The Core room was too bright. It didn't feel like a school anymore; it felt like a
hospital from a nightmare. Everything was white, and the air hummed with a
sound that made my teeth ache.
I watched my journal fall.
The blue laser hit the paper, and for a second, the pages glowed like they
were on fire. Then, they just... vanished. My notes about the library, my
sketches of Julian's hands, the stories about my mom—it was all gone. Just
white light and empty air.
"No,
" I whispered. I fell to my knees, reaching for the empty space where my
life used to be. "No, please."
71.
Archer laughed. It wasn't a loud laugh; it was a small, mean sound. "See? It's
that easy, Callie. Paper is just wood. Wood burns. But data? Data is forever."
He turned to the giant glass screens that filled the room. Millions of tiny blue
dots were moving across them—the memories of every student in St. Jude's.
"Julian,
" I called out, my voice breaking.
Julian was standing near the edge of the laser. He looked different. His eyes
weren't focused on me. He was staring at the screens, his mouth hanging
open. He looked like he was hypnotized by the light.
72.
"Julian, look at me!" I screamed.
Sloane was next to me, her face covered in dust and tears. She looked back at
the vent we had just crawled through. "Jax is out there,
" she choked out.
"He's out there, and he doesn't even know why he's fighting. We have to stop
this, Julian!"
But Julian didn't move. He took a step toward the Core—the big, glowing pillar
in the middle of the room.
"It's beautiful,
" Julian whispered.
My heart stopped. He wasn't fighting it anymore. The "Genius" in him was
being pulled toward all that information. He was becoming part of the Archive.
73.
"It's not beautiful, Julian! It's a cage!" I ran to him and grabbed his arm,
pulling him back.
He looked at me, but for a second, he didn't see Callie. He saw a stranger. "I
can see everything,
" he said, his voice flat. "I can see every math problem
ever solved. I can see the stars. Why would I want to be a person when I can
be this?"
Archer stepped closer, a proud look on his face. "Exactly. Join us, Julian. Give
me the final override code. Your brain is the last piece of the puzzle. Once you
sync, the Master Delete will be complete."
74.
90%... 91%... 92%...
The countdown was moving faster now. Every time the number changed, a
loud ding echoed in the room.
Sia was on the floor, trying to crawl toward a computer terminal, but her
hands were shaking too much. "I can't reach the port! Archer locked it!"
Sloane didn't wait. She didn't have a plan. She just grabbed a heavy metal
chair from the corner and threw it at the glass screens.
CRACK.
The glass didn't break. It just rippled like water. Archer didn't even flinch.
75.
"You can't break the Heart of the School with a chair, Sloane,
" Archer said, his
eyes cold. "It's made of the same things you are. Thoughts. Memories.
Dreams."
I looked at Julian. He was reaching his hand out toward the blue laser. The ink
on his palm—TRUST CALLIE—was starting to glow.
"Julian, remember the blue sweater!" I shouted. "Remember the pen!
Remember the way the sun hits the library glass!"
Julian's hand stopped. He looked at the ink. He looked at me. A single tear ran
down his face, but his eyes were still mostly empty.
"I'm... I'm trying,
" he gasped. "But the noise... it's so loud, Callie. It's telling
me to let go."
76.
I realized then that Archer wasn't just a student. He was the Librarian. And he
was burning our books right in front of us.
"You think you're so smart, Archer,
" I said, stepping toward him. I didn't have
my journal, so I used the only thing I had left. My voice. "But you're lonely.
You're so lonely that you have to steal other people's lives just to feel
something."
Archer's face twisted. He hated that. He hated being seen as a person.
"I'm not lonely,
" he hissed. "I'm the Archive!"
77.
"No," I said, standing my ground. "You're just a kid who's afraid of being
forgotten. Just like the rest of us."
Julian suddenly let out a loud cry. He grabbed the side of the Core pillar.
Sparks started flying everywhere. The blue light turned a deep, angry purple.
"Callie! Get back!" Sia yelled.
The room started to shake. The screens were flickering now. Names were
flashing across the glass—names of students who had been "Blanked."
78.
Julian was holding on to the Core like it was a live wire. His body was jerking,
and his eyes were rolled back in his head.
"He's overriding it!" Sia screamed, her eyes wide. "He's using his own brain to
jam the signal! But it's too much for one person! He's going to fry his mind!"
"JULIAN! STOP!" I lunged for him, but a wave of energy threw me back against
the wall.
Everything went blurry. I could see Sloane trying to get to the terminal, and I
could see Archer screaming at the screens, trying to save his precious data.
But all I could look at was Julian. He was glowing. He was the heart of the
school now.
79.
97%... 98%...
The sound was deafening now. It sounded like a thousand voices all screaming
at once.
"I remember!" Julian yelled, his voice sounding like it was coming from
everywhere. "I remember everything! I remember the library! I remember the
rain! I remember you, Callie!"
With a final, massive BOOM, the Core turned white.
The light swallowed everything. I couldn't see Archer. I couldn't see Sloane. I
could only feel the cold floor under my hands and the smell of ozone.
And then, just like that, the humming stopped.
The room went dark. The only light left was the tiny, glowing emergency exit
sign.
"Julian?" I whispered into the dark.
No one answered.
80.