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My heartbeat quickens I blink too fast
"Oh cohs "It seems statistically impossible that she’d be the only mistake manufactured by our world You knew this, but you didn’t want to believe it And I came here to tell you that it’s true" He cocks his head at , vibrant smile "There are more of them And they’ve recruited her"
"No," I breathe
"They infiltrated your troops Lived a you in secret And now they’ve stolen your toy and run aith it God only kno they hope to manipulate her for their own benefit"
"How can you be certain?" I ask "How do you know they’ve succeeded in taking her with them? Kent was half-dead when I left hi you that they are not noric that binds theht be capable of" A pause "Furtherroup of them exists undercover in this area But in all these years they’ve always kept to theht it best to allow the in our civilians unnecessary panic You understand, of course," he says "After all, you could hardly contain even one of thes to behold"
"You knew?" I’ to stay calm "You knew of their existence, all this ti?"
"It seemed unnecessary"
"And now?" I demand
"Now it seems pertinent"
"Unbelievable!" I throw my hands in the air "That you would withhold such information from me! When you knew ofher here--"
"Cals; rests the ankle of one on the knee of the other "We are going to find them This barren field Delalieu speaks of--the area where the car was no longer traceable? That is our target location They round We must find the entrance and destroy theuilty a rebellion in our people"
He leans forward
"The civilians hear everything And right now they are vibrating with a new kind of energy They’re feeling inspired that anyone was able to run away, and that you’ve been wounded in the process It makes our defenses seem weak and easily penetrable Wethe i to its proper place"
"But they’ve been searching," I tell him "MyHow can we be sure we’ll find anything at all?"
"Because," he says, "you will lead theht After curfehile the civilians are asleep You will cease your daylight searches; you will not give the citizens anything else to talk about Act quietly, son Do not show your moves I will reh my men; I will dictate to Delalieu as necessary And in the interim, you shall find them, so that I one on long enough," he says, "and I’hteen
I’m sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so so sorry I’m so sorry I’m so sorry I’ive ive ive me
There is little I allow anyone to discover aboutto share about s I’ve never discussed, this is one of the baths
I’ve had an obsession with cleanliness for as long as I can remember I’ve always been so mired in death and destruction that I think I’ve overco myself pristine as much as possible I take frequent showers I brush and floss three times a day I trim o to bed and just after I wake up I have an unhealthy preoccupation earing only freshly laundered clothes And whenever I’ that settlesright now
The ht me how to bind my injured arm in the same plastic they used before, so I’m able to sink beneath the surface without a proble h my nose I feel the small bubbles rise to the surface
The ater htless It carriesthat I need a ht To close my eyes and relax
My face breaks the surface
I don’t open en on the other side I take small, even breaths to help steady my mind It’s so late that I don’t knohat tinificantly, and the cold air is tickling e sensation, to have 98 percent ofat a warm, welcome temperature, while my nose and lips twitch froain
I could live here, I think Live where gravity does not know my name Here I am unbound, untethered by the chains of this life I aht is carried by the hands of friends So hts I’ve wished I could fall asleep under this sheet
I sink deeper
In one week ed
My priorities, shifted My concentration, destroyed Everything I care about right now revolves around one person, and for the first time in my life, it’s not myself Her words have been burned intoher as shewhat sheher journal has crippled s for her have spiraled out of control I’ve never been so desperate to see her, to talk to her