Free State of Chaos (Collapse Series) by Summer Lane Page B

Wouldn’t
Chris
?
    Yes. Chris would escape and then find a way to come back and get me out. He would never throw away an opportunity to stay alive. He’s just that kind of person.
    “I just…” I begin, but trail off. “I appreciate that.”
    “You’re all I have.” Sophia’s eyes go glassy with tears. “We’re like family now.”
    “I’m sure your family is alive in New York,” I say, touching her shoulder.
    “Not if the rumors are true and New York was nuked.” Sophia hunches closer to the table, looking at the floor. “Then they’re all dead. My parents, my brother…they’d be gone.”
    “We don’t know if that’s true.”
    “I heard
all
the major cities were nuked,” Harry adds.
    I slap his arm as Sophia pales a little more.
    “I mean…not all. Just some.” He tries to smile. “Honestly, how are we supposed to separate reality from rumors?”
    “With common sense,” I say.
    Easier said than done. At that moment, Kamaneva walks into the cafeteria. She’s wearing her blue uniform, knee-high boots and signature skin-stretching bun. Her eyes scan the room. She slowly walks down the center aisle of the cafeteria. Everyone stops eating. Sudden silence falls over the room.
    Kamaneva stops at our table. Sophia keeps her head down. Harry’s fingers are trembling around the brim of his soup bowl. And I’m the only one who’s not afraid to look Kamaneva in the eye. I don’t say a word. Not that there isn’t a lot of sarcasm dying to get out of me…I just know better than to challenge her that bluntly.
    She motions for me to stand up. I do.
    “I believe I’ve found our thief,” she purrs.
    And there it is. Just like that. A lead weight drops to the pit of my stomach as a twisted sneer spreads across her face. I can tell she’s been waiting for this moment. It’s got to be the highlight of her day. She’ll probably write about it in her journal later.
    Dear Diary,
    Tonight I screwed up some poor prisoner’s life. Epic win.
    Love,
    Kamaneva
    Nice.
    I glance back at Harry and Sophia, but their eyes are glued to the floor. Harry is shaking. They look worse than I do.
    “How-” I begin, but Kamaneva cuts me off.
    “I have my sources,” she says.
    Her eyes flick to Harry. He swallows and the food I just ate turns over in my stomach. He won’t look at me.
    “You…?” I whisper.
    He still doesn’t say anything.
    “Why?” I demand, tears springing to my eyes.
    Sophia is shocked. Frozen. Kamaneva wraps her fingers around my arm and pulls me away from the table, pushing me towards two Omega troopers. Sophia suddenly starts screaming.
    “You
traitor!
” she shrieks, lunging at Harry.
    He crashes to the ground with Sophia on top of him, either trying to choke him or tear the hair out of his head. Maybe a combination of both. Kamaneva watches in silence. Guards break up the fight, and when Sophia is hauled to her feet, her face is covered with tears. Harry is crying, too.
    Add me to the list.
    “She made me tell you,” Harry says. “I swear, Cassidy, I wouldn’t do anything like this unless-”
    “-Unless your life depended on it?” I snort. “I guess it did.”
    He nods, fisting his hands and sinking to the ground.
    Kamaneva and her guards drag me outside. The next thing I know, I’m being led through the school to a storage building behind the complex. And the whole time, all I can think is:
    Harry betrayed me.
    “What did you do to Harry?” I demand, shooting daggers at Kamaneva with my eyes. “What did you threaten him with?”
    Kamaneva doesn’t answer. She just continues looking smug.
    “You made him do that.” I struggle against the guards, total rage turning my vision red. “Why are you doing this to me? Why do you hate me so much? I never did
anything
to you!”
    “You’re alive,” Kamaneva snaps, cold. “My
daughter
should have been alive.”
    The storage facility is a small building with a tiny window in the top of the wall. The guards open the doors and throw