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Chapters (79)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty-One
  25. Twenty-Two
  26. Twenty-Three
  27. Twenty-Four
  28. Twenty-Five
  29. Twenty-Six
  30. Twenty-Seven
  31. Twenty-Eight
  32. Twenty-Nine
  33. Thirty
  34. Thirty-One
  35. Thirty-Two
  36. Thirty-Three
  37. Thirty-Four
  38. Thirty-Five
  39. Thirty-Six
  40. Thirty-Seven
  41. Thirty-Eight
  42. Thirty-Nine
  43. Forty
  44. Forty-One
  45. Forty-Two
  46. Forty-Three
  47. Forty-Four
  48. Forty-Five
  49. Forty-Six
  50. Forty-Seven
  51. Forty-Eight
  52. Forty-Nine
  53. Fifty
  54. Fifty-One
  55. Fifty-Two
  56. Fifty-Three
  57. Fifty-Four
  58. Fifty-Five
  59. Fifty-Six
  60. Fifty-Seven
  61. Fifty-Eight
  62. Fifty-Nine
  63. Sixty
  64. Sixty-One
  65. Sixty-Two
  66. Sixty-Three
  67. Sixty-Four
  68. Sixty-Five
  69. Sixty-Six
  70. Sixty-Seven
  71. Sixty-Eight
  72. Sixty-Nine
  73. Seventy
  74. Acknowledgments
  75. About the Author
  76. Praise for Destroy All Monsters
  77. Books by Sam J. Miller
  78. Back Ad
  79. About the Publisher

“I’m sorry too.” Like clouds after a storm, all my complicated hostility toward him had been whisked away. I could see him now for what and who he truly was. “I’m sorry this is the situation you’re in. I’m sorry for the situation Ash is in. All of us, really. It sucks. But it’s who we are. So let’s try to get some sleep.”

“You have to take her,” he said. “In the morning. Take Ash and run. They have spies everywhere. I tried to keep a low profile, but it’s not safe to stay in one spot. They’ll come for me—and for her.”

“Okay,” I said.

“You promise?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll go too. Somewhere. I don’t want to bring the heat to Radha and Connor.”

“Okay.”

I lay there until Niv fell into a fitful sleep, and then I scooted up into a seated position. I watched Ash, the way her chest rose and fell. I didn’t know what horrors lay ahead of us, or how much longer we’d have, or whether I’d be able to save her. But I knew that I would be there for her, all night long, and I would be there for her in the morning.

Thirty-Three

Ash

I drove as fast as I could. I was exhausted—I’d barely slept, I was so excited. It was the morning of my football team photo shoot and I wanted to get to the location well ahead of the rest of them. The streets were still coming awake, the whole town dressing itself up in blue and gold, the Hudson High colors, for the Halloween dance.

“If anything creepy goes down, just call my name,” said Solomon, fiddling with the car radio. He’d been asleep on my front porch when I woke up, and I hadn’t known until I saw him how badly I needed him to be there with me. I’m here for you, he’d said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. All night long, and into the morning.

“Where are you going to be?” I asked.

“In the movie theater, probably.”

“The movie theater is closed. Has been for years.”

He flexed his fingers. “No problem for a skilled criminal such as myself.”

I rolled my eyes. “Let’s not get arrested. Mmkay?”

“They’ll never take me alive,” he said, but not like it was a joke.

We pulled into the movie theater parking lot. Today was the day.

I would get to the Truth, complete with a capital T. I would capture these brutal boys on film. How they were flawed. How they were human. I would penetrate to the core of who they were. I would put all of Cass’s lessons and insights into action. I would find the secret unphotographable essence of each boy, and I would photograph it.