I walk into the woods and get changed. The boots are a little too tight, maybe one size too small, and they pinch my toes, but the material is soft and the ache that’s been building at the bottom of my calves starts to lift. Everything else fits perfectly. I walk back into the clearing. Dyl is now wearing a navy button-down, and he’s holding a black leather jacket. The side of his face is covered in blood, matting down thin strands of dark hair to his scalp.
Juliet picks up her bag of gadgets. “You two need to get washed up before we go back into town. We passed a creek on our way here.” She points to her left. “Wash the blood off, then we’ll go.”
Dyl and I trudge through the forest. I lead the way.
He climbs over a rotting log. “Does it still hurt? The cut, I mean.”
“What else could you be referring to?”
“A lot of things, I guess.”
We reach the creek Juliet was talking about. The water is only about an inch deep, a thin stream of clear water running over dark pebbles. Dyl lied to me. I should ignore him, or do something, to tell him our friendship is done. We’re alone right now in this quiet forest, so it’s easy to pretend that he isn’t the person he is. Like this is just another moment, like our kiss or the drives. But it’s not another moment, so I need to start treating him like the person he really is.
He pushes up his shirt sleeves and crouches beside the water. I do the same, scooping up a palmful of icy water and splashing it onto my face. The water comes away pinkish. The contact doubles the pain, and I grit my teeth. Dyl dips his hand into the water and then rubs his bloody skin. He’s cringing and his eyes are full of tears. I start to say something to comfort him, then I remember everything he’s done. Instead, I scoop up a handful of water and hurl it at the wound on the side of my head. The water slaps my flesh and feels like a million bee stings. All energy leaves my body and I fall to my knees.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
I reopen my eyes.
Dyl is looking at me. “Are you all right?”
I nod.
He shuffles forward, raising his hand. “You missed a spot.”
My head jerks back.
His right eyebrow rises. “That move was platonic, I swear. I’m a bro helping out another bro who has blood on his face.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re so full of crap. Stop pretending to like me at all, Dyl. Just be yourself. It’s why we did all of this, so you may as well be honest.”
I stand up, using my left hand to find the last remaining spot of crusted-on blood. I dig my fingernails into it, scraping it off. It feels gooey, and clings to the edges of my nails.
I walk away from the creek back to the clearing, where the others are standing in a small circle. They’ve all changed into more casual clothes, jeans, T-shirts, and jackets. Juliet is wearing a pale-pink hoodie under a gray winter coat that reaches her thighs. Her hands are covered in fingerless gloves.
A branch behind me snaps. I turn and see Dyl standing there, a tiny speck of blood on his forehead.
“You missed a spot,” I say before I step into the clearing. “Bro.”
Sitting on the rock beside a puddle of blood are our trackers. I step toward them. “Which one was mine?”
Natalie points to the one on the right.
I crouch down and pick up a rock that’s about double the size of my fist. It’s covered in dirt and mulch. I stop beside my tracker, then bring the rock up and slam it down. The orb breaks with a satisfying crunch. I raise the rock again. The orb is now a jumble of eggshell-thin pieces of metal, tiny red wires, and silver powder.
“Stop!” calls Juliet. She grabs my hand and holds it tight. “Don’t break them!”
“Why not?” asks Dyl. “That looked fun.”
“Yeah,” I say. “Plus, they’re using them to track us, remember? They need to go, right?”
She rolls her eyes. “Yep, they’re tracking us, but they’re also our only shot at finding the LIC, and I can’t do that if you smash them.”
“I don’t follow.”
“Think about it, Caden. They’re sending a signal to the LIC. That means that, if I had the right tech, I could use the trackers to track them. For my plan to work, we’re going to need to attack the LIC directly, and we can’t do that if we don’t know where it is.”
Dyl pouts. “Oh, you’re still on this dream. Good to know.”
Natalie steps forward, grabs the orb, and tucks it into the front pocket of her jacket. “We have to go. As my mom says, we can fight in the car. But, for the record, I’m with Juliet.”
The girls bump knuckles, then we walk out through the clearing to the road. Parked on the side is a small red car. The paint has faded, and the passenger-seat window is cracked.
Juliet opens the front door. “Caden, could you sit in the front? I’d like to talk to you. I need to pick your brain for more info about the LIC.”
“Sure.”
I walk around the front of the car to the passenger door. In the window is my reflection. My skin is überpale, and there are Godzilla-sized bags under my eyes. My hair hangs limply over my forehead, and the patchy beginnings of a beard are growing on my cheeks. I raise a hand and rub my prickly skin, my fingertips running along my jawbone.
Trevor catches me staring at myself and smirks. “You’re not so hot anymore, huh? Don’t worry, we all look like shit.”
“It’s not that,” I say, peering closer. For the first time I can recall, the boy staring back at me matches my image of myself. “I look human. It’s weird, but I like it.”
“Sure is. Now get in.”
I open the door and step inside as the trunk slams. Hot air is blowing from the dashboard. I clip on my seat belt.
Juliet turns on the engine.
“Is everyone ready?”
Silence answers her.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” She flicks on the turn signal and pulls onto the empty road. “Let’s get as far away from here as possible. And then we can come up with a plan.”
*
We stop at nightfall and park on the side of the road, then find a small clearing and go to set up the tents Juliet and Trevor bought.
Right now, we’re all crowded around the trunk, looking at the three bags. “This is awkward,” says Trev. “We should’ve bought four. Nat and I are going to share, obviously, but …”
“I can sleep outside,” says Dyl. “That’s fine.”
“Don’t be silly,” says Juliet. “You’ll freeze. Caden and I have been friends for …” She slowly closes her eyes, then reopens them. “Actually, yeah, I want to go alone. I’m sorry, I won’t sleep otherwise. And I’m so tired that’s all I want to do. I can’t go another night without it.”
“Let’s set up,” I say. “And then we can decide later. I’m freezing.”
We carry the tents to a small circular clearing, where we drop them. It’s a wide stretch of short grass, broken apart by large gray boulders. The shade from the stones sends long stretches of black across the damp ground.
Trev looks up at the pink sky. “It’s going to get dark soon. We need to set up. Like, right now.”
I grab a two-man tent and then walk to the edge of the clearing. Once I finish assembling the base tent I notice the others are done too, and are now sitting in front of a fire. Dyl isn’t with them.
“How’s it going, Caden?”
Dyl is leaning against a boulder with his hands in his pockets. He detaches from the stone and strides over to me. I start to flatten out the tarp.