Page 130 of Alice Chen's Reality Check

I fall away from Dawn Taylor, and all I can see is her figure wreathedin light, her wings brilliant in the sun. Then Daniel’s arms close around me, strong and solid, and he lowers me to the ground. I’m safe.

“I got it,” I say weakly. I hold out the trophy, and Daniel takes it. Together, we peer inside. Below the sparklers, there’s a mess of wires.

And then it starts beeping.

“Oh shit, oh fuck,” Bryan moans from where he’s sprawled on the ground. Chase is sitting on him like he’s a chair. “We’re all gonna die!”

Nestled among the wires is a little timer with glowing red digits.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

I dart a look at Daniel. He’s studying the wires, brow knit in concentration.

Seven.

Six.

I grab the trophy. I chuck it into the volcano.

Five.

Four.

The trophy sinks into the lava in a burst of red bubbles.

There’s exactly three seconds before the bomb goes off. Those three seconds seem to slow and expand. Daniel looks at me, and I can see the desperation in his eyes. I know what he’s thinking because I’m thinking the same thing myself. If this doesn’t work, these are the last three seconds of our lives.

And I know how I want to spend them.

I reach for Daniel, and suddenly his arms are around me, his lips on mine.

Three.

Two.

One.

Boom.Lava explodes upward in a huge geyser, then showers down on all of us. It’s raining slimy red goop, but we’re all alive, and that’s the only thing that matters.

We don’t stop kissing until Dawn Taylor yanks us apart.

“Babes, someone seriously owes me onehellof an explanation.”

TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW: CHEN, ALICE AND CHO, DANIEL (CONT.)

Conducted by detectives from Pedazo de Paraíso, Islas Marías

ALICE:So after the trophy exploded, Daniel and I made sure everyone was okay. Chase, Ava, and Noah kept an eye on Bryan.

DETECTIVE:And Mr. Dixon?

ALICE:Daniel knocked him out, but it turned out that he’d been playing dead. He actually tried to escape.

DANIEL:But Dawn was on the platform with us by then, and when she noticed that Peter was trying to get away, she grabbed a tiki torch—

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