FIRE & FLOOD Extras

FIRE & FLOOD Bonus Scene - Guy's POV

The girl is tugging on the front doors of the Old Red Museum like a wild banshee. I'm not sure what the problem is. The handles are easy enough to operate. Oh, there we go, she got it.

With my own Pandora egg tucked safely in my car, I know I should go. I'm done here, and the device said I need to get to Lincoln Station.

My father's words still ring in my ear. Keep moving. Don't let anything distract you.

I shouldn't know about this race. He risked his life by telling me and my brothers what he knew.

I guess he was past caring.

So, yeah, I should go. But the girl is fascinating in a way I can't finger. Maybe it's the blue-green feather in her hair, and a memory I can't place concerning it. Lying to myself, I decide this would be a great opportunity to stake out the competition. So I follow her inside, silently, and watch as she sniffs some pamphlets. Her face scrunches like she didn't like the scent, and I almost laugh. After an eternity, she finds the stairs that will lead her to the remaining Pandora eggs.

Shaking my head, I head toward the front doors, back to my car. So the girl is wearing a feather. Whatever. A second after I close the car door, a herd of Contenders rush toward the Old Red Museum and disappear inside. I wait with curiosity, crouched down in my seat, to see if the same number of people reappears. It might help me understand how cutthroat this race will be.  

Eventually, they do reappear.

Everyone except the girl with the feather.

I curse under my breath and shoot a glance at my Pandora egg. What if they killed her? What if she's down there bleeding out? I tell myself another lie—that I don't care. But I know that isn't true. So I groan and jog back inside, taking my egg with me because I'm not about to chance it.

I find the girl on the floor, wiping blood from her head. She looks up at me, her eyes filled with hurt and disappointment, and she says, "They're all gone."

Not my problem, I think.

But I can't stop the unconscious flick of my eyes toward the last remaining egg. The one I dropped earlier that rolled under the shelves. 

I turn and leave, remembering my cousin and why I'm here. I can't bother myself with this girl, despite that feather that nags at the back of my mind—to the place my father filled with data regarding the Brimstone Bleed.

The girl appears a few seconds later when I've already pulled out on the street. And as I watch, she cuts her hair. I mean, she does a real hack job and then stares at herself in the mirror like she's freaking Natalie Portman in Vendetta. 

I pat my Pandora egg and smile to myself.

Girl just might stand a shot inside this race

But I doubt it.