Page 112 of The Love Interest

Juliet runs toward the Stalkers at the back of the room. When she reaches them she slides her hand into her backpack and pulls out a bomb. She places it on the floor, then starts tinkering with the wires.

Dyl is standing to my left, looking at me. “He deserved it, Caden.”

I look down at the broken body at my feet. “I know. It’s just, you know. He was still a person.”

He places his hand on my shoulder. “I know, man. I know.”

“Guys,” says Juliet as she walks toward me. “The bomb is ready to go. Should I detonate?”

We all nod, and Juliet presses her thumb down. With a roar, a huge whirl of purple and black appears, devouring the army of Stalkers. The whirling color snaps them out of existence, leaving only a few mangled, smoking parts.

“Now what?” asks Natalie.

Everyone is looking at me.

I have one idea, and it’s risky. But itiswhat a protagonist would do.

I clear my throat. “There’s one last thing. But you guys, don’t do this if you don’t want to.” I look at my friends and know that they’re going to follow me, so I smile. “We’re going to end this once and for all.”

CHAPTER

THIRTY-SEVEN

Trevor’s body is still in the hallway.

Natalie’s eyes fill with tears at the sight of him, but she keeps moving.

The guard is also in the spot where he died, slumped against the wall with his head leaning forward. There’s so much death here, and I’m leading them back through it. I didn’t keep Trevor safe and I didn’t kill the scientist. Ican’tmake any more mistakes.

We jog forward.

Once we’re all inside the elevator, Juliet presses the button marked 1. The elevator zooms upward.

“We’ll have a funeral for him,” says Dyl. “When we’re free.”

“For both of them,” I say, thinking of the scientist. I remember the guard. “No, for all of them.”

The elevator stops and the doors open. A guard is standing in the middle of the hallway. He gasps and reaches for his baton.

“No!”cries Juliet. “You moron! Why are you here?”

He steps forward. Natalie raises her gun.

“You,” I say with a jab of my pointer finger. “It’s four against one. And wewillkill you. If you want to live, I suggest you play dead or get the hell out of our way.”

He drops his baton. It clatters against the concrete. “Fine. Please don’t hurt me.”

As we approach, I reach out and grab his wrist. The lights on my glove flash, and his body stiffens. He falls against me. I lower him to the ground, then advance toward Craike’s office. I press the card against the screen and the panes of glass separate.

Craike is slumped against the glass bookshelf beside his desk. His eyes are closed and his legs are stretched out in front of him.

“His computer’s there,” I say, pointing. “Juliet, can you figure it out?”

She nods and walks across the room to the laptop. She steps over the fallen Stalker’s massive body and then leans forward to stare at the monitor. Her fingers tap against the keys, filling the room with a clicking sound.

Natalie is eyeing Craike warily.

I make my way over to her. “I just wanted to say thanks. You know, for what happened in the lab.”