“Like my ride?” says the girl. I squint to get a better look. It’s Harlowe. Of course it is. Wary, I start walking toward her. Students aren’t allowed to have cars on campus, and even if we could, none of us can get a license until we’re twenty-one. The car is clearly contraband. Up close to her now, I can make out her features in the moonlight. Her piercing black eyes and cropped, silver-dyed hair. The car is running, and it’s not the electric hum I’m used to. This car runs on gas.

“So, you feel like targeting the Similars?” I ask, making my voice sound breezy. “Great idea. That’s going to end really well for you. But go ahead. Try it.”

“We did,” she answers, her eyes dancing like she’s holding on to a delicious secret. “It actually went swimmingly. Oh, I guess you don’t know. First, we injected them with pharmas, then we transported them to a remote location, and, finally, we left them there without their plums. Or their clothes.” She laughs.

I feel heat rising through my body. Anger. Rage. “You’re lying.”

Harlowe shrugs. “Go back to Cypress and wait for the midnight session to start. I promise you, they won’t show up.”

I stare at Harlowe, trying to suss out whether she’s messing with me. It’s impossible to know. She seems so flippant about the whole thing. Is she really that brazen? That shameless?

“Tell me where they are,” I choke out, my frustration turning to mild panic.

“No problem,” Harlowe says. “Just get in the car, and I’ll take you straight to them.”

Get in the car? Has she lost her mind? The last thing I’d ever want to do is get in an illegal vehicle and drive off campus with this girl.

“Look, it’s not really a hard decision, is it?” Harlowe examines her reflection in the rearview mirror, acting like this whole conversation is no big deal. That only makes me more furious. “You get in the car. I bring you to your friends. Or if you’d rather head to your dorm and go to bed…” She shrugs.

My head spins, and I feel sick with anger. Harlowe might be totally lying to me. But if she isn’t, and my friends are in trouble… I can’t tolerate that.

“Why should I believe anything you say?” I press, trying to keep my voice from wavering and showing weakness.

“Oh, I get it. It’s not like we know each other. You probably want some kind of proof, right? I would, if I were you.” Harlowe presses a button on her plum screen, and a photo pops up. She flicks her wrist lazily in my direction, showing me a picture of Maude, Theodora, and Pippa. They’re bound and gagged.