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

“HURRY—”
“How close—?”
“THERE’S NO TIME—”
“What do you—”
“KENT, RUN—”
And we’re running, following Adam into James’ room.
Adam rips a curtain off of one wall to reveal a hidden door
just as 3 beeps sound from the living room.
Adam shoots the lock on the exit door.
Something explodes not 15 feet behind us. The sound
shatters in my ears, vibrates through my body. I nearly
collapse from the impact. Gunshots are everywhere.
Footsteps are pounding into the house but we’re already
running through the exit. Adam hauls James up and into his
arms and we’re flying through the sudden burst of light
blinding our way through the streets. The rain has stopped.
The roads are slick and muddy. There are children
everywhere, bright colors of small bodies suddenly
screaming at our approach. There’s no point being
inconspicuous anymore.
They’ve already found us.
Kenji is lagging behind, stumbling his way through the last
of his adrenaline rush. We turn into a narrow alleyway and
he slumps against the wall. “I’m sorry,” he pants, “I can’t—
you can leave me—”
“We can’t leave you—,” Adam shouts, looking everywhere,
drinking in our surroundings.
“That’s sweet, bro, but it’s okay—”
“We need you to show us where to go!”
“Well, shit—”
“You said you would help us—”
“I thought you said you had a tank—”
“If you hadn’t noticed, there’s been an unexpected change
of plans—”
“I can’t keep up, Kent. I can barely walk—”
“You have to try—”