“If this is work talk, I’d rather not be involved.” Mr. Townsend took a cup of tea and sat gingerly in one of the chairs. Em and I took the ones across from him.

  “It’s important. You know I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t,” Em replied.

  Mr. Townsend had never approved of Em being a Watcher, but he also didn’t stop her from joining. Not that he could have if he tried. Em respected her parents enough to not bring up our line of work often, but we were desperate.

  “Sir, we are wondering if you have any information on some black creatures. They look human but they aren’t… pitted eyes, gnarled limbs—”

  Mr. Townsend stuck a hand up to stop me. “I don’t want to speak of such things.” He let out a shiver, and Maria placed a hand on his arm. “Those things haunted my dreams long ago. I don’t need to be reminded of them.”

  “What are they?” I pushed.

  He continued shaking his head.

  “Dad, please. We need to know what we’re facing,” Em said.

  “Facing?” Mr. Townsend gasped. “The Reeks have been extinct for decades. They all died a long time ago.”

  Em shook her head. “Not all of them.”

  “You mean…” A hand shot to his mouth. “But that is not possible. There has been no word of them, no signs that the virus has—”

  “We have reason to believe that someone is erasing the memories of these… Reeks… in the minds of Carbons, so you don’t know they’ve returned. But I can assure you, we’ve seen them with our own eyes,” I said.

  “If they’re back, then we’re all doomed.” Mr. Townsend’s voice broke. He quickly cleared his throat, stood, and walked over to the bookshelf. He placed a hand on the spine of the books before turning back to us. “These things are destructive, uncontrollable creatures. They carry a virus that only affects Carbons, changing them into monsters that destroy everything in their paths. There is no way to stop the virus once it spreads. And there’s no way to stop the Reeks once they take over every Carbon in Armestes. That’s… thousands. More! They will attack, and they will kill everything in sight.”

  “How did the virus come to be?” Em asked.

  “Even we cannot cheat death, Emery. Long ago a man created the Carbons thinking it was the answer to beat our mortality, but it is not natural for anything to be immortal. There’s always light with darkness and death with life.” Mr. Townsend sighed. “I couldn’t tell you where the virus began, maybe it’s a part of each of us when we were created, a way to right the balance that all life must follow.”

  I gripped the armchair. My knuckles were white, and my heart rate sped up. “Is there a way to stop them? Can they be killed?”

  “Yes, they can die, though they are a bit harder to take down. But the virus can spread, through touch, air. It moved so rapidly before, and there was no way to tell how anyone caught it back then.” His voice had now become a whisper. His wife trembled in the chair, and he reached over, placing a steady hand on her leg. “They’re believed to have all died when the space station fell to earth.”

  Em’s brow knotted. “They’re in the Void. We don’t know how many, but we have a friend there, people we care about.”

  Mr. Townsend turned to his daughter. “If there is even one of those things, that is far too many. I am sorry, my dear, but I…” He stilled, his eyes narrowing. “There was a cure! Back then, during the war. A cure that saved those already infected, but not fully changed.”

  “What kind of cure?” A small part of me leapt with hope, but Mr. Townsend’s face fell, and so did my hope along with it.

  “It was within the blood of the first Carbon ever created… who is no longer alive,” he said.

  I silently cursed, of course there would be a cure that no longer existed.

  “Thank you, Father, you’ve been helpful.” Em stood, silently letting me know we were done. She wouldn’t put her father through any more of this torture.

  “I beg you not to go after those things. They are not something you should be fighting, Emery. Please promise me you won’t go into the Void.” Mr. Townsend gripped Em’s wrist.

  “You know I can’t promise that.” Em sighed, and the hand on her arm slackened. “Right now, you guys are safe here. But if you receive word from me to leave, do not hesitate.”

  Mr. Townsend was quiet, but Em’s mother stepped up beside him and placed an arm around his waist. She gave him a gentle squeeze before saying to Em, “Of course, my dear. We’ll be prepared.”

  Em hugged her mom tightly, the movement looking almost foreign and awkward coming from her. She turned to her father and placed a light kiss on his cheek. “Thank you.”

  Mr. Townsend pulled Em into another embrace, and after long seconds, Em finally pulled away, and her father reluctantly let go. We moved towards the elevator. “Why couldn’t you have been more like your mother? Obsessed with shopping and clothes and shoes, not violence and weapons.” Mrs. Townsend swatted his back.

  “If she had been, I might not have survived alone,” I told Mr. Townsend and he smiled warmly. Em’s gaze was on me, but I brushed past her and into the elevator. “Thank you for your help.”

  Em stood beside me as the elevator doors closed. I could see the strain in Em’s tensed shoulders as her parents said goodbye before the space went silent.

  JAYLA

  We didn’t have to wait long for Simon to change his mind. I knew he would come around eventually. He hid something. The reason he was a part of this went beyond the selfish front he put up. He didn’t care for us—that much was clear—but something else was going on.

  “I’ve got some rules,” Simon said, as he stepped into the apartment.

  “I’d be surprised if you didn’t.”

  “First, I stay here.” Simon waved to the general area of our apartment. “Not in this room, but I’m pretty sure from the looks of this swanky place, you can afford to find me a place to stay in the building. And seeing as you’re the reason I’m out of a job and residing in the slums, it’s the least you can do.”

  I glanced to Em who lounged on the couch, one leg over the armrest and a pillow behind her head. She rolled her eyes at Simon, who stubbornly crossed his arms and waited for an answer.

  “I’m sure we can find someplace to shove you in,” Em drawled.

  “Second, I want to know what you know at all times. You do not keep anything related to this situation from me and I won’t either.” I gave a curt nod before he continued. Though I was sure we’d both be keeping secrets, I’d give him enough information to get the job done, and so would he. “And lastly, you do not ask me anything personal, nor do I care to know anything about either of you. I’m not your friend. I’m not even your partner. I’m here to get my life back in order and that’s it.”

  I smirked at him, seeing through the façade the whole way. Simon didn’t care about getting his old life back, and I’d find out what this was really about, one way or another. But for now, all I said was, “Sure thing.”

  “Good,” Simon said, taking a step farther into the room. “What have you got so far?”

  I gestured to the table where we had a map, some papers, and a tablet thrown on top of it. Simon glanced over it all and didn’t hide his disgust.

  “This is it? This is all you’ve got?”

  I nodded.

  On the map, we had sectioned off the Void and measured any potential locations we could have flown to, based on the time it took to get there in the shuttle we’d snuck onto. But given we didn’t know the speed we travelled, at nor the direction we went, the potential locations were too many and too far spread out.

  “Well shit, I could have come up with this on my own. You kind of gave me the impression you had a plan. This isn’t even the start of a plan,” Simon snarled.

  I walked over to the map and pointed to where the Void was circled in thick, black marker. “Do you know how large the Void is? Close to seven million acres. And do you know how many places someone can hide within that large of a space?” I pointed to the twenty locations we circled. “It’s like finding a needle in a hay stack at night with a blindfold on, but at least we’ve got a small advantage.”

  Simon raised his brow waiting for me to explain.

  Em stepped in. “The time we traveled on the shuttle was just over six hours, which led us to these points, depending which direction we went and at what speed. So it may not look like much, but we just shrunk a seven million acre radius down to one million acres.”

  Simon stared blankly at us for a few moments before shaking his head. “Hardly an improvement but fine, what else do you got?”

  “We have a list of all the transport shuttles that have ever gone to the Void, though they aren’t moving right now, they will eventually. We also have an estimate of how long their food supplies will last based on their shipments so far,” Em said, taking a seat at the table. She tapped her long, dangerous nails across the wood.

  “How long?”

  “About six weeks until they’ll have to go back,” I answered.

  Simon nodded as he picked up the paper listing all transport shuttles and their backend GPS code we’d already hacked. “Will you be ready in six weeks?”

  “We’ll have to be.”

  “You’re not going to get onto that shuttle again,” Simon said.

  I shook my head. “No, we won’t. They’ll have the place locked down and guarded heavily. But we don’t need to get on.”

  Simon’s gaze flashed up to mine. “Then how do you plan to get your boyfriend back?”

  My heart jumped to my throat for a moment before I swallowed back the tightness. “That’s where you come in. We’re going to need a few shuttles.”

  “A few shuttles? For one guy?” Simon sneered.

  “No, a few shuttles for all of them,” I said, my arms crossed over my chest. “We’re getting every last one of those kids out of that damned forest.”

  We spent hours pouring over all the information we’d already searched, Simon doing his best to convince us there weren’t enough shuttles in Cytos for that many kids—thousands of them. And even the few sources he still had wouldn’t be the kind of help we needed.

  “You’re planning an impossible rescue mission. These kids can’t be saved. They’re likely already dead, anyways. You should put your focus on stopping any more from going out there,” Simon said.

  “Oh, don’t worry, we’ve got that covered, too.” Em’s face was grim. She had plans for the DEZ, but we had to be tactical about when we executed it and made our move. If we acted too soon, they would close down all access to the Void, and we’d never get in.

  Six weeks, that’s all we had. And that’s how long Caspian had to survive.

  I was just about ready to call it a night when a red light flashed on our Linked system on the glass coffee table in the living room. The red light indicated a city-wide news alert.

  I pressed the button and a short-haired blonde newscaster popped up on the link. Dampness streaked under her eyes, as if she’d just been crying.

  “We have breaking news,” the woman said, her voice shaking a bit. “Governor Wallace and his entire family have been killed in a tragic SPAC accident only moments ago. We received word that the family had only just left Cytos for a diplomatic meeting with the Council of Eres when the magnetic system of the SPAC malfunctioned, and the shuttle crashed just outside of the city limits. Sources tell us that the shuttle exploded on impact, killing all four family members and six guards that were inside.”

  The room was quiet. My mouth hung open. I didn’t feel sympathy specifically for the Governor—he wasn’t a good man—but I couldn’t help mourning for the rest of his family. I glanced to Em who blinked back the wetness threatening to spill down her cheeks. She’d gotten close to Logan Wallace, the governor’s son, who’d supplied us with useful information before our little trip to the Void, though I hadn’t realized she’d gotten so close. She’d snuck off a few nights even after the mission was officially over to meet him, but she never spoke about her personal life, and now he was dead. I didn’t think any one of us believed this was an accident.

  “We’re being told that the interim Governor has a message for the people.”

  The newscast lady flickered away, and a new image popped up showing a familiar face. On the linked screen stood Marc Holden. The man looked the same as he had only weeks ago when Caspian and I sat beside him at the Governor’s dinner celebration, a handsome face and speckled gray and black hair. We had found out more than a few secrets from him, and he was the reason we had transport locations for all the shuttles into the Void, though he didn’t give us those willingly. That information we stole.

  “I guess he finally got his wish to be Governor,” Em muttered.

  “Citizens of Cytos, it is with great sadness that I address you tonight. As you have heard, our loyal and great Governor Wallace was killed tonight. Nothing can replace his legacy, and I mourn with you at this tragic, horrific time.” Despite the drawn brows and down cast gaze, Mr. Holden didn’t look in the least bit sad. “I now vow to you, the people, to honor his great memory and promise to serve Cytos as its faithful representative of our wonderful city. Let us mourn together, heal together, and celebrate a man who loved each and every one of us. Thank you.”

  The Linked image flickered back to the newscaster who was wiping away a tear. “Powerful words. We will be back with more in the next hour.”

  The screen disappeared, and the room went suddenly quiet. I turned around to find Simon’s face blanched and his eyes wide.

  “What?” I took a step towards him.

  “It’s already happening…”

  “What’s happening?”

  “They’re… She’s taking over.” Simon’s hand trembled at his side.

  “Who?”

  “Governor Grayson, she’s—”

  A knock sounded at the door, loud enough to make me jump and reach for Azrael where I’d placed the gun on the table. I kept it pointed to the door as I slowly inched towards it.

  Another bang against the door and the sound of muffled voices on the other side. Em stood behind me with the twin blades in her hand. I reached for the handle as a third knock sounded impatiently.

  I creaked the door open only an inch, peaking through the crack before I gasped and flung it open.

  “About time,” the voice nearly screamed as she dragged in the other body clinging to her waist and covered in blood.

  “H-how are you…?” I stammered, closing the door as the two people unceremoniously slid into the apartment, leaving a trail of blood across the floor.

  Em sheathed her swords at the sight and moved to help carry the injured man.

  “How are we still alive?” Leanna Wallace asked over her shoulder. Logan, her brother, looked like he was clinging to life—literally. Blood dripped from him onto the tiled floor. “They already announced it, I assume.” Leanna swore under her breath.

  I stood by the door, hesitating as I watched Em toss everything from the table to the floor and carefully place Logan down on it. Simon helped lift him onto the table. The sight of blood and pierced skin flashed through my mind, but it wasn’t Logan’s body I saw: it was Caspian.

  I shook my head, erasing the memory and moved towards them. “How did you find us? What the hell happened?”

  Logan had a large gash on his cheek bleeding down his neck. He clung onto his arm, which was clearly broken, the bone sticking out of his flesh. And his right pant leg was singed with fire and had shrapnel ripped through it and imbedded in his skin.

  Leanna had some cuts on her as well, but not nearly as bad as Logan.

  Em collected some towels and pressed them against the wounds, causing Logan to scream out in pain before Em swiftly covered his mouth with her hand to quiet him. His body relaxed a little as their eyes met.

  “How’d they say it happened?” Leanna asked, keeping her focus on her brother, even though her eyes glanced to Em and the way she gazed at Logan.

  “SPAC accident,” Simon answered.

  A curt laugh escaped Leanna. “Accident, right.”

  “What actually happened?” I asked.

  Leanna finally pulled her gaze towards me, and her eyes rimmed with tears before she quickly blinked them away and set a scowl on her face. “It wasn’t an accident; it was an assassination. They blew up the shuttle.” Leanna glanced back to Logan, their eyes meeting as she squeezed her brother’s hand. “Only reason we lived was because my dad threw us from the shuttle just before it blew. Logan was closest to the blast, though.”

  Logan tried a small smile but winced when the gash on his face jerked.

  “How did you find us?”

  Leanna didn’t look at me as she said, “He gave us this address, in case we ever needed help.”

  “Who? Your Dad?” I asked.

  Leanna shook her head. “No. Caspian.”

  CASPIAN

  It’d been only four days since my last meeting with Dr. Merinda, and I’d already travelled to more than twenty camps looking for Vic or any sign of her. No one had seen the timid, dark-haired girl I painstakingly searched for.

  With the freedom of not having to search for artifacts like the others, I could blindly run through the forest from camp to camp, avoiding the Reeks, while searching for her. Merinda said she was alive. I had to find her.

  I dropped down into Camp Twenty-Five where a few people sat around refilling their water bottles and eating what little food we were given. None spared me a second glance.

  “Any of you seen a girl with curly, dark hair, short, silver eyes? Her name is Vic,” I said.

  The two guys seated on the floor a few feet away just shook their heads, another told me to shut up, but the fourth’s eyes widened.

  “You mean the Ghost?” the girl said.

  I tilted my head. “What do you mean, the Ghost?”

  The girl flinched at the name, even though she just said it and shifted uncomfortably on the floor. “There’s a girl they call the Ghost because she goes completely unseen by not only us, but the Reeks. She only comes into a camp to check in, spends the night in the forest, and doesn’t speak to anyone.”