16 Chapter 16

"C'mon, let's go," one of the guards muttered gruffly, grabbing my arm. I wrestle out of his grip, looking back to see Thomas turning away. I don't get it. "I said let's go!" he repeated, raising his voice. I sigh, turning back around, and follow them out of the room, not looking back.

I'm marched down several more hallways and down a flight of stairs, finally arriving back in the lobby, where Madison is waiting patiently, holding a metal canister that she places firmly in my hand, folding my fingers over it. "Be careful, Quinn. You'll need to be back here in 48 hours. Good luck."

I nod cautiously, trying to smile, and end up grimacing instead. Walking out the door and back to the fence, I shove the canister in the pocket of my jacket, contemplating what I'm about to do carefully. I really want to make it out of here alive. Reaching the towering fence, I sigh, grabbing a hold of it and hoisting myself up. It's a lot harder to climb when I don't have Thomas distracting me, but I eventually make it over, dropping to the trash covered ground of Hawthorne Park. Right then is when it hits me; this is going to be harder than I thought. I can't just waltz back into town and act normal. There's going to be questions. And what if they make me go back to Dr. Miller? Thomas won't be here this time. I could actually die, and not just from the bomb. "Now's not the time to get sentimental..." I mutter to myself, walking into town and kicking the loose gravel as I go.

I barely make it out of Hawthorne Park when I'm cornered by a member of the police force. I think he may be the police chief, but I'm not sure. "You're Quinn, aren't you?" he asks suspiciously. "The missing girl?"

Let's hope that I'm a decent actor; most forms of art are forbidden in Hawthorne, so I never tried. "Yes, I am, officer," I say in the proper and flat voice that my classmates use. "Is there a problem?"

"You've been missing for the past 48 hours, young lady. I have direct orders to take you to your parents."

I try to breathe a sigh of relief, "Good. Then we can get this all straightened out."

He furrows his brow curiously, but says nothing, instead grabbing my arm and marching me through the streets. A few neighbors step out onto their porches, surveying the scene as I'm walked up the steps of my house. He raps sharply on the door, and it's immediately flung open by my mom. I'm immediately hit with a pang of guilt. Sure, she's supposedly evil, but she's my mom. I can't live with myself if I kill her. "Quinn," she said strangely, her face void of emotion. "Thank you, officer, for bringing her home. Please, come inside."

I awkwardly step over the threshold and plop down on the couch, then quickly correct my actions by sitting up straighter. I'm joined immediately by both my parents and the police officer. "Quinn, I'm going to be frank with you," he says. "This is unprecedented. We've never had a child disappear or run away in all the history of Hawthorne. Please, explain yourself."