we know it’s not the other team?”
“We don’t.”
“They could be trying to lure us,” he says.
“Then we’ll be careful.”
I take off at close to a sprint, trying not to crunch the leaves under my feet. The scent seems to grow, so either it’s getting stronger or we’re getting closer. Branches whip my exposed face, scratch at my armor and yank my hair. I know it’s Peter and Olive, I can feel it.
“Slow down!” Noah hisses behind me. A branch snaps under his foot like a gunshot. I see a break in the trees up ahead. A person with long black hair tied into a ponytail. I burst through and stop, raising my hands automatically.
Olive holds the end of her staff in my face.
Noah stomps to a halt behind me. “Olive, what are you doing?” he says. Next to Olive’s feet is Peter, still unconscious. Olive breathes heavily through clenched teeth. She doesn’t take her eyes off me except to check on Noah. The hovering wood in front of my face makes my eyes cross.
“Prove it’s you,” Olive says. I’m so confused I take a step forward, and Olive thwacks me hard in the chest. My suit absorbs most of it, but I still lose my balance. Noah steadies me with one hand.
“I said prove it’s you .”
“Look at our clothes,” I say. “The others didn’t have them.”
“You could’ve taken them,” Olive says, but I hear the doubt in her voice. A bright red scratch bisects the dried mud on her right cheek.
“Olive, it’s us ,” Noah says. “What are you talking about?” I watch Olive study him as he says it. She slowly lowers the staff away from my face and holds it at her side.
“What happened?” I say.
Olive looks down at Peter, who twitches in his sleep. The tiny wound on his neck is bright red. “One of them caught up to us. She was alone, I . . . I fought her. I dropped Peter and I fought her, and I won. I knocked her out. She fell against a tree and I was going to grab Peter and run again, but I had to know who it was. They wear the same suits as us. The exact same. And I was thinking about what Tycast said...”
I swallow, tasting the river in my throat. “About the Beta team being like us.”
Olive’s eyes lock on mine, go a little wider.
“They are us,” she says. “The girl beneath the mask, it was me. Exactly like me, like a twin, or a clone, or whatever. It’s us .”
“Impossible,” Noah says. He’s standing next to me now, his shoulder to my slightly lower shoulder.
“Is it?” Olive says. Her voice cracks; she’s trying her best to stay calm, and so am I. “Because I know what I saw. I even pulled up her eyelids and she has the same eyes. Same teeth , Noah. God. There were four of them, right? Four of us. Two teams.”
I think about the mall again. The mayhem I caused by myself. Add seven more like me and repeat in a major city.
We cannot be caught.
I walk over to Peter slowly in case Olive gets staff-happy again, then crouch down and feel his strong pulse on my fingers. His skin is burning. Wind cuts through the trees again, thrashing the leaves. We freeze, listening. No helicopters this time.
Olive lets her staff fall to the ground.
“And then you released a wave so we could find you,” I say.
She nods at me, tries to smile. “It’s a risk I had to take. We have to stay together, like the doctor said. Like Peter said.”
Noah turns a full circle, scanning the trees. “Then we need to move. If we could track you, what’s stopping the other team?”
Olive shakes her head. “Distance. I carried him for a half mile, and Beta was sweeping the forest in the opposite direction. I could hear them moving away after I put down the... girl.”
“Wanna bet your life on it?” Noah says.
The wave did feel subtle. Possibly short-range. Still, we shouldn’t linger.
I stand up and put my hand on her shoulder, tentatively, as I would with a frightened animal. She relaxes under my grip. I pull her into a hug, slowly, and she wraps her arms around me. It feels
“We don’t.”
“They could be trying to lure us,” he says.
“Then we’ll be careful.”
I take off at close to a sprint, trying not to crunch the leaves under my feet. The scent seems to grow, so either it’s getting stronger or we’re getting closer. Branches whip my exposed face, scratch at my armor and yank my hair. I know it’s Peter and Olive, I can feel it.
“Slow down!” Noah hisses behind me. A branch snaps under his foot like a gunshot. I see a break in the trees up ahead. A person with long black hair tied into a ponytail. I burst through and stop, raising my hands automatically.
Olive holds the end of her staff in my face.
Noah stomps to a halt behind me. “Olive, what are you doing?” he says. Next to Olive’s feet is Peter, still unconscious. Olive breathes heavily through clenched teeth. She doesn’t take her eyes off me except to check on Noah. The hovering wood in front of my face makes my eyes cross.
“Prove it’s you,” Olive says. I’m so confused I take a step forward, and Olive thwacks me hard in the chest. My suit absorbs most of it, but I still lose my balance. Noah steadies me with one hand.
“I said prove it’s you .”
“Look at our clothes,” I say. “The others didn’t have them.”
“You could’ve taken them,” Olive says, but I hear the doubt in her voice. A bright red scratch bisects the dried mud on her right cheek.
“Olive, it’s us ,” Noah says. “What are you talking about?” I watch Olive study him as he says it. She slowly lowers the staff away from my face and holds it at her side.
“What happened?” I say.
Olive looks down at Peter, who twitches in his sleep. The tiny wound on his neck is bright red. “One of them caught up to us. She was alone, I . . . I fought her. I dropped Peter and I fought her, and I won. I knocked her out. She fell against a tree and I was going to grab Peter and run again, but I had to know who it was. They wear the same suits as us. The exact same. And I was thinking about what Tycast said...”
I swallow, tasting the river in my throat. “About the Beta team being like us.”
Olive’s eyes lock on mine, go a little wider.
“They are us,” she says. “The girl beneath the mask, it was me. Exactly like me, like a twin, or a clone, or whatever. It’s us .”
“Impossible,” Noah says. He’s standing next to me now, his shoulder to my slightly lower shoulder.
“Is it?” Olive says. Her voice cracks; she’s trying her best to stay calm, and so am I. “Because I know what I saw. I even pulled up her eyelids and she has the same eyes. Same teeth , Noah. God. There were four of them, right? Four of us. Two teams.”
I think about the mall again. The mayhem I caused by myself. Add seven more like me and repeat in a major city.
We cannot be caught.
I walk over to Peter slowly in case Olive gets staff-happy again, then crouch down and feel his strong pulse on my fingers. His skin is burning. Wind cuts through the trees again, thrashing the leaves. We freeze, listening. No helicopters this time.
Olive lets her staff fall to the ground.
“And then you released a wave so we could find you,” I say.
She nods at me, tries to smile. “It’s a risk I had to take. We have to stay together, like the doctor said. Like Peter said.”
Noah turns a full circle, scanning the trees. “Then we need to move. If we could track you, what’s stopping the other team?”
Olive shakes her head. “Distance. I carried him for a half mile, and Beta was sweeping the forest in the opposite direction. I could hear them moving away after I put down the... girl.”
“Wanna bet your life on it?” Noah says.
The wave did feel subtle. Possibly short-range. Still, we shouldn’t linger.
I stand up and put my hand on her shoulder, tentatively, as I would with a frightened animal. She relaxes under my grip. I pull her into a hug, slowly, and she wraps her arms around me. It feels
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