Read Duality (The Hitchhiker Strain) for Free Online

they destroyed everything, and I thought we had reached hell itself.
    And then my parents died.
    And then I lost my friends.
    And then, and then, and then. I ’ve finally accepted that it’s a matter of riding out the storm until you see what catastrophe is coming for you next. All I can do is make sure I’m not sitting on my ass, waiting for the world to heal itself when the next thing comes for me. While my nightmares are all gruesome memories now, that is what fuels my dreams—getting another chance to get out there and make a difference.
    “ Two minutes,” Cole points out, giving my hand another squeeze.
    “ Two minutes.” Two minutes until freedom! A smile creeps onto my face, even though I know Cole will worry himself sick every hour I’m away. I play it off as flirting to distract him. “How much are you going to miss me?”
    “ I don’t know how I’m ever going to manage,” he says. He leans across the table and plants a soft kiss on my lips.
    I glance up at the clock one l ast time. We still have another minute and a half. That’s plenty of time. I bounce up from the table and drag him after me until we’re tucked away from the prying eyes of the other Initiative members who are hovering around. After I pull him close to me, we get lost in each other for a long, blissful moment. Tangled up in goodbyes and a hundred lingering kisses. We separate once I’m already a few minutes late.
    “ Time to go.” I sigh.
    “ Where are you meeting them?” Cole asks as we finally pull away from each other, resigned. Time’s up.
    “ At the car park. I was kind of hoping I’d get the chance to go outside first.”
    “ You should have thought of that before using up the last of your free time with me. Now that you aren’t quarantined anymore, it would have been easy enough to get you outside for a few minutes.”
    This wasn ’t such a bad way to spend our time though, right?” I nudge him in the ribs with my elbow. “Besides, Liam promised that I’d have lots of time to run around and get some fresh air tomorrow. I’ve waited this long, so a few more hours won’t kill me.”
    “ And by wander around you mean you’ll be incredibly cautious and always have someone watching your back, right?”
    “ Right. No flesh-eating super monsters will be getting anywhere near me.”
    “ Damn straight,” he says. “Seriously though, you’ll be safe?”
    “ The very safest. Liam says the other guys going with us are good. I’ll be fine and back before you’re even halfway through whatever project your dad has waiting for you while I’m away.” I reach toward him and smooth down a flyaway hair near the top of his head. “Try not to worry too much. Or get too bored while I’m gone.”
    The two of us walk hand in hand until we reach the door of the garage where the Veritas Initiative keeps all of their vehicles —an area I haven’t been allowed access to until now. I peek through the window of the swinging metal door and see Liam with two guys I don’t recognize. Sloppy goodbye kisses in front of them probably won’t work wonders toward making them see me as one of the guys and not just some girl they’ve gotten stuck with. I know I won’t slow them down, but I don’t want them to think I’m some silly little girl either. I place my hand on Cole’s chest before he can lead me into the garage.
    “ No way. I won’t have you hovering around while I drive off into the sunset…so to speak. You’ve wasted enough of your day waiting to see me off already and there’s no point making a big show of it. I’ll be back in a few days.”
    “ You’re sure?”
    “ Totally.” He leans down toward me for one last kiss, and I let myself get pulled in—but only for a second. “I’ll see you soon,” I say.
    “ Be safe.”
    I push my body into the swinging door and le t myself glide into the next room before turning away. I can feel that his eyes are still on me as I walk toward the car where Liam is