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"How about you, buddy? You ready to get out of this duainst the bed

"So where to, guys?" I ask

"I don’t know," Six says "Preferably somewhere warh I’ where the others are"

"For now it’s just us three Four plus Six plus Saebra," Sam says "Sam equals x Variable x"

"Such a nerd, dude," I say

Six enters the bathroom and then exits a second later with a handful of toiletries "If there’s any consolation in what happened, at least the other Garde know John not only survived his first battle, but that he won it Maybe they’ll find a bit of hope in it Our biggest priority now is finding the others And training together in the meantime"

"We will," I say, then look at Saht, Sam You can make up any story about us you want Tell theainst your will, and that you escaped the first chance you got You’ll be considered a hero Girls will be all over you"

Sam bites his lower lip and shakes his head "I don’t want to be a hero And girls are already all over me"

Six and I roll our eyes, but I also see Six blush Or ine it

"I"I guess that’s settled Sam equals x in this equation"

Sa beside the TV, and his attraction to her is painted all over his face She’s wearing black cotton shorts and a white tank top with her hair pulled back A few strands fall loose around her face A purple scar is proh, and the stitch marks around it are a tender pink, still scabbed over Stitches she not only sewed herself, but also reaze Clearly there’s another reason Sam wants to stick around

Six bends down and reaches into her bag, re a folded ht here," she says, pointing to Trucksville, "is where we are And here," she continues, er from North Carolina to a tiny red star inia, "is where the Mogadorians’ cave is, the one I know of, anyhow"

I look where she’s pointing Even on the map it’s obvious the location is very isolated; there doesn’t appear to be any sort of main road within five miles, nor any toithin ten

"How do you even knohere the cave is?"

"That’s a long story," she says "Probably one better left for the road"

Her finger takes up a new route on theTennessee, and co to rest on a point in Arkansas near the Mississippi River

"What’s there?" I ask

She puffs her cheeks and releases a deep breath, undoubtedly re that happened Her face takes on a special look when deep in concentration

"This is where ht from Lorien This is where we hid it"

"What do you mean, where it was?"

She shakes her head

"It’s not there any us, and we couldn’t risk theer safe with us, so we stowed it and Katarina’s artifacts in Arkansas and fled as fast as we could, thinking we could stay ahead of theht up to you, didn’t they?" I ask, knowing her Cêpan Katarina died three years ago

She sighs "That’s another story better left for the road"

It takes , and as I’ was packed, Sarah had done it Only a week and a half has passed, but it feels like a year and a half I wonder if she’s been interrogated by police, or singled out at school Where is she even going to school since the high school was destroyed? I’m certain she can hold her own, but still, it can’t be easy on her, especially since she has no idea where I am, or even if I’ us both in danger

Sam turns the TV back on the old-fashioned ith the reoes invisible to check on the truck We assu, which surelyan eye out for it Earlier in the week Saht help us until we get to where we’re going

I finish packing and setbeside the door Saain on the sa his s considered a fugitive Then they show ain, which means they also show Henri’s It ripslike hiuilt or misery, but I miss him so much It’s my fault he’s dead

Fifteen

She holds up the bag and shakes it at us "I bought you guys so"

"Yeah, what is it?" I ask

She reaches in and pulls out a pair of hair clippers "I think it’s time for a haircut for you and Sa to h and try to picture hi, skinny neck, and I think he nito," Six replies

"Well, I don’t want to be incognito I’ a wuss," Six says

He scowls I try to be upbeat "Yeah, Sa off ing away froers are a little cold, and goose bumps sprinkle downloudly,his displeasure known

Six finishes, and I wipe away the loose hair with a towel, then stand and look in the mirror My head is whiter than the rest of my face, but only because it’s never seen the sun I think that a few days in the Florida Keys, where Henri and I lived before co to Ohio, would fix the probleed like that I’roans

"I aed, Sam," I reply