Pandemonium

been banking on the fact that he wouldn’t go along with something that would do me real harm. But the commander knew that too. So they’d lied to Bertram. And they’d made sure he wasn’t along on our little walk in the woods.

I stopped in the road, head down, fighting a wave of nausea. The men behind us pointed their flashlights at our feet. “You said—you said you weren’t going to—”

“You can’t let fear rule this moment,” the commander said. “I know what you’re going through. I was possessed twice when I was not much older than yourself, and I spent years dealing with the sense of helplessness, the loss of control. You have an opportunity here, an opportunity to change the world. If the GedankenKinder dies in its cage, we’ve removed one of the overlords that rule this planet. We’ve taken a huge step toward freeing mankind.”

“But I can help,” I said. “I can teach you what I do. It’s a skill Dr. Aaron taught me, it’s like a mental firewall—”

The commander was shaking his head. “I’m sorry, Del. We can’t risk it. There’s no other way.”

He was right. There was no other way. I’d known it when I picked up the gun in the cabin. The only difference between me and the commander was that he could pull the trigger. One of the lights illuminating our feet suddenly flicked away. From behind us I heard the snap of a tree branch, and the sound of something heavy crashing through the brush.

I stood up, looked behind us. One of the men behind us was gone. The other man swept the beam of his flashlight across the trees at the edge of the road. “Jared, you okay?” he said. The Human Leaguer in front of us cast around until his beam picked up his colleague behind us. He stared into the light, blinking.

“Sir, I think Jared fell down.”

“Oh for goodness’ sake,” the commander said, disgusted. “Mr. Torrence!” he called. “Back in position! Mr. Torrence!”

There was no answer. The man behind us raked his light over the trees.

Something dark crashed through the bushes farther back. Both flashlight beams swung toward it.

A man in a black helmet stumbled into the road. “Sorry, sir!” he said. “There was a ditch alongside the road I didn’t see, and then I—”

“Never mind,” the commander said. “Just get your light on and catch up.”

The commander fastened a hand on my neck. All the flashlight beams were focused away from me, and I’d glanced toward the trees to my left, judging the odds of losing them with my hands tied behind me . . . but somehow he’d seen the movement and anticipated my plan. “Courage, Del,” the commander said. “You can do this.”

“There’s something I should tell you,” I said. “It’s not safe to be out at this time of night.”

The second flashlight came on, then went off. The commander looked back, and I followed his gaze. There was only one man in the road. Jared Torrence had disappeared again.

“Where in the world did he go now?” the commander said. And louder: “Mr. Harp, please help Mr. Torrence—”

Something hit the dirt near my feet and I jumped back. It was black and shiny, with a frayed tail. One of the helmets, its cable snapped.

The commander stared at it for a second, then nudged the helmet with his boot. It rolled over, lopsided. Mr. Torrence’s head was still inside it.

“Oh, Jared,” the commander said sadly.

I ran. The leading soldier jerked his light toward me, raised the hand that held the Taser. I ducked and barreled into him. My shoulder struck him in the gut, and we both went down. I twisted as I hit the ground, and my elbow jolted painfully. I kept rolling, got my knees under me, lurched to my feet again. The guard was on his back, his flashlight several feet away on the ground, pointing away from me, illuminating a wedge of road and forest. Somewhere behind us one of the other soldiers—Mr. Harp?—screamed.

I ran again, bent over and wobbling. The last cabin was in front of