The Unknown

xxxv.

As Shaun and I absconded from the warehouse, the silence between us was tense, unlike the calm quiet I felt in Rosalie's presence. I guessed we were both caught up in our own anxious thoughts about Jade and Kyle, respectively.

Not to say that Jason was right—that I only cared about the fate of one person. He was dead wrong. There was a constant flame of worry in my mind about my entire family of runaways.

Okay, maybe some individual flames burned more intensely than others. But I would run myself into the ground if I tried to fret over everyone equally.

"So, hey," Shaun shattered the silence, wrenching me from my thoughts. "I don't actually know what happened to everyone. You got free, obviously. Is everybody else safe?" 

"Basically, yes. Half the group is still scattered—the ones who fled the government raid." My sentences were punctuated by labored breathing as I worked to keep up with Shaun's swift pace. He was, understandably, in a hurry. "And thirteen of us escaped imprisonment. We split into groups and agreed to meet up tonight."

There was a pause.

"Jason the Traitor is with us," I added. "Do you happen to know why Kole wants to keep giving him second chances? He's proven himself a terrible person. We should ditch him."

Shaun slowed his pace and glanced at me pointedly. "Kole's got a crush."

I had to stop for a moment, blinking away the rain. "Okay, wow...that didn't occur to me. Are you sure?"

"Yes, he told me. But you can't tell anyone."
Shaun spoke in a low tone as if worried someone we knew might overhear—despite the city streets being all but deserted.

"But I don't think it's...requited, you know? Jason doesn't even know, right? I mean, his father said he was crushing on...me."

"Jeez," Shaun muttered, shaking his head. "Love's a bitch."

I let out a small laugh, then went silent.

We were nearing my parents' neighborhood, so I took the lead. The patch of trees I'd hidden in just yesterday with Jessie and Jade was close.

As we neared the little grove, though, it became apparent that something was wrong.

"Why does the ground look all white?" Shaun asked, squinting ahead.

Cautiously, we approached the treeline. The ground before us was strewn with papery white flakes. The fallen yellow leaves of the birch trees had been drained of all color and dried into thin, ashy sheets, I realized. With every step, there was a sharp crackle as they disintegrated into dust beneath our feet, leaving a clear trail behind us.

An uneasy shiver ran down my spine as we neared the tall tree that Jade had rested against. At the base of its trunk, there was a burst of red under all the white leaves. Shaun kicked at it with his foot, uncovering the pack I'd given Jade at my parents' house, still stuffed full of supplies.

"This is where they were supposed to be," I said, my voice hollow. "This was Jade's backpack." I stooped to pick it up and slung it over my own shoulder, a sick feeling crawling up my throat.

Shaun's face had crumpled, his skin as pale as the leaves. He whirled in every direction, his eyes searching wildly. After a minute, he stopped, crouching to the ground. "There's no path out," he said flatly.

It took me a moment to discern what he meant, but he was right—there was only our own trail into the trees and nothing leading out.

My heart sunk. Shaun looked like he was fighting back tears. I double-checked the trees overhead, but the branches were bare. We were alone.

"I need to know what happened to her," Shaun said. He stood and began to kick the leaves into flurries of dust, almost as if he hoped to uncover Jade beneath them.

Instead, he revealed the beige hiking pack I'd lent Jessie. He was too preoccupied to pick it up, so I slung it over my other shoulder. I was weighed down a bit by all the luggage, but since I knew we could always use more survival gear, I was unwilling to leave anything potentially useful behind.

When I looked up again, Shaun had graduated to punching and kicking at the surrounding tree trunks. I stepped toward him, and my heart lept as I saw stark red blood smeared on the white bark and across his knuckles.

"Shaun, stop!" I pleaded, clutching at his jacket to try to restrain him. He shook me off. "Hurting yourself won't save her."

He halted and slowly turned to stare at me, panting. His tired eyes were now bloodshot.

"We'll try to find her," I assured him. "We'll do everything we can."

"There's nothing we can do."

"What makes you so sure? We can search—"

"There was that weird flash of light earlier. Then this. They disappeared from thin air. Two inexplicable events. It can't be a coincidence."

I blinked, not having made the connection. "That doesn't mean there's no hope."

He gave a cruel, derisive laugh. "There isn't any hope! All of our lives are destroyed." His voice grew louder and angrier as he went on. "And it's nothing we did—it's all because something happened to us so long ago we can't even remember! We tried to make the best of it and form a stupid little...community. But this is what you get for becoming too attached to anyone. You of all people should know, Tess. Look at Kyle!"

He staggered and slumped against a tree as if all his fury had drained away. "I'm sorry." He buried his face in his bloodied hands, his shoulders rising and falling as he gasped for air. "I just got my hopes up that she'd be here."

I sat down beside him and rested my head against the tree. "I understand. I've had maybe eleven breakdowns in the past few months." I let out a soft chuckle. "There's no need to apologize. We will look for them, Shaun. Just keep breathing."