“It’s him. It’s the guy from my room. He’s here. He must have followed me.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Rodriquez said. “You don’t know that.”
“I recognize the sound of the weapon he used in my room. It sounded just like that buzzing noise.”
Another high-pitched wail, and an officer yelled.
What the hell was going on?
This couldn’t be an isolated event, I thought.
It had something to do with what happened to me earlier.
The twin had come to this police station.
And there could only be one thing he’d come for.
There was only one thing that linked the two places.
Me.
This had to be the worst night of my life.
Rodriquez stood and unclipped the pistol at her hip.
She approached her partner and they spoke in hushed whispers, casting an occasional look in my direction.
Finally, Rodriquez turned to me.
“Take a seat. We might be here for some time.”
“Will you be all right with her?” Ducard said.
“I’ll be fine,” Rodriquez said. “You go check what’s going on out there.”
Ducard drew his pistol and gave Rodriquez a peck on the cheek before peering outside and checking both directions.
He stepped out and Rodriquez took a moment to check out his ass before he disappeared from view.
She remained beside the door, keeping it ajar a couple of inches so she had a good view of what was happening.
“You should sit down,” she repeated. “We might be here a while.”
I tripped on my chair, forgetting I’d accidentally knocked it over earlier.
I righted it and took a seat.
The room swayed, turning on its axis like a ride at the fairground.
This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.
I thought coming to the police station would make be safer.
Instead, I was in the same situation I had been an hour ago when I wandered dazedly through the streets.
“Has anything like this ever happened before?” I said.
Rodriquez took a moment to answer, her attention taken with something outside.
“No. We’ve had a few crazies but nothing like this.”
Shouts rang down the hall and gunfire exploded, much louder—and much closer—than a moment ago.
“Freeze!” an officer bellowed.
A moment later, they opened fire.
The assailant returned fire, the weapon making that distinctive high-pitched squeal.
It belonged in a science fiction movie, not the real world.
And certainly not my world.
Rodriquez drew her pistol and raised a hand toward me.
She kept her eyes firmly on the hallway outside.
“Stay right here. I’m going to check out what’s going on.”
And leave me alone.
The very last thing I wanted to be right now.
“You can’t stand against the plasma,” I heard myself saying.
Even to my ears, my voice sounded haunted.
“It’s not from here,” I said. “It’s from… somewhere else. An advanced weapons lab maybe? Or the future.”
I was thinking out loud but it seemed to make sense—to me, at least.
Rodriquez no longer sported the smarmy smile she had before.
She no longer thought I’d been put up to this.
She believed me.
And she was afraid.
She drew on her deep wells of courage and exited the interrogation room, shutting the door behind herself.
The shouts grew louder, more voluminous, and were punctuated with further gunshots and returning plasma fire.
I stared at the door, unblinking.
So long as there was return fire, the twin was still alive.
But if he wanted to kill me, why didn’t he do it in my bedroom?
He had plenty of opportunity to do so.
Because he doesn’t want to kill you, a voice in the back of my mind said. He wants to do far worse to you.
Something worse than death?
I couldn’t imagine what it could be.
Or maybe I just didn’t want to.
I considered what to do next.
Run?
Escape the police station?
Was any of this even related to what happened to me earlier?
Had I lost my mind?
Was I going mad?
Was this what it felt like when you finally lost your marbles?
Heavy footsteps trod outside the door and the shadow of a figure appeared in the frosted glass.
The figure turned to face the door.
And then it creaked open.
Vai
I raced through the streets and leaped over parked cars.
A truck honked its horn at me and slammed its brakes as I zipped across the road and took off down a darkened alleyway.
I raced because my fated mate’s life was on the line.
I raced because if Iav reached her first, I would never see her again.
In my ear, Computer gave me the directions I needed to traverse this unknown world and reach the police station first.
“Left,” Computer said. “Scale the wall and walk along it. Drop down on the other side.”
I took an even narrower alleyway and came to a dead-end.
Scale it? How was I supposed to scale it?
I didn’t slow down.
Momentum was going to be my secret weapon.
I jumped, slammed my foot onto one side, thrust off it, and did the same on the other side, and performed the action three more times.
I sped up each time until the movement slammed me into the wall.
I was near the top.
I grasped with my fingertips and latched onto the edge.
I managed to reach it.
But only just.
I hung by a single hand.
I threw up my other hand but couldn’t reach the ledge.
“According to my estimates, your Shadow has already reached the police station,” Computer said.
“And you’re telling me this now?” I said, grunting as I pulled myself up with my single arm.
“According to police scanners, he’s opening fire on the police officers.”
“I thought you were going to help me reach the station faster?”
“I did. But his lead was too big. We saved over two minutes during the chase. Although that lead is already beginning to dwindle. One minute fifty-nine seconds. One minute fifty-eight seconds. One minute—”
“You can cut the countdown,” I snapped.
“Ample research suggests having a countdown increases the chances of successfully achieving a goal,” Computer said defensively.
“There’s even more evidence it annoys the fuck out of me.”
“Your preferences have been noted,” Computer said stiffly.
I tiptoed along a narrow wall no thicker than my thumb.
I held my arms out to either side to better keep my balance.
“Are you deliberately making me take the most difficult route?” I snapped.
“I am taking you