Sloane doesn’t stop moving, though. She continues to work Realm up the stairs, pushing past Dr. Wyatt to get him inside, James following behind them. The monitor watches them but then turns back to Wes.
“Nice to see you again, Mr. Ambrose,” she says coldly. “Seems you know more than you let on.”
“Let them pass, Angela,” Marie asserts from the door. Dr. Wyatt stares down at her and eventually steps aside.
Dr. Wyatt studies us, studies Wes’s shoulder like it’s evidence of our recklessness. Yeah, well—adults did this damage.
Sloane dumps Realm into an oversize chair in the corner of the room and then goes to join James on the couch. I pause in the doorway with Wes, exhausted, scared, and hungry. But judging by the room, I’m better off than most.
James leans to whisper something into Sloane’s ear, and she looks worriedly over at Realm. For his part, James seems unfazed. Strong. If I hadn’t seen his actual concern earlier, I wouldn’t think he had any. He’s a skilled liar, and I suddenly understand how he and Realm are such good friends.
Marie and Dr. Wyatt both come into the room, and Wes and I move to the side. My heart is racing. I have no idea how these two ended up here together. I’m not the only one.
“Well?” Wes demands, glaring at Marie. “I’ll be honest and say I don’t know you, but I know her.” He motions to Dr. Wyatt. “She’s not on our side.”
Dr. Wyatt’s normally stoic expression falters. “You’re wrong,” she says. “We’re fighting for the same thing. I’m just not as irresponsible as you.”
“Oh, come on—” Wes is getting angry, but when he moves, it must tug on his shoulder and he winces. He looks away as if to disguise the pain, but Dr. Wyatt smiles like he proved her point.
“Why are you here?” I ask her. “Why can’t you just leave us alone?”
“Angela is here to shut down the Adjustment. For good,” Marie says. “She’s against memory manipulation, but she’s proposing a new system, one that will put you back into a facility for returners. She deems all returners a danger to society. So despite her beliefs, she’s decided a complete reset is the only option left. It’s the only one that’s worked. She wants to save your lives, but she plans to do it by erasing them.”
“Over my dead body,” James says. “Because no offense, Angela, or whoever the fuck you are, but none of us are going back to The Program.”
He sounds so sure of this that it actually gives me a ray of hope. James may be heading toward a crashback, but he shows no signs of it when we’re all being threatened.
“It’s not The Program,” Dr. Wyatt says. “It’s to save your lives.”
“And I told you,” Marie replies tersely. “I have the cure.”
Dr. Wyatt exhales heavily. “You’ve said that before, and it’s never worked, Marie. Why now? And how without McKee?”
“Because Marie has always been the brains,” Realm says, his head back against the seat, his face slack and tired. Unlike James, he can’t hide how sick he is. “She’s done more to find this cure than anyone. More than you, or The Program, or any other doctor. If she says she has the cure, then I believe her,” he says. “And excuse me for saying this, Angela, but if your daughter were alive today, you’d want it for her, too. You wouldn’t want her reset.”
I dart my eyes to Dr. Wyatt, stunned by this revelation. She had a child, one who must have died during the epidemic. Is that why she’s been such a beast, tracking and hunting us? Was it all really in search of a cure?
“Don’t, Michael,” she says warningly, betraying her emotion. And, holy shit. I had no idea Michael Realm knew her, but I should have guessed.
“Don’t let Ally’s death mean nothing,” he says, holding her gaze. “Give us one more shot at the cure. Please. I won’t survive otherwise.”
Dr. Wyatt inspects him and crosses her arms once again. “You could reset,” she offers. “Then—”
“Won’t work,” Realm says. “Treatment, remember? I can’t forget.”
Dr. Wyatt and Michael Realm stare at each other for a long moment, and it occurs to me just how entangled in everything Realm is. He’s been on both sides, the doctors’ and the patients’. And whatever their past, his mention of her daughter has softened Dr. Wyatt’s resolve. She looks at Marie.
“What is your cure?” she asks.
Marie smiles warily and slowly shakes her head. “You know I can’t tell you that. But judging by Michael’s condition, it won’t take long to find out if it works. Please, give us a day, Angela. Just one more.”
Dr. Wyatt considers this and looks around at all of us. It’s Realm who she lingers on, and then she nods to Marie. “You have twelve hours,” she says. “And if your cure doesn’t work, I will report you. You will be taken into custody for memory manipulation. Do you understand?”
“I do,” Marie says. “But I don’t imagine The Program will ever let that happen.”
Dr. Wyatt tightens her jaw and nods. “If what you say is true about them, if you don’t find this cure, we will all be over after this.”
She starts for the door, giving us one last chance. But I still hate her. I still hate what she’s doing.
