wrist. “Are you coming?” He glares at me but is smart enough to turn away before I gain focus. He steps over the girder and balances precariously on the edge of the building.
On Burn’s back, my brother hangs helplessly out the window. If Burn releases those straps, or they break, my brother will fall to his death.
“Why use the rope?” I point to the adjacent building. “Why not jump across there?” I’ve seen the power in his legs.
“Too far down. Plus, too risky right now.”
“Why?” Maybe if I reason with him, he’ll step back into the room, instead of leaning out of it, and I can figure out a way to get Drake off his back. “If someone sees you taking Drake, what difference does it make if you’re climbing down a rope or jumping through the air?”
“Stupid to advertise my gift.”
“Gift?”
“Deviance.” He says the word like it tastes bad, and then rechecks the straps holding Drake. Yanking the rope, as if to test its hold one final time, he looks up to me. “Are you coming or not?”
“Halt. Compliance!” someone yells and the door bursts open. Three Comps, followed by Cal, crash into the room; their heavy boots boom against the wooden floors.
Burn grabs my arm.
“Let her go,” Cal calls out. “Stop him.”
Indecision grabs my belly. Should I stay? Trust Burn with my brother?
The Comps point their shockers but don’t shoot, and I realize that if they hit Burn, all three of us will fall out of the thirty-two-story window.
“Now or never,” Burn nearly growls in my ear.
“Glory, I love you,” Cal says and my indecision vanishes.
Cal’s a liar. He betrayed me. Betrayed my brother.
I’ll miss Jayma, but beyond that there’s nothing left for me here.
I nod to Burn, he clamps his arm around my waist and, holding the rope in one hand, jumps back.
My heart leaps to my throat as we fall.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“C AN I AT least move?” I shift against the bulk of Burn’s body. “Trust me. I won’t leave without my brother.”
For what feels like hours, he’s had me pinned beside him in the corner of this tiny space he pushed me into after we dropped from the window. All I know is we’re below ground level, underneath our building, in a small space that’s dark and dirty. He’s only cranked his torch once, just so Drake and I could see that we were both present and unharmed. I can hear my brother breathing, moving every now and again, but otherwise I’m blinded in the complete darkness.
It’s fine for Burn. His strange glasses are special goggles that let him see in the dark. My skin crawls, thinking how he can see me but I can’t see him. Having any boy so near right now turns my stomach, never mind one as scary as Burn. Over the past hours, I’ve searched for another explanationfor the Comps’ arrival on our floor, their pursuit, Cal’s involvement—but I keep landing at the same conclusion.
Cal betrayed me and the weight of the truth is almost as heavy as Burn. Worse, every few moments his betrayal stabs me, poking holes in my confidence and belief in my judgment. Have I done the wrong thing again, by trusting Burn to help us escape?
“What is this place?” I ask.
“Bottom of a garbage chute.” Burn’s deep voice fills the space.
“What’s a garbage chute?” Drake asks, sounding genuinely curious.
“ “Before The Dust”—Burn shifts, moving me—“people dropped their garbage down here from the upper floors.”
“What’s garbage?” Drake asks. While I’ve heard the word, I can’t remember what it means.
“Waste. Scraps,” Burn says. “Things people don’t need.”
“He asked an honest question.” I poke Burn’s hard arm. “The least you could do is give him an honest answer.” I cross my arms over my chest and wonder if he can see my gesture in the dark. I have no idea which way he’s looking. But if he wants me to believe there was a time when people simply threw things away, dropped them down some kind of chute, he really
On Burn’s back, my brother hangs helplessly out the window. If Burn releases those straps, or they break, my brother will fall to his death.
“Why use the rope?” I point to the adjacent building. “Why not jump across there?” I’ve seen the power in his legs.
“Too far down. Plus, too risky right now.”
“Why?” Maybe if I reason with him, he’ll step back into the room, instead of leaning out of it, and I can figure out a way to get Drake off his back. “If someone sees you taking Drake, what difference does it make if you’re climbing down a rope or jumping through the air?”
“Stupid to advertise my gift.”
“Gift?”
“Deviance.” He says the word like it tastes bad, and then rechecks the straps holding Drake. Yanking the rope, as if to test its hold one final time, he looks up to me. “Are you coming or not?”
“Halt. Compliance!” someone yells and the door bursts open. Three Comps, followed by Cal, crash into the room; their heavy boots boom against the wooden floors.
Burn grabs my arm.
“Let her go,” Cal calls out. “Stop him.”
Indecision grabs my belly. Should I stay? Trust Burn with my brother?
The Comps point their shockers but don’t shoot, and I realize that if they hit Burn, all three of us will fall out of the thirty-two-story window.
“Now or never,” Burn nearly growls in my ear.
“Glory, I love you,” Cal says and my indecision vanishes.
Cal’s a liar. He betrayed me. Betrayed my brother.
I’ll miss Jayma, but beyond that there’s nothing left for me here.
I nod to Burn, he clamps his arm around my waist and, holding the rope in one hand, jumps back.
My heart leaps to my throat as we fall.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“C AN I AT least move?” I shift against the bulk of Burn’s body. “Trust me. I won’t leave without my brother.”
For what feels like hours, he’s had me pinned beside him in the corner of this tiny space he pushed me into after we dropped from the window. All I know is we’re below ground level, underneath our building, in a small space that’s dark and dirty. He’s only cranked his torch once, just so Drake and I could see that we were both present and unharmed. I can hear my brother breathing, moving every now and again, but otherwise I’m blinded in the complete darkness.
It’s fine for Burn. His strange glasses are special goggles that let him see in the dark. My skin crawls, thinking how he can see me but I can’t see him. Having any boy so near right now turns my stomach, never mind one as scary as Burn. Over the past hours, I’ve searched for another explanationfor the Comps’ arrival on our floor, their pursuit, Cal’s involvement—but I keep landing at the same conclusion.
Cal betrayed me and the weight of the truth is almost as heavy as Burn. Worse, every few moments his betrayal stabs me, poking holes in my confidence and belief in my judgment. Have I done the wrong thing again, by trusting Burn to help us escape?
“What is this place?” I ask.
“Bottom of a garbage chute.” Burn’s deep voice fills the space.
“What’s a garbage chute?” Drake asks, sounding genuinely curious.
“ “Before The Dust”—Burn shifts, moving me—“people dropped their garbage down here from the upper floors.”
“What’s garbage?” Drake asks. While I’ve heard the word, I can’t remember what it means.
“Waste. Scraps,” Burn says. “Things people don’t need.”
“He asked an honest question.” I poke Burn’s hard arm. “The least you could do is give him an honest answer.” I cross my arms over my chest and wonder if he can see my gesture in the dark. I have no idea which way he’s looking. But if he wants me to believe there was a time when people simply threw things away, dropped them down some kind of chute, he really
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