“Hey!” I bark at him.
Julio wobbles, a little unsteady as he straightens and secures the lid. “Relax, Sommers. I’m just testing your theory. You think I’m going to risk her life out there just because you and Amber say it works?”
My eyes frost over, that instinct rearing up again. The overwhelming need to grab him and keep him away from her. Not because he wants to hurt her. But because now I know he never would. Not if he didn’t have to.
“Satisfied?” I growl.
“Yeah,” he says, looking a little peaked as he shakes the cobwebs from his head. “Let’s go.”
“This was in her hand.” Poppy presses a slip of paper into my palm. “It’s for you.”
I unfold the letter as Poppy gathers their things. Julio’s voice seems distant as he calls Chill and Woody to let them know we’re on our way with Fleur:
Jack,
If you’re reading this, we’ve come this far at least. We may not know how this is all going to turn out, but I’m okay with not knowing the future. For the first time in my life, I know exactly what I want right now. And no matter what happens next, I’d make the same choice again. Take good care of Poppy and Julio for me.
Yours,
Fleur
Yours. I pocket the note, committing that one word to memory.
“Get a move on, Romeo,” Julio says. “I don’t know how much more time we have before the Control Room realizes my transmitter’s hidden inside the shower rod in my hotel room.” He empties the battery from his phone and drops it into the waste bin by the door. “The charges are set. Woody and Chill are on their way.”
Poppy and I dump our phones into the can with Julio’s. We can’t take any devices with us. Nothing traceable or trackable. From here on out, we’re on our own.
Poppy hefts both backpacks and gives their room one last look. I crack the door and check the hall. Two bees bob on the breeze from the ventilation ducts just outside Fleur’s room. I blow a frosty breath into the corridor, and they retreat into the warmth of their hives.
I signal Julio through.
His muscles strain under the weight of the dolly, and a pungent sweat’s already creeping through his smock. I nudge Poppy ahead of him as two Spring Handlers pass through the security gate toward us, certain they’ll catch his scent. I lower my head as Poppy waves at them, greeting them by name, but the girls only walk faster, averting their eyes as if she isn’t there.
Poppy doesn’t spare them a second glance as she leads us through a back corridor to the Spring cafeteria. “What was that about?” I ask when they’re out of earshot.
“We’re below the red line,” she says with a stoic lift of her chin. “It’s easier for people to pretend you don’t exist than to have to look death in the eyes.”
For the first time, I feel a stab of sympathy for her. Chill’s been basking in his popularity because of our rankings, but as far as everyone in this wing is concerned, Poppy’s already dead. Which makes her reluctance to leave this place that much harder to understand.
“Excuse me.”
The crate nearly slips off as we all skid to a stop. Poppy and I turn slowly toward the woman’s voice as the door to the staff lounge swings closed a few yards behind us. Julio cuts his eyes at me. The teacher blinks at us, her head tipped as if she’s trying to place a scent. Her chestnut hair is threaded with gray and smells faintly of old roses. I hope she’s been retired long enough for her senses to dull.
“Poppy, where are you going? The cafeteria’s closed until lunch.” The teacher may be speaking to Poppy, but her gaze is fixed on Julio and me.
“I wasn’t feeling well this morning, and I missed breakfast,” Poppysays smoothly. “I was just going to grab a yogurt from the snack machine.”
“So you’re not with them?” the teacher asks.
Poppy looks back, as if surprised to find us behind her. “No, ma’am.”
“Hurry along, then.”
Poppy gives us a last look over her shoulder before rounding the corner at the end of the hall.
Marie’s cat mews inside the crate. It’s the only sound for miles.
The teacher’s nostrils twitch. My heart hammers as she takes a step closer. “What’s inside that box?” A bee alights on the lid of the crate. “You know we have a strict policy against pets in the dormitories. To whom is this to be delivered?”
