Project Paper Doll: The Trials by Kade Stacey

Author:Kade, Stacey [Kade, Stacey]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781484719404
Publisher: Disney Book Group
Published: 2015-04-20T22:00:00+00:00

OUTSIDE, ARIANE KEPT US WITHIN the cloud of our fellow evacuees, leading me through as they milled around, using them as cover for as long as possible.

“Where are you supposed to meet Adam?” she asked when we reached the corner, moving swiftly to the right so that the buildings would block us from view. “And when?”

The sharpness in her expression was a little alarming. This was Ariane on a mission, certain, unrelenting, and not entirely human. Or, not human in a way that I’d seen in everyday life. She was focused but distant, a contradiction but the truth, regardless.

“You think Adam’s going to help us?” I asked. “He’s as douche-y as he looks, trust me.”

She shook her head. “If Justine thinks about it, she’ll realize that’s our only move. We need to beat her there.”

I hesitated. “We were supposed to meet at an alleyway, not far from Hole in One. I can show you where it is, but I don’t see what—”

“They wouldn’t have assigned Carter as Ford’s target. That means he’s yours. You didn’t look at the packet, but Adam did. He can tell us what it said about Carter, or what he remembers of it, at least,” she said, her words clipped, maybe because we were moving so quickly but more likely because she was just in that warrior mode. “We find Carter, and he’s the key to Ford.”

Now I got it. “Because they’re connected. Or will be, once they’re in close enough proximity.” I frowned. “Does it work that way?” I pictured Ariane and myself walking around the streets of Chicago with Carter out in front of us, like a human…well, an alien/human metal detector set to a unique frequency to find his missing comrade.

“I don’t know for certain. Do you have another plan?” Ariane asked with no hint of humor.

I held my hands up in surrender, which brought her hand, still held in mine, up as well.

She looked over, startled, and a faint smile flickered at the corners of her mouth before disappearing beneath that hardened veneer.

“I’m supposed to meet him in…” I searched, looking for an indication of the time. No watch, no cell phone. A flashing bank sign with the time caught my eye down the street. 10:59. “Sixteen minutes.”

Ariane raised her eyebrows.

“What? I thought it might take some time to convince you to listen to Justine,” I said with a shrug.

She nodded, her mouth twisting. “I can’t imagine why.”

“For the record, I still think it was a good option,” I said quietly.

“It…was,” she admitted. “I might have gone. I would have had some leverage, and it would have been nice to see what they had, maybe even meet…” She shook her head, then shrugged, her thin shoulders moving stiffly. “But it’s not possible.”

And where did that leave us at the end of all of this? I guess that was something to worry about after we survived, assuming that we did.

Following an extended and circuitous route, which involved some doubling back, we reached the block with the designated alleyway with a few minutes to spare.

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