One of the things we’d done the first day after Chloe woke up was to bring in two doctors that Mason knew and trusted, to check her and Mason out for any possible negative side effects from Spectrum. So far, there were none. From the early blood work we’d run, it looked like the drug’s benefits would last for roughly one month. Not bad, but Mason had already come up with some ideas for herbs that could be incorporated into either the Takers’ diet or the drug itself, to make it last more than twice that long.
Dad’s formula was everything he’d hoped it could be.
The majority of the Takers had agreed with “Cooper’s” decision to appoint Joey the new leader of the NWS. He only agreed to do it if the groups would select one of each type of Night Walker to act as advisors. Joey had initially pushed for an actual Night Walker to be the leader, but Chloe convinced him that it would be better for someone who wasn’t biased toward a specific type to unite and lead this very broken group. Mason was selected as the Taker advisor, Randall was the Builder advisor, and they chose me to advise on behalf of the Watchers.
I wished Dad could be here to take on the role he deserved, but in his place, I agreed to do my best.
Parker’s body was healing well from all the physical abuse it had endured. He’d taken Spectrum for himself shortly after Chloe had woken up, and his body had reacted more violently. We weren’t sure whether it was related to him not being a true Taker or the exhausted state of his body, but he suffered through the convulsions for over an hour. I wondered so many times during that hour if I’d made a huge mistake in agreeing that he should take it. But since then he’d gotten several solid nights of sleep and looked like a different person.
Actually, since Parker was back in charge all the time instead of Darkness … he was a different person.
Since Dr. Rivera wasn’t answering my questions, I resorted to my tried-and-true method. It only took me one night in his dreams to sort out where he kept his experimental vials, and which one could help turn Parker back into a Watcher. We’d given it to him three times now with no results, but Parker said it had taken time for them to turn him into a Taker, so we shouldn’t expect the opposite to be any different.
At the end of the week, as Randall, Joey, and Mason walked me out of the amusement park to say goodbye at the van, we passed an old, kid-sized bumper car ride that I hadn’t noticed before. Each cart sat still and silent, vines and weeds threatening to eat the metal alive. Even in full daylight, the whole place just creeped me out. I was happy to hear that Joey had no intention of staying here permanently.
Randall chuckled at something Mason said behind me. Those two had hit it off from their first meeting, when Randall and the other rebels came to officially meet Joey and the other new NWS leaders. Since then, Randall had been at the Taker base more often than not. The leadership had even discussed moving some of the rebels from Cypress Crest to a new permanent base … once we found one.
I’d been thinking a lot about the old one, Benton Air Force Base. It hurt so much to think about it or even look at—it was the place where Dad had died. But that base might feel different to me if we were moving back to set up an organization that would honor him instead of imprison him. That idea felt right.
“I’ve been thinking … I went back to visit the old Taker base a couple of weeks ago. It’s huge, and more than two-thirds of it was completely undamaged.” I could feel all their eyes on me, and I deliberately didn’t meet them because I was fighting off difficult emotions already. “The buildings are sound, and it would fit so many more people than anywhere else I can think of. Plus, I think my father would—I think Dad would like to know it eventually ended up as a place that helped Night Walkers, like he’d always hoped it could be.”
Joey nodded, then extended his hand and shook mine. “That sounds like a good plan … we have so many things to fix after all the fighting. I would be the perfect place to start. Many mistakes were made there, including what happened to your dad. I’m sorry for that.”
“Thank you. But we need to stop looking back and move forward. Now seems like the right time for that.” I smiled and Joey smiled back. It was the first time I’d ever seen him look happy. It was nice. I hoped in the future he’d have many more reasons to smile.
“Are you sure you’re not interested in coming back to Cypress Crest, Jack? It will be safer there now … ” Randall looked a little hurt, expecting I’d again reject his suggestion. I knew he missed Libby as much as I did, and that was part of the emotion behind his question, but me moving back there wouldn’t bring her back.
What I was planning to do, I did in honor of everyone I’d lost. I was trying to move forward with a normal life—the life we all might have had if we hadn’t been surrounded by war. It felt like the best way to thank those I loved for what they’d sacrificed.
“Thank you.” I clapped my hand on his shoulder. “But I think it’s about time I lived with my brother permanently. We’ll come and visit. I’d like to bring flowers for Marisol and Libby—and my mom.”
We both knew that the graveyard across the street from Cypress Crest was too full of people we’d known and loved—even more so for Randall than for me.
He gave me a sad smile. “You’ll both always be welcome.”
I missed Mom, Dad, Libby, and everyone else I’d lost. They’d left holes in me that wouldn’t ever go away, but I knew that losing Parker too would’ve been more than I could have ever recovered from. Now that I knew he was going to be okay, I was learning that those holes don’t have to be left vacant and gaping forever. Every step toward new people I cared about filled them up just a little bit.
When we got to the van, Parker and Chloe were already there, just finishing loading up their stuff. Mrs. Chipp had driven home yesterday, with a plan to set up a room for me. I’d told her I would be just as comfortable in a sleeping bag in the backyard. She’d given me a hug and shook her head before carrying on with her “new bedroom” planning.
Joey dropped one big arm across Chloe’s shoulders and she fell against him under the weight of it with a laugh. “You sure you don’t want to stay here?”
“No.” She shook her head and gave him a hug before ducking free. “I have school this fall, remember? I’ll stay at the house in Oakville and come out whenever I can.”
Joey rubbed the back of one hand with the other, looking distinctly uncomfortable with the idea. “Maybe I should go with you?”
“I’ll be fine.” Chloe put one of her hands on top of his giant ones. “They really need you to stay with them. You need to make sure they don’t go back down Dad’s road.” Joey had said from the beginning that the Takers didn’t have to take Spectrum unless they wanted to.
He still appeared to be thinking about arguing with his sister’s plans. “Promise me you’ll keep me updated and I can come visit?”
She stood on her tiptoes and lowered her brow as she gave him a stern look. Even at that, she still only came up to his shoulders. “I promise.”
He sighed in resignation and then shot a look over at Parker and me. “And you two will keep her out of trouble?”
Chloe winked at me, then grinned.
I laughed and said, “Your job leading the Takers might be the easier one … but we’ll do our best.”
Parker pulled out his phone and checked the time. “If we’re going to make it home in time to beat the others over there … ”
Ever since he’d taken Spectrum, he’d been talking every day about going to see Finn, Addie, and Mia. Their parents had ordered them to come home immediately the instant they’d found out Finn had been hurt.
I lowered my chin and looked at him. “Because they will do what if we aren’t there on time? You know they’ll just be sitting there waiting for you even if we’re hours late, right?”
Parker’s expression changed to mock dismay at my comment. “Well, we obviously have a lot to teach you abo
ut manners now that you’re moving in. Being punctual is the same as being awesome.”
“I really think I should reconsider staying here … ” I turned my back on my brother, but he slipped up beside me when I wasn’t looking. Before I knew it, he hit my elbow hard enough that my keys flew out of my hand. Then he grabbed them from midair and jogged back toward the driver’s side of the van, yelling over his shoulder, “Come on—I’m driving!”
Chloe and I said quick goodbyes to Mason, Randall, and Joey before hopping into the backseat of the van. I was privately grateful that Parker had insisted on driving because I felt like I hadn’t had any time to really talk to Chloe alone since she’d taken Spectrum.
My brother seemed intent on giving us some time, too. Before we were even all the way out of the Funtopia parking lot, he had the radio turned up a bit on the front speakers and the rearview mirror was angled so the only thing he could possibly see out of it was the ceiling.
Wow, he was smooth … and not at all subtle. My neck felt oddly hot and I hoped Chloe wasn’t paying too much attention to what Parker was doing. If she noticed, she didn’t say anything, and I appreciated that.
She sat close enough that our legs and arms touched every time the van went over the slightest bump. It was distracting and fantastic in the best possible way. The color had returned to her face and cheeks slowly over the last week. She now looked positively vibrant with life. If I’d thought she was beautiful before, she was flat-out stunning now. We hadn’t kissed since before she’d taken Spectrum, but now my brain didn’t want to think about doing anything else.
“I think we need to talk about it,” Chloe said abruptly.
“You do?” I asked, sitting up a little straighter.
“Yes.” She shifted slightly until her body was angled toward me.
“Okay.” I shifted too before following up with the all-important question. “What are we talking about?”
“Drugs.”
I frowned … definitely not even on my remote possibility list for what I’d thought she could be talking about. “Drugs?”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about doing it.” Chloe reached out and took one of my hands in hers. “I want to know what you think.”
“About drugs and doing it?” I repeated, then realized that this had come out very wrong. The corner of Chloe’s mouth quirked up and she put an extremely appalled look on her face. Before she could go any further with teasing me, I decided to cut her off.
“You’re messing with me,” I said. “Tell me what you really mean.”
She smiled, and with a slight bob of her head, clarified. “I’ve been thinking about taking the drug that would turn me into a Builder.” This time, the nervous expression on her face was completely sincere.
I wrapped my fingers tighter around hers. “You’re a Taker and you’re healthy now. Why would you want to mess with that?”
“Because if I was a Builder, I could help you.” She rubbed the back of her thumb across my knuckles but wouldn’t meet my eyes.
What she was offering was huge. It was sweet and generous … and dangerous.
I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed each knuckle. “Thank you, but I’m not willing to risk you for that. We have no idea if any of those drugs are safe. It isn’t worth it. Besides, you just spent several days teaching me how cool and useful Taker abilities actually are. You don’t want to give that up completely. Regular Builders can help me, and now that you actually have dreams, I can always visit you there.”
Chloe looked half disappointed and half relieved, then looked up at me with a mischievous smile. “Maybe Mia could teach me a few tricks about self-hypnosis?”
A surprised laugh escaped my chest. “That sounds like an idea worth trying.”
Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled Chloe in close and kissed her—first her eyelids, her nose and cheeks, and then down to her lips. We could be as soft and as slow as we wanted, because now we both had all the time in the world, and we were determined to take full advantage of it.
The End
Acknowledgments
Finishing a series is such an amazing thing. You realize how far you’ve come since the beginning, and sometimes how little you knew before you started. Right now, the main people I want to thank are the readers. You’ve read and stuck with this story through it all. You’ve loved it. You’ve emailed me to talk about your feelings for the story, how it kept you up reading, and then you asked for the next one.
You are incredible. This has become your story. You are the Night Walkers.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for telling other people to read. Thank you for loving Parker, Jack, Finn, Addie, Mia, and hopefully now Chloe. Their stories only became important when you read them and cared about them.
And a special shout-out to all my international readers from around the globe. Your unbelievable support has helped me learn that this world is a smaller, friendlier place than I’d ever believed.
I also want to thank my amazing agent, Kathleen Rushall, who supports me through literally everything. This journey would’ve been nothing without you! Thanks to Taryn Fagerness, who helped this book get into the hands of publishers and readers around the globe. Thanks to Brian Farrey-Latz, Mallory Hayes, Sandy Sullivan, Lisa Novak, and the rest of the Flux team for making these books stand out in such great ways. You’ve made this ride so exciting.
Thank you to all of the other amazing writers that help me mold an idea into something that actually makes sense, starting with the Seizure Ninjas, my weekly critique group (long story on the name, don’t ask): Janci Patterson, James Goldberg, Heather Clark, Cavan Helps, Heidi Summers, Lee Ann Setzer, Sandra Tayler, and Alex Haig. Massive thanks to you all! You’re the reason this book was finished.
Thank you to the writing community, both here in Utah and across the country, as well as to online groups like my lovely YA Scream Queens and the Lucky 13s. You’re all so wonderful. Thank you for accepting me with all my quirks.
Also, thank you to my oldest and truest writing friends: Michelle Argyle, Natalie Whipple, Kasie West, Candice Kennington, Renee Collins, Bree Despain, Sara Raasch, and Nichole Giles. You’re fantastically awesome. You know how much I love you.
Thank you to my family and friends who read my books: Mom, Krista, Bill, Eric, Grandma Maurice, Nick Whipple, Dave Cutler, and everyone else who helps and supports me in so many ways. You’re the best!
Lastly, to my incredible husband, Anders, and our boys, Cameron and Parker. You inspire me. I’m excited to wake up to any day that has all of you in it. Thank you for putting up with my late nights and hectic schedule. I couldn’t have written a single page without you. Thank you. I love all three of you with every little piece of me.
© Michelle Davidson Argyle
About the Author
J. R. Johansson is the author of the Night Walkers trilogy (Flux) and Cut Me Free (FSG/Macmillan, 2015). She has two amazing sons and a wonderful husband who keep her busy and happy; in fact, but for the company of her kitten, she’s pretty much drowning in testosterone. They live in a valley between huge mountains and a beautiful lake where the sun shines more than three hundred days per year. She loves writing, playing board games, and sitting in her hot tub. Her dream is that someday she can do all three at the same time.
Visit the author online at www.jrjohansson.com.
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