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Cole’s eyes were closed I would’ve closedfor us We weresed

"You kno to do this," I said "You just have to remember"

At the possibility that this was the end, I had one thought

"I love you guys," I said I had only an instant to realize, with surprise, that I indeed loved both of them, in their oay

A rush of cold ashed overon," Cole said

Just as the first Shade wrapped a swirl of oil around Jack’s arround And then ere tu behind us

We crashed into the earth, a heap of limbs and torsos Cole’s ar

"Ow," I said

"Sorry," he said He reht, blinded me Aboveposition and looked around We were on a dirt road surrounded by green fields for miles and miles The land was flat, the horizon distinctly clear on all sides of us The place didn’t look familiar at all

"Where are we?" I said

Cole was sitting beside me He shook his head as if he had a headache "I don’t know"

Jack was already standing He turned around in a full circle "I don’t see anything, besides--What are those, cornstalks? No people No structures" He looked at Cole and narrowed his eyes "Where the hell are we?"

Cole frowned "I’ll tell you where we’re not We’re not being chased by Shades"

"The Shades wouldn’t have been chasing us if you hadn’t given up our real plans to Ashe" Jack’s nostrils were flaring

Cole didn’t back down "We wouldn’t have found out anything if I hadn’t followed amble! With htly "If I were placing bets, I’d say you just got aith a nice bit of sabotage back there"

"Hey, I didn’t have to bring you here I could’ve just grabbed Nik and zoo you to deal with the Shades"

"Yeah, we all saell you zoom"

I stepped between the We saw the Shade network, and Ashe helped us at the very end--he gave us our next step"

"How?" Jack said

"He said there was so that could help us" I looked to Cole for confirmation "A Cronus Tantalus"

Cole nodded

Jack narrowed his eyes "What’s a Cronus Tantalus?"

Cole and I both shrugged "We’ll work that out later," I said "We’re safe, for now We just have to figure out where we are"

Cole looked around too "This place feels familiar"

Jack folded his arain?"

Cole shrugged, but I actually knew the answer to this one "He would have to take us to the Everneath again first And in the shape he’s in, we’re not guaranteed we’d get any closer to hoy"

Cole nodded "Yeah What she said"

Jack sighed "So what did you guys see down there? What did the network look like?"

I explained to Jack about the giant glowing egg-like thing we’d seen Ashe touching, and the Shade convention that see on

Jack squinted one eye in a thoughtful kind of way "I think I saw so like that in Mrs Jenkins’s papers"

"What did it say?" I said

"I don’t know At the ti The papers are in the back of ain "So, what do we do now?"

Jack sighed "We start walking"

"Which way?" Cole said

Jack squinted as he turned slowly around He stopped "There So on the horizon It’s a ways fro Let’s just hope we’re in the United States We didn’t exactly pack our passports"

We started walking toward the black dot I began to wonder if Cole had ever really been here It seemed very remote, and cornfields weren’t exactly Cole’s scene

I watched Jack out of the corner of my eye as alked His face was smooth and unruffled, and I was airlfriend who’d left hiirlfriend as always on the verge of dying A girlfriend who basically had to kiss another guy every night, while all he could do atch

It took me only a second to realize--or remember--that all the crazy revolved around"Don’t even think it, Becks"

"Think what?" I said

The corner of his mouth turned up "I know that look It comes in the quietthat this is all your fault and that I would be better off without you But here’s the thing you need to understand" He stopped walking and grabbed my shoulders "You areThe pain isn’t real The hearts are"

I held my breath I blinked rapidly If I’d had a heart, it would’ve sprouted wings and flown out of my chest and into the blue sky

"Breathe, Becks"

I breathed "Hoere you ever a football player?"

His lips twitched "Not all football players are stupid"