“Adrian!” I call, my voice echoing. I wait to see if a guard will run out, but it seems that Mr. Goodwin and his daughter are here alone, safe inside their gated community.
“What do you want?” Mr. Goodwin asks, clearly scared. “Leave me and my daughter alone.”
“That’s rich,” Marcella says.
“How did you know?” Sydney asks, stopping directly in front of him. “When you saw us, what gave it away?”
“Anton … ,” he starts. “Anton contacted me a few days ago. He, uh … He said you’d escaped the academy. He said you were dangerous.”
Brynn laughs, but then she pauses and looks at Sydney. “Are we?” she asks.
“Sometimes,” Sydney says.
But the gravity of his words hits me. “Does Anton know we’re here?” I ask. “In town?” Mr. Goodwin nods, seeming hopeful that this will give us a bond that will keep me from torturing him.
“What else did Anton say?” I demand.
“That you killed a guardian, the doctor, maybe others. He said you were probably here to kill Winston Weeks.”
“Not a terrible idea,” Marcella says.
“And he told me … He said I needed to track you down,” Mr. Goodwin says, his voice desperate. “He said that if I did, he’d forgive my debt. So I asked my daughter if she’d noticed any new girls in town, really pretty ones. She mentioned you. Then I called the school and they gave me your address. But I didn’t see any of you in person. Not until now.”
“You were the man outside our apartment in the fancy car?” I ask.
“You saw me?” he asks, surprised. “I didn’t realize …” When I step closer, he shrinks back again the wall.
It strikes me as odd that this man is so terrified of us, four young girls. The only thing that sets us apart from others is the fact that he knows we’re not human. I doubt he walks around in his normal life cowering from teenage girls on the street.
He’s scared of us because he doesn’t understand what we are, not really. He thinks we’re soulless machines. Programmed killers. Angry robots.
But really, we’re just girls who are sick of being pushed around.
“What debt?” Sydney asks, grabbing the collar of his sweater.
“What?” he replies. This question seems to scare him more than anything.
“What debt did you have to pay Anton?” she asks, irritated. Mr. Goodwin shakes his head no, telling us he won’t answer.
There is motion at the top of the stairs.
“Mena?” Adrian calls, sounding confused. I glance up to see her staring at us surrounding her father in the foyer of her home.
“Adrian,” I reply. “Um … we need to talk to you.”
“What’s going on?” she asks.
“Go upstairs, honey,” her father calls. “It’s okay. I need to discuss something with your friends.”
“Why??” she asks, even more confused.
“We’re not here to hurt her,” I tell Mr. Goodwin. “We’re justhere for information. I think it’s time your daughter finds out what you’ve done.”
He swallows hard, and Sydney releases him, taking a step back.
“Is there a place where we can talk?” I ask, turning to Adrian as she comes down the stairs. “Maybe somewhere we can sit down?”
“And a rope to tie up your father, please,” Marcella says under her breath, turning away. Adrian doesn’t hear her, but she still looks concerned.
