Just like my memories, she was in the past. Only retrievable in my mind.
Another piece of Paisley’s life that was unattainable.
Pain spiked in my head as Six yanked on my hair. “Are you here?”
I nodded, shaking another tear loose.
It wasn’t over yet. We still had to make it out.
“Shit!” Seven cursed.
Six followed his gaze. There wasn’t a second’s pause before he snagged my hand and pulled.
We ran out and down the hall, bodies flashing by along with a blinking.
We ran, I realized, because something was wrong.
Adrenaline kicked into high gear, pulsing through me as the danger warning erupted into panic mode in my mind. Six pulled on my hand as we made it to the door, shoving me through in front of him.
We didn’t stop, didn’t slow down until we made it to the car. Key in the ignition, Six kicked it into drive as he slammed his foot on the gas. The car had barely lurched from the spot when I saw the fireball explode from the windows. The boom was a fraction of a second later.
The blast concussion shook the car and shattered the back window. I threw my arm up to block the flying glass as my body jolted, everything inside me giving a jump as we sped away.
I looked back and watched the spinning flames completely engulf the building.
It was then that a numbness spread through me.
Over the last two months, I’d changed and somehow forgotten how I got to where I was. How I was still alive and why.
How I was still breathing when so many weren’t.
Because I’d embraced my situation, the situation forced on me. Knowing I only had a short time left, I took it as an opportunity to check things off a someday list that suddenly became a bucket list.
I was living, probably in the truest sense. More than I ever had before, because every moment counted. And because of that, I’d already done things not to be proud of and seen horrors I never wanted to.
With my fingers, I brushed out the bits of glass from my ponytail as we raced down the streets, Seven right in front of us.
We only drove for about ten minutes before pulling into a used car lot.
Getting out, Six and Seven headed right for each other as I lagged behind, shaking more bits of glass from my hair.
“How did someone know we were there?” Six asked. It was an actual question and not an accusation like I thought it would be.
Seven shook his head. “I did recon, and everything seemed legit.”
“You used your computer?”
“Of course,” Seven said with an edge of annoyance in his voice.
“How was Jason when you talked to him?”
“Normal.”
“He didn’t seem scared or on the run?”
Seven shook his head. “Same shit, different day. We joked about the casinos and how I might have trouble finding my target with all the drunks on the streets.”
That didn’t sound like the Jason we’d met with a few weeks ago. Given that Six and the others also had trouble getting ahold of him was solidifying their terrible theory.
Maybe Jason wasn’t on their side.
Six ran his fingers through his hair. I tilted my head as I stared at him. That was his sign of worry and agitation. There was a lack of control in a situation that should have been well controlled. Not that he wasn’t able to adapt and change, but that was when his idiosyncrasies showed up.
“I met with Five, One, and Nine a week ago. I know One was looking for you. We’re trying to get everyone together.”
“For what?” Seven asked.
“A go at Langley,” Six said. I watched Seven’s eyes widen a small bit. “Stay close and I’ll find you when we’re ready.”
“Do you think we’ve been hacked?” Seven asked, finally seeming truly concerned about what was going on.
“I don’t know, but I’d watch your back.” Six held out his hand.
Seven took it and gave it a firm shake. “You, too. And get rid of that cat sooner rather than later.”
My eye twitched at being called a cat again. I flipped Seven off as he moved back to his car, right as Six turned around.
He stepped up to me, his face as stoic as ever, and reached up, plucking a piece of glass from my hair.
“Let’s go.”
I heaved a sigh, then climbed back into the car.
It was silent the entire way back to the motel. Silent as we walked up the stairs.
Silent as we entered. Silent as I stripped off my clothes and threw on a T-shirt before climbing onto the bed.
Silent as my mind was numb.
“She would’ve died even if you weren’t there,” Six said as I stared at the wall.
No. Shut up.
“She might not have. If he’d gone in the morning like he was thinking,” I said, my voice low and notably lifeless.
I suddenly found the combination checkered and floral pattern of the wallpaper very interesting.
“Then many others would have died.”
Why was he still talking?
“What the fuck do you care? We’re all just cattle to you. Stupid animals that roam the earth.” A tear slipped from my eye, landing on my wrist.