The minute we were settled on the bus, the four of us talked frantically about what happened. Tina and Eric were also the only ones in their group to stay back and try to save their partners. They weren’t put in the same group, so they were by themselves in the end. When we got to the end of our story, Luke and I looked at each other. We couldn’t tell Tina and Eric what had happened. There was no way to explain it.

  My heart sped through a roller coaster of emotions. I had thought earlier that I had lost two people I held dear to my heart, only to find out they were still alive. I also shared a moment with Luke that I didn’t dare tell anyone about. I didn’t think I could even tell Dee. I also had my first kiss, but it wasn’t with the person I had thought it would be. I felt like I had betrayed Tina and Eric. I knew that sounded silly, seeing as Eric and I weren’t together, and Luke and Tina weren’t together. But I knew our feelings for each other. I was sure it would break Tina’s heart to know I kissed the boy she liked.

  I looked at Eric across the aisle. He stared at me, smiling. I could see relief in his eyes from me being alive. I didn’t know his true feelings for me, but it seemed like he cared for me more than just as a friend. He wouldn’t want to know that I kissed Luke. My eyes wandered over to Luke, who stared at the ground. I had a feeling it was going to be uncomfortable around him for a long time.

  W hen we got back, we still had an hour before dinner. Tina and I decided to take a small nap, exhausted from the day. We woke up a few minutes before dinner and headed out.

  “I need to use the bathroom,” Tina said to me.

  “Okay,” I said. “I’m going to head down and see if I can find Eric or Luke. I'd like to tell them about my meeting with VP Oliver.”

  Tina nodded. “Sounds good. See you down there.”

  As I went down the stairs, I realized I hadn't seen Dante since the tree incident. I wondered if he had found anything out.

  When I reached the bottom of the stairs, RL Steven came out of the room I'd met my family in the other night. He looked frustrated and thankfully didn’t notice me as he stormed down the hall.

  I went over to the room and leaned in.

  “I’ve had enough of this,” President Randall said. “We need to end this. She’s broken one too many rules already, and now it seems she’s getting others to break the rules with her. She’s a threat.”

  “Whit, do you think there's any chance that it could be referring to any of the others?” It was RH Johnson.

  “I’ve thought about it, but no,” President Randall said. “I’ve had a feeling it was Emelia since she was little. There’s something about her that screams traitor. I’ve watched the others their wholes lives, and all through Recruitment, and not once did they step out of line. It has to be her. What she said today, and the way she addressed me and River Springs, it's unacceptable.”

  “What do you want me to do?” RH Johnson asked.

  “We need to eliminate her from Recruitment. I want her out, and I want her out soon. This can't be put on Infinity Corp. We need it to look like it's Emelia's mistake. Do you understand me, Dean?”

  “Yes, Whit, I do. The next few days are just classes for them, followed by a couple of days of written tests. Should we make it look like she cheated, or should I wait until the next physical challenge?”

  There was a pause before President Randall answered. “I think waiting until the physical challenge would be the only plausible way to do it. This will give you a few days to prepare.”

  “Do you want me to let you know of my plans?”

  “No, I know you'll get it done.”

  “I won’t let you down.” RH Johnson’s voice sounded anxious, like he couldn’t wait for the chance to remove me from Recruitment.

  The question was, how would they do it? My life would be forever altered. Would I end up in the bad part of town with no job, no money, and no hope? The thought made me queasy. He had used the word traitor.

  I backed away from the door, putting my hands on my head. How could they think that of me? I said some harsh words, but a traitor? I made it halfway down the hall before I became lightheaded.

  Leaning my back against the wall, I slowly slid down until I was sitting on the floor. None of it made sense. For the second time that day, I was truly scared. The word eliminated kept running through my head. I had a sick feeling that my punishment wasn’t going to be a strenuous workout with SO Clark. It would be far worse.

  “Emmie?” The voice sounded far away. “Emmie?” A hand on my arm brought me back to reality. I looked up to find Tina, concern in her eyes. “Emmie, are you okay?” She brought her hand to my face and wiped away my tears.

  When had I started crying?

  “Emmie, what’s wrong? What happened?” Tina asked, sitting down beside me. “Is it about earlier?”

  “No. I, uh …” I couldn’t find the words to express what I was feeling or what I had just heard. I wanted to run away and never look back.

  “Let me go find someone. You look sick.” Tina started to stand, but I pulled her back down.

  “No. Don’t tell anyone, Tina. I’m fine. Let’s just go eat.”

  “You don’t look fine.” Tina gave me a small smile. “Although, it’s nice to know you feel comfortable enough with me to break a rule right in front of me without worrying that I'd rat you out.”

  I looked at her, confused. “What?”

  “You’re lying, Emmie. You’re a big, fat liar.” Tina placed her hand on mine.

  “Are you calling me fat?”

  Tina laughed. “There’s the Emmie I know and love.” She squeezed my hand. “We should go find Eric, Luke, and Dee and go talk.”

  “We should probably eat first. It’ll be more noticeable if we show up late to eat than if we take a little while getting back to the dorms after.”

  “True.” Tina stood and offered me her hand. “Let’s go eat.”

  I took her hand and she helped me up. She linked her arm through mine as we walked. “It’s bad, isn’t it? Whatever you’re upset about?”

  “You have no idea,” I said, my voice coming out in barely a whisper.

  We entered the dining hall and placed ourselves at the end of the line. After we got our food, we went and sat by Eric and Luke. I looked around the hall for Dee and found her on the other side. Her eyebrows drew close together like they always did when something was wrong. She knew me too well. I gave her a small smile before I started eating.

  “I’m not looking forward to this week,” Eric said beside me.

  “I am,” Luke said in response. He was sitting across the table next to Tina. “I know everyone thinks it'll be boring, but this part is just as crucial as the physical testing. This is the first time they’ll see us perform individually.”

  “Only you would like listening to lectures and taking tests,” Eric said, making Tina and I laugh.

  “Laugh all you want, but you’ll soon see that I’m right.” Luke fidgeted in his seat. He wouldn’t look at me, which was understandable. We had kissed only a couple hours before and now we were sitting there all together and all alive, pretending as if nothing had happened. RL Steven had insisted on the bus that everyone try to push everything aside and focus on the fact that everyone was okay. If only it were that easy.

  “You’re right, Luke,” Tina said. “It will be important, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’ll be boring.”

  All I could think was that it didn’t matter to me. No matter how I performed during the next week, I would be eliminated. There was no point to me sticking around.

  Eric nudged me. “Are you okay? You’ve seemed a little off recently. Like something's on your mind.” He said it quietly, but we were still close enough for Tina and Luke to hear. All three of them were staring at me, waiting for a response.

  “It was just an intense day,” I said.

  Eric nodded. “It was. But we’re all fine.” From the way Eric and Tina had described their situations during the challenge, it was clear they didn’t experience the same intensity that Luke and I had. Eric stared at me. “There’s more, isn’t there?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it here,” I said, looking down at my food. I squished a couple of peas with my fork. After my elimination, I was swearing off peas.

  “Where do you want to talk about it?” Eric asked, eying my dead peas. I shouldn’t have taken my anger out on the peas, but I was ornery, and they were gross.

  I looked at RL Steven a couple of tables away, but he wasn’t looking our way. I was glad he had chosen not to sit with us at dinner. He was a little ornery, too, but luckily for his peas, he wasn’t taking it out on them. His potatoes were the unfortunate ones.

  “There’s a room at the bottom of the stairs that lead to the girl's dorms. Will you meet Tina and me there after dinner?” I asked, looking at Eric and then Luke.

  At the same time Eric answered, “Yes,” Luke answered, “No.” We all looked at Luke, a little shocked.

  “What? This is Recruitment. I don’t think we should be talking secretly in a room. What if we get caught?” Luke looked at Tina and Eric, waiting for them to agree. But they didn’t. I was sure the events of the day were another reason he didn’t want to talk.

  “You seriously need to grow a pair,” Eric said to Luke.

  I had taken that inopportune time to take a drink of water and ended up having it spray from my mouth across the table.

  “Oh, thanks a lot, Emmie!” Tina said, laughing while wiping off her face. “So gross!”

  “Sorry,” I mumbled.

  “What did you say to me?” Luke asked Eric, putting his fork down.

  “You heard me, Luke, and I’m pretty sure you don’t want me to repeat it. It’s not a big deal. Besides, Emmie says she needs to talk to us and as her friends, I think we can do her the courtesy of listening.”

  “Friends or not, I don’t want to get in trouble. No offense, Emmie.” Luke said my name quietly as if it hurt him to say it.

  “None taken. I totally understand. Just forget I mentioned it.” I finally set my fork down, giving my peas a break.

  Eric didn’t want to drop it. “No matter what your dad says, Luke, you don’t always have to be perfect. Sometimes you need to bend the rules to do the right thing.”

  Luke’s face turned red and he balled his hands into fists. But he closed his eyes and took a few breaths. I had a feeling he was more upset with himself than with Eric or any of us. “Do what you want. But I’m following the rules. I’ll see you all tomorrow.” Without looking at us, he got up and left.

  Only hours before, I had seen a side of Luke I had never seen before. Someone who was compassionate and didn’t give up. Someone who let me scream things he wouldn’t dream of and didn’t try to stop me.

  Now it seemed the old Luke had come back. The rigid Luke. Always too afraid to make the wrong step. But maybe what he thought was the wrong step was the right one.

  I thought our little argument might have attracted RL Steven’s attention, but it hadn’t. His mashed potatoes were still getting slaughtered. I didn’t know what President Randall had said to him, but he didn’t feel the need to keep his eyes on me all the time. Maybe President Randall had told him to stop.

  “Want to go talk?” Eric asked me. He put his hand on mine underneath the table. It warmed my heart knowing that I had at least some people that truly cared for me.

  “Sure.” I sought out Dee in the crowd. After a second, she looked at me and I gave her a small nod, pointing toward the exit. She nodded in return.

  Eric, Tina, and I left the dining hall, waiting for Dee to come out. The second she stepped out the door, Dee pulled me into a bear hug. I could barely breathe. “Dee, I love you, but I still need to breathe.”

  She loosened up a little. “I’m sorry, I’m just so worried. What’s wrong, Emmie?” She pulled back and looked me in the eye. “I know something's majorly wrong. So, spill it!” I loved that even though she was so much smaller than me, and three months younger, she always felt the need to act like my mom.

  “I don’t even know where to begin,” I said.

  We walked down to the room. After a quick sweep, we saw the room was empty, so we went in and sat down at one of the tables.

  “Start at the beginning,” Tina said. “Eric doesn’t know anything.”

  “In general, or about what you’re talking about?” Eric joked.

  “I’ll sum it up since I don’t know how much time we have,” I said, turning to Eric, who sat next to me. Tina and Dee were sitting across from us. “I talked with VP Oliver the other day. For whatever reason, the president is having me watched. He wanted RL Steven to report every move I make to him.”

  Eric narrowed his eyes. “Wait, what? Why?”

  I shrugged. “I’ve been trying to figure it out for days. VP Oliver couldn't tell me much. He's watching all of you, too.”

  “They’ve been watching us, too?” Eric asked. “And Steven just told him everything? That arrogant …”

  “We don't know if he had a choice.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. RL Steven couldn't have just ignored the president's wishes. Who knows how much fallout would come from that? I opened my eyes. “He also seemed interested in the fact that you and I, well, that we spend a lot of time around each other. That we’re friends.”

  Eric’s face turned pale. “This is my fault.”

  “What?” Tina, Dee and I all asked at the same time. How could it possibly be his fault?

  “It’s because of my dad,” Eric said.

  I reached out and touched his arm. “It’s not because of your dad, Eric. It’s because of me. The president seems to think I’m a threat. Me. Not you. Not your dad. Me.” Eric didn’t look convinced, so I continued. “He talked about something that he read. That whatever it was, it referred to me. I'm not sure what, though.”

  Suddenly I remembered that Dante had talked about the prophecy. They couldn't possibly think it was me, could they? My eyes went to Eric. What if he would be the one to start the revolution? If his dad really was a traitor, then maybe Eric was, too. That could be why VP Oliver wanted me to stay away from him.

  “What?” Eric asked.

  My face flushed a little. I'd been staring at him. “Sorry. My mind has a habit of wandering.” I took my hand off Eric’s arm. I didn't want to bring up the prophecy until I knew more. That pesky word trust came into my mind. Could I trust Eric? I needed to change the subject before I let my mind wander again. “Have any of you seen Dante lately?”

  “No.” Eric’s eyes fell on his arm where my hand had been. “Who is that guy, anyway? He's been following you around like a lost puppy.”

  “He's visiting from Kingsland.” I glanced over at Tina and Dee, who were both holding back smiles. “VP Oliver said that he came to find out more about Recruitment.”

  “You don't believe that?” Eric scooted a hair closer to me. Our legs were suddenly touching.

  Tina shook her head. “No. There has to be more behind it.”

  I hadn't talked to anyone about my near-death experience. Now seemed like a good time to bring it up. It had rattled me more than I'd thought, but I kept pushing it out of my mind. “Something happened during the paintball challenge.”

  “What?” Dee asked.

  “It was when I went back to get Simon.” Pausing, I took a deep breath. Had it been on purpose? Eric must have noticed my hesitancy because he reached under the table and took my hand.

  Tina sat forward. “When the tree fell?”

  Dee's eyes went wide. “A tree fell?”

  “Yes,” I said, nodding. “Dante and I examined it. It had been cut.”

  Silence filled the room. Eric, Dee, and Tina looked at me, then at each other, and then back at me. Eric's grip around my hand tightened.

  Dee broke the silence first. “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.” My voice came out quiet. “We saw someone running away. Dante went to go check it out and I haven't seen him since.”

  “Wow.” Tina rubbed her forehead with her hands. “Have you talked with VP Oliver?”

  I shook my head. “No. I haven't had a chance.”

  “No wonder you looked so worried out in the hall.” Tina’s gaze went to the frown forming on my lips. “It was something else? What scared you so bad?”

  Butterflies settled in my stomach. “I heard President Randall and RH Johnson talking. Randall was mad, I think because of the fighting, of the challenge the other day and today’s challenge. The other day we all worked together in the maze, which I orchestrated. I shouldn’t have…” My voice caught. If I couldn’t get through talking about the maze, there was no way I could tell them what I said today. Not that I wanted to right then. I was glad Luke wasn’t with us at the moment. Besides him, no one else knew what happened in that room. Well, besides the people that were watching.

  “You couldn’t have known, Emmie,” Eric said. “Besides, how were we supposed to know we couldn’t work together? They never mentioned it.”

  None of us had received a punishment for breaking that rule, so maybe they hadn't seen what happened. I always assumed they saw everything in Recruitment.

  “Seriously? Did none of you read the book?” Dee asked.

  Oh, the Recruitment Guidelines Manual. I meant to read it, but I got too tired and fell asleep. From the look on Eric and Tina’s faces, they did the same thing.

  Dee rolled her eyes. “Honestly, it wasn’t that long. But it says in there that groups can’t work together during any part of Recruitment unless they’re instructed to.”

  Luke came to my mind. “Wouldn’t Luke have read it?”

  “You’d think so,” Tina said. “And I’d think he would’ve read it fifty times.”

  “Yeah, fifty times a day for a few weeks leading up to Recruitment,” Eric said.

  That made me laugh a little. And then I remembered the rest of the conversation between Randall and Dean.

  I closed my eyes, trying to stop the tears. I couldn’t cry. Not in front of Eric. But those stupid tears came.

  Eric rubbed my arm with his free hand. “What is it, Emmie? What else happened?”

 

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