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Nemesis (Project Nemesis #1)(42)



"That mist," I began, shuddering at the memory. "It was definitely killing me. I couldn't move or breathe. And at the very end, I swear it did something to my head."

She nodded. "I felt it, too. Like my mind was being balled up like Play-Doh, then forced through a press. I've never felt anything like it before."

I hesitated, but we couldn't avoid the topic. "Not even-"

Min shook her head. "It's not like that for me. When I'm killed, I just sorta . . . stop. My mind blinks out. This was different. Like . . . like I was being torn to pieces. Inside my head."

Tack spat on the ground. "Same. It felt like my soul was on fire. Not pleasant."

The more I thought about it, the more I agreed. This was different from the murders. I'd woken up dazed and sick to my stomach-which never happened in the cave-and I wasn't in the cave. "To me, it was like my brain was shredded, then sewn back together."

"This is something new, I'm sure of it." Min wheeled slowly, examining the surrounding area. "Still. Where is everybody?"

Back by the fountain, sixty-one classmates were starting to freak out. Spence Coleman shouted that his cell phone wasn't working. Piper Lockwood began screaming for her parents. Neb Farmer and his two best friends began jogging away, heading for their neighborhood higher up the slope.

A dam broke. The group scattered in a dozen directions, most running to check on their families. Not me. Dad wasn't here before. Why would he be now?

Min didn't feel the same. "I'm going home. I want to see if . . . I have to talk . . ."

Her eyes tightened. My heart went out. I hadn't trusted my father in years, but it'd been less than an hour since Min's mother stabbed her in the back. Hell-in the front.

"I'll go with you," I heard myself say. Min nodded. Tack didn't speak, but fell in.

We started down Main Street at a brisk walk. There were no other people anywhere. Passing the home entertainment store, I spotted Charlie Bell prowling inside, messing with a TV. I stopped and waved, and he stepped outside.

"Thought I'd try to get the news," Charlie said, scratching his pimply cheek. "But my mom's not here and I can't get the cable to work. Can't get an IP address either, which is weird. There's power, but no signal. Everything's offline."

"Crazy, man. Keep trying." I hurried after Min and Tack.

When I caught up to them, Tack was scanning a side street and shaking his head.

"What are you looking for?" I asked.



       
         
       
        

He threw up his hands. "Cops! Trucks! Troops! The bastard who killed my father! Any-damn-one, Noah!" Tack closed his eyes, sighed. "But they're all gone. Either they rolled the whole show back into the woods, or two companies of soldiers and an entire vacation town just evaporated into thin air. But why go to the trouble? Why round us up only to vanish and leave us alone?"

I had no answers, but plenty of my own questions. Where was Black Suit? Myers and Lowell? With a shudder, I remembered Commander Sutton taking his own life, right before I passed out. My skin crawled. I began to sweat.

How does a statue repair itself? Who could piece a mountain back together?

I stopped walking. Put my hands on my knees.

Too much. Too fast.

"Noah?" Min had stopped ten paces ahead. Tack waited at her elbow, rolling his eyes with barely concealed impatience.

I opened my mouth. Closed it. Couldn't frame a response.

My mind was blank. My limbs like jelly. I wanted to curl into a ball.

Voices carried up the block. Suddenly, Min and Tack were beside me, pushing me into a recessed doorway. Seconds later, Ethan and Toby stormed past, so intent on their conversation that neither spotted us. When their footsteps receded, I blew out a relieved breath.

"Come on." Min eased me back onto the sidewalk. "Let's get to my trailer. We can relax there for a minute while we figure out what to do next."

I nodded, not trusting my voice. It was so silly, her guiding me up the street like an old lady. I was twice her size, at least. But I was thankful. As I put one foot in front of the other, my tension began to ease.

At the edge of town, Tack halted abruptly. "Should we check the Plank?"

Min hesitated. "After. I want to go home first." Tack shrugged, and we turned up Quarry Road. Five minutes later we reached the trailer park.

Ghost town. Not a soul around.

Tack's eyes were troubled. "Okay, this is officially too bizarre. Where is everyone?"

Min broke into a trot. Reaching her trailer, she found it unlocked. Tack and I waited outside while she looked for her mother, but it took less than a second.

"She's not here." Min cleared her throat.

"I'll be back." Tack turned and sprinted down the lane.

"Where's he going?" I asked.

"To check on his dad." 

"But . . . we saw-"

"I know that, Noah," Min said sharply. "Doesn't mean he can't look."

She took a deep breath. Softened her tone. "Maybe Tack needs a minute alone, okay? He hasn't had any time since . . . since the incident. Do you want to check your house next? I'll go with you if you want."

I was touched, but had no interest. My father wasn't there.

"There's no point." A helpless feeling was creeping over me. "Where'd they go, Min? How could a whole town just disappear?"

"I don't know. But I'm going to find out."

"We're going to find out," I corrected, speaking before I knew it.

I stole a look at her, suddenly embarrassed. But Min smiled and nodded.





36


MIN



My trailer park was empty.

The unnerving part was, nothing seemed out of place. Cheap lawn furniture still surrounded the fire pits, undisturbed. Cars were parked here and there like always. Everything seemed normal. Except for the fact that every single person was gone.

"We should go back downtown," I said finally, after investigating a fourth empty row. "We don't know how long we were unconscious. It's possible the soldiers rounded everyone up and evacuated the valley."

Noah nodded. "We should still check and see if the bridge is down."

"You said it fell into the canyon."

"It did. But I also saw downtown collapse into rubble, so . . ."

I repressed a shudder. "Okay. We'll grab Tack, then swing by there. After we'll head into town and . . . and"-I fluttered a hand ineffectually-"find somebody."

We walked back to the main thoroughfare, where hours before armed soldiers had taken us prisoner. But had it only been hours? A glance at the sun confirmed it wasn't much later in the day. But is it the same day? Who knows how long we were out.

Noah sat down beside the water pump to wait. I joined him, thoughts racing.

I was sure this was somehow a part of Project Nemesis. Myers and Watson had said things were in motion, and a forced-at-gunpoint assembly definitely fit the bill. Those soldiers had been ready for protesters. Gassing us must've been the objective.

They shot people. Lots of them. But what purpose did any of it serve?

I kicked the dirt, drawing Noah's gaze. "You okay?"

I shook my head, worries spilling out. "What happened back there? Knocking us out and abandoning us was their grand plan?"

"Maybe they wanted us out of the way. To take everyone else somewhere."

"Then why all the tests? Why involve the schools, for years? Why was a psychopath stalking and killing us, over and over? So they could kidnap the population of an isolated town and leave sixty-four kids zonked out in a courtyard?"

"Maybe it's all a mind game," Noah said quietly, eyes far away. "The asteroid, the earthquakes, everything about this past week. How do we know any of it actually happened? They might be messing with us right now. I . . . I don't trust anything. Not even the things I see. Sometimes . . . I . . . I don't even know if I'm awake."

His voice cracked. I took his hand. Had forgotten how fragile he could be.



       
         
       
        

"I'm awake, Noah. Lean on me."

He smiled wanly. "You're tiny. I'll squash you."

I felt a flutter in my stomach. Tamped it down. But I didn't release his hand.

Gravel crunched, and I turned. "Am I interrupting?" Tack asked.

I looked down, realized Noah and I were still holding hands. I released his quickly, face reddening. When had we become so comfortable with each other? Hours ago, we'd been strolling along the waterfront, sharing our deepest feelings. Minutes later, however, he'd caved in front of Ethan and left me high and dry.

He chose differently in the square. Noah stuck with Tack and me.

"We have a plan." I rose quickly.

"Well, by all means, tell me what to do."

My temper slipped a notch, but I held it. Tack had just watched his father die. I knew it was eating at him, though he'd never let anyone see. "We should check the Plank, like you suggested, then head back into town and see what we can find. Who we can find."

Tack nodded, began striding down toward the gate.

I glanced at Noah. He shrugged. What can you do?

• • •

A bell was clanging somewhere deep in town.

"That's a church," Tack said, shielding his eyes to peer down Main Street. "Sacred Heart, I think. I wonder who's there." We were headed that direction, having checked on the bridge. Its twisted remains were barely visible at the bottom of Gullet Chasm.