Page 100 of The Love Interest

“I know you will, because I… I liked our time together. It may have started as a lie, but I did enjoy spending time with you. In fact, it was maybe the most fun I’ve ever had. I thought you should know that.” He turns and heads toward the campfire.

I feel the smile coming and am powerless to stop it.

So, in the middle of a freezing forest:

My stomach fills with butterflies.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-TWO

“Can you pass the spaghetti, Caden?”

We’re all sitting around the campfire. I’m holding an ash-covered, fire-warmed can of spaghetti. I use a plastic fork to scoop up one last mouthful. The spaghetti is basically mush, but weirdly I like the taste. I swallow, then pass the can to Juliet.

She takes it silently and starts to eat, taking quick, big mouthfuls.

I turn my attention back to the flickering orange flames and move my hands out in front of me so my palms heat up. The biggest log, the one in the center of the fire, is gray and ashy, yet the end that’s out of the fire looks untouched.

“Juliet’s right,” I say. “We can fight them.”

Dyl murmurs something under his breath.

“Speak up, Dyl.”

“I said we can also die trying.”

“Maybe we will. I’m all in, but that’s my choice, and I don’t want to drag any of you into this unwillingly. So, Dyl, if you or anyone else doesn’t want to fight, you can leave. I won’t hold it against you.”

Dyl places an empty can of beans on the grass, then wipes his hands on his jeans. “If I leave and they catch you, they’ll torture you to find out as much as they can about my whereabouts. I… I wouldn’t be able to handle that, knowing they’re torturing you just to find me. But that’s not the only reason I’m staying. I want to fight them as well.”

“So do I,” says Natalie. “More than I’ve ever wanted anything.”

“I’m here for Natalie,” says Trev. “So I’ll do whatever she wants. So it looks like I’m fighting too.”

Juliet clambers to her feet. “This feels like too serious a decision to make over breakfast food.” She pulls her phone from her pocket and places the battery back inside. “But whatever. I’m going to try to see if I can figure out where the signal from the trackers is being sent. And then we can make our way there. I was trying most of last night, and I think I’m pretty close to getting it down. Give me a couple more hours and I’ll have it.”

After six agonizing hours in which all we do is wait, Juliet returns. She’s grinning, holding the phone up beside her face. I rise slowly.No way.

“I found it,” she says. “I did it.”

I rush toward her, grabbing her hands to look at the screen. It’s Google Maps, and a red light is flashing on it. The LIC. I stare at the blinking red light, my hands clenching so tight my nails dig into my skin. Mirrored hallways. Glass.

Hell on earth.

I remember who I used to be. Then I met Dyl and everything changed. I’m only just starting to discover who I am, and it’s all because I got out of there.

And I’m about to go back?

The others get up and crowd around us, each one of them trying to get a good look at the screen. Juliet slides her phone back into her pocket. “It’s about two days’ drive to the east of here.” She pulls out the tracker, then offers it to Dyl. “Here, you can smash this. I’ve got the signal locked, so it’s useless now.”

Dyl takes it from her and places it on the ground. One quick stomp and it’s done.

Natalie sighs. “Juliet, I’m so impressed you found the LIC, but what are we going to do when we get there? There are only five of us. And they have killer robots, an entire army of trigger-happy guards, and maybe even military support. How are we possibly going to break into that? We’ll get shot outside the walls and then they’ll burn us.Allof us.”

“No, we won’t,” I say. “Because not all of us are going to go in. Not at first, at least. They want to take me inside to incinerate me, right?” Natalie and Dyl nod. “I say we let them. That way, I’ll be let in, and I can find a way to break free and then I can find a way to let you guys in. Then, together, we can use Juliet’s weapons to take them down.”

“It’s risky,” says Dyl. “I don’t like it. Maybe we should keep thinking—”