Instead of a bullet, two wiry prongs shot out and latched into Price. Kylee screamed as his body shook and jolted.

“No, no! What are you doing to him?” she cried.

The shaking stopped. Two other officers appeared, catching Price before he collapsed. Kylee didn’t release his hand, hot tears gathering in her eyes.

“He’s not armed,” the officer behind him said, patting Price down.

“Sorry, kid, I didn’t want to taze you,” the cop said. “You scared me. Why did you charge like that?”

Price’s eyes rolled open, peering out through slitted lids. He didn’t respond.

“You’re alive,” Kylee breathed.

“Take him to a holding cell. Let’s call some parents.”

Kylee started to follow when she realized what Price had given her: life. She spun toward the electric cable, letting go of Price’s hand a split second before she pressed the red button. This time, it worked. The computer powered off.

The cop didn’t notice. He was filling out paperwork now, conjecturing with his fellow officers why Price would do something like that.

“He seemed like such a nice young man,” the receptionist was saying. “Asking about volunteer opportunities.”

“Well, things aren’t always what they seem,” the cop grunted. He turned back to his desk, rubbing the back of his head.

Kylee was torn between wanting to go along with Price and needing to stay here. Staying won out. This was why they’d come. She needed a password.

“Hey.” He punched at his keyboard. “Anyone else lose power?” He ducked under his desk and hit the reset button. “Odd.”

Nobody bothered responding, and the noise level returned to normal as everyone forgot about Price and his weird attack on the policeman. He folded his arms and waited for the computer to boot itself.

Kylee hurried out from under the desk and hovered close by.

The welcome screen appeared with a little white square. She paid close attention as he typed in, “3333Hot$.”

Whatever the heck that meant. Not that it mattered. All that mattered was that she remember it. She closed her eyes and visualized it, wishing she could write it down.

Now to get back to Price.

She started down the aisle toward the door the policeman had gone through. She put her hand out, but before she could pass through, a blanket of ice covered her.

The cold numbness started in her fingers and moved toward her wrists. She turned her hands over and stared at her palms.

The chill had spread to her elbows and she shivered, feeling it in her toes now as well. She glanced down at her feet to see they had disappeared into the carpet. Alarmed, Kylee yanked her legs up. She concentrated on placing her feet on the ground, but they wouldn’t stay.

The cold had spread to her chest, and she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. Her hand felt like ice. She looked down at the ring on her finger, no longer hot or glowing. Instead, the color was a dull navy, so dark to be almost out.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

I’m fading.

She collapsed on the ground, the same helpless panic seizing her as it had before. Only now Price couldn’t come to her rescue. He was locked away somewhere. She whispered his name, but even her lips felt numb.

She withdrew into herself and closed her eyes.

YYY

“Damn foolish thing for you to do, Price. What if they had arrested you, booked you for good this time?”

The voices penetrated the fog in Kylee’s mind. Small fingers of heat licked at her skin, creeping into her limbs. She squirmed away from the warmth, but a grip on her hand tightened, not letting her get free.

“I’m sorry, Dad.” Price sounded sheepish. “I told you, I thought I left something there. I had to check.”

“Next time you fill out a report and quit barging into police rooms where you’re not invited! You’re on their radar now, Price.”

Kylee’s senses woke up. She felt the humming beneath her back, the leather of a seat under her. The car thumped over a bump, and she squeezed her eyes open.

Price was staring at her, his brown eyes wide and concerned. She lay curled up in the back seat next to him, her head on his leg.

“I know, Dad,” he said, not breaking his gaze. His grip on her hand relaxed a bit, and she realized her hand was in his front pocket again, secured by his own. “It was dumb of me. I’m sorry.”

She tugged on her hand and he let her slide it out, but he didn’t release her.

“I thought you were going to jail,” Lisa chimed in from the front seat.

Mr. Hudson heaved a sigh. “I’m sure you weren’t thinking right. Bit of a rough evening for you.”

“Yeah,” Price said. “Thanks for coming for me.”

They drove in silence for a few minutes before arriving at the house. Mr. Hudson hit a button and the garage door powered up. “Go straight to bed, Price. Your body still needs to recover.”

“Okay.”

His dad and Lisa went into the house first, and Price held Kylee’s hand all the way up the stairs to his room.

“I’m all right now,” she said, trying to free her hand. “You can let me go.”

He hesitated and then let her hand slip from his. He closed his bedroom door. “I’m never leaving you alone again.”

She rubbed her hand, trying to piece together the events of the evening. “What happened?”

He shrugged. “My dad came and got me.”

“Yes, I gathered that.” She pushed a hand through her hair, tangling it around her fingers. “How did I get here?”

“I got nervous about you. So I ran back into that room as we were leaving, telling my dad I thought I’d left something. Of course they spazzed on me.” He snorted. “I stumbled over you right when I walked in. I grabbed your hand and dragged you out with me.” He bobbed his head and swallowed, his eyes on the carpet. “I thought you were gone. You were cold as ice. Everyone else walked through you as if you weren’t there. Doors closed and I pulled you through them.”

The feeling of shrinking, of disappearing returned to her. Suddenly fearful, she grabbed at him, hooking a finger through his belt loop. “If you hadn’t come, Price . . . I’m pretty sure it would have been the end.”

He lifted his gaze, expression serious, but he tried a smile. “So. I’m tempted to tape your hand to mine for the rest of your—my life. No way am I leaving you alone, not for a minute.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to the bathroom with you.”

He didn’t smile. “We have to work something out.”

“How about this: you hurry.”

His lip quirked upward. “Okay. Did you get it?”

The subject change came too fast, and Kylee blinked at him. “Get what?”

“A password.”

“Oh! Right! Yes!” Kylee racked her mind. This was so important. She had to remember! “Three three three three hot. With a capital ‘h’.”

Price grabbed a pen and jotted down what she said. “Written out?”

“No. Numbers and signs.”

He showed it to her. “Like that?”

Kylee studied the paper. “Yeah. Looks right.”

Price pulled his chair out and sat down at the computer. Kylee touched his shoulder.

“Price. Not now. This could take hours, and you need sleep.”

“There’s no time, Kylee. We need to solve this.”

She squeezed him. “We have tomorrow. I promise.”

He hesitated, then pushed away from the desk. “Okay. Tomorrow.”

She got down her own blankets, manipulating them easily enough here in Price’s room.

“I don’t want you to sleep by yourself,” he said, watching her.

Kylee snuggled under the blankets. “I’ll be fine here.”

He curled up on his side on the bed, facing her. “Can you get the light?”

She got up and flicked the switch by the door. It turned off, and satisfaction warmed her.

“See, Kylee? We could live like this,” Price whispered.

Maybe he was right. Maybe they could.

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