“I’m in,” said March.
A blink, and they were both heading toward the hourglasses, March with that piece of wood in his hand that Anika had made, and Reggie with the bat. The Sixth Hour lit up, and we all watched together as they went closer and closer, prayed they hurried and prayed they stalled—because what if it was the wrong answer?
What if, what if, what if?!
March and Reggie didn’t hesitate. Before the Sixth Hour stopped chiming, they both broke the glasses of the Seventh and Eighth Hour at the same time.
The sound of glass breaking took my breath away. I closed my eyes, pressed my hands over my ears. If this was really the end, I didn’t want to see it. I didn’t want to know.
Silence in the room.
A tick, then three and five.
The Ninth Hour lit up and sounded its note. It vibrated through my body like it was hoping to stick to my bones and possess me.
The Thirteenth Hour behind us fell silent.
I opened my eyes to find most of the others had closed theirs, too. Had wrapped their arms around their heads.
“Is it over yet?” Silas whispered from my side, face slick with sweat, eyes wide open.
“I don’t know,” I said, just as something moved in the distance, behind the hourglasses.
A light shone in the darkness like a beacon, and something heavy moved against the floor. Something that sounded like a door opening.
“Scratch that,” I said in half a whisper. “Itis.”
Even so, I didn’t believe in my own words until we were all running together toward that light. Until we found ourselves under the blue sky again, and until the sound of the cheering crowd drowned out all my panic and all the voices in my head.
30
Timesand falling?—
Wide eyes and pale faces?—
Shaking hands and groaning gears?—
Glass shards all over the floor?—
The Thirteenth Hour humming, glowing?—
A knock on the door.
My eyes had been open all along, but once those noisy thoughts in my head disappeared, I actually saw the ceiling of my bedroom. I found myself still lying in bed, on my back, hands folded over my stomach, clean, dressed, heartbeat calm.
It was over. The third Turning Trial was over, and I was still alive.
Only…barely.
“Miss Reese, it’s time for dinner. Hurry up, please—we have a surprise for you!”
Lida’s voice came from the hallway, and the disappointment gnawed at my insides. I didn’t really realize it, but I’d hoped it wouldbe March.
I considered telling her that I wasn’t hungry, but I was. I’d already skipped lunch.
I considered pretending I was asleep, too. After all, the trial had only ended some four or five hours ago, and it was eight m.b. The sky outside my windows was dark. No moon or stars in sight—but I also knew that Lida wasn’t going to stop knocking if I tried that.
As if to prove me right, she knocked again. “Miss Reese?”
