“I don’t even remember Disneyland,” I say when I notice that Dr. Simons seems to be waiting for a reply.
“Well, it was such a long time ago and you were so young.” But he seems a little disappointed. He takes a deep breath and shakes it off, then rests his hands down on the table. His fingers are puffy, like a row of swollen sausages. “I do want to be sure you know that you are safe here, Wylie, completely. I don’t want you to feel at all concerned about that.” Anxious, he means—don’t hyperventilate, don’t throw up, don’t pass out. “As I’ve said, our precautions have been extensive. Cassie will be safe here, too.”
Cassie. Right, I forgot all about that. They brought her here on purpose. “What do you mean, Cassie will be safe?” He said there were three Outliers, didn’t he? He specifically explained where two of them came from: Dr. Caton’s bad instructions. That leaves the third one unexplained.
“Who is the third?” I ask as my heart beats harder.
That stupid test in my dad’s basement lab. The way my dad was so quick to tell us afterward that we’d all scored below average. How he got annoyed when Cassie pressed him for details, still hoping against hope that some glass slipper somewhere belongs to her.
“Yes, Cassie is the other Outlier. But under the circumstances, we’ll need to be careful how we explain it to her, Wylie,” Dr. Simons says, and it’s clear this is a confession he’d been dreading. “I don’t want to frighten her. It was bad enough that we had to bring her here this way. It would have been much better for your dad to simply drive her himself, but there was evidence that his movements were being monitored, and then that Cassie’s cell phone has been compromised. But I am concerned about how Cassie will feel. It would be unexpected for anyone to learn this about themselves, but then to find out it puts you in jeopardy … It could be extremely upsetting.”
“In jeopardy?” I ask, not much louder than a whisper. “I thought they wanted my dad.”
“Yes, but if they can isolate an Outlier directly, that would be preferable.” Isolate. Like a disease. Or the weak animal in a herd. “Wylie, I can see that you are upset, and you have every right to be. This would be a great deal of information for anyone to take in,” Dr. Simons goes on, looking me straight in the eye. “But you are safe. Cassie is safe. And so is your dad. After what happened to your mom—I can assure you, no one is taking any risks.”
After what happened to your mom. There’s a rush of heat to my cheeks. A jolt of cold down my spine. Bang, bang, bang goes my heart.
“My mom?”
Here. We. Go. All the alarms in my head sounding at once, so loud I want to cover my ears.
“Wylie, sit back down,” Dr. Simons says. “Everything is going to be fine. But you need to stay calm.”
When did I stand up? Because I did. When I look down, I am standing on the other side of the bench. And now Quentin and Cassie have appeared behind me. Cassie’s only a couple of steps away, arms crossed tight. It looks like she’s lost another five pounds. Like she’s vanishing. Soon she’ll be nothing but vapor, a memory. Just like my mom.
“What happened to my mom?” My voice trembles. Or is that me trembling? My feet are still planted on the ground, but I have started to sway with the pounding of my own heart.
“These people will be held accountable for what they did to her, Wylie,” Dr. Simons says. “Your dad is going to make sure of it.”
What they did to her. What they did to her. What they did to her. It’s a piercing howl in my head. And already I am in motion, trying to outrun it.
Air. I need air. And I need away from these people. Away from those words in my head. Words that no one actually said, but that I already know are true. My mom’s death was not an accident.
A second later, I’m outside in the dark. Racing across the damp grass toward the trees.
“Hey!” Stuart shouts from my left as I pass the cabin where we began. “Where the hell you think you’re going?!”
Stuart. Stuart with his gun. But he won’t stop me, won’t shoot me. I know that now. Because I am my father’s daughter. And no matter how much I hate him right now, these people are his friends. They will protect me. They have to. Protect me from this mess he has created. What they did to her. What he did to her. That’s the truth. Because if what happened to my mom has to do with all of this—with his research—then her dying is actually my dad’s fault.
My feet move so fast they barely touch the ground. So fast it feels like I could fly.
“Hey!” Stuart calls once more, but his voice is just an echo on the wind.