Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132491 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 530(@250wpm)___ 442(@300wpm)
We exit the jungle and Amira stops next to a cluster of overgrown bushes. She eases me into a sitting position on the ground, then bends so we’re at eye level.
“Listen to me, Briar. This is really important. I’m going to get help, but you can’t come any farther with me now.”
I groan in a weak protest.
“If you follow me, you’ll get sick. Remember how we were unconscious on the boat when they brought us here? They implanted something in us. It makes you faster and stronger. My camp has a device that makes anyone with that implant in them sicker and sicker as they get closer, and if they keep coming, they’ll die. I need you to hide in these bushes and be quiet until I get back.”
I just look at her, too stunned to even nod. There’s something implanted in me?
She pulls a stainless water bottle from a pack on her back and pushes it into my hands.
“Get in there and drink water and stay awake.” She looks at the pool of blood on the ground beneath my leg. “Fuck. Get in there now and I’ll cover this up. Stay awake, Briar, do you hear me? Do not go to sleep. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
I crawl into the bushes, prickly branches scraping my already raw cheeks and arms. When I curl up, there’s something hard poking into my back.
I don’t care, though. This is as good a place to die as any. At least Virginia won’t have the satisfaction of seeing the last of my life drain out of me.
PART TWO
18
We train differently than recreational shooters. When you’re in a high-stress situation, your body enters fight-or-flight mode. Fine motor skills slip and your heart rate spikes. You may even experience auditory exclusion and not even hear your own gunshots.
- Excerpt from a transcript of a police academy course taught by Ben Hollis
“Briar, can you hear me?”
Droplets of water splash onto my face. I gasp and try to sit up, but everything hurts—even breathing. Best not to move, then.
“I’m here.” A hand slides around mine. “It’s Amira. You have to hold on.”
Hold on. To what? There’s nothing but pain and exhaustion, and I can’t take any more.
“Nova, get me a bridge.” The first voice that spoke to me is back, and it belongs to a female.
“Don’t, Nova.” A man’s deep voice. “She’s beyond saving, and she’s not coming to our camp.”
There’s a scoff, and the first woman’s voice returns. “Who put you in charge of medical decisions, Marcus?”
“You make medical decisions for our people, but she’s a Tider. We don’t save those assholes.”
“That’s not fair,” Amira says. “How is it her fault they grabbed her instead of you guys?”
“This is my call,” Marcus’s tone is decisive. “We’re not bringing a Tider into our camp.”
“Nova, the bridge, please,” the first woman says.
“I said no, Ellison,” Marcus’s voice is low and ominous.
After a few seconds, he speaks again. “Nova, don’t give her that fucking bridge. Don’t you—damn it!”
I feel a tiny prick in my arm. I think I just got a shot.
“She’s lost a lot of blood. I don’t know if this will be enough to get her back, but I have to try.”
“Thank you, Ellison,” Amira says.
“You can treat her here, but she’s not coming into our camp.”
I manage to open my eyes, and Marcus’s face is the first one that comes into focus. His brows are drawn down and he’s holding a bow, an arrow nocked. He’s looking in every direction, prepared to shoot if he needs to.
Whatever was in that shot is powerful. Pure energy is flowing through my body. I glance at the spot where I felt the poke and then at the woman kneeling next to me.
She has long, light-brown hair with a few silver pieces woven in. Her brown eyes are crinkled at the corners in an expression that’s both worrying and reassuring at the same time.
“Briar, I’m Ellison. I gave you a bridge, which is a shot we use to get people from the field into our camp after serious injuries. You’ve lost a lot of blood. Do you know where you are?”
I glance around, half expecting to see Virginia running at us with a spear. “Blue Arrow Island.”
“That’s right.”
“We’re not doing this,” Marcus says hotly. “It’s too risky.”
Ellison ignores him, her gaze still focused on me. “We don’t have much time. When you were brought here on the boat, you were injected with a very small device. The device contains a compound called blue aromium. A flower that grows on this island is the base of that compound, and the flower is bright blue. That’s why this is called Blue Arrow Island. Soren Whitman has a team of scientists who created it.”
My heart races as I look at Amira. I hardly know her, but she saved my life when she didn’t have to, so I trust her.