Free Into the Shadows by Jason D. Morrow Page A

Part of me wonders if she truly believes that she isn’t responsible. Another part of me wonders if she is telling the truth and I’ve been lied to or misinformed. What if Jeremiah truly was the one who orchestrated the fight at Elkhorn? What if my sister had been mistaken about the woman she saw? Three years is a long time.  
    But then, why wouldn’t I try to gain Shadowface’s trust? Wouldn’t that put me into a good position? Even if she did use me for her benefit, I could use her too. She doesn’t know what I see when I look into the future. Only I know the images that pass by. I could look at anything. I could discover the answers by looking into her future.  
    “I don’t understand why you trust me,” I say. “The future is limitless.”
    “I fully expect you to look into my future and see things that I might like to keep private,” she says. “That is the nature of your ability. But it is also your guarantee that I keep my word. I’m not lying to you.”
    “It’s dangerous for you,” I say. “I will see things that you might not have decided to do yet. You may have no plans to kill me, but what if I see a vision of you trying to kill me? Obviously I’m going to try to stop you—to change the future.”
    “It benefits you to know, right?” she asks.  
    I sit for a moment, not knowing what to think. Yesterday, I had only ever heard of Shadowface. Today, I’m sitting face-to-face with her while she is ready for me to see into her future. Either she doesn’t know what this truly means, or she’s being completely genuine. That, or she has some plan up her sleeve that I am unable to perceive.  
    I let out a sigh. “Do you want me to look now?”
    “Yes,” she says. “I already know that you can look at specific times and events in the future. I already know that it is the intended future, therefore whatever you see can be changed. I need to know if anything needs to be changed. But I also want you to tell me specifics. I want to know how many leaders are in attendance. I want to know what I say in the meeting.”
    Though she wants me to look into the future, she is also testing me. No doubt she has a prepared speech for the meeting. Certainly she knows roughly how many leaders will be in attendance. So, really there isn’t a way out of looking into this particular future.  
    But would I be able to look into several futures at once? Would I be able to switch from the night of the meeting to a night much further without having to break concentration and coming to? I might as well give it a try. First, I’ll look seven days ahead, then if possible, I’ll try to look even farther ahead to see where Olivia’s future lies.  
    As I sit in front of Olivia, I can’t believe how trusting she seems to be. But then I realize that she can be as trusting as she wants. It’s not like she has anything to worry about. Sure, I might see something she would want kept secret, but in reality she’s probably going to kill me at some point anyway. I’m a person whose only interaction is with a weird scientist and an abused prisoner. The only way I can hurt Olivia is if I give her the wrong information.  
    She finally reaches her hand out in the air, palm facing upward. Her blue eyes stare into mine as she waits for me to take it. I hesitate, looking down at her hand. It’s as steady as a rock. Mine start shaking as I reach toward it. Finally, my fingers reach hers and a bright light flashes before my eyes.  
    My mind is set on seeing Olivia’s future seven nights from now, but what I see couldn’t be then. She stands in a room alone. There are no settlement leaders, there is no speech to be made. She holds a gun in one hand and she looks out from a window. Below her, outside the walls are hundreds, maybe a thousand greyskins roving through the city. Olivia isn’t smiling, but she doesn’t seem nervous. Instead, she has a determined look.
    The door comes crashing open behind her, but she doesn’t