AMANDA

"Stewart is your son?" Amanda exclaimed. She studied each of the students. If J. Q. King was looking for Louis among them, then he was probably right. Nathan and Dwain didn't seem to be changing, and the three boys who were—Rick, Roy, and James—looked nothing like J. Q. King's son.

J. Q. King kept pulling at his hair. "It's over!" he wailed. "It was all for nothing!"

Amanda sighed and walked to where J. Q. King was kneeling. Resting a hand on his shoulder, she said, "We'll find him."

J. Q. King pulled away. "Not soon enough. He could be anywhere."

"Actually," Dwain pointed out, "we've already searched the mansion. So we know he's not here."

"It won't help," J. Q. King muttered.

"I don't know if this is the best time to say this," Star broke in, holding her phone up, "but I just got another message from Kathryn."

J. Q. King scrambled to his feet, and Amanda had to jump out of the way to avoid a collision. "Kathryn has been sending you messages?" J. Q. King asked, his eyes wild.

Star took a step back. "Yeah...," she said hesitantly.

"What did she say?"

Star glanced at her phone. "Well, there's a lot...but the main thing is that she wants proof that you're here."

"What kind of proof?" he asked.

"She wants you to answer this question." Star showed him the message.

J. Q. King snatched the phone out of Star's hands and held it in his shaky hands as he read the text.

Amanda stared at the phone as if it were a bomb. "Maybe you shouldn't answer...."

"No!" J. Q. King cried. "Of course I'm going to answer!" Before anyone could make a move to stop him, he had already sent his reply.

"Why did you do that?" Amanda exclaimed. "It's probably a trap!"

He shook his head. "I don't care! If this doesn't help me, it doesn't hurt me either. I have nothing else to lose."

"You have us!" Amanda said, furious. "It's your responsibility to make sure we're safe, too! So pull yourself together!"

J. Q. King shrank back a few inches, stunned. His eyes softened into a guilty expression. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "Of course, I must think of all of you as well." The silence that followed could have lasted very long, but J. Q. King's attention was drawn back to Star's phone, still in his hand. "There's another message!"

Star swiped the phone back. "Give me that!" She quickly checked the message. "It's a video this time. Weird."

"Play it!" J. Q. King cried impatiently.

Star played the video, afraid that J. Q. King would snatch her phone away again if she didn't. A deep voice spilled from the speaker. "Hello, J. Q. King."

Amanda craned her neck to see the screen. When she caught a glimpse of it, she saw a man with white hair and dark eyes grinning at them.

"I assume that you are now back with your students, and you have learned which one of those students I have taken."

J. Q. King reached angrily for the phone, but Star pulled it away.

"But just in case, I will show you." The camera moved, and someone else came into view. It was a boy with mostly black hair and spotted amber eyes, tied up and sitting on a rock.

That's Stewart? Amanda thought, surprised. He had changed so quickly. Or had she just not noticed?

"Louis," J. Q. King breathed.

Sornione turned the camera back to himself and laughed. "I beat you to him!"

"What are you going to do to him?" J. Q. King yelled at the phone, although he knew that Sornione wouldn't hear him.

After laughing some more, Sornione continued. "It is my good fortune that he also happened to be the Catalyst. So as you can see, I will be killing two birds with one stone. Or," he laughed, "I will kill two birds by killing him."

J. Q. King lunged for the phone again, and Star sidestepped him. "Stop it!" she hissed. "He's not actually in my phone!"

"And for you students listening to this," Sornione continued, pausing for effect, "I'm going to add a little dramatic touch and let Kathryn do it. Hah!"

Amanda's throat was dry as she swallowed. She couldn't bear thinking that Kathryn, someone who had once been one of them, would ever do such a thing.

"I hope this pleases you, J. Q. King," Sornione concluded. "It is what you earned for messing with me." The video ended.

"I'll get him for this," J. Q. King said in a low voice, his teeth clenched. "I'll make him pay!"

Amanda shook her head. "No, don't worry about revenge. You should worry about finding Stewart!"

"But they already have him!" J. Q. King exclaimed.

"It didn't help that they took that video in the forest," James pointed out. "All trees look the same. Sornione could have at least accidentally given us a hint."

"Forest?" J. Q. King said, lifting his head a bit. "I didn't even notice."

"Yeah, you were too busy trying to murder my phone!" Star huffed.

Amanda rubbed her temples. Somewhere in the forest? she thought. The forest goes on for miles!

"Wait a second!" Nathan said, interrupting Amanda's thoughts. All heads turned to him, but he didn't notice. He was only talking to Julia. "We recognize that place, right?"

Julia stared at him like he was crazy.

"Don't you remember?" he prompted. "That rock Stewart was sitting on--I remember it!"

"I see," James said. "Nathan's been making friends with rocks."

Nathan shook his head. "Julia, Heather too, remember when we went looking for J. Q. King in his hideout in the woods?"

"My mansion?" J. Q. King mumbled, his eyes brightening.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever you call it," Nathan said. "But don't you see? That rock was the one I sat on to open the entrance!"

Heather gasped. "Are you sure?"

"Positive." Nathan grinned. "It was even sinking a few inches into the ground when Stewart was sitting on it."

"Sounds like a lead," Amanda said.

J. Q. King perked up a bit. "Then what are we waiting for?"

"I don't know," Star muttered. "Maybe a plan?"

"Let's go!" J. Q. King said, ignoring her. "We will go to the hideout and find Louis!"

J. Q. King took off running down the hall. The students glanced at each other, wondering if they should follow. Madison sighed and took off after him, followed by Lara, and then by Nathan and James. Soon enough, all of the students were heading off to find Stewart.

Amanda ran more slowly than the others, her mind distracted. How can we be sure it's the right place? she thought. And even if it is, will we get there in time? Amanda sighed. She picked up her pace and caught up to the others.

We're coming for you, she thought. Just hold on.

STEWART

Scarlet pulled Stewart up the stairs, still talking to Sornione down below. "I think they got our little video."

"Very good!" Sornione returned, looking up at her. "Do you think that any of them will recognize the location?"

Scarlet thought for a moment, pulling Stewart up another step. "The rock was obvious enough. It'll lead them straight to us."

Sornione laughed. "Good! We must move quickly. I want J. Q. King to come and find his son freshly killed."

Scarlet grunted and shifted Stewart up a few more steps. Sornione was no longer in view. "I will make sure of that," she insisted. "Don't worry."

"I won't," Sornione's voice came from below. "I trust you. I will be waiting down here, in case the search party comes more quickly than we thought."

"Of course," Scarlet said. She strained and lifted Stewart again. "You know," she hissed into his ear, "it would be much easier if you would walk up the stairs."

Stewart remained stubbornly limp. "And let you kill me sooner? I don't think so."

"I could just do it now," Scarlet spat. "Would you like that?"

"If you try, I'll just roll down the stairs."

She growled, yanking on him again. After a few more minutes of struggling, she finally pulled Stewart to the top of the stairs, where she dumped him roughly on the floor. "There," she said. "No rolling away for you!"

Stewart eyed the stairs behind him. "I could still--"

"Shut up!" Scarlet yelled. "You are going to be quiet now!"

"Am I really?" Stewart muttered. "I didn't know."

Scarlet let out a shrill shriek and lunged toward a table, sliding a knife off its surface and spinning back toward Stewart.

He froze. Maybe that was a bit too much, he thought, eyeing the weapon.

"Are you stupid?" Scarlet asked, advancing slowly. "Do you crack jokes in the face of death?"

Yeah, a bit too much. Stewart cleared his throat, but it didn't help the strange feeling rising in his stomach. "Why are you doing this?" he asked.

Scarlet stopped and frowned. "Why am I doing this?"

Stewart nodded. "Yes, I want to know."

Scarlet glared at him. "You know why."

I don't, he thought. "I want to hear you say it," he lied.

Scarlet bared her teeth. "My father is a criminal. You know that. You witnessed his crimes firsthand."

Stewart nodded. Keep talking.

"He sabotaged J. Q. King's procedure, and you lost your memories. He thought that J. Q. King couldn't possibly bring you all together with the Catalyst." Scarlet sneered at him. "But he did find you all, and you are the Catalyst. Your memories are back. You can testify against my father."

Stewart shrugged. "Why do you care? He's the criminal, not you. Why would you let him bring you into this?"

Scarlet glanced out the window. "He's my father. I can't let him go to jail."

"Scarlet!" Stewart said. "Is his freedom worth becoming a murderer?"

Scarlet's expression darkened. "It's already too late for that. What difference will one more make?"

Is that even a question? Stewart shook his head. "You're just a teenager," he said. "You shouldn't have to worry about things like this."

Scarlet turned back to him. "But I do," she said. "Every day."

"Because of your father."

Scarlet's eyes went to the window again.

"Why are you willing to throw your life away to keep him out of trouble?"

He thought he saw a tear gleam in her eye. "My papà," Scarlet said. "I care about him."

"But does he care about you?" When Scarlet tightened her grip on the knife and glared at him, Stewart quickly added, "If he really wanted to protect you, he wouldn't drag you into this."

Scarlet bit her lip. "It's not like you care either," she said. "You only want to buy your freedom."

"And yours," Stewart said, daring to look her in the eye.

Scarlet seemed to consider that for a moment, but her frown only deepened. "My freedom?" she said. "Not likely."

"It's your choice."

Scarlet closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, she drove her knife toward Stewart. He shut his eyes.

The blade cut through the ropes around his hands.

Stewart's eyes blinked open and he rose to his feet. "Scarlet, you...." he began.

"Shh!" Scarlet's voice dropped to a whisper. "If my father hears, I will kill you. Now leave!"

Stewart was still stunned. Convincing her had been his last chance, but he hadn't really thought she would listen. "You chose to save me. Why?"

Scarlet scowled at him. "You know why. Now leave before I change my mind!"

"But what will you do?" Stewart asked.

Scarlet bared her teeth again. "There's the door!" she growled. "Go!"

Stewart didn't wait for her to tell him again. Still keeping an eye on her knife, he slid past Scarlet and ran to the door. He burst into the open forest air, only running a few paces before sinking to his knees with an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion and relief.

"Hey, stupid!" Scarlet's hissed. Stewart turned back to the shack and saw her watching him through the window. "Get out of here!"

Stewart jumped to his feet. Without looking back, he picked a direction and ran.

As the trees flew past him in a blur, his thoughts came rushing back to him. Scarlet spared me, he thought. I'm alive!

Stewart smiled and ran a little faster. And so is the catalyst.