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I sat up, groggy but feeling better. I hadn’t realized how badly I’d needed sleep. I caught sight of a piece of paper on the bed next to me and grabbed it. It was a note from Emory telling me to stay in the room. I sighed, tossing it aside.
What did he think I was going to do, go running around? I knew where he was and understood why he hadn’t woken me. That was probably smart, since I would have tried to insist that he bring me along.
I hated that my parents were in danger. I was so full of worry and fear that I could hardly think.
I got out of bed and used the bathroom. I turned on the shower and stared at the water pouring down from the spigot, letting the room fill with steam from the hot water.
Finally, I worked up the courage to strip down and climb in. The hot water felt incredible, though practically scalding. I stood there letting it cover me, the water rolling down my body, washing away the grime and the sweat.
As I began to wash myself, I heard the door in the other room open. I paused, standing completely still. Fear jolted through me like lightning.
Then someone knocked on the door. “It’s me,” Emory called out.
I let out a breath, relieved. “I’m almost done. You can come in.”
I heard the door open. “We need to talk. Come out.” He shut the door abruptly.
I bit my lip, the fear still lingering there, but I pushed it back. I could handle it, whatever he needed to tell me. I was stronger than I had been, strong enough to handle anything he could throw at me. I had to be. I had no other choice.
I finished rinsing off and got out of the shower. I wrapped a towel around myself and walked out into the main room.
Emory was sitting on the bed, his head hanging in front of him.
“What happened?” I asked, steeling myself.
“Your parents were gone,” he said. “I don’t know where they are.”
I nodded slowly. “Okay.”
“Cooper was dead.”
I took a sharp breath. “Shit, Emory.” I went to him and sat down next to him. “I’m so sorry.”
“Coop was a good man, but we need to find your family and finish this now, make his death mean something.”
I leaned against him, trying to take some of his strength. “Okay,” I said. “How can I help?”
“Coop left something behind, a clue.” He pulled out his phone and showed me a picture. “What do you think?”
“Is this blood?”
Emory nodded slowly. “Coop’s own blood most likely. I’d guess this was his final act.”
“It looks like a mitten.”
“That’s what we think.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“Think, Tara. How could that relate to your father?”
I bit my lip. “I’m not sure.”
He stood up and paced across the room. “The man on that business card. What else do you know about him?”
“Nothing,” I said honestly. “Nothing about the guy. Just the company.”
“Tell me everything.”
I leaned back, trying to think. What did I know about them? Dad didn’t talk about his job much, since a lot of his work was highly secretive.
“Dad had been traveling a lot lately, something about a power plant needing to be refurbished,” I said.
Emory paused. “Which plant?”
I shook my head. “I can’t remember. It was a guy’s name, though.”
Emory looked down at his phone and began tapping on it. I stood up and walked over to him, looking over his shoulder. It was a list of nuclear power plants and their locations.
“Donald Cook Power Station,” he read and looked at me. “It’s in Michigan.”
“Yeah. That has to be it,” I said. “Dad was traveling to Michigan a lot.”
“Fuck,” Emory said. “The picture. It’s not a mitten. It’s fucking Michigan.”
I stepped back as it all clicked into place. “They’re attacking that power plant, aren’t they?”
He nodded slowly. “And they’re using your father’s credentials to get in.”
“Oh my god,” I said. “We have to tell someone, Emory.”
“No,” he said forcefully. “I’ll call my commanding officer and we’ll go from there.”
I nodded slowly. “Okay. Okay.”
“Sit down, relax, do whatever. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” He turned and left the room.
I watched him go, the door clicking shut behind him.
We’d figured it out. We’d gotten some help along the way, but we knew what was happening. For the first time since this all started, we knew where they were going and where they’d be.
For the first time since this all began, an end was in sight. For the first time, I believed we might actually make it out alive.
