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

my hands, more aware of what to expect, how it functions.
But I don’t know if I should be happy or horrified that I’m so
comfortable so quickly with something so lethal.
Footsteps.
I slide up against the wall, my arms and legs flat against
the rough surface. I hope I’m buried in the shadows. I
wonder if anyone’s found Warner yet.
I watch a soldier walk right past me. He has rifles slung
across his chest, a smaller sort of automatic weapon in his
hands. I glance down at the gun in my own hand and realize
I have no idea how many different kinds there are. All I know
is some are bigger than others. Some have to be reloaded
constantly. Some, like the one I’m holding, do not. Maybe
Adam can teach me the differences.
Adam.
I suck in my breath and move as stealthily as I can through
the streets. I spot a particularly dark shadow on a stretch of
the sidewalk ahead of me and make an effort to avoid it. But
as I get closer I realize it’s not a shadow. It’s a stain.
Adam’s blood.
I squeeze my jaw shut until the pain scares away the
screams. I take short, tiny, too-quick breaths. I need to
focus. I need to use this information. I need to pay attention
— I need to follow the trail of blood.
Whoever dragged Adam away still hasn’t come back to
clean the mess. There’s a steady spattered drip that leads
away from the main roads and into the poorly lit side
streets. The light is so dim I have to bend down to search for
the spots on the ground. I’m losing sight of where they lead.
There are fewer here. I think they’ve disappeared entirely. I
don’t know if the dark spots I’m finding are blood or old gum
pounded into the pavement or drops of life from another
person’s flesh. Adam’s path has disappeared.
I back up several steps and retrace the line.
I have to do this 3 times before I realize they must’ve
taken him inside. There’s an old steel structure with an older