I hold up the photo. “What is this?” I hiss.
Wes looks down at it. “The TM was still being perfected in nineteen forty-four,” he whispers. “There were complications with the traveling.”
My eyes widen. “Is this going to happen to us if we try to leave this time period?”
He shakes his head, then holds up a finger so I’ll be quiet.
I’m not very reassured, but I gather up the file and stuff it back into the drawer. I pick out another folder, and another. Either there’s a large red LOST stamped over the face or the “subject” looks like the man in the first photograph. A few have lost body parts. An ear here, a finger there.
I shove the second-to-last folder back into the drawer. There’s only one left and I pull it out slowly. This one is different. There’s a stamp on the front that says THE RECRUITMENT INITIATIVE. Inside is only one sheet of paper—a mission statement for something called “Project Hero.” I scan the paper. On the top, right under the title of the mission, is the name Dean Bentley.
I swallow hard as I stare at the words. Dean must be going on this mission. He must be one of these subjects, which means he’s in even more serious trouble than I thought.
Suddenly Wes is at my shoulder. “We need to go now,” he whispers. I jump to my feet and stuff the confidential file into my shirt when his back is turned. He grabs my hand and pulls me to the door. We fly out into the hallway.
Wes takes a left and sprints down the brightly lit hall. He moves so fluidly, so fast. I trail behind him, desperately trying to keep up.
I hear a sound coming from a connecting hallway. It sounds like someone running. Wes and I hurry in the other direction, turning right when we hit the end of the hall. The new corridor is empty, blindingly white—the floors, the walls, the ceilings. There are stairs at the end and we glide down them.
I’m breathing hard by the time Wes stops. He presses me against the wall and angles his body in front of mine. “Did you find what you needed?” he asks quietly.
I nod, panting too hard to answer. He smiles slightly. He grabs my hand again, pulling me behind him. We turn into a new hallway and Wes slows. I glance around. All of the hallways look the same, but there’s something familiar about this one. I see a door on one side, and my stomach starts to sink.
Sure enough, Wes slides it open. We’re not in the time machine room like I feared, but we are in the observation room next to it. This must be the other side of the two-way mirror. It’s a dark, narrow space, with a few chairs, a desk, and a large monitor.
I can see the TM through the tinted window. It looks innocent enough sitting there; the metal is dulled and the room is barely lit. But I know better.
Wes grabs my hand to pull me through a connecting door, which will lead down to that room. I yank away from him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” My voice is low and rough.
He turns to me. His eyes are narrowed. “You said you have what you needed. We can both go back now.”
“Wes.” I press my hand to my forehead. Anger is rising inside of me. “I have things I need to do here. I thought you understood that.”
He takes a step closer. “You said you wanted to find the truth. You found it. Time to go.”
I back away from him until my body hits the door we just came through. “It’s not that easy,” I snap.
“Why not?” He has a stubborn set to his jaw that puts me on edge. “Are you hiding something else from me?”
My mouth falls open. “You’re one to talk. You haven’t told me anything. I don’t know who you are. I don’t know why you’re here. I don’t know what you want from me. I don’t know anything about the Montauk Project.”
My voice gets louder and louder but I’m past the point of caring. “What about how dangerous that machine is? I saw the pictures of those men who went insane. Were you even going to tell me?”
His voice rises too, and I don’t think he’s even aware of it. “I’m trying to protect you! I’m trying to get you back home where you’ll be safe. Why do you keep fighting me?”
“Because I need to save Dean! I need to save my family!” I shout it at him without thinking, and as soon as the words leave my mouth, something that’s been holding Wes together cracks. His eyes go glittery and he comes for me, lightning quick. I don’t know what he’s going to do, but I don’t wait around to find out. I yank at the door handle behind me and fall into the hallway.
I take off the way we came. I can hear Wes following me. I turn a corner, and another one, barely aware of what I’m doing. Finally I slow down. My anger is cooling, and common sense returns. I can’t run from Wes and the guards. I won’t let Wes take me back to the time machine, but running away from him down here is stupid. I can’t tell where I am and I don’t know how to get out of here without Wes.
I stop in a hallway, waiting for Wes to catch up with me. But I don’t hear anything. Puzzled, I turn around
