Free Extraction by Stephanie Diaz Page A

yet?” Nellie says to me. “If they really cared about you, wouldn’t they have noticed you left right away and come looking?”
    “There’s still a riot going on, in case you forgot,” I say, though my heart can’t seem to find its normal rhythm.
    She’s right; they might get to the departure bay and leave without me. They might decide I’m not worth finding.
    Please don’t, please don’t, please don’t.
    “Logan, leave.” Grady swallows. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.”
    “You think we can’t fight you?” Logan says, his voice hard.
    “There are four of us.” Larry snorts. “And we aren’t crippled.”
    “I’m serious.” Grady’s voice is anxious. “I’m giving you one more shot.”
    “Logan, you should go,” I say. “I don’t want you to get hurt for me.”
    “It’d be nice if you’d make this easy for us,” Nellie says, closing the gap between us. “Taking care of two dead bodies might be a bit harder than one.”
    “Go,” Logan says to me.
    “What—” I start.
    He shoves me to his right. Nellie makes for me, while the other three charge at Logan. He doesn’t even try to get out of the way.
    Someone’s fist collides with his jaw. I scream.
    Nellie gets in my face. She brings her weapon down, but I grab hold of her wrist. She snarls and wraps her other hand around what she stole from the train track. I don’t have enough strength to stop her, so I let go and duck aside. A sharp bit of steel scrapes my cheek.
    I slam my knuckles into her stomach. She groans and falters, giving me time to see Logan on his side in the gravel. Carter and Larry laugh as they kick him, while Grady mostly watches. With every grunt and slam, my heart shatters into a million pieces.
    “Let him go!” I yell. “It’s me you want, isn’t it?”
    Nellie lashes at me again. I jump out of her way, turning and racing toward the end of the alley.
    “Get her!” Nellie shrieks.
    Blood pounds in my temple as I run to draw them away from him. The rain makes it hard for me to see, but this street seems empty. I gnash my teeth together. Where are cam-bots and officials when I need them?
    When I glance over my shoulder, relief fills me. They’ve left Logan in the alley. They’re following me instead. Nellie, Carter, Larry, and Grady. The boy who I thought was my friend, who wants to kill me because he’s selfish and afraid.
    I stumble around a street corner, past a CorpoBot still showing the portraits of the newly chosen. A dark restricted building lies across the empty plaza. Made of glass and iron crossbeams, it towers over my head. Lightning flashes in the clouds, lighting up the rooftop.
    A thrill of excitement rushes through me, mingling with my worry. All my life I’ve dreamed of scaling one of these buildings. They’re so much taller than the shacks I’m used to climbing. But I bet I can climb this, if I try. Who cares if I break a million rules? I’m faster at climbing than I am at running. And if those four are really set on murdering me, this could save my life. That should be a good enough excuse.
    I force my feet to move until I reach a spot to the right of the building entrance. The lowest iron beam attached to the glass becomes a handhold. I heave and swing my legs onto the beam, which is wide enough that I could probably sit on it without falling, if it weren’t wet.
    My footing isn’t as solid as I’d like. But I reach for the next beam anyway, gasping for breath.
    This is dangerous in the dark, especially with the beams slippery because of the rain. There are spare lights from the surrounding buildings, and light from the moon, but it’s hard to see details. Even when I squint I can’t see many cracks in the steel. But I’ll have to manage.
    Nellie and her gang stumble to a stop below me when I’m on the fourth beam, a good twenty feet off the ground.
    “One of you go after her, will you?” Nellie pushes Grady toward the wall.
    He sticks his weapon between