No," He Said, Voice Thick

It Is Terrifying,” Said Adrian. “and Weird, For Lack Of A Better Word. And Part Of You Knows… Well, Part Of You Knows Something’s Not Right. That Your Thinking’s Not Right. But What Do You About That? All We Can Go On Is What We Think, How We See The World. If You Can’t Trust Your Own Mind, What Can You Trust? What Other People Tell You?

I’m Not A Violent Person, Sydney. Not At All. I’ll Make Love Over War Any Day. But I Swear, If They’d Hurt You—” “they Didn’t,” I Said Firmly. I Refused To Let Him Know How Scared I’d Been Because I Was Afraid He Might Go After Them. “i’m Fine. You Came To The Rescue.” A Smile Played At His Lips. “something Tells Me You Would’ve Rescued Yourself.” And Like That, The Smile Vanished. “but Spirit Would’ve Been A Lot More Effective Than A Branch.” “your Treejitsu Was Very Effective.

Even Christian—the Poster Child For "smartass"—looked Grim.

Howʹd You Get Here?ʺ I Asked. She Winked. ʺyouʹre Not The Only Ones Who Can Steal Cars. Or, In My Case, Get People To ‘willinglyʹ Lend Them.

Then, His Struggles Stopped. His Eyes Stared At Me, Stunned, And His Lips Parted, Almost Into A Smile, Albeit A Grisly And Pained One. "that’s What I Was Supposed To Say..." He Gasped Out. Those Were His Last Words.