By the time I slink into my house, it’s after 2:00 in the morning. My room is quiet and undisturbed. I peek through the blinds without rustling the wooden slats. From what I can tell, there are no reporters in front of my house.

The Escalade, however, is parked on the side of the street a few houses down.

I jerk back, putting distance between myself and the window.

My hands shake as I grab Emi’s phone from my nightstand.

I toss the covers over my head, concealing the phone’s light, as if whoever’s in the car below can figure out what I’m doing.

I access Twitter, find the tweet about the attack.

My eye begins to twitch. Rubbing the space between my brows, I push past my indecision.

I sign in using my fake username and press reply. Hoping I know what I’m doing, I type, “I’m in,” and hit send before I can change my mind about delivering a direct message to whoever sent the tweet announcing the attack.

Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

I keep my hair in a low ponytail. It brushes against my back every time I turn my head, sending shivers down my spine. I blame the black cocktail dress the mayor’s office sent for me to wear, with its open back and tight bodice. The skirt has four slits, leaving panels that barely cover my legs when I walk. Not exactly modest, but also too sophisticated for a sixteen-year-old, which I’m guessing is the point. Whatever role I’ll be playing tonight, they want me to look older than I am.

I tap the burner phone to wake it, like I’ve somehow missed the notification giving the location of the attack. Aside from the time, 6:53, the screen is blank, which doesn’t feel right. Maybe I messed up the sign-in, because the coordinates should have come by now. With the attack at seven thirty, the organizer would have to give everyone in the Swarm a chance to get there. Not that I can’t figure out where it is on my own. Seven thirty is about the time I’ll be arriving at Museum Campus.

I grab the picture on my dresser of me and my parents on the black-rock beach—the only one not hanging on my walls. We huddle in our raincoats as it drizzles. The sun rises behind us, turning the sky purple. It’s from the trip we took to Maui, just the three of us. The happiest moment I remember. I tuck it into the thin designer clutch that was delivered with the dress so I can keep the memory close. For when I need it.