“You guys have to leave,” I said. Adrenaline took over. “Owen, grab the wires,” I commanded.
Adam looked at me, and it was as if an entire chasm had opened up between us. “But I want to stay with you,” he said, pushing past Meg. I turned my shoulder to dodge his touch. The specimens, the lab equipment, the maps, and notes, they all belonged here. Adam didn’t. Not anymore.
“Wires?” Meg spun in place. Owen tugged at the ends of his hair and muttered to himself, but he retrieved the wires. We should have been more prepared for this.
I picked alligator clips from a surgical tray, then crossed the room and cupped them into Meg’s hand. “Meg, the method to keep his heart beating, it’s not permanent.” I zigzagged through the laboratory, every step familiar. I tore the kilowatt meter from the wall. The small generator. “Brine, Owen.” He retrieved jars from the shelves and pushed them into Adam’s arms. “Salt will work in a pinch,” I said. “It’s a conductor. You need water and then attach the wires to the notches in his chest. Adam, you remember how it works.”
“No, Victoria,” he said, but I knew it wasn’t in response to my question. “No, don’t leave me. I’m Adam. Adam,” he repeated.
My Adam.
I steeled myself. “Your name is John,” I said. “John, you have to do the charge exactly as I’ve done it. You remember.” I stared intently at him. Adam wrapped himself in a hug, his fingers tucked into his armpits as he rocked back and forth, clearly perturbed. The sirens were a high-pitched drone now. I stared up at the ceiling. Time had run out. “Where are you staying?”
“Victoria,” he said. “Please. Don’t make me go. Victoria.”
“It’s Tor,” I said. “It’s always been Tor.” And I felt my arteries snap and my heart drop to my bowels.
“At the Queen’s Inn,” Meg replied, clutching the heap of supplies close to her chest. “A few miles down the road.” Everyone knew only truckers and lot lizards stayed at the Queen’s Inn. The two-story motel bred cockroaches and venereal disease in equal quantities. I tried not to think about it.
I hovered at the bottom of the stairs. “Wait five minutes. Owen and I will buy you enough time to leave.” I tore my attention away from Adam’s pained stare. The skin bunched around his eyes, and the image seared into my sockets like a brand. Adam. My Adam.
For once, Owen made no smart remark. Maybe there wasn’t room for it. Maybe he was that scared or maybe the whole thing just wasn’t funny anymore. Like at all. He did come to stand loyally at my side, though, my lead foot already starting up the staircase. “Good luck,” I said. “I’ll … I’ll come find you.” And it was a strange thing that I didn’t know whether I meant that.
Adam was John. Adam—my Adam—had failed in some fundamental capacity, and I felt my heart closing up, like somebody sliding shut the seal on a ziplock bag. He wasn’t my Adam anymore.
I didn’t turn back. I pounded up toward the hatch and shoved it open. I climbed out and dusted off my jeans. I pulled Owen out after me. We slammed the hatch door closed with an aluminum clang that rocketed through the night.
I looked around, suddenly grateful for the country dark. Red, blue, and white flashed on our front lawn. “Come on.” I held fast to Owen’s hand, and we ran around the back of the house in a loop so that we were spit out on the other side. I had little to no plan when I saw the two cop cars parked in the dirt in front of my house.
From inside I could hear Einstein already hoarse with barking. Her nails scratched the door. “Quiet, Einstein,” I muttered too quietly for her to hear.
I arrived to greet them, panting. A middle-aged officer with a blond mustache and a holster strapped around his pregnant-looking belly got out. He rested his hand on his gun.
“Is that dog dangerous, miss?” He nodded toward the front door. She whined and scratched some more.
“Who, Einstein? Only if you’re afraid of excessive amounts of drool.” Owen nudged me in the ribs. “Right, I mean, no, she’s harmless.”
“We’re looking for an Adam Smith. Heard he might know something about the murder up at the school. People told us to try here. That you two were close friends, and that he might have left the gymnasium with you.” He nodded at me.
The question knocked me off balance. Adam had left with me. What could I answer?
“What do you need Adam for, sir?” Owen stood up straight, stalling. He was good with adults. He had that nerdy charm that convinced them he was no trouble at all. I, on the other hand, seemed to lack that quality entirely.
“Just a few questions,” replied Officer McMustache. “That’s all.” By now his partner had climbed out of the car and was looking out at the property. I felt the seconds ticking by.