Shatter-Me-PDF-Shatter-Me-Series-Shatter-Me-Shatter-Me-1-Tahereh-Mafi (1)

Chapter Thirty-Five
James is at school, Adam is in the shower, and I’m staring at
a bowl of granola Adam left for me to eat. It feels so wrong
to be eating this food when James has to eat the
unidentifiable substance in the foil container. But Adam says
James is allocated a certain portion for every meal, and he’s
required to eat it by law. If he’s found wasting it or
discarding it, he could be punished. All the orphans are
expected to eat the foil food that goes in their Automat.
James claims it “doesn’t taste too bad.”
I shiver slightly in the cool morning air and smooth a hand
over my hair, still damp from the shower. The water here
isn’t hot. It isn’t even warm. It’s freezing. Warm water is a
luxury.
Someone is pounding on the door.
I’m up.
Spinning.
Scanning.
Scared.
They found us is the only thing I can think of. My stomach
is a flimsy crepe, my heart a raging woodpecker, my blood a
river of anxiety.
Adam is in the shower.
James is at school.
I’m absolutely defenseless.
I rummage through Adam’s duffel bag until I find what I’m
looking for. 2 guns, 1 for each hand. 2 hands, just in case
the guns fail. I’m finally wearing the kind of clothes that