Storm (Swipe Series)

is taking me away from the SSC, what Lily’s asking me to do is good . It’s the weather , Erin. It’s important .”
    “I believe it’s important!” Erin said. “I just don’t want you walking into a trap. She’s lured you into one before—you can’t say she hasn’t!”
    “That was because she had to,” Logan said.
    “Oh yeah? And what if she thinks she has to this time as well?”
    “She’s on our side, Erin—I’m telling you! She did all that back in Acheron precisely so that she could be in a better position to fight the bigger battles later on. And this is one of those battles, Erin! She’s betraying Lamson for us.”
    “Yes, Logan, because that’s what she does. She betrays the people who trust her. She’s good at it. And you’re fooling yourself if you don’t believe she could betray you again too.”
    “It’s not that I don’t believe it,” Logan said. “It’s that I don’t see how she possibly could, in the context of this mission right here. It’s not to say I won’t tread lightly with her in the future. But in the meantime, this threat is real. Lily’s confirming it, not making it up. And she’s risking everything just to give me a way to fix it. I’m sorry. But I don’t see any red flags with this.”
    Erin laughed for a while, like a loud manifestation of the fight leaving her body. She wasn’t going to convince Logan to stay, and she knew it. So instead she gave Logan the book he’d lent her a few long weeks ago. She flipped through its thin pages one last time, letting the wind of them tickle her face. “Take it,” she said. “I’ve been reading it. And I think I understand now what it means to you andwhat it means for me. And you may need it.” She laughed. “For a dweeb, you sure do know how to find trouble for yourself.”
    “Yeah.” Logan laughed too. “I guess so.”
    Then they both fell quiet for a moment.
    Twice, Erin started to say something else. She stopped herself both times.
    “I missed you, the last time we were apart,” Logan said. He felt his face go hot the moment he did.
    “Okay,” Erin said simply, stepping on Logan’s exposed and vulnerable heart. But only just a little.
    Logan stood up to leave, not saying anything else.
    Erin watched sadly as he did. “I won’t be able to save you this time!” she called. “So try not to be as big of an idiot out in Lahoma as you were back in Beacon, you hear me? I’ll blame you first, if you get yourself killed.”
    “Whatever,” Logan said.
    And he left the basement, his heart still beating fast. And he walked up the stairs like the idiot he was.
    And he went off to embark on his idiot’s quest.
    7
    That night, Erin ripped the medical equipment clear off of her. She tore out the IV drips and pulled off the heart monitors. She stood up from her bed. And she left the SSC altogether.
    It wasn’t long, it seemed, before she made it to the base of the mountain. And when she arrived, she looked up at it, and she wondered about the peak beyond the clouds. Was there blue sky above? Were there people up there? She felt certain she could speak withsomeone, if only she could make it to the top. And they would know what she was feeling, up there. They could help, she was sure. In a way no one down here could.
    At its base, the mountain was an easy climb. The hike began with a wide trail, and it turned and followed the contours of the slope generously, never too steep, never too narrow.
    So Erin climbed that tall mountain all by herself. She climbed for hours. She climbed all night. It was effortless, this climb, and that surprised her, but it was terrifying too. With each step, Erin grew increasingly fearful. By the time she was halfway up, it was nearly too much to bear. Was it the height that was getting to her? Was it the loneliness? She wasn’t sure. But she screamed now, loud. Louder than she’d been in weeks. And still no one seemed to hear.
    It occurred to Erin in this moment that she was helpless. Helpless and stranded and alone on a mountain that terrified her.
    So she spoke, pleading aloud with the people at the peak.
    “Please,” she called out. “Please help me. I can’t do this alone. Please! I’m not ready to be alone. I’m not ready, please!”
    No one called back, and at once she was shivering. But in this moment, the cloud covering above her went dark, and a heavy rain fell and made the mountain slope slick. And Erin began running up, up in the rain, and the rain cleansed