I shook my head. My hair, heavy with dried mud, swung against my face and shoulders. “No. No, you have to call them!”
“We can’t,” Emerson said. “Our communication systems are fried. The rift disrupts all signals.”
“We have to—”
“We have to get you to the evac team, is what we have to do,” Sanghani said sharply. “We’ll talk there.”
“There’s no time. Where’d those agents go?”
Emerson took my wrist. “Let’s move.”
I tried to yank loose. “No! No!” Alpha and that other Hazel might already be dead. Would the researchers kill them straightaway? Why wouldn’t they?
I couldn’t accept that. Maybe the others had escaped. Maybe I had time.
“Neven!” I yelled. “How long would it take the rift to close once I die?”
Her low voice rumbled behind us. The agents started. “As large as it is now? Ten minutes at minimum.”
Even if I sacrificed my life right here, right now, even if I fixed everything . . . the agents who’d taken those two Hazels might not know in time.
They might still kill them.
“Go,” Neven said. “Save them.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
I tried to scramble past the agents. Pain flared as Emerson’s grip on my wrist tightened. I yanked again, uselessly.
Neven climbed to her feet. Her distorted form behind the glass lurched, then—slam. She threw herself against the wall. The room trembled.
“The car!” Sanghani’s head whipped around to me and Emerson. “Go!”
I reached for my knife, but Sanghani beat me to it. The sheath brushed past my fingers as she snatched it away. Then I was stumbling along, one agent in front and one behind.
I tried to stall—to pull free, to scrape to a halt, to yell at them—but nothing worked. Behind us, Neven was still flinging her weight into the glass. The thudding faded the farther away we got. Under normal circumstances, she’d easily break through that weakened wall—but those drugs in her system slowed her down.
If I was going to find the other Hazels, I’d need another way.
We reached the front hall. The doors stood wide open. Cold light streamed in, so bright my eyes hurt.
“Please,” I said as they pulled me onto the lawn. “We have to find the others!”
A handful of researchers loading vans by the gate looked up. Something seemed odd about them, something I couldn’t put my finger on. I didn’t linger on it. Not while the Hazels were in danger.
“The agents will kill them!” I braced myself in the grass, but my socks couldn’t get a grip. I stumbled after Emerson. “Please! They’ll kill them. And it won’t help! It’ll be for nothing! I can fix this!”
A nearby researcher abandoned his work and started briskly in our direction. No—not a researcher. Director Facet. I’d expected him to be long gone with the evac teams.
“You told the agents!” I screamed. “You told them to take the others!”
We’d almost reached the car. Right as I heard the click of the doors unlocking, Facet reached us. “I assume she’s not talking about the girls being evacuated,” he said to Sanghani.
I sputtered. “You gave orders to take them from the evacuation—”
“I did no such thing,” he said sharply.
Sanghani looked hesitant. “We couldn’t check with you, sir, with the equipment down.”
Facet’s eyebrows knit together, his eyes flitting left and right as though thinking something through. “They must’ve used my name so no one would kick up a fuss.”
He really hadn’t given the order?
“What happened here?” he asked.
Sanghani nodded at me. “We found her trying to free the dragon. She had that knife we’d heard about.”
“Give it to me.”
I itched to snatch the knife away as Sanghani handed it over, but Emerson held me too tight for me to even try.
“Excuse me,” another voice piped up. “Who’s getting killed?” Torrance stood a couple of feet away, wrapped in a thick winter coat and watching us with both concern and curiosity.
“We’re not sure what the situation is,” Emerson confessed.
“The situation?” Facet lifted his eyes from the knife in his hand. “From what I gather, your colleagues claimed I’d instructed them to take the other girls away. They must’ve been quick about it. No one had time to verify. I’m putting money on Valk. Anyone else?”
Emerson blanched. Sanghani looked uncomfortable. Seemed like Facet’s guess was correct, which meant—
Valk was involved?
I felt the blood drain from my face. That couldn’t be right. Not Valk, right? Not Valk, who—
Who’d talked about all she’d sacrificed to protect the world from the rift—
Who’d pressed a hand over Red’s mouth and dragged her into a van—
“Well, shit.” Torrance huddled deep into her coat.
Maybe it wasn’t Valk. Facet could be wrong. But the rest . . . “It’s true,” I told Facet. “Agents took two Hazels. I think they’re going to kill them. It won’t close the rift. It won’t.”
“The rift is downtown,” Facet said. “Valk believes throwing them into the rift will solve the problem. Odds are: All it’ll do is kill them.”
“We have to go!” I pleaded. We couldn’t debate the matter. Not while knowing that, any second now, a Hazel would die or the rift would expand or both—
A crash sounded behind us. As one, we turned to the rift barn.
“The dragon?” Torrance squinted. “I thought that’d been taken care of.”
A low sound rumbled from the barn. I fixed my eyes on the building. Any moment now, the doors would fly open, or cracks would appear in the wall. Come on, Neven.
Sanghani hissed, one hand on the car door. “We won’t be able—”
“Sanghani. Emerson. Hand me the car keys and delay that dragon.” Facet nodded at the barn. “Torrance and I will get the girl to the airport to join the evacuation.”
“Sir?” Emerson said.
“Go!”
I’d never heard Facet so curt.
“Torrance, Hazel, in the car.” He held up one hand, catching the keys Sanghani tossed him.
“But—” I started.
Torrance opened the back door and unceremoniously pushed me inside. The leather squeaked as I hit the seat. Instantly, I pulled myself upright—maybe I could stall until Neven escaped—but Torrance climbed in beside me. The door slammed shut. I reached over her to grab the handle, but the door wouldn’t budge. Child lock. I scrambled across the back seat, trying the other door just in case. Nothing.
Facet dropped into the driver’s seat. I twisted around to look through the rear window. Emerson and Sanghani were bolting toward the barn.
“Sir?” Torrance said. “I don’t need to be evacuated yet.”
“We’re not evacuating.”
That could mean one of two things: Either Facet was on my side and wanted to find and help the Hazels—
Or he had given Valk the order to take and kill them, and now planned for me to join them.
Either way, it meant Facet would take us downtown.
To the rift.
I clutched the grab handle above the door. “Go.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
The car spurted forward. Its tires sprayed slick mud into the air behind us.
Then we were gone, swerving around the remaining two vans and careening down the driveway. The researchers who’d been outside with Director Facet watched us leave, baffled.
When I’d first exited the barn, something about the researchers had looked off. Looking back over the lawn now, it suddenly hit me what was wrong: the light. Everything on the grounds was bathed in light. It came at them from every angle, instead of just the spotlights at the fence or the sky above. There was barely any shadow to be seen.
I studied Facet in the front seat and Torrance beside me. The light looked different here, to
o.
The sky had been flat gray when I’d entered the barn to find Neven. It should’ve been getting darker.
Instead, the sky was lightening. The same went for the people. Torrance and Facet were normally pale, but now they looked nearly sick.
The rift was growing too big.
I’d known this would come. I just hadn’t known what it would look like. How slow it’d go.
We hit the main road. Facet took a sharp left, toward Philadelphia.
“Why did you tell the agents you were evacuating us?” I asked. For that matter: “Why did you take us to begin with?”
“To keep you safe. Sanghani or Emerson might’ve been on Valk’s side. And I thought you”—he nodded at Torrance—“could be trusted. At least when you disobeyed orders back in Damford, it was with the goal of helping the girls, instead of hurting them.” He paused. “Still mutiny, though.”
Torrance had been staring out the window—probably at the oddly lit landscape soaring past us—but now glanced at Facet. “It was the right thing to do.”
“You’re extremely fired.”
She swallowed visibly. “Sure. But let’s get this over with, first. Do we know which of the Hazels were taken?”
“I expect they took Prime,” Facet said. “Don’t know who else.”
I tried to keep my face neutral. Prime? They had to think I was Alpha. Of course: The sweat suit, the lack of glasses. Getting dragged across the lawn kicking and screaming. Wearing no shoes would make me look shorter, and the mud had to obscure my hair length and any facial injuries that might distinguish us. If the rift had fried communications, no one from the evac team could’ve reported to those still on the grounds that two Hazels had swapped places, and there was no reason to suspect it.
With a pang, I realized: That was why Facet was being so curt. Even when he’d told us about the evacuation earlier that day, even when we’d been trapped under the net on Lina’s balcony, Facet had smiled. He’d spoken softly, he’d offered sympathy. He’d tried to put me at ease.
Apparently, putting Alpha at ease wasn’t a priority. Or maybe he knew Alpha was smart enough to see through it—the way I apparently never had.
“Listen,” Facet said, “if either of you wants out, tell me now. There’s still time to join the evacuation. I’m going to look for those girls, but it’ll be dangerous so close to the rift. And to Valk. I knew she disagreed with my decision, but I never expected her to turn on me, which means I don’t know what else she’s capable of.”
“No,” I said. “I’m in.”
“Good.” He said it so quick he must’ve expected the answer. “We can use you.”
No wonder. Alpha would probably be useful in a fight. If he knew I was Prime, he’d have sent me away to safety already.
“And I’ll do it,” I added. “I’m willing to die to close the rift. But we have to keep the other Hazels safe.”
“I’d prefer no one dies.”
“But—”
“Valk is acting on a theory. A handful of researchers put forward a plan; it was proposed, discussed, and rejected. I stand by my decision.”
“Sounds like I missed a fun meeting,” Torrance said. “I’m staying, by the way.”
“Why was the plan rejected?” I asked. “It makes sense.”
Past Facet, the highway flashed by. He kept his eyes on the road. “Maybe so. The rift went berserk the same night the other Hazels arrived. Throwing them back into the rift may mean the girls go home and the rift calms down. As I said, I expect Valk took one of the newer Hazels as well as Prime herself if she had the opportunity: If getting rid of the other girls doesn’t work, perhaps getting rid of Prime will. The rift first appeared when she was born. If she’s gone, maybe the rift follows.”
It sounded so logical. My gut felt heavy. I should’ve realized this solution sooner. Shouldn’t have discarded the notion so quickly. I’d been too naive, and the other Hazels—and the world—might pay the price.
“Here’s my take,” Facet went on. “If they’re wrong, we lose our best hope of actually fixing the rift.”
Torrance looked disturbed. “There’s also the minor issue of killing innocent teenagers who’ve been through enough already.”
“That, too.” He watched me via the rearview mirror. “You girls are our biggest lead. It’s not worth the risk.”
I could tell him and Torrance the truth—about who I was, about how to close the rift for good—but I couldn’t chance them changing their minds on letting me come with. Alpha would be useful; Prime would be a liability.
With the other Hazels in danger and the world outside shimmering white, it didn’t seem all that important whether they knew about the swap anyway.
Fields and trees and suburbs flashed by. I looked out the window, my jaw set, my face a tight line. I couldn’t stop worrying.
Worrying about the rift.
About the two Hazels downtown, and what would happen to them. What might’ve already happened. About the two Hazels still with the evacuation, and whether they knew what was going on. About Neven, and whether she escaped.
About Mom, who might not know about the swap, but who’d be worried sick either way. About Dad and Caro, and whether they were far enough from Philadelphia to be safe. About how much the three of them would grieve when they heard about my death.
About whether dying hurt.
I stared at the world outside, my head resting on the cool glass.
It was a December evening. Yet it looked like morning, with the sky brightening by the moment. The clouds thinned, turned into honeycomb patterns, then disappeared entirely, leaving a cobalt-blue sky once we entered Philadelphia. The light turned into a glare. As though the air itself glowed. Bit by bit, white seeped into the sky, banishing the blue.
Torrance leaned forward between the front seats, her eyes wide and worried.
Facet looked as steady as ever, with one exception: the tapping of one finger against the wheel.
“What’s the plan exactly?” Torrance stayed fixed on the world past the windshield. “Is there a plan?”
Facet’s finger went tap-tap-tap. “Find the girls. If they’re alive, keep them that way. Talk Valk and whoever else out of this stupid idea. If that doesn’t work . . .”
“Improvise,” I said.
“Precisely.” He caught my eye in the rearview mirror. “I thought your trolls could come in useful. I heard they’re still around.”
“Yeah. They’re following.” I aimed for Alpha’s odd combination of detachment and intensity. “Give me the knife.” I swallowed the automatic Could you please at the start of the sentence. “It’ll only work for the five of us anyway.”
“Yeah?”
Facet no doubt knew about the knife’s properties, but he couldn’t know it only worked for Prime.
I jutted out my chin. “Try it if you don’t believe me.”
Facet seemed to consider it, then simply reached back to hand me the knife. “I trust you know how to use it.”
I stopped myself from answering. The car went quiet. Would I need to use the knife? Would we even be in time? Facet had sounded so matter-of-fact: If they’re alive. The words spun through my head. I wanted to hug myself, but kept my arms rigidly in my lap, my fingers on the hilt of the knife. Alpha wouldn’t hug herself.
So I just pressed my lips together, watched, and waited.
“Watch out!” Torrance screamed.
The car tires screeched. Facet yanked at the steering wheel. I caught a glimpse of movement as something thudded against the car. We came to a halt with one tire on the sidewalk and the other three still on the street. To our left was a park, the air distorting the trees into muted grays; to our right, a tall building, the metal accents gleaming fiercely enough to hurt.
And sprawled on the road, mere feet from the car, lay Four.
CHAPTER SIXTY
“Four!” I shouted. My voice skipped.
The sudden turn had slammed me into the door. I fumbled with t
he handle. The door didn’t give.
“Facet. The child lock,” Torrance said.
I pressed my face against the glass, desperate to get a better look at Four. My heart stuttered in my chest. Was she moving? She—Yes, she was moving. Thank God. She tried to sit up, one hand propped behind her, the other pressing against her hip.
Alpha burst around the street corner and beelined for Four. My hair, my clothes, my glasses . . . I couldn’t help a double take.
“Four!” Alpha’s voice was an echo of my own, except hers didn’t skip.
Alive. Both of them.
Agent Valk stepped around the corner.
Right on her heels came two agents—one I didn’t know, and the other the redheaded agent I’d seen on recent research trips.
Valk strode toward Alpha and Four, her gun pointed at the ground. She said something I couldn’t make out, not with them two dozen feet away and the car doors closed.
I jostled the door handle right as Facet hit a button. Click. I tumbled out of the car. I’d barely hit the ground before I sprinted toward the other Hazels.
Alpha crouched by Four, offering an arm for support.
“Get to the car!” Facet called. “I’ll get you out.”
“Hazel—are there any others?” Torrance asked.
Alpha whirled. Her eyes widened. She must not have realized it was us in the car. “No. It’s just us two. Four, come on, we gotta go—”
“No,” Valk said. “We’re going back to the helicopter.”
She sounded the same as ever. Not frantic. Not angry. Her black hair was a mess and her pantsuit was creased and dusty, but none of that dishevelment showed on her face.
Four climbed to her feet, grimacing from pain.
“Now.” Valk’s arm lifted. She wasn’t quite aiming her gun, but the intention was clear.
“Valk?” Facet called. “Care to explain this situation?”
I slid next to Alpha and Four. “You OK?” I whispered. “I thought I might’ve been too late.”
The Art of Saving the World Page 29
