Page 37

“I am, boss, believe me,” Otto mutters, his jaw tight as he whips the wheel to the left, causing the car to cross the cement divider with a bone-rattling series of thumps. Now we’re driving on the wrong side of the road. Thank god not many people are out tonight. “I’m trying to get you there alive.” A driver in an oncoming car lays on their horn as they swerve to avoid hitting us head-on. Followed by a second car, then a third. So much for these streets being empty.

I pinch my eyes closed to block out what might be my imminent death, and my thoughts return to Abe. My stomach twists at the way he reached out for me, the way he groaned in pain and still, putting me first, told me to run with however little power he had left.

He needs to be okay. There’s got to be a way to repair the damage to his body and CPU. Getting run over by a motorcycle and doused in saltwater shouldn’t be enough to take down a guard bot. Henrik built him to be indestructible, didn’t he? Otherwise, what would be the point of assigning him to me in the first place?

“Fuck!” Otto shouts as something hits the rear window, creating a deep crack in the center that spreads into a spiderweb of jagged lines.

“What was that? Did he throw something?”

“I think it was a rock.”

I turn around in my seat. “A fucking rock?”

“He pulled it out of his backpack.”

How have we gone from bombs to water balloons to rocks? I want off this plane of existence. But not before I annihilate this fucker.

Otto jerks the wheel to the right, getting us onto Mountain View Road with its constant sharp curves. “Hold on,” he warns as he hugs the first one, almost sending us careening down an embankment.

My phone rings, and I groan when I see the name across the screen, but I answer it anyway. “Henrik, I need you to send one of your tech goons here immediately to fix Abe. We were attacked and––”

“Emma, listen to me!” he shouts, and it’s only then I realize he’s been trying to talk since I answered the phone. “We know who the bomber is. You need to get somewhere safe.”

That’s when I lose my ever-loving shit. “He’s already found us, you ignorant asshole! Like I was trying to tell you, we’ve been attacked. Abe protected me, but he needs extensive repairs. He’s out in front of the town hall now.”

Henrik continues trying to interrupt me, but I don’t let him. He’s babbling on about how he knows the identity of the bomber, but I eventually hang up on him because what does it matter at this point? The bomber is directly behind us with me in his sights. I only have room in my mind to worry about Abe right now. Well, and myself, and Otto, and my poor Ziggy. I hope he’s somewhere safe. And the people of this town.

However this night ends, I hope it doesn’t cause massive destruction to the town. We don’t have the budget for major repairs. I had a will written up by a lawyer the day I turned thirty because I wanted to be responsible. I only wish I could have it changed to say: In the event of my death, should it be by the hand of the portal bomber, and should said bomber cause destruction to the town as part of my murder, please send all reconstruction invoices to Mr. Henrik Olsson.

I open my mouth to verbalize these last wishes when a deer darts out in front of the car, causing Otto to shout obscenities as he swerves to avoid it. The front end of the vehicle heads straight for the trees, and I duck my head, covering my skull with my hands as I feel the tires crunch and bump over uneven terrain. I wait for it to slam into something, or for us to go airborne, but neither occurs.

“We’re okay,” Otto chokes out, panting heavily. I peek through my fingers to see us straightened out on Mountain View Road, about to go down the big hill that leads to the entrance of the forest next to the cemetery.

“If we survive this, you should really consider a career as a stunt driver,” I tell him.

He laughs maniacally at my mediocre joke; a stress response, most likely.

When I look behind us, I notice there’s no one there. “He’s gone.”

“What?” Otto says, shocked, looking in the rearview mirror. “What the fuck?”

As soon as we reach the bottom of the hill, a motorcycle with no rider comes out of nowhere and plows into the driver’s side, an inch shy of the side mirror and the door. Despite sparing Otto from being crushed, it makes him lose focus long enough to let go of the wheel, sending us off the road and onto the gravel. I try to reach for the wheel, but gravity is working against me, sending me flailing back against the seat.

Eventually, when the car stops spinning, Otto unbuckles my seatbelt and points out my window. “Go.” He’s pointing at the entrance of the forest. “It’s right there. Go.”

He gets out of the car with me, his gun pointed outward as he provides cover. I limp along as fast as my twisted ankle will let me.

A stream of fire rains down from the sky directly behind me, right onto Otto’s head.

“No!” I scream, dropping to my hands and knees.

He falls to the ground, his skin blackened in some places and completely gone in others; the flesh beneath raw and already blistered.

I hear a thud, and turning toward the sound, a man becomes visible, still wearing the helmet as he approaches. When the helmet comes off, I expect it to feel like a big reveal or the kind of plot twist that has me sucking in a breath. I expect to recognize his very plain face, but I don’t. Dark hair, cut short. Slightly longer than a buzzcut. Dark beard, neatly trimmed. He has pale skin and dark brown eyes, and I’ve never seen him before in my life.

“Emma, at last we meet.” His smile is wicked as he tosses the helmet over his shoulder. It rolls and only stops when it hits Otto’s side.

“Do I know you?”