“Everyone okay?” Amira asks.
I nod and gesture at Nova.
“They intercepted a radio transmission from someone on this island. They know Marcus isn’t loyal to their cause.”
Olin’s face has drained of color. “That was me.”
“It’s okay,” I say.
He looks like he might be sick. “This is all my fault.”
“No, it’s not,” Nova says. “You were helping Marcus. You couldn’t have known that would happen.”
He cringes, pushing the rain-soaked red hair from his forehead. “I’ve been trained. I should have—” He stops. “If they know Marcus isn’t with them, why is he ... with them?”
My stomach clenches as I think about the way he looked at me. It was his eyes, but it wasn’t him. I’m a stranger to him now.
“They did something to him,” I say. “I don’t know what, but he’s not himself anymore. He doesn’t know me. He doesn’t know any of us.”
“What are we going to do?” Olin asks.
Everyone is looking at me. I don’t feel like being a leader. I just want to curl up on the ground and cry about Marcus. But I can’t.
“I know where we can go,” I say.
I know this island well. When Marcus and I were searching for the flowers used to make aromium, we covered every square inch of it. I know where the best hiding place on the island is. McClain’s cave.
“They could destroy everything at our camp,” Ellison murmurs.
The sound of a man’s voice calling out orders sends a chill through me. I look at Nova right as she says, “We have to go.”
“Or not.”
The strange voice makes my stomach drop. I turn and see two men in snot-green New America uniforms, both with guns pointed at us.
I weigh my options, thick vines slithering around my feet. If I charge them, at least some of us can get away.
“Do it,” the man says, his gaze on me. “You won’t even get two steps?—”
His head twists at an unnatural angle and he drops to the ground. Pax is there, and he snaps the other man’s neck before he even has time to react. He falls to the ground and lands on top of his friend.
It’s scary how much faster aromium makes a person.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Pax whispers, locking eyes with me.
Everyone starts to move, but then Ellison says, “I can’t.”
All of us stop, turning toward her.
“You’re not staying,” Nova whispers fiercely. “They’ll kill you.”
Ellison’s face crinkles in an anguished look. “I can’t leave my supplies behind.”
Nova reels. “Fuck your supplies. We can’t go back into camp.”
Ellison looks at me, her expression pleading. “I have to go get my supplies.”
Nova looks like her head’s about to blow off. I don’t know why Ellison is so concerned about having supplies. Gauze and medication are the least of our worries.
