The Similars (The Similars #1)(27)

“Your first…” I struggle to absorb that thought. “You mean your first Plum 5000?”

“No, first phone. We didn’t have them growing up.”

“Hurry,” I say. “She can’t… I won’t let her…”

Tears balloon in my eyes. I lean over and lace my fingers through Pru’s. Her skin feels ice cold.

“What happened to you, Pru?” I ask, even though I know she won’t answer. Was it an accident? Did Prudence trip? Was she climbing to get some gear and fell, landing in this canoe?

“It’s not going through. Bad signal out here,” Levi interrupts my train of thought. “We need to move her.”

“No,” I say. “You’re never supposed to move an injured person.”

“I could run to the school,” Levi offers. “Find someone to help us. But that might take too long. Plus,” he adds, “I don’t want to leave you here alone.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“No doubt,” says Levi coolly. “But what if your friend loses her pulse? Goes into cardiac arrest? The quicker we get her out of here, the better.”

“Fine,” I relent. “You can move her. But please—be careful.”

Levi lifts Pru into his arms, and we start back toward the main house Levi hurries with focus, his eyes serious as he carries my friend gingerly along the uneven path. I wonder briefly if shouldering the weight of her body is a struggle for him. From the look of his biceps, he’s strong enough to manage.

When we’re about five minutes from the center of campus, I ask Levi for his plum. “I want to try the infirmary again. If we get through, they can have an ambulance waiting for us.”

Levi tosses me his plum, and I press the emergency icon again. One ring and someone picks up. I nod to let Levi know we’ve made contact.

“Am I speaking with Levi Gravelle?” clips the voice on the other end.

“No,” I answer quickly. “This is Emmaline Chance. I’m with him. I’m using Levi’s phone.”

“What is your emergency?”

“There’s been an accident. Prudence Stanwick. She’s unconscious. We heard a scream by the boathouse. We don’t know what happened. She has a pulse, but she isn’t responding.”

“I’ve secured your GPS,” says the woman on the other end, probably one of the Darkwood nurses. “Help will meet you at the clearing. Do not leave that location.”

“Okay,” I say. “Do you want me to stay on the line?”

“Yes,” the nurse responds. I imagine her busy behind her desk, setting off a whole command chain—contacting the hospital. Headmaster Ransom. The administration.

“Her pulse has held steady,” says Levi. “That’s a good sign.”

“Was medical training part of your education at your old school?” I snip as I dodge a knobby tree root.

“There wasn’t a school where I grew up,” he murmurs.

I step over some rocks, remembering what Madison said. “So it’s true, then? You were homeschooled?”

“In a sense. We had tutors. Teachers were brought in via videoconference. They never met us in person. Never even knew our real names.”

“What was it like?” I ask, unable to help myself.

“It was cold and lonely. The island was secluded, so it felt like a floating city. Glass and steel buildings sitting atop sand.”

I report to the nurse that we are almost there, and to please hurry with the ambulance. I hear Levi’s breath growing more ragged as we get closer to the school. He hoists Pru over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I keep willing her to open her eyes. She doesn’t.

Finally, we emerge from the woods. I stop short as the scene unfolds before me. Paramedics transfer Pru’s limp body from Levi’s arms to a stretcher. They shout medical terms I don’t understand, except when they threaten to intubate.

While that is happening, two police officers arrive, armed with lasers. I imagine they’ll sweep the boathouse for evidence to run through their DNA database. Headmaster Ransom steps up to talk to them, and I wonder when he arrived. But my gaze returns to Pru, as if it’s being pulled by a magnet. The paramedics load Pru’s stretcher into the back of the white van. I follow to climb in beside her when a hand clasps my shoulder.

“Where do you think you’re going, young lady?”

I turn and come face-to-face with Principal Fleischer.

“To the hospital. I’m riding with her.”

“We both are,” adds Levi.

Within seconds, Headmaster Ransom is at my side. “The two of you have been through quite an ordeal,” Ransom says to me and Levi, though his words sound far away.

I’m not the one who was faceup in a canoe, unconscious! I want to shout, but I don’t. My voice isn’t functioning.

“I suggest you both head to the infirmary, then to your dorms for some rest,” Ransom continues. I sense Fleischer wants to add something, but Ransom silences her with a look.

“There’s nothing wrong with us,” Levi responds. “We don’t need to see the nurse.”

Ransom surveys Levi for a moment before answering. “That is your prerogative, Mr. Gravelle.” He pivots on his heel, returning to the police officers. I overhear Ransom urging the officers not to question us, not now. Even if they wanted to, they can’t—not without our parents or guardians present. Ransom tells the police that we’re in no state to talk about what just happened, and that the lasers will confirm what Ransom already suspects—this was all an unfortunate accident.