“Maybe,” I whispered back.
“He’s been here,” the men outside said. “He’s gone.”
“Or maybe”—I ran my hand up Zach’s chest, put my arms around his neck—“I am just going to do this.”
And then I pulled the lever. I watched Zach’s eyes go wide as the floor beneath us gave way and together we dropped straight down, sliding through the ventilation system of the school, shooting like a dart away from the people trying to find us.
“You’re crazy,” Zach said when we finally landed with a thud two floors down.
“I’m a good person to know, Zachary. You should have figured that out by now.”
“Oh…I have.”
“Okay, lovebirds,” said a voice behind us. I turned to see Bex, Liz, and Macey standing watching us, arms crossed. “Let’s go.”
It wasn’t the time to tease. It wasn’t the place to flirt. So I led the way through the inner workings of the school. We didn’t speak again. Not when we stood pressed together and listened through a vent to two FBI agents discussing Zach’s whereabouts. No one asked for an explanation when I found a length of rope and used it to lower myself into the basement level.
I thought back to a dark street in D.C. Get her.
I heard the shots in the prison and the yells of the guards. Find her.
I felt the people at my back. Find them.
And in my heart I knew that the girl I’d been on New Year’s Eve was foolish. It wasn’t yet time for me to stop running.
“This is it,” I said when we pushed out of the basement and into a small shack that sat near the edge of the trees. “Over there,” I said, pointing to a section of the main fence covered with overgrown rosebushes and thorns. “There’s another tunnel there. It will lead us to town.”
“Okay.” Zach took a deep breath and turned to me. “I guess this is good-bye. For now.”
“I’m going with you,” I said.
The words hit Zach, and he looked between me and my friends, already knowing what would come next.
“And where she goes, we go.” Liz folded her thin arms across her chest.
“Cammie, your mom’s going to come back,” Zach told me, and I couldn’t help myself—I turned and looked back at the school.
Lights burned in every window. A searchlight swept across the grounds. I heard barking dogs and shouting men. The search would widen and spread, and it wouldn’t stop until it found Zach.
Found us.
“No.” I shook my head. “They’re gone. And they can’t ever come back.”
“Gallagher Girl,” Zach started, but I cut him off with a nod.
“Them.” The word was a whisper. “He said find them. That’s why it isn’t safe for me to stay.” I reached up and gripped his shirt, made him face me as I said, “Think about it, Zach. Winters, Preston, you… They’re coming for anyone who has ever been inside the Circle.”
“Which is why it isn’t safe for you to come with me.”
“But I was inside the Circle—all last summer. Winters would only talk to me.” I watched Zach shake his head, try to cast aside the thought he didn’t want to dwell on. “I’m going,” I said.
“We’re going,” Bex corrected.
“Fortunately,” Macey added with a smile, “I had the foresight to pack Liz’s van with various essentials.”
Liz blushed. “I might have helped.”
“No,” I said.