Mania Read online

  “I can’t sit here and wait for the Takers to attack us again. We know they’re going to—we just don’t know when, where, or how. I don’t want to be here waiting for it to happen, no matter what Jack says.” I looked at my friends, and although the fear in their eyes mimicked mine, none looked like they wanted to argue with the idea of taking action. “We have to do something. I’m just not sure what.”

  Mia spoke up suddenly, her voice surprisingly firm. “Maybe we need to start by figuring out what they are doing.”

  Ever since she’d begun meeting with a psychologist a few weeks ago, Mia had really started coming out of her shell. But it still surprised me sometimes. The psychologist had recommended she try taking painting lessons again. Painting had brought out a new spark in her, which was so nice to see.

  Addie put her hand in mine, looking nervous. I felt the same way. Especially because every scenario I could come up with to figure out what the Takers were doing left me feeling cold inside. “How could we find that out?”

  Mia shrugged. “I don’t know, but your side can’t be as powerless against the Takers as it seems, can it?”

  “I seriously hope not.” My voice sounded grim. “We have to be able to do something to fight back.”

  “I’m not sure.” Addie’s grip on my hand had tightened so much it was cutting off circulation. “Jack said you were safest here. He said you were helping him here.”

  “He said I was helping by moving his motorcycle.” I sighed and looked at Addie. I hated seeing fear in her eyes and knowing it was because of me. But that fear would never go away until this war with the Takers was over. We could pretend that the Takers weren’t out there all we wanted, but it wouldn’t make it any better. “This isn’t just Jack’s fight. I have to help … and I’ll do everything I can to stay safe, but I am not going to just sit here and do as I’m told. Not anymore. I’ll come up with some kind of plan. I’m going to help.”

  Addie still looked scared, but she squeezed my hand tighter and then exchanged a look with Finn and Mia, who nodded. Finally, she turned back to me and said, “Then whatever you decide to do, we’re in, too.”

  Before I could utter my first word of argument, she cut me off. “Don’t even start. If there’s anything the last year has taught us, it’s that our odds are infinitely better when all four of us work together. Don’t try to stop us.”

  The breath I’d been planning to argue with sputtered out of me, and I laughed. “All right then.”

  Addie grinned, but the look on Finn’s face was anything but pleased.

  “I was just thinking … ” Finn shuddered and then gave me a pointed look that told me that whatever he was about to say, he really didn’t want to be saying. “Jack might not be willing to talk to us about the Takers and everything yet, but he isn’t the only one we know with answers anymore.”

  I realized what he was saying instantly and understood his reluctance. I’m pretty sure no one would look forward to working with the person who’d taken over their body for several days. “Chloe.”

  Addie and Mia both looked hesitant, so I tried to convince them. “I know … but she really is the only option we haven’t tried yet. Isn’t it worth at least asking her?”

  Finn stared down at his feet, but the girls reluctantly nodded.

  “Great. Anyone have any way to get ahold of her?”

  Addie and Mia both frowned, but Finn closed his eyes and groaned. “I think I remember it … ”

  He grabbed my phone and punched in a contact entry and number under the name “Body Snatcher” before stalking away and muttering, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Right after I sent a quick text to Chloe, my phone chimed with an incoming text. I hoped it was from Chloe or Jack, but Mom’s smiling picture popped up instead.

  The message was short, sweet, and gave me an entirely new distraction to focus on.

  We need to have a talk about Jack. I’m heading home for a bit. If you aren’t home, meet me there.

  Seven

  Jack

  Chloe tensed when I pressed the button and the puzzle box hissed. Something inside had diffused, and the sound was followed by the click of a latch being released. The front corner of the box rose slightly, and then all was silent.

  I waited a full minute for some sort of secondary trigger to engage, but I heard nothing. Moving my body low against the bottom of the pit, I peeked into the small gap below the corner of the lid, releasing each breath from my chest as slowly as possible to be sure not to disturb anything.

  I stayed there for several minutes, shifting my position by mere inches, just as Dad had taught me. Patience and diligence kept us safe. That was how we stayed alive.

  Be careful.

  Be in control.

  Always.

  The third time I heard Chloe sigh behind me was also the first time I saw the shimmer—the slightest shining bit—in the empty air near the edge of the box. Chloe got to her feet behind me but I barely noticed, my attention drawn to one square inch of apparent void.

  “Come on, Jack,” Chloe grumbled behind me. “It’s a box. You chose the right button and it unlocked. Pick the damn thing up already.”

  “Shhh … ” I said, watching the almost-invisible wire intently, trying to figure out where it attached so I could disconnect it.

  Chloe abruptly reached over my shoulder for the lid of the box, and the tips of her fingers passed straight into the tripwire before I could stop her. It looked like she felt the resistance from the tripwire just before I grabbed her wrist. Her lips formed the smallest expression of shock. A split second of regret shone in her eyes before I chucked the box out of the pit as hard as I could and pulled her down into the dirt with me.

  The booming shockwave tore across the ground toward us. Chloe and I were showered with dirt, rocks, shredded pieces of paper, and bits of carved wood from the box. We ducked down low in the hole as the secrets I needed rained down around us in hopeless chaos. A few flying bits of jagged wood sliced the side of my face and I wrapped my arms tighter around my head.

  The world settled back to normal and I stood up slowly to take in the destruction. There was nothing left. Anything that could have helped me had been destroyed. My jaw clenched and I swore as I stared at the dark scar on the ground where the box had exploded.

  Then anger pumped like a living beast through my veins. I wanted to grab her, to hurt her for what she’d just done. Instead, I forced myself to hold perfectly still until I could calm down. Until I could be sure I wouldn’t do something I might regret. I heard Chloe coughing beside me, but for once, she didn’t speak.

  I hadn’t even thought about whether to pull her down and save her. It was pure instinct. I hadn’t needed to consider it, and there wasn’t time. It’s what Dad would’ve done for me, so it’s what I did.

  And Chloe was lucky for that, because if I’d had time to think about it, I might’ve thrown her out of the pit with the bomb she’d just set off. It might have been the better option … for both of us.

  I recoiled inwardly at the thought, but it sounded crueler than it was. In reality, it might have been a kindness. At least then I wouldn’t have to see her sitting at the edge of my field of vision, a mixture of horror combined with the dwindling of all hope printed plainly across her face.

  At least then I wouldn’t have to confirm for her that she’d just ruined the only chance I had of saving her life.

  “I … I’m so … ” She didn’t finish, but her eyes were wet and she was blinking rapidly. “I didn’t think … ”

  Unless interfering with my plan had somehow been her intention to begin with.

  “Why did you come?” With immense effort, I kept my tone as flat as I could.

  “I … I told you … ” She shifted away from me, looking uncomfortable.

  “No. Why did you really come? What did the Takers sen
d you to do? Slow me down? Make sure I would fail?” I moved over until she was sitting in my shadow. For the first time ever, Chloe was nearly cowering. She was afraid of me. She should be afraid. I took several deep breaths, deliberately restraining myself, keeping my anger in check like I’d been taught to do. “I will never agree to even try to make Eclipse again, whether this new formula fails or not. You know that, right? You know that whatever you’re trying to pull just ensured the destruction of you and every other Taker?”

  “Believe whatever you want to about me, I don’t care. I came because I want to help.” She jumped to her feet, her anger abruptly matching mine.

  “That was your idea of help?” I growled. Her hair moved from my breath on her face.

  She lifted her chin, determined not to show her fear. “Hitting the wire was an accident and I’m sorry—but I’m not ready to give up yet. Are you?”

  I didn’t respond. There was no need. She knew what she’d done. I walked toward the car. Not that I had anywhere to go now, but I had some water bottles in the back and I needed something to drink. If she was telling the truth … then she could probably use a drink, too. If water was our only option, then so be it.

  When I came back with the bottles, Chloe was kneeling in the debris, crouched so far forward it looked like she was trying to smell the earth. For a moment, I thought she was crying, but then I saw her hands moving right below her face.

  “What are you doing?” I sat her water bottle on the ground beside her and twisted the top off of mine.

  My phone chimed in my pocket. I pulled it out and groaned. Parker’s message was cryptic. I hoped whatever he wanted was important. When I put the phone away, Chloe finally answered my question.

  “I think … I think I might have something.” She looked up at me, but her face was guarded like she was afraid to hope again. In front of her was a pile of the shredded paper she must have gathered from the box. A couple of larger pieces were in her hands, and they shook as she held them out toward me.

  I squinted and knelt beside her, trying to make out the words I could already tell were repeating over and over. I was ready to dismiss it as part of Dad’s plan to mislead whoever set off the explosion, but then I thought of the gravity of the task he’d given me. He wouldn’t have wanted what he’d written to be lost forever just because some Taker had gotten here before I could. I focused on his words, in that handwriting I would never be able to forget.

  The second’s skull contains the key—

  The second’s skull contains the key

  My mind locked on the words, trying to decipher their meaning.

  Chloe’s phone went off, and when she read the message she laughed and held it out to me. “Your brother sure is persistent.”

  This is Parker. I have questions and I think you might have the answers I need. Can you come over?

  I laughed softly and shook my head. Persistent was the perfect word to describe him … sometimes to a fault.

  “I’ll answer him in a minute.” Chloe tucked the phone back in her pocket.

  I nodded but kept my eyes on the shredded papers she still clutched in her other hand.

  Chloe read the words aloud, and then asked, “What does it mean, Jack?”

  “I think it means we can still find the answers we need.” I stood up and stretched my back before putting on my sunglasses. “It’s just going to be a lot harder now.”

  “I’m sorry.” She got to her feet beside me and this time looked me straight in the eye. “That was stupid. I should’ve waited.”

  I looked back at her, surprised by her sincerity, and realized that despite going through two explosions together, I knew very little about her.

  As I turned back toward the van, I responded. “You’re right. You should have waited, but I’m not ready to give up either.”

  “Where are we going?” She picked up her water and jogged to catch up, then climbed into the passenger seat.

  “My brother wants us to come back, so we’re going back.” I glanced over at her and said, “Besides, you know how it refers to ‘the second’ in the message?”

  “Yeah?”

  I shoved the van into gear and put my foot on the gas. “That’s what my dad used to call Parker.”

  As I gripped the handle to Parker’s front door, I hesitated. Since I’d left with all of my stuff this morning, I technically didn’t live here anymore. A pang of sadness hit me at how much of my family was gone. I was like a plague—anyone who got too close wound up dead. Given this, Parker and his mom were probably safer without me around. I shook off that morose train of thought and jabbed in the doorbell.

  I heard footsteps, and when the door opened I was surprised to see Parker’s Mom, Mrs. Chipp. One thing I’d learned while staying with them was that she really wasn’t home very often, at least not nearly as much as she wished she could be.

  “Hi Jack!” She smiled and held the door open, but there was still a bit of hesitation behind her expression.

  Ever since Parker had told her everything about Dad and who I really was, she’d gone out of her way to be kind, but there was still that knowledge in the back of her mind that I was her husband’s kid with another woman. From the couple of times I’d watched her dreams since she found this out, it seemed like knowing that Dad had left my mom to be with her had shaken her a little. She felt both guilt and some jealousy, which was probably normal …

  Or, at least, I guess it would be normal if we could use that word to describe anything about our situation.

  “Hi, Mrs. Chipp,” I said as I walked in, and Chloe snuck in behind me, keeping her head tucked low. I couldn’t help but notice that Parker’s mom didn’t even acknowledge Chloe’s presence. She’d had a hard time even letting her in the house at first, knowing Chloe was a Taker and what she could do, but Parker and I had convinced her that we’d keep Chloe from causing any more damage.

  “I said you could call me Emily.” Mrs. Chipp put on a fake-stern expression that softened as she smiled. “But do whatever feels comfortable.”

  She placed a hand on my shoulder. It caught me off-guard and my spine stiffened a little, unsure of what to expect next.

  “I’m really glad you came back. I wanted to talk to you today, but then when I talked to Parker, he said you’d left.” She glanced behind me at Chloe, who took the hint and scooted past us to wait. It was hard not to feel bad for her, even if she was a Taker.

  “Yeah. I’m hopefully only stopping in for a few minutes. I just need to talk to Parker about something.” The conversation felt uncomfortable already, and I wasn’t sure why. I wondered if I should assure her that I’d be out of their way soon. I’d definitely already overstayed a normal welcome at their house.

  Her hand dropped from my shoulder. “Do you have to go?”

  That wasn’t a question I’d been expecting, especially not from her. “I … have something I need to do.”

  She nodded slowly and brought her eyes back to mine again. She already knew enough about me to understand there were things I wouldn’t—and couldn’t—tell her. I wasn’t certain which details Parker had given her, but she knew our dad had given me a job to do. And that was really all I wanted her to know for now—from me, at least.

  “Okay. Well, what I was hoping is maybe when you’re done, or when you feel ready, or whenever, really … ” She shifted back and forth on her feet in obvious discomfort before finally blurting out, “Would you like to stay with us permanently?”

  My eyes blinked and my mouth opened, like it knew it was supposed to respond but my brain wasn’t supplying it with anything to say. I wasn’t prepared for this. She wanted me to live with her and Parker? Here—in an actual house without any wheels on it? In a place where you didn’t already have a plan for where you would go when you next had to run? My palms began to sweat at just the thought. The idea sounded at once like both heaven an
d hell. I couldn’t give her an answer, though, because I honestly didn’t have one.

  “I don’t … ”

  “Please don’t answer right now,” she said, like she could read my thoughts. “Just say you’ll think about it?”

  I straightened my shoulders and tried to act like this wasn’t the most difficult question I’d ever been asked. “Okay, I will.”

  She smiled widely this time and then abruptly hugged me. It took me a few seconds to recognize that I knew the correct response to this action and awkwardly hugged her back. She laughed lightly into my shoulder and then pulled away. “I know we still don’t know each other very well, but as far as I’m concerned, you are family. Parker is your brother, and you know what he’s going through, being a Watcher too. I’m not like you two … it’s hard for me to understand. I spoke with Parker about it and he agrees. We need you. You should be here with us.”

  “I … thank you.” My throat felt tight and those were the only words I could get to come out.

  Parker’s mom squeezed my arm and then turned toward the kitchen. “I’m heading out to do a showing, but I’ll grab Parker for you. Come in and have a seat.”

  I stood for a moment in the empty entry and was surprised when my balance skewed slightly and I had to steady myself on the door frame. Wow … it had been awhile since I’d been this sleep deprived. I’d lost track of how many nights I’d been without a Builder, but it had obviously been too long. I needed a Builder by tonight. I decided to call Libby as soon as I was done talking to Parker and tell her I was heading to Cypress Crest next. I knew she would leave with me if she could; she always did. We’d grown up together. When I needed her, Libby was there—always.

  Once I’d regained my equilibrium, I shook my head and straightened, relieved no one else was here to see me. This was definitely one of those moments of weakness Dad warned me to never let anyone see.

  I moved down the hall, walked around the corner, and ran into Chloe—hard enough that her face hit my chest. She bounced off and knocked a lamp toward the edge of a nearby end table.