Dustin made it to his truck before his hands started shaking.
He sat in the driver's seat, door still open, and pressed his palms against the steering wheel until the trembling stopped. It took longer than he wanted to admit.
Sarah Meadows was alive. That was something. That waseverything, actually.
He’d done something that meant something.
He’d saved someone.
And he’d do it again.
Dustin pulled out his phone and looked at the photos he'd taken of the clipboard. The list of names. The scheduled deaths.
Marco Adelmo Reyes-Ybarra. Sixty-seven. St. Anthony's Hospital, Denver. Tomorrow, 11:23 AM.
Jessica Maria Torres. Nineteen. Highway I-25, mile marker 114. Thursday, 8:15 PM.
These two were supposed to die, according to some cosmic bureaucracy that couldn't even get one BASE jumper killed properly.
Dustin started his truck.
Greg walked back to the maintenance area.
He didn't know why. The collection had failed. There was nothing left for him here except the echo of everything Dustin had said and the uncomfortable weight of questions he couldn't answer.
Sarah Meadows was still in the park. She'd moved to a bench near the playground, phone pressed to her ear. She was talking to someone—a friend, maybe, or her mom. She was probably telling them about the crazy guy who'd tackled her. Her hands were shaking slightly.
But she was still alive. Breathing and talking and existing in a world that had tried to end her twenty minutes ago.
Out of nowhere, Greg felt a message arrive on his clipboard.
He looked down.
Collection status: Sarah Meadows?
Greg stared at the words.
Grigoreth. Report.
Heshouldrespond. He should explain what happened, file the appropriate documentation, and submit to whatever consequences awaited.
Instead he put the clipboard under his arm and didn't write back.
Across the park, Sarah Meadows laughed at something the person on the phone said. The sound carried on the wind—bright and startled andjoyful.
Greg turned and left the park.
CHAPTER 13
Greg was sitting on a bench in downtown Boulder, watching humans walk past, still ignoring his orders.
It made him itchy, ignoring orders.
But if he went back to HQ…
He’d have to tell Morrith what happened with Sarah Meadows.
Would Morrith then tell him to follow up on her the way he’d told Greg to follow up on Dustin?
