Twelve

TORI AND I HUDDLED under the tarp covering a trailer bed. There wasn’t a cab attached, so we were in no danger of our hiding place rolling away. I thought that made it the perfect spot. Tori disagreed.

“We’re sitting ducks here,” she hissed, crouching. “All they have to do is lift this cover and they’ll see us.”

“If they get close, we’ll run.”

“And how will we know that? We can’t see anything.”

“Liz is scouting.” I uncrossed my legs. “About Liz—”

“She’s dead.” Her voice was a harsh rasp. “I heard my mother. She killed Liz, didn’t she? Her and those people.”

“I-I’ll explain later. We need to be quiet. Someone could hear—”

“No one’s around, remember? Because Liz—my friend Liz—is a ghost and she’s standing watch. Apparently, she’s been helping you for God knows how long, and you didn’t even bother to tell me she was dead, that they murdered her.”

“I told Rae—”

“Of course. Rachelle. How’s that working out for you?” Tori met my gaze. “If you want to know who betrayed you guys, look in that direction.”

“Rae? No. She’d never—”

“Well, someone told. If it wasn’t me or you, or the guys, who does that leave?”

“W-we should be quiet. Sound travels.”

“Really? Wow. Now you give science lessons, too. Did Derek teach you that?”

“Tori?”

“What?”

“Shut it.”

She did, for about five seconds, then said, “Shouldn’t Liz have checked in by now? How do you know she’s still out there?”

“She comes and goes. That’s why I needed that sweatshirt to—”

Liz dashed through the tarp and stooped over us. “Tell her to shhh!”

“I already did,” I whispered. “Repeatedly.”

“Well, they’ve heard, and they’re on their way. It’s your aunt and a guy with a gun.”

I relayed this to Tori in whispers.

“What? Why are we sitting here then?” She darted for the side.

I grabbed her arm.

“Hey!” she said, loud enough to make Liz wince.

“Which way are they coming from?” I asked Liz.

She pointed left. I crawled to the right side and lifted the tarp.

Liz hurried out. “I don’t see them now.”

I squinted against the sun. There was a building about twenty feet away, but I couldn’t see a door. I leaned out for a better look. To my left was a cluster of rusty barrels. We could hide between—

“Chloe!” Liz yelled. “He’s right—”

A thump-thump on the trailer bed cut her off.

“Back up!” Liz said. “Back up!”

“What’s going on?” Tori whispered. “Move!”

When I tried to back up, Tori shoved me and I flew out from under the trailer, doing a face plant in the dirt.

“Well, that made it easy,” said a voice.

I rolled onto my back. There, on the trailer bed, stood Mike—the man who’d shot at us Saturday night.

“Lauren?” he said. “Better give me that gun. I’ll handle this.”

Gaze still fixed on me, he jumped to the ground. He put out his hand as Aunt Lauren came around the back of the trailer, rifle in her hands.

“I’m sorry, Chloe,” she said.

She aimed the gun at me and I scuttled back.

“N-no. I—I won’t fight. I—”

She swung the gun and fired at Mike. The dart hit his arm. He stared at it. Then his knees gave way.

Aunt Lauren ran over and helped me up. “Tori, get out of there. He radioed the others when we heard you.”

I backed away, my gaze on Aunt Lauren as I motioned for Tori to be ready to run. Aunt Lauren grabbed my arm; but when I pulled away, she released her grip and stepped back.

“Why do you think I shot him?” she said. “Why did I let Tori get away from me so easily? I’m trying to help. We’ll find the boys, then we’ll find Kit—Simon’s dad.”

A weird ringing sounded in my ears. I think it was my heart, shouting for joy. Aunt Lauren had realized she was wrong. She still loved me. She was going to make it up to me, fix my problems like she always did, and make everything okay.

Could I have imagined anything more perfect?

No, and that’s why I took another slow step back, fingers at my side, waving for Tori to get ready to bolt. I’d been tricked too often to fall for a fairy-tale ending now.

“Chloe, please.” Aunt Lauren held out the insulin pouch. As I reached for it, she caught my hand. “I made a mistake, Chloe. A huge mistake. But I’m going to fix it.” She handed me the pouch. “Now head that way.” She pointed toward the factory. “Stick to the shadows. I need to hide him under the truck.”

* * *

Aunt Lauren caught up and we circled the warehouses, heading toward the front gates. She swore no one from the Edison Group was covering the front. Though we hadn’t seen employees wandering around outside, the group wouldn’t risk getting too close to the factory.

And if she was lying and leading us into a trap? I hoped Tori’s spells would get us through.

At the far side of the yard, we paused behind a warehouse to catch our breaths.

“Okay, girls,” Aunt Lauren said. “There’s a delivery gate over there. It’s closed, but you both should be able to squeeze through. Head right two blocks, then along the street to the end. You’ll see a Seven-Eleven.”

I nodded. “I know where it is.”

“Good. Go around the back of the store and wait. I’ll meet you there.”

Tori sprinted off, but I stood there, looking at Aunt Lauren.

“Chloe?”

“Tori didn’t turn us in, did she?”

“No. Now—”

“It was Rae, wasn’t it?”

Aunt Lauren paused, and I saw the answer in her eyes. “I’m not the only one who mistakenly thought she was doing the right thing, Chloe.”

I started to turn away. She caught my arm and held out a folded envelope.

“An explanation and some money.” When I didn’t take it, she leaned around and put it into my back pocket. “If you decide to keep running, I won’t blame you. But, please, give me a chance. One last chance.”

I nodded. She pulled me into a hug and kissed my cheek, then let me go. Tori had already rounded the corner of the building, disappearing from sight when Liz shrieked behind me.

“Chloe!”

I spun so fast I lost my balance. Aunt Lauren gestured for me to keep going, but I saw only the figure behind her. Tori’s mom.

I shouted a warning, but Mrs. Enright’s hand flew out. A bolt shot from her fingertips. It hit Aunt Lauren with a horrible sizzling pop, knocking her off her feet. Blood flew from her lips, spraying the concrete as she fell.