Page 98 of The Love Interest

His right eyebrow rises. “That move was platonic, I swear. I’m a bro helping out another bro who has blood on his face.”

I roll my eyes. “You’re so full of crap. Stop pretending to like me at all, Dyl. Just be yourself. It’s why we did all of this, so you may as well be honest.”

I stand up, using my left hand to find the last remaining spot of crusted-on blood. I dig my fingernails into it, scraping it off. It feels gooey, and clings to the edges of my nails.

I walk away from the creek back to the clearing, where the others are standing in a small circle. They’ve all changed into more casual clothes, jeans, T-shirts, and jackets. Juliet is wearing a pale-pink hoodie under a gray winter coat that reaches her thighs. Her hands are covered in fingerless gloves.

A branch behind me snaps. I turn and see Dyl standing there, a tiny speck of blood on his forehead.

“You missed a spot,” I say before I step into the clearing. “Bro.”

Sitting on the rock beside a puddle of blood are our trackers. I step toward them. “Which one was mine?”

Natalie points to the one on the right.

I crouch down and pick up a rock that’s about double the size of my fist. It’s covered in dirt and mulch. I stop beside my tracker, then bring the rock up and slam it down. The orb breaks with a satisfying crunch. I raise the rock again. The orb is now a jumble of eggshell-thin pieces of metal, tiny red wires, and silver powder.

“Stop!” calls Juliet. She grabs my hand and holds it tight. “Don’t break them!”

“Why not?” asks Dyl. “That looked fun.”

“Yeah,” I say. “Plus, they’re using them to track us, remember? They need to go, right?”

She rolls her eyes. “Yep, they’re tracking us, but they’re also our only shot at finding the LIC, and I can’t do that if you smash them.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Think about it, Caden. They’re sending a signal to the LIC. That means that, if I had the right tech, I could use the trackers to trackthem. For my plan to work, we’re going to need to attack the LIC directly, and we can’t do that if we don’t know where it is.”

Dyl pouts. “Oh, you’re still on this dream. Good to know.”

Natalie steps forward, grabs the orb, and tucks it into the front pocket of her jacket. “We have to go. As my mom says, we can fight in the car. But, for the record, I’m with Juliet.”

The girls bump knuckles, then we walk out through the clearing to the road. Parked on the side is a small red car. The paint has faded, and the passenger-seat window is cracked.

Juliet opens the front door. “Caden, could you sit in the front? I’d like to talk to you. I need to pick your brain for more info about the LIC.”

“Sure.”

I walk around the front of the car to the passenger door. In the window is my reflection. My skin isüberpale, and there are Godzilla-sized bags under my eyes. My hair hangs limply over my forehead, and the patchy beginnings of a beard are growing on my cheeks. I raise a hand and rub my prickly skin, my fingertips running along my jawbone.

Trevor catches me staring at myself and smirks. “You’re not so hot anymore, huh? Don’t worry, we all look like shit.”

“It’s not that,” I say, peering closer. For the first time I can recall, the boy staring back at me matches my image of myself. “I look human. It’s weird, but I like it.”

“Sure is. Now get in.”

I open the door and step inside as the trunk slams. Hot air is blowing from the dashboard. I clip on my seat belt.

Juliet turns on the engine.

“Is everyone ready?”

Silence answers her.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” She flicks on the turn signal and pulls onto the empty road. “Let’s get as far away from here as possible. And then we can come up with a plan.”

***