Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
“Well,” I say, my voice even, “they can’t get us here, can they? I mean, if CORE wasn’t afraid of your brother and what he’s doing out here in the woods of West Virginia, they’d just set the place on fire, or something. And they haven’t done that. In this room,” I point to the floor, “we can say anything we want and CORE can’t hear it.”
“You’re wrong.”
“How am I wrong?”
“See,” she says, smiling at me, “you don’t know anything about Brose and me.”
But she’s the one who’s wrong. Because that right there was the missing link I was looking for.
I consider my options here. I could signal to Collin that he needs to get me out of here so we can talk or I could keep going and finish what I started with Olive.
And I guess that’s all it comes down to.
Which of the Creed siblings do I want on my side more?
Obviously, Collin is the better option. My future with him and Edge is bright.
Olive is darkness. A sad, lost emptiness that is going absolutely nowhere but crazy.
And that’s the thing—I understand that crazy. I still feel it. I still… miss her.
“That’s not her name,” I say.
Olive squints her eyes at me. “What?”
“Waters. I lied.” This makes her scoff. Me as well, because I guess I made my choice. “I don’t remember her name, Olive. I don’t know why, not for sure. All I know is that years and years of my life are missing. They cut me loose, they let me flail around like a baby who had no clue how to survive in the world around me, and they walked away. I was detained twice on mental health holds and then I just broke. Robbed a store. Went to prison. And we both know you can’t walk away from CORE. So why didn’t they tie up their loose end?”
Olive’s eyes flit up to the ceiling, then back to me. “You’d better be careful here, Shep.”
“I know Amon and Collin are listening. They told me they would be. But I’m not talking to them, I’m talking to you. Why would they cut me loose?”
She lets out a long sigh. “To watch. To see what you do? To let the experiment run.”
I smile, then chuckle a little. “Yeah, that’s what I think too. I think they cut us, Olive. Me and no-name. And they filled me up with a memory of killing her just to make it final. And I think they did this on purpose to see what would happen.”
“You went crazy.”
I nod.
“They cut me too. They cut us. They took him away.” She pauses here, her eyes flitting back and forth like they’re searching mine. “Will I go crazy?”
I nod again. But then I take her hand and give it a squeeze. This makes her startle, and try to pull it back, but I don’t let go. I wait for her to look me in the eye. “But you know what?”
“What?” This word is barely a whisper.
“At least you won’t be alone when it happens. Because I’ll be right here with you.”
23 - Olive
I’ll be right here with you.
I say these words in my head on repeat when a buzzing noise sounds, making me jump. I look over and see Collin standing in the doorway of my jail cell. He’s staring at me like I’m a stranger, which is how he should’ve looked at me the moment I arrived, but he didn’t.
When he saw me this morning, I was his sister.
Looking at me now, all he sees is a threat.
Shep gets to his feet, bringing me up with him. “What’s up?” he asks Collin.
Collin doesn’t look at Shep when he speaks. Those unnaturally beautiful eyes of his are still locked on me. “We’re meeting Penny at the hospital. She said to come right now, so I’ve arranged a helicopter. Let’s go.” He hands Shep a coat that is meant for me, so Shep helps me into it, and then Collin steps aside and waves us forward.
I hesitate, not understanding what this is all about. But Shep takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. “It’s all right. I went through the same scan last weekend. It’s boring and cold, but you don’t have to be afraid of it.”
His explanation didn’t answer a single question in my head. But when I look at Collin—at the cold distance in his eyes—I lose my nerve to ask. Whatever this scan is, it’s going to happen whether I agree to it or not. That’s clear.
So I allow Shep to push me forward and we go up into the church and outside, where I can hear the approaching thumping of helicopter rotors. I’m not a helicopter expert, but this one looks very serious. It’s all black, even the rotors and skids, but it’s got a logo on it so I know it’s not military.