Chapter 25 · Loopbound - Chapter 25: No Tomorrow on Campus

The ward hum changed pitch three minutes ago. Now every lamppost on the main quad is tracking Callum like a searchlight.

Evan's not in the dorm. Not in the summoning lab. Callum's got maybe twenty minutes before the collapsed night overhead finishes cracking open and Nolan stops pretending this is still an academy.

He finds Evan behind the greenhouse, sitting on the retaining wall with a stack of scorched notebook pages in his lap.

"You can't be here," Evan says. Doesn't look up.

"Yeah, well. Neither can you." Callum stops six feet out. The kid's hands are shaking. "Vera said you bolted after the sky went out."

"Vera talks too much."

"She also said you're the key. Living anchor. Whatever the hell Nolan's using to keep the loop stable."

Evan finally looks at him. His eyes are red. "So what, you're here to drag me somewhere? Lock me up so your professor friend can cut me open and see what makes me special?"

"No." Callum keeps his voice flat. "I'm here to get you across campus before the wards figure out you're the load-bearing piece and Nolan sends something worse than lights.