I have no family here and no way of knowing how to survive this new world.
For better or worse, I am at the mercy of these strangers.
The woman flicks her head toward the door, ushering Yeong and Theo outside. They move away from me quickly, and I know this woman isn’t just someone they listen to; she’s someone who leads.
“Annika,” Theo says, stopping beside her. He doesn’t say another word, but I can see his jaw twitching under the dim lights.
“It’s necessary,” she says, answering an unspoken question.
She steps closer to me, her eyes dark and serious. Taking a seat at the edge of the coffee table, she leans in, studying me like I’m a specimen in a lab—the same way I studied the strangers with the too-bright faces.
Like she isn’t sure I’m human.
I sit up a little straighter, twisting my body so that I’m facing her. “Are you looking at me like that because you think I’m a Resident?”
The tilt of her mouth is so subtle I almost miss it.
“Because I’m not.” I try to ignore the nervous quake in my shoulders, hoping sincerity will make up for my lack of confidence. “I’m not anyone special. I’m completely human, and completely ordinary, believe me.”
Annika grips the edge of the table, and I hear the drum of her fingers against the metal. She parts her lips, her eyes never leaving mine. “I want you to know, this isn’t personal. But I have to be sure.”
And before I realize the drumming has stopped and her hand is behind her back, Annika shoves me against the couch and plunges a knife into my chest.
Infinity becomes nothing but darkness.
7
FINN SMILES, AND I FEEL like a thousand stars are spinning around me. He nudges his shoe against mine. It was the first thing he ever did that made me wonder if he liked me the way I liked him.
That was in November.
I didn’t know for sure until May.
It wasn’t the first time he hugged me, but it was the first time he pressed his mouth against my hair when he did it. I could feel his breath, feel that my hair was tickling his nose, but he didn’t pull away. Not for a long time.
I knew we had suddenly become a different shade of what we were. Not more, exactly, because our friendship was still as important as ever. But different. An extra layer.
Like we had an entirely new world to exist in, just for the two of us.
And now he’s looking at me with his crooked smile and his bright green eyes, and all that’s left is to say the words.
“I feel like you already know this,” he starts.
“Say it anyway,” I tell him.
He laughs. A bright, beautiful, happy laugh. “I like you. Even more than E.T. likes Reese’s Pieces.”
I’m glowing from the inside out. “I like you too. Even more than the Ewoks like C-3P0.”
I hear Mei’s laugh, and I look across the room to see her hurrying down the stairs. She lands at the bottom with a thud, throwing her arms around me like we haven’t seen each other in a long time.
“Where are you going? Can I come too?” she asks, looking up at me with soft, hopeful eyes.
I smile, unflinching, because I love my sister more than she even realizes.
And then her clothes shift. Pink jeans. A yellow hoodie. Clothes I’ve never seen Mei wear before, but I’ve seen them somewhere.
Something metal clicks beside me. A horrible familiar sound that scrapes against my eardrums. I turn back to where Finn should be, but he’s not there. He’s been replaced by a man wearing a black mask, the barrel of a gun pointed at my head.
“Everyone stay where you are.” His voice is distorted—a mess of sounds and frequencies that don’t sound human.
Mom and Dad walk into the room, their faces beaming like they’ve never been so happy to see me.
Like they’re happy I’m finally home.
Terror races through me like flames devouring a pile of kindling. My parents shouldn’t be here.
It’s not safe.
And when I look back at Mei, the jubilation on her face disappears. I see my own fear reflected in her eyes, and I’m unable to stop it. Unable to protect her from the monster eating me from the inside.
She looks at Mom and Dad.
“Everyone stay where you are.” That voice again, grating and metallic.
I squeeze Mei’s shoulders. “Don’t run. Stay with me. I’ll keep you safe.”
But Mei was never very good at listening to me.
She runs, and the world slows.
The masked man follows her with his gun, and I see everything. Their faces, their fear, their desperation. Every single one of them, trapped in the briefest moment of time, not realizing it will all be over soon.
The man’s knuckle closes over the trigger, and I throw myself between him and Mei. It isn’t a choice. It isn’t a decision at all.
But I won’t let a little girl die today.
The bullet pierces my chest, and the world snaps back into place.
I bolt upright, clutching my heart. My lungs feel like they’re full of broken glass, and every breath I take heaves in and out of me with a forceful ache.
“Welcome back,” Yeong says from beside me.
I see past him at first; there is a strange machine behind him, the holograph projected near the wall and the wires slithering up the couch and attached to—
My fingers find my temples, and I tear at the foreign objects like I’m covered in insects, ripping the wires from my skin until I’m free of whatever machine this is.
“Hey, calm down,” Yeong starts, his hands pressing at the air.
“What the hell did you do to me?” I snap, shoving the black coils to the floor and pressing my back against the wall. It’s as far away as I can get without trying to flee past him, which might’ve been a possibility if it weren’t for the other person standing there, eyes narrowed like I’m being scrutinized.
He can’t be much older than me. At least, not much older than me when he died. I have no idea how long he’s been here. Though his features are soft—brown hair, hazel eyes, and smooth olive skin without a hint of stubble—his expression is hard as stone.
Yeong is sitting in a chair, hands held up like he’s surrendering, which is ironic considering I’m the one who’s clearly being held against her will.
“You stabbed me,” I seethe. Annika may have been the one to hold the weapon, but these people are a group. A collective. As far as I know, they’re all responsible.
“I’m sorry, but we couldn’t take any chances,” Yeong says. “It’s protocol—to make sure you’re really human.”
“You were the ones who brought me here,” I growl. “I never asked for your help, and I certainly didn’t ask to have a knife shoved in my chest!”
“Because you had so many other options?” the stranger cuts in, his voice like a viper. “Would you have preferred the Residents drag you off to War to rot on the battlefield?” He wears clothes that would’ve still been stylish in my lifetime, yet he speaks to me with a hardness that suggests he’s lived a thousand lifetimes.
I clench my teeth, scowling. “At least it would’ve been my choice.” I don’t bother mentioning I have no idea where or what War is.