Free Loop by Karen Akins Page A

if—”
    “Why should they find out? The people who hire Institute kids to do chrono work hardly ever request a specific student. They don’t care who does it as long as it gets done. Besides, if they catch us, we could feign ignorance. Oops, the roommates switched their QuantComs.”
    Oh, there was no way Mimi was falling for this.
    “Yeah.” She bit her lip. I braced for the no, but instead she threw her hands up in the air. “What the hoo? Let’s do it!”
    *   *   *
    The next morning, Mimi and I stood on adjacent Shift Pads, avoiding eye contact with both each other and our transporters. I said a silent prayer of thanks that Mimi’s transporter was Charlie, who wouldn’t turn her in even if it meant serving detention himself. And I was assigned to Wyck, who might not be fully awake yet.
    “Ready?” Charlie winked at Mimi, and she nodded. Mimi liked the 2060s and loved the prospect of dancing with Charlie, so I only felt a tiny twinge of guilt as my roommate faded away.
    “How ’bout you, sugar lips?” asked Wyck, looking at me.
    “I, umm…” had an overwhelming urge to giggle and gave myself a mental slap. Focus, Bennis. “Push the button.”
    He laughed. “I didn’t hear the special word in there.”
    I cracked a small smile. “Push. The. Blarking. Button.”
    “There you go. Happy landings.”
    And then I was hurtling through time.
    I squinched up my eyes tight as I could and held my breath like usual. But the typical prickles didn’t come crashing over me. Quite the opposite. It was the least painful Shift I’d ever experienced, a sensation of being pulled rather than pushed.
    And then it was over.

 
    chapter 6
    OOF. The Shift may not have hurt, but the landing stung the soles of my feet like the frickens. I was in the middle of a field, far from prying eyes. My QuantCom registered a bus station half a mile up the road. I had to hand it to Wyck. The boy had good aim.
    It was a nice afternoon for the walk, breezy and warm. I’d raided the cash vault before I left. I didn’t want to waste any time scouting out free options, and there was more than enough for a bus ticket. The wizened counter attendant eyed the roll of bills as I peeled back a few layers.
    “Where you headed?” he asked.
    “Chincoteague Island.”
    “Going for the Pony Penning, eh?”
    “Pony—? I mean, yes.”
    “Be crowded. You got somewhere to stay?”
    I nodded, and he shot me a grin. His piano teeth had a few keys knocked loose.
    “I’ve considered headin’ up to the island one of these years and buying myself a pony. Got the land for it, but don’t seem right somehow. Penning something up, what was born free like that.”
    I thought back to the info I’d read preparing for my midterm, about the feral ponies that had roamed nearby Assateague Island for centuries. “But if people give them a good home, isn’t it a good thing?”
    “I s’pose you’re right.” He handed my ticket over. “And it’s an unforgettable sight, what I hear, watching them ponies swim the channel. You enjoy yourself.”
    “Thanks.”
    The ride took a little over an hour. I kept to myself and curled into a ball as we passed over bridges. At least I didn’t have the Buzz making it worse. But the lack of Buzz only fueled my nerves. An elderly couple offered me a soda to settle my stomach, so my skin must have turned a queasy shade even if I thought I was handling the trip well.
    When we arrived at the island, the same couple offered me a ride.
    “Yes, please.” This was getting easier and easier. Wyck might as well have dropped me in the Mastersons’ backyard. I’d have Leto’s gadget back in no time.
    “Are you headed to the festival?” the woman asked.
    “Yes. I’m staying with a family here.”
    “What’s the address?”
    Crap. What was the address? I blanked. And I had Mimi’s QuantCom. It wasn’t like I could check.
    “Umm, the house is in the Something Estates. Wilson or…”
    “Woodman?” A crease formed