I half hope the Voice will pop into my head and tell me what to do. But she doesn’t, of course. She can’t, since she’s already taken her last trip.

Which means I’m on my own.

And it feels lonelier than I ever imagined. Malice was my adversary. She tricked me—she lied to me! But she loved me, too. Underneath her rage and exasperation, she only wanted to save us from a horrific future. We just didn’t agree on how to do that.

Once again, I sweep my eyes over the lawn—and this time, I see a glint by the basketball court. My mouth dry, I head in that direction. Yes, there it is again. A flash that comes and goes, a shimmer that you’d miss if you blinked at the wrong moment. As though the setting sun were reflecting off something. A pair of glasses, perhaps. Or maybe a gun.

I’m running across the grass before I have another thought. A minute later, the hair is plastered to my head, and I’m sucking the air in large, openmouthed gulps.

But I’ve found him: my brother. A shadowy figure in the middle of the basketball court. His back is turned to me—his tux jacket off, his sleeves rolled up—but I’d recognize that slouch anywhere.

Once again, paralysis spreads, from my head to my feet, digging roots into the dirt. I’m…scared. Of Archie’s hurt, of his potential devastation. Of what he might or might not say to me. Of what I might or might not do to him.

When—and if—I leave this basketball court tonight, I’ll no longer be the girl I am now. I’ll have made decisions that irrevocably alter me and—oh, please—the future.

Change is inevitable. The original time stream is fading; the foundational threads for the new path are already being laid. By traveling to the future, I set into motion a sequence of events that will lead to a brand-new world, for better or for worse.

Now, all I have to do is live it.

Straightening my spine, I stride across the basketball court and tap the shadowed figure on the shoulder. He turns, and I see his face—my dear, sweet, wonderful brother.

Relief rushes through my veins, as heady as any drug, and I throw my arms around him. “Archie, I’m so glad I found you—”

The words die in my mouth. Because my dear, sweet, wonderful brother is holding a gun.

And he’s pointing it right at someone behind a clump of trees.

Even in fading light, I can see that the person’s hair is dyed a brilliant blue.

Chapter 54

Chapter 54

The curved, polished gun gleams, so foreign in my brother’s hand and yet so natural in the way he casually grips its heavy weight.