Timestorm by Julie Cross Page B

controlled from only one location and that’s on the other side of the woods—”
    “Wait,” I interrupted. “You mean the woods here on Misfit Island? Isn’t that where the perimeters end?”
    Everyone stared at me like I had brain damage. Which might be true. Then Courtney’s face lit up and she looked over at Grayson. “He wasn’t here. He wasn’t conscious when you showed us the maps of the area.”
    “Right, Courtney. I forgot as well.” Grayson pushed himself off the wall and started tapping buttons on the control panel. A map appeared on three different screens hanging on the wall at eye level. Everything was there. The cabins were clearly identifiable, and just beyond the thick section of trees, there was more grassy land and images of tents scattered everywhere. Around the tents were tiny black dots, some of them staying in place and some moving. Grayson’s finger touched one of the screens and moved from the technology building through the woods, through the area with tents, and stopped just before reaching another thick mass of trees. “That’s where the perimeters of the force field extend.”
    “The force field gets taken down more than you think,” Stewart said. “But they hit you with memory gas to stop anyone from leaving. Think about it, they can cross into the area without taking the field down, it’s just getting out that’s the problem.”
    “So the controls are on our side?” Grayson asked.
    I could already see him, Blake, Lonnie, and Sasha all exchanging glances, possibly believing Stewart for the first time. Then Grayson shook his head. “Even if we found this box, there’s no way we could gain access. All the Eyewall workers have identity chips, fingerprint access—”
    Stewart pointed her index finger at Holly. “Good thing we’ve got one of their team members to help us gain access.”
    Several people started talking at once, trying to disprove or encourage exploring this theory. I kept my mouth shut and my eyes on Holly, who also remained quiet.
    “Okay, okay,” Grayson said. “It’s possible this could work. She is in the system. The retina scanner identified Holly as an Eyewall member. But Eyewall guards will teleport in as soon as the field drops.”
    “True,” Stewart said, nodding and obviously stalling like she might be afraid to tell us the next part. “The electromagnetic pulse will go up as soon as the field is down. The only point of access for time travel is just outside the Eyewall headquarters. All we have to do is take out the guards who come charging in after the field is dropped, remove their identifier chips, implant them on our own bodies, walk to Eyewall headquarters, at least to the point of access, then time-jump the hell out of 3200.”
    “Is that all?” Sasha said, sarcasm falling from every word.
    Grayson and Dad both kept their expressions as blank as if they were jacked up on B-29. Dad spoke first. “Let Grayson, Lonnie, and I discuss this more in-depth. There are some logistics to work out. It’s a long journey to headquarters.”
    We all filed out of the room, knowing there wasn’t any reason to argue or discuss it further until they made a decision. I grabbed Stewart by the shoulders from behind and gave her a squeeze. “Nice job. Honestly, I figured you had no idea what you were getting into. It’s a good sign that they’re even willing to talk about it.”
    Once we were outside, near the fire pit, Stewart turned around to face me, grief filling her expression. “It’s my fault you’re here. If I hadn’t dosed Healy with the truth serum, Emily wouldn’t have been alone long enough to start her little quest and Healy wouldn’t have trapped you so soon. He would have waited longer and we’d have figured out that he was trying to trap you…”
    I didn’t know how to respond. I was sure there was some truth to what she was saying but still, so many factors led to this entrapment. No way could we pin it all on