Chapter Forty-Six

September 20X6, Stanford

Everyone is standing in the center of Memorial Court across from the main quad when we arrive. Everyone except Simon. And Garrett. Not that I expected him to be here, but from now on I suspect I’ll always be looking for him.

With guns at our backs, we’re forced down a cobblestone walkway lined with stone arches and into a sprawling garden. We take a path that cuts on a diagonal through grass and white daisies, leading to a center circle where President Madden stands, glamorous in slouchy white wide-legged pants and a fitted jacket with triangular shoulders. The white sets off her tawny skin, but her normally red-lipped smile that persuades billions to do her bidding is set in a grim line. Stewart, Rayelle, and Sophia stand on her right, held in place by some Secret Service types, and Nash and Nicki flank her on the left. Across from them are Chloe and Dr. Schilling.

“The girl with the secrets,” Madden says as I’m brought before her. “At last.”

I almost burst out laughing at her, dressed all in white in the center of a field of white daisies. A secret among friends… That’s me. But instead, I clench my teeth. Too bad I’ll never tell you anything. I’ll never let you into my mind. I’m certain I have the power to keep her out of my brain, no matter what she does to try to map it.

“If you want me, you have to let my friends go.” I jerk my chin toward Rayelle, Stewart, and Sophia.

A smile creeps over her face. “Are you sure they’re still your friends after you lied to them to get them to steal your book?” She squares her jaw, her gunmetal-gray eyes piercing me. “They didn’t know they were harboring such a valuable secret, did they?”

I glance at my friends. Stewart and Sophia are frowning, studying me with a mix of confusion and resentment on their faces. I can’t blame them. I lied to them, put them in danger. I’ll make it up to you. Always say die. I try to tell them with my eyes but they don’t react. They probably hate me.

Only Rayelle averts her gaze from me. Her steely stare is reserved for Kyran.

My throat aches to cry out to them, to explain that no matter where I came from, they’re my family, but I swallow the urge, knowing I need to stay strong in front of the president.

“You’re not exactly in a position to negotiate,” President Madden says, gesturing from the guns to my handcuffs. “It’s a good thing your ‘sister’ did the right thing and alerted Dr. Schilling to what was going on. She was able to transfer your scans from this morning and steal back that book before your pathetic Disconnect friends could get their hands on it.” She says the word “Disconnect” like it’s garbage in her mouth. “Of course, she’s not really your sister. But, as Kyran knows, I reward those who do the right thing for the greater good of the world.”

I glare at Chloe with her perfectly wavy rose-colored hair and crisp white lab coat, the yin to my wilted-flower yang. I was right about her all along. I knew it. She holds my Book of Secrets in her hands and won’t look at me. She saved herself. Coward.

“I know Kyran, Chloe, and Dr. Schilling are with me,” President Madden continues, bringing my attention back to her. “But I’m confused about you, Eric.” She turns her icy gaze to Nash, her shoulders taut. “Why were you helping these children?”

With his lips pressed into a slash he stares at his toes. I hold my breath, awaiting his excuse, expecting him to sacrifice me to prove his loyalty to the Super Brain.

But he doesn’t have time to answer.

Just then, a torpedo-shaped helicopter appears overhead. The whomp-whomp-whomp of the rotor drowns out Madden’s voice as it lowers into the courtyard, kicking up grass and daisies and battering us with wind. The guards shield their eyes with their elbows and turn their guns from me to the chopper.

The sleek silver and glass aircraft lands and the side hatch flies up. My Influencer “parents”—Tiana Santos and Noah Karman—emerge and my legs turn to jelly. What are they doing here?

When she sees them, President Madden hides her face behind her hands. Her guards immediately form a protective barrier around her.

And everything happens at once.

Out of nowhere, Garrett sprints across the field. Taking advantage of the helicopter distraction, he tackles Kyran from behind and locks him in a chokehold.

Kyran jerks, swinging at Garrett with the hand attached to mine, almost ripping my arm out of its socket. My shoulder explodes into shards that feel like glass embedding itself in my arm before it goes numb. But I don’t have time to worry about my useless limb. Garrett catches Kyran’s fist in midair and I stumble. Gaining some control, I lean into the fall, using my body weight to force Kyran’s cuffed hand to the ground before throwing a punch with my free hand, landing it in his gut with a sickening thump.

He doubles over at the same time Nash launches himself at the guards surrounding President Madden. Tearing through their ranks to get to her, he invites the wrath of the Secret Service, who abandon me and Garrett to attack Nash.

And I’m peripherally aware of my real mom—Dr. Nasif—wrestling away from her captors and clawing her way to Madden, too, while Stewart, Sophia, and Rayelle, forgotten in the commotion, sprint away from the scene.

Garrett wraps Kyran up in an arm lock and tows him and me toward the Secret Service scuffle, where Nash and my mom manage to wrench Madden’s arms away from her face. My mouth hangs open as Nash forces Madden’s thumb to the handcuffs, freeing me from Kyran. I grasp that, for a minute, we’re all on the same side.

“Run! You have to go with them,” Garrett yells. Letting go of Kyran, he shoves me toward my “parents”—Tiana and Noah—who are waiting by the helicopter. “It’s the safest place for you. I’m the one who called them. Nobody will make a move against you with the world watching.”

I recoil like he’s slapped me, and my perception of time slows. I stand rooted in the center of a chaotic circle with everything playing out around me in slow motion. I’m aware of Nash punching Kyran and knocking him out cold before dodging the security guards that reach for him. Jabbing and kicking his way past them, he grabs Chloe’s hand and the two sprint away with guards close at their heels.

Meanwhile, my “mother,” Tiana, cries out to me, her lips quivering and tears streaming down her face, doing perhaps the best acting job of her life. “Ella, my sweet Ella. Kidnapped by Disconnect thieves and hidden away at their secret hideout in the woods for over a year.” She delivers her lines, reaching for me, even though I’m far from her grasp. “Forced to steal… I can’t believe it’s you. You’re alive.”

Wearing a flowy orange maxi dress like she just flew in from an island vacation, she’s a splash of sunshine amidst the pandemonium. Her followers have to be eating this up. What a story it will be. Great for my parents’ numbers. They’re going to make millions off this. Welcome home, Ella.

My skin crawls and I know the entire scene is being broadcast to the Networks, that I’m supposed to portray the rescued victim, but I can’t budge. Not when my heart is standing next to me, screaming at me to leave, that this is the plan. Now that Garrett has sprinted back into my life, my body physically refuses to leave him. I can’t. I won’t.

Besides. I’d rather live in the Super Brain than go home with my “parents.”

“Ellie. You have to go,” Garrett begs, his wide eyes pleading. The men in black lurch toward him but he manages to slip out of their grasp. Backing away, he widens the distance between us. “We can’t be together.”

I get his meaning, know that together we’re the keystone of the Super Brain, and tears squeeze out the corners of my eyes. But I still can’t move.

Behind me, President Madden is whisked away, probably to avoid her presence being revealed to the Networks. As it is, a major cover-up will be needed to keep the Super Brain’s location secret. The Keystone Disconnects will be the story. She’ll make sure of it.

The secret will be out. Because of me. My stomach heaves.

“Go.” Garrett’s voice echoes in my head as security guards seize him from behind, pinning his arms back, but not before he thumps his hand over his chest. “It’s the only way.”

Suddenly I realize what he’s been trying to tell me all along: “You know it in here.”

And I do.

My heart swells until it might explode, and the rush of blood is enough for my legs to spring to action. Everything speeds up to real time, a blur of color and disarray that roars in my ears. An eternity has passed since Garrett and Nash freed me from Kyran, but it’s probably only been seconds, and I dart toward Tiana and Noah.

I have so much to explain to Garrett. I can only hope he knows I love him, too.

And if he thinks I’m going to stay away, he doesn’t know me at all.

When I reach my “mom,” she hugs me, swinging me around and blubbering for the benefit of the Networks before nudging me toward the helicopter.

I look back over my shoulder at Garrett as my “parents” hurry me away and our gazes instantly lock, like he never let me out of his sight. I touch my fingers to my temple, reminding him of what my real mom said this morning—that my brain lights up around him—before pressing my palm to my chest.

He mashes his lips together, silently laughing before the guards yank him backward.

Having no idea what fate awaits him, pressure builds inside me until I can barely breathe. I have tunnel vision only for him and, trembling, I memorize his glittering eyes, barely noticing as my “dad” leads me up the step into the helicopter until he forces my head down and ducks me inside, breaking my connection with Garrett.

I’m greeted with the scent of cucumber and lavender and the sound of birds chirping in time to a soothing flute solo. The hatch lowers behind us as my “parents” strap me into a plush leather recliner. In a daze, I let them. Their Life Streams are still broadcasting so I know they’ll keep up the “welcome home” show, at least so long as they can trust me to validate their story. Once the cameras are off, the questions will come.

“Just relax, honey,” my “mom,” Tiana, says, hovering over me with her hands clasped to her chest. “You’re safe now.”

Bile rises in my throat and I have zero desire to play along with their farce. “Safe? With you?” I squint up at her. “After you kidnapped me from my real mom?”

The blood drains from her face and she backs away into the aisle. “You’re in shock. Let me get you some tea while you get comfortable.”

I don’t have the energy to make her life miserable at the moment and all I really want is to be left alone, so I flutter my eyelashes at her before turning my stony gaze to the scene outside the glass chopper.

Garrett is tiny in the distance, being held by Madden’s guards alongside my real mom, but Nicki stands next to Dr. Schilling, protected by campus security, watching Garrett, too. She probably hates me. Another enemy I made today.

And speaking of hating me… I sigh and tap out, “I’m sorry. Always say die,” on my hip pad. I can only hope Stewart receives—and accepts—my message.

No response buzzes back and fresh tears crowd my eyes as the helicopter lifts off the ground. From the safety of the spa-copter, I watch, my chest aching, as Garrett and my real mom are dragged away to wherever they’ll be imprisoned. Experimented on. Used to build the Super Brain.

But not for long.

I clench my teeth. When I come back, I’m going to stop this madness. Simon, Madden. Everyone. Because there’s one thing I know for certain:

Where there’s free will, there’s a Wayshower.

And someday we’re going to have a world where everything—and everyone—is possible.

Starting with me.