Atomic Rebooted

48. College

MIRA

Kingsbury College was closer to the outskirts of our new town, to the suburbs. It was still accessible, obviously, to the sprawling metropolis of downtown, but the public transit was still at least half an hour.

I left the tram station and walked about two blocks to the main building of the college campus. I tried to blend in with various other commuters and college students.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a white van with the Atomic Energy logo on it. The exact model of our pickup and drop-off vans. I averted my eyes and walked a little bit faster.

I tried to tell myself that it was just the usual drop offs—but then I saw three more, all around the campus. My heart raced. They were looking for me, I just knew it.

They hadn't done this for Verity—they hadn't tried to look for her like this. How did they even know that I might be here?

I didn't believe in coincidences. At least, not anymore.

Whatever Dr. Banning had told them, it was enough to convince them that I was more dangerous than their first runaway. I didn't even want to think about what they would do when they finally caught me.

I scurried past others— not revealing my true speed, but definitely putting some hustle into my pace. I tried to stay in the middle of the herd, so I couldn't be picked out so easily. After all, the public didn't know what I looked like outside of the mask. But my family, the Sentinels and my handler—they did. They'd be able to pick me out quickly.

Which made it imperative to follow everything I'd learned from Henry's example and stay incognito.

They didn't know for sure I was here, I told myself. They didn't know Warlock's identity, or that he was even helping me. They couldn't know any of that.

But even my own words of reassurance to myself felt hollow and empty.

I didn't know what I was doing, didn't even know where I was. I was just following a crowd. I had to find Henry, I had to tell him what I'd learned from Mastermind and that we had to get the truth now from Heretic, before I was captured.

I stepped away from the crowd and stopped in front of a campus map. I frowned—Henry hadn't told me exactly what kind of classes he was taking here.

Where would I even begin to find him?

Lost in my thoughts, I was jolted by a polite, insistent tap on my shoulder.

I whirled around, dropping into a fighting stance and raising my curled fists. But it was only Henry.

I quickly straightened myself up and looked around. It was too easy, to provoke me into my roots.

I was lucky that no one had taken notice.

"Whoa, whoa, are you alright?" He blinked several times.

I tried to relax, but I still felt tense. I couldn't unclench my fists. "They're here. Atomic Energy."

"I noticed." He glanced around. "They like to drop off and pick up around here all the time—but you'd know that—"

He stopped. His attempts to reassure himself and me weren't working. We both knew too much of the truth for that.

"We need to get a move on," I said. "Do you know where Heretic is?"

"Yeah, I can take you to her." We started walking on one of the paths, towards a large building with a sign outside—the Andersen Science Building, funded by who else? The family that founded Atomic Energy.