“Well, excuse the future for being so dreary,” she snaps. “You know, none of us like living in a world surrounded by death and despair. That’s why we’re trying to prevent it. This isn’t a game, Malice. Millions of lives are at stake.”

Maybe it’s the disgusting smell of gasoline mixed with urine. Maybe I’m sick of only knowing bits and pieces of the truth. Whatever the reason, my temper flares. “I know that! Why do you think I’ve done everything you’ve asked? Even though you never bother to tell me anything!”

“You want information? Fine. I’ll give you information.” Her thoughts get louder, too, as though we’re having a shouting match that spans two decades. “You were right. Charlie’s accident was caused by one of our people. But as you know, it didn’t stop anything. The virus was still invented.” She takes a big breath that fills up her lungs and mine. “The person whose mission was to crash into Charlie’s car? He’s maxed out on trips to the past. So have all of our other travelers. Which means you’re our last hope. You’re the only one left.”

This stops me. I lower my arms, which are somehow on my hips, just as the door opens and another patron comes in. I skirt around the heavy door and slip outside onto the lawn.

The sun is good and buried behind the trees now, but the blaze of the gas station lights means that no stars peep out of the sky’s inky blackness. Thirty feet away, Bandit pumps gas into the Tahoe, his profile granite, his jaw precisely chiseled.

My heart bumps, and I’m not sure why.

“I don’t understand,” I whisper. “I’m just a high school girl. How can the future depend on me to save millions?”

“Because you’re smart,” the Voice says, her tone soft. It’s not lost on me that she’s talking about her younger self. But there’s no arrogance in her words. No pride. Just a simple affection for the girl she used to be. “You’re more resourceful than you know. You figured out that Charlie has a voice coming to him, too, preempting our every move. That’s why he backed up his files. That’s why he wrote clear and explicit instructions to his successor. He had to ensure that his life’s work would pass on to someone else. A brilliant young man whom Charlie looks upon as a son. A man who will go on to complete what Charlie started.”