“Holy shit,” I manage to say. Melody Blackstone stares back at me, a splatter of blood across her cheek.
Melody no longer looks like Jana Simms. She’s not sporty and cute. She’s dressed in a black leather coat, black jeans, and boots. Her makeup stripped away. She gapes at me, wide-eyed, slighter than I remember.
“Did you just kill him?” I ask, looking down at Derek. I try to cover my mouth, but my hands are shaking too badly. I can’t even get to my feet, and Melody sets the fire extinguisher aside and comes over to help me.
Shoulder to shoulder, we stare down at Derek’s body, and I’m trying to figure out what to do, how to fix this, when Derek moans and moves his legs.
“Not dead,” Melody says, disappointed. I look sideways at her, and she takes my arm. “But I have to get you out of here. Now.”
“What about him?” I ask, motioning to Derek, whose moaning is getting louder. My head aches from where he punched me, and I can still feel his fist in my hair. His will overpowering mine.
“I’ll take care of him once you’re safely out,” Melody says. “Now come on.”
I don’t even recognize her. Melody is every bit a handler now, a closer. I let her lead me down the stairs, knowing that I shouldn’t trust her, but also knowing that I have to. I can’t wait to see who else is involved with Derek. What if they corner me? What if this happens again? Oh, God. This can’t happen again.
“He flagged me,” I murmur, racing down the stairs with Melody. “He... hurt me. He was going to take me to The Program.”
“Yep,” Melody says, peeking up the stairwell to make sure no one is following us. At the ground floor, I can still hear Derek’s moans. “You’ve been flagged since yesterday. I saw the call go out. Dr. Warren claims you’re a danger to yourself and others. I’m surprised Realm didn’t get to you first.”
“Realm?” I ask, my memory flooding back. “He’s in on this?”
“He’s not with Derek, if that’s what you mean. But Michael Realm always knows what’s happening,” she says with a small smile. “He would want to protect you. Something must be wrong for him not to be here.”
“How didyouknow about the flag?” I ask.
“I’m on the same listserv,” she says offhandedly, and we exit the door into the parking lot. The sun is bright, and it makes me squint, my head hurting even more.
“He punched me in the head,” I say, rubbing the spot. “That fucking dick.”
Melody sniffs a laugh. “Yeah, well, he’ll have a headache for the next week, I’d say. Now, about this flag... any idea why Warren suddenly wants you erased? Why now?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t remember her from The Program, but I guess there was some deal struck. Maybe I broke it.”
“Maybe,” Melody says. She keeps looking around as we walk quickly toward my Jeep, in that observant way closers and handlers have about them.
We get to my driver’s door, and Melody opens it and ushers me in.
“Marie was worried about you,” I tell her. Melody meets my eyes, and I know the question on her lips. “Nathan too,” I add.
“Let them both know I’m okay,” she says. “I tried to skip town, but I couldn’t just leave you all in this mess. I’m sorry for whatever part I had in getting you into it,” she adds. “But Marie is close to a cure now, and that means you have to stay safe. Be more careful, but act normal. I’ll take care of Derek. I have a friend who’ll help me get him out of here. You won’t see him again. At least, not until this is over.”
A thought occurs to me. “Did I... did I know you in The Program too?” I ask, wondering if I’ve been unfair to her all this time. If we have some long, forgotten history.
“No,” she says. “But you were Realm’s friend, and by extension, mine.” She smiles. “Sound familiar?”
But her joke hits me a different way than she intended. There’s more to my and Michael Realm’s story. I knew him in The Program. I was hisfriend. Well, what the fuck? Why didn’t he mention that?
“Go straight home,” Melody says, checking back at the school. “Don’t tell your grandparents about this. Don’t tell anyone, if you can help it. Be normal, or the monitor will come sniffing around, and that is a whole different problem we don’t have time for. If Marie asks, tell her I went south with Asa and that I’ll call her when I can. It’s all about the cure now, Tatum. It’s the only way to stop The Program.”
I nod numbly, my mind spinning. My hands are still shaking. Before she closes the door, I reach out to stop her.
“Wait,” I say. “Won’t they just come after me again?” I ask, fear ticking up in my voice.
“Yes,” she replies. “But their first flag failed. They’ll have to wait, or it’ll draw too much attention. So you bought yourself a few days.”
“And then?” I ask.
Melody holds my gaze. “And then they’ll send better handlers.”
