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27

I ’m up early the next morning, my body achy from the night before, but my mind clear. Valen was long gone when I woke up, but I expected no different. He doesn’t keep human hours. In fact, he doesn’t keep vampire hours either.

My day is already laid out for me when it comes to my lab mates. They have to leave before the Saints show up, and I have to break the news to them today. Our time here is done. Major Barker’s soldiers may already be downstairs awaiting orders on what to take and how.

I have to stick to my decision to stay no matter what they say. If I leave with them, I’m only putting them in more danger. Gregor is going to come for me when the hourglass runs out.

Bypassing the regular lab, I enter the HCL and suit up. As I suspected, Wyatt hasn’t been back in since yesterday—his time better spent with Aang—so my blood is still waiting for analysis. I toss the spoiled sample that he’d been working with, then grab a fresh vial from the refrigerator. I also sneak the vial of the possibly-lethal compound back into the fridge. I don’t know if I’m going to regret keeping it instead of sharing it with Gage, but I went with my gut. If only I could trust it.

Focusing on the new blood sample, I go through all the protocols, taking readings, running data, separating the cells in the centrifuge. Time ticks by as I do a full workup, analyzing everything I possibly can. This is my last chance, the only time I’ll be able to take a look at it. Once Major Barker arrives, his men will begin packing everything up for the trip. Then it will be up to the others. My faith in them is as strong as it’s ever been, but my curiosity has never been leashed. I have to investigate while I still can.

Sitting back, I wait for the centrifuge to finish. My thoughts fly up a few floors to Aang’s room. I hope Wyatt got through to him. Then my thoughts stray even farther. All the way to Valen. We’re tangled together. No matter how much I’ve tried to avoid and deny it, I have to stop pretending I’m not drawn to him. But he can’t protect me from his father. Would he even try? It’s his job to do Gregor’s bidding. What if Gregor orders him to kill me?

I shiver despite the muggy heat inside the suit. These musings will get me nowhere. I just need to run the data on this blood, upload it to my computer, then return to my apartment where I can research on my own after the others are gone.

“Yo.” Wyatt walks in wearing another suit. “I thought you might be in here.”

“Aang?” I ask.

“He’s sleeping. I gave him some of my top shelf gummies after we talked for a long time.”

“You must be exhausted.”

“I’m all right.” He shrugs. “Just worried about him. Gretchen’s sitting with him now.”

“Good. He doesn’t need to be alone.”

“What are you doing?” He peers over my shoulder.

“Working up the sample from yesterday.”

“Yeah, I kind of left in a hurry. Shit, did I lose a vial?”

“It’s okay. There are plenty to look at. All in good condition. Centrifuge is almost done.”

“Cool. Um, on another note, there are some dudes out front. The major, too. They seem to be confused. They think we’re going to Atlanta.”

Damn. I’d wanted to tell all of them at the same time, but it looks like I won’t get the chance.

He must notice the guilty look on my face. “Wait, are we going to Atlanta?”

“It’s not safe here anymore,” I say quickly. “The people that came to kill us last time—the Saints—they’re working up to another attack. They’re coming in a few days, and this time they’ll bring more numbers and more firepower. They intend to burn us out.”

“Shit. Why?”

“Conspiracy theories.” I shrug, but the movement doesn’t translate while I’m in the protective suit. “They think we’re trying to kill them. They think we’re, I don’t know, bioengineering another plague or switching people’s blood for shits and giggles. I got nothing, really. It’s all bonkers, but repeat a lie enough, and people start to believe it. I guess there’s been a whole hell of a lot of repeating going on.”

“Misinformation to the point that they think we’re the bad guys. That’s pretty fucked up. The Army can’t keep them out of here?”

“Apparently not. Or, at least not without major loss of life.” I touch the plasticky arm of his suit through the plasticky hand of my own. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I’d planned to, but then … Well, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.” He sighs so heavily his view window fogs a little. “Atlanta, then? With Director Hamberg on our asses all the damn time?”

“Yep. He’ll be so pleased to see us. I bet he’s already blowing up balloons and making welcome signs.” I glance at the centrifuge that’s slowing down. “I’ll finish up in here if you wouldn’t mind helping Major Barker by showing him what they can take. We should probably get going tomorrow.”

He gives me a small salute. “I’m on it.”

“Don’t let them scratch your records.”

“Fuuuuck.” That gets him moving faster, worry in his steps.

I smile a little, then unload the centrifuge and work on imaging the cells. The microscopes are programmed to photograph everything in quick succession, so I load the blood and the plasma in their respective areas and set the programs to running. It takes a while, but once it’s done, I label and store the samples in the refrigerator, then return to the lab to give the images a look.

Evie barrels up to me. “Wyatt said we’re evacuating?”

“Yeah.” I open my laptop as soldiers load stacks of journals into moving boxes. “It’s not safe here anymore.”

“But we were close!” She shakes her head. “The samples you—” She cuts herself short. “ Those samples.”

“I already ran a vial through. Want to look at results with me? It’s going to take them all day and night to move all the stuff we need.”

“Yes!” She follows me to my desk and pulls up a rolling chair.

“Did you see Aang?” I ask as I fire up my laptop.

“I went back in the wee hours and listened at his door. He and Wyatt were talking, and he sounded relatively okay. I didn’t knock. I?—”

“Whoa there, partner.” Wyatt adopts a cowboy accent as he steps between two soldiers and his record collection. “Let’s save those babies for last, okay? They’re pretty darn tootin’ special.”

The soldiers simply look at each other and then move along down the row.

“Doctor?” Major Barker is at the doors.

“Yes?” All three of us answer.

“Dr. Clark,” he corrects.

“I knew it,” I grumble and tell Evie not to open the imaging until I get back. I don’t want to miss a thing.

“You don’t waste time.” I press myself against the wall as soldiers carry some boxes past me.

“Not in the habit of it, no.” He gestures toward the same spot where we talked before.

“What’s going on now?” I say it more snappily than I mean to, but I guess all the stress is getting to me. There’s no way it couldn’t.

“We’ll have the lab cleaned out by end of day, then we’ll work on the individual living quarters. Please make everyone aware that they should take what they need, nothing more. The road to Atlanta isn’t without its pitfalls. If we come across any trouble, we may have to divert to rail travel. Best to be prepared to move and move quickly if any sort of situation arises.”

“In regular human speak, you’re saying the trip is dangerous, right?”

He nods brusquely. “But far safer than staying here.”

“Okay. Well, you already sold me. No need to sweeten the deal.” I frown at the pretty day outside, the trees fluttering with greenery.

“I just want to keep you apprised. I hope you’ll do me the same courtesy should anything change.”

“Yeah, sorry I’m bitchy. There’s a lot going on.”

“I understand.” His voice drops to a level of quiet I didn’t know he was capable of. “I’ve been in contact with Captain Howard.”

I keep my gaze on the street, trying not to react to what he’s saying.

“I hope you haven’t given him any false hope about ways to counteract the threat we’re under.” He continues, “Because using something new against this problem—if the something new doesn’t work—will be a death sentence for anyone who tries it. There could also be retaliation. Harsh retaliation.”

He says plenty without saying the actual words: he knows about the vampires. My stomach sinks as I untangle his meaning. It’s not like I had the opportunity to do trials with the proteins Gretchen and I worked up. I assumed Gage would know better than to go spouting off about it?

“I gave him a heads up on some possible knowledge. How he uses it is up to him.” I don’t know if I should say more, not to mention I have no clue how Gage fits into both the military and the Saints. I wasn’t imagining the patch I saw on his arm last night. Is he a double agent, too? Playing both sides against the middle as he called it?

“Georgia!” Evie bursts through the lab doors.

I’m grateful for any excuse to escape Major Barker. “Yeah?”

“Hurry!” She ducks through the doors.

“Gotta go.” I sprint away from the major, feeling his eyes on me until I’m safely back in the lab. “What?”

“Look!” Wyatt points to my laptop screen, and I have to dodge a line of soldiers carrying microscopes to get to them.

Wyatt’s agitated, his hair flying every which way.

“Where did these come from again?” he asks.

“Just samples,” Evie trills.

“Umm, okay?” He gives her a confused look.

“You said you’d wait for me.” I plop into my desk chair and stare at the array of photographs.

“I couldn’t wait. Sorry.” Evie fidgets. “I did a preliminary peek.”

Wyatt starts at the first page of data and pulls it up, his fingers flying across my keys. “Human blood.”

Evie points to the numbers. “Carries all the parts and markers for an O positive, slightly low on iron, decent on all the other stats. Wyatt, pull up the cell imaging.”

It appears on screen.

My heart sinks a little. It’s just blood. I don’t see anything particularly memorable, no mysterious proteins or oddities. The red blood cells are of normal form, slightly dimpled in the center, opaque around the edges. None of the spikes carried by the vampire samples. It’s just regular human blood. My blood.

I rub my temples, warding off any impending headache. I was hoping for more. “What am I missing? I thought you found something?” I ask Evie.

“Just wait. Wyatt, keep going.”

Wyatt clicks through more data. “So, the fibrin is higher than normal. Nothing too off the charts, but it’s definitely noticeable. Abnormal.”

“Healing.” Evie bounces a little and takes over the keyboard. “Right, whoever this is will probably be able to make bulletproof scabs from the smallest papercut. But now look at this.” She pulls up another slide.

Wyatt leans closer. “That’s from the same sample?”

“Yep.”

“What the hell is it?” Wyatt asks. “It’s like … Like the cells are …”

“Like they’ve joined, but not just on a surface level. Look here.” She pulls another slide, this one showing a red blood cell—the edges darker than the center, everything where it should be. “The red cells, totally normal.”

“But the white…” I try to understand what I’m seeing.

“The vam—” Evie stops herself, then lowers her voice. “The ‘alien’ cells,” she adds air quotes, “have bonded to the human white blood cells. Almost like a parasitic or maybe mutualistic relationship. The alien red cells are boosting the white cells, and the white cells are protecting both the host and the parasite. The white cells are robust, like the bone marrow is on steroids when it produces them. And now check this—” She swipes again to another shot of specialized white blood cells.

I stare. “The sample was taken yesterday. The neutrophils should already be decaying. They aren’t. They’re just as strong as their longer lasting sister cells.”

“Neutrophils shouldn’t last more than a day.” Evie sits back in her chair, her eyes wide. “This is … it’s almost like the damn fountain of youth. If your white blood cells are this supercharged, your healing would be?—”

“Off the charts,” Wyatt finishes with wonder. “These white blood cells would clobber anything that came knocking.”

“We have to try it on the virus. Today. Right now.” I can’t take my eyes from the screen, from the miracle blooming right in front of us. This could be it. This could be what we’ve been looking for.

“I can suit up. Just give me?—”

The power drops, my screen going dark along with all the lights.

“No!” Evie yelps.

“The generator,” Wyatt says. “Just wait. It’ll cut on. We’ll be able to get a look before the Army takes everything.”

We wait, and I finally know what having ‘bated breath’ means, because I’m scared to even exhale for fear the generator won’t start up.

“Any second now.” Wyatt drums his fingers on his thigh. “Any second?—”

“Shh!” Evie snaps.

“Okay,” he whispers.

We wait.

Panic sets in. It’s not going to start. Something’s wrong. We’ll have lost the one lead we have.

The first stuttering coughs of the generator make it to my ears just as the lights flicker on.

“Yes!” Wyatt punches the air. “That’s what I’m talking about!”

Evie hugs me hard, and I hug her right back.

“Wyatt, get to it!” I yelp.

“On it.” He dashes to the HCL.

“Is this it? This could be it,” Evie stammers, her grip still tight.

“I hope so.” I pull back. “It’s going to take Wyatt at least an hour to get it ready.”

“Yeah. Right. Yep, though he may cut that down to 45 minutes. Record lab time for the cure.” She smiles.

“Let’s hope so. We don’t need any more power blips.” I take a full breath, my body buzzing, my mind a whirlwind of ‘what ifs’.

“We should check on Aang.” Evie stands.

“Okay, but maybe we shouldn’t mention?—”

“No.” She shakes her head emphatically. “Not until we know something for sure.”

“Let’s go.” I follow her out and to the elevator, my laptop under my arm just in case the soldiers get a little too frisky with the things they’re packing up.

When the elevator opens, Gretchen is already there.

“Hey, is Aang?—”

“He’s gone!” Gretchen looks around the atrium. “Is he here? Did you see him?”

“No, we were in the lab. How long has he been gone?”

“I don’t know. I was sitting with him, but I dozed off. It was still dark. But now—what time is it?”

“About eleven?”

“Hours.” Gretchen, looking stricken, rolls from the elevator and scours the room, looking everywhere for Aang. “He’s been gone for maybe hours. Where would he go?” Gretchen puts a shaking hand to her cheek, her eyes meeting mine. “He was talking crazy. He-he said he wanted to kill the person responsible. But then he fell asleep. I thought he was going to sleep it off. He would never hurt anyone, you know? He?—”

“Juno. He said he wanted to kill Juno?” I already know the answer.

Gretchen nods, misery in her eyes. “But then he fell asleep. I didn’t mean to doze off. Oh, god, you don’t think he went to the White House?”

“He won’t be able to get close to her,” I reassure them. “They won’t let him in the building.”

Evie plucks her ID from the lanyard around her neck. “This will get him in, won’t it?”

My stomach drops. “Shit!” Before I even know what I’m doing, I take off running past the soldiers in the lobby, the ones on the street, and the others gathered around the nondescript 18-wheelers parked out front.

All Juno’s warnings and edicts about me not going to the White House fall away as I push myself to get to Aang. Evie appears at my elbow, her stride longer than mine as she matches me, then edges out front.

We race up the avenue, my lungs burning from the sudden exercise after months of desk life. Maybe I should’ve at least done some cardio, I think as Evie reaches the gates before me. I catch up, my chest heaving as I try to catch my breath.

“Our friend, Aang. Did he come through here?” She shows her badge to the guard. “He had one like this. Dark hair and?—”

“The Chinese guy?” the guard asks.

“Yes!”

“Yeah, he came through a while ago.”

“Let us through.” I flash my badge at him.

His eyebrows draw together as he reaches for a clipboard inside the guard station. “Have to record everyone who comes and goes. Hand me your badges.”

Crap. I’m certain he’s got orders not to let me in. Major Barker said as much. Evie gives him her badge and holds her hand out for mine.

I glance at the narrow gate and pretend to have trouble untangling my lanyard from my hair. “Just a second.”

The guard scribbles on his clip board, then inspects her badge even more closely. “Research, eh? You all are from the lab, too, right?”

“Yes.” Evie bounces from one foot to the other.

“All right, you can go through. Hand me your badge.” He buzzes the gate, and it pops open.

I yank my badge free, throw it at him, then run through the open gate and speed up the narrow lane to the White House entrance.

“Hey!” Evie follows me, her stride once again outpacing me as we reach the guards standing at the back entrance to the West Wing. They draw their guns.

“Let us in.” I’m breathless and have to bend over and put my hands on my knees.

“We’re from the lab. At the hotel. We’re?—”

“One of our friends came up here earlier. He’s—he’s not right in the head. His partner died, and?—”

“He’s a threat?” one of the guards, his reflective sunglasses hiding his eyes, asks.

“Yes!” Evie cries as I yell “no” at the same time.

“Don’t hurt him!” I add as the guard pulls a walkie talkie from inside his jacket and fires off some jargon about bogies and something called ‘soaring freedom.’ The other guard slips inside the door and disappears.

“He’s harmless,” Evie sputters. “I didn’t mean he’s a threat. He’s not. He’s just upset. He—” She yelps when the guard from the gate yanks one of her hands behind her back and starts to cuff her.

“Hey!” I shove him. “Get off her!”

He pushes her to her knees, then wheels on me, his fist coming so fast I have no way to defend myself. It slams into my jaw, pain radiating along my face as I fall back on my ass.

“Arrest her!” he yells at the remaining guard and points at me before going back to Evie who’s trying to crawl away.

“Leave her alone!” I scramble back to my feet and launch myself at him.

The other guard catches my arm and jerks me to the side so hard my shoulder burns as if something inside has torn.

“Settle down!” He pushes me against the wall beside the door and wrestles my arms behind my back.

“Let go!” I scream.

“Don’t do that!” A voice I don’t recognize comes from behind us.

“Get out of here, Sheila! These women are dangerous,” the guard manhandling me yells.

“That’s the president’s sister!” she cries, her voice high and piercing. “You better let her go!”

The guard stops holding my wrists so hard. “Are you sure?” he asks.

“Yes!” Her tone is shrill.

“Fuck.” The guard releases me and steps back.

I whirl and throw my leg out, nailing him right in the dick. He groans and drops to his knees as I run around him to help Evie up. The other guard has backed away, his eyes warily bouncing between Sheila and us.

“Are you okay?” I ask, brushing Evie’s hair back behind her ears as I look for any injuries.

“I’m good. I think—” She nods. “I’m good.” The handcuffs dangle from one of her wrists.

I turn on the gate guard. “Give me the key. Now!”

He digs around in his belt and hands it over. I snatch it from him and unlock the cuffs, then throw them hard at his face. They hit him in the cheek, and he stumbles back. “That’s for the punch, you asshole.”

“Miss Clark.” The other guard has the nerve to look abashed as he stands with one hand over his groin. “I’m sorry, but you can’t?—”

“Shut up and open the fucking door!” I yell. “Or I swear to god I’ll mix my own special version of the plague along with a penis wasting disease and pay someone to put it in your goddamn coffee!”

He blanches, the reflective sunglasses now askew so I can see the brown of his eyes.

“She’ll do it,” Evie says. “I’ll help. And it’s Dr . Clark.”

He blinks a few times, then hurriedly unlocks the door and holds it open for us. “Sorry, Dr. Clark. Sorry.”

We dart past him, then hurry along the hallway toward the Oval Office.

“Aang!” I call, the loud noise breaking the dim stillness. “Aang!”

Vince rounds a corner ahead of us. “What are you doing here?” he thunders.

“Is Aang here? Where?—”

“Leave! Now!” He breaks into a run, his hands out toward us.

“Not without Aang!”

“Georgia, please. You can’t be here.” Vince’s face is drawn, his eyes sunken.

“What’s wrong?” I slow, foreboding in my gut. The air in here is dank. The hallway dark and shadowy. It’s nothing like it was that first day in the Oval Office.

“Leave!” Vince cries.

“Since when did we stop welcoming guests to the White House?” The blond vampire, Theo, emerges from behind Vince. He overtakes him quickly, then continues to us. “Wonderful to see you again so soon.” He smiles, the coldness radiating from him sending a chill across my skin.

“We just want to get our friend and go.” I step to the side, trying to keep Evie behind me and away from the monster.

He sneers down at me. “You mean the one who came to kill your sister?”

“Just give him to us. He won’t hurt anyone. He’s grieving.” I swallow hard. “Please.”

“I’m afraid that won’t do,” Theo simpers. “We have to take threats against the president quite seriously in this day and age. I’m sure you understand.”

I meet his cold gaze. “What did you do to him?”

He smiles again, cruel and devoid of anything the least bit human. Like a poorly-made puppet or a creature doing its best imitation of what it thinks a human’s expressions should be.

“And who’s this delightful new friend?” His gaze slips over my shoulder to Evie.

“One of my scientists.” I step closer to him, drawing his stare back to me. “I need them all to find the cure. So if we can just get Aang, we’ll go.”

“All? Surely, you don’t need all of them.” He’s toying with me.

“Georgia, just go. I’ll?—”

Theo holds up a finger. “Silence, old man.”

Vince goes quiet.

“Come. We’ll see if we can’t find your friend.” Theo offers me his arm.

“Evie, head back. Inform the others I’ll be there later,” I tell her, not taking my eyes off Theo who stands totally motionless, his arm still out for me.

“O-okay.” She sounds unsure, but I’m relieved when I sense her retreating.

I don’t take Theo’s arm, but I do step to his side as he walks us down the hall past Vince. He drapes his arm across my shoulder, his fingers digging into me as he leads me deeper into the White House.

“I’ve been meaning to stop by your place again. We didn’t have enough time together when I came for you before. I didn’t even get to know you.” He looks askance at me. “Wouldn’t you like to become more familiar with me? I’m certain you’re tired of Valen. I’ve been tired of him for centuries.”

I don’t want his touch, and I certainly don’t want him visiting my apartment, but I don’t say anything. I just need to keep it together until I find Aang and get the hell out of here.

He leans to my ear. “I like it when humans are quiet. At first, anyway. Then later, I like it when they cry. Scream. Beg. All of it. I’m certain I could make you scream.”

Gritting my teeth, I keep walking even as he leaks acid into my ear. The air grows more rancid, as if there’s something rotten nearby. Food left out far too long or something worse.

“Bleeding you would be a particular pleasure. Valen has told me you’re his personal little whore. His human cum-rag. I’m to leave you alone.” He laughs and pulls away. “I don’t think I will.”

He turns down another hallway, then strides into a dark room. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust.

Letting me go, he walks deeper into the gloom.

“Georgia?” Juno’s voice, but thin as the edge of a knife. “Is that you?”

“Juno?” I step farther into the room, the smell in here reminding me of the time an opossum died under our house and Dad had to crawl under and pull it out. The smell of the morgue at medical school, the deep freeze where the sticky bodies were kept, the ones that had been in the sun too long or worse, submerged. Decay.

“Georgia, no. You can’t be here.”

“Of course she can!” Theo’s voice booms out. “One big happy family.”

“Juno?” Horror creeps across my skin like spiders. The smell, the darkness, the horror in Juno’s voice and the glee in Theo’s. Nothing is right here. Nothing has been right here for quite some time.

Juno weeps, and I follow the sound until I see a shape sitting in a chair.

“Juno!” I rush to her and drop to my haunches in front of her. “What’s wrong? Wh-what’s happening?”

She looks at me, her skin almost gray, her eyes sunken. “You have to get out.”

“Oh my god.” I reach up and touch her cheek, the skin thin and dry. “What’s happened to you? What?—”

“She’s perfectly fine.”

I jump at Theo’s voice in my ear. He grabs my shoulder, his grip painful. I grip Juno’s legs to keep from falling forward. She’s nothing but skin and bones, smelling like filth and rot. How long has she been here like this?

“Well, maybe not fine. I would say she’s better than your friend. What was his name again?”

“I’m sorry,” Juno whispers. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“Shh! The grownups are talking,” Theo snaps. He yanks me up with ease, then spins me away from Juno and shoves me forward.

I careen across the room and land hard on the floor. A rug cushions my fall slightly, but when I reach down to push myself up, I feel wetness. That’s when I smell the iron tang of blood over the scent of decay.

Something rolls along the floor beside me. A fluffy toy or something.

“What?” I reach for it, the fluff soft under my fingers. “What is this?” I turn it, realizing what it is at the same time I spin it to face me.

I can’t scream. I’m frozen. Hot urine trickles down my thigh as I stare at Aang’s face, his skin mottled blue and white, his eyes still wide open.

“So, when you say you ‘needed’ him, you didn’t like ‘ need ’ need him, right?” Theo laughs. “I certainly hope not. You only have what, a week left before you disappoint Gregor?”

Juno whispers a litany of ‘I’m sorry’ from her corner of this room of horrors. Tears obscure my vision, and I crawl backwards. I have to get out of here.

“Allow me.” Theo jerks me to my feet, my head swimming as I search for Juno in the dark.

“Juno,” I call, but all I hear is ‘I’m sorry’ as if it’s coming from everywhere, the sound like a pounding headache.

“Now that you’ve found your friend, I assume your business here is complete?” Theo is jovial as he pulls me from the room and into the hallway. Vince stands a few paces away, his haunted eyes meeting mine. “Going to shoot me again, old man? It was fun the first time. But I daresay you ruined my suit,” the vampire taunts him.

Theo, whistling a tune, pulls me past Vince and toward the door where I came in. He stops before he reaches it, just a few feet shy of the sunlight streaming in through the windows. “It’s been a pleasure, Dr. Clark. Please do come back and visit soon.” He lets go and whistles his way back down the hall.

When I turn to look, Vince isn’t there. No one is.

I walk back to the hotel in a daze. Some of the soldiers stare, and one asks me if I’m okay. I don’t speak to them, just walk straight to the elevator. Once I’m in my apartment, I turn on the shower and stand under it, Aang’s blood rushing down the white tile as I let the cold water pour over me.

Time passes. I don’t know how much. I’m not here. I’m nowhere.

“Georgia?”

I’m sitting under the spray when I hear my name.

“Georgia, is that you?”

I know the voice. It’s Evie. Evie’s alive. At least, she was. Aang isn’t. Aang was ripped apart. I saw his head. Touched it.

“Oh, god, Georgia!”

Someone turns off the water.

“You’re freezing!”

The water starts again, but this time it’s warm.

“Your lips are blue. Shit, Georgia. What happened?” Evie is in front of me, crouching down and getting wet.

I stare at her. She’s so pretty. Her brown eyes and blonde hair. Gorgeous, really. She’ll still be pretty when Theo tears her head off just like Aang’s.

She snaps her fingers in front of my face. “You’re scaring me.”

Am I? How can I when I’m not even here?

“Georgia, please. Snap out of it.” She presses her palms to my cheeks. “What happened? Where’s Aang?”

That’s a good question. Where is Aang?

“Shit!” She pushes my hair off my face. “What do I do? Georgia, please?—”

“Get out!” A snarl, one that doesn’t scare me. He’s never scared me, if I’m being honest. I suppose now’s the time for it, to be open and truthful about the nightmare I’m living.

Evie stands. “What did you do to her?” she shrieks. “Look at her! She’s catatonic!”

Am I? I don’t think so. I’m just not here. Leave a message.

Valen, his big body taking up so much space in the shower, sits down in front of me and pulls me into his lap.

“How dare you touch her!” Evie screams.

“Do you have any sedatives?” Valen’s voice is calm, smooth. “Perhaps in the lab?”

“No, I don’t have any fucking sedatives. This isn’t a pharmacy!”

He cradles me against his chest. “Leave. Now. She’s safe with me.”

The droplets hum, drumming on my head and against Valen’s dark sweater. It’s turning black now, soaking up the water. Or perhaps it’s blood. Aang’s blood. My blood?

Evie doesn’t answer. I think maybe she’s gone like me.

“Georgia?” Valen’s voice is soft, velvety. Blue eyes envelop me, holding me safe in a bubble deep under the sea. “I need you to drink.”

How do I tell him I can’t because I’m not even here?

“It’s all right.” He re-positions me so the water doesn’t land in my face. I see him clearly now. The way he looks at me. The emotion in his eyes.

“I’m not here,” I say softly.

“That’s all right.” He smooths my wet hair off my forehead. “I am.”

“What are you?” I ask.

“Yours.” He bites his wrist then presses it to my mouth. “Sleep, Georgia.”

I taste the first bit of metallic warmth, more of it filling my mouth as I embrace nothingness, running towards midnight oblivion with my arms spread wide.