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"Ambitious and fiercely original. Sondi Warner is the exciting new voice we've all been wai...
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September 11 | Late Noon
It felt like we had been running over an hour, but the map showed there was yet another mile to the main road. My legs burned, reminding me I wasn't the super-agent I played in video games. Aurie and I had gathered the first aid kit and other supplies. They weighed me down. My shirt was plastered to my back.
A raven flapped out of the bushes, and it seemed like a bad omen. One for sorrow. I was scared shitless.
I tried to move faster as I dug out the burner phone. "Come on, Tegan, come on!" I groaned. She wouldn't answer my calls. Arms pumping, I fired off a pre-made text: "The cabin is compromised." She knew to meet us at the rendezvous point further down the road. If she didn't show up by the time Aurie and I made it there, we would have to accept she had abandoned us.
"Slow down. I think we're far enough," Aurie said at the sight of me flailing.
"No, we have to keep going, Yokai. From what we witnessed back at the cabin the Council of Overlay Affairs thinks Zyr committed a crime. They won't stop until they get him."
"Mys, you can't keep pushing yourself like this. We have to take a break, babe." Aurie gripped my arm.
Halting, I locked my hands behind my head and took deep breaths. "They could have drones," I said. As I struggled for air, I shook sweat-soaked hair from my face and blinked up at the sky that was getting more overcast by the minute. It had to be after four o'clock, but it looked later in the evening because of the storm. My stomach pitched from overexertion, but I took off walking again. We were nearing the main road.
"Do you see or hear any drones? Because I don't." Aurie had no choice but to fall in step, but she gestured back the way we had come. "You know what? Maybe I should let them find me. My testimony against Darcy Cyprian could clear Zyr's name," she suggested.
Stopping again, I cupped her cheeks and locked us in an all-consuming staring contest to be sure she was listening. "Darcy Cyprian is behind this. He's trying to use the Council to get you defenseless. As long as he's a member, we can't trust them. You saw how they used Zyr's brother against him."
I squeezed my eyes shut. They had dangled the powerful lure of freeing Yazeed's mother before him. I knew how he must've felt. I covered my face and took a moment to process what was happening to us. It hurt. It hurt, it hurt, and I felt like I should go back for Zyr. Only, I couldn't. I had to get Aurie to safety.
My ears pricked at the sound of a car engine idling somewhere close. Grabbing Aurie, I jerked her into a crouching position. Aurie and I backtracked deeper into the woods for our safety, but I stopped at a familiar voice. "It's Tegan," I mouthed. Aurie nodded as we lay pressed to the ground, my nose in a damp clump of pine needles. We both listened.
"I haven't had a drink. Would you stop? God!" she exclaimed. There was a pause. My eyes met my companion's. It sounded like Tegan was on the phone. "I'm doing everything I'm supposed to be doing...Yeah, you explain how it works then, jerk! No, I'm sorry...I didn't mean that. My nerves are just shot!"
