Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
And then it does.
But then, in your darkest hour, while that endless terrifying moment is on pause, someone steps forward as your savior.
Collin’s eyes that night were filled with anger. I’d never seen him like that. And the man holding me was begging for his life. Like he knew what was coming.
Collin either didn’t care or couldn’t hear him over his own thoughts inside his head.
The next thing I knew, my body was hot with blood and the man was on the floor behind me.
After that, I don’t know what happened. I lost time, I think. The next thing I remember is waking up in a hotel room. We couldn’t go back to the house because of the investigation and the mess.
No one really asked me what happened. Not until much later.
I went back to school. I did homework. The Revival was on winter break, so there were choir rehearsals, but nothing really structured on the weekends like during the season.
I think I lost all my friends. Not because they didn’t care about me or want to be around me, but just because I withdrew. I didn’t want to do anything with them anymore. My parents were fighting all the time. My father was so angry. But I didn’t understand why. It never made sense to me. I don’t really remember what I did that spring other than go through the motions.
The next really important moment in my life was the day after Collin left for the Marines. Because that’s the day that the CORE people showed up at the door. I was there when they came. There was an argument. My father was loud. My mother was crying.
Jim Bob Baptist showed up and there was more yelling.
I was in my room because the CORE said I needed to go with them and they wouldn’t let me leave. After hours of this back-and-forth arguing, the woman from CORE came into my bedroom and started packing things into a bag. Clothes, and shoes, and a couple of books and toys that were lying around. She didn’t say anything to me as she did this, but when she was done, she turned and smiled. It was a fake smile that every kid learns to recognize when speaking to strangers. And she said, “You’re going away to camp.”
I’m pretty sure she said more than that, but that’s the only part I remember. The next thing I knew, I lived in a dorm with other girls my age.
And from there, everything got blurry.
Some days I remember very clearly.
Some years I don’t remember at all.
Not until Brose on my eighteenth birthday.
But just because I don’t remember it doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.
“Olive?” I blink and find myself still looking into Collin’s eyes. “What did you hear?”
“‘Welcome to Chain Reaction, puppet. We think for you, you act for us.’ That’s what I heard.”
“I can still hear the voices,” Shep says. “Olive? Can you still hear them?”
“Yes,” I say. “But they don’t make sense now. They’re not words, just... sounds.”
Collin lets out a breath. “That’s the SCIF shielding you from their manipulation. Once I close the door, you should have complete relief.”
“You’re gonna lock us in here?” I ask.
“It’s the only way,” Shep says, taking a few steps in my direction. His hand takes mine and he offers me a smile. “But don’t worry. I’ll be right here with you.”
“It’s OK,” Collin says, reassuring me as well. He steps towards me and puts a hand on my arm, giving it a rub. And I’m suddenly very sad that we’ve been apart all these years. “It’s OK, Olive,” he says again. “You’re safe in here. The voices can’t get you. No one can get you. I’m gonna call Penny and we’ll figure it out. I promise. I don’t know what happened to you.” He looks at Shep. “To either of you. But I promise, we’re gonna figure it out.”
And then he backs up, which makes Amon and the other guys back up, and they close the door, leaving us in the darkness.
Shep squeezes my hand and then, in the next moment, the commotion in my head—a maelstrom of information, and voices, and sounds that have been my entire world since I was eight years old—goes silent.
“They’re gone,” Shep says.
He’s right. And, maybe for the first time since that night the man came into my bedroom, I feel like myself again.
No CORE.
No voices.
No mission.
No Brose.
It’s quiet.
The only thing is, I’m not sure who I am in the silence.
Epilogue - Shep
Something happened on my trip back to sanity.
Several things, actually.
First, there’s Olive. Sweet, tough-as-nails Olive. I’m really falling for her. There’s a bit of a disconnect as I try and parse out what we were doing with each other in those early days when we first met, because the girl I met in the speakeasy bar and the one I’m currently living with bear almost no resemblance to each other.