46 Wild Things

“Hi,” Taylor said as I shut the door behind me. The room was dark, and her voice surprised me. I thought she’d be asleep.

“Did I wake you?”

“No. I waited up.” She turned on the light by the side of the bed. She was wearing one of my T-shirts.

I took off my shoes and shirt, then walked over and sat on the bed, touching her.

She had a perplexed look on her face. “That’s weird.”

“What’s weird?”

“I started to read your mind, and then I… I couldn’t. You just had something happen in the hall.” She looked like she had to really concentrate. “One of the colony girls was flirting with you. Then…” She frowned. “That’s all I got.”

“Epicurus was waiting for me.”

“You mean the one with Quentin?”

“She was alone.”

“She’s the one with the power to stimulate desire.”

“That’s putting it lightly.”

“Oh? She’s that good?”

“Yeah.”

Taylor’s brows fell, and she moved back from me. “And?”

“I came back to our room. I had to run, but I’m here.”

She put her arms around me and kissed me.

After a while she said, “Epicurus the temptress aside, what did Chispa want to talk to you about?”

I groaned. “The usual. Taking over the world.”

She shook her head. “Everybody wants to rule the world. So, he’s just like everyone else.”

“Not completely,” I said. “People like Hatch or Amash want to rule the world for their own glory and power. But I think that Chispa just wants to punish everyone by burning it down.”

“Why would anyone just want to burn down the world?”

“Why do people vandalize?”

“Because they’re idiots.”

“True, but at the core, it’s usually because of jealousy or anger. Misery doesn’t just love company. It demands it.”

“What does he want you to do?”

“Us,” I said. “He wants the Electroclan to join him and the colony in his army.”

“His army,” Taylor repeated. “What did you tell him?”

“I told him that it sounded to me like tyranny.”

She looked afraid. “What if we don’t join him?”

“He said we could just leave.”

She looked at me skeptically. “He’s really just going to let us walk out of here?”

“That’s what he said.”

“And Abi?”

“He said it was up to her. That he would never keep her against her will.”

“Do you believe him?”

“No,” I said. “I don’t.”

“Neither do I,” Taylor said. “What do you think we should do?”

“I don’t know. I’m just so tired.”

“Do you want to go to bed?”

“I don’t think I could sleep. I think I’ll go for a walk.” We kissed. “I won’t be gone long.”

“Be careful. There are wild things out there.”

“Like Epicurus?”

She grinned. “Exactly.”