by Tracy Korn
"We have to help them! Vox, let me go!" I struggle against her until Arco grips my hand, and in the second I stop fighting, Vox reaches into the collar of my dive suit and pulls out the NET. "No! We have to—!" I start, but am cut off when we hear a loud whistle, then see Cal, Dell and about 20 other people our age dressed in silver jumpsuits like Lyden and Arwyn pushing into the room.
"They came back!" Avis says, shoving Ellis. "I told you they would come back!" he adds as Dell makes his way to Styx. Within two steps, all the new guards in black seize and collapse like they've just been unplugged.
"Did you know these batons could fry the white ones?" Dell asks Mr. Styx as he flips a silver baton into the air, then swats it against his leg. "Wonder what else they can do." He raises his brows and pushes out his bottom lip in contemplation as two of the new boys grab Styx from behind and force him to drop his baton.
Ellis and Avis cheer loudly behind me as Cal runs down the steps to us, and Vox bolts out the enclosure door. She grips his shirt and kisses him hard on the mouth, surprising everyone, including him until he wraps his arms around her waist, then pulls back to talk.
"Why didn't you wait? I thought you'd be killed without—" he asks, but Vox stops his sentence with another kiss, then presses the NET to his chest.
"Waiting will kill you too…it just takes longer to die," she says as the floor starts vibrating.
"Dad!" I shout, pushing past Tieg and Dez on my way out of the cube enclosure, but Vox just pushes me back inside, and Arco closes his arms around me. I struggle until the buzzing in my ears starts again, and my breath stops in my chest as the doorway at the back of the room slides open.
Riptide…Liddick thinks, then stumbles down the stairs. Dez shouts his name too close to my ear and rushes out the enclosure door.
"Dezzie, stop!" Tieg yells, running after her and abruptly knocking the door closed behind him in his hurry. I flinch backward as it slams, tears flooding my eyes while everything inside me is crashes into itself.
Liddick, come on! I call to him in my mind, relieved that he is finally here. I try to reopen the door, but it won't release. No…I think, my stomach sinking as I remember what Liam said about the code my father wrote to lock the doors. Liddick, tell my dad to unlock the door! You all have to get in. Liam said no one would be able to follow us! I shout in my head. He climbs halfway back up the stairs to help my father and Zoe with Azeris, who looks like he must have been grazed by a baton, then screams something when my father grips his shoulders. Liddick! What's happening!? I call in my mind. His brows dart in as he turns to me and shakes his head.
Rip, it's too late…but we'll figure it out, OK? Listen to me, you were right the whole time—I wouldn't leave. I heard you…I saw you. You're the reason I got out of the Woods. I wouldn't leave you, all right? I won't leave!
It's not too late! Liddick, my dad can open the door. It's not too late! I think as he starts to fade into a brightening light along with everyone else. It can't be too late, I plead in my thoughts with whatever code or wind it is that controls things down here. I try to yell through the cube wall, but my throat clamps down like a vice on the words.
We'll figure out a way to follow you—I'll find a way—I'll meet you on the other side of the bridge, all right? Just get to Admin City, Rip, and I promise I'll find a way!
The light surges again, swallowing him just as Dez throws her arms around his neck. I can barely make out Zoe shielding her eyes next to Azeris before I blink back another flood of tears, and the light takes her too. I won't let my eyes close again when I see my father standing on the other side of Azeris because I know if I do, when I open them again, he'll also vanish. He nods to me slowly, and I press my hands against the clear wall, which is alive with the same kind of current I felt from the Vishan's NET.
I drop to my knees. Suddenly, it's too hard to stand. Arco's arms fold me back into him, and my eyes start to burn. I won't blink, though, not even when the light engulfs my father, who was holding out a hand to me and probably still is. I look over at the other cube to find Jax, but only see the last of him fading into the light. Breathe…I think, hoping he'll hear me somehow.
Dell leans on one of the seated console stations closest to us and winks at me when I meet his eyes. He raises two fingers to his forehead in a salute when he starts to disappear into the light, and my breath hitches when two guards in white suddenly grab his arms. A mass of fiery hair appears at his side as red dragon lady nails tap the console where he was sitting, and in the second I blink, those, too, are gone.
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Acknowledgments
This story would not have been possible without the support of my tribe. Countless thanks to my beta readers for their patience, keen eyes, and honest feedback: Katie Casavan, Deb Commons, Sami Hensely, Trevor Kehoe, Chloe Laubert, Olive Laurence, Jim McClain, Margarita McClain, Kathleen Merritt, Chris Nance, Katelynn Pittman, Dominic Porter, Lorelei Porter, Kathy Plank, Tracy Siri, Anna "Iron Chef" Swenson, Nico Valentijn, and Robert White. To Jim Emmons and the University Park Barnes & Noble staff, you guys are amazing! Thank you so much for being as excited about this book as I am. To my students, their parents, my administrators, and my colleagues, thank you for being such enthusiastic supporters, team players, and overall awesome people. To my writing partner Ryan Bachtel (who could probably recite the last three chapters of this book by now), you have my undying gratitude for not only being willing to review passages for the zillionth time, but also for being enthusiastic and resourceful to the end. Your support and encouragement, and most of all your friendship are invaluable to me. Of course, Mom, thank you for your unwavering support in this and all things. I can't imagine who I would be without you. To my children, thank you for letting these characters move in with us for a while. They seem to work their way into everything from car conversations to summer cookouts, and it would be impossible for me to dedicate any time to them without your acceptance, support, and inspiration. I love you guys! To my husband, who has not only been my sounding board for plot arcs, but also my art director, photographer, designer, and overall partner in the creation of this story (not to mention the one with significantly more plot twists), thank you for jumping with me and for believing that I can do anything. Last but not least, thank you to all the readers who have become as big a part of The Elements Series universe as the characters themselves. With each of you, a whole new story experience begins…and that might just be the coolest thing ever.
About the Author
Tracy Korn's years of teaching high school English have convinced her that teenagers are superheroes. Their resiliency, drive, and passion in making the world a better place inspired the character driven, high action and adventure YA fiction of The Elements Series. When she's not spending time with family, writing, reading, or teaching, she coaches FTC robotics and tries to learn everything she can about filmmaking and virtual reality game design.
Tracy holds Master's degrees from Indiana University in Secondary Education, in Language, Culture, and Literacy Education, and in English. She lives in Indiana with her husband and their two very own superheroes. Stay in touch at www.TracyKorn.com.
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