When I finally regained my composure, two arms threw themselves around me, squeezing tight. From the brown curls covering my face, it was Dee. I hugged her back, not wanting to let go.

  Eric and Tina had thrown a fit until the nurse finally gave in to their demands and had someone go and fetch Dee.

  Dee pulled back and took my good hand in hers. She was sitting on my bed next to me. “How are you feeling?” She brushed some hair off my face and tucked it behind my ear.

  I had to take a second to evaluate how I felt since waking up. My hand ached a little and my head was a little dizzy, but other than that I felt fine. “Much better.”

  Someone cleared their throat, catching my attention. Standing near the door was my father. “Dad!” I was so happy to see him. Dee moved out of the way when he came over to the bed.

  Dad stroked my cheek with his hand and kissed me on the forehead. I could tell from his eyes that he had been crying. “My little girl,” he said, pulling me in for a hug. “You’re okay.”

  I squeezed him tight. “I am, Dad. I’m just fine.”

  He pulled back, looked into my eyes, and squeezed my arms. “I’m glad. I was so worried when the nurse called to tell me what happened. I got over here as soon as I could, but you were asleep. I didn’t want to wake you. You looked so peaceful.” He chuckled. “Well, at least until you woke up. Bad dream?”

  A vision of the shark with its jaws wide open, his huge teeth calling my name, came into my mind, making me shiver. “Very bad.”

  “Well, it’s just a dream. You’re here and you’re alive. That’s all that matters.” Dad pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his nose.

  As I watched his face, so relieved that I was okay, it made my heart ache. How did you tell a father that their little girl has someone trying to kill her?

  “I found another chair,” Eric said, pulling a chair right up next to the bed.

  “Thank you, son,” Dad said, patting Eric on the shoulder and taking a seat. He looked at me and pointed to Eric. “This guy really cares about you.”

  I smiled at Eric. “Yes, he does.”

  Eric smiled in return and went and sat in his chair on the other side of the bed. Tina had moved her chair next to Eric. Dee took the opportunity to reclaim her seat on my bed. I scooted over so she could sit next to me.

  Dad smiled at me, his eyes a little red and puffy. “What happened in the water? All they said is that you got stuck down there, lost some oxygen and they had to revive you. What did you get stuck on?”

  I had no idea how to respond. Would my dad believe me when I said that Whit Randall was trying to kill me?

  A knock on the door interrupted the uncomfortable pause.

  “Is it okay if I come in?” Mack asked.

  “Of course,” I said.

  Mack walked into the room and stood at the foot of the bed. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  “I’m doing well,” I said. “I still have a little bit of pain in my hand, but it’s much better.”

  Mack cleared his throat. “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t think there was another way when there was so little time.”

  Dad leaned over Dee and grabbed my wrist, examining my wrapped-up hand. “What happened?”

  Mack, Tina, Eric, and I all shared an awkward look. From Dee’s expression, Eric and Tina must have filled her in on what happened before Dad arrived.

  “I’m sorry, sir,” Mack said, “but the way your daughter’s hand was caught, the only way I could get it out was to break her thumb.”

  Dad’s eyes widened in horror. “You broke my daughter’s thumb?”

  “Dad, it’s okay. It was necessary,” I said, trying to reassure him. “Mack saved my life. If he hadn’t gotten there when he did, I'd be dead.”

  Dad’s shoulders relaxed.

  “Well, it shouldn’t have happened in the first place,” Mack said, his voice filled with frustration. “I’ve never had anything like that happen on my watch. I take full responsibility for what happened.”

  “There’s no way you could've known that was going to happen,” Eric said.

  Well, if he was in on it, he would have. But by Mack's behavior, Whit hadn’t filled him in on the ‘eliminate Emmie’ mission.

  “Well, it won’t happen again,” Mack said with a confident voice. “You can be sure of that.”

  Oh, it would happen again, and it would keep happening until I was good and dead.

  “She’s alive, right?” Dad said, smiling at me. “Everything’s fine.”

  The nurse showed up at the door. “I hate to break this up, but I need everyone out for a little bit. I just need to run some tests on Emmie. I had some food brought up for all of you since I'm assuming none of you will leave. It’s two doors down on the left.” She looked at Mack. “I didn’t get anything for you, though.”

  Mack stepped back from the bed. “That’s okay. I should probably get going. I just wanted to check on her. I would be grateful if you could keep me updated on your progress, Emmie.” I just smiled and nodded, knowing that I probably wouldn’t be able to.

  After everyone left, the nurse checked my eyes, my blood pressure, and my temperature. When she was almost done, a small cough came from near the door. I looked over to see Luke standing in the doorway.

  The nurse glanced at him and then turned back to me. “You’re quite popular today.”

  “I guess that happens when you die and then come back to life,” I said with a small smile.

  “I guess so,” the nurse said. She finished up and left the room.

  Luke came in and stood next to the bed. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth where he stood, something he did when he was nervous or uncomfortable.

  “Do you want to sit down?” I asked him, motioning to the chair. Luke eyed it and then nodded, sitting down slowly.

  He pulled the chair closer to the bed and looked me in the eye. “How are you feeling?”

  “Alive, for one thing,” I said. “I don’t think I can handle many more near-death experiences. It drains you.”

  Luke reached his hand out and then pulled it back. “Seeing you there lifeless shook me up. It shook everyone up.” His eyes watered. “I’m just glad you’re okay. That's the second time I had to watch you almost die.”

  I reached out and took his hand. He started to pull away, but then ended up scooting closer to me. “I know I keep saying I’m okay over and over again, but I am.” I looked him in the eye. “I’m fine, Luke. I promise.”

  He nodded his head, but I could tell he didn’t fully believe me. He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry I’ve been so distant lately. It’s just with everything that happened in that room, I’m not sure how to act.”

  I understood that. I'd been trying to figure that out ever since we'd kissed. How do you go from sharing a passionate kiss to being just friends? “I know how you feel. That was … intense.”

  Luke gave a small laugh. “Intense is almost an understatement. I don’t know what to make of it. I've been so confused. I mean, we’re friends. Just friends. You like Eric. I like Tina. We’re just friends.” He looked at me, scratching the back of his head. “Right?”

  I nodded. “Yes, we’re just friends. It was just one of those moments. We were about to die. We thought we had just seen the people we cared most about die. We had been through so much that day. I don’t think we should make too much of it.” I didn't want to make too much of it. A part of me still wanted to erase it. There were moments where I could still feel his lips on mine.

  “But that kiss, it just felt like there was so much passion behind it.” His face reddened.

  “There was.” I smiled. “Maybe you should kiss Tina. You’ll see the difference. And feel it.”

  “Have you kissed Eric?” Luke asked.

  It was weird talking to him like that. Luke and I normally didn’t talk by ourselves, let alone about our feelings.

  “A couple of times.” I smiled on the inside, remembering each one. They were perfect.

  “He’s a better kisser than me?” Luke had a small smile, the softness of it touching his eyes.

  “It’s different. I care about you, Luke. But I like Eric a lot more. There’s more of a spark between me and him.” I let go of his hand. “Luke, I need to tell you something and I need you to really listen to me.”

  “Of course, I’ll listen,” he said, surprise in his eyes. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “It goes against everything you believe.” I took a deep breath. “The explanation and reasoning behind what I’m about to tell you is too long to go into right now, but President Randall is trying to have me killed.” I looked at him, waiting for a response.

  He just stared at me blankly. “What?” He shook his head. “That’s impossible.”

  “It is possible. I overheard him talking to Dean Johnson. They’re trying to kill me. They find me a threat.”

  “A threat?” Luke scratched his head. “You’re a little bit of a rule-breaker and hardheaded, but I highly doubt you’re a threat.”

  “Not according to them. I don’t have a lot of time right now, but I just wanted to give you a heads up that things are changing. I might not be around here much longer. Whether I will be alive or dead, I don’t know, but I have to try to leave. And I think Eric and Tina will be coming with me.” The words surprised me as soon as they left my mouth. Leave? That sounded so ridiculous. Yet so right.

  Luke scooted back. “You’re crazy. This can’t be true. And you can’t just leave and take others with you.”

  “I have to, Luke. River Springs is corrupt, whether you want to face it or not.” I tried to reach for his hand again, but he recoiled. “I know this is a lot to take in, but things are not what they seem. The leaders of this place are not good people. They’re driving our city into the ground.”

  He stood. “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Just so you would know. You have an option, Luke, to stay here with the evil people of this city, or to leave and stand up for something better. It’s up to you, but I didn’t want to leave without telling you.” The more I spoke, the more I knew it was right. I had to leave River Springs.

  His compassion and worry for me left. The stone-hard Luke was back. “No. No. This is not right, Emmie. You’re wrong.”

  “I’m not wrong.” Why wouldn’t he just trust me? “How can you be part of a place this corrupt and willing to kill a teenager?”

  His chest heaved in and out. I could tell he was trying to control his temper the best he could. “I've been a resident of River Springs as long as you, Emmie, and they’ve had a good reason behind everything they do.”

  His words stung. I couldn’t believe he’d just said that. “You think I deserve to die?”

  “I think President Randall wouldn’t do anything this rash.” He paused. “But if he did, it would only be because it’s for the good of the city.”

  I felt like I’d been slapped.

  Eric, Tina, Dee, and Dad walked back into the room. They stopped when they saw Luke and me staring at each other, with Luke fuming and me fighting back tears.

  “What’s going on?” Eric asked, walking up next to me. He looked at Luke. “Are you okay?”

  Luke just responded by pushing past Eric and storming out of the room. I guess you couldn’t undo years of brainwashing by your father in just a few minutes.

  “What’s with him?” Tina asked as everyone sat down.

  I shook my head. The conversation wasn’t helping with my dizziness.

  “It’s crowded in here,” a voice said from the door. Frank Oliver. “How's our Em doing?”

  Horrible. My life had just been forever altered. Two people wanted me dead—Whit and Amber. I felt betrayed by Luke. I had no home to go to. I was trapped in a prison and wasn't sure if I could escape.

  Instead, though, I said, “Fine.”

  F rank stepped into the room. “Good, good. I’m glad to hear that.” He looked at me. “It shouldn’t be too long before the president will be here to check on you, so I was wondering if I could have a moment alone with Em.” He glanced around the room, his eyes pausing a second on Eric. Frank shot me a questioning look, but when I nodded, it seemed to satisfy him.

  “The president?” Dad asked, his eyebrows furrowed. “I didn’t know President Randall came to the infirmary to visit people.”

  Nope, he wanted to double check on the ones he was trying to take out to see if they were still alive before he made another attempt to kill them.

  Frank smiled. “He doesn’t all the time. Just on special occasions, like if a Recruit gets hurt.”

  Dad made a face I couldn’t read. He seemed a little upset, which didn’t make sense to me. Honestly, nothing had been making sense to me. Everyone got up to leave, but I spoke before they got too far.

  “No.” Everyone turned to look at me. “I mean, they don’t need to leave. Whatever you have to say to me, I would like you to say it in front of my friends and family.”

  Frank shook his head. “I think it would be best if we talked alone, Em.”

  “It’s okay. You can talk in front of them.”

  “Emmie,” Dad said in a warning tone, “if VP Oliver wants to talk to you alone, you need to listen.”

  “Dad, I’m not trying to be rude. It’s just that whatever he tells me, I’m pretty sure I’ll just turn around and tell all of you. So why not have everyone listen so I don’t have to repeat myself. I’ve been doing enough of that lately.” I adjusted myself on my bed while Frank stood there contemplating the matter.

  “Are you sure about this Em?” Frank asked. “It’s very … sensitive material. The things I’m about to tell you could be hard to take in. You might want to let it soak in before you talk to others about it.”

  “What’s going on?” Dad asked, sounding a little irritated.

  Eric, Tina and Dee shifted uncomfortably where they stood.

  I glanced at everyone in the room. They were all the people I cared deeply about. I loved them all and I wanted them by my side. Even if it was hard to hear, they needed to know, too. Dad needed to find out what was going on and who better to hear it from than the vice president of Infinity Corp?

  “No, everyone stays,” I said firmly. “Will someone please shut the door?”

  Frank was still closest to the door. He glanced outside to see if anyone was out there and then shut the door. Everyone went back to their seats.

  “I’m having someone distract the president for a while, but I don’t know how long they’ll be able to. I need to be quick.” Frank took a seat on the edge of the bed. He glanced at everyone in the room. “What I’m about to tell you is top secret. It also could have the ability to,” he cleared his throat, “ruin some lives. Are you sure you want me to go on, Em?”

  “Yes, I need to know.” I reached out for Eric’s hand for some comfort.

  Frank gave me a small smile. “River Springs was created to stop the havoc going on in the world. It had gone to complete chaos. All the rules, all the structure, it was meant for good. Not long after the city started to get back on its feet, Lee Augustine had a vision of the future. He prophesied that River Springs would take a turn for the worst. He said greed and power would form in the hearts of those running the corporation and this city would self-destruct much faster than the world did from the beginning of time.” Frank took a deep breath. “The prophecy states that the leaders will resort to violence, even death, to get what they want. It says that unless something is done, man as we know it will cease to exist.”

  “This prophecy, do you think it’s true?” Eric asked Frank. Something in the tone of Eric’s voice told me it wasn’t all new information to him.

  “Yes, Eric, I do.” Frank sat up tall. “This is unknown to a lot of people, but the prophecy has manifested itself to others since then. Including me.” That took me by surprise. It made me wonder who else had the prophecy.

  “How come no one knows about it?” my dad asked.

  “The president of Infinity Corp at the time didn’t want to alarm anyone.” Frank folded his hands in front of him. “He didn’t think it was true. He said he wouldn’t let River Springs come to that, so he sealed it up. All the other presidents have agreed with him, even Whit. Only a handful of people have known about it.”

  “So, what does this all have to do with me?” I asked. None of that answered any of the hundreds of questions floating around in my head.

  “The last part of the prophecy states that there will be one among the city who will lead a revolution. One who will want to stop the leadership of this city and take it down piece by piece.” Frank looked at me.

  “A traitor,” I said quietly.

  Frank nodded. “If you want to use that term, I guess it could fit.”

  “That’s the term Whit wants to use,” I mumbled.

  “Hold on a second, how could it be Emmie?” Eric asked, his eyebrows furrowed. “It’s not possible.”

  “How is it not possible?” Dee asked, looking slightly offended. “It has to be someone in the city. Why not Emmie?”

  Eric looked at Frank. “I saw it one time, the prophecy, when I was with my dad at work. It specifically states that the person would be a descendent of either the president or vice president of River Springs.” Another reason why Whit would want to cover it up.

  “It would have to be either Samantha or Austin Oliver, or Joshua or Tami Randall. One of yours or the president’s kids,” Tina said, looking at Frank. “If the leader of the revolution is from the current president and vice president.”

  Frank nodded in agreement. “Yes, that's true.”

  “I’m confused,” I said. “How could it be me, then?” My confusion kept getting higher and higher by the minute.

  “Em,” Frank started, his eyes soft. Sympathetic even.

  Dad stopped him. “No, Frank, let me be the one to tell her.”

  “Tell me what?” My pulse began to rise, and my cheeks warmed as I looked at my dad. He took a gentle hold of my arm, right above my bandaged hand.

  “Emmie,” Dad said, looking into my eyes. I stared back, not sure I wanted to hear what he was about to say. “Em, I’m not your real father.” My heart dropped. Frank shifted uncomfortably at the edge of the bed.

 

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