WE HEARD the sirens first, then shortly after red and blue strobe lights shone into the windows. Cop car after cop car surrounded the building. Large armored vehicles that looked like tanks followed behind. A helicopter hovered above us. One black car drove to the center of the pack and parked in front of the main entrance. Two figures emerged. I squinted to see them.

“Uh oh,” I said.

Everyone looked at me with concern.

A large cop in SchWat gear passed a megaphone to J4. I was shocked to see who was next to him. J4 handed him the megaphone and stepped back. There he was, my old friend. He walked toward the building, like he was walking down the street, like nothing was wrong. He was so at ease I relaxed for a moment, thought it was all a dream. My heart shrank. Of all the things that happened, this was the worst. Watching him walk toward me with the police and SchWat and torturers standing behind him.

I started to step outside but everyone held me back. Alice’s hand gripped my shoulder, and Johnny was on my other side. I was shaking with nerves. The wind picked up. Clouds formed into dark masses above us. I was no longer fully in control.

“Don’t worry,” Sam said to them, “you’re safe.”

“It’s okay,” I said, and they let me go.

I reached him midway between the barricade and the news stations. He looked straight at me, his eyes soft and warm, and I stared downward. He started to speak but I cut him off. A world of sadness echoed through my voice.

“You knew?” I said, half asking, half hoping. I looked up. Our eyes met. “Innsmouth. You knew.”

With each repetition, I grew angrier. “You knew. You knew. This whole time you knew.” I started pounding on his chest. He hugged me close. I wanted to fall into his arms. But that would have been falling into the lie. I pushed him away. “How could you?” I asked. “You know how much I miss my mom. How it ruined my life.”

Sam was at a loss for words. The police sirens wailed behind us. Helicopter rotors beat against the wind. Rain started falling. Thick heavy drops.

Finally, he said, “They did so much good, Sarah. And you shouldn’t hold it against me. I was a kid. Innsmouth had an accident at their plant. They sent me to save people. That’s what I did. That’s what I do. I save them. I don’t know why they covered it up. I tried to find out but they wouldn’t say. They told me everyone would be safer if they didn’t know what the town looked like.”

“But my mom, Sam!” I cried. “My mom. The fights. And to work for people who were experimenting on kids!”

“I was helping people. That’s why I’m here now. To help you. I don’t want to see you hurt. And you may get hurt right now,” Sam said. “Look, you have one side of the story and a lot of anger. I can tell from the weather. You’re emotional, obviously. But your power comes from a deeper place than just your emotions. PeriGenomics are good people. These people behind me? Also good. Law and order serve the public good. They’re trying to make sure more people don’t get hurt. You saw that last summer. All those lives we saved.”

“Lies. All Lies,” I said. “If it was an accident then why did they say my mom did it on purpose? Why, Sam?” I nearly fell to the ground.

This stopped him in his tracks. Sweet Sam. Sweet trusting Sam. Sweet stupid Sam. He’d never questioned what happened. Even to himself. Even when it was so clearly a lie. He wanted to believe so it was true. It wasn’t malice. I looked at him with new eyes. He clearly wasn’t evil or wearing a black hat. He was just lazy. And he didn’t know what to say. “I don’t know. They have their reasons,” was all he could muster.

I kissed him on the lips. His eyes grew wide in surprise. “Sam, thank you. For all you’ve done. For me and for those people we helped. In a time that sucked, you were my salvation.” But I had to lay the hammer down. “Things are different now. If you can’t help me, you can either fight me or leave.”

“But Sarah…” Sam protested.

“I know. I know. Please,” I said, tears welling in my eyes, masked under a downpour of rain. “Just go.”

He gave me one last look and turned away. J4 tried to stop him but he continued walking off, past the police and the barricade. When he had disappeared, someone got out of a van, a dark hooded figure, and took his place next to J4, who picked up the megaphone. I slowly stepped backwards toward the building. The rain was heavy, but I could feel control returning to me. With Sam gone, with that big question mark vanquished in my head, I could access my true power again.

“There are many ways we can do this,” J4 said with a rain-smeared grin.

I reached behind me for the door and heard whispers of “get inside, quick” coming from the building. The door closed behind me, and as I hid, the man next to J4 showed his face—Phoebtor. And there was a gleam in his eye that showed just how angry he could be.