Page 97 of Irreversible

Blood drains from my face as my breath lodges in my throat like a jagged cork in a bottleneck. “No—wait, wait…”

A scuffle, a strange noise.

Isaac makes a sound.

Pain.

“No…please!” I scream, screech, pound on the door with both fists. “Leave him alone! No, no!Isaac!”

Commotion answers me.

Footsteps, a muddle of unfamiliar voices.

I don’t hear him.

I don’t hear Isaac.

“No!” Madness fuses with my pleas as I process the awful permanence of this moment. A heroic rescue eclipsed by goodbye. “Don’t touch him!” I cry out, still pounding on the door, praying it will disintegrate beneath the weight of my agony. “Don’t youtouchhim!”

The Timekeeper sneers at me. “Apologies for changing the code, but I couldn’t risk a daring rescue with a loose end running around,” he says, feigning regret. “Shame this didn’t pan out for you—as much as I do respect the valiant effort.”

Wailing, I fall forward, my lips kissing the surface of the door, hoping that the closer I get to him, the more power my words will carry.

But it’s too late.

Only silence greets me.

I drop to the floor beside Roger’s lifeless body, curling into a shivering, hopeless ball, surrendering to the creeping numbness of my slow death.

He came back.

Isaac came back for me.

And that choice cost him his life.

24

Reality swims in front of me, then darts out of my grasp, like a fish in murky water.

Christ, did someone toss my brain in a blender?

I blink until the pieces fit together. I’m sitting on a chair under a haze of dingy lighting. Ratchet straps around my chest and thighs keep me stuck fast. My wrists are locked behind my neck, and my legs…

I try to stretch but get nowhere. Cuffed together at the ankles.

Fantastic.

I remember…being outside Everly’s door.

That’s right. I did it.I escaped.

But the fog continues to lift and the shit I’ve gotten myself into becomes clear. Groaning, I look around as much as my position allows. The shapes are familiar: cages, a table, medical supplies…

The basement.

This time, I’m in an enormous, barred enclosure, the door swung wide open.

Dammit, I wasright there.But just as I realized I wasn’t alone, a surge of lightning zapped through me. Static in my ears. Burning in my veins.

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