He was delusional.

He was mad.

He was cruel.

“I’m not fucking lying!” I spat. “I don’t know where she is!”

Let these people live. Let them go. Let them be free.

He stared at me a full thirty seconds before he nodded.

One of the guards jerked forward, grabbing the back of the nearest man’s shoulder. He pulled him up. The Hider began kicking, trying to lift his bound hands, but he couldn’t do a thing. He flapped around like a fish. He was wearing a cap, the penguin emblem sewed into it. He rolled, but that cap stayed on.

It stayed on. Like it was trying to tell me something.

Stay on. Stay true. Stay strong.

The other Hiders began rolling around, one female screaming around her rag.

I couldn’t—I didn’t—I screamed, “I DON’T KNOW WHERE SHE IS!”

The guard lifted his gun, placing the muzzle against the back of the guy’s head, pressed right up to the cap. He waited, watching Kai for the order.

“Oh my God. I don’t. I swear I don’t know where she is,” I sobbed.

I dry-heaved again. My vision was swimming. If I moved for him, the guard could pull the trigger. If I stayed still, he could pull the trigger.

His life was in my hands, and I had nothing to give up for him. Nothing.

He was going to die.

The Hider stilled, coming to the same realization, and his eyes found mine, a stark pleading there. I felt it deep inside of me. He was scared, so scared, but calm.

He shouldn’t have been calm.

I swallowed the tears streaming down my face. “Please, Kai! Please. My God. Please! I don’t know. I swear I don’t know. Please don’t kill him—”

Then, two soft words, “You’re lying.”

And the guard pulled the trigger.

All the time with the Network, I saw people near death, but I’d never seen someone die. Never.

Until now.

The Hider’s body jerked forward. Blood splattered everywhere, and the guard stepped back, releasing his body. He fell limply to the floor. His eyes were closed. He was so still, and I fell to my knees, trying to hold everything in—my tears, my vomiting, my screams, but it wasn’t working. I felt my entire body jerking, and then I hit the floor, hard.

I had no control. I was having a seizure. This had never happened to me, and I couldn’t stop myself. My teeth banged against each other. My head was going to slam into a chair, but then someone cursed.

The floor shook as footsteps rushed toward me, and someone scooped me up.

“Get them out!” Kai held me, barking over my body. “I want the fucking medic in here. NOW!”

I flailed around. My hand hit his head. He cursed again, but wound his arms more tightly around me to still my movements.

That wasn’t what he was supposed to do, but I couldn’t tell him my EMT training. He carried me back into his bedroom, and we sank down on the bed, his entire body wrapped around me to keep me from hurting him or myself. When he heard my teeth clacking together, he grabbed for a pillow and shoved it into my mouth, then sank back and held me immobile.

I shouldn’t have felt safe, but I did.

After a moment, I could feel the seizure slowing, and an intense exhaustion settled in. I heard knocking on the door, then footsteps coming in just as I fell asleep. Again.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Pssst, Ray ray! Pssst!”

I opened an eye and saw Brooke kneeling beside my bed, her eyes lit up and an excited smile on her face. Her cheeks were red.

I groaned, burrowing my head under my pillow. “Go away. You’re too awake for me.”

She giggled, then shoved my shoulder. “Come on. Get up. I want to show you something.”

“What?”

She was so annoying, so awake at a time I knew was ungodly and wrong. So wrong. It was irritating how much of a morning person she was. Five am wasn’t the time to get up and dance, but that was one of her favorite pastimes.

Thank God I bargained hard. I’d gotten her to do her dancing routine in the community room down at the end of the hall. It was a nice bonus that two girls we hated had their room directly underneath, and they hadn’t figured out who the dancer was. Not yet. The time was coming, though. We were only two weeks into school.

“Come on. I mean it. I really want to show you something.”

She was so persistent.

“What is it?” I grumbled, but I sat up, rubbing my eyes. This was not right. I glared at her, dropping my hands to my lap. “You’re not human.”

She laughed again, ducking her head behind her hands. “Come on. Come on. Quick.”

“Fine, fine.” I crawled out of bed and reached for my slippers.

I was pulling on my robe, following her out of the room, when it hit me that I wasn’t cold. I should’ve been cold. It was always cold this early in the morning.

“Wait.” I stopped, five feet from the door. “Where are we going?”

She poked her head around and waved me forward. “You’re going to miss it. Come ON!”

She was too annoying for this to be a dream. “Fine, fine, fine.” I rubbed a hand over my face. I just wanted to go back to sleep. “But where are we going?”

She disappeared back into the hallway as I reached for the door.