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911 DISPATCHER 02910: (typing) Good Can you call out? Shout for help?

BETTINA MORGAN: I never wanted to work here My dad said the internship would look good on my résumé You know my driver’s ed teacher turned out to be a carrier He was a nice old guy, but they sent hirandpa He kept pictures of his grandkids on the visor I shouldn’t be here I should never have--

911 DISPATCHER 02910: Bettina, I need you to calm down so that you can help me help you Understand?

BETTINA MORGAN: This ispunished

SEVENTEEN

TABATHA IS RIGHT ABOUT THE VAN AT LEAST WE don’t have to go very far Thankfully We allblindly over broken and uneven ground

Once we’re inside the back of the van, Tabatha is good to her word and announces we can remove our blindfolds The s are blacked out, so on’t be seeingbesides one another’s faces, but still I look around, almost as if I expect to see Caden solimpse, that taste, of him wasn’t the last

I note the outline of a man behind the driver’s wheel, his shape shadowy and indistinct in the gloom of the van

I turn back to the s and strainabout the direction of the compound Then I wonder why it matters I’ve left that place Never to return My future lies ahead

We drive maybe an hour before the van stops We don’t have to put the blindfolds on again before we’re urged fro There’s a small fire pit, so I know they’ve used this spot as a cale of running water I stand off to the side, listening as the van drives away, leaving us, feeling very alone even though I’ether, familiar with one another I hadn’t spent any time at the compound with them It didn’t seeh after we cross Maybe soe as me Maybe not I don’t care either way Can’t afford to Caden’s face flashes across ht snapshot and I kill it, shove it back into the dark My lips huers there

My chest feels hollow as I look out at the horizon Morning tints the sky, edging the landscape in orange as several of the carriers find a place to sit I stand I sat long enough inside the van A restlessness buzzes through my muscles I can hear the river, just a faint murmur in the distance, and knoe’re close We’ll cross today I’ll leave the country of ret pinches o The moment I tested positive for HTS Even Mitchell As much as I love him and he loves me, my brother is virtually as far from me as the lance around, feeling exposed and vulnerable out in the open like this Despite the attack on my life, there was a measure of security within the compound Out here, in the open, anyone could find us Border Patrol The Agency Vigilante civilians Or rogue carriers--which yes, seems to be a bit of an oxymoron in itself Or even people fro The list of threats seems endless And my life feels dark and hopeless with the possibilities swirling around into stay, didn’t you?" There’s a definite smirk to her voice

I hadn’t even heard Tabatha approach I turn and stare at her blankly "What are you talking about?"

"Caden You thought he wanted you to stay"

I don’t bother letting her know that he askedfor hi on her bad side--even et norant and kick at the dirt with the toe of my shoe "I don’t knohat you mean"