Shattered (19 page)

“Hang on, Em, I think we’re almost there.”

After pulling up to the stoplight just outside of Fauna, New Mexico, Trinity stole a glance into the back of the van. Before he died, Grandpa had made the vehicle “Emmy proof” by adding a flame-resistant coating of paint to the walls and blacking out the windows to deter any potential spies. He’d even added a little nest of blankets for the dragon to sleep on, creating a cozy cave. But while Emmy normally enjoyed her plush accommodations, today she couldn’t seem to relax, pacing from wall to wall, puffs of smoke twining from her nose.

“Are you okay?” Trinity called back to her.

I’m just excited
, Emmy replied.
Do
you
really
think
your
father
can
help
me? Do you think he has a plan?

She gave the dragon a small shrug before turning back to the road. “I wish I could say for sure,” she said. “But I honestly have no idea. I mean, the whole thing seems absolutely crazy, right? But then everything about this has been crazy from the start. And if there’s any chance that he can help? Well, we gotta find out for sure.” She gripped the steering wheel with both hands. “Don’t worry. I promised to protect you, Emmy. And I’m going to keep that promise, no matter what. No more distractions—no more boys—from now on, it’s all about you.”

She wondered if Connor had returned with his brother yet. If they’d found her note. She felt like such a coward, just taking off like that, without even saying good-bye. Not to mention stealing some of their remaining cash and her grandpa’s van. After all they’d done for her…

But she’d had no choice. They would have tried to convince her to stay. To say that they’d change—that things would be different from there on out. That they’d work together this time, no more drama, no more fights, no more putting Emmy last. And maybe, for a time, that would be true. But then they’d find themselves at another standstill. And Emmy would be the one to suffer.

As she pulled out from the light, Emmy padded up to the front seat, effectively claiming shotgun. Trinity wondered if she should insist the dragon return to the back of the vehicle. After all, if someone were to peer inside, they might catch a glimpse of something they weren’t supposed to see. But in the end, she allowed it. She was feeling a little lonely now that she was on her solo mission, and Emmy’s company definitely helped.

As she turned a corner at the next light, a large shopping center loomed in front of her, a lone behemoth in an otherwise undeveloped desert. She stared at it for a moment, puzzled, wondering if she’d made a mistake. But no, a quick glance at her phone’s GPS told her this was the address she’d gotten from the Ouroboros.

She’d expected a secret laboratory. Or a hidden bunker deep in the desert maybe. Something. Anything. Except for this.

A Wal-Mart Supercenter?

A little unnerved, she pulled into the busy parking lot. She let the engine idle for a moment as she watched a harried-looking mom herd three children into the store, while a man in a mustache and cowboy hat exited with arms filled with purchases. A few teens hung outside, leaning against the store’s exterior wall, playing handheld video games, while another kid in a trademark blue smock corralled shopping carts into a long train.

Trin sighed, suddenly envying the normalcy of the scene. She tried to tell herself these carefree Wal-Mart shoppers had hopes and fears and stresses and worries just like everyone else—just like her—but in her heart she knew it wasn’t the same.

She glanced over at Emmy who was watching her curiously. “What do you think?” she asked. “Why would Dad send us here?”

Emmy peeked her head up to look out the window.
Because
he
wanted
you
to
buy
me
something
shiny?
she suggested, batting her eyes at Trin.

Trinity snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure that was it,” she said with a laugh. “Forget the fate of the world and concentrate on some retail therapy.”

You
did
say
it
was
all
about
me
, Emmy reminded her slyly.

Trinity groaned. “I’ll see what I can do, okay? You stay here. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Can’t I come with you?

Trinity sighed, noting the pleading look on the dragon’s face. “You know I’d want nothing more,” she assured her gently. “But it’s too dangerous. You do remember what happened at the football stadium, right?”

Emmy gave her a regretful look.
I
was
hoping
you’d forgotten.

“Trust me, I will never forget that little adventure,” Trin said with a laugh. Then seeing Emmy’s hurt expression, she softened. “Look, I’ll keep the link open between us, okay? You’ll be able to hear everything that’s going on the whole time. And if I need help, you’ll be the first dragon I call.”

Emmy nodded, seeming appeased by this. She leapt into the back of the van and curled up in her pile of blankets. Relieved, Trinity popped open the door and stepped out of the van, locking it behind her. She looked around for a moment, making sure no one was watching her. But everyone seemed to be going about their business, not giving her a second glance. Finally satisfied, she headed into the store.

“Okay, Dad,” she murmured. “Ready or not, here I come.”

Once inside, she grabbed a cart and began going down the main aisle, feeling a little stupid, not sure who—or what—she should be looking for. Her father would have aged sixteen years since the vision she’d seen—would she even recognize him now if she saw him? She studied the faces of each person she passed, but none looked even remotely like dear old Dad.

Anything?
Emmy asked impatiently from the van.

Trinity shook her head before remembering the dragon couldn’t see her.
No
, she sent instead.
I
mean, I don’t think so. But it’s a big store and a lot of people—it’s going to take a while to cover it all.

She tried to sound optimistic, not wanting Emmy to think they’d made a mistake coming here, but as she walked down aisle after aisle with no sign of her father, a sinking feeling began to settle in her stomach. Was she crazy to have even come? What had she expected to find? Her dad popping out from aisle thirteen with a rollback special on a can of dragon-disaster removal? Heck, even if he had originally planned to meet her here, he would have expected her to show up months ago. How long would he have staked out the superstore before giving up or accidentally alerting the security detail?

Did
you
find
him
yet?
Emmy broke in again.
Does
he
have
a
plan
to
save
me?

Trinity sighed. This was useless.
I’m coming back to the van,
she told the dragon.
Just
let
me
grab
some
supplies
while
I’m here. At least then it won’t have been a total waste of time.

She stopped in the grocery section to pick out a rack of ribs for Emmy then, remembering the dragon’s request, headed to the jewelry counter, choosing the most glittery costume jewelry necklace she could find. She smiled a little as she tossed it into the cart, imagining the look on Emmy’s face when she pulled it from the bag. She’d been through a lot, poor thing. It was the least Trin could do. And maybe it would soften the blow a little that her big plan had been a big fail.

She had just finished paying when Emmy’s voice invaded her consciousness again.

Better
get
out
here, Trin. We’ve got company.

What? Heart in her throat, she grabbed the bag and ran out of the store without bothering to take her receipt. When she stepped outside, she almost dropped her purchases. Her van was now surrounded by what looked like the same teens she’d seen hanging out by the wall as she’d entered. But now they had put their video games away and were concentrating on….

…taking photos?

“What are you doing?” she demanded, running up to them, heart pounding in her chest. “Leave my van alone.”

The three teens turned to her. One by one their mouths fell open in shock. One of them actually dropped his iPhone, and it fell to the pavement with a loud clatter.

“It’s her,” the girl wearing black-rimmed glasses and a “timey-whimey”
Doctor
Who
T-shirt said in an awed whisper. “You were right. It’s totally her.”

The boy who had dropped his phone fumbled to pick it up so he could resume taking photos—this time of Trinity herself.

“Stop that!” she cried, horrified. “Give that to me.” She lunged for the phone, but the boy dodged her nimbly. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Did they recognize her? She’d been on the news quite a bit. But still…

“Cut it out, Nate,” the third boy commanded in a voice that made Trinity guess he was the leader. He was Asian, sporting a blue streak through his bleached blond hair. She watched as he took a step toward her, and she half wondered if she should try to make a break for it. But where would she go? Not to mention she couldn’t just leave Emmy in the van. Her heart pounded in her chest as she waited for his next move.

To her surprise, he held out his hand. “My name’s Luke,” he said in a casual voice. “I’m sorry about Nate and Natasha here. They’re just a little starstruck.”

Trinity stared at him. “Starstruck?” she repeated doubtfully.

“Yeah, you know,” he said with a small laugh. “It’s not every day we get honest to goodness celebrities here in Fauna.”

Trinity realized he was still holding out his hand. Not wanting to be rude, she reached out, giving it a tentative shake. “Um, I don’t know who you think I am,” she stammered. “But I’m not—”

“Trinity Foxx, dragon rider?”

She dropped his hand like a hot potato. It took everything inside of her not to bolt in the other direction.

Luke grinned. His teeth were a little crooked, making him look slightly mischievous. “Oh, we know all about you, Trinity Foxx,” he assured her. “We’ve been following you from the very beginning. Ever since the government tried to steal the dragon egg from your grandpa’s museum. You may have heard of us. Free-Emmy-dot-com?” He looked at her expectantly.

She gaped at him. “Free-Emmy-dot-com?”

“Well, I guess you probably haven’t had a lot of time to surf the web these days,” Luke said, looking slightly disappointed. “Anyway, we’re currently the number one visited Emmy fan site in the world. We get over two hundred thousand unique visitors every day,” he added proudly.

For a moment, Trinity found herself speechless, trying to process all he just said. “Okay, back up a second,” she blurted out at last, holding up her hands. “You made a fan site for my dragon?”

“No, we made
the
fan site,” Nate interjected.

“There are dozens of websites about Emmy,” Luke explained patiently. “Possibly hundreds if you count Tumblrs and Facebook fan pages. But none are as comprehensive as ours. We only post photos and videos after a careful authentication process. People come to us when they want to know the truth.”

“Oh my God! I cannot believe you’re really here!” Natasha burst out with a shriek. She bounced up and down, clapping her hands together. “I mean, we figured you were probably beating it down to Mexico by now, after that whole thing went down in San Angels. We’ve got a ton of stringers, waiting at the borders, hoping to catch a glimpse of the van.” She beamed. “But instead you’ve come here! To our hometown!”

Nate leapt forward, waving his phone in Trinity’s face. She took a hesitant step backward. “Can we interview you?” he begged. “Just a few questions.”

“You don’t know how much it would mean to your fans,” Natasha added with a pleading look. “To get an exclusive shout-out from Trinity Foxx herself.”

Fans? She had fans? “Um,” Trinity stammered, looking from one of the teens to the other. Of all the things she expected to happen, this was definitely not one of them. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” she said. “I’m kind of on the run, you know.”

“Right. Of course,” Luke interjected, waving Nate and his phone away. “You don’t want anyone to know where you are. Totally understandable. The last thing we need is for the government to locate you and come to take Emmy away. Who knows what would happen to her if she fell into their hands.” He grimaced.

“They’d probably dissect her,” Natasha said with a scowl. “Study her like a science experiment in one of their secret labs.”

“Or maybe they’d clone her and make her into a weapon,” added Nate a little too eagerly. “Send her off to fight in the war. Like in that book where they use dragons to fight Napoleon. That was so cool.”

“Cool in a book, but not real life,” Luke broke in, giving Nate a reprimanding look. “Don’t worry,” he assured Trinity. “We’re on your side. Anything you need, we can hook you up.”

“Um, thanks. But I really don’t think I need—”

“Hey, Luke,” Nate interjected, nodding his head to the left. “Don’t look now but the lamestream media is about to crash our party.”

Trinity followed his gesture, letting out a dismayed gasp as she recognized a brightly colored CBS news van pulling into the Wal-Mart parking lot, followed by NBC and FOX.

Luke glared at Nate. “Did you forget to mask the geocode when you uploaded the van shot again?”

Nate looked offended. “No way, dude,” he said. “I’m a professional. But um…” He glanced down at his phone. “Maybe they recognized the Wal-Mart in the background?”

“Good work, genius,” Luke retorted, smacking him upside the head. He gave Trinity an apologetic look. “We need to get you out of here. Fast. Or you’re going to end up on the evening news.” He turned to Natasha. “Get the truck! Quick!”