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24

AUSTIN

My mind racedas I stood frozen in place. I was afraid if I moved, I’d step on the doctor’s blood. To me that was tantamount to defacing her body. But I knew I should do something. I should find Rosi—get us to safety. Where or how, I had no idea. But the thought of walking in my room to find—

Stop it, Austin. The monks taught me to stop thoughts like these when I could. All such things did was panic me when I needed to stay in the present and deal with what was happening in the now. It was so easy when I was climbing or parasailing, but when it came to this, to Rosi, it was somehow different.

Wincing, I drew a deep breath. It was different because it involved someone I cared about. It wasn’t just me on the line this time. Hell, it wasn’t just us, it was the whole damn resort, and we’d led that thing here. I ignored the small voice that said it probably would’ve found us anyway at some point.

When leaping off a cliff, it was important not to hesitate. So I moved, eyes focused on the door. When I made it outside, it was as if the entire world had been frozen and then exploded to life. Jackson marched down the hall with a handful of others in his wake. His pale face probably looked normal compared to mine. He hadn’t even seen the devastation yet.

Nicole’s voice filled the halls through the comm system, too loud despite her calm tone.

“Due to potential unforeseen issues with our climate control system, we are disappointed to announce that we are evacuating the resort and cutting the vacation short. Please proceed to boarding immediately. We will have AI staff pack and send on your belongings as they will not be affected by the temperature drop.”

Flashing blue lights bathed the halls as the cleanup team rushed past me into the medcenter. Jackson paused in front of me as Nicole’s voice continued over the sounds of nervous chatter and footsteps rushing down the halls toward the evacuation.

“We at Bennet Systems hope you’ve had an exceptional stay here at the Glacial Palace and look forward to serving you again when all the inevitable bugs with such new technology are worked out. We apologize for the inconvenience and would like to offer a short stay at the Time Capsule Resort as compensation.”

Jackson squeezed my arm. “Get to the plane, Austin. Thank you for your help.” He turned to go.

“I’m not getting on a plane until I find Rosi,” I said, stopping him in his tracks.

“I’m sure she heard the announcement and is headed that way too,” Jackson said. His tone might’ve been reasonable, but his voice raised a whole octave.

“Don’t tell me Nicole isn’t calling her in to confer with as we speak,” I said, knowing in my bones the truth of the statement. “She offered earlier, and Nicole wants this taken care of as quickly and quietly as possible, so I know she’ll ask her.”

Jackson swallowed and released my arm. “It’s her choice. If she’s scared, no one will stop her from leaving.”

I smiled as Nicole’s message played on repeat. “I’m not worried about you forcing her. I know her. Rosi’s not walking away—she’s going to try to figure it out. And if she is, then I am too.”

Staring at me for a moment, Jackson finally relented, relaxing his shoulders. “Nicole won’t like having the risk of collateral damage, but she’ll get it. She’ll probably even appreciate it.”

A crowd of teenagers rushed past us, forcing us closer to the door of the Medcenter. Jackson pressed something into my hand.

“What’s this?” I asked, frowning down at the small, three-pronged object.

“It’s a weapon. It works like a stun gun without any physical contact. If you’re staying here, you need to be able to defend yourself.”

I nodded, turning it in my hand. It seemed simple enough with a single button to depress and a safety release where my thumb would go if I held it toward someone. “What about you?” I asked.

“I’ve got another weapon and a whole team of people. Don’t worry about me. Nicole and Rosi should be up on the sixth floor.”

“Thank you,” I said and swam upstream into the tide of people headed my way.

When I got to the tubes, they were all filled with people coming down to the ground floor. I could have waited for one to empty and ridden it back up for the next crowd, but even if I were patient enough for that, there was no guarantee it would be going to floor six.

So I did what I knew how to do. I hoisted myself onto the edge of the glass tank at the base of the waterfall and balance-walked my way to the rocks, where I switched into climbing mode. My newly healed shoulder twinged as I hoisted myself up onto the first boulder, but with a few stretches, the tightness melted and the pain dulled to a background thrum no worse than any other injury I’d endured in my travels.

But as I leaped to reach for the top of the next stone step, my fingertips grazed the ice and I slipped, narrowly catching myself before I toppled to the ground.

I pulled myself up to the next step and froze. That was a rooky mistake, and not one that I could afford to make, ever. Sure, things had happened that were out of my control before, but I’d never been so off-balance while climbing.

Heart pounding in my ears, I swallowed hard. I didn’t have time for this. Rosi was in danger, and I had to get to her. But what good would I be if I suddenly lost my mojo? Visions of the medcenter swam in my head, and I covered my mouth to prevent retching.

Pressing my hands to my knees, I forced myself to breathe, counting carefully in my mind. There was so much blood…

What if I could have done something? It was like Sara all over again. What if I was more of a hinderance than a help to Rosi? To everyone?