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Back Seasons of Chaos Save as PDF
Chapters (70)
  1. Dedication
  2. Prologue
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. 9
  12. 10
  13. 11
  14. 12
  15. 13
  16. 14
  17. 15
  18. 16
  19. 17
  20. 18
  21. 19
  22. 20
  23. 21
  24. 22
  25. 23
  26. 24
  27. 25
  28. 26
  29. 27
  30. 28
  31. 29
  32. 30
  33. 31
  34. 32
  35. 33
  36. 34
  37. 35
  38. 36
  39. 37
  40. 38
  41. 39
  42. 40
  43. 41
  44. 42
  45. 43
  46. 44
  47. 45
  48. 46
  49. 47
  50. 48
  51. 49
  52. 50
  53. 51
  54. 52
  55. 53
  56. 54
  57. 55
  58. 56
  59. 57
  60. 58
  61. 59
  62. 60
  63. 61
  64. 62
  65. Epilogue
  66. Acknowledgments
  67. About the Author
  68. Books by Elle Cosimano
  69. Back Ad
  70. About the Publisher

Thunder rumbles like a low moan in the distance as rain begins to fall. Jack wipes away the blood and starts the long walk home alone.

5

Cracked and Sprung

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DOUG

I toss a makeshift ball—two pairs of thick, Observatory-issued socks rolled tightly together—at the stone ceiling over and over again. I’ve been at it for fuck knows how many hours. But it gives me something to do with my hands, and it’s the only way I can think.

Voices drift from the other cells. The odd laugh. The occasional swear. Listening from my bunk, I’ve managed to figure out who’s stuck in here with us; almost all of them fought in Cuernavaca. Lixue, the last surviving member of my team, is in the cell farthest from mine—too far to communicate with her, and I’m sure that was Lyon’s doing. There’s no one I trust in the cells adjacent to mine . . . not enough to risk sharing my thoughts with.

Kai lies on the bunk below mine. It’s been hours since either of us last spoke, sometime after breakfast. The protein shake barely took the edge off, and a hunger headache has me feeling edgy and hollow.

With the exception of the slot for the meal tray, the cell door hasn’t opened since they brought Kai in here, and I’m surprised I haven’t paced a canyon into the floor. I hurl the sock ball across the room and throw an arm over my face, but in the darkness and quiet, all that’s left are the flickering images I saw in Lyon’s office.

The lower bunk creaks. A moment later, I’m startled by a soft thump on the bed beside me. I peel my arm from my eyes and frown at the sock ball next to my leg.

“Have you decided what you’re going to do yet?” Kai’s disembodied voice bounces softly off the walls, and I cover my face again. I’ve avoided the few questions she’s dared to ask since Lyon locked us up together, certain he sent her here to snoop. But she hasn’t left the cell once since they shut that door, and the closed-circuit camera on the ceiling outside our cell isn’t close enough to pick up much in the way of sound. Maybe I was wrong.

“Why?” I ask cautiously. “Have you?”

There’s a prolonged silence from her bunk. “I was thinking I might be a good teacher. You know . . . archery. Or maybe earth science. I’d be good at that.”

A dry laugh starts in the back of my throat. It builds, rolling through me until my whole body shakes with it.

“What? There’s nothing wrong with being a teacher. You could teach, too, you know.”