The Awakening

Then she fell.

Tori broke from the spell and raced to her mother, dropping beside her. I did the same and checked her pulse.

“I think she’s okay,” I said.

Tori just knelt there, staring down at her mother.

I touched her arm. “If we want to go, we have—”

She shook me off. I leaped to my feet, ready to leave her. Then I realized what she was doing—checking her mother’s pockets.

“Nothing,” she said through her teeth. “Not even a credit card.”

“I’ve got money. Come on.”

One last look at her mother, and she followed.

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.

Thirteen

I STARTED TO RUN to Aunt Lauren. I made it a few feet before Tori’s mom locked me in a binding spell. I dimly heard her say something, but I didn’t know what it was. My ears were filled with my own silent screams as I stared at Aunt Lauren, motionless on the ground. Finally Mrs. Enright’s voice came through.

“I should probably ask where my darling daughter is.”

“Right here,” said a voice behind me.

Mrs. Enright’s head lifted. Her brow furrowed. Her lips parted. Then she jolted backward, hit by a spell from Tori. My binding broke. I lurched toward Aunt Lauren, but Tori grabbed my arm.

“We have to go,” she said.

“No. I—”

Mrs. Enright recovered, hands flying as she launched a spell. Tori yanked me out of the way and it hit the wall, blasting a blackened crater.

“You can fight her,” I said. “Stop her, and I’ll get the gun—”

“I can’t.”

Tori heaved on my arm. I pulled away. She muttered “Fine,” let go, then raced off, disappearing around the corner. Tori’s mom lifted her hands again. Then a voice shouted, distracting her, “They’re over here!”

I took one last look at Aunt Lauren and ran.

There was no way we were getting to that delivery gate now. I soon realized why Aunt Lauren had sent us ahead—so she could watch our backs because we’d be exposed to any employees entering the side yard and we couldn’t afford to raise any alarms.

We peered around the corner of the next building, saw that open expanse, heard voices coming, and knew we’d never make it.

“Now what?” Tori said.

I didn’t answer.

“Come on!” she whispered. “What’s the plan?”

I wanted to grab her and shake her and tell her there was no plan. I couldn’t even wrap my head around the concept. My aunt might be dead. Dead. That’s all I could think about.

“Chloe!” she whispered. “Hurry! What are we going to do?”

I longed to tell her to leave me alone. Come up with her own plan. Then I saw her eyes, bright with fear fast turning into panic, and the words died in my throat.

She’d just learned Liz was dead. She’d seen my aunt possibly killed by her mother. Neither of us was in any shape to think, but one of us had to.

“Your aunt said the Edison Group won’t come close to the front,” she said. “If we run for it—”

“They’ll make an exception. Or find a way to cut us off. But…” I looked around. My gaze stopped on the huge building dominating the yard. “The factory.”

“What?”

“Stay close to me.”

I knew of two doors—the emergency exit we’d escaped from Saturday night and the main entrance Derek had broken into. The main doors were closest. As we headed for them, I whispered to Liz, asking her to run ahead and scout the way. If someone was coming, she’d whistle.

The door was in an alcove. I darted in and I pressed against the wall while Liz zipped through the door. She was back in a second.

“There’s a guard dead ahead,” she said. “I’ll distract him. You open the door a crack and listen for my whistle. You know a place to hide, right?”

I nodded. When we were here Saturday, Derek had us opening all the doors, searching for an exit, and I remembered a storage room that would be perfect.

When Liz gave the all clear, I eased open the door. Tori danced impatiently behind me, though I’d asked her to watch for anyone approaching.

Inside, Liz was at a closed door twenty feet away. The guard stood beside her, staring down at the knob as it slowly turned one way, then the other.

We slipped past. I could hear the distant rumble and thump of machinery and the laughs and shouts of workers. This section, though, was quiet.

We made it to the side hall easily, as the guard stood transfixed by that mysterious turning doorknob.

Liz raced up behind us. “Where to?”

I gestured to the adjoining hall. She sprinted ahead, turned the corner, and whistled the all clear. Our luck held, and we made it safely into the storage room. As its door closed, the guard’s voice echoed down the empty halls.

“Hey, Pete, come here! You gotta see this. The knob was turning by itself. I tell you, ever since Dan did a nosedive into the saws, this place has been haunted.”

He was right. Saturday night, I’d seen the ghost of a man jump into those saws. Then he’d reappeared and done it again. Was that some kind of penance? Aunt Lauren had done bad things, maybe even committed murder. If she was dead, would she go to Hell? Was she—?

I swallowed hard.

“What now?” Tori whispered.

I looked around. The room was the size of a classroom and full of boxes.

“Find a place in the back,” I said. “There’s lots of dust, which means they don’t come in here very often. We’ll hide—”

Liz ran through the door.

“They’re coming!”

“Wha—?”

“Dr. Davidoff and Sue. She saw you by the doors.”

Thanks to Tori, who’d kept such a good watch…

“Are they inside?” I asked.

“Not yet.”

“Is who inside?” Tori asked as Liz took off. “What’s going on? What’d she say?”

I told her, then opened the door a crack.

“What are you doing?” she said, tugging my sleeve. “Are you nuts? Close that!”

Tell her to be quiet, and she got louder. Tell her to stay back, and she pushed me into the line of fire. Tell her to watch for our pursuers, and she hovered at my shoulder instead. Open the door to listen, and she wanted to drag me back inside.

Ah. The beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Friendship? We’d be lucky if we survived a temporary partnership.

I told her I was trying to listen. When she argued, I glared; and for once in my life, it actually worked. Her mouth shut and she backed into the room, sulky and glowering, but silent.