Once We Were

I lay our head against Ryan’s shoulder and closed our eyes as the silence of the road became the night noise of the city. I tried at first not to think about Dr. Lyanne, because it hurt too much, and then I did think about her, because it felt wrong not to. I whispered quiet prayers that she would make it out.

We didn’t open our eyes when Ryan said quietly, “We’re almost there.”

We didn’t open our eyes when Jackson first whispered, “This isn’t right.”

We didn’t open our eyes until the police sirens.

And then we did.

And the last piece of hope inside us crumpled.

FORTY

There was a roadblock all around Emalia’s apartment building. Officers and police cars crowded the otherwise deserted streets.

<Kitty> I said. <Nina—>

Emalia and Sophie and Henri—

I didn’t realize I was moving until Ryan’s arms closed around our shoulders, forcing me to stop. Jackson parked on the side of the road, a few blocks from our apartment.

Darkness had descended upon the city, punctuated by streetlights and headlights. A tap on the car almost made us scream. Then a shadowed face appeared on the other side of the window.

Lissa.

I unlocked the door. Lissa eased it open and slipped inside, hissing shh when Ryan and I started to speak at once. She kept her head low and motioned for the rest of us to crouch down, too, so we were harder to see. Her eyes moved over us, taking in the bruises, the cuts, the blood with growing alarm.

“It’s better than it looks,” I said, which probably wasn’t true, but that wasn’t what was important right now.

“What’s going on?” Ryan demanded.

Lissa spoke in a rush, like she’d been running the words through her head, just waiting for someone to take them from her. “I waited until Peter came home. I told him what was happening—I told him everything. Then Sabine and Christoph came back. But they were followed.”

If they’d been followed, then someone must have connected them with the bombing. Was it because they’d left too late? Was it because they’d lingered, trying to stop Addie and me?

Addie must have felt my guilt. <It’s not our fault, Eva. We didn’t make them do anything.>

<I know> I said. <I know.>

But still.

Lissa had gotten caught up in staring at Addie and me again, her face twisting in worry. But a tap on the hand from Ryan prompted her to swallow and keep speaking. “They didn’t know they were tailed, not for sure, but Sabine must have been prepared for this sort of thing. She parked a few blocks away—”

“So they’re okay?” Jackson asked. Everyone turned to look at him, and he faltered a moment, but didn’t qualify his question. Just stared back, wearing a touch of defiance.

“I don’t know,” Lissa said. “They came to Peter’s, and everybody—everybody was furious. They left. Maybe they got away. That was right before the police started arresting people—” Lissa hesitated at the horror on our face. She shrugged helplessly and wrung her hands. “For questioning, maybe. I don’t think most of them are even really suspects—just . . . people around here got scared, you know? They started to fight back. Some of them got violent with the police.”

Under the restrictions, the curfews, tensions had been brewing for weeks. I closed our eyes and willed ourself calm.

“Why Emalia’s building?” Jackson asked.

Lissa bit her lip. Looked toward Ryan, then down at the carseat. “I don’t know. Maybe people knew Ryan and I lived there . . . and Henri . . .”

“Where’s Henri now?” I said. “And Kitty, and Emalia—”

“They’re in Peter’s apartment,” Lissa said. “Peter called them over once he—once I told him what was going on.”

“Why aren’t you at Peter’s apartment?” Ryan said.

“I snuck out when I saw the first few police cars drive by,” Lissa said. “I couldn’t just sit there. If anything’s been proved, it’s that nothing good happens when I just sit there and let you and Eva go off on your own!”

Peter’s apartment was only a couple blocks away from Emalia’s. The police garrison didn’t extend quite that far, but it was a close thing. I scanned through the dark streets until I found the main entrance to his building. A few officers had stationed themselves nearby. Were they planning on entering? Were they already inside? If Peter and the others tried to leave, would they let them?

Jackson looked out the window, too. “We should get as far away from here as we can.”

“We can’t leave,” Lissa said. “What about the others?”

“You think I want to leave them behind—?” Jackson cut off, his jaw hard. “Unless you have a plan, we should go before there aren’t any more hybrids left at all.”

Addie and I were still staring at Peter’s apartment. So we were the first ones to see the small, black shape emerging from the tenth-story window. It crawled out slowly, too far away to be more than the faintest of shifting shadows. But we saw it, and our breath caught as we realized whose window it was. We’d spent enough time ducking through that window ourself, when we’d still lived in Peter’s apartment.

<Kitty?> Addie whispered hopefully, but it was impossible to be sure. By this time, the others had caught us staring. They raised their eyes, too, squinting in the darkness.

Another three shadows emerged through Peter’s window, all much taller than the first. I grabbed the back of the driver’s seat, trying to pull myself forward and get a better view. My muscles screamed in protest. “It’s them. It’s Kitty and—”

Who were the other three? Emalia, Henri, and Peter? It made sense, didn’t it?

“Are you sure?” Lissa clambered into the front seat so she could see more clearly. “They’re too far away, Eva. I can’t—”

“It’s them,” I said. “I know it.”

“You can’t know it,” Jackson said. “They’re too far, and it’s too dark.”

“It’s them.” I reached for the car door, but Ryan pulled us back. Our ankle bumped against the seat. I winced at the burst of pain. “It’s them, Ryan. We have to—”

“Have to what?” Jackson interrupted. “Eva, you can’t even walk. Look, we’ve got the keys. Let’s get out of here.”

“No,” I said. “Not without the others.”

The four figures on the fire escape descended slowly. Soon, they’d be too close to the ground to see very far. To see us.

But someone else had seen us.

I shifted our eyes from Peter’s apartment building just in time to catch the flashing red-and-blue lights of a police car. Now it was Ryan reaching for the car door. “Everyone out!” he hissed, throwing it open.

I took one last look at the fire escape. The four people were on the move again, faster now. We had to tell them where we were before they disappeared into the darkness.

Ryan took hold of our arm. “Come on, Eva.”

I scrambled out, leaning on him for support. Jackson threw our other arm over his shoulder. Together, the two of them rushed us from the car, Lissa just a few steps ahead.

We made it to the shadow of a nearby building just as the police car cruised up, lights flashing. We held our breath until our head swam. The police car slowed as it passed our car, then disappeared down the road.

We slumped against the side of the building, breathing ragged.

<Morse code> Addie said.