Ari and Zac

Chapter 33: The Leak

Chapter 33: The Leak

Zac landed with a thud, and the gravel crunched beneath him as his head smacked the ground. He might have done himself some serious damage if Cyrus hadn't been there to break his fall. Zac's plummeting weight sent them both sprawling on the wet driveway, and seconds ticked by as the two boys lay stunned, side by side. Then Cyrus sprung to his feet and reached for Zac's hand to haul him up.

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" Cyrus tugged Zac toward the side of the house, out of view from anyone out front. Zac stumbled after him, wincing at the burst of pain from a twisted ankle. He pulled to a stop once they reached the shadowy back alley behind the house.

"Wait!" Zac called, raising his voice to be heard over the howling wind. "We have to go back. They have Ari!"

Cyrus turned back toward him. "Forget it. She doesn't matter!"

"Yes, she does!" Zac's heart was beating like a jackhammer. He still felt a bit woozy from hitting his head on the ground, and he gasped for breath as he struggled to put his thoughts in order. He couldn't run away and leave Ari in there—and it wasn't just a question of chivalry. There were things about her that his cousin didn't know. Important things. Zac had promised himself that he wouldn't tell Cy and Grandfather about the video until Ari gave him the green light, but that was before. This was an emergency.

"Cyrus we have to get her. Listen to me. She's the one!"

Cy rolled his eyes upward and pasted them to the sliver of night sky visible between the eaves of the houses. "OK, Prince Charming. That's very romantic—"

"No!" Zac interrupted, his voice rising. "Not the one! I mean the one with the voice. Listen to me! I have proof."

Zac reached for his cellphone in his pocket, but Cyrus beat him to it. His cousin had his own phone out, and he pulled something up on the screen.

"You mean this video?"

Zac did a double take. His eyes flicked back and forth between the screen and his cousin's face. "But," he stammered. "But—but how... You knew?"

"Come on, Zac. You uploaded it to my iScroll. You really didn't think I'd notice?"

"But I—I deleted that!"

"Please." Cyrus let out a condescending little sniff. "Nothing's ever deleted. I was wondering when you were going to get around to telling us about her."

Zac stood speechless, his breath coming in rapid bursts. A crack of thunder split the night, loud enough to make him flinch. It shook him out of his stupor.

"OK then!" Zac exclaimed, his voice firmer. "So you know how important she is. We can't just leave her in there!"

"What do we need her for? We already have her voice right here." Cy gestured with his phone to emphasize the words. Zac tried to snatch it out of his cousin's hands, but he missed.

"Give it to me!" Zac shouted. "We have to delete that! We have to destroy it before the Counter-Disruption see it—before they realize who she is! Cy! We can't let them—" Zac's voice cracked, and he broke off in mid-sentence. He couldn't even finish the thought. He couldn't bear to think about what SirenSong might do to Ari if they heard her sing. He and Cyrus both knew what Dominick Torrent did to Mae Song Yee.

"Delete it," Zac demanded. "Now."

Cyrus slipped his phone back into his pocket. "This is just a copy, Zac. The original file is still on my iScroll."

"So delete it from your iScroll too!"

Cyrus shook his head. "I don't have it."

"What? You didn't take it?"