Unremarkable (Anything But) Read Online Free PDF Page B

them, no silvery light?”
    “No.”
    Ryder rubbed his jaw. It didn’t make any sense; why the UDKs would observe a group of people merely on the basis of their eye color. It also didn’t make sense that they would send him to check on something like that. But if he continued to ask questions, his chance to leave might be taken away and he had to get out of the facility—needed to. Regardless, he had to ask one more.
    “Why me?”
    “ Because you’re the one August trusts the most out of the officers, for whatever reason. And this isn’t something agents do, not normally.” Her thin upper lip curled and she backed away. “Report back to him what you find. He is currently out of the vicinity, but should be around later tonight.”
    She tossed a set of keys at him. “Take the white Saturn.”
    Keys clutched tightly in hand, Ryder hurried for his room. He changed into black athletic shorts and a pale blue shirt with the sleeves ripped off. Sunglasses and worn athletic shoes on, he headed from the facility, feeling like an escapee as he left the grounds he hadn’t been able to leave in roughly six months. Half a year he had been kept on the UD facility grounds.
    The invisible shackles were heavy on him and as the car sped away, his shoulders loosened up and he sat straighter in the seat. A clean linen scent and cool breeze filled the car when he turned the air conditioner on. The sky was blue and cloudless—beautiful. ‘Sail’ by Awolnation pounded from the speakers as he began the hour long journey. He thought about not returning. What would happen? If Ryder just didn’t go back, what would happen?
    Fugitive , hunted , boot camp , and dead all swam through his head, none reassuring.
    The closer the car got to the Wisconsin-Iowa border, the edgier he became. Leafy green trees, fields of corn, and endless pastures of grass bordered the road on either side of him. His eyes continually checked the rearview mirror to see if he was being followed, although he kind of figured if he was he wouldn’t know it.
    What if I just keep going? Hands gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white, Ryder’s pulse skyrocketed at the sign announcing his arrival into the state of Wisconsin. Keep going. Just keep going. And then what? He would have to run for the rest of his life, however long or short that was, and all his plans, all that carefully thought out retribution would never come to fruition.
    August would win.
    Jaw clenched, Ryder let the pain of his misguided actions engulf him, let the remorse take over, and found himself drowning in it. It was cloying, choking, absolute. He deserved it all and more. Honor. He tried to swallow—found he couldn’t. That was a life so more deserving to be lived than his. The pretty girl with all the nobility and courage no longer breathing? Impossible. Only it was true. He knew. Ryder had been the one to pull the trigger.
    The bullet aimed for Christian found the one person he wanted approval from, the girl he wanted to change for, to be better for, but was too weak to be. It wasn’t hard to figure out what she’d be thinking now if she was still alive. In his mind he saw her blue eyes, full of loathing and accusation, filled with blame, and rightly so. He hadn’t even been allowed to go the funeral, but he wouldn’t have gone anyway. He didn’t have that right.
    The car entered the town of Lodi, Wisconsin and Ryder’s eyes swept over the scenery. Buildings, browned with history and nostalgia, lined the streets. An empty park to the left showed a red merry-go-round and green swings, a light breeze gently swaying the swings. Where were the children? It was mid-afternoon on a Wednesday, but the town of one thousand and something looked barren, a fact that struck Ryder as odd. Where was everyone?
    His unease grew as the white Saturn passed by multiple businesses, none of them seemingly open. He glanced at the clock again to make sure he had the time right—it wasn’t