25
Camila
I’m standing in the middle of the makeshift control center in my cabin, my palms pressed flat against the table.
I no longer feel the exhaustion. Nor do I feel the pain in the back of my neck that’s been torturing me for hours.
I only feel that familiar pressure in my chest, the rush of adrenaline that kicks in when scientific logic starts to fit together a little too well.
And when the numbers line up perfectly in my fucking world… it’s because the universe is getting ready to kick us in the ass.
“It can’t be a damn coincidence,” I mutter under my breath, slamming my fist against the edge of the table as my fingers drum frantically on the keyboard.
Kira, who has more patience than I do, slides two fingers across the touchscreen to zoom in on the 3D map of the valley.
The holographic projection spins with a hum, revealing the topographic map of Willow Creek: its rolling hills, its dirt roads that are still a quagmire in some spots, the buildings on Darana’s estate…
and right below, an invisible network that has decided to lay itself bare before our eyes with devastating clarity.
“Camila…” Kira calls to me in a tone that sends chills down my spine. “Look at this. Forget about a common mineral deposit. You’re not going to believe this.”
I’m so close to the monitor that my nose almost touches the glass. And what I see leaves me speechless. It’s not just a simple vein of magnetic rock. It’s a damn high-density underground highway. A thick, gleaming line that cuts through the valley’s subsoil like a deep, open scar.
Ethan approaches from the other side, devouring a chocolate bar at breakneck speed. He adjusts his glasses with his index finger and lets out a snort as he examines the graphs.
“The magnetometer is completely saturated,” he explains, wiping a smudge of chocolate from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. “It’s clearly not an isolated deposit. It’s a continuous anomaly. Imagine a high-voltage power line miles long, buried right beneath our feet.”
I swallow hard, feeling my stomach clench into a cold, tight knot that takes my breath away. My heart starts pounding against my ribs at a rhythm that has nothing to do with even the best dance moves.
“It’s acting like a giant conductor…” I conclude, straightening up suddenly and sliding my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “Like a fucking cable connecting the highest hills in the north to the town’s nerve center.”
“And here’s a little extra for the party,” Kira interjects, entering a series of commands into the tablet to activate the terrain’s hydrological layer.
Her shoulder bumps against mine, but I barely notice it.
“Look at the groundwater level after the recent storms. The bluish areas branch out beneath the ground like roots.”
Luminous filaments appear on the screen, spreading out and connecting points that I’d much rather keep far apart. A geological fault. A natural crevice flooded with water and connected to a super-ionized metal vein.
What we call in our little world: a lethal combination.
Damn it.
“Great…” I say sarcastically, letting out a nervous laugh. “We’ve got a thunderstorm on the way, and this place is floating on top of a giant battery. Just great.”
“The subsoil has been accumulating charge exponentially due to induction from the electric field of the low-lying clouds,” Kira adds, giving the screen a sharp tap. “If we don’t notify the local council so they can help us with this…”
“It’s going to be a disaster,” I confirm.
Ethan nods, crossing his arms with a seriousness I’ve never seen in him before as he bites down on the plastic wrapper of his chocolate bar.
“If a single high-magnitude lightning strike hits the hills, the discharge won’t dissipate naturally into the ground, Camila. It’ll travel along the iron vein at the speed of light, seeking an artificial ground connection.”
“And that ground connection is this entire town,” Kira concludes, pointing her digital pen at the urban area on the map, which glows with an ominous, flickering red.
“Everything will turn into a reverse lightning rod…” I say, feeling a chill run down my spine.
“It’ll go boom,” Ethan adds bluntly, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes with obvious desperation.
I close my eyes tightly, forcing myself to take a deep breath. There’s no room in my head for mathematical formulas right now; there’s only the image of honey-colored eyes and a cowboy hat that takes my breath away.
“I have to tell Darana,” I announce, opening my eyes and grabbing Viento’s keys. Determination washes over me like a wave of heat.
Kira looks me up and down and bites her lower lip.
“Right now? Are you going to go find Sergeant Calloway in the middle of the night? Most people are at the town fair.”
“I don’t care one bit. It’s not like she’s going to bite me or throw me to the horses,” I insist, adjusting the belt on my jeans.
“Time is running out, and I don’t want Willow Creek to turn into a pile of ashes and scrap metal.
Get your ass in gear and let Sydney know so we can speed up the next steps! ”
· · ·
Night has fallen with a dense heaviness as I park near the fairgrounds.
The colorful lights of the Ferris wheel and the hot dog stands flicker with a garish glow that contrasts with the dark sky, which looks like a wolf’s mouth about to swallow the world.
The atmosphere is festive; people are laughing, drinking beer, and country music drifts on the wind, carrying the scent of popcorn.
But a tingle runs down the back of my neck, warning me that this comedy is about to turn into a major drama.
“And my damn intuition never fails me,” I mutter.
I dodge a couple of farmers stumbling around in their hats and plaid shirts, pushing my way through the crowd with my eyes fixed on a single target.
Darana is standing in front of the fair’s shooting gallery, with Joanie by her side, laughing hysterically.
She’s wearing a tight denim shirt, dark jeans that hug her legs, and dusty boots.
Her hat is tilted slightly back, revealing those unruly strands of hair that always escape her grip.
And her braid falls across her chest. My heart does a championship-worthy somersault as I watch her from afar.
She’s aiming a carnival rifle, completely focused. She fires, and a glass bottle shatters into a thousand pieces at the back of the booth. Darana lowers the rifle and smiles.
And seeing that smile… that damn dimple that forms at the corner of her mouth… takes my breath away. I shake my head to snap out of it. “Focus, Bennet—you didn’t come here to drool over your archenemy.”
“Darana,” I call out, planting myself two steps away from her with my arms crossed.
She doesn’t bat an eye. She takes her time reloading the rifle, showing me with every slow movement of her hands that she knows full well I’m here and that I matter less to her than a plague of locusts.
“I need to talk to you right now. It’s a matter of life and death,” I add, taking another step into her personal space.
When she finally turns around, she fixes me with those honey-colored eyes that today are coated with a triple layer of anger. Her lips are pressed into a thin, dangerous line.
“Don’t you know what the word ‘busy’ means, Bennet?” she snaps at me. “I’m not in the mood for your little speeches or your damn nonsense. Go back to your cabin and leave me alone—I’m about to win my star plushie.”
Joanie clears her throat beside her. I open my mouth to give Darana a piece of my mind, but my gaze drifts over her shoulder, and the world stops for a second.
Maddie Strong is leaning against a wooden fence a few yards away from us, a beer in her hand and a smile fixed on me.
She winks at me with brutal boldness, and in her eyes, I see a mischief that churns my insides.
The memory of the river, of her wet skin, and of my huge blunder from a few hours ago rises up my neck as a violent blush.
“I wish the ground would swallow me up. Darana knows.”
I clench my fists to keep my composure and fix my gaze on Darana again, completely ignoring everything else.
“Listen to me carefully, Calloway, because I’m not going to repeat this,” I tell her. “This has nothing to do with your damn pride. Or with us.”
Darana raises a perfect eyebrow, slams the rifle down on the counter, and crosses her arms, causing her chest to rise and fall.
“Darana, I think…” Joanie tries to calm her down.
“Shut up,” she snaps at her, then turns to me. “Enlighten me, then, Camila. Because every time you show up in my life, something ends up tearing me apart.”
“I’m just saying it does seem like something important,” her best friend adds.
I’m inwardly grateful for Joanie’s support and get straight to the point.
“The data we’ve collected has just confirmed our worst fears,” I explain as quickly as I can, making sure Darana looks me in the eye.
“There’s a giant vein running through the subsoil right beneath your land and extending all the way here.
And over the next few days, an electromagnetic storm is forming that’s going to draw on the energy beneath our feet. ”
Darana frowns, crossing her arms over her chest.
“And what the hell does that mean? Cut the technical jargon, Bennet. Be specific.”
“It means that when the ground’s charge reaches its peak…
if there’s a big storm and lightning strikes the high cliffs…
” I pause, swallowing hard at the gravity of what I’m about to say.
“…the discharge won’t stay up on the mountain.
It’ll travel along the underground vein as if it were a highway, and it’ll explode right here. On the ranch… and in the town.”
Silence falls between us. I can clearly see the information beginning to register in Darana’s mind, how she struggles with all her might against the logic of my words, but reality is stubborn.
“That’s fucking crazy,” she says. She yanks off her hat to run a hand through her tousled hair, visibly flustered. “It can’t be that serious, Camila. We’ve been living here for years.”
“This has already happened, and you know it,” I insist. “Even though no one could scientifically explain what happened back then. But remember what happened that night—the way the ground seemed to glow and how the transformers exploded. This is exactly the same thing, but ten times worse.”
Darana’s expression changes. The icy look melts away, giving way to a flash of panic.
“And what are we supposed to do? Evacuate the whole town?” she asks me in a whisper laced with desperation.
Before I can form a response, the sky over Willow Creek roars with a sharp, brutal clap of thunder—so deafening that it makes every wooden plank around us vibrate.
And then, the sky breaks.
First, thick raindrops fall, hitting the brim of her hat like stones. A second later, a relentless, violent deluge pours down on us like a curtain.
“Shit!” I spit out, looking up as the water soaks my face in a matter of seconds, plastering strands of hair to my forehead.
Chaos breaks out in the square in the blink of an eye. People start running in all directions, seeking shelter under cars or inside the booths. And Darana isn’t looking at me anymore. Her eyes are fixed on the road leading home, her face contorted with anguish.
“The animals…” she murmurs, but I can barely hear her over the roar of the downpour. “I have to go back now.”
And without giving me time to react, she moves with the speed of lightning. She dashes toward the parking lot, splashing through the mud that’s starting to form, with Joanie following close behind at full speed.
“Darana, wait, damn it!” I shout, running after her through the crowd. “You can’t leave in the middle of this downpour! Driving on that road is suicide!”
But Darana Calloway never stops for anyone, let alone me. Her silhouette fades into the dense curtain of water—stubborn, proud, and determined to save her world all on her own. Not even Joanie can catch up to her.
I huff, letting out a curse. I spin around and run in the opposite direction toward Viento. The keys tremble between my wet fingers as I manage to unlock the door. I leap inside, slam the door shut, and start the engine that very same second.
The windshield is a sheet of water. The entire landscape becomes a dark blur, and when I look up at the sky, I feel a twinge of relief at seeing that there isn’t much lightning. This is just the prelude to what’s coming in a few days.
I pull the vehicle onto the main road, skidding slightly in the mud, just in time to see the taillights of Darana’s Ford Ranger merging onto the road a few yards ahead of me, racing toward danger.
I follow the trail of her red lights as if they were my only lifeline on this planet.
My breathing syncs with the frantic rhythm of the windshield wipers.
And in the midst of all this chaos, I realize I can’t fail.
That this time, I won’t let anything happen to that stubborn woman.
Because if there’s one thing I’m certain of as the rain continues to fall…
it’s that the sky hasn’t had its final say yet.
And neither have I, Camila Bennet.