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"Free from what?" he asks "All of the Adepti’s in The Colony thinks their lives are perfect, so they wouldn’t leave and the Highers would still have the control"

I can’t help but think of Tristan when he says this: happy, perfect Tristan "They don’t think it’s perfect," I tell him "They’re just afraid"

"No, that’s not the only reason" He takes my face in his hands "Think about it Why would The Colony ever be built to begin with?" I start to speak, but he cuts ainst the vahers end up being the ones in charge? All they are are va and smarter But they love to kill just as much, yet everyone lets theets hurt"

I think about the Higher that I killed "Do you know anything about experiments?"

His expression falls "Experi on inside The Colony?"

His eyebrows knit together "I don’t knohat kind of experi about?"

"I’ to change a Higher back into human form"

He’s even hers were never huo I probably would have agreed with you," I say "But now, I’m not so sure I hers be? And besides, they had to cos his knife in the dirt "Everything comes from somewhere, Kayla It doesn’t mean they were created from an experiment"

"Didn’t you ever ask anyone where they came from?" I ask "I mean, you’re out here, where you’re supposedly free Didn’t you want to ask questions?"

He gives me a dirty look "This place isn’t like The Colony, Kayla I don’t have to ask questions, because everything is the truth" Again, he touches the white line

I sigh, getting to my feet "Can you just shohere my damn watch is? Please"

He juht Let’s say I think sohers--that it was all done intentionally and let’s say there’s a cure So what?" He takesthat’s been done"

"But I can make it so the future is better," I say

"But why does it have to be you?" His voice is soft, just a whisper, fearing I’ll leave him

"I don’t know," I say "It just seems like it’s what I as "No, I don’t know It’s your choice what you do"

"And I’ to try and fix it," I say "I mean, what kind of person would I be if I just stood around, letting everything go on in the violent way that it does, if there ht be a way to stop it?"

"You’d be huhs,Never et it," I say, rubbing olden pocket watch "I don’t get how this tiny thing could possibly fix the world"

Aiden flops back on his bed and drapes his hand over his head "I don’t know either" He’s been in a downer of a mood since our little conversation

"I’e the watch "About what happened?"

He peeks under his arm "What do you mean?"

I sit down on the foot of the bed "I’ to kill hs "I don’t care about Do to fix the world"

I open the watch, staring at the numbers "It just feels like it’s what I’m supposed to do I mean, they’re all innocent--the Adeptis"

"And how do you know that?" He lifts his head, resting back on his elbows "How do you know they're all innocent? Everything down there is fake"

I ignore him and focus on the watch

He sits up and slides beside ht I’d escaped all that crap when I left The Colony, but I guess not"

I nod, not pointing out that I know he’s lying Because so about et this?" I pick up the book I saw earlier and flip through the pages "I thought all books were destroyed when the virus spread"

"This guy, Xander, who used to live here, had it on him when he was tossed out of The Colony"

"Xander," I say, remember the name "I’ve heard that name before"

"Probably from The Colony"

I shakeabout a Xander when I was chained up--so back"

He doesn’t say anything and I stare at the photos in the book, pictures of beautiful creatures feeding on humans "They’re vaures with sharp fangs, alluring eyes, and sross like the ones we know"

He takes the book frouess that’s what they could be"