where. This is Parenting 101 and I’m failing miserably. Just . . . be safe, okay?”
His rational response was unexpected and, for a moment, she felt bad for giving him such a difficult time. “We’ll be safe. I promise.”
With one last wave, she turned away from the group and headed for the car. Torin hopped out of the driver’s seat and made his way to the back. She slid into the driver’s seat, trying to recall everything the car needed before getting on the road. Full tank of gas. No oil change lights on. We should be good to go.
Just as she was about to shut the door and take off, Riley called out, “Wait!”
Emery pushed the door back open, smiling as her friend approached her with two red canisters.
“It’s unlikely you’ll find a gas station that’s still in business,” she said with a wink. “These were in the trunk of another car.” She extended them out. “Take ‘em.”
Emery took the canisters and proceeded to the trunk, securing them so they’d stay upright. She walked back over to Riley and gave her a hug. “Thanks. You’re always looking out.”
“What kind of best friend would I be if I didn’t?” She flashed a toothy grin, then turned around to rejoin Byron and Alexis.
Emery slid into the driver’s seat, for what she hoped was the last time, and shut the door. She shifted the car into drive and slowly made her way out of the lot, waving as they took a right onto the road. She glanced into the rearview mirror, reminiscing. The last time she’d left her family, she’d been heading off to Darden. How things had changed.
“So,” Torin said, interrupting her thoughts, “where exactly are we going?”
“Since we’ll be accompanying you on this grand adventure, I suppose I’d also like to know that,” Naia teased.
Emery nudged her playfully in the shoulder. “I hope you’re both ready for a good ol’ fashioned road trip.”
Naia perked up, and Torin leaned forward from the back seat.
“Torin, is your holophone working?”
He fumbled around in his pockets until he found it. “Surprisingly, yes.”
“Great,” Emery said. “I need you to find the fastest route to Flagstaff, Arizona.”
53
Fifteen hours into their trip, Naia and Torin had switched places exactly four times. Torin was now sitting in the front passenger’s seat, intently studying the holomap he’d pulled up on his phone. Emery broke his concentration. “Ten hours to go. It feels like we’ve been on the road for ages.”
He closed the holomap, watching as the image dissolved right before his very eyes. “You’ve got to be tired. I’ve already offered to drive multiple times.”
She arched an eyebrow as she looked over at him. “Right, just one major problem. You don’t know how to drive.”
He shrugged. “So teach me. It doesn’t look that hard.” He gestured to the front windshield. “It’s not like anyone else is driving anymore. What could possibly go wrong?”
“Famous last words.” She took her eyes off the road and gave him a sidelong glance. “Unfortunately for you, it’s not like we have time to kill. I’m trying to get us there as quickly as possible.”
He dropped his gaze. “What’s the point if you can�
�t enjoy the journey?”
She regarded him for a few moments until a soft chuckle escaped her lips. Then, with a shake of her head and some sporadic maneuvering, she pulled the car off to the side of the road. “Alright, hotshot. Let’s see what you’ve got.”
He could hardly believe his ears. “Really?”
She rolled her eyes. “Just switch places with me before I change my mind.”
He didn’t say another word, just swung the passenger door open and hopped out. He jogged around the car, noticing that Naia was fast asleep in the backseat, legs propped up on the edge of the window.
Emery stalled the engine and stepped out of the car, gesturing for Torin to take her place. He shot her a giddy smile as she shut the door behind him. He ran his fingers along the steering wheel, then gripped it tightly. Buttons of all different sizes covered the dashboard and, like a little kid, his first instinct was to push them all. He refrained himself as his eyes moved from the many buttons to the stick shift and gears. He lifted his gaze as Emery slid into the passenger’s seat. She handed him the keys.
“The pedal on your left is used to brake. The pedal on the right is used to accelerate. Put your foot on the brake and then stick the keys into the ignition,” she instructed, very professor-like.
He did as he was told, pressing his right foot on the brake and slowly turned the keys. The engine hummed to life and the whole car vibrated. He grinned at her with childish glee. “What’s next?”
She placed his hand on the stick shift. “The car’s in P right now, which means Park. You have to shift it to D to drive.”
His breath caught as he shifted gears, her hand on his the entire time. Her touch was soft and gentle, with just enough force to remind him that he was supposed to be learning and paying attention. She didn’t seem to notice his distracted stare. “Now, slowly take your foot off the brake. The car will start to roll.”
He nodded and let off the brake, laughing as the car did just as she said it would.
“Good. Now you’re going to use the wheel to steer the car and press on the right pedal to accelerate.”
He maneuvered the car back onto the road, putting more and more pressure on the accelerator, until she was gripping the inside of the door.
“Okay,” she squealed, “that might be a little fast!”
“Are you kidding?” he shouted. He rolled the window down. “This is the perfect speed. I’m driving!”
“Torin . . .”
“Why did we ever get rid of cars? This is so fun!”
He shifted his gaze from the road to her, expecting to see an angry expression, or at least a concerned one, but he was met with neither. Instead, the corners of her mouth lifted and she rolled down her window, shouting, “We’re driving! Look out world!”
He laughed, taking in the full sight of her—wavy crimson hair whipping wildly in the wind, face glowing as she hollered and whooped out the window, the sweet sound of her laugh. He didn’t want to look away.
He jumped as Naia’s face appeared in the rearview mirror. “I would yell at you for waking me up,” she said while stifling a yawn, “but you’re both too damn cute.”
His cheeks grew hot as he averted his eyes back to the road. He wanted to gauge Emery’s reaction, but resisted the urge. It turned out he didn’t have to. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tight. “Damn right we are.”
He looked over at her in surprise.
“If Torin gets to drive, then so do I,” Naia teased.
“Don’t you worry.” Emery winked at him, then turned around to look at her. “You’re next!”
54
Emery slammed the car door shut, then trudged through the snow up the steps to her family’s cabin. The scent of pine and campfire filled her senses. She inhaled deeply, then glanced over her shoulder to look at Naia and Torin. “You have the journal, right?” she asked, directing the question at him.
As if he’d known what she was going to ask, he waved the leather bound journal in the air. “Got it right here.”
She smiled. “Good. Now let’s see what we can throw together.”
Her friends exchanged confused looks, but followed her inside the cabin anyway. They passed through the unlit fireplace in the living room and up the stairs until they reached the ladder that led to the attic. It was dark and difficult to see, so Torin pulled out his holophone to use as a light source.
“After you,” he said to Naia, standing back as she stepped in front of him. Emery could feel them watching her as she climbed the rungs, following suit a few minutes later. It didn’t take long for them to crawl across the dusty attic floor over to the faux bookshelf door. Emery hesitated once she reached it, turning around to look at Torin.
“Just press the right-hand side where the crease is,” he instructed.
She did as she was told, smiling as the door popped open. Once inside, they each exhaled a sigh of relief as they stood upright from their crouched positions.
“That was more uncomfortable than I thought it would be,” Naia said as she shook her legs out. “My muscles were cramping before I’d even reached the top of the ladder.”
“It’s a great workout,” Torin joked, but Emery could tell he was also discomforted.
Naia surveyed the once-hidden laboratory surrounding them. “Well, it’s not quite up to 7S standards, but I suppose it will do.” She turned to look at Torin. “Journal?”
He flipped open to the page containing his sketch and handed it to her. She grabbed it with one hand and, with the other, pulled the gas cylinder out from the waistband of her pants. “Ready to get to work?”
He nodded. Emery noticed he seemed to be frowning at the limited amount of equipment he had to work with.
“Well, I’ll leave you two to it,” Emery said as she started for the door. “I’m not much help in this department, but what I am good at is ordering food.” She flashed the two of them a wide grin. “I noticed that the holowires were active as we were driving here.”
Torin checked his phone to confirm. “Good eye,” he said, sounding impressed. “That means there aren’t any outages here, at least not yet.”
“I’ll rev up SmartMeal. Do I even need to ask—?”
“Pizza,” they both said in unison.
“Got it.” Emery ducked out of the door and crawled back across the attic. She placed her right foot on the top rung of the ladder, taking caution as she made her way down into the dimly lit hallway. She jogged down the stairs, her stomach grumbling the entire way, and kicked off her shoes at the bottom. Her eyes went straight to the bearskin rug. Without a moment’s hesitation, she walked over to it, digging her feet into the plush material. She plopped down onto the couch and let her head sink into the worn leather. Her eyes only closed for a few seconds until her stomach grumbled again. She tilted her head toward the kitchen. SmartMeal sat atop the counter, beckoning her to order something, and she would.
Just not yet.
Her focus shifted to the framed photos lined along the hearth. A grainy, almost underdeveloped, snapshot of her, her father, mother, and sister sitting around a campfire caught her eye. Her mother was holding Alexis in her arms, and young Emery looked like she could hardly sit upright on her own. Byron and Sandra were smiling so big, their lips looked like they were about to crack. Alexis’s big brown eyes were focused on her mother, and Emery had a feisty look on her face as she held her dad’s hand.
I will never be with my whole family again.
Tears pricked her eyes. She tore her gaze from the photo and looked up at the ceiling instead, trying to focus on anything but her memories. First Rhea, then Mason, now her mother. The thought of losing another person was almost too much to bear. She’d experienced so much loss in such a short amount of time that she almost longed for the days when times were simpler. The times in Dormance, even if they weren’t real. At least in Dormance, her mother, Rhea, and Mason had been alive. But my father was nonexistent.
&nb
sp; She sighed as she sat up and buried her face in her hands. Having it all is such a crock of . . .
A noise made her ears perk up. She absentmindedly grabbed the wool throw from the couch and walked over to the source of the noise—the window adjacent to the kitchen. It was barely cracked. She maneuvered around the dining room table and pressed her face against it, her warm breath fogging up the glass. With a grunt, she pulled the window up further and stuck her head outside. There, in the middle of a white-tipped forest, was a fawn. It stopped moving, seeming to sense her presence, its beady black eyes staring straight into hers.
She let out another breath, watching as the majestic creature continued grazing what was left of the frozen grass. Time got away from her, and she wasn’t sure how long she’d been staring at the fawn, but a different noise made her jump, causing her to bump her head on the underside of the window. “Ow,” she muttered as she ducked back out from underneath it and stood upright, rubbing the sore spot in a circular motion. She turned to look at the perpetrator.
Naia raised both of her hands in the air in a surrendering motion. “Sorry,” she said as she drew closer. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Emery shrugged. “It’s okay.”
“What were you looking at?” Naia said as she poked her head out the window.
“Just a fawn.”
“Must have been one captivating fawn,” Naia teased as she pulled her head back into the cabin and shut the window. “It’s freezing out there, not to mention, the pizza’s going to get cold . . .” Her eyes traveled to the kitchen, and she frowned in dismay.
“Oh, right!” Emery hurried over to the kitchen and started up SmartMeal, quickly stating her order before Naia could make too much of a fuss. “So, how’s it going up there?” she asked, hoping to get Naia’s mind off of food, or lack thereof.
“Not as well as we’d hoped.” Naia drummed her fingers on the countertop. “Granted, it’s only been an hour or so.”
Emery clenched her jaw to keep it from dropping open. “I was staring out the window for an hour?”
Restitution (The Alpha Drive Book 3) Page 20
