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“Fine, whatever,” he mutters, turning back to the KAPOW entrance. “They’re probably turning this whole damn place into Big Brother. We haven’t done shit wrong. We’re all old enough to drink.” That last part was projected out into the dark air, meant for whoever was listening. I wait a beat and then call Max.
“What’s going on?” he asks. I know he wants to ask a thousand other questions so I don’t make him wait for the answers.
“I found Nova. She’s...she’s okay. Not nice or even remotely friendly. But okay.”
“I’m right here,” she mutters.
“She says hi,” I tell him. Nova huffs. “How’s Evan?”
“Lover boy is sleeping. I’m sure he’d want me to tell you that he misses you and all that crap.”
My heart fills with mushy goo at the mere thought of Evan missing me. That’s all the more reason to get home. “We’re at the east end of Central, about to get a KAPOW pod.”
“No. No KAPOW.” He takes a deep breath. Sighs. “The elders have put together a group of Retrievers and they’re calling themselves the Retriever Squad.”
“Why would I be afraid of a Retriever?”
“They’re glorified hall monitors. They’ve been patrolling the KAPOW tunnels and they’re supposed to apprehend anyone who looks suspicious. Even Heroes. You can’t just go walking around with your twin who everyone thinks is dead.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
Max is quiet for an uncomfortable amount of time.
“Be safe.”
My shoulder goes numb from pressing into the corner of the cramped photo booth. All those years of Hero training had prepared me for every possible scenario. Everyone except for this one. We never trained for how to handle a situation where you can’t call for back up. Can’t call for help. I straighten my spine and breathe.
I’m a Hero now. I don’t get the privilege of being scared.
“We just need a plan.”
“Leave me.” Nova slips out of the photo booth and I follow. “Just go. At least you tried. Or, you know...whatever.”
“No.” My fists shove into my thighs and I swear to god I almost stomp down on my foot like I’m some kind of two year old. “I won’t let you go back. We’re going home and I don’t care what it takes to get there.”
“Why are you so insiste
nt on this?” Nova looks ten years younger in the oversized sweater and with her hair all knotted up. She pulls at the sleeves that extend past her fingers. “I don’t even know why I’ve agreed to go with you. This is stupid.”
“You agreed because you know it’s the right thing to do.” I stare into her eyes and don’t look away, even when it gets uncomfortable. “I don’t know you,” I say, feeling a weird déjà vu sensation as I stare into my twin’s stony eyes. “But I can feel you. I know what you’re thinking.” Her lips twinge. Her power level sucks back into her chest but it’s too late for her to hide things now. “You don’t know anything,” she says.
“I know you won’t hurt me. And I know you want a safe place to sleep.”
She folds her arms across her chest. Takes a step back.
This is hardly the girl whose vicious fighting skill almost killed me a few days ago. Looks like I just won this argument. I lift an eyebrow. “Something tells me you haven’t slept well in years. Maybe not even once.”
She swallows. “Fine, I’ll go with you. But if you try anything, I’ll kill you.”
I start walking toward the city. “That’s the spirit.”
The neon sign at the twenty-four hour pharmacy flashes the word welcome. The look the middle-aged woman behind the counter gives us is anything but. My Hero suit is wrapped tightly in a paper bag tucked under my arm. Yep. I’m wearing an oversized black zip up hoody I stole off the rack at one of those kiosks back at the KAPOW entrance. The most embarrassing thing ever is that it has my brother’s name emblazoned across the front in patriotic red white and blue screen-print.
I know Heroes don’t steal, but this Hero had to make an exception. Fifty dollars for a freaking hoody? I only have forty-one dollars stuffed in the hidden pocket of my suit. Plus, the shop owner really shouldn’t leave a rack of merchandise all out in the open like that. I mean, anyone could walk up, break the glass, sneak past the laser alarm sensors and steal the thing just like I did. I make a mental note to send the kiosk money as soon as we get home safely.
A draft rushes up my bare legs and I tug the hoody down my thighs trying to cover up more. I feel so freaking exposed. The cashier’s judgmental eyes rake over us. “Pregnancy tests are on aisle four.”
“What?” My jaw falls open. Nova snorts. “No, um, we’re looking for hair dye. And maybe some cheap clothes.”
