The three vehicles behind them sped up. Anne turned onto the road running along the river. Kiki smothered her cry of dismay when one SUV sped beside them, ramming them closer to the edge.
She bit her lip to keep from distracting Anne. They sped along the mountain road, tires skidding on the pavement. Kiki pressed her hands to her mouth when metal-on-metal screeched as the car next to them pushed them into the guardrail. She tried not to look at the steep drop and the river churning far below.
“Look out!” she cried when the man in the car beside them lifted a gun.
Over the noise of the chase, she heard thepop-pop-popas the man fired at them. The first bullet shattered the driver’s window, sending acascade of glass over Anne and her. Anne winced while Kiki shrank down in her seat.
The second bullet blew out the passenger window next to her. It was the third bullet that scared her the most. Blood, dark and red, was blooming across the front of Anne’s blouse. Memories of her mother rose, threatening to choke Kiki.
“Anne!”
Anne’s grip faltered—dangerously. The car veered sharply as the vehicle behind them suddenly sped up and slammed into the back of them as they came to an opening in the road. Kiki screamed as the world spun—a blur of trees, sky, and shattering glass—before everything went black.
When she came to, the car was on its top. The smell of gasoline filled the air. She was lying halfway out the broken door, the metal biting into her leg. Anne wasn’t moving.
Kiki reached for her—but a sharp sting hit her neck. She wrapped her fingers around a cold metal cylinder and ripped the needle free. She was too dazed to feel any pain, but there was enough awareness to know that this time she wouldn’t escape.
This time, they had caught her—and she had no one there to protect her.
Then, the world went dark again.
Kiki woke to silence—and cold.
The same icy chill she’d felt the day her mother died. She gazed around her slowly, taking in every detail and cataloging it, searching foran escape.
Concrete walls. No windows. A cot was bolted to the floor. A metal drain in the corner.
Her neck ached. When she lifted her trembling hand, she felt a rough bandage there—something hard beneath the skin. Panic clawed up her throat.
The door hissed open.
A man and a woman entered, their footsteps echoing. They were dressed in clinical white, their smiles smooth, calm, insincere.
“Hello, Kiki,” the woman said in a voice that sounded rehearsed. “My name is Diana. This is Oscar. We’re going to take care of you from now on.”
Kiki backed into the corner, her eyes wide with fear. “Where’s Anne?”
Oscar’s expression didn’t change. “You’ll be safe here, as long as you follow the rules.”
“What did you do to me?” she asked, her voice rising as desperation clawed at her.
Diana looked down, tilting her head with almost gentle curiosity. “It’s just a precaution, darling. You’re very special. We can’t have anyone getting hurt.”
Kiki’s hand flew to her neck again.
“There’s a device under your skin,” Oscar said. “If you try to harm anyone… it will detonate. So be careful.”
Kiki’s vision blurred. The air thickened until it felt unbreathable.
“Why? Who are you? Why are you doing this? Why can’t you just leave me alone?”
“All of that will come soon enough. The Founders have been searching for you for a long time. Once you accept that this is where you should be, everything will go smoothly,” Diane said, smiling down at her before she turned, looked at the mirrored glass, and nodded.
“We’ll be back,” Oscar added, walking toward the door.
Kiki stared at the mirrored wall. The locking mechanism on the door click and the couple left, the door sealed with a hydraulic sigh.
The silence pressed down on her until it felt like the walls were moving. She huddled in the corner of the bed, her knees drawn to her chest.
