“Ellie.”
“In other news, local officials are baffled by the mass slaughter of a small town in Tennessee.”
“Ellie, come on. Turn that off.”
“There’s no trace of evidence, motive or suspect, and the FBI is now involved in the ensuing investigation.”
The television switched off just as the news anchor was about to tell me more. I glanced up toward Tia Larange, my interim keeper, who stood with her hands on her hips and her face twisted into a dissatisfied expression. “It won’t help,” she said.
I knew that. I did. But I couldn’t exactly stop myself, either, because I needed to know. Three months it had been since the day I should have died; the day everything should have come to an end. But instead there was only more pain and suffering, and entire town and city populations being eradicated on account of me.
“Hey,” Tia murmured, stepping toward me. I grabbed a pillow off the couch and clutched it to my chest, wishing I could cry, but the tears wouldn’t come. “You’ve been doing so well, not blaming yourself. Don’t start it again, now.”
“I always blame myself,” I whispered. “I’m just good at not admitting it.”
“Ellie . . .”
“No, Tia. Don’t give me any of that “It’s not your fault” crap, okay? Because I know. I exist, and because I do, people get hurt.” My fingers clenched the rough fabric of the pillow tighter. “Everybody gets hurt.”
She sighed. “Quit saying that.”
“But it’s true.”
“You can’t help who you are, El. You’re born the way you’re born. Everything else is just a factor of living.”
“I don’t like that.”
“You’re not supposed to.” She plopped down beside me, circling an arm around my shoulders. I leaned into her side. “The world is a horrible place, but what are you going to gain from surrounding yourself with it?”
I buried my face in the soft cotton of her shirt. “I just have to know,” I said. “Everybody they kill, every catastrophe they cause . . . I have to know.”
Tia’s fingers moved lullingly through my hair, sifting through the thick, black locks. “You’re hardwired to think that way, Ellie. Because you care. Because you have heart. Because you’re so undeniably amazing and not even a whacko group of radicalists can take that away from you.”
Despite everything, a small smile twitched at my lips. “How did you know they would follow us to Tennessee?”
She smiled. “It’s my job to be one step ahead, so I can keep you from dying.”
“Right.”
Thunder rumbled in the distance, causing the meager foundation to shake. Tia frowned. “Looks like a storm’s rolling in,” she muttered. “I’m gonna check the kitchen for food. You hungry?”
My stomach growled, painting a blush across my cheeks. “A bit,” I mumbled.
“Excellent. I’m feeling grilled cheese.”
She travelled toward the kitchen, and I sank back into the couch. I stared at myself in the reflection of the TV screen, one of the old ginormous ones shaped like a box. A temporary home, Tia had called it. Just like all the others. In three months I lived in ten different places, all in an attempt to get the Prophets off my trail. So far none had worked. But this ranch house in the Middle of Nowhere, Nebraska seemed to be concealing me well.
YOU ARE READING
Alive (Book 1)
Action(Ellie Armstrong Trilogy Book #1) Ellie Armstrong was alive, and that was the problem. She was alive, and different, and for some reason, that made her dangerous. On the run from those who wish her harm, all she wants to do is survive and find answe...
