“She was right all along—this is all my fault. I never should have gotten mixed up in any of this!” Smith spat.
Walker put out a placating hand. “Smith, you didn’t mean for this to happen. I know you’re upset about your mother—”
“His mother?” Keira interrupted.
“My aunt Holly was taken by the Reformers this afternoon,” Walker said. “They found out that Smith can cross over.”
Keira held the bundle of clothes against herself more tightly. “What?! How did they find out?”
“I was trying to create a distraction for you guys. One of the guards came around the corner of the building when I crossed back into this world. He saw me do it.”
“No,” Keira whispered. No wonder there had been so much shouting and running in the Hall when she’d gone back in to get Walker.
“I got away,” Smith said. “I mean, I can cross and they can’t. Once I made it back to Sherwin, I thought I’d be okay.” His voice broke. “I didn’t think about them taking my mom.”
Walker’s voice was grave. “They’re holding her until Smith agrees to work for them . . . until he proves his loyalty.”
“They caught me while I was looking for my mom. I thought for sure they would toss me in a cell and leave me there, but they said they want me to follow you, to spy on you,” Smith said. “I don’t want to do it, but I have to. It’s the only way to save my mother.” He fixed his gaze on Walker. “I’m sorry. I can’t live with myself if they hurt her, or . . . ” He swallowed hard. “I know what you meant now, back in the Hall, when you said you’d do whatever you had to do to save Keira. I snuck over here to warn you that they’re coming, before I go tell them where you are. I’m giving you a head start. It’s the best I can do. The two of you need to get the hell out of Sherwin.” Smith swallowed hard. “I can’t let them have my mom, Walker. Not even if it means handing you over to the Reformers.”
Walker tipped his head back and looked at the sky. He blinked, hard and fast. “I’d like to tell you there’s nothing to worry about. That you should tell them to go fuck themselves and that Holly’ll be fine.” His voice roughened and he cleared his throat, leveling his gaze at Smith. “But you know that’s not true. I know that’s not true.”
Keira’s legs wobbled underneath her. This had already happened to Walker once before.
“Walker—” Smith started, but Walker shook his head.
“You have a shot at saving your family. Do you know what I’d give for the same chance?” The pain in Walker’s voice was so fresh that Keira’s eyes filled with sympathetic tears.
“So you’ll leave Sherwin?” Smith asked.
Walker looked over at Keira.
She wanted to nod, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She was going to abandon her family, so that Smith could save his.
None of us asked for this. And you’ve been dreaming of getting out of Sherwin for years, she told herself.
“I’ll need to say good-bye,” she croaked. “To my parents, I mean.”
Walker flinched. Smith’s eyebrows pinched together.
“Be quick about it,” he advised her.
“We’ll go as fast as we can,” Walker assured him.
“Good.” Smith nodded, sniffing back tears. “That’s good.”
Keira had never seen someone look as utterly lost as Smith did in that moment. She stepped toward him and hugged him awkwardly with one arm, on account of the clothes she still held in the other. Smith started, but she held on and in the next instant, he folded her into a brotherly embrace that made her wish she’d never doubted him.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Me too,” he said. “Run fast, okay?”
Before she could answer, Smith disappeared beneath her touch.
The second he was gone, she could feel time start to slide away from her. She unfroze and climbed into the car, the clothes in a bundle on her lap. A little row of black dots popped up on the back of her hand. Keira watched, her head aching, as they danced toward her palm and disappeared. It was like the darkness was taunting her, snuggling down into the—what had Walker called the particles that normal things like clothes were made of? Baryonic matter? She’d never wanted to know that much about physics. Not the physics of the real world, not about Darkside physics, and certainly not the mess that got made when they mixed.
Walker slid into the car next to her and let out a grim sigh.
“You okay?” she asked, knowing full well that he wasn’t.
“Not really. You?”
She shook her head.
“So, you saw Susan,” he ventured.
She shrugged. Her throat was too tight to talk.
“It didn’t go so well, huh?” he guessed.
Keira shook her head again.
Walker put the car into gear and sped away. Keira didn’t know where they were going, but it didn’t really matter. As long as it was away, it was right.
Keira tossed the clothes into the backseat, and dug her phone out of her pocket. There was only a sliver of life left on the battery icon.
Keira glanced at the clock. Her mom should be home from work by now.