CHAPTER FOUR

A yelp that is equal parts triumph and fear escapes my lips. The doors close behind me, and I’m free. I sprint down the hallway toward the station. My mind races along with my feet.

The trains. Maybe I can find one heading back home.

The massive staircase leading down to the terminal comes into view and I pick up the pace. If I don’t beat them to the stairs, it’s over.

A woman dressed in the familiar sky blue worn by some of the Atman staff catches sight of me as she crests the staircase. She takes the final steps two at a time, tapping her ear when she reaches the top. “I have her in sight,” she says. She holds up a hand, palm out. “Desiree Donnelly, please stay where you are.”

Footsteps close in behind me as I skid to a halt.

“We’re just trying to help you.”

Yeah, sure.

To my right is another hallway, and I take off again. I round the corner too fast, nearly losing my balance. Running with all I have, I’m but a few precarious strides ahead of Eliza’s backup, who has closed the distance between us with alarming speed.

My friend Katie lived in Florida until she was ten, and once told me an old wives’ tale about running from alligators. You can’t beat them in a straight line, she said, so if you’re ever chased, the best strategy is to run in a zigzag. I’m not sure this guy qualifies as an alligator, but I wonder if the technique will work all the same.

The air moves behind my back as he makes a grab for me. A narrow corridor appears on my left, and it’s the closest thing I’m going to get to a zigzag. At the last second, I make the turn.

Going all out down the hallway, I gain a tenuous lead, but my advantage is short-lived. The corridor dead ends at a locked door, forcing me to a screaming, frustrated halt. The doorknob holds fast as I pull on it in a futile bid to prolong my escape.

My pursuer slows to a walk and taps his ear. “I’ve got her. Sector twenty-seven, northeast corridor at door twelve.” He runs a hand through his dark, close-cropped hair while he sizes me up. “It’s over, Dez,” he tells me. There’s no hint of triumph or anger in his voice, no sympathy, only a simple statement of fact.

With my back to the wall, I slide to the floor. I struggle to keep the defiance in my voice. “Guess that’s why she brought you along, huh?”

“If it’s any consolation, you’re the fastest one I’ve gone after in a long time.” He closes the distance between us.

“This a regular thing for you?”

“Just regular enough to keep it interesting.” He reaches into the pocket on the leg of his cargo pants and pulls out a shimmery, silver orb. It sparks as he passes it back and forth between his hands. “You’re not going to give me any more trouble, are you, Dez?”

“What’s that?”

“My insurance policy against troublemakers.”

“Then why didn’t you use it already?”

His dark eyes glimmer. “Because I love a good chase.”

“I want to go home,” I whisper.

“I know you do, but that’s not an option. You have to come with me.” He rolls the silver orb from hand to hand. “The only choice you have is whether this goes easy or rough.”

“What’s your name?” I ask.

“You have bigger things to worry about right now.”

“If you’re going to zap me with that silver ball thing and drag me out of here, I think I have a right to know.”

“Choosing the hard way, huh?”

“Not sure yet.”

“Well, I’m Gideon.” He offers me a hand up, and I take it.

“I’d say nice to meet you, Gideon, but it isn’t.”

He catches me looking over his shoulder, and gives me the same disapproving look my dad gave me the morning he and Mom caught me opening Christmas presents three days early. Gideon wags a finger at me. “You don’t want to do that.”

I step to the side. “You have no idea what I want.” He shadows me as I move back and forth.

“There’s nowhere to go, Dez.”

“This place seems pretty big. Lots of hallways. Lots of corridors.”

He grabs my wrist, but I yank free. “Don’t!” I yell. “Don’t you put your hands on me.”

“Let’s not do this again. You know how it’s going to end.” He glances back over his shoulder as Crosby and Eliza arrive at the end of the hall.

“I thought you loved the chase?” I snap.

“I don’t love lost causes.”

“So I’m supposed to make your job easier?”

He offers me his hand again, a peace offering tempered by a frown. “It’s enough, Dez. Don’t be stupid.”

His words pull loose the last ratty thread holding me together. I lunge at him, screaming.

There’s a blinding flash of light. A deafening shriek sends a shudder from my head to my toes. My knees buckle.