I collect the papers off the table and shove them in my bag. “I’ve already emailed copies of these reports to a friend. If something happens to me, she’ll go public with them. If something happens to the others, I’ll do the same. Aether’s experiments and the effects of future shock—and how they want to use little kids next—will be all over the Internet. But if Aether leaves us alone, this will never get out. We’ll keep it a secret if you let us live our lives in peace.”

“I see…” She drums her fingers against the table. “I find it hard to believe Aether would have you killed, but I’ll make sure you’re safe from them. I guarantee they’ll leave you all alone—but in return, I want to know everything that happened to you in the future.”

“If we make it out of this alive, I’ll tell you everything, I swear.”

“Good.” She stands up and sets her hand on my arm. “Elena, you don’t need to worry. Nothing is going to happen to you or your friends. I promise.”

It’s hard to tell if she believes me or if she’s just telling me what I want to hear. Maybe she thinks I’m suffering the paranoia side effect of future shock. Either way, I believe she’ll honestly try to help us and will do everything she can to keep us safe. That’s no guarantee we’ll live past tomorrow, but it’s the best I can do.

Friday

Friday

I don’t go to school the next day. I plead to Mrs. Robertson that I’m sick and show her my bandaged ribs, and she takes pity on me and lets me stay in bed. I sleep for hours, longer than I have in years. Making up for lost time, I suppose.

When I wake, it’s already 1:00 p.m. Katie’s at school, so I’m alone in our room. I pack a bag, throwing my meager belongings into it. It’s strange, being back in my bedroom after everything I’ve lived through. It feels too normal and I…am not.

My mind keeps replaying everything that happened yesterday. I can’t stop thinking about the future, and how in a few hours I’ll be dead—or not. By coming back to the present, did I kill the others and myself? Did I change the future and save our lives when I took the evidence to Lynne? Or was this how it happened all along, in one never-ending loop?

Did we change our fate? Or did we make it happen?

Either way, I’m not going to sit around and let death find me. I grab my bag and sneak out of the house.