One of the scientists pushes a button and the silver doors of the TM slide shut. Dean disappears inside. The room quiets as the lights dim again. A low, throbbing light starts shooting out of the glass top. It builds and builds, until it’s a continuous swirl of color, hovering just over the machine.
I suck in a breath. Wes tightens his grip and I turn into him, so that my back is to the time machine room. I picture my grandfather as a little boy, telling me about his father, the war hero. My grandfather the man, reading to me from his father’s diary. This is the moment it all starts and ends.
Even with my face against Wes’s shoulder, I feel it when he goes. The room fades to black, everything seems to freeze, and then there’s a pulsing flash of light, bright enough to burn.
I slump down to the floor of the observation room. Every time I close my eyes I see Dean’s battered face trying to form the word “Peter.”
I hope that means he doesn’t blame me for what happened. Maybe, in the end, he was just happy to know that his son would grow up to become a good man.
Wes crouches next to me. “We need a plan to get out of here alive.”
I swipe at the tears on my face and sit up. “What are you thinking?”
“They didn’t kill Dean, which means they’re not going to kill us. They’ll take us to the TM.” He sits back on his heels and peers over the bottom ledge of the two-way mirror. “There are three scientists in the room, including Dr. Faust. Then there’s the general and five guards. The scientists won’t fight. They don’t care about us; we’re just guinea pigs to them.” He looks back at me. “I can take out the guards. The general is the only wild card.”
“I’ll distract him,” I offer.
Wes is silent for a moment, watching me. “Okay. But be careful. I don’t know what I would do if something happened to you.”
“I will,” I say. “But you need to be careful too. Swear it.”
He smiles slightly. “I swear.”
“So what happens after we take out the guards? Can we both travel in the TM?”
He shakes his head. “Not at the same time. You’ll go first. I’ll program it to the exact same time and date you went through before—June 15, 2012, at 5:09. I’ll make sure I’m programmed to arrive at least ten minutes before that time. With any luck, this older TM won’t malfunction.”
My heart races. “What happens if it does?”
“Don’t think about that,” Wes says. He leans down to look me in the eye. “The important thing is that I get to the future before you do. The Facility in twenty twelve isn’t like it is in nineteen forty-four. There aren’t any air vents to crawl through. There are alarms and cameras everywhere. If you travel back there on your own then they’ll kill you the instant you step out of the machine.”
I put two and two together. “You’re going to create a diversion.”
He nods. “I’ll cut the power and open the door to the bunker. The TM doesn’t need power to run—it uses natural magnetic energy. You’ll have exactly four minutes to get through the Facility and out of the bunker.”
Wes is creating the diversion to get me out of the Facility on the exact day and time that I discovered the open bunker. Which was only open because he created the diversion in the first place.
I was lured in by a disturbance that was originally created to get me out. A self-fulfilling prophecy.
“Do you remember how to get out of the Facility through the bunker?” Wes asks.
I think of all those identical white walls, and I shake my head.
“Remember this: right, left, door, right, door.”
“Right, left, door, right, door.”
“Good.”
“Wes.” I take his hand. “What about us? Are you coming with me?”
He’s silent for a beat, then gently pulls away from me. “Someone needs to make sure you get through.”
“Then after. Create the diversion and come find me.”
But he won’t answer. I try to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
There’s a scratching sound at the door and it starts to open. Wes stands quickly.
General Lewis is in the doorway holding a small gun. He looks at Wes. “I’ve seen you fight. You know what you’re doing. But you have a weakness.”
He points the gun at me. “The girl. You don’t want her to die. So play nice.”
Wes stiffens, his eyes on the gun. The older man gestures us forward. Wes holds out a hand and pulls me to my feet. I press into his side as we approach the doorway. As soon as we’re close enough, the general grabs my arm and puts the gun to my head. Wes breathes in sharply.
“Walk,” the general says.
We leave and walk to the door leading into the time machine room. Wes opens it and instantly moves to stand by my side. The general tightens his hold on me but doesn’t comment.
Wes was right about who’s here. Five guards are scattered at different points, and two young male scientists sit in front of the monitors.
Dr. Faust approaches us. “The machine is almost ready,” he tells General Lewis.
“What’s the date?” The general cocks his head toward the metal tubelike structure.
Faust grins, revealing small, slightly pointed teeth. “Nineteen twenty. Same as Bentley. Did you find out who these two are?” He nods at Wes and me.
“Don’t care,” the general replies. “They’re dead anyway.”
The doctor gives us a curious look, but the general is impatiently eyeing the TM in the middle of the room. “Let’s get this going,” he says.
Wes is silent and watchful. I look at him. He senses
