Page 79 of Preying Game

When they came close, Alice saw the panic in the girl’s eyes. They widened as they darted to the waiting woman, taking in the familiar features.

Alice wanted to say something reassuring.

Jonah was in too much of a hurry. He pulled a cloth from a small ziplock bag and pressed the ether-soaked fabric to the girl’s nose and mouth. As she lost consciousness, he eased her to the ground.

“Stay with her,” he said, getting out equipment he’d taken from the car.

Alice clenched her teeth as she moved closer to her former self.

She was feeling sicker by the minute, but she knew there was no help for it until Jonah finished with his job.

He’d studied the cliff—both before and after Hayward’s blast. And he’d talked to experts about the best places to set the charges.

She knew Hayward had had time to arrange the accident. Probably he’d set the charges days earlier. Jonah didn’t have that luxury because he couldn’t take a chance on someone else getting hurt.

She watched him expertly climb the face of the cliff. When he reached a spot near the top, he took off his backpack, removed some of the plastic explosives he’d brought, and began wedging the charges deep into crevices.

Alice glanced down at her old self, reaching a hand to stroke her arm. It felt comforting to touch this woman who was part of her—but not.

She was starting to feel dizzy. She’d been fighting the sick feeling since they’d left the campgrounds. Now it was almost impossible to push through the weakness.

Unable to sit any longer, she fell to the side. From that odd angle, she saw Jonah glance toward her in alarm.

Alice?

I think I’m fading away, she managed to say. I guess me and my shadow can’t be in the same place at the same time. And I’m the one who doesn’t belong.

Oh Christ!

As her head swam, she saw Jonah hurry with what he was doing—probably not working carefully enough. Then he scrambled down the cliff face. Dropping to the ground, he came running toward her.

“Let him get away in time. Let him get away in time,” she chanted over and over as she watched him putting distance between himself and the huge rock formation.

He was almost out of range when a low blast broke off huge chunks of the cliff.

Smaller pieces rained down on his running figure, and she gasped as she saw him stumble. When a couple of enormous boulders broke loose and rolled toward him, she cried out.

It looked like they were going to overtake him—until he put on a burst of speed.

He was still pelting toward her. He had saved himself. But it was too late for her.

She could barely breathe now. Barely think. Barely feel the ground under her body.

She thought she heard Jonah calling her name. But she wasn’t sure because every sense had dimmed.

Jonah was speaking but the words didn’t reach her. He must have known because he knelt beside her and shouted directly into her mind, Hold . . . your double, he said urgently. The way we do when we time travel. Hold her and make yourself one with her.

She understood what he wanted, but it was hard to even lift her arms.

Let me help you.

She felt Jonah turn her and use his body to press her down, holding and pushing her against the other Alice. As he did, he tightened his grip on the two of them.

It was so strange. She knew he was pressing hard, but she could barely feel him. Barely feel anything. She was so tired it was impossible to hold her eyes open. She felt Jonah pouring energy into her, and she struggled to grab on to it as she tried to hold on to the woman who was also herself.

That was confusing, she thought, just before she felt herself losing consciousness and heard Jonah desperately calling her name.

I love you, she managed to say as everything went black.

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