The conversation turned away from my simulation then, and back to the intricacies of running a place like the Academy. Apparently, an entire section of the campus had lost power today, something Salzburg was quick to point out wouldn’t matter with the new prototypes since they were battery operated. I shot the piece of machinery in question a look out of the corner of my eye as I ate my third piece of garlic bread. If it really could detect a Butterfly, could it also tell that I’d held a Cocoon in my hand earlier that day? A Cocoon that Elliot Mason, of all people, now had in his possession. Why hadn’t I held on to it tighter? How had I let Elliot get the drop on me like that? Was he reading it now? If it was a Cocoon, and I was pretty positive it was, he might already be taking it straight to a security officer, and I was done for.

Officer Salzburg set his fork down with a loud clank, and I jumped guiltily. Dinner was over, and I was excused to go to my room for the night. Usually I’d have to help Mrs. Ellsworth do the dishes, but she must have seen something in my face because she waved me away after I carried the first stack to the sink. I almost let out an audible sigh of relief as I retreated up the back staircase and into my room. I immediately sat down in front of my laptop so I could message Elliot, but before I could even touch a key it sprang to life, a message from Elliot popping up on the screen as though I’d willed it there by sheer desperation. I inhaled like I’d just been punched in the gut as my heart slammed to a startled stop in my chest. He was messaging me. That couldn’t be a good sign.

My hands were trembling as I reached out to open the message. I hesitated, though, my finger hovering above the button. There were no cameras here, but I still felt exposed. I quickly tucked the laptop under my arm, grabbed my bathrobe, and went into the hall bathroom, locking the door firmly behind me. Turning on the shower, I sat down on the cool tile floor and opened the message as the bathroom filled with steam.

I know what this is. We need to talk.

I’m not sure how long I stared at that message, but I felt like I aged ten years in a matter of seconds. It was that last bit, the wanting to talk part, that threw me completely off. If he knew what that letter was, then why in the world wasn’t he marching it straight to a security officer like the good little rule follower that he was? Why talk to me about it?