die because I felt like there were too many loose ends. I still wanted to know where my sister was. I wanted to see if she made it out of this terrible place. And there was still that vision of she and I giving Evie away to someone named Jenna. Had something changed that brought me out of that line of futures, or was Mitch going to let me live? I looked away from Mitch and toward Ethan again, noting that his body still hadn’t moved. I didn’t see Ethan in the vision with Remi and myself. Gabe was there too, so I didn’t see why Ethan wouldn’t have been. Unless he was dead.
“Yes,” Mitch said. “I am going to kill you. But first, I have to keep you alive in case Olivia wants to hear your voice.”
“What?”
“Do you have a radio?” Mitch asked Samuel.
“Yes.”
“Turn it on and call out to Shadowface,” Mitch commanded. “Tell her that you’ve got the cylinder and you have Waverly in custody. And tell her that she will want to see it for herself.”
Samuel grabbed for his radio at his belt and turned it on, giving Mitch a scowl. “Eight-three-nine, eight-three-nine, come in this is eight-three-eight. Again, eight-three-nine, eight-three-nine, do you copy?”
Samuel released the button on the radio, never letting his eyes leave Mitch. All of us waited several seconds for a response, and at first, we weren’t sure there would be one, but finally a voice came over the radio. The sound was deep and gravelly like Olivia was using a machine to mask her voice.
Go ahead eight-three-eight,” the voice said.
Samuel brought the radio up to his mouth. “I’ve got the cylinder of blood and I have Waverly in custody. You should come. You will want to see this for yourself.”
There was a long pause from the other end.
“She’s not going to come,” Samuel said. “It would be too dangerous for her.”
“Tell her something that will convince her to come,” Mitch said through clenched teeth.
Samuel stared at Mitch and smiled for a brief second before bringing the radio up to his mouth a final time. “You will want to come here yourself. Your son, Mitch, is waiting for you.”
“No!” Mitch screamed out in horror. It wasn’t what he wanted. He hadn’t been careful enough in his approach with Samuel and now he had lost his chance to come face-to-face with Olivia. He ran forward and tackled Samuel into the floor.
It was the perfect chance for me to get away. Mitch was not thinking about me in his blind fury, and his command over me felt broken. I started to move toward the door on the other side of the room. I was going to be free from the invisible, mental bindings that Mitch had tied me with.
But I had reached the door too late. Just before I could grab for the handle, a deafening, blinding explosion rocked the wall in front of me, sending me falling to the ground. For a moment it felt like I had been knocked unconscious, but I couldn’t have been. I could see everywhere I looked. I was able to comprehend what was happening around me. My back was on the floor and my ears were ringing. There were two more explosions, but being on the ground protected me from the blasts, though the pieces of drywall, wood, and metal rained down on me like fiery chunks of hail.
Somehow I found the strength to look behind me at Mitch and Samuel who were both on the floor as well. I watched as Shadowface’s soldiers charged into the room. One of them stood over Mitch and hit him in the face with the butt of his rifle. Another two helped Samuel to his feet. He said something to one of the soldiers but I could still only hear ringing. One of them pointed at Mitch, and Samuel called something over the radio. I assumed he was asking Shadowface what to do with him. I never heard a response, but neither Samuel nor any of the other soldiers touched Mitch. Instead, they turned to me and pointed. The next thing I saw was the butt of a different rifle traveling toward my face.
I didn’t see anything
“Yes,” Mitch said. “I am going to kill you. But first, I have to keep you alive in case Olivia wants to hear your voice.”
“What?”
“Do you have a radio?” Mitch asked Samuel.
“Yes.”
“Turn it on and call out to Shadowface,” Mitch commanded. “Tell her that you’ve got the cylinder and you have Waverly in custody. And tell her that she will want to see it for herself.”
Samuel grabbed for his radio at his belt and turned it on, giving Mitch a scowl. “Eight-three-nine, eight-three-nine, come in this is eight-three-eight. Again, eight-three-nine, eight-three-nine, do you copy?”
Samuel released the button on the radio, never letting his eyes leave Mitch. All of us waited several seconds for a response, and at first, we weren’t sure there would be one, but finally a voice came over the radio. The sound was deep and gravelly like Olivia was using a machine to mask her voice.
Go ahead eight-three-eight,” the voice said.
Samuel brought the radio up to his mouth. “I’ve got the cylinder of blood and I have Waverly in custody. You should come. You will want to see this for yourself.”
There was a long pause from the other end.
“She’s not going to come,” Samuel said. “It would be too dangerous for her.”
“Tell her something that will convince her to come,” Mitch said through clenched teeth.
Samuel stared at Mitch and smiled for a brief second before bringing the radio up to his mouth a final time. “You will want to come here yourself. Your son, Mitch, is waiting for you.”
“No!” Mitch screamed out in horror. It wasn’t what he wanted. He hadn’t been careful enough in his approach with Samuel and now he had lost his chance to come face-to-face with Olivia. He ran forward and tackled Samuel into the floor.
It was the perfect chance for me to get away. Mitch was not thinking about me in his blind fury, and his command over me felt broken. I started to move toward the door on the other side of the room. I was going to be free from the invisible, mental bindings that Mitch had tied me with.
But I had reached the door too late. Just before I could grab for the handle, a deafening, blinding explosion rocked the wall in front of me, sending me falling to the ground. For a moment it felt like I had been knocked unconscious, but I couldn’t have been. I could see everywhere I looked. I was able to comprehend what was happening around me. My back was on the floor and my ears were ringing. There were two more explosions, but being on the ground protected me from the blasts, though the pieces of drywall, wood, and metal rained down on me like fiery chunks of hail.
Somehow I found the strength to look behind me at Mitch and Samuel who were both on the floor as well. I watched as Shadowface’s soldiers charged into the room. One of them stood over Mitch and hit him in the face with the butt of his rifle. Another two helped Samuel to his feet. He said something to one of the soldiers but I could still only hear ringing. One of them pointed at Mitch, and Samuel called something over the radio. I assumed he was asking Shadowface what to do with him. I never heard a response, but neither Samuel nor any of the other soldiers touched Mitch. Instead, they turned to me and pointed. The next thing I saw was the butt of a different rifle traveling toward my face.
I didn’t see anything