I sounded so callous; I hated it. The Powers That Be had made it clear that we needed to make tough decisions for this to work, though.
I’d gotten a second chance. I doubted I’d get a third.
“It’s not just about freeing Neven,” Red said. “If we snoop around, we might find rift data. There has to be a lot they’re not telling us.”
“It’s too risky.”
My head snapped up at movement near the house. Mom stood in the kitchen doorway, bathing in the cool glow of a nearby spotlight. “Hazel?” she called across the lawn.
“One minute!” I yelled automatically.
“No. Now.”
A second shape joined Mom in the doorway. That stance, that height—it was Director Facet. “The rift expanded again,” he called out, one hand on the doorpost. “It’s getting too risky. We’re evacuating the farm.”
Director Facet gave us time to pack our things. The MGA’s evacuation plan was to buy us time by flying us out of the immediate danger zone—to South America? Europe?—and resume work there. Our van would leave for a nearby military airport in fifteen minutes; if we weren’t strapped in by then, agents would drag us to safety at gunpoint.
Those weren’t his precise words, but we understood the meaning.
Even in the short time since we’d heard the news, the lawn had started to empty out. Cars and vans took off toward the road. A helicopter rose into the air, weighed down with equipment that’d been carted out from the barns.
Rainbow and I were in my room, tossing clothes into a suitcase while Mom did the same in her own bedroom. Red and Four were looking for Torrance to wheedle information from. Once the evacuation got underway, we might no longer be able to speak to any researchers.
We might no longer be able to free Neven, either. And we had to. The MGA wouldn’t evacuate her, I knew that already: It’d be dangerous and time-consuming.
Leaving her trapped like I’d argued for was bad enough, but leaving her trapped and alone in a situation dire enough that the whole area was being evacuated . . .
I couldn’t simply pack and climb into that van like Facet wanted.
I leaned in and shoved some T-shirts into the suitcase, my bedroom carpet soft under my knees. My mouth was right by Rainbow’s ear. “I need to get my knife,” I whispered, my voice barely more than a breath.
Rainbow mouthed, Where?
“Outside.” After Damford, I’d hidden the knife to prevent the MGA from getting their hands on it, but I hadn’t told the others where. Too much chance of being overheard.
That risk still existed, but I had no choice. This might be my last chance to get the knife.
Evacuation. My stomach churned. The MGA wouldn’t evacuate—and bring their research to a grinding halt—unless we were at serious risk, even an hour outside Philadelphia.
I slipped downstairs, light on my feet. I’d done this often enough when I couldn’t sleep to know which steps and boards to avoid.
Although my instincts yelled at me to stay low and hunched, I made myself walk upright across the lawn, arms casually by my sides. I wasn’t doing anything dodgy. Acting sneaky would only draw attention. We weren’t expected at the vans for another several minutes, and most agents seemed occupied with the evacuation, anyway. I kept a nervous eye on them.
The grass squelched underfoot. Here, past this barn. Around that barn, where I’d have sight of the ambulance—
Which was still there.
A breath hissed out through my teeth. I wasn’t too late.
Last night, while we were at the hospital with Dad, the MGA had brought Alpha to West Asherton using the same ambulance we’d transported her in from Damford. As I’d hoped, the MGA had kept the vehicle, leaving it parked beside several vans right outside the medical research barn where Alpha lay comatose. One wall had gotten damaged on the night of my birthday—scorched stains spread across the bricks, and ugly cracks marred one corner—but aside from that, the building was in good shape.
I squinted as I studied the roof. Two cameras on the scorched wall had gotten damaged. A third one on a nearby building might still be functioning, but I could avoid it.
The medical research barn was on the outskirts of the lawn. The area was empty for now, but people would be coming any moment to evacuate Alpha.
I started toward the ambulance, then promptly ducked back into the shadows between nearby barns.
Two agents were stalking across the lawn. They walked with purpose. Urgency.
And one of them was dragging along Red.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Red stumbled along, trying to yank herself loose. It didn’t work. The agent—was that Valk?—held her tightly and pulled her forward. She even had one hand clamped over Red’s mouth.
Red made angry muffled sounds. Her hand clawed futilely at the agent’s.
I was still trying to process the sight when a familiar voice—mine—called across the lawn. “Hey! Let her go?” It had to be Four. Her voice hitched. “What’re you doing?”
The agents and Red stopped at one of the vans near the ambulance. The agent not holding Red opened the doors to the back.
“Let her go!” Four cried. “Where are you taking her?”
“We’re trying to evacuate, kid,” the agent holding the doors said, “and we can’t waste time babysitting someone who’s getting in the way. She needs to be out of everyone’s hair, so she’s leaving early.”
“You won’t even let us talk—”
“You’re lucky we’re not taking you with us, too,” he said sharply. “For all I know, you were both in on this.”
In on what? What was he talking about? I wanted to burst across the lawn to back up Four, but if she wasn’t getting results, I wouldn’t, either. And I didn’t want to give away my location.
Valk stepped into the van. Red kicked at the doors, but Valk pulled her inside effortlessly. She said something to Red too low for us to hear—an apology, a warning?—then turned toward Four. “We’re just trying to make everything go
