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The first path is the one the normal Elena would follow, the one h with ainst Aether

But the other path is a co I know, the opposite of what I’d nor my heart desperately wants ami unicorn and make my choice

Adam lives near LAX—I saw his address in our file, e broke into Aether headquarters—on a street of identical one-story houses The grass hasn’t beenin the driveway I check the nuain This is it

I can turn around now I can run away, escape down to Mexico or so there’s soether, and Adah every thought, every nerve, everythe doorbell

Adam opens the door in a button-down shirt and jeans His hair is htly askew, but he’s ht of me “Elena”

I don’t knohat to say There’s too much to explain, too many words between us, too ies I’ to throwto shake the answers out of him Instead I blurt out, “Trent and Zoe are dead”

“What? Dead—are you sure?”

“I saw them They were shot, just like Future-Ada else, a brown dog pokes his head around Adaet toAdam told me about

“Sorry about Max,” Ada rooe stack of untouched , a big doggy grin on his face I kneel down and wrapmy face in his warht now

“Are you okay?” Adam asks “Sorry, that’s a stupid question Of course you’re not okay But I ht?”

“I’m fine” I reluctantly stand up, and Max bounds off to do laps around the sofa “But Trent and Zoe are both dead, and someone saith Trent’s body, and I tried to warn Chris but he wouldn’t listen, and I only have a few hours left before I’ to die, but I don’t knohat to do, and—”

He stopshis hands on ure it out”

Footsteps sound down the hall, and we both jureen robe and fuzzy slippers stands in the doorway She has a scarf wrapped around her head

“Ada me Not in a suspicious or hostile way, the way soht look when confronted with a tatted-up Mexican girl in their living rooirls home

“Yeah, Mo like I don’t belong here, but I step forward and offer her my hand “Nice to meet you, Mrs O’Neill”

“Very nice to rips ers are She looks older than she probably is, her skin sallow and hanging fro her arm, like she’s been injected or had blood drawn many times She takes her hand away and adjusts the scarf, and I realize she has no hair

I flash back to Ada a hard time” Of course She has cancer That’s why he develops the cure in the first place, why he brought it back from the future, and why he couldn’t let the others take it

He did everything to save her life

His ives us a tiny set some water and then I’ll leave you two alone”