“You’re here to pick up Josephine?” There was a playful quality to his voice.
“Yes, sir. We have a school project we need to work on.”
“Somewhere well lit, I hope?”
“Of course, sir. We’ll be at a friend’s house, and my car is equipped with dual-mounted megawatt LEDs on the roof.”
Mr. Byrne stepped aside. “Very well, son. Very well. Take care of my princess for me.” He bent down and kissed the top of Josie’s head.
“Thanks, Daddy,” she said as she followed Nick out to his car.
The sun was barely hanging above the horizon as Nick backed his SUV out of the driveway. “Thanks, Daddy,” he mocked in a high falsetto. “You’ve really got this Jo routine down.”
Josie rolled her eyes. “I have to. Poor guy’s been through enough, don’t you think? Last thing he needs is to know his daughter is hiding out in a parallel universe with his estranged wife.”
“I guess you’re right.”
Josie shifted in the passenger seat to face him. “You guess?”
Nick shrugged. “His job is closely linked to the Grid, you know. I mean, in theory, he’s one of them.”
“Yeah, okay, Madison.”
“Hey!” Nick said, hitting the brakes a bit too fiercely as he approached a stop sign. Josie whipped forward as the seat belt tightened across her chest.
“Be careful!” Josie snapped.
“Madison’s heart’s in the right place, okay? She may be a bit abrasive—”
“That’s the understatement of the century.”
Nick sat at the stop sign. “Yeah, but it doesn’t mean she’s wrong.”
Josie pursed her lips. For some irrational reason, she was ticked off by the way Nick defended Madison. “Your girlfriend’s been nothing but a bitch since I got here, so excuse me if I don’t jump on the ‘rah-rah, Madison’ bandwagon, okay?”
Nick gritted his teeth. “She’s not my girlfriend.”
“I don’t know,” Josie said, attempting to sound as flippant and disaffected as possible. “You two seem pretty simpatico.”
Nick turned his eyes back to the road and continued the drive. “We dated. Briefly.”
“I knew it,” Josie said under her breath.
“Look,” Nick said sharply. “We went on a few dates last year, but Madison’s . . . intense. About everything. It didn’t work out.” He paused, then shook his head. “And she was
“Whatever.”
“What do you care anyway? It’s not like you’re sticking around. As soon as we find a way to get you home, you’re out of here. Right?”
That was the reality. Ever since she’d tried to get back through the mirror and found a concrete wall in her path, Josie had been singularly focused: find a way home. This wasn’t her world. This wasn’t her life. And yet for some reason the idea of leaving here—of leaving
Nick stopped at a light and turned to her. “Right?” he repeated.
His face was drawn, taut like a boxer anticipating a blow to the face. Josie wanted to grab him, to hold on for dear life and never, ever let go.
She’d come here hoping for one day in a perfect life, one day to make amends. A happy family and loving boyfriend, a school full of friends. She’d known it would all be an illusion and a lie, but she hadn’t cared. For one day, everything would be perfect.
Then everything had gone wrong.
But as she sat in the car gazing into Nick’s eyes, she realized that something had happened to her. Nick Fiorino, the great love of her life. Except this wasn’t Nick. Not really. He was a completely different person. Smart, brave, considerate. He took care of his friends, was trying to help save the people they loved. Unselfishly, since he knew his brother was already dead. Even Josie, someone he’d just met. He’d gone out of his way to help her. He’d been the one person she could trust, and the idea of leaving
She wanted to tell him. All about her Nick and Madison and how they’d betrayed her, about how she’d come to his world for a fantasy, and about how somewhere along the way he’d become more important to her than she could have predicted.
She wanted to tell him everything.
But she couldn’t.
“Right,” she said, dropping her eyes.
Nick slowly turned back to the road. “That’s what I thought.”
7:41 P.M.
The sun had completely dipped below the horizon by the time Nick pulled his SUV into the warehouse. It was dark and empty.
The only light was from the floods on the top of Nick’s car. He cut the engine, and Josie strained her ears, listening for the telltale flapping and shrieking of the Nox.
It felt strange to be in the near-darkness as Josie slipped out of the car. Nick had pulled a giant flashlight from the backseat of his car and walked off, presumably to fire up the generator, but as Josie stood there beside the car, she had the distinct feeling that she wasn’t alone. She could have sworn she heard a shuffling noise like someone darting around in the dark recesses of the abandoned space, and her eyes must have been playing tricks on her. She thought she saw something move. A shadow in the blackness, darker than the dark, if that was even possible.
“Hello?” she called into the shadows.
No answer. Josie shook her head. It had been so many days since she’d experienced actual darkness, her ocular membranes were no longer capable of adapting to the lack of light.
The generator whirred to life, flooding the warehouse in artificial glow, and Josie jumped.
“There’s no one here,” Nick said. He pulled the chain, rolling the gate back into place.
“Oh.” Josie peered into the back of the warehouse, now bathed in the orangey overhead lights. Nick was right. No one there.
After he secured the door, Nick wandered over to the fridge, mumbled something to himself, then closed the door without taking anything. Josie watched him, unsure what she should do next. He was clearly annoyed with her, angry almost. She felt like she was to blame, and yet how could she be? What did he want from her?
Nick plopped himself down on a sofa and picked up one of the books on interdimensional travel Penelope had left there. He flipped through the pages quickly, and kept his eyes focused on the book. The signal was loud and clear:
Josie shrugged and sat down on the sofa opposite him. Suddenly, she was exhausted. The excitement at Penelope’s discovery had long since evaporated, and Josie was left feeling fatigued and sore. Every muscle in her body ached as if she’d run back-to-back marathons in stilettos. She leaned her head against the armrest and closed her eyes, wishing she had a sleep mask with her. The orange glow beyond her closed eyelids only enhanced the dull ache emanating from the back of her head. Never in her life had she craved the darkness so desperately. Josie’s breath began to slow. Sweet, calm black . . .
Josie didn’t realize she’d fallen asleep until she felt a hand over her mouth.
“Shh!” Nick hissed in her ear.
Josie’s eyes flew open and panic immediately welled up inside her. It was completely silent in the warehouse; the gentle, ever-present whir of the generator was gone. And though Josie could feel Nick’s breath against her cheek as he held his face close to hers, she couldn’t see him.
The warehouse was completely dark.
Josie lay there frozen, Nick’s hand still covering her mouth, his body pressed tightly next to hers on the sofa. She couldn’t see any movement in the warehouse, but as before she had the sensation of motion. A shuffling
