My ears ringing from the alarm, each footfall sounds to a rhythmic beat, and it’s like I’m flying. At a full sprint, I dodge branches with a flick of my head, ducking, turning, jumping with fluid ease.

I’m a “bad” guy. And I love it.

Overhead, the canopy of trees thickens, blocking out the light from the helicopter.

“Do you know where we’re going?” I pant, hoping the cops aren’t hot on our trail. We had a decent head start, and the way I’m feeling, I’m positive I can outrun them.

“There’s a safe house—one of only a few places on earth that truly has no service,” he says between breaths, yanking me to the right. “The trees are too tall. The satellites can’t find it. Even if the algorithm can be tracked, its signal will be scrambled. We’re lucky Simon lives nearby. Our location will be obvious to Keystone faculty. Abignail will contact us. We just have to get there.”

We duck under a low branch.

“Does Nash know about it?”

“He shouldn’t.” He drags me left. “I only know about it because I won the Quest. It’s level-three classified. Every time you add to the Vault, you get a bonus—I purchased the level-two locations with the Coke recipe—but as far as I know, Nash never earned anything beyond level two. He hasn’t proven very useful since his initiation.”

“Are there levels beyond three?”

Our footfalls pound the dirt.

“Yes, but they’re reserved for a very select group of Disconnects. I don’t know their locations. Yet.”

“How can you be so sure you’ll get access?”

“I’ve never considered myself common. Neither should you.”

A craggy bush catches my suit, and I drop his hand to detangle myself, shoving the branches aside. He pauses, waiting for me, and I scurry to keep from slowing us down.

“Does Kyran know Nash?” I ask as the thought strikes me, catching up. We sprint onward.

“He doesn’t. He shouldn’t. Kyran came to Keystone after Nash was initiated. Why?”

“Just a weird feeling is all.”

“Kyran doesn’t know where the safe house is, either, so there’s no danger of him telling anyone, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Bumping my shoulder, he directs me to the right. “Nobody is going to find us until we want them to.”

We keep running. The deeper into the woods we go, the more likely our escape feels.

“Are we there yet?” My side cramps, and my lungs heave. I long to double over.

“Almost.”

This deep in the forest, the trees blot out the sky and it’s nearly pitch-black. Garrett throws out an arm, slamming me to a halt in front of a giant redwood tree.

“We’re here.”