Two weeks before they were due to move to Badger Lake, Schultz and his group of anti-Cabal activists found Rae and her mom and told them the truth. There was no “Badger Lake.” Not really. Oh, the place existed, but it was an armed camp. When they arrived, Rae would be put into barracks with the other kids, where she’d be brainwashed and forced to train as a Cabal soldier. As for her mother? Well, they’d tell Rae that Jacinda was fine, but they’d only keep her around for as long as she was useful, for as long as they could force Rae to comply by threatening her mother. In other words, for as long as it took the brainwashing to kick in and for Rae to forget she’d ever had a mother.

Schultz and his group had saved them from the horrors of Badger Lake. Now Rae was going to save Chloe.

“It’s all been arranged,” Schultz was saying. “The kids sometimes get weekend trips into North Bay as a reward for good behavior. Chloe and a few of the others will be there this weekend.”

“Under guard, of course,” her mother said.

“Yes, but remember these kids are fully brainwashed. As far as they’re concerned, they’re happy at Badger Lake, and they have no desire to leave it. There’s little chance of them escaping, so they’ll only have a few guards, and one of them is our guy. He’ll make sure the others are preoccupied when Rae moves in.” He turned to Rae. “You understand what you’re to do, Rachelle?”

Rae nodded. “Let her catch a glimpse of me and lure her away.”

“Right. When we do take her down, she’s going to fight. She’s going to lie. These kids haven’t just been brainwashed—they’ve been taught CIA-grade techniques for dealing with capture and interrogation. She’ll have a complete story fabricated. She’ll tell you how wonderful Badger Lake is and that she’s living there with her aunt and her dad in a house in their perfect little community, exactly as Sean Nast promised you. She’ll lie to get away and maybe even take you with her.”

“She won’t,” Rae said. “I’m going to rescue Chloe, whether she wants it or not.”

One

One - Chloe