Chapter 37

THE ELEVATOR TAKES a billion years to reach the ground floor. The doors open with a ding, and I shove past two nurses to get out. Past the hallway, past the emergency room. I burst out into the cold, dark parking lot. My eyes fly over the cars until I see the white security vehicle, its blinkers flashing as it pulls out of the lot.

“Wait!” I shout, but the car doesn’t stop. It slips onto the road, and soon, it’ll be gone.

I hurry after it, even though I know it’s impossible for me to catch up, even if I didn’t hurt my ankle and my side wasn’t three second away from bursting. I stop, gasping, watching as the car picks up speed.

I can’t let it get away.

I clench my fists. Fire rushes up my arms, and I hurl my sparks at the car’s tires.

There’s an assault of sounds. Tires rupturing. Brakes screeching. A horrible crunch! as a car rams into the security vehicle from behind. Metal and plastic clattering across the pavement.

My shoes on the ground as I run over. My hard, uneven breaths.

The security vehicle’s back windows are tinted. I can’t tell if Zahira and Aaron are inside, but I can see the guard in the front, holding his neck as he peels off the steering wheel. I march right up to the back door and spark it open.

Zahira and Aaron aren’t here.

I slam the door shut and spark open the driver’s door. The guard yelps, flinching back. The surprise in his eyes mixes with confusion when he sees me, an eleven-year-old kid with blood-stained clothes and eyes flashing with absolute murder.

“Where are they?” I demand.

The guard stares at me, his jaw hanging open.

“Where are they?”

He stammers. “I—they—I was told to drop them off here. Somebody came to get them.”

“Who?” I say, and when he stumbles for an answer, I spark the door right off its hinges. “Who?”

“Doctor Heed!” he cries, terrified. “Someone named Doctor Heed!”

I was expecting the name, but it still sends a cold knife through my chest.

“Where did they go?” I say. The guard whimpers, and I gnash. “It’s the last question. Where did they go?”

“In the hospital,” he quavers. “That’s all I know. I swear.”

I spin back towards the hospital, leaving the guard cowering in the car. A few responders are rushing towards the accident. I slip past them, limping as fast as I can back to the emergency room.

Zahira and Aaron are here.

And They’re here, too.

I stop at the entrance, catching my breath and holding my side. I don’t feel any blood through the new bandages yet, but I know it won’t be long before the pain becomes so unbearable that I pass out again. My eyes are already turning black at the edges, and I blink them away furiously.

Not now, Dany. You can’t give up now.

I scan the room. Zahira and Aaron aren’t here.

“Um, excuse me?” somebody says, and I look over. Front Desk Lady is staring at me, wide eyes flitting to the dried blood on my side.

“I’m looking for someone,” I say, straightening. “A woman wearing pink. And a guy, wearing a blue hoodie. They’re here. They were just here.”

“Um,” she says uncertainly, still eyeing the blood.

“I need to know now!” I insist. “They’re in danger!”

That spurs her into action. “One of the meeting rooms,” she says, pointing down the hall. “One of the empty ones. C or A, I can’t remember.” Her eyes go to my side again. “Do you need some help? Do you want me to call somebody?”

“No,” I say. “Thank you.”

And then I run.