Chapter 26 · The Missing Guy in the Black Elevator

The elevator doors slide open and the guy who steps out looks like Ivy's brother.

I say looks like because everything else is wrong. Same dark hair. Same sharp jaw. But his eyes are flat. Cold. Like someone scooped out whatever used to live behind them and left the working parts.

Ivy goes still. Not the ready-to-move still. The everything-just-stopped still.

"Eli," she says.

Her voice cracks on the name.

He looks at her. Doesn't smile. Doesn't run forward. Just looks.

"Hey, Vee," he says.

Vee. I feel the hit even though I'm the walls. That's her name. The real one. The one she doesn't let anyone use.

Ivy takes a step forward. Her hand goes to her hip but there's no blade there. She left her gear upstairs in the break room. Smart, normally. Right now it just leaves her empty-handed.

"Where the hell have you been?" Her voice is raw. "I've been looking for you for eight months."

"I know."

That's it. I know. Like he's commenting on the weather.

She takes another step. "You know? That's all you're going to say?"

Eli finally moves. He walks past her. Not around. Past.