Phantom Universe (35 page)

“
Cameron!” chides Gage. “You couldn’t walk five feet?”

“
Oh, I’m so sorry, Summer,” apologizes Cameron with a grimace.

Summer reaches down and picks up the bottle Cameron threw at her. She flips it over and over, looking up at Cameron questioningly.

“
It’s temporary hair dye. Follow the directions.” Cameron stares at her and waits. “Hurry! We don’t have long; get Lucy to help you.” Chaos ensues as everyone begins to change clothes, and Lucy dyes Summer’s hair a rich black. It only takes a few minutes before everyone’s changed and Summer’s clothes and hair are so different that she looks like a rocker chick—completely the opposite of what she’s used to. Lucy’s highly impressed at how quickly the hair dye works and continues to touch Summer’s wet and tangled hair in awe.

“
Is everyone ready?” asks Cameron. “Emma and Zoe are waiting for us.”

They’re all ready—eager and terrified, but ready. Summer still can’t believe that all these people are willing to break her out of this place when she might have been the one to cause them to time travel in the first place, leading them to this camp. She’s never dreamed of being so lucky.

Gage reaches for her and pulls her close. “Then there’s only one thing left to do now . . . I’m going to commit treason.”

CHAPTER
41: FIRECRACKER

16 years old

The sun hasn’t faded yet, which makes their escape a little more difficult. Or obvious. So instead of running behind each building, begging to be caught, they go through the crowd in the courtyard. They blend in. Because of Summer’s drastic change in clothes and hair, no one gives her a second look as Gage escorts her through the bedlam in the courtyard, most of them still eating dinner. He’s careful to clear the way so she’s not overcrowded. The females in the courtyard have eyes glued to Gage, sparkling like they’re worshipping his every muscle. But their eyes always seem to trail down his arm and find Summer’s hand attached to his, and then they glare at her. She can’t help but stare at the ground as they walk between tables full of people, wishing to dissolve into the ground.

All of her friends have spread out in groupings so they’re less conspicuous, though they plan to meet at the parking lot behind the Edward Complex. Many of the Leaguers filter into the mass of people, stopping before every blonde they see. One of the Leaguers rushes up to them, and Gage quickly pulls Summer behind him. The Leaguer’s skin is covered with colorful tattoos, all the way up his neck and down his exposed, muscled arms.

“
Hey, Appleton!” the man says, out of breath.

“
Kevin Raclaw,” greets Gage stoically. Summer recognizes the name and knows this man’s in charge of the camp and doesn’t care much for the Outlanders. This could set them back and possibly ruin their plans if Gage doesn’t find a way to dump him quickly.

“
Whatever happened to that hot little blonde girl you liked?” asks Kevin nonchalantly, though the undertone isn’t friendly. He sweeps his brown hair from his dark eyes that search the throng of people. “You know they’ll want to check her out—she looks too much like the sketch they provided.” His voice lowers as his eyes land on her. “If you ask me, I think it’s her.”

Summer wants to melt into the ground, just knowing he can see right through the black hair dye and dark clothes.

Gage promptly relinquishes Summer’s hand and steps away, pulling Kevin with him. “You should really keep your voice down,” Gage scolds, and Kevin’s eyes snap to his, abandoning his penetrating stare on Summer. “Don’t tell this one behind me,” he whispers with a tilt of his head at Summer, “but I’m supposed to be meeting that hot blonde behind building K in twenty minutes.” He elbows Kevin, and they both chuckle. “The blonde? She’s a firecracker that one—so if you’re planning on going back there, first make sure you give me time to finish up, and secondly, bring backup.”

Kevin’s eyes flick to Summer’s, and she glances down quickly to avoid his stare. “You’re a goldrod, Appleton!”

“
No Kevin, I’m smart. Now if you don’t mind”—his thumb stabs over his shoulder at Summer—“I only have twenty minutes, if you know what I mean.” There’s a lilt in his voice.

“
By all means,” Kevin says with a chuckle. “I’ve got an Outlander to find.”

Kevin strides away, and Gage turns and reaches for Summer. When Kevin’s out of hearing range Gage says, “Now we definitely don’t have much time, but at least I sent them to the opposite end of the camp.” He lets out a long breath.

She grips his hand firmly, and he leads her away from the courtyard and to the left between the Leaguer building and cafeteria until they’re on the outskirts of the camp. They stride amid the humming electrical fence and the Leaguer building. Only a hundred feet ahead of them is Cameron, Rob, and Jaden, and a hundred feet behind them is Lucy, Avery, and Landon. It’s just now six in the evening, and the sun’s at a slant in the sky, blinding Summer as they reach the Edward Complex, the building in the far corner of the camp. Gage stops abruptly and pulls Summer away from the side of the building so they’re directly in front of it. Cameron, Rob, and Jaden are already past the building, though Lucy, Landon, and Avery stop.

Landon moves close to Summer. “Ducky, are ye going to be okay with this plan? We’ll all be here for ye—we’re in this together.”

Gage quickly wraps an arm around Summer as she nods. “Here’s where things become tricky. Now we have to make it through the gate without the alarms going off. Because of your neural transplants, if you leave the perimeter without permission alarms will alert the Leaguers in and out of the camp. These alarms are all silent—but luckily you have Cameron and me to tell you if they’ve been activated.” He taps his temple. “But we’re in the deepest pile of splash if they are. The other hard part? Cameras are everywhere. Today I brought, ironically enough, my Outlander with me. It’s the largest on-road vehicle they make and has no windows in the back—easy to hide all of you. You’ll go through the building here.” His pivots around, turning Summer with him, and points at the Edward Complex’s entrance. “Follow the hallway until you’re on the other end. Wait for me to signal you then run to me, okay?”

Nervous mumbles of approval meet his words.

“
Where’s Jaden and Rob?” asks Lucy with a frown.

“
They’re fine,” answers Gage. “We don’t have much time, so go!”

They dash toward the front door of the building, though Gage stops Summer before she takes off. “You make sure you’re the first out that door, understand?” His green eyes bore into hers, imploring her to do as he says. She gives a tiny nod. “Good. Now go before they get too far ahead.” He leans down and gently places a kiss on her forehead before he turns and vanishes around the corner of the building.

Summer springs into motion and races toward the entrance door that Landon holds open. Once inside, the hallway seems to swallow them whole, the lights are off and only the sun’s slanting rays from the backdoor’s window illuminate the hallway. Lucy and Avery already wait at the backdoor, their backs against the wall as if hiding from someone on the other side. Landon grasps Summer’s hand and pulls her along, though they come to a skidding halt when a door opens and Dr. Frankfurt steps out, cleaning his classes and not paying attention.

“
Oh! There you are Dr. Frankfurt,” exclaims Landon in relief, as if the whole point of them running down the hallway is to catch him.

Dr. Frankfurt jumps in slight surprise and puts his glasses back on. “You know,” he says absentmindedly, “I really should just get the eye surgery, but the glasses make me look more scholarly, don’t you think?” He blinks at them, focusing his eyes.

“
Of course,” agrees Landon without pause, slightly out of breath.

“
So what’s it you need that can’t wait until tomorrow?” asks Dr. Frankfurt with raised eyebrows.

“
This is going to be really embarrassing,” Landon begins, “but ye never really explained the whole sex thing and the laws surrounding it?” He makes sure Dr. Frankfurt can see that he’s holding Summer’s hand. At this Summer begins to blush furiously, helping his farce out. “And ye know . . . we want to . . .” The lie slides off his tongue so smoothly it surprises Summer, though that doesn’t stop her from being mortified.

“
Ah, I see,” says Dr. Frankfurt, removing his glasses and cleaning them again, as if this act will prevent him from having to look at them as he answers. “There are no laws against having sex with another, but one must be cautious and use appropriate protection. Though, I guess they don’t provide protection here, do they?” He pauses and places his glasses back on his face, pushing them up his nose. “If you’re serious about Summer, then perhaps I can provide you with the appropriate protection, yes? Can you wait a day?”

“
Um, yes sir, we can,” replies Landon casually.

The fact he knows Summer’s name makes her shiver, just as it did when he knew people’s names in class. She knows running into Dr. Frankfurt is so not good and Landon feels the same, she can tell. Their palms grow sweaty, and she can feel his heart beat quicken. She’s trying her hardest not to physically tremble.

“
All right, well you two better be getting back to your rooms. I’ve got to lock up,” says Dr. Frankfurt, closing the door behind him and fumbling with his keys. “Damn these old locks. How did you ever use keys?”

While Dr. Frankfort’s back is turned, Landon gestures for Lucy and Avery to go ahead as they wave frantically and point at the door. Avery nods his head at them, and then they stealthily open the door and slip through, closing it with care.

“
You know what?” says Landon. “Why don’t you let me help you lock up?”

Dr. Frankfurt grunts an approval and hands him the keys. Landon quickly locks the classroom door and begins to walk down the hallway with Summer in tow. She has no idea what game he’s playing, but she goes along with it. She peeks over her shoulder and sees Dr. Frankfurt walk into another room. Landon picks up his pace until they reach the exit. He quickly opens the door and shoves Summer outside where the sun blinds her. Her arm automatically flies up to shield her eyes. The air smells like freedom.

“
It has to be this way,” whispers Landon hastily behind her. “If we both go he’ll become suspicious.” And then he closes the door. She twists around instantly and notices Landon isn’t there. Then there’s a click as the door locks. She knows if she pounds on the door Dr. Frankfurt will wonder what’s up, but, at the same time, she wants to anyway. Instead, she grabs the door’s handle and jerks it down with all her strength, begging it to open, but it doesn’t budge.
We can’t leave without Landon! We just can’t.

But then arms enclose around her waist and yank her away. In the dying sun she can see Landon’s downcast face through the window right before he pivots and steps away.

CHAPTER
42: VORTEX

16 years old

Summer struggles against the iron muscles of Gage as he whispers frantically in her ear, “He’s doing this to rescue you. You have to let him go!”

She knows this, but she doesn’t want to—she’d rather give herself to the Secret Clock Society than this. When the Leaguers find out Landon’s involved in their escape they’ll kill him. Their laws are so firm and final—he’ll have no chance against them. There’s nothing Gage can say that will make this all right. She continues to struggle, but he’s having none of that. He picks her up with an arm around her waist and hauls her over to his sleek vehicle with no edges, all just smooth curves and shiny, sparkling-silver paint.

Jaden and Rob are yelling at each other near the parking lot’s entrance, and from the small glimpse Summer receives, Cameron’s holding them apart while beckoning the Leaguers at the gate to come and help. It’s a ruse, just like Landon with the keys.

Lucy and Avery pull her into the back of Gage’s vehicle as he gently sets her down. She tries to break free, but Lucy only holds on to her tighter, her grip surprisingly strong. “I’m sure he’ll make it out of there in time,” soothes Lucy. It’s obvious she’s lying by the slight quiver in her voice. She’s not convincing anyone, not even herself, and the pain’s so obvious in Lucy’s green eyes that they turn into pools of darkness inside the car.

Gage’s eyes are heavy with sympathy as he disappears behind the sliding door as it closes. Now they’re all cast in shadows. Only a small amount of light from the front window trickles in from the fading sun so all she can see is the outline of Avery’s face across from her with his bright red hair. Lucy pulls Summer farther into the vehicle which has bench seats on all sides. Her grip soon becomes a comforting hug as she rocks them both back and forth, her chin resting on Summer’s shoulder. She’s not sure what it is about Lucy, but she relaxes into her embrace and lets the weight of it all just fall away. Just for a second. A fraction of a second. The door on the opposite side slides open, and light floods in as two shadows hop into the back, laughing hysterically. It’s Jaden and Rob, completely absorbed in each other. “I can’t believe you called that guard a ‘skanky, scrotum-chewing, anal discharge-licking prat’!”