One (One Universe)

situation if I’d really believed he was trying to keep me from harm instead of keeping me down.
    Tears slip freely from my eyes now, as if they’re part of my face, a normal part of my being. My body doesn’t even react to them anymore, doesn’t heave with sobs. My determination keeps it from doing that because if there’s anything I’m going to do, it’s going to be the one thing Elias tried to do for me — save me. And I can’t do that if I’m doubled over my freaking steering wheel and weeping.
    I swipe at my cheeks with a sleeve. I have to pull myself together — it’s all up to me now. I’m the only one who cares enough to try to do anything to stop what’s happening to Elias and to my brothers, whatever it is.
    If I don’t find him, step up, and tell the truth, what are they going to do to him? What are they going to do to all the Ones? Will Daniel disappear in the middle of the night? Will Leni?
    Just as I think her name, my cuff beeps, and I jump in my seat, swerving. I look down at the glowing screen and see Leni’s name there.
    I hit the speaker button. “Hello?” I’m sure my voice sounds as panicked as I feel.
    “Merrin?” Leni’s voice is a little gravelly. “Is everything okay? Daniel got this weird text from Elias this morning…”
    “Wait. He texted Daniel?”
    “Yeah, at like quarter to four. But it was weird. M will need you. Or something. Hold on.” Her voice muffles a bit. “Is that right?”
    “Is he there?” I ask.
    “Yeah, he, um…yeah, he’s here. Anyway. What’s going on? It had better be important for before dawn on a Sunday.”
    “Where are your parents?” I ask, my mind racing. If I have the two of them, we might have a chance of getting somewhere with the Hub.
    “Soccer tournament with the kids. I had to stay back for the cheerleading meet tomorrow.”
    “Len?” I ask, my heart aching when I use the nickname only Elias uses for her. “How big of a deal is it if you miss that meet?”
    “Merrin, you are freaking me out.”
    “Just…get ready to go. Both of you. Okay? Drive by my house in half an hour, and I’ll explain everything.”
    My thoughts run through my head in a loop — what I have to do, where I have to go, how I’m going to get there. I know Elias is at the Hub and that I have to get in and get him. My parents aren’t going to be any help. They’re all rallying around the Hub and its experiments, even Dad. Maybe they’re even pulling my brothers in with them.
    Then a whole new panic strikes me. How am I going to even get in? I know if I can break into the Hub’s main entrance and if I have Leni and Daniel, somehow we’ll figure out how to find Elias, get him out of there. Maybe use their firepower or my One somehow. At this point, I don’t care how we do it — I only care that I see Elias again, in one piece. Hopefully get him out of there.
    The only thing I have to my name besides my cuff is a few thousand dollars’ worth of rolled-up bills from summer jobs. If we’re going to run, we’re going to need some cash.
    I kill the headlights a couple houses from mine and roll to a stop in front of it. Through our front window, I see a yellowish glow from deep inside. Mom must be up making coffee already. She likes to go for a run on Sunday mornings and needs a cup as soon as she gets out of bed.
    I sneak around to the side door and duck beneath the windowsill, peeking up so I can watch Mom. I want to sneak in the minute she leaves.
    She moves so slowly I can barely stand it. A slight whine escapes from my throat, and I realize that, while the tears have stopped streaming down my cheeks, I’ve started to bounce my knees, crouched like that, so that my whole body vibrates. I hold myself back from springing for the door handle the second Mom walks out of the kitchen and wait till I hear the front door slam.
    I burst in, rushing to the mudroom bench in our front hallway where we’re supposed to hang our jackets and put our bags up every night. My chest squeezes when I see only three of the five hooks filled. Everything’s pristine without Michael and Max here to throw their stuff everywhere — not even a stray soccer ball in the corner. My heart flips a little when I realize I never told Elias the boys had gone to the Hub. Would that information have told him something? Would it have been a warning to him?
    I shake my head. I can’t think of that stuff right now.
    I grab my bag from its hook and step over to the hall closet