Sneak Peek: Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
Transcript of Sneak Peek: Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 116
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 216
S C H O L A S T I C P R E S S N E W Y O R K
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 316
Copyright copy 2015 by Victoria Scott
All rights reserved Published by Scholastic Press an imprint of Scholastic Inc Publishers since
1920 983155983139983144983151983148983137983155983156983145983139 983155983139983144983151983148983137983155983156983145983139 983152983154983141983155983155 and associated logos are trademarks andor registered
trademarks of Scholastic Inc
No part of this publication may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in
any form or by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or otherwise
without written permission of the publisher For information regarding permission write to
Scholastic Inc Attention Permissions Department 557 Broadway New York NY 10012
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
ISBN 978-0-545-53748-3
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 15 16 17 18 19
Printed in the USA 23
First edition March 2015
The text type was set in Adobe Garamond ProBook design by Nina Goffi
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 416
THE BRIMSTONE BLEED INC
Pandora Assignments Conrsquot
Contender Cluster C
Pandora KD-8
Design Type Fox Small-Scale
Ability A Replication
Assigned Contender Tella Holloway
Code Color Red
Pandora RX-13
Design Type Eagle
Ability A Invisibility
Ability B Nautical
Assigned Contender Harper Shaw
Code Color Green
Pandora M-4
Design Type Lion
Ability A Flame
Assigned Contender Guy Chambers
Code Color Orange
Pandora Identification EV-0
Design Type Elephant Small-Scale
Ability A H2O
Assigned Contender Olivia Finch
Code Color Blue
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2
Pandora Identification Z-54
Design Type Cheetah
Ability A Night Vision
Assigned Contender Jaxon LevineCode Color Green
Expired
Pandora BK-68
Design Type Pig
Ability A Hypnotizability Assigned Contender Braun Kirkland
Code Color Green
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4
CHAPTER ONE
I am stronger than I was beforeSix weeks ago I was a sixteen-year-old girl from Montana
whose brother was dying Nine months before that I was shop-
ping with my best friend in Boston picking out the perfect shade
of coral lip gloss I was the girl who loved a chilled Greek salad
hold the onions who texted my girlfriends every time there was
a sale at Express who had a closet full of glitter mdash and so what agirl has a right to glitter
Before I figured that when my family was struck with illness
when my brother Cody first passed on a second helping of meat
loaf with red gravy and started losing weight that this was the
thing This was the tragedy Irsquod have to deal with in my life mdash
watching my big brother crumble and my family with him
I tried to be brave to smile when there was nothing to smile
about To offer a polished joke in the doctorrsquos office so that Cody
could cast off the fear in his belly and laugh instead
Good-bye fear Nice knowing you I wonrsquot be needing you since my
sisterrsquos here
Now Irsquom competing in the Brimstone Bleed to try and save his
life I thought the bad hand we were dealt was Codyrsquos being sick
But sometimes a hand worse than illness is the one offering a slip-
pery morsel of hope Thatrsquos the thing about life When yoursquore dealt
a crappy situation you think to yourself At least it canrsquot get any
worse than this
And then life slaps you upside the head for being naiumlve
I wasnrsquot cut out for a race across the jungle or to trek across thedesert with the sun scalding my cheeks
But like I said mdash
I am stronger than I was before
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5
CHAPTER TWO
Guy Chambers looks worried And when he worries I worryright along with him Of course sometimes Guy makes it difficult
to be anything at all besides lustful Even in the heart of the
desert mdash the fresh pink scar on my stomach itching like crazy mdash
I could still shove him on a Popsicle stick and slurp him up
Nom-nom-nom
ldquoTellardquo he says His voice is sharp even urgentThough in my mind he says my name more like Te-lllla
Guy tilts his head as if hersquos not sure Irsquom listening which Irsquom
not Wersquove been at this desert base camp for over a week for ldquorest
and recoveryrdquo But itrsquos hard to do either when wersquore counting down
the days until the Brimstone Bleed continues
The Brimstone Bleed covers four ecosystems jungle desert
ocean mountain Or mountain then ocean Two wersquove com-
pleted two remain Wersquore halfway Hoorah Victory dance
Except itrsquos hard to feel positive about how far wersquove come when
wersquore battling one another for the Cure mdash something that will
save our loved ones back home from croaking mdash and because
wersquove already lost friends along the way Even worse the people
behind this race are the ones whomade our loved ones sick though
they pretend to be the heroes And for the grand finale The sec-
ond ecosystem we overcame was harder than the first which
doesnrsquot make me real optimistic about what lies ahead
Guyrsquos lion his Pandora gives a small growl deep in his throat
Itrsquos as if hersquos frustrated that Irsquom not paying attention to his Con-
tender My own Pandora growls in return though itrsquos amusingconsidering the sound emanates from a black fox one-tenth the
size I scoop my Pandora Madox into my arms and attempt to
focus on what Guy is saying
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6
ldquoWhatrsquos uprdquo I ask hoping if I sound casual the concern will
leave his face
ldquoI think theyrsquore getting ready to move usrdquo
ldquoMove usrdquo I repeat my brow furrowing ldquoLike wersquore cattle orsomethingrdquo My blood burns as I remember that these monsters
ordered us to kill other Contendersrsquo Pandoras to qualify for the
rest of the race Sometimes I canrsquot shake the memory of sliding a
blade into Levirsquos dying Pandora even if his brother did ask me
to do it
Guy shifts as if hersquos going to brush away the hair from my facelike men do in romance novels Not that Irsquod know or anything Not
as if I used to dig those suckers out of my momrsquos nightstand and
devour them while plunging an arm into the graham crackers box
Before Guy can morph into Fabio his hand drops to his side
Maybe itrsquos because I hacked my hair off and all that remains to
caress is the blue-and-green feather Mom gave me the same
feather my grandmother once wore in her own hair Or maybe hersquos
being distant again I thought we were past that but lately Irsquom not
so sure
Guy runs his hand along his clean-shaven jaw It wonrsquot be that
way for much longer ldquoI can just sense somethingrsquos happening
Wersquove been here long enough Itrsquos timerdquo He pauses bites the inside
of his cheek ldquoLook Tella rdquo
Te-lllla
ldquoYou should forget about what I saidrdquo he continues voice low-
ered Guy musses his dark hair that after hiking through the
jungle and desert still manages to look GQ ldquoIrsquom not going to
let you mdashrdquo
ldquoWersquove been over thisrdquo I interrupt ldquoI have to try and win formy brother After that Irsquom going to help you destroy rdquo I glance
around at the other Contenders at their exhausted faces and
slumped shoulders I study the Pandoras by their sides beaten
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7
and bruised from helping their Contenders survive ldquoIrsquom going to
help you destroy the race so no one has to go through this againrdquo
The Green Beret of a dude nods his head though I can tell hersquos
not convinced And that in the end if Irsquom one of the final five andreceive an invitation to become a Brimstone Bleed employee he
might accuse me of cheating so I canrsquot continue Assuming cheat-
ing is even a thing which it probably isnrsquot
ldquoHey-o Are we packing up Are the Rambos moving outrdquo
This comes from Jaxon my friend Hersquos wearing a blue flag the
kind that helps us navigate to base camps around his foreheadHis blond curls spring up and over the top Seeing me eyeing
the flag he says ldquoSee like Rambordquo Jaxon holds his arms up as if
hersquos got a machine gun and proceeds to put a round of bullets
into Guy
Guy isnrsquot amused
Clinging to Jaxonrsquos leg is Olivia a ten-year-old girl with exactly
nine fingers Shersquoll show everyone who asks those fingers and
anyone else who doesnrsquot A blue-gray trunk wraps around Oliviarsquos
waist
ldquoCut it outrdquo Olivia tells her elephant Though I can tell she
secretly adores her Pandorarsquos nuzzling Jaxon looks at her elephant
EV-0 with longing He lost his Pandora in the desert when one of
our Contender allies turned out to be a Pandora and ate his animal
companion
And the people running this race think we can ldquorest and
recoverrdquo at base camp
Please
ldquoSo are werdquo Jaxon repeats ldquoMoving outrdquo
Guy nods as if hersquos sure but I donrsquot know how he can be Thenagain if Guy said our next leg of the race would be on the moon
Irsquod start looking for the shuttle He stares into the desert as if the
answer is there ldquoTherersquos been talkrdquo
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8
ldquoScandalousrdquo Jaxonrsquos head bobs a huge smile plastered on
his face
Guy sighs and I lock eyes with him Blue eyes Not blue like
the ocean at high tide or the sky on a summer afternoon Morelike the blue of a dead body A kind of blue that makes you hold
your breath and count your blessings and beg for one more I like
when Guy sets his gaze on me That shade of blue could make the
world tremble on bended knees but Irsquod happily drown in it
An enormous hand with polished nails comes down on Jaxonrsquos
shoulder ldquoHersquos going to kill you one of these daysrdquo a surprisinglysoft voice says Surprising because its owner is the size of a planet
Braun orbits into view his pig Pandora grunting at his side
ldquoDo we know where wersquore going nextrdquo
Guyrsquos eyes widen Hersquos looking over Braunrsquos shoulder and I
turn to see what nabbed his attention The two men who work for
the Brimstone Bleed stand outside the perimeter of the base camp
an orange flag in each of their hands They hold the flags by their
sides and drag the toes of their boots in the sand creating a large
circle
I hear it before I see it mdash the unmistakable thwump-thwump-
thwump of a helicopter approaching
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9
CHAPTER THREE
The helicopter is like a crow against a sea of blue As it getscloser it seems more like a smudge of black paint one I could
swipe from the sky with the pad of my thumb And then it seems
only like what it is a beacon of hope Or one of fear
Contenders rush from huts which resemble tepees out into the
open air They raise hands to their brows and watch as this metal
monster hovers over our heads Sand beats against my skin sting-ing It isnrsquot much worse than the sunrsquos ever-present bite What
limited brush there is flattens against the ground and I feel myself
doing the same
Someone grabs on to my elbow and yells into my ear Itrsquos Guy
but I couldnrsquot hear him if he spoke telepathically let alone over the
sound of the helicopterrsquos blades whirling A nervous brown muzzle
nudges my arm and I dig my hand into the bearrsquos dense fur AK-7
is a grizzly bear Pandora and has the girth and jaws to prove it But
his previous owner did unspeakable things to him and though
Irsquove tried to show the animal he wonrsquot be hurt again hersquos still skit-
tish Irsquove adopted AK-7 as my own for better or worse but itrsquos
hard to not see his former owner mdash Titus mdash when I stroke his
thick coat or to forget how Titus died trying to kill me At least I
know he isnrsquot coming back and that the rest of the Triggers have
all but disbanded
To the tune of orange landing flags waving the helicopter
touches down and the wind dissipates leaving behind an eerie
silence One of the Brimstone Bleed men jogs over He opens
the door and at the same time Guy drags me backward BraunOlivia and Jaxon follow our movements The Pandoras line up in
front of us and Madox raises his wet nose into the air
ldquoNot too closerdquo Guy orders no one in particular
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10
The pilot steps out of the helicopter graceful as a ballerina
Shersquos wearing an orange knee-length pencil skirt and a stiff white
collared shirt Brown kitten-heel boots adorn her feet and when
she takes a step into the sand and sways the man who opened herdoor offers his arm She takes it with a warm smile and tosses
bulky headphones back into the helicopter
The other man the tall one with enormous ears and a shortage
of hair reaches into the helicopter and slides a box forward He
lifts it up putting every ounce of strain on his back which everyone
knows is wrong The three of them one with the box in his armsstride toward the largest hut on the perimeter of base camp land-
ing flags forgotten The green-and-blue-plaid blanket that hangs
over the entrance is pushed aside and the crew vanishes from sight
The sun is setting on the sixth night of our rest week The four-
teen days we were allotted to make it to base camp have passed
No one ever enters the base camps after the fourteen days expire
Not in the jungle and not in the desert I want to dwell on what
happens to the ones who are still out there But Guy tells me not
to He makes it seem easy to forget and that worries me
ldquoWe should go to our huts and relaxrdquo Guy announces ldquoTheyrsquoll
be moving us tomorrowrdquo
He speaks with such confidence It makes me hate him But
then his face turns in my direction and his strong jawline his
cheekbones his shoulders mdash they tell me to ease up That and he
is the single most resourceful Contender in this race His father
told him about the Brimstone Bleed trained him to take it down
from the inside I regard his mangled left earlobe and the gash
through his right eyebrow souvenirs from that training
ldquoHow about insteadrdquo Jaxon says ldquowe huddle into one hut andtalk all night about why a strange woman appeared at base camp
who may or may not be cougar hotrdquo
ldquoSeriouslyrdquo Braun chuckles ldquoShersquos one of themrdquo
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11
ldquoShersquos one of them now rdquo Jaxon says popping his collar
Olivia rolls her eyes ldquoUnpop your collar jackass No one does
that anymorerdquo
Guy heads toward his hut the one Irsquove shared with him for thelast several days and Olivia Jaxon and Braun follow behind
Jaxon continues to chatter about how he can ldquoturnrdquo the woman in
orange and we all ignore the fact that he is still heartbroken over
Harperrsquos leaving We hear the way he tosses her name out in every
other conversation and the way he studies the desert at night as if
shersquoll suddenly flicker into view like a lightning bugHarper won the second leg of the race With that win she
received a five-year Cure for her sick daughter But her daughter
died before it could be administered and Harper gave the Cure to
Caroline instead Before she left the desert base camp Harper
wrote a note In that note she explained how shersquod return to finish
the race mdash and help me win
Irsquom not sure shersquoll be able to do that and I wish she hadnrsquot
promised something she isnrsquot able to fulfill Because sometimes I
catch myself following Jaxonrsquos gaze praying her blond hair green
eyes and brick-house stamina will reappear
Guy eventually waves Jaxon Braun and Olivia away The three
of them huddle near a lit torch with their remaining Pandoras and
speak quietly as the sun plummets toward the earth the relief of
night cooling our campsite
ldquoInsiderdquo Guy says to me leading the way into our hut The
moment we arrived at base camp Guy staked claim to this par-
ticular hut Itrsquos the one I woke up in after Braun carried me from
the formations The one I woke up in after I helped kill Titus
Other Contenders sleep inside the hut with us but Guy made itknown that the dusk hours were his and mine
When Guy speaks people listen Not because hersquos abrasive but
because everyone is searching for a leader in this race whether
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12
theyrsquoll admit it to themselves or not And Guy supplies a sense of
security when he vocalizes what he wants
I sit on a single cot and Guy sits next to me his arm brushing
my own Goose bumps rush across my skin and Irsquom certain it isnrsquotfrom the sudden chill in the air ldquoWe should tell the others about
our planrdquo I whisper
His eyes flash in my direction and my heart clenches ldquoIt would
put the others in dangerrdquo he responds ldquoI canrsquot risk thatrdquo I sigh
because the last part is really what he means The part about
others being a risk to his plan Guyrsquos strategy is act alone One-man show Itrsquos do or die as long as hersquos the only person affected
Itrsquos why hersquos tried to talk me out of joining him on his crusade
ldquoIrsquom going to sneak over to the main hut tonight see if I can learn
anythingrdquo Guy studies my face and slowly his gaze roams to my
mouth I press my lips together with anticipation Maybe Irsquom try-
ing to keep his attention there I donrsquot know
Guy hasnrsquot kissed me since the day he told me about his plans
for the Brimstone Bleed Irsquod be lying if I said that didnrsquot hurt My
priority is Cody but it was nice feeling as if someone cared deeply
about me inside this race
ldquoYou should stay here tonightrdquo Guy says
ldquoNo way Irsquom going with yourdquo
ldquoTella you have to listen to me if this is going to workrdquo
Maybe itrsquos the distance hersquos put between us the last few days or
how he promised hersquod never leave me again but what hersquos saying
frustrates me ldquoWhyrdquo
ldquoBecause I want to keep you alive and I donrsquot like you taking
unnecessary risksrdquo
ldquoItrsquos not your job to keep me aliverdquoGuy smiles ldquoI make it my jobrdquo
Madox trots toward Guy and releases a playful growl Guy sup-
presses a laugh and stretches his hand toward him But Madox
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13
turns his head refusing anything but my affection or treats
Hersquod certainly take a treat from Guy ldquoLighten up foxrdquo Guy tells
Madox ldquoYou should love merdquo
Now I smile ldquoHe should should herdquoMadox reluctantly offers Guy his right ear for a scratch ldquoWell
yeah your Contender would still be back in that jungle if it werenrsquot
for merdquo
The air is sucked from the room and I f linch from the sting of
his words I know he didnrsquot mean to intentionally hurt me just
now But he did Guy chuckles lightly and tosses me a genuinegrin and I do my best to return the gesture
Irsquove spent six weeks with Guy under insurmountable stress and
yet that one sentence he uttered is as hard to swallow as some of
the biggest obstacles wersquove overcome Is that how he thinks of me
The girl who needs saving The girl who wouldnrsquot be here if it
werenrsquot for him
If Irsquom being honest with myself itrsquos something Irsquove thought a
lot about over the last few days especially since he rescued me
from Titus and the Triggers How would I fare without Guy
around Would I still have a chance at winning at surviving Irsquom
not sure why what he said struck me so hard
Actually yes I am
Itrsquos because itrsquos the truth
ldquoYou okayrdquo he asks
I nod and pull a calm mask with a fake half smile over my face
ldquoIrsquoll stay here when you look around tonightrdquo
ldquoGoodrdquo he says with relief ldquoThatrsquos goodrdquo Guy seems for a
moment as if hersquos going to take my hand But in the end he simply
rises and vanishes through the blanketed door like a ghost takingmy pride with him
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S C H O L A S T I C P R E S S N E W Y O R K
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 316
Copyright copy 2015 by Victoria Scott
All rights reserved Published by Scholastic Press an imprint of Scholastic Inc Publishers since
1920 983155983139983144983151983148983137983155983156983145983139 983155983139983144983151983148983137983155983156983145983139 983152983154983141983155983155 and associated logos are trademarks andor registered
trademarks of Scholastic Inc
No part of this publication may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in
any form or by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or otherwise
without written permission of the publisher For information regarding permission write to
Scholastic Inc Attention Permissions Department 557 Broadway New York NY 10012
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
ISBN 978-0-545-53748-3
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 15 16 17 18 19
Printed in the USA 23
First edition March 2015
The text type was set in Adobe Garamond ProBook design by Nina Goffi
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 416
THE BRIMSTONE BLEED INC
Pandora Assignments Conrsquot
Contender Cluster C
Pandora KD-8
Design Type Fox Small-Scale
Ability A Replication
Assigned Contender Tella Holloway
Code Color Red
Pandora RX-13
Design Type Eagle
Ability A Invisibility
Ability B Nautical
Assigned Contender Harper Shaw
Code Color Green
Pandora M-4
Design Type Lion
Ability A Flame
Assigned Contender Guy Chambers
Code Color Orange
Pandora Identification EV-0
Design Type Elephant Small-Scale
Ability A H2O
Assigned Contender Olivia Finch
Code Color Blue
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2
Pandora Identification Z-54
Design Type Cheetah
Ability A Night Vision
Assigned Contender Jaxon LevineCode Color Green
Expired
Pandora BK-68
Design Type Pig
Ability A Hypnotizability Assigned Contender Braun Kirkland
Code Color Green
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4
CHAPTER ONE
I am stronger than I was beforeSix weeks ago I was a sixteen-year-old girl from Montana
whose brother was dying Nine months before that I was shop-
ping with my best friend in Boston picking out the perfect shade
of coral lip gloss I was the girl who loved a chilled Greek salad
hold the onions who texted my girlfriends every time there was
a sale at Express who had a closet full of glitter mdash and so what agirl has a right to glitter
Before I figured that when my family was struck with illness
when my brother Cody first passed on a second helping of meat
loaf with red gravy and started losing weight that this was the
thing This was the tragedy Irsquod have to deal with in my life mdash
watching my big brother crumble and my family with him
I tried to be brave to smile when there was nothing to smile
about To offer a polished joke in the doctorrsquos office so that Cody
could cast off the fear in his belly and laugh instead
Good-bye fear Nice knowing you I wonrsquot be needing you since my
sisterrsquos here
Now Irsquom competing in the Brimstone Bleed to try and save his
life I thought the bad hand we were dealt was Codyrsquos being sick
But sometimes a hand worse than illness is the one offering a slip-
pery morsel of hope Thatrsquos the thing about life When yoursquore dealt
a crappy situation you think to yourself At least it canrsquot get any
worse than this
And then life slaps you upside the head for being naiumlve
I wasnrsquot cut out for a race across the jungle or to trek across thedesert with the sun scalding my cheeks
But like I said mdash
I am stronger than I was before
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 816
5
CHAPTER TWO
Guy Chambers looks worried And when he worries I worryright along with him Of course sometimes Guy makes it difficult
to be anything at all besides lustful Even in the heart of the
desert mdash the fresh pink scar on my stomach itching like crazy mdash
I could still shove him on a Popsicle stick and slurp him up
Nom-nom-nom
ldquoTellardquo he says His voice is sharp even urgentThough in my mind he says my name more like Te-lllla
Guy tilts his head as if hersquos not sure Irsquom listening which Irsquom
not Wersquove been at this desert base camp for over a week for ldquorest
and recoveryrdquo But itrsquos hard to do either when wersquore counting down
the days until the Brimstone Bleed continues
The Brimstone Bleed covers four ecosystems jungle desert
ocean mountain Or mountain then ocean Two wersquove com-
pleted two remain Wersquore halfway Hoorah Victory dance
Except itrsquos hard to feel positive about how far wersquove come when
wersquore battling one another for the Cure mdash something that will
save our loved ones back home from croaking mdash and because
wersquove already lost friends along the way Even worse the people
behind this race are the ones whomade our loved ones sick though
they pretend to be the heroes And for the grand finale The sec-
ond ecosystem we overcame was harder than the first which
doesnrsquot make me real optimistic about what lies ahead
Guyrsquos lion his Pandora gives a small growl deep in his throat
Itrsquos as if hersquos frustrated that Irsquom not paying attention to his Con-
tender My own Pandora growls in return though itrsquos amusingconsidering the sound emanates from a black fox one-tenth the
size I scoop my Pandora Madox into my arms and attempt to
focus on what Guy is saying
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httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 916
6
ldquoWhatrsquos uprdquo I ask hoping if I sound casual the concern will
leave his face
ldquoI think theyrsquore getting ready to move usrdquo
ldquoMove usrdquo I repeat my brow furrowing ldquoLike wersquore cattle orsomethingrdquo My blood burns as I remember that these monsters
ordered us to kill other Contendersrsquo Pandoras to qualify for the
rest of the race Sometimes I canrsquot shake the memory of sliding a
blade into Levirsquos dying Pandora even if his brother did ask me
to do it
Guy shifts as if hersquos going to brush away the hair from my facelike men do in romance novels Not that Irsquod know or anything Not
as if I used to dig those suckers out of my momrsquos nightstand and
devour them while plunging an arm into the graham crackers box
Before Guy can morph into Fabio his hand drops to his side
Maybe itrsquos because I hacked my hair off and all that remains to
caress is the blue-and-green feather Mom gave me the same
feather my grandmother once wore in her own hair Or maybe hersquos
being distant again I thought we were past that but lately Irsquom not
so sure
Guy runs his hand along his clean-shaven jaw It wonrsquot be that
way for much longer ldquoI can just sense somethingrsquos happening
Wersquove been here long enough Itrsquos timerdquo He pauses bites the inside
of his cheek ldquoLook Tella rdquo
Te-lllla
ldquoYou should forget about what I saidrdquo he continues voice low-
ered Guy musses his dark hair that after hiking through the
jungle and desert still manages to look GQ ldquoIrsquom not going to
let you mdashrdquo
ldquoWersquove been over thisrdquo I interrupt ldquoI have to try and win formy brother After that Irsquom going to help you destroy rdquo I glance
around at the other Contenders at their exhausted faces and
slumped shoulders I study the Pandoras by their sides beaten
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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7
and bruised from helping their Contenders survive ldquoIrsquom going to
help you destroy the race so no one has to go through this againrdquo
The Green Beret of a dude nods his head though I can tell hersquos
not convinced And that in the end if Irsquom one of the final five andreceive an invitation to become a Brimstone Bleed employee he
might accuse me of cheating so I canrsquot continue Assuming cheat-
ing is even a thing which it probably isnrsquot
ldquoHey-o Are we packing up Are the Rambos moving outrdquo
This comes from Jaxon my friend Hersquos wearing a blue flag the
kind that helps us navigate to base camps around his foreheadHis blond curls spring up and over the top Seeing me eyeing
the flag he says ldquoSee like Rambordquo Jaxon holds his arms up as if
hersquos got a machine gun and proceeds to put a round of bullets
into Guy
Guy isnrsquot amused
Clinging to Jaxonrsquos leg is Olivia a ten-year-old girl with exactly
nine fingers Shersquoll show everyone who asks those fingers and
anyone else who doesnrsquot A blue-gray trunk wraps around Oliviarsquos
waist
ldquoCut it outrdquo Olivia tells her elephant Though I can tell she
secretly adores her Pandorarsquos nuzzling Jaxon looks at her elephant
EV-0 with longing He lost his Pandora in the desert when one of
our Contender allies turned out to be a Pandora and ate his animal
companion
And the people running this race think we can ldquorest and
recoverrdquo at base camp
Please
ldquoSo are werdquo Jaxon repeats ldquoMoving outrdquo
Guy nods as if hersquos sure but I donrsquot know how he can be Thenagain if Guy said our next leg of the race would be on the moon
Irsquod start looking for the shuttle He stares into the desert as if the
answer is there ldquoTherersquos been talkrdquo
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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8
ldquoScandalousrdquo Jaxonrsquos head bobs a huge smile plastered on
his face
Guy sighs and I lock eyes with him Blue eyes Not blue like
the ocean at high tide or the sky on a summer afternoon Morelike the blue of a dead body A kind of blue that makes you hold
your breath and count your blessings and beg for one more I like
when Guy sets his gaze on me That shade of blue could make the
world tremble on bended knees but Irsquod happily drown in it
An enormous hand with polished nails comes down on Jaxonrsquos
shoulder ldquoHersquos going to kill you one of these daysrdquo a surprisinglysoft voice says Surprising because its owner is the size of a planet
Braun orbits into view his pig Pandora grunting at his side
ldquoDo we know where wersquore going nextrdquo
Guyrsquos eyes widen Hersquos looking over Braunrsquos shoulder and I
turn to see what nabbed his attention The two men who work for
the Brimstone Bleed stand outside the perimeter of the base camp
an orange flag in each of their hands They hold the flags by their
sides and drag the toes of their boots in the sand creating a large
circle
I hear it before I see it mdash the unmistakable thwump-thwump-
thwump of a helicopter approaching
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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9
CHAPTER THREE
The helicopter is like a crow against a sea of blue As it getscloser it seems more like a smudge of black paint one I could
swipe from the sky with the pad of my thumb And then it seems
only like what it is a beacon of hope Or one of fear
Contenders rush from huts which resemble tepees out into the
open air They raise hands to their brows and watch as this metal
monster hovers over our heads Sand beats against my skin sting-ing It isnrsquot much worse than the sunrsquos ever-present bite What
limited brush there is flattens against the ground and I feel myself
doing the same
Someone grabs on to my elbow and yells into my ear Itrsquos Guy
but I couldnrsquot hear him if he spoke telepathically let alone over the
sound of the helicopterrsquos blades whirling A nervous brown muzzle
nudges my arm and I dig my hand into the bearrsquos dense fur AK-7
is a grizzly bear Pandora and has the girth and jaws to prove it But
his previous owner did unspeakable things to him and though
Irsquove tried to show the animal he wonrsquot be hurt again hersquos still skit-
tish Irsquove adopted AK-7 as my own for better or worse but itrsquos
hard to not see his former owner mdash Titus mdash when I stroke his
thick coat or to forget how Titus died trying to kill me At least I
know he isnrsquot coming back and that the rest of the Triggers have
all but disbanded
To the tune of orange landing flags waving the helicopter
touches down and the wind dissipates leaving behind an eerie
silence One of the Brimstone Bleed men jogs over He opens
the door and at the same time Guy drags me backward BraunOlivia and Jaxon follow our movements The Pandoras line up in
front of us and Madox raises his wet nose into the air
ldquoNot too closerdquo Guy orders no one in particular
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1316
10
The pilot steps out of the helicopter graceful as a ballerina
Shersquos wearing an orange knee-length pencil skirt and a stiff white
collared shirt Brown kitten-heel boots adorn her feet and when
she takes a step into the sand and sways the man who opened herdoor offers his arm She takes it with a warm smile and tosses
bulky headphones back into the helicopter
The other man the tall one with enormous ears and a shortage
of hair reaches into the helicopter and slides a box forward He
lifts it up putting every ounce of strain on his back which everyone
knows is wrong The three of them one with the box in his armsstride toward the largest hut on the perimeter of base camp land-
ing flags forgotten The green-and-blue-plaid blanket that hangs
over the entrance is pushed aside and the crew vanishes from sight
The sun is setting on the sixth night of our rest week The four-
teen days we were allotted to make it to base camp have passed
No one ever enters the base camps after the fourteen days expire
Not in the jungle and not in the desert I want to dwell on what
happens to the ones who are still out there But Guy tells me not
to He makes it seem easy to forget and that worries me
ldquoWe should go to our huts and relaxrdquo Guy announces ldquoTheyrsquoll
be moving us tomorrowrdquo
He speaks with such confidence It makes me hate him But
then his face turns in my direction and his strong jawline his
cheekbones his shoulders mdash they tell me to ease up That and he
is the single most resourceful Contender in this race His father
told him about the Brimstone Bleed trained him to take it down
from the inside I regard his mangled left earlobe and the gash
through his right eyebrow souvenirs from that training
ldquoHow about insteadrdquo Jaxon says ldquowe huddle into one hut andtalk all night about why a strange woman appeared at base camp
who may or may not be cougar hotrdquo
ldquoSeriouslyrdquo Braun chuckles ldquoShersquos one of themrdquo
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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11
ldquoShersquos one of them now rdquo Jaxon says popping his collar
Olivia rolls her eyes ldquoUnpop your collar jackass No one does
that anymorerdquo
Guy heads toward his hut the one Irsquove shared with him for thelast several days and Olivia Jaxon and Braun follow behind
Jaxon continues to chatter about how he can ldquoturnrdquo the woman in
orange and we all ignore the fact that he is still heartbroken over
Harperrsquos leaving We hear the way he tosses her name out in every
other conversation and the way he studies the desert at night as if
shersquoll suddenly flicker into view like a lightning bugHarper won the second leg of the race With that win she
received a five-year Cure for her sick daughter But her daughter
died before it could be administered and Harper gave the Cure to
Caroline instead Before she left the desert base camp Harper
wrote a note In that note she explained how shersquod return to finish
the race mdash and help me win
Irsquom not sure shersquoll be able to do that and I wish she hadnrsquot
promised something she isnrsquot able to fulfill Because sometimes I
catch myself following Jaxonrsquos gaze praying her blond hair green
eyes and brick-house stamina will reappear
Guy eventually waves Jaxon Braun and Olivia away The three
of them huddle near a lit torch with their remaining Pandoras and
speak quietly as the sun plummets toward the earth the relief of
night cooling our campsite
ldquoInsiderdquo Guy says to me leading the way into our hut The
moment we arrived at base camp Guy staked claim to this par-
ticular hut Itrsquos the one I woke up in after Braun carried me from
the formations The one I woke up in after I helped kill Titus
Other Contenders sleep inside the hut with us but Guy made itknown that the dusk hours were his and mine
When Guy speaks people listen Not because hersquos abrasive but
because everyone is searching for a leader in this race whether
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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12
theyrsquoll admit it to themselves or not And Guy supplies a sense of
security when he vocalizes what he wants
I sit on a single cot and Guy sits next to me his arm brushing
my own Goose bumps rush across my skin and Irsquom certain it isnrsquotfrom the sudden chill in the air ldquoWe should tell the others about
our planrdquo I whisper
His eyes flash in my direction and my heart clenches ldquoIt would
put the others in dangerrdquo he responds ldquoI canrsquot risk thatrdquo I sigh
because the last part is really what he means The part about
others being a risk to his plan Guyrsquos strategy is act alone One-man show Itrsquos do or die as long as hersquos the only person affected
Itrsquos why hersquos tried to talk me out of joining him on his crusade
ldquoIrsquom going to sneak over to the main hut tonight see if I can learn
anythingrdquo Guy studies my face and slowly his gaze roams to my
mouth I press my lips together with anticipation Maybe Irsquom try-
ing to keep his attention there I donrsquot know
Guy hasnrsquot kissed me since the day he told me about his plans
for the Brimstone Bleed Irsquod be lying if I said that didnrsquot hurt My
priority is Cody but it was nice feeling as if someone cared deeply
about me inside this race
ldquoYou should stay here tonightrdquo Guy says
ldquoNo way Irsquom going with yourdquo
ldquoTella you have to listen to me if this is going to workrdquo
Maybe itrsquos the distance hersquos put between us the last few days or
how he promised hersquod never leave me again but what hersquos saying
frustrates me ldquoWhyrdquo
ldquoBecause I want to keep you alive and I donrsquot like you taking
unnecessary risksrdquo
ldquoItrsquos not your job to keep me aliverdquoGuy smiles ldquoI make it my jobrdquo
Madox trots toward Guy and releases a playful growl Guy sup-
presses a laugh and stretches his hand toward him But Madox
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13
turns his head refusing anything but my affection or treats
Hersquod certainly take a treat from Guy ldquoLighten up foxrdquo Guy tells
Madox ldquoYou should love merdquo
Now I smile ldquoHe should should herdquoMadox reluctantly offers Guy his right ear for a scratch ldquoWell
yeah your Contender would still be back in that jungle if it werenrsquot
for merdquo
The air is sucked from the room and I f linch from the sting of
his words I know he didnrsquot mean to intentionally hurt me just
now But he did Guy chuckles lightly and tosses me a genuinegrin and I do my best to return the gesture
Irsquove spent six weeks with Guy under insurmountable stress and
yet that one sentence he uttered is as hard to swallow as some of
the biggest obstacles wersquove overcome Is that how he thinks of me
The girl who needs saving The girl who wouldnrsquot be here if it
werenrsquot for him
If Irsquom being honest with myself itrsquos something Irsquove thought a
lot about over the last few days especially since he rescued me
from Titus and the Triggers How would I fare without Guy
around Would I still have a chance at winning at surviving Irsquom
not sure why what he said struck me so hard
Actually yes I am
Itrsquos because itrsquos the truth
ldquoYou okayrdquo he asks
I nod and pull a calm mask with a fake half smile over my face
ldquoIrsquoll stay here when you look around tonightrdquo
ldquoGoodrdquo he says with relief ldquoThatrsquos goodrdquo Guy seems for a
moment as if hersquos going to take my hand But in the end he simply
rises and vanishes through the blanketed door like a ghost takingmy pride with him
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 316
Copyright copy 2015 by Victoria Scott
All rights reserved Published by Scholastic Press an imprint of Scholastic Inc Publishers since
1920 983155983139983144983151983148983137983155983156983145983139 983155983139983144983151983148983137983155983156983145983139 983152983154983141983155983155 and associated logos are trademarks andor registered
trademarks of Scholastic Inc
No part of this publication may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in
any form or by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or otherwise
without written permission of the publisher For information regarding permission write to
Scholastic Inc Attention Permissions Department 557 Broadway New York NY 10012
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available
ISBN 978-0-545-53748-3
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 15 16 17 18 19
Printed in the USA 23
First edition March 2015
The text type was set in Adobe Garamond ProBook design by Nina Goffi
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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THE BRIMSTONE BLEED INC
Pandora Assignments Conrsquot
Contender Cluster C
Pandora KD-8
Design Type Fox Small-Scale
Ability A Replication
Assigned Contender Tella Holloway
Code Color Red
Pandora RX-13
Design Type Eagle
Ability A Invisibility
Ability B Nautical
Assigned Contender Harper Shaw
Code Color Green
Pandora M-4
Design Type Lion
Ability A Flame
Assigned Contender Guy Chambers
Code Color Orange
Pandora Identification EV-0
Design Type Elephant Small-Scale
Ability A H2O
Assigned Contender Olivia Finch
Code Color Blue
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2
Pandora Identification Z-54
Design Type Cheetah
Ability A Night Vision
Assigned Contender Jaxon LevineCode Color Green
Expired
Pandora BK-68
Design Type Pig
Ability A Hypnotizability Assigned Contender Braun Kirkland
Code Color Green
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892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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4
CHAPTER ONE
I am stronger than I was beforeSix weeks ago I was a sixteen-year-old girl from Montana
whose brother was dying Nine months before that I was shop-
ping with my best friend in Boston picking out the perfect shade
of coral lip gloss I was the girl who loved a chilled Greek salad
hold the onions who texted my girlfriends every time there was
a sale at Express who had a closet full of glitter mdash and so what agirl has a right to glitter
Before I figured that when my family was struck with illness
when my brother Cody first passed on a second helping of meat
loaf with red gravy and started losing weight that this was the
thing This was the tragedy Irsquod have to deal with in my life mdash
watching my big brother crumble and my family with him
I tried to be brave to smile when there was nothing to smile
about To offer a polished joke in the doctorrsquos office so that Cody
could cast off the fear in his belly and laugh instead
Good-bye fear Nice knowing you I wonrsquot be needing you since my
sisterrsquos here
Now Irsquom competing in the Brimstone Bleed to try and save his
life I thought the bad hand we were dealt was Codyrsquos being sick
But sometimes a hand worse than illness is the one offering a slip-
pery morsel of hope Thatrsquos the thing about life When yoursquore dealt
a crappy situation you think to yourself At least it canrsquot get any
worse than this
And then life slaps you upside the head for being naiumlve
I wasnrsquot cut out for a race across the jungle or to trek across thedesert with the sun scalding my cheeks
But like I said mdash
I am stronger than I was before
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5
CHAPTER TWO
Guy Chambers looks worried And when he worries I worryright along with him Of course sometimes Guy makes it difficult
to be anything at all besides lustful Even in the heart of the
desert mdash the fresh pink scar on my stomach itching like crazy mdash
I could still shove him on a Popsicle stick and slurp him up
Nom-nom-nom
ldquoTellardquo he says His voice is sharp even urgentThough in my mind he says my name more like Te-lllla
Guy tilts his head as if hersquos not sure Irsquom listening which Irsquom
not Wersquove been at this desert base camp for over a week for ldquorest
and recoveryrdquo But itrsquos hard to do either when wersquore counting down
the days until the Brimstone Bleed continues
The Brimstone Bleed covers four ecosystems jungle desert
ocean mountain Or mountain then ocean Two wersquove com-
pleted two remain Wersquore halfway Hoorah Victory dance
Except itrsquos hard to feel positive about how far wersquove come when
wersquore battling one another for the Cure mdash something that will
save our loved ones back home from croaking mdash and because
wersquove already lost friends along the way Even worse the people
behind this race are the ones whomade our loved ones sick though
they pretend to be the heroes And for the grand finale The sec-
ond ecosystem we overcame was harder than the first which
doesnrsquot make me real optimistic about what lies ahead
Guyrsquos lion his Pandora gives a small growl deep in his throat
Itrsquos as if hersquos frustrated that Irsquom not paying attention to his Con-
tender My own Pandora growls in return though itrsquos amusingconsidering the sound emanates from a black fox one-tenth the
size I scoop my Pandora Madox into my arms and attempt to
focus on what Guy is saying
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6
ldquoWhatrsquos uprdquo I ask hoping if I sound casual the concern will
leave his face
ldquoI think theyrsquore getting ready to move usrdquo
ldquoMove usrdquo I repeat my brow furrowing ldquoLike wersquore cattle orsomethingrdquo My blood burns as I remember that these monsters
ordered us to kill other Contendersrsquo Pandoras to qualify for the
rest of the race Sometimes I canrsquot shake the memory of sliding a
blade into Levirsquos dying Pandora even if his brother did ask me
to do it
Guy shifts as if hersquos going to brush away the hair from my facelike men do in romance novels Not that Irsquod know or anything Not
as if I used to dig those suckers out of my momrsquos nightstand and
devour them while plunging an arm into the graham crackers box
Before Guy can morph into Fabio his hand drops to his side
Maybe itrsquos because I hacked my hair off and all that remains to
caress is the blue-and-green feather Mom gave me the same
feather my grandmother once wore in her own hair Or maybe hersquos
being distant again I thought we were past that but lately Irsquom not
so sure
Guy runs his hand along his clean-shaven jaw It wonrsquot be that
way for much longer ldquoI can just sense somethingrsquos happening
Wersquove been here long enough Itrsquos timerdquo He pauses bites the inside
of his cheek ldquoLook Tella rdquo
Te-lllla
ldquoYou should forget about what I saidrdquo he continues voice low-
ered Guy musses his dark hair that after hiking through the
jungle and desert still manages to look GQ ldquoIrsquom not going to
let you mdashrdquo
ldquoWersquove been over thisrdquo I interrupt ldquoI have to try and win formy brother After that Irsquom going to help you destroy rdquo I glance
around at the other Contenders at their exhausted faces and
slumped shoulders I study the Pandoras by their sides beaten
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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7
and bruised from helping their Contenders survive ldquoIrsquom going to
help you destroy the race so no one has to go through this againrdquo
The Green Beret of a dude nods his head though I can tell hersquos
not convinced And that in the end if Irsquom one of the final five andreceive an invitation to become a Brimstone Bleed employee he
might accuse me of cheating so I canrsquot continue Assuming cheat-
ing is even a thing which it probably isnrsquot
ldquoHey-o Are we packing up Are the Rambos moving outrdquo
This comes from Jaxon my friend Hersquos wearing a blue flag the
kind that helps us navigate to base camps around his foreheadHis blond curls spring up and over the top Seeing me eyeing
the flag he says ldquoSee like Rambordquo Jaxon holds his arms up as if
hersquos got a machine gun and proceeds to put a round of bullets
into Guy
Guy isnrsquot amused
Clinging to Jaxonrsquos leg is Olivia a ten-year-old girl with exactly
nine fingers Shersquoll show everyone who asks those fingers and
anyone else who doesnrsquot A blue-gray trunk wraps around Oliviarsquos
waist
ldquoCut it outrdquo Olivia tells her elephant Though I can tell she
secretly adores her Pandorarsquos nuzzling Jaxon looks at her elephant
EV-0 with longing He lost his Pandora in the desert when one of
our Contender allies turned out to be a Pandora and ate his animal
companion
And the people running this race think we can ldquorest and
recoverrdquo at base camp
Please
ldquoSo are werdquo Jaxon repeats ldquoMoving outrdquo
Guy nods as if hersquos sure but I donrsquot know how he can be Thenagain if Guy said our next leg of the race would be on the moon
Irsquod start looking for the shuttle He stares into the desert as if the
answer is there ldquoTherersquos been talkrdquo
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8
ldquoScandalousrdquo Jaxonrsquos head bobs a huge smile plastered on
his face
Guy sighs and I lock eyes with him Blue eyes Not blue like
the ocean at high tide or the sky on a summer afternoon Morelike the blue of a dead body A kind of blue that makes you hold
your breath and count your blessings and beg for one more I like
when Guy sets his gaze on me That shade of blue could make the
world tremble on bended knees but Irsquod happily drown in it
An enormous hand with polished nails comes down on Jaxonrsquos
shoulder ldquoHersquos going to kill you one of these daysrdquo a surprisinglysoft voice says Surprising because its owner is the size of a planet
Braun orbits into view his pig Pandora grunting at his side
ldquoDo we know where wersquore going nextrdquo
Guyrsquos eyes widen Hersquos looking over Braunrsquos shoulder and I
turn to see what nabbed his attention The two men who work for
the Brimstone Bleed stand outside the perimeter of the base camp
an orange flag in each of their hands They hold the flags by their
sides and drag the toes of their boots in the sand creating a large
circle
I hear it before I see it mdash the unmistakable thwump-thwump-
thwump of a helicopter approaching
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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9
CHAPTER THREE
The helicopter is like a crow against a sea of blue As it getscloser it seems more like a smudge of black paint one I could
swipe from the sky with the pad of my thumb And then it seems
only like what it is a beacon of hope Or one of fear
Contenders rush from huts which resemble tepees out into the
open air They raise hands to their brows and watch as this metal
monster hovers over our heads Sand beats against my skin sting-ing It isnrsquot much worse than the sunrsquos ever-present bite What
limited brush there is flattens against the ground and I feel myself
doing the same
Someone grabs on to my elbow and yells into my ear Itrsquos Guy
but I couldnrsquot hear him if he spoke telepathically let alone over the
sound of the helicopterrsquos blades whirling A nervous brown muzzle
nudges my arm and I dig my hand into the bearrsquos dense fur AK-7
is a grizzly bear Pandora and has the girth and jaws to prove it But
his previous owner did unspeakable things to him and though
Irsquove tried to show the animal he wonrsquot be hurt again hersquos still skit-
tish Irsquove adopted AK-7 as my own for better or worse but itrsquos
hard to not see his former owner mdash Titus mdash when I stroke his
thick coat or to forget how Titus died trying to kill me At least I
know he isnrsquot coming back and that the rest of the Triggers have
all but disbanded
To the tune of orange landing flags waving the helicopter
touches down and the wind dissipates leaving behind an eerie
silence One of the Brimstone Bleed men jogs over He opens
the door and at the same time Guy drags me backward BraunOlivia and Jaxon follow our movements The Pandoras line up in
front of us and Madox raises his wet nose into the air
ldquoNot too closerdquo Guy orders no one in particular
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1316
10
The pilot steps out of the helicopter graceful as a ballerina
Shersquos wearing an orange knee-length pencil skirt and a stiff white
collared shirt Brown kitten-heel boots adorn her feet and when
she takes a step into the sand and sways the man who opened herdoor offers his arm She takes it with a warm smile and tosses
bulky headphones back into the helicopter
The other man the tall one with enormous ears and a shortage
of hair reaches into the helicopter and slides a box forward He
lifts it up putting every ounce of strain on his back which everyone
knows is wrong The three of them one with the box in his armsstride toward the largest hut on the perimeter of base camp land-
ing flags forgotten The green-and-blue-plaid blanket that hangs
over the entrance is pushed aside and the crew vanishes from sight
The sun is setting on the sixth night of our rest week The four-
teen days we were allotted to make it to base camp have passed
No one ever enters the base camps after the fourteen days expire
Not in the jungle and not in the desert I want to dwell on what
happens to the ones who are still out there But Guy tells me not
to He makes it seem easy to forget and that worries me
ldquoWe should go to our huts and relaxrdquo Guy announces ldquoTheyrsquoll
be moving us tomorrowrdquo
He speaks with such confidence It makes me hate him But
then his face turns in my direction and his strong jawline his
cheekbones his shoulders mdash they tell me to ease up That and he
is the single most resourceful Contender in this race His father
told him about the Brimstone Bleed trained him to take it down
from the inside I regard his mangled left earlobe and the gash
through his right eyebrow souvenirs from that training
ldquoHow about insteadrdquo Jaxon says ldquowe huddle into one hut andtalk all night about why a strange woman appeared at base camp
who may or may not be cougar hotrdquo
ldquoSeriouslyrdquo Braun chuckles ldquoShersquos one of themrdquo
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11
ldquoShersquos one of them now rdquo Jaxon says popping his collar
Olivia rolls her eyes ldquoUnpop your collar jackass No one does
that anymorerdquo
Guy heads toward his hut the one Irsquove shared with him for thelast several days and Olivia Jaxon and Braun follow behind
Jaxon continues to chatter about how he can ldquoturnrdquo the woman in
orange and we all ignore the fact that he is still heartbroken over
Harperrsquos leaving We hear the way he tosses her name out in every
other conversation and the way he studies the desert at night as if
shersquoll suddenly flicker into view like a lightning bugHarper won the second leg of the race With that win she
received a five-year Cure for her sick daughter But her daughter
died before it could be administered and Harper gave the Cure to
Caroline instead Before she left the desert base camp Harper
wrote a note In that note she explained how shersquod return to finish
the race mdash and help me win
Irsquom not sure shersquoll be able to do that and I wish she hadnrsquot
promised something she isnrsquot able to fulfill Because sometimes I
catch myself following Jaxonrsquos gaze praying her blond hair green
eyes and brick-house stamina will reappear
Guy eventually waves Jaxon Braun and Olivia away The three
of them huddle near a lit torch with their remaining Pandoras and
speak quietly as the sun plummets toward the earth the relief of
night cooling our campsite
ldquoInsiderdquo Guy says to me leading the way into our hut The
moment we arrived at base camp Guy staked claim to this par-
ticular hut Itrsquos the one I woke up in after Braun carried me from
the formations The one I woke up in after I helped kill Titus
Other Contenders sleep inside the hut with us but Guy made itknown that the dusk hours were his and mine
When Guy speaks people listen Not because hersquos abrasive but
because everyone is searching for a leader in this race whether
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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12
theyrsquoll admit it to themselves or not And Guy supplies a sense of
security when he vocalizes what he wants
I sit on a single cot and Guy sits next to me his arm brushing
my own Goose bumps rush across my skin and Irsquom certain it isnrsquotfrom the sudden chill in the air ldquoWe should tell the others about
our planrdquo I whisper
His eyes flash in my direction and my heart clenches ldquoIt would
put the others in dangerrdquo he responds ldquoI canrsquot risk thatrdquo I sigh
because the last part is really what he means The part about
others being a risk to his plan Guyrsquos strategy is act alone One-man show Itrsquos do or die as long as hersquos the only person affected
Itrsquos why hersquos tried to talk me out of joining him on his crusade
ldquoIrsquom going to sneak over to the main hut tonight see if I can learn
anythingrdquo Guy studies my face and slowly his gaze roams to my
mouth I press my lips together with anticipation Maybe Irsquom try-
ing to keep his attention there I donrsquot know
Guy hasnrsquot kissed me since the day he told me about his plans
for the Brimstone Bleed Irsquod be lying if I said that didnrsquot hurt My
priority is Cody but it was nice feeling as if someone cared deeply
about me inside this race
ldquoYou should stay here tonightrdquo Guy says
ldquoNo way Irsquom going with yourdquo
ldquoTella you have to listen to me if this is going to workrdquo
Maybe itrsquos the distance hersquos put between us the last few days or
how he promised hersquod never leave me again but what hersquos saying
frustrates me ldquoWhyrdquo
ldquoBecause I want to keep you alive and I donrsquot like you taking
unnecessary risksrdquo
ldquoItrsquos not your job to keep me aliverdquoGuy smiles ldquoI make it my jobrdquo
Madox trots toward Guy and releases a playful growl Guy sup-
presses a laugh and stretches his hand toward him But Madox
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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13
turns his head refusing anything but my affection or treats
Hersquod certainly take a treat from Guy ldquoLighten up foxrdquo Guy tells
Madox ldquoYou should love merdquo
Now I smile ldquoHe should should herdquoMadox reluctantly offers Guy his right ear for a scratch ldquoWell
yeah your Contender would still be back in that jungle if it werenrsquot
for merdquo
The air is sucked from the room and I f linch from the sting of
his words I know he didnrsquot mean to intentionally hurt me just
now But he did Guy chuckles lightly and tosses me a genuinegrin and I do my best to return the gesture
Irsquove spent six weeks with Guy under insurmountable stress and
yet that one sentence he uttered is as hard to swallow as some of
the biggest obstacles wersquove overcome Is that how he thinks of me
The girl who needs saving The girl who wouldnrsquot be here if it
werenrsquot for him
If Irsquom being honest with myself itrsquos something Irsquove thought a
lot about over the last few days especially since he rescued me
from Titus and the Triggers How would I fare without Guy
around Would I still have a chance at winning at surviving Irsquom
not sure why what he said struck me so hard
Actually yes I am
Itrsquos because itrsquos the truth
ldquoYou okayrdquo he asks
I nod and pull a calm mask with a fake half smile over my face
ldquoIrsquoll stay here when you look around tonightrdquo
ldquoGoodrdquo he says with relief ldquoThatrsquos goodrdquo Guy seems for a
moment as if hersquos going to take my hand But in the end he simply
rises and vanishes through the blanketed door like a ghost takingmy pride with him
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THE BRIMSTONE BLEED INC
Pandora Assignments Conrsquot
Contender Cluster C
Pandora KD-8
Design Type Fox Small-Scale
Ability A Replication
Assigned Contender Tella Holloway
Code Color Red
Pandora RX-13
Design Type Eagle
Ability A Invisibility
Ability B Nautical
Assigned Contender Harper Shaw
Code Color Green
Pandora M-4
Design Type Lion
Ability A Flame
Assigned Contender Guy Chambers
Code Color Orange
Pandora Identification EV-0
Design Type Elephant Small-Scale
Ability A H2O
Assigned Contender Olivia Finch
Code Color Blue
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2
Pandora Identification Z-54
Design Type Cheetah
Ability A Night Vision
Assigned Contender Jaxon LevineCode Color Green
Expired
Pandora BK-68
Design Type Pig
Ability A Hypnotizability Assigned Contender Braun Kirkland
Code Color Green
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4
CHAPTER ONE
I am stronger than I was beforeSix weeks ago I was a sixteen-year-old girl from Montana
whose brother was dying Nine months before that I was shop-
ping with my best friend in Boston picking out the perfect shade
of coral lip gloss I was the girl who loved a chilled Greek salad
hold the onions who texted my girlfriends every time there was
a sale at Express who had a closet full of glitter mdash and so what agirl has a right to glitter
Before I figured that when my family was struck with illness
when my brother Cody first passed on a second helping of meat
loaf with red gravy and started losing weight that this was the
thing This was the tragedy Irsquod have to deal with in my life mdash
watching my big brother crumble and my family with him
I tried to be brave to smile when there was nothing to smile
about To offer a polished joke in the doctorrsquos office so that Cody
could cast off the fear in his belly and laugh instead
Good-bye fear Nice knowing you I wonrsquot be needing you since my
sisterrsquos here
Now Irsquom competing in the Brimstone Bleed to try and save his
life I thought the bad hand we were dealt was Codyrsquos being sick
But sometimes a hand worse than illness is the one offering a slip-
pery morsel of hope Thatrsquos the thing about life When yoursquore dealt
a crappy situation you think to yourself At least it canrsquot get any
worse than this
And then life slaps you upside the head for being naiumlve
I wasnrsquot cut out for a race across the jungle or to trek across thedesert with the sun scalding my cheeks
But like I said mdash
I am stronger than I was before
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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5
CHAPTER TWO
Guy Chambers looks worried And when he worries I worryright along with him Of course sometimes Guy makes it difficult
to be anything at all besides lustful Even in the heart of the
desert mdash the fresh pink scar on my stomach itching like crazy mdash
I could still shove him on a Popsicle stick and slurp him up
Nom-nom-nom
ldquoTellardquo he says His voice is sharp even urgentThough in my mind he says my name more like Te-lllla
Guy tilts his head as if hersquos not sure Irsquom listening which Irsquom
not Wersquove been at this desert base camp for over a week for ldquorest
and recoveryrdquo But itrsquos hard to do either when wersquore counting down
the days until the Brimstone Bleed continues
The Brimstone Bleed covers four ecosystems jungle desert
ocean mountain Or mountain then ocean Two wersquove com-
pleted two remain Wersquore halfway Hoorah Victory dance
Except itrsquos hard to feel positive about how far wersquove come when
wersquore battling one another for the Cure mdash something that will
save our loved ones back home from croaking mdash and because
wersquove already lost friends along the way Even worse the people
behind this race are the ones whomade our loved ones sick though
they pretend to be the heroes And for the grand finale The sec-
ond ecosystem we overcame was harder than the first which
doesnrsquot make me real optimistic about what lies ahead
Guyrsquos lion his Pandora gives a small growl deep in his throat
Itrsquos as if hersquos frustrated that Irsquom not paying attention to his Con-
tender My own Pandora growls in return though itrsquos amusingconsidering the sound emanates from a black fox one-tenth the
size I scoop my Pandora Madox into my arms and attempt to
focus on what Guy is saying
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6
ldquoWhatrsquos uprdquo I ask hoping if I sound casual the concern will
leave his face
ldquoI think theyrsquore getting ready to move usrdquo
ldquoMove usrdquo I repeat my brow furrowing ldquoLike wersquore cattle orsomethingrdquo My blood burns as I remember that these monsters
ordered us to kill other Contendersrsquo Pandoras to qualify for the
rest of the race Sometimes I canrsquot shake the memory of sliding a
blade into Levirsquos dying Pandora even if his brother did ask me
to do it
Guy shifts as if hersquos going to brush away the hair from my facelike men do in romance novels Not that Irsquod know or anything Not
as if I used to dig those suckers out of my momrsquos nightstand and
devour them while plunging an arm into the graham crackers box
Before Guy can morph into Fabio his hand drops to his side
Maybe itrsquos because I hacked my hair off and all that remains to
caress is the blue-and-green feather Mom gave me the same
feather my grandmother once wore in her own hair Or maybe hersquos
being distant again I thought we were past that but lately Irsquom not
so sure
Guy runs his hand along his clean-shaven jaw It wonrsquot be that
way for much longer ldquoI can just sense somethingrsquos happening
Wersquove been here long enough Itrsquos timerdquo He pauses bites the inside
of his cheek ldquoLook Tella rdquo
Te-lllla
ldquoYou should forget about what I saidrdquo he continues voice low-
ered Guy musses his dark hair that after hiking through the
jungle and desert still manages to look GQ ldquoIrsquom not going to
let you mdashrdquo
ldquoWersquove been over thisrdquo I interrupt ldquoI have to try and win formy brother After that Irsquom going to help you destroy rdquo I glance
around at the other Contenders at their exhausted faces and
slumped shoulders I study the Pandoras by their sides beaten
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7
and bruised from helping their Contenders survive ldquoIrsquom going to
help you destroy the race so no one has to go through this againrdquo
The Green Beret of a dude nods his head though I can tell hersquos
not convinced And that in the end if Irsquom one of the final five andreceive an invitation to become a Brimstone Bleed employee he
might accuse me of cheating so I canrsquot continue Assuming cheat-
ing is even a thing which it probably isnrsquot
ldquoHey-o Are we packing up Are the Rambos moving outrdquo
This comes from Jaxon my friend Hersquos wearing a blue flag the
kind that helps us navigate to base camps around his foreheadHis blond curls spring up and over the top Seeing me eyeing
the flag he says ldquoSee like Rambordquo Jaxon holds his arms up as if
hersquos got a machine gun and proceeds to put a round of bullets
into Guy
Guy isnrsquot amused
Clinging to Jaxonrsquos leg is Olivia a ten-year-old girl with exactly
nine fingers Shersquoll show everyone who asks those fingers and
anyone else who doesnrsquot A blue-gray trunk wraps around Oliviarsquos
waist
ldquoCut it outrdquo Olivia tells her elephant Though I can tell she
secretly adores her Pandorarsquos nuzzling Jaxon looks at her elephant
EV-0 with longing He lost his Pandora in the desert when one of
our Contender allies turned out to be a Pandora and ate his animal
companion
And the people running this race think we can ldquorest and
recoverrdquo at base camp
Please
ldquoSo are werdquo Jaxon repeats ldquoMoving outrdquo
Guy nods as if hersquos sure but I donrsquot know how he can be Thenagain if Guy said our next leg of the race would be on the moon
Irsquod start looking for the shuttle He stares into the desert as if the
answer is there ldquoTherersquos been talkrdquo
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8
ldquoScandalousrdquo Jaxonrsquos head bobs a huge smile plastered on
his face
Guy sighs and I lock eyes with him Blue eyes Not blue like
the ocean at high tide or the sky on a summer afternoon Morelike the blue of a dead body A kind of blue that makes you hold
your breath and count your blessings and beg for one more I like
when Guy sets his gaze on me That shade of blue could make the
world tremble on bended knees but Irsquod happily drown in it
An enormous hand with polished nails comes down on Jaxonrsquos
shoulder ldquoHersquos going to kill you one of these daysrdquo a surprisinglysoft voice says Surprising because its owner is the size of a planet
Braun orbits into view his pig Pandora grunting at his side
ldquoDo we know where wersquore going nextrdquo
Guyrsquos eyes widen Hersquos looking over Braunrsquos shoulder and I
turn to see what nabbed his attention The two men who work for
the Brimstone Bleed stand outside the perimeter of the base camp
an orange flag in each of their hands They hold the flags by their
sides and drag the toes of their boots in the sand creating a large
circle
I hear it before I see it mdash the unmistakable thwump-thwump-
thwump of a helicopter approaching
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9
CHAPTER THREE
The helicopter is like a crow against a sea of blue As it getscloser it seems more like a smudge of black paint one I could
swipe from the sky with the pad of my thumb And then it seems
only like what it is a beacon of hope Or one of fear
Contenders rush from huts which resemble tepees out into the
open air They raise hands to their brows and watch as this metal
monster hovers over our heads Sand beats against my skin sting-ing It isnrsquot much worse than the sunrsquos ever-present bite What
limited brush there is flattens against the ground and I feel myself
doing the same
Someone grabs on to my elbow and yells into my ear Itrsquos Guy
but I couldnrsquot hear him if he spoke telepathically let alone over the
sound of the helicopterrsquos blades whirling A nervous brown muzzle
nudges my arm and I dig my hand into the bearrsquos dense fur AK-7
is a grizzly bear Pandora and has the girth and jaws to prove it But
his previous owner did unspeakable things to him and though
Irsquove tried to show the animal he wonrsquot be hurt again hersquos still skit-
tish Irsquove adopted AK-7 as my own for better or worse but itrsquos
hard to not see his former owner mdash Titus mdash when I stroke his
thick coat or to forget how Titus died trying to kill me At least I
know he isnrsquot coming back and that the rest of the Triggers have
all but disbanded
To the tune of orange landing flags waving the helicopter
touches down and the wind dissipates leaving behind an eerie
silence One of the Brimstone Bleed men jogs over He opens
the door and at the same time Guy drags me backward BraunOlivia and Jaxon follow our movements The Pandoras line up in
front of us and Madox raises his wet nose into the air
ldquoNot too closerdquo Guy orders no one in particular
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10
The pilot steps out of the helicopter graceful as a ballerina
Shersquos wearing an orange knee-length pencil skirt and a stiff white
collared shirt Brown kitten-heel boots adorn her feet and when
she takes a step into the sand and sways the man who opened herdoor offers his arm She takes it with a warm smile and tosses
bulky headphones back into the helicopter
The other man the tall one with enormous ears and a shortage
of hair reaches into the helicopter and slides a box forward He
lifts it up putting every ounce of strain on his back which everyone
knows is wrong The three of them one with the box in his armsstride toward the largest hut on the perimeter of base camp land-
ing flags forgotten The green-and-blue-plaid blanket that hangs
over the entrance is pushed aside and the crew vanishes from sight
The sun is setting on the sixth night of our rest week The four-
teen days we were allotted to make it to base camp have passed
No one ever enters the base camps after the fourteen days expire
Not in the jungle and not in the desert I want to dwell on what
happens to the ones who are still out there But Guy tells me not
to He makes it seem easy to forget and that worries me
ldquoWe should go to our huts and relaxrdquo Guy announces ldquoTheyrsquoll
be moving us tomorrowrdquo
He speaks with such confidence It makes me hate him But
then his face turns in my direction and his strong jawline his
cheekbones his shoulders mdash they tell me to ease up That and he
is the single most resourceful Contender in this race His father
told him about the Brimstone Bleed trained him to take it down
from the inside I regard his mangled left earlobe and the gash
through his right eyebrow souvenirs from that training
ldquoHow about insteadrdquo Jaxon says ldquowe huddle into one hut andtalk all night about why a strange woman appeared at base camp
who may or may not be cougar hotrdquo
ldquoSeriouslyrdquo Braun chuckles ldquoShersquos one of themrdquo
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11
ldquoShersquos one of them now rdquo Jaxon says popping his collar
Olivia rolls her eyes ldquoUnpop your collar jackass No one does
that anymorerdquo
Guy heads toward his hut the one Irsquove shared with him for thelast several days and Olivia Jaxon and Braun follow behind
Jaxon continues to chatter about how he can ldquoturnrdquo the woman in
orange and we all ignore the fact that he is still heartbroken over
Harperrsquos leaving We hear the way he tosses her name out in every
other conversation and the way he studies the desert at night as if
shersquoll suddenly flicker into view like a lightning bugHarper won the second leg of the race With that win she
received a five-year Cure for her sick daughter But her daughter
died before it could be administered and Harper gave the Cure to
Caroline instead Before she left the desert base camp Harper
wrote a note In that note she explained how shersquod return to finish
the race mdash and help me win
Irsquom not sure shersquoll be able to do that and I wish she hadnrsquot
promised something she isnrsquot able to fulfill Because sometimes I
catch myself following Jaxonrsquos gaze praying her blond hair green
eyes and brick-house stamina will reappear
Guy eventually waves Jaxon Braun and Olivia away The three
of them huddle near a lit torch with their remaining Pandoras and
speak quietly as the sun plummets toward the earth the relief of
night cooling our campsite
ldquoInsiderdquo Guy says to me leading the way into our hut The
moment we arrived at base camp Guy staked claim to this par-
ticular hut Itrsquos the one I woke up in after Braun carried me from
the formations The one I woke up in after I helped kill Titus
Other Contenders sleep inside the hut with us but Guy made itknown that the dusk hours were his and mine
When Guy speaks people listen Not because hersquos abrasive but
because everyone is searching for a leader in this race whether
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1516
12
theyrsquoll admit it to themselves or not And Guy supplies a sense of
security when he vocalizes what he wants
I sit on a single cot and Guy sits next to me his arm brushing
my own Goose bumps rush across my skin and Irsquom certain it isnrsquotfrom the sudden chill in the air ldquoWe should tell the others about
our planrdquo I whisper
His eyes flash in my direction and my heart clenches ldquoIt would
put the others in dangerrdquo he responds ldquoI canrsquot risk thatrdquo I sigh
because the last part is really what he means The part about
others being a risk to his plan Guyrsquos strategy is act alone One-man show Itrsquos do or die as long as hersquos the only person affected
Itrsquos why hersquos tried to talk me out of joining him on his crusade
ldquoIrsquom going to sneak over to the main hut tonight see if I can learn
anythingrdquo Guy studies my face and slowly his gaze roams to my
mouth I press my lips together with anticipation Maybe Irsquom try-
ing to keep his attention there I donrsquot know
Guy hasnrsquot kissed me since the day he told me about his plans
for the Brimstone Bleed Irsquod be lying if I said that didnrsquot hurt My
priority is Cody but it was nice feeling as if someone cared deeply
about me inside this race
ldquoYou should stay here tonightrdquo Guy says
ldquoNo way Irsquom going with yourdquo
ldquoTella you have to listen to me if this is going to workrdquo
Maybe itrsquos the distance hersquos put between us the last few days or
how he promised hersquod never leave me again but what hersquos saying
frustrates me ldquoWhyrdquo
ldquoBecause I want to keep you alive and I donrsquot like you taking
unnecessary risksrdquo
ldquoItrsquos not your job to keep me aliverdquoGuy smiles ldquoI make it my jobrdquo
Madox trots toward Guy and releases a playful growl Guy sup-
presses a laugh and stretches his hand toward him But Madox
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13
turns his head refusing anything but my affection or treats
Hersquod certainly take a treat from Guy ldquoLighten up foxrdquo Guy tells
Madox ldquoYou should love merdquo
Now I smile ldquoHe should should herdquoMadox reluctantly offers Guy his right ear for a scratch ldquoWell
yeah your Contender would still be back in that jungle if it werenrsquot
for merdquo
The air is sucked from the room and I f linch from the sting of
his words I know he didnrsquot mean to intentionally hurt me just
now But he did Guy chuckles lightly and tosses me a genuinegrin and I do my best to return the gesture
Irsquove spent six weeks with Guy under insurmountable stress and
yet that one sentence he uttered is as hard to swallow as some of
the biggest obstacles wersquove overcome Is that how he thinks of me
The girl who needs saving The girl who wouldnrsquot be here if it
werenrsquot for him
If Irsquom being honest with myself itrsquos something Irsquove thought a
lot about over the last few days especially since he rescued me
from Titus and the Triggers How would I fare without Guy
around Would I still have a chance at winning at surviving Irsquom
not sure why what he said struck me so hard
Actually yes I am
Itrsquos because itrsquos the truth
ldquoYou okayrdquo he asks
I nod and pull a calm mask with a fake half smile over my face
ldquoIrsquoll stay here when you look around tonightrdquo
ldquoGoodrdquo he says with relief ldquoThatrsquos goodrdquo Guy seems for a
moment as if hersquos going to take my hand But in the end he simply
rises and vanishes through the blanketed door like a ghost takingmy pride with him
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2
Pandora Identification Z-54
Design Type Cheetah
Ability A Night Vision
Assigned Contender Jaxon LevineCode Color Green
Expired
Pandora BK-68
Design Type Pig
Ability A Hypnotizability Assigned Contender Braun Kirkland
Code Color Green
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4
CHAPTER ONE
I am stronger than I was beforeSix weeks ago I was a sixteen-year-old girl from Montana
whose brother was dying Nine months before that I was shop-
ping with my best friend in Boston picking out the perfect shade
of coral lip gloss I was the girl who loved a chilled Greek salad
hold the onions who texted my girlfriends every time there was
a sale at Express who had a closet full of glitter mdash and so what agirl has a right to glitter
Before I figured that when my family was struck with illness
when my brother Cody first passed on a second helping of meat
loaf with red gravy and started losing weight that this was the
thing This was the tragedy Irsquod have to deal with in my life mdash
watching my big brother crumble and my family with him
I tried to be brave to smile when there was nothing to smile
about To offer a polished joke in the doctorrsquos office so that Cody
could cast off the fear in his belly and laugh instead
Good-bye fear Nice knowing you I wonrsquot be needing you since my
sisterrsquos here
Now Irsquom competing in the Brimstone Bleed to try and save his
life I thought the bad hand we were dealt was Codyrsquos being sick
But sometimes a hand worse than illness is the one offering a slip-
pery morsel of hope Thatrsquos the thing about life When yoursquore dealt
a crappy situation you think to yourself At least it canrsquot get any
worse than this
And then life slaps you upside the head for being naiumlve
I wasnrsquot cut out for a race across the jungle or to trek across thedesert with the sun scalding my cheeks
But like I said mdash
I am stronger than I was before
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 816
5
CHAPTER TWO
Guy Chambers looks worried And when he worries I worryright along with him Of course sometimes Guy makes it difficult
to be anything at all besides lustful Even in the heart of the
desert mdash the fresh pink scar on my stomach itching like crazy mdash
I could still shove him on a Popsicle stick and slurp him up
Nom-nom-nom
ldquoTellardquo he says His voice is sharp even urgentThough in my mind he says my name more like Te-lllla
Guy tilts his head as if hersquos not sure Irsquom listening which Irsquom
not Wersquove been at this desert base camp for over a week for ldquorest
and recoveryrdquo But itrsquos hard to do either when wersquore counting down
the days until the Brimstone Bleed continues
The Brimstone Bleed covers four ecosystems jungle desert
ocean mountain Or mountain then ocean Two wersquove com-
pleted two remain Wersquore halfway Hoorah Victory dance
Except itrsquos hard to feel positive about how far wersquove come when
wersquore battling one another for the Cure mdash something that will
save our loved ones back home from croaking mdash and because
wersquove already lost friends along the way Even worse the people
behind this race are the ones whomade our loved ones sick though
they pretend to be the heroes And for the grand finale The sec-
ond ecosystem we overcame was harder than the first which
doesnrsquot make me real optimistic about what lies ahead
Guyrsquos lion his Pandora gives a small growl deep in his throat
Itrsquos as if hersquos frustrated that Irsquom not paying attention to his Con-
tender My own Pandora growls in return though itrsquos amusingconsidering the sound emanates from a black fox one-tenth the
size I scoop my Pandora Madox into my arms and attempt to
focus on what Guy is saying
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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6
ldquoWhatrsquos uprdquo I ask hoping if I sound casual the concern will
leave his face
ldquoI think theyrsquore getting ready to move usrdquo
ldquoMove usrdquo I repeat my brow furrowing ldquoLike wersquore cattle orsomethingrdquo My blood burns as I remember that these monsters
ordered us to kill other Contendersrsquo Pandoras to qualify for the
rest of the race Sometimes I canrsquot shake the memory of sliding a
blade into Levirsquos dying Pandora even if his brother did ask me
to do it
Guy shifts as if hersquos going to brush away the hair from my facelike men do in romance novels Not that Irsquod know or anything Not
as if I used to dig those suckers out of my momrsquos nightstand and
devour them while plunging an arm into the graham crackers box
Before Guy can morph into Fabio his hand drops to his side
Maybe itrsquos because I hacked my hair off and all that remains to
caress is the blue-and-green feather Mom gave me the same
feather my grandmother once wore in her own hair Or maybe hersquos
being distant again I thought we were past that but lately Irsquom not
so sure
Guy runs his hand along his clean-shaven jaw It wonrsquot be that
way for much longer ldquoI can just sense somethingrsquos happening
Wersquove been here long enough Itrsquos timerdquo He pauses bites the inside
of his cheek ldquoLook Tella rdquo
Te-lllla
ldquoYou should forget about what I saidrdquo he continues voice low-
ered Guy musses his dark hair that after hiking through the
jungle and desert still manages to look GQ ldquoIrsquom not going to
let you mdashrdquo
ldquoWersquove been over thisrdquo I interrupt ldquoI have to try and win formy brother After that Irsquom going to help you destroy rdquo I glance
around at the other Contenders at their exhausted faces and
slumped shoulders I study the Pandoras by their sides beaten
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1016
7
and bruised from helping their Contenders survive ldquoIrsquom going to
help you destroy the race so no one has to go through this againrdquo
The Green Beret of a dude nods his head though I can tell hersquos
not convinced And that in the end if Irsquom one of the final five andreceive an invitation to become a Brimstone Bleed employee he
might accuse me of cheating so I canrsquot continue Assuming cheat-
ing is even a thing which it probably isnrsquot
ldquoHey-o Are we packing up Are the Rambos moving outrdquo
This comes from Jaxon my friend Hersquos wearing a blue flag the
kind that helps us navigate to base camps around his foreheadHis blond curls spring up and over the top Seeing me eyeing
the flag he says ldquoSee like Rambordquo Jaxon holds his arms up as if
hersquos got a machine gun and proceeds to put a round of bullets
into Guy
Guy isnrsquot amused
Clinging to Jaxonrsquos leg is Olivia a ten-year-old girl with exactly
nine fingers Shersquoll show everyone who asks those fingers and
anyone else who doesnrsquot A blue-gray trunk wraps around Oliviarsquos
waist
ldquoCut it outrdquo Olivia tells her elephant Though I can tell she
secretly adores her Pandorarsquos nuzzling Jaxon looks at her elephant
EV-0 with longing He lost his Pandora in the desert when one of
our Contender allies turned out to be a Pandora and ate his animal
companion
And the people running this race think we can ldquorest and
recoverrdquo at base camp
Please
ldquoSo are werdquo Jaxon repeats ldquoMoving outrdquo
Guy nods as if hersquos sure but I donrsquot know how he can be Thenagain if Guy said our next leg of the race would be on the moon
Irsquod start looking for the shuttle He stares into the desert as if the
answer is there ldquoTherersquos been talkrdquo
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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8
ldquoScandalousrdquo Jaxonrsquos head bobs a huge smile plastered on
his face
Guy sighs and I lock eyes with him Blue eyes Not blue like
the ocean at high tide or the sky on a summer afternoon Morelike the blue of a dead body A kind of blue that makes you hold
your breath and count your blessings and beg for one more I like
when Guy sets his gaze on me That shade of blue could make the
world tremble on bended knees but Irsquod happily drown in it
An enormous hand with polished nails comes down on Jaxonrsquos
shoulder ldquoHersquos going to kill you one of these daysrdquo a surprisinglysoft voice says Surprising because its owner is the size of a planet
Braun orbits into view his pig Pandora grunting at his side
ldquoDo we know where wersquore going nextrdquo
Guyrsquos eyes widen Hersquos looking over Braunrsquos shoulder and I
turn to see what nabbed his attention The two men who work for
the Brimstone Bleed stand outside the perimeter of the base camp
an orange flag in each of their hands They hold the flags by their
sides and drag the toes of their boots in the sand creating a large
circle
I hear it before I see it mdash the unmistakable thwump-thwump-
thwump of a helicopter approaching
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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9
CHAPTER THREE
The helicopter is like a crow against a sea of blue As it getscloser it seems more like a smudge of black paint one I could
swipe from the sky with the pad of my thumb And then it seems
only like what it is a beacon of hope Or one of fear
Contenders rush from huts which resemble tepees out into the
open air They raise hands to their brows and watch as this metal
monster hovers over our heads Sand beats against my skin sting-ing It isnrsquot much worse than the sunrsquos ever-present bite What
limited brush there is flattens against the ground and I feel myself
doing the same
Someone grabs on to my elbow and yells into my ear Itrsquos Guy
but I couldnrsquot hear him if he spoke telepathically let alone over the
sound of the helicopterrsquos blades whirling A nervous brown muzzle
nudges my arm and I dig my hand into the bearrsquos dense fur AK-7
is a grizzly bear Pandora and has the girth and jaws to prove it But
his previous owner did unspeakable things to him and though
Irsquove tried to show the animal he wonrsquot be hurt again hersquos still skit-
tish Irsquove adopted AK-7 as my own for better or worse but itrsquos
hard to not see his former owner mdash Titus mdash when I stroke his
thick coat or to forget how Titus died trying to kill me At least I
know he isnrsquot coming back and that the rest of the Triggers have
all but disbanded
To the tune of orange landing flags waving the helicopter
touches down and the wind dissipates leaving behind an eerie
silence One of the Brimstone Bleed men jogs over He opens
the door and at the same time Guy drags me backward BraunOlivia and Jaxon follow our movements The Pandoras line up in
front of us and Madox raises his wet nose into the air
ldquoNot too closerdquo Guy orders no one in particular
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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10
The pilot steps out of the helicopter graceful as a ballerina
Shersquos wearing an orange knee-length pencil skirt and a stiff white
collared shirt Brown kitten-heel boots adorn her feet and when
she takes a step into the sand and sways the man who opened herdoor offers his arm She takes it with a warm smile and tosses
bulky headphones back into the helicopter
The other man the tall one with enormous ears and a shortage
of hair reaches into the helicopter and slides a box forward He
lifts it up putting every ounce of strain on his back which everyone
knows is wrong The three of them one with the box in his armsstride toward the largest hut on the perimeter of base camp land-
ing flags forgotten The green-and-blue-plaid blanket that hangs
over the entrance is pushed aside and the crew vanishes from sight
The sun is setting on the sixth night of our rest week The four-
teen days we were allotted to make it to base camp have passed
No one ever enters the base camps after the fourteen days expire
Not in the jungle and not in the desert I want to dwell on what
happens to the ones who are still out there But Guy tells me not
to He makes it seem easy to forget and that worries me
ldquoWe should go to our huts and relaxrdquo Guy announces ldquoTheyrsquoll
be moving us tomorrowrdquo
He speaks with such confidence It makes me hate him But
then his face turns in my direction and his strong jawline his
cheekbones his shoulders mdash they tell me to ease up That and he
is the single most resourceful Contender in this race His father
told him about the Brimstone Bleed trained him to take it down
from the inside I regard his mangled left earlobe and the gash
through his right eyebrow souvenirs from that training
ldquoHow about insteadrdquo Jaxon says ldquowe huddle into one hut andtalk all night about why a strange woman appeared at base camp
who may or may not be cougar hotrdquo
ldquoSeriouslyrdquo Braun chuckles ldquoShersquos one of themrdquo
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11
ldquoShersquos one of them now rdquo Jaxon says popping his collar
Olivia rolls her eyes ldquoUnpop your collar jackass No one does
that anymorerdquo
Guy heads toward his hut the one Irsquove shared with him for thelast several days and Olivia Jaxon and Braun follow behind
Jaxon continues to chatter about how he can ldquoturnrdquo the woman in
orange and we all ignore the fact that he is still heartbroken over
Harperrsquos leaving We hear the way he tosses her name out in every
other conversation and the way he studies the desert at night as if
shersquoll suddenly flicker into view like a lightning bugHarper won the second leg of the race With that win she
received a five-year Cure for her sick daughter But her daughter
died before it could be administered and Harper gave the Cure to
Caroline instead Before she left the desert base camp Harper
wrote a note In that note she explained how shersquod return to finish
the race mdash and help me win
Irsquom not sure shersquoll be able to do that and I wish she hadnrsquot
promised something she isnrsquot able to fulfill Because sometimes I
catch myself following Jaxonrsquos gaze praying her blond hair green
eyes and brick-house stamina will reappear
Guy eventually waves Jaxon Braun and Olivia away The three
of them huddle near a lit torch with their remaining Pandoras and
speak quietly as the sun plummets toward the earth the relief of
night cooling our campsite
ldquoInsiderdquo Guy says to me leading the way into our hut The
moment we arrived at base camp Guy staked claim to this par-
ticular hut Itrsquos the one I woke up in after Braun carried me from
the formations The one I woke up in after I helped kill Titus
Other Contenders sleep inside the hut with us but Guy made itknown that the dusk hours were his and mine
When Guy speaks people listen Not because hersquos abrasive but
because everyone is searching for a leader in this race whether
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12
theyrsquoll admit it to themselves or not And Guy supplies a sense of
security when he vocalizes what he wants
I sit on a single cot and Guy sits next to me his arm brushing
my own Goose bumps rush across my skin and Irsquom certain it isnrsquotfrom the sudden chill in the air ldquoWe should tell the others about
our planrdquo I whisper
His eyes flash in my direction and my heart clenches ldquoIt would
put the others in dangerrdquo he responds ldquoI canrsquot risk thatrdquo I sigh
because the last part is really what he means The part about
others being a risk to his plan Guyrsquos strategy is act alone One-man show Itrsquos do or die as long as hersquos the only person affected
Itrsquos why hersquos tried to talk me out of joining him on his crusade
ldquoIrsquom going to sneak over to the main hut tonight see if I can learn
anythingrdquo Guy studies my face and slowly his gaze roams to my
mouth I press my lips together with anticipation Maybe Irsquom try-
ing to keep his attention there I donrsquot know
Guy hasnrsquot kissed me since the day he told me about his plans
for the Brimstone Bleed Irsquod be lying if I said that didnrsquot hurt My
priority is Cody but it was nice feeling as if someone cared deeply
about me inside this race
ldquoYou should stay here tonightrdquo Guy says
ldquoNo way Irsquom going with yourdquo
ldquoTella you have to listen to me if this is going to workrdquo
Maybe itrsquos the distance hersquos put between us the last few days or
how he promised hersquod never leave me again but what hersquos saying
frustrates me ldquoWhyrdquo
ldquoBecause I want to keep you alive and I donrsquot like you taking
unnecessary risksrdquo
ldquoItrsquos not your job to keep me aliverdquoGuy smiles ldquoI make it my jobrdquo
Madox trots toward Guy and releases a playful growl Guy sup-
presses a laugh and stretches his hand toward him But Madox
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13
turns his head refusing anything but my affection or treats
Hersquod certainly take a treat from Guy ldquoLighten up foxrdquo Guy tells
Madox ldquoYou should love merdquo
Now I smile ldquoHe should should herdquoMadox reluctantly offers Guy his right ear for a scratch ldquoWell
yeah your Contender would still be back in that jungle if it werenrsquot
for merdquo
The air is sucked from the room and I f linch from the sting of
his words I know he didnrsquot mean to intentionally hurt me just
now But he did Guy chuckles lightly and tosses me a genuinegrin and I do my best to return the gesture
Irsquove spent six weeks with Guy under insurmountable stress and
yet that one sentence he uttered is as hard to swallow as some of
the biggest obstacles wersquove overcome Is that how he thinks of me
The girl who needs saving The girl who wouldnrsquot be here if it
werenrsquot for him
If Irsquom being honest with myself itrsquos something Irsquove thought a
lot about over the last few days especially since he rescued me
from Titus and the Triggers How would I fare without Guy
around Would I still have a chance at winning at surviving Irsquom
not sure why what he said struck me so hard
Actually yes I am
Itrsquos because itrsquos the truth
ldquoYou okayrdquo he asks
I nod and pull a calm mask with a fake half smile over my face
ldquoIrsquoll stay here when you look around tonightrdquo
ldquoGoodrdquo he says with relief ldquoThatrsquos goodrdquo Guy seems for a
moment as if hersquos going to take my hand But in the end he simply
rises and vanishes through the blanketed door like a ghost takingmy pride with him
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892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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4
CHAPTER ONE
I am stronger than I was beforeSix weeks ago I was a sixteen-year-old girl from Montana
whose brother was dying Nine months before that I was shop-
ping with my best friend in Boston picking out the perfect shade
of coral lip gloss I was the girl who loved a chilled Greek salad
hold the onions who texted my girlfriends every time there was
a sale at Express who had a closet full of glitter mdash and so what agirl has a right to glitter
Before I figured that when my family was struck with illness
when my brother Cody first passed on a second helping of meat
loaf with red gravy and started losing weight that this was the
thing This was the tragedy Irsquod have to deal with in my life mdash
watching my big brother crumble and my family with him
I tried to be brave to smile when there was nothing to smile
about To offer a polished joke in the doctorrsquos office so that Cody
could cast off the fear in his belly and laugh instead
Good-bye fear Nice knowing you I wonrsquot be needing you since my
sisterrsquos here
Now Irsquom competing in the Brimstone Bleed to try and save his
life I thought the bad hand we were dealt was Codyrsquos being sick
But sometimes a hand worse than illness is the one offering a slip-
pery morsel of hope Thatrsquos the thing about life When yoursquore dealt
a crappy situation you think to yourself At least it canrsquot get any
worse than this
And then life slaps you upside the head for being naiumlve
I wasnrsquot cut out for a race across the jungle or to trek across thedesert with the sun scalding my cheeks
But like I said mdash
I am stronger than I was before
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5
CHAPTER TWO
Guy Chambers looks worried And when he worries I worryright along with him Of course sometimes Guy makes it difficult
to be anything at all besides lustful Even in the heart of the
desert mdash the fresh pink scar on my stomach itching like crazy mdash
I could still shove him on a Popsicle stick and slurp him up
Nom-nom-nom
ldquoTellardquo he says His voice is sharp even urgentThough in my mind he says my name more like Te-lllla
Guy tilts his head as if hersquos not sure Irsquom listening which Irsquom
not Wersquove been at this desert base camp for over a week for ldquorest
and recoveryrdquo But itrsquos hard to do either when wersquore counting down
the days until the Brimstone Bleed continues
The Brimstone Bleed covers four ecosystems jungle desert
ocean mountain Or mountain then ocean Two wersquove com-
pleted two remain Wersquore halfway Hoorah Victory dance
Except itrsquos hard to feel positive about how far wersquove come when
wersquore battling one another for the Cure mdash something that will
save our loved ones back home from croaking mdash and because
wersquove already lost friends along the way Even worse the people
behind this race are the ones whomade our loved ones sick though
they pretend to be the heroes And for the grand finale The sec-
ond ecosystem we overcame was harder than the first which
doesnrsquot make me real optimistic about what lies ahead
Guyrsquos lion his Pandora gives a small growl deep in his throat
Itrsquos as if hersquos frustrated that Irsquom not paying attention to his Con-
tender My own Pandora growls in return though itrsquos amusingconsidering the sound emanates from a black fox one-tenth the
size I scoop my Pandora Madox into my arms and attempt to
focus on what Guy is saying
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6
ldquoWhatrsquos uprdquo I ask hoping if I sound casual the concern will
leave his face
ldquoI think theyrsquore getting ready to move usrdquo
ldquoMove usrdquo I repeat my brow furrowing ldquoLike wersquore cattle orsomethingrdquo My blood burns as I remember that these monsters
ordered us to kill other Contendersrsquo Pandoras to qualify for the
rest of the race Sometimes I canrsquot shake the memory of sliding a
blade into Levirsquos dying Pandora even if his brother did ask me
to do it
Guy shifts as if hersquos going to brush away the hair from my facelike men do in romance novels Not that Irsquod know or anything Not
as if I used to dig those suckers out of my momrsquos nightstand and
devour them while plunging an arm into the graham crackers box
Before Guy can morph into Fabio his hand drops to his side
Maybe itrsquos because I hacked my hair off and all that remains to
caress is the blue-and-green feather Mom gave me the same
feather my grandmother once wore in her own hair Or maybe hersquos
being distant again I thought we were past that but lately Irsquom not
so sure
Guy runs his hand along his clean-shaven jaw It wonrsquot be that
way for much longer ldquoI can just sense somethingrsquos happening
Wersquove been here long enough Itrsquos timerdquo He pauses bites the inside
of his cheek ldquoLook Tella rdquo
Te-lllla
ldquoYou should forget about what I saidrdquo he continues voice low-
ered Guy musses his dark hair that after hiking through the
jungle and desert still manages to look GQ ldquoIrsquom not going to
let you mdashrdquo
ldquoWersquove been over thisrdquo I interrupt ldquoI have to try and win formy brother After that Irsquom going to help you destroy rdquo I glance
around at the other Contenders at their exhausted faces and
slumped shoulders I study the Pandoras by their sides beaten
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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7
and bruised from helping their Contenders survive ldquoIrsquom going to
help you destroy the race so no one has to go through this againrdquo
The Green Beret of a dude nods his head though I can tell hersquos
not convinced And that in the end if Irsquom one of the final five andreceive an invitation to become a Brimstone Bleed employee he
might accuse me of cheating so I canrsquot continue Assuming cheat-
ing is even a thing which it probably isnrsquot
ldquoHey-o Are we packing up Are the Rambos moving outrdquo
This comes from Jaxon my friend Hersquos wearing a blue flag the
kind that helps us navigate to base camps around his foreheadHis blond curls spring up and over the top Seeing me eyeing
the flag he says ldquoSee like Rambordquo Jaxon holds his arms up as if
hersquos got a machine gun and proceeds to put a round of bullets
into Guy
Guy isnrsquot amused
Clinging to Jaxonrsquos leg is Olivia a ten-year-old girl with exactly
nine fingers Shersquoll show everyone who asks those fingers and
anyone else who doesnrsquot A blue-gray trunk wraps around Oliviarsquos
waist
ldquoCut it outrdquo Olivia tells her elephant Though I can tell she
secretly adores her Pandorarsquos nuzzling Jaxon looks at her elephant
EV-0 with longing He lost his Pandora in the desert when one of
our Contender allies turned out to be a Pandora and ate his animal
companion
And the people running this race think we can ldquorest and
recoverrdquo at base camp
Please
ldquoSo are werdquo Jaxon repeats ldquoMoving outrdquo
Guy nods as if hersquos sure but I donrsquot know how he can be Thenagain if Guy said our next leg of the race would be on the moon
Irsquod start looking for the shuttle He stares into the desert as if the
answer is there ldquoTherersquos been talkrdquo
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8
ldquoScandalousrdquo Jaxonrsquos head bobs a huge smile plastered on
his face
Guy sighs and I lock eyes with him Blue eyes Not blue like
the ocean at high tide or the sky on a summer afternoon Morelike the blue of a dead body A kind of blue that makes you hold
your breath and count your blessings and beg for one more I like
when Guy sets his gaze on me That shade of blue could make the
world tremble on bended knees but Irsquod happily drown in it
An enormous hand with polished nails comes down on Jaxonrsquos
shoulder ldquoHersquos going to kill you one of these daysrdquo a surprisinglysoft voice says Surprising because its owner is the size of a planet
Braun orbits into view his pig Pandora grunting at his side
ldquoDo we know where wersquore going nextrdquo
Guyrsquos eyes widen Hersquos looking over Braunrsquos shoulder and I
turn to see what nabbed his attention The two men who work for
the Brimstone Bleed stand outside the perimeter of the base camp
an orange flag in each of their hands They hold the flags by their
sides and drag the toes of their boots in the sand creating a large
circle
I hear it before I see it mdash the unmistakable thwump-thwump-
thwump of a helicopter approaching
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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9
CHAPTER THREE
The helicopter is like a crow against a sea of blue As it getscloser it seems more like a smudge of black paint one I could
swipe from the sky with the pad of my thumb And then it seems
only like what it is a beacon of hope Or one of fear
Contenders rush from huts which resemble tepees out into the
open air They raise hands to their brows and watch as this metal
monster hovers over our heads Sand beats against my skin sting-ing It isnrsquot much worse than the sunrsquos ever-present bite What
limited brush there is flattens against the ground and I feel myself
doing the same
Someone grabs on to my elbow and yells into my ear Itrsquos Guy
but I couldnrsquot hear him if he spoke telepathically let alone over the
sound of the helicopterrsquos blades whirling A nervous brown muzzle
nudges my arm and I dig my hand into the bearrsquos dense fur AK-7
is a grizzly bear Pandora and has the girth and jaws to prove it But
his previous owner did unspeakable things to him and though
Irsquove tried to show the animal he wonrsquot be hurt again hersquos still skit-
tish Irsquove adopted AK-7 as my own for better or worse but itrsquos
hard to not see his former owner mdash Titus mdash when I stroke his
thick coat or to forget how Titus died trying to kill me At least I
know he isnrsquot coming back and that the rest of the Triggers have
all but disbanded
To the tune of orange landing flags waving the helicopter
touches down and the wind dissipates leaving behind an eerie
silence One of the Brimstone Bleed men jogs over He opens
the door and at the same time Guy drags me backward BraunOlivia and Jaxon follow our movements The Pandoras line up in
front of us and Madox raises his wet nose into the air
ldquoNot too closerdquo Guy orders no one in particular
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1316
10
The pilot steps out of the helicopter graceful as a ballerina
Shersquos wearing an orange knee-length pencil skirt and a stiff white
collared shirt Brown kitten-heel boots adorn her feet and when
she takes a step into the sand and sways the man who opened herdoor offers his arm She takes it with a warm smile and tosses
bulky headphones back into the helicopter
The other man the tall one with enormous ears and a shortage
of hair reaches into the helicopter and slides a box forward He
lifts it up putting every ounce of strain on his back which everyone
knows is wrong The three of them one with the box in his armsstride toward the largest hut on the perimeter of base camp land-
ing flags forgotten The green-and-blue-plaid blanket that hangs
over the entrance is pushed aside and the crew vanishes from sight
The sun is setting on the sixth night of our rest week The four-
teen days we were allotted to make it to base camp have passed
No one ever enters the base camps after the fourteen days expire
Not in the jungle and not in the desert I want to dwell on what
happens to the ones who are still out there But Guy tells me not
to He makes it seem easy to forget and that worries me
ldquoWe should go to our huts and relaxrdquo Guy announces ldquoTheyrsquoll
be moving us tomorrowrdquo
He speaks with such confidence It makes me hate him But
then his face turns in my direction and his strong jawline his
cheekbones his shoulders mdash they tell me to ease up That and he
is the single most resourceful Contender in this race His father
told him about the Brimstone Bleed trained him to take it down
from the inside I regard his mangled left earlobe and the gash
through his right eyebrow souvenirs from that training
ldquoHow about insteadrdquo Jaxon says ldquowe huddle into one hut andtalk all night about why a strange woman appeared at base camp
who may or may not be cougar hotrdquo
ldquoSeriouslyrdquo Braun chuckles ldquoShersquos one of themrdquo
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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11
ldquoShersquos one of them now rdquo Jaxon says popping his collar
Olivia rolls her eyes ldquoUnpop your collar jackass No one does
that anymorerdquo
Guy heads toward his hut the one Irsquove shared with him for thelast several days and Olivia Jaxon and Braun follow behind
Jaxon continues to chatter about how he can ldquoturnrdquo the woman in
orange and we all ignore the fact that he is still heartbroken over
Harperrsquos leaving We hear the way he tosses her name out in every
other conversation and the way he studies the desert at night as if
shersquoll suddenly flicker into view like a lightning bugHarper won the second leg of the race With that win she
received a five-year Cure for her sick daughter But her daughter
died before it could be administered and Harper gave the Cure to
Caroline instead Before she left the desert base camp Harper
wrote a note In that note she explained how shersquod return to finish
the race mdash and help me win
Irsquom not sure shersquoll be able to do that and I wish she hadnrsquot
promised something she isnrsquot able to fulfill Because sometimes I
catch myself following Jaxonrsquos gaze praying her blond hair green
eyes and brick-house stamina will reappear
Guy eventually waves Jaxon Braun and Olivia away The three
of them huddle near a lit torch with their remaining Pandoras and
speak quietly as the sun plummets toward the earth the relief of
night cooling our campsite
ldquoInsiderdquo Guy says to me leading the way into our hut The
moment we arrived at base camp Guy staked claim to this par-
ticular hut Itrsquos the one I woke up in after Braun carried me from
the formations The one I woke up in after I helped kill Titus
Other Contenders sleep inside the hut with us but Guy made itknown that the dusk hours were his and mine
When Guy speaks people listen Not because hersquos abrasive but
because everyone is searching for a leader in this race whether
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1516
12
theyrsquoll admit it to themselves or not And Guy supplies a sense of
security when he vocalizes what he wants
I sit on a single cot and Guy sits next to me his arm brushing
my own Goose bumps rush across my skin and Irsquom certain it isnrsquotfrom the sudden chill in the air ldquoWe should tell the others about
our planrdquo I whisper
His eyes flash in my direction and my heart clenches ldquoIt would
put the others in dangerrdquo he responds ldquoI canrsquot risk thatrdquo I sigh
because the last part is really what he means The part about
others being a risk to his plan Guyrsquos strategy is act alone One-man show Itrsquos do or die as long as hersquos the only person affected
Itrsquos why hersquos tried to talk me out of joining him on his crusade
ldquoIrsquom going to sneak over to the main hut tonight see if I can learn
anythingrdquo Guy studies my face and slowly his gaze roams to my
mouth I press my lips together with anticipation Maybe Irsquom try-
ing to keep his attention there I donrsquot know
Guy hasnrsquot kissed me since the day he told me about his plans
for the Brimstone Bleed Irsquod be lying if I said that didnrsquot hurt My
priority is Cody but it was nice feeling as if someone cared deeply
about me inside this race
ldquoYou should stay here tonightrdquo Guy says
ldquoNo way Irsquom going with yourdquo
ldquoTella you have to listen to me if this is going to workrdquo
Maybe itrsquos the distance hersquos put between us the last few days or
how he promised hersquod never leave me again but what hersquos saying
frustrates me ldquoWhyrdquo
ldquoBecause I want to keep you alive and I donrsquot like you taking
unnecessary risksrdquo
ldquoItrsquos not your job to keep me aliverdquoGuy smiles ldquoI make it my jobrdquo
Madox trots toward Guy and releases a playful growl Guy sup-
presses a laugh and stretches his hand toward him But Madox
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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13
turns his head refusing anything but my affection or treats
Hersquod certainly take a treat from Guy ldquoLighten up foxrdquo Guy tells
Madox ldquoYou should love merdquo
Now I smile ldquoHe should should herdquoMadox reluctantly offers Guy his right ear for a scratch ldquoWell
yeah your Contender would still be back in that jungle if it werenrsquot
for merdquo
The air is sucked from the room and I f linch from the sting of
his words I know he didnrsquot mean to intentionally hurt me just
now But he did Guy chuckles lightly and tosses me a genuinegrin and I do my best to return the gesture
Irsquove spent six weeks with Guy under insurmountable stress and
yet that one sentence he uttered is as hard to swallow as some of
the biggest obstacles wersquove overcome Is that how he thinks of me
The girl who needs saving The girl who wouldnrsquot be here if it
werenrsquot for him
If Irsquom being honest with myself itrsquos something Irsquove thought a
lot about over the last few days especially since he rescued me
from Titus and the Triggers How would I fare without Guy
around Would I still have a chance at winning at surviving Irsquom
not sure why what he said struck me so hard
Actually yes I am
Itrsquos because itrsquos the truth
ldquoYou okayrdquo he asks
I nod and pull a calm mask with a fake half smile over my face
ldquoIrsquoll stay here when you look around tonightrdquo
ldquoGoodrdquo he says with relief ldquoThatrsquos goodrdquo Guy seems for a
moment as if hersquos going to take my hand But in the end he simply
rises and vanishes through the blanketed door like a ghost takingmy pride with him
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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4
CHAPTER ONE
I am stronger than I was beforeSix weeks ago I was a sixteen-year-old girl from Montana
whose brother was dying Nine months before that I was shop-
ping with my best friend in Boston picking out the perfect shade
of coral lip gloss I was the girl who loved a chilled Greek salad
hold the onions who texted my girlfriends every time there was
a sale at Express who had a closet full of glitter mdash and so what agirl has a right to glitter
Before I figured that when my family was struck with illness
when my brother Cody first passed on a second helping of meat
loaf with red gravy and started losing weight that this was the
thing This was the tragedy Irsquod have to deal with in my life mdash
watching my big brother crumble and my family with him
I tried to be brave to smile when there was nothing to smile
about To offer a polished joke in the doctorrsquos office so that Cody
could cast off the fear in his belly and laugh instead
Good-bye fear Nice knowing you I wonrsquot be needing you since my
sisterrsquos here
Now Irsquom competing in the Brimstone Bleed to try and save his
life I thought the bad hand we were dealt was Codyrsquos being sick
But sometimes a hand worse than illness is the one offering a slip-
pery morsel of hope Thatrsquos the thing about life When yoursquore dealt
a crappy situation you think to yourself At least it canrsquot get any
worse than this
And then life slaps you upside the head for being naiumlve
I wasnrsquot cut out for a race across the jungle or to trek across thedesert with the sun scalding my cheeks
But like I said mdash
I am stronger than I was before
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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5
CHAPTER TWO
Guy Chambers looks worried And when he worries I worryright along with him Of course sometimes Guy makes it difficult
to be anything at all besides lustful Even in the heart of the
desert mdash the fresh pink scar on my stomach itching like crazy mdash
I could still shove him on a Popsicle stick and slurp him up
Nom-nom-nom
ldquoTellardquo he says His voice is sharp even urgentThough in my mind he says my name more like Te-lllla
Guy tilts his head as if hersquos not sure Irsquom listening which Irsquom
not Wersquove been at this desert base camp for over a week for ldquorest
and recoveryrdquo But itrsquos hard to do either when wersquore counting down
the days until the Brimstone Bleed continues
The Brimstone Bleed covers four ecosystems jungle desert
ocean mountain Or mountain then ocean Two wersquove com-
pleted two remain Wersquore halfway Hoorah Victory dance
Except itrsquos hard to feel positive about how far wersquove come when
wersquore battling one another for the Cure mdash something that will
save our loved ones back home from croaking mdash and because
wersquove already lost friends along the way Even worse the people
behind this race are the ones whomade our loved ones sick though
they pretend to be the heroes And for the grand finale The sec-
ond ecosystem we overcame was harder than the first which
doesnrsquot make me real optimistic about what lies ahead
Guyrsquos lion his Pandora gives a small growl deep in his throat
Itrsquos as if hersquos frustrated that Irsquom not paying attention to his Con-
tender My own Pandora growls in return though itrsquos amusingconsidering the sound emanates from a black fox one-tenth the
size I scoop my Pandora Madox into my arms and attempt to
focus on what Guy is saying
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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6
ldquoWhatrsquos uprdquo I ask hoping if I sound casual the concern will
leave his face
ldquoI think theyrsquore getting ready to move usrdquo
ldquoMove usrdquo I repeat my brow furrowing ldquoLike wersquore cattle orsomethingrdquo My blood burns as I remember that these monsters
ordered us to kill other Contendersrsquo Pandoras to qualify for the
rest of the race Sometimes I canrsquot shake the memory of sliding a
blade into Levirsquos dying Pandora even if his brother did ask me
to do it
Guy shifts as if hersquos going to brush away the hair from my facelike men do in romance novels Not that Irsquod know or anything Not
as if I used to dig those suckers out of my momrsquos nightstand and
devour them while plunging an arm into the graham crackers box
Before Guy can morph into Fabio his hand drops to his side
Maybe itrsquos because I hacked my hair off and all that remains to
caress is the blue-and-green feather Mom gave me the same
feather my grandmother once wore in her own hair Or maybe hersquos
being distant again I thought we were past that but lately Irsquom not
so sure
Guy runs his hand along his clean-shaven jaw It wonrsquot be that
way for much longer ldquoI can just sense somethingrsquos happening
Wersquove been here long enough Itrsquos timerdquo He pauses bites the inside
of his cheek ldquoLook Tella rdquo
Te-lllla
ldquoYou should forget about what I saidrdquo he continues voice low-
ered Guy musses his dark hair that after hiking through the
jungle and desert still manages to look GQ ldquoIrsquom not going to
let you mdashrdquo
ldquoWersquove been over thisrdquo I interrupt ldquoI have to try and win formy brother After that Irsquom going to help you destroy rdquo I glance
around at the other Contenders at their exhausted faces and
slumped shoulders I study the Pandoras by their sides beaten
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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7
and bruised from helping their Contenders survive ldquoIrsquom going to
help you destroy the race so no one has to go through this againrdquo
The Green Beret of a dude nods his head though I can tell hersquos
not convinced And that in the end if Irsquom one of the final five andreceive an invitation to become a Brimstone Bleed employee he
might accuse me of cheating so I canrsquot continue Assuming cheat-
ing is even a thing which it probably isnrsquot
ldquoHey-o Are we packing up Are the Rambos moving outrdquo
This comes from Jaxon my friend Hersquos wearing a blue flag the
kind that helps us navigate to base camps around his foreheadHis blond curls spring up and over the top Seeing me eyeing
the flag he says ldquoSee like Rambordquo Jaxon holds his arms up as if
hersquos got a machine gun and proceeds to put a round of bullets
into Guy
Guy isnrsquot amused
Clinging to Jaxonrsquos leg is Olivia a ten-year-old girl with exactly
nine fingers Shersquoll show everyone who asks those fingers and
anyone else who doesnrsquot A blue-gray trunk wraps around Oliviarsquos
waist
ldquoCut it outrdquo Olivia tells her elephant Though I can tell she
secretly adores her Pandorarsquos nuzzling Jaxon looks at her elephant
EV-0 with longing He lost his Pandora in the desert when one of
our Contender allies turned out to be a Pandora and ate his animal
companion
And the people running this race think we can ldquorest and
recoverrdquo at base camp
Please
ldquoSo are werdquo Jaxon repeats ldquoMoving outrdquo
Guy nods as if hersquos sure but I donrsquot know how he can be Thenagain if Guy said our next leg of the race would be on the moon
Irsquod start looking for the shuttle He stares into the desert as if the
answer is there ldquoTherersquos been talkrdquo
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8
ldquoScandalousrdquo Jaxonrsquos head bobs a huge smile plastered on
his face
Guy sighs and I lock eyes with him Blue eyes Not blue like
the ocean at high tide or the sky on a summer afternoon Morelike the blue of a dead body A kind of blue that makes you hold
your breath and count your blessings and beg for one more I like
when Guy sets his gaze on me That shade of blue could make the
world tremble on bended knees but Irsquod happily drown in it
An enormous hand with polished nails comes down on Jaxonrsquos
shoulder ldquoHersquos going to kill you one of these daysrdquo a surprisinglysoft voice says Surprising because its owner is the size of a planet
Braun orbits into view his pig Pandora grunting at his side
ldquoDo we know where wersquore going nextrdquo
Guyrsquos eyes widen Hersquos looking over Braunrsquos shoulder and I
turn to see what nabbed his attention The two men who work for
the Brimstone Bleed stand outside the perimeter of the base camp
an orange flag in each of their hands They hold the flags by their
sides and drag the toes of their boots in the sand creating a large
circle
I hear it before I see it mdash the unmistakable thwump-thwump-
thwump of a helicopter approaching
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9
CHAPTER THREE
The helicopter is like a crow against a sea of blue As it getscloser it seems more like a smudge of black paint one I could
swipe from the sky with the pad of my thumb And then it seems
only like what it is a beacon of hope Or one of fear
Contenders rush from huts which resemble tepees out into the
open air They raise hands to their brows and watch as this metal
monster hovers over our heads Sand beats against my skin sting-ing It isnrsquot much worse than the sunrsquos ever-present bite What
limited brush there is flattens against the ground and I feel myself
doing the same
Someone grabs on to my elbow and yells into my ear Itrsquos Guy
but I couldnrsquot hear him if he spoke telepathically let alone over the
sound of the helicopterrsquos blades whirling A nervous brown muzzle
nudges my arm and I dig my hand into the bearrsquos dense fur AK-7
is a grizzly bear Pandora and has the girth and jaws to prove it But
his previous owner did unspeakable things to him and though
Irsquove tried to show the animal he wonrsquot be hurt again hersquos still skit-
tish Irsquove adopted AK-7 as my own for better or worse but itrsquos
hard to not see his former owner mdash Titus mdash when I stroke his
thick coat or to forget how Titus died trying to kill me At least I
know he isnrsquot coming back and that the rest of the Triggers have
all but disbanded
To the tune of orange landing flags waving the helicopter
touches down and the wind dissipates leaving behind an eerie
silence One of the Brimstone Bleed men jogs over He opens
the door and at the same time Guy drags me backward BraunOlivia and Jaxon follow our movements The Pandoras line up in
front of us and Madox raises his wet nose into the air
ldquoNot too closerdquo Guy orders no one in particular
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10
The pilot steps out of the helicopter graceful as a ballerina
Shersquos wearing an orange knee-length pencil skirt and a stiff white
collared shirt Brown kitten-heel boots adorn her feet and when
she takes a step into the sand and sways the man who opened herdoor offers his arm She takes it with a warm smile and tosses
bulky headphones back into the helicopter
The other man the tall one with enormous ears and a shortage
of hair reaches into the helicopter and slides a box forward He
lifts it up putting every ounce of strain on his back which everyone
knows is wrong The three of them one with the box in his armsstride toward the largest hut on the perimeter of base camp land-
ing flags forgotten The green-and-blue-plaid blanket that hangs
over the entrance is pushed aside and the crew vanishes from sight
The sun is setting on the sixth night of our rest week The four-
teen days we were allotted to make it to base camp have passed
No one ever enters the base camps after the fourteen days expire
Not in the jungle and not in the desert I want to dwell on what
happens to the ones who are still out there But Guy tells me not
to He makes it seem easy to forget and that worries me
ldquoWe should go to our huts and relaxrdquo Guy announces ldquoTheyrsquoll
be moving us tomorrowrdquo
He speaks with such confidence It makes me hate him But
then his face turns in my direction and his strong jawline his
cheekbones his shoulders mdash they tell me to ease up That and he
is the single most resourceful Contender in this race His father
told him about the Brimstone Bleed trained him to take it down
from the inside I regard his mangled left earlobe and the gash
through his right eyebrow souvenirs from that training
ldquoHow about insteadrdquo Jaxon says ldquowe huddle into one hut andtalk all night about why a strange woman appeared at base camp
who may or may not be cougar hotrdquo
ldquoSeriouslyrdquo Braun chuckles ldquoShersquos one of themrdquo
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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11
ldquoShersquos one of them now rdquo Jaxon says popping his collar
Olivia rolls her eyes ldquoUnpop your collar jackass No one does
that anymorerdquo
Guy heads toward his hut the one Irsquove shared with him for thelast several days and Olivia Jaxon and Braun follow behind
Jaxon continues to chatter about how he can ldquoturnrdquo the woman in
orange and we all ignore the fact that he is still heartbroken over
Harperrsquos leaving We hear the way he tosses her name out in every
other conversation and the way he studies the desert at night as if
shersquoll suddenly flicker into view like a lightning bugHarper won the second leg of the race With that win she
received a five-year Cure for her sick daughter But her daughter
died before it could be administered and Harper gave the Cure to
Caroline instead Before she left the desert base camp Harper
wrote a note In that note she explained how shersquod return to finish
the race mdash and help me win
Irsquom not sure shersquoll be able to do that and I wish she hadnrsquot
promised something she isnrsquot able to fulfill Because sometimes I
catch myself following Jaxonrsquos gaze praying her blond hair green
eyes and brick-house stamina will reappear
Guy eventually waves Jaxon Braun and Olivia away The three
of them huddle near a lit torch with their remaining Pandoras and
speak quietly as the sun plummets toward the earth the relief of
night cooling our campsite
ldquoInsiderdquo Guy says to me leading the way into our hut The
moment we arrived at base camp Guy staked claim to this par-
ticular hut Itrsquos the one I woke up in after Braun carried me from
the formations The one I woke up in after I helped kill Titus
Other Contenders sleep inside the hut with us but Guy made itknown that the dusk hours were his and mine
When Guy speaks people listen Not because hersquos abrasive but
because everyone is searching for a leader in this race whether
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1516
12
theyrsquoll admit it to themselves or not And Guy supplies a sense of
security when he vocalizes what he wants
I sit on a single cot and Guy sits next to me his arm brushing
my own Goose bumps rush across my skin and Irsquom certain it isnrsquotfrom the sudden chill in the air ldquoWe should tell the others about
our planrdquo I whisper
His eyes flash in my direction and my heart clenches ldquoIt would
put the others in dangerrdquo he responds ldquoI canrsquot risk thatrdquo I sigh
because the last part is really what he means The part about
others being a risk to his plan Guyrsquos strategy is act alone One-man show Itrsquos do or die as long as hersquos the only person affected
Itrsquos why hersquos tried to talk me out of joining him on his crusade
ldquoIrsquom going to sneak over to the main hut tonight see if I can learn
anythingrdquo Guy studies my face and slowly his gaze roams to my
mouth I press my lips together with anticipation Maybe Irsquom try-
ing to keep his attention there I donrsquot know
Guy hasnrsquot kissed me since the day he told me about his plans
for the Brimstone Bleed Irsquod be lying if I said that didnrsquot hurt My
priority is Cody but it was nice feeling as if someone cared deeply
about me inside this race
ldquoYou should stay here tonightrdquo Guy says
ldquoNo way Irsquom going with yourdquo
ldquoTella you have to listen to me if this is going to workrdquo
Maybe itrsquos the distance hersquos put between us the last few days or
how he promised hersquod never leave me again but what hersquos saying
frustrates me ldquoWhyrdquo
ldquoBecause I want to keep you alive and I donrsquot like you taking
unnecessary risksrdquo
ldquoItrsquos not your job to keep me aliverdquoGuy smiles ldquoI make it my jobrdquo
Madox trots toward Guy and releases a playful growl Guy sup-
presses a laugh and stretches his hand toward him But Madox
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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13
turns his head refusing anything but my affection or treats
Hersquod certainly take a treat from Guy ldquoLighten up foxrdquo Guy tells
Madox ldquoYou should love merdquo
Now I smile ldquoHe should should herdquoMadox reluctantly offers Guy his right ear for a scratch ldquoWell
yeah your Contender would still be back in that jungle if it werenrsquot
for merdquo
The air is sucked from the room and I f linch from the sting of
his words I know he didnrsquot mean to intentionally hurt me just
now But he did Guy chuckles lightly and tosses me a genuinegrin and I do my best to return the gesture
Irsquove spent six weeks with Guy under insurmountable stress and
yet that one sentence he uttered is as hard to swallow as some of
the biggest obstacles wersquove overcome Is that how he thinks of me
The girl who needs saving The girl who wouldnrsquot be here if it
werenrsquot for him
If Irsquom being honest with myself itrsquos something Irsquove thought a
lot about over the last few days especially since he rescued me
from Titus and the Triggers How would I fare without Guy
around Would I still have a chance at winning at surviving Irsquom
not sure why what he said struck me so hard
Actually yes I am
Itrsquos because itrsquos the truth
ldquoYou okayrdquo he asks
I nod and pull a calm mask with a fake half smile over my face
ldquoIrsquoll stay here when you look around tonightrdquo
ldquoGoodrdquo he says with relief ldquoThatrsquos goodrdquo Guy seems for a
moment as if hersquos going to take my hand But in the end he simply
rises and vanishes through the blanketed door like a ghost takingmy pride with him
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 816
5
CHAPTER TWO
Guy Chambers looks worried And when he worries I worryright along with him Of course sometimes Guy makes it difficult
to be anything at all besides lustful Even in the heart of the
desert mdash the fresh pink scar on my stomach itching like crazy mdash
I could still shove him on a Popsicle stick and slurp him up
Nom-nom-nom
ldquoTellardquo he says His voice is sharp even urgentThough in my mind he says my name more like Te-lllla
Guy tilts his head as if hersquos not sure Irsquom listening which Irsquom
not Wersquove been at this desert base camp for over a week for ldquorest
and recoveryrdquo But itrsquos hard to do either when wersquore counting down
the days until the Brimstone Bleed continues
The Brimstone Bleed covers four ecosystems jungle desert
ocean mountain Or mountain then ocean Two wersquove com-
pleted two remain Wersquore halfway Hoorah Victory dance
Except itrsquos hard to feel positive about how far wersquove come when
wersquore battling one another for the Cure mdash something that will
save our loved ones back home from croaking mdash and because
wersquove already lost friends along the way Even worse the people
behind this race are the ones whomade our loved ones sick though
they pretend to be the heroes And for the grand finale The sec-
ond ecosystem we overcame was harder than the first which
doesnrsquot make me real optimistic about what lies ahead
Guyrsquos lion his Pandora gives a small growl deep in his throat
Itrsquos as if hersquos frustrated that Irsquom not paying attention to his Con-
tender My own Pandora growls in return though itrsquos amusingconsidering the sound emanates from a black fox one-tenth the
size I scoop my Pandora Madox into my arms and attempt to
focus on what Guy is saying
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
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6
ldquoWhatrsquos uprdquo I ask hoping if I sound casual the concern will
leave his face
ldquoI think theyrsquore getting ready to move usrdquo
ldquoMove usrdquo I repeat my brow furrowing ldquoLike wersquore cattle orsomethingrdquo My blood burns as I remember that these monsters
ordered us to kill other Contendersrsquo Pandoras to qualify for the
rest of the race Sometimes I canrsquot shake the memory of sliding a
blade into Levirsquos dying Pandora even if his brother did ask me
to do it
Guy shifts as if hersquos going to brush away the hair from my facelike men do in romance novels Not that Irsquod know or anything Not
as if I used to dig those suckers out of my momrsquos nightstand and
devour them while plunging an arm into the graham crackers box
Before Guy can morph into Fabio his hand drops to his side
Maybe itrsquos because I hacked my hair off and all that remains to
caress is the blue-and-green feather Mom gave me the same
feather my grandmother once wore in her own hair Or maybe hersquos
being distant again I thought we were past that but lately Irsquom not
so sure
Guy runs his hand along his clean-shaven jaw It wonrsquot be that
way for much longer ldquoI can just sense somethingrsquos happening
Wersquove been here long enough Itrsquos timerdquo He pauses bites the inside
of his cheek ldquoLook Tella rdquo
Te-lllla
ldquoYou should forget about what I saidrdquo he continues voice low-
ered Guy musses his dark hair that after hiking through the
jungle and desert still manages to look GQ ldquoIrsquom not going to
let you mdashrdquo
ldquoWersquove been over thisrdquo I interrupt ldquoI have to try and win formy brother After that Irsquom going to help you destroy rdquo I glance
around at the other Contenders at their exhausted faces and
slumped shoulders I study the Pandoras by their sides beaten
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1016
7
and bruised from helping their Contenders survive ldquoIrsquom going to
help you destroy the race so no one has to go through this againrdquo
The Green Beret of a dude nods his head though I can tell hersquos
not convinced And that in the end if Irsquom one of the final five andreceive an invitation to become a Brimstone Bleed employee he
might accuse me of cheating so I canrsquot continue Assuming cheat-
ing is even a thing which it probably isnrsquot
ldquoHey-o Are we packing up Are the Rambos moving outrdquo
This comes from Jaxon my friend Hersquos wearing a blue flag the
kind that helps us navigate to base camps around his foreheadHis blond curls spring up and over the top Seeing me eyeing
the flag he says ldquoSee like Rambordquo Jaxon holds his arms up as if
hersquos got a machine gun and proceeds to put a round of bullets
into Guy
Guy isnrsquot amused
Clinging to Jaxonrsquos leg is Olivia a ten-year-old girl with exactly
nine fingers Shersquoll show everyone who asks those fingers and
anyone else who doesnrsquot A blue-gray trunk wraps around Oliviarsquos
waist
ldquoCut it outrdquo Olivia tells her elephant Though I can tell she
secretly adores her Pandorarsquos nuzzling Jaxon looks at her elephant
EV-0 with longing He lost his Pandora in the desert when one of
our Contender allies turned out to be a Pandora and ate his animal
companion
And the people running this race think we can ldquorest and
recoverrdquo at base camp
Please
ldquoSo are werdquo Jaxon repeats ldquoMoving outrdquo
Guy nods as if hersquos sure but I donrsquot know how he can be Thenagain if Guy said our next leg of the race would be on the moon
Irsquod start looking for the shuttle He stares into the desert as if the
answer is there ldquoTherersquos been talkrdquo
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1116
8
ldquoScandalousrdquo Jaxonrsquos head bobs a huge smile plastered on
his face
Guy sighs and I lock eyes with him Blue eyes Not blue like
the ocean at high tide or the sky on a summer afternoon Morelike the blue of a dead body A kind of blue that makes you hold
your breath and count your blessings and beg for one more I like
when Guy sets his gaze on me That shade of blue could make the
world tremble on bended knees but Irsquod happily drown in it
An enormous hand with polished nails comes down on Jaxonrsquos
shoulder ldquoHersquos going to kill you one of these daysrdquo a surprisinglysoft voice says Surprising because its owner is the size of a planet
Braun orbits into view his pig Pandora grunting at his side
ldquoDo we know where wersquore going nextrdquo
Guyrsquos eyes widen Hersquos looking over Braunrsquos shoulder and I
turn to see what nabbed his attention The two men who work for
the Brimstone Bleed stand outside the perimeter of the base camp
an orange flag in each of their hands They hold the flags by their
sides and drag the toes of their boots in the sand creating a large
circle
I hear it before I see it mdash the unmistakable thwump-thwump-
thwump of a helicopter approaching
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1216
9
CHAPTER THREE
The helicopter is like a crow against a sea of blue As it getscloser it seems more like a smudge of black paint one I could
swipe from the sky with the pad of my thumb And then it seems
only like what it is a beacon of hope Or one of fear
Contenders rush from huts which resemble tepees out into the
open air They raise hands to their brows and watch as this metal
monster hovers over our heads Sand beats against my skin sting-ing It isnrsquot much worse than the sunrsquos ever-present bite What
limited brush there is flattens against the ground and I feel myself
doing the same
Someone grabs on to my elbow and yells into my ear Itrsquos Guy
but I couldnrsquot hear him if he spoke telepathically let alone over the
sound of the helicopterrsquos blades whirling A nervous brown muzzle
nudges my arm and I dig my hand into the bearrsquos dense fur AK-7
is a grizzly bear Pandora and has the girth and jaws to prove it But
his previous owner did unspeakable things to him and though
Irsquove tried to show the animal he wonrsquot be hurt again hersquos still skit-
tish Irsquove adopted AK-7 as my own for better or worse but itrsquos
hard to not see his former owner mdash Titus mdash when I stroke his
thick coat or to forget how Titus died trying to kill me At least I
know he isnrsquot coming back and that the rest of the Triggers have
all but disbanded
To the tune of orange landing flags waving the helicopter
touches down and the wind dissipates leaving behind an eerie
silence One of the Brimstone Bleed men jogs over He opens
the door and at the same time Guy drags me backward BraunOlivia and Jaxon follow our movements The Pandoras line up in
front of us and Madox raises his wet nose into the air
ldquoNot too closerdquo Guy orders no one in particular
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1316
10
The pilot steps out of the helicopter graceful as a ballerina
Shersquos wearing an orange knee-length pencil skirt and a stiff white
collared shirt Brown kitten-heel boots adorn her feet and when
she takes a step into the sand and sways the man who opened herdoor offers his arm She takes it with a warm smile and tosses
bulky headphones back into the helicopter
The other man the tall one with enormous ears and a shortage
of hair reaches into the helicopter and slides a box forward He
lifts it up putting every ounce of strain on his back which everyone
knows is wrong The three of them one with the box in his armsstride toward the largest hut on the perimeter of base camp land-
ing flags forgotten The green-and-blue-plaid blanket that hangs
over the entrance is pushed aside and the crew vanishes from sight
The sun is setting on the sixth night of our rest week The four-
teen days we were allotted to make it to base camp have passed
No one ever enters the base camps after the fourteen days expire
Not in the jungle and not in the desert I want to dwell on what
happens to the ones who are still out there But Guy tells me not
to He makes it seem easy to forget and that worries me
ldquoWe should go to our huts and relaxrdquo Guy announces ldquoTheyrsquoll
be moving us tomorrowrdquo
He speaks with such confidence It makes me hate him But
then his face turns in my direction and his strong jawline his
cheekbones his shoulders mdash they tell me to ease up That and he
is the single most resourceful Contender in this race His father
told him about the Brimstone Bleed trained him to take it down
from the inside I regard his mangled left earlobe and the gash
through his right eyebrow souvenirs from that training
ldquoHow about insteadrdquo Jaxon says ldquowe huddle into one hut andtalk all night about why a strange woman appeared at base camp
who may or may not be cougar hotrdquo
ldquoSeriouslyrdquo Braun chuckles ldquoShersquos one of themrdquo
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1416
11
ldquoShersquos one of them now rdquo Jaxon says popping his collar
Olivia rolls her eyes ldquoUnpop your collar jackass No one does
that anymorerdquo
Guy heads toward his hut the one Irsquove shared with him for thelast several days and Olivia Jaxon and Braun follow behind
Jaxon continues to chatter about how he can ldquoturnrdquo the woman in
orange and we all ignore the fact that he is still heartbroken over
Harperrsquos leaving We hear the way he tosses her name out in every
other conversation and the way he studies the desert at night as if
shersquoll suddenly flicker into view like a lightning bugHarper won the second leg of the race With that win she
received a five-year Cure for her sick daughter But her daughter
died before it could be administered and Harper gave the Cure to
Caroline instead Before she left the desert base camp Harper
wrote a note In that note she explained how shersquod return to finish
the race mdash and help me win
Irsquom not sure shersquoll be able to do that and I wish she hadnrsquot
promised something she isnrsquot able to fulfill Because sometimes I
catch myself following Jaxonrsquos gaze praying her blond hair green
eyes and brick-house stamina will reappear
Guy eventually waves Jaxon Braun and Olivia away The three
of them huddle near a lit torch with their remaining Pandoras and
speak quietly as the sun plummets toward the earth the relief of
night cooling our campsite
ldquoInsiderdquo Guy says to me leading the way into our hut The
moment we arrived at base camp Guy staked claim to this par-
ticular hut Itrsquos the one I woke up in after Braun carried me from
the formations The one I woke up in after I helped kill Titus
Other Contenders sleep inside the hut with us but Guy made itknown that the dusk hours were his and mine
When Guy speaks people listen Not because hersquos abrasive but
because everyone is searching for a leader in this race whether
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1516
12
theyrsquoll admit it to themselves or not And Guy supplies a sense of
security when he vocalizes what he wants
I sit on a single cot and Guy sits next to me his arm brushing
my own Goose bumps rush across my skin and Irsquom certain it isnrsquotfrom the sudden chill in the air ldquoWe should tell the others about
our planrdquo I whisper
His eyes flash in my direction and my heart clenches ldquoIt would
put the others in dangerrdquo he responds ldquoI canrsquot risk thatrdquo I sigh
because the last part is really what he means The part about
others being a risk to his plan Guyrsquos strategy is act alone One-man show Itrsquos do or die as long as hersquos the only person affected
Itrsquos why hersquos tried to talk me out of joining him on his crusade
ldquoIrsquom going to sneak over to the main hut tonight see if I can learn
anythingrdquo Guy studies my face and slowly his gaze roams to my
mouth I press my lips together with anticipation Maybe Irsquom try-
ing to keep his attention there I donrsquot know
Guy hasnrsquot kissed me since the day he told me about his plans
for the Brimstone Bleed Irsquod be lying if I said that didnrsquot hurt My
priority is Cody but it was nice feeling as if someone cared deeply
about me inside this race
ldquoYou should stay here tonightrdquo Guy says
ldquoNo way Irsquom going with yourdquo
ldquoTella you have to listen to me if this is going to workrdquo
Maybe itrsquos the distance hersquos put between us the last few days or
how he promised hersquod never leave me again but what hersquos saying
frustrates me ldquoWhyrdquo
ldquoBecause I want to keep you alive and I donrsquot like you taking
unnecessary risksrdquo
ldquoItrsquos not your job to keep me aliverdquoGuy smiles ldquoI make it my jobrdquo
Madox trots toward Guy and releases a playful growl Guy sup-
presses a laugh and stretches his hand toward him But Madox
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1616
13
turns his head refusing anything but my affection or treats
Hersquod certainly take a treat from Guy ldquoLighten up foxrdquo Guy tells
Madox ldquoYou should love merdquo
Now I smile ldquoHe should should herdquoMadox reluctantly offers Guy his right ear for a scratch ldquoWell
yeah your Contender would still be back in that jungle if it werenrsquot
for merdquo
The air is sucked from the room and I f linch from the sting of
his words I know he didnrsquot mean to intentionally hurt me just
now But he did Guy chuckles lightly and tosses me a genuinegrin and I do my best to return the gesture
Irsquove spent six weeks with Guy under insurmountable stress and
yet that one sentence he uttered is as hard to swallow as some of
the biggest obstacles wersquove overcome Is that how he thinks of me
The girl who needs saving The girl who wouldnrsquot be here if it
werenrsquot for him
If Irsquom being honest with myself itrsquos something Irsquove thought a
lot about over the last few days especially since he rescued me
from Titus and the Triggers How would I fare without Guy
around Would I still have a chance at winning at surviving Irsquom
not sure why what he said struck me so hard
Actually yes I am
Itrsquos because itrsquos the truth
ldquoYou okayrdquo he asks
I nod and pull a calm mask with a fake half smile over my face
ldquoIrsquoll stay here when you look around tonightrdquo
ldquoGoodrdquo he says with relief ldquoThatrsquos goodrdquo Guy seems for a
moment as if hersquos going to take my hand But in the end he simply
rises and vanishes through the blanketed door like a ghost takingmy pride with him
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 916
6
ldquoWhatrsquos uprdquo I ask hoping if I sound casual the concern will
leave his face
ldquoI think theyrsquore getting ready to move usrdquo
ldquoMove usrdquo I repeat my brow furrowing ldquoLike wersquore cattle orsomethingrdquo My blood burns as I remember that these monsters
ordered us to kill other Contendersrsquo Pandoras to qualify for the
rest of the race Sometimes I canrsquot shake the memory of sliding a
blade into Levirsquos dying Pandora even if his brother did ask me
to do it
Guy shifts as if hersquos going to brush away the hair from my facelike men do in romance novels Not that Irsquod know or anything Not
as if I used to dig those suckers out of my momrsquos nightstand and
devour them while plunging an arm into the graham crackers box
Before Guy can morph into Fabio his hand drops to his side
Maybe itrsquos because I hacked my hair off and all that remains to
caress is the blue-and-green feather Mom gave me the same
feather my grandmother once wore in her own hair Or maybe hersquos
being distant again I thought we were past that but lately Irsquom not
so sure
Guy runs his hand along his clean-shaven jaw It wonrsquot be that
way for much longer ldquoI can just sense somethingrsquos happening
Wersquove been here long enough Itrsquos timerdquo He pauses bites the inside
of his cheek ldquoLook Tella rdquo
Te-lllla
ldquoYou should forget about what I saidrdquo he continues voice low-
ered Guy musses his dark hair that after hiking through the
jungle and desert still manages to look GQ ldquoIrsquom not going to
let you mdashrdquo
ldquoWersquove been over thisrdquo I interrupt ldquoI have to try and win formy brother After that Irsquom going to help you destroy rdquo I glance
around at the other Contenders at their exhausted faces and
slumped shoulders I study the Pandoras by their sides beaten
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1016
7
and bruised from helping their Contenders survive ldquoIrsquom going to
help you destroy the race so no one has to go through this againrdquo
The Green Beret of a dude nods his head though I can tell hersquos
not convinced And that in the end if Irsquom one of the final five andreceive an invitation to become a Brimstone Bleed employee he
might accuse me of cheating so I canrsquot continue Assuming cheat-
ing is even a thing which it probably isnrsquot
ldquoHey-o Are we packing up Are the Rambos moving outrdquo
This comes from Jaxon my friend Hersquos wearing a blue flag the
kind that helps us navigate to base camps around his foreheadHis blond curls spring up and over the top Seeing me eyeing
the flag he says ldquoSee like Rambordquo Jaxon holds his arms up as if
hersquos got a machine gun and proceeds to put a round of bullets
into Guy
Guy isnrsquot amused
Clinging to Jaxonrsquos leg is Olivia a ten-year-old girl with exactly
nine fingers Shersquoll show everyone who asks those fingers and
anyone else who doesnrsquot A blue-gray trunk wraps around Oliviarsquos
waist
ldquoCut it outrdquo Olivia tells her elephant Though I can tell she
secretly adores her Pandorarsquos nuzzling Jaxon looks at her elephant
EV-0 with longing He lost his Pandora in the desert when one of
our Contender allies turned out to be a Pandora and ate his animal
companion
And the people running this race think we can ldquorest and
recoverrdquo at base camp
Please
ldquoSo are werdquo Jaxon repeats ldquoMoving outrdquo
Guy nods as if hersquos sure but I donrsquot know how he can be Thenagain if Guy said our next leg of the race would be on the moon
Irsquod start looking for the shuttle He stares into the desert as if the
answer is there ldquoTherersquos been talkrdquo
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1116
8
ldquoScandalousrdquo Jaxonrsquos head bobs a huge smile plastered on
his face
Guy sighs and I lock eyes with him Blue eyes Not blue like
the ocean at high tide or the sky on a summer afternoon Morelike the blue of a dead body A kind of blue that makes you hold
your breath and count your blessings and beg for one more I like
when Guy sets his gaze on me That shade of blue could make the
world tremble on bended knees but Irsquod happily drown in it
An enormous hand with polished nails comes down on Jaxonrsquos
shoulder ldquoHersquos going to kill you one of these daysrdquo a surprisinglysoft voice says Surprising because its owner is the size of a planet
Braun orbits into view his pig Pandora grunting at his side
ldquoDo we know where wersquore going nextrdquo
Guyrsquos eyes widen Hersquos looking over Braunrsquos shoulder and I
turn to see what nabbed his attention The two men who work for
the Brimstone Bleed stand outside the perimeter of the base camp
an orange flag in each of their hands They hold the flags by their
sides and drag the toes of their boots in the sand creating a large
circle
I hear it before I see it mdash the unmistakable thwump-thwump-
thwump of a helicopter approaching
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1216
9
CHAPTER THREE
The helicopter is like a crow against a sea of blue As it getscloser it seems more like a smudge of black paint one I could
swipe from the sky with the pad of my thumb And then it seems
only like what it is a beacon of hope Or one of fear
Contenders rush from huts which resemble tepees out into the
open air They raise hands to their brows and watch as this metal
monster hovers over our heads Sand beats against my skin sting-ing It isnrsquot much worse than the sunrsquos ever-present bite What
limited brush there is flattens against the ground and I feel myself
doing the same
Someone grabs on to my elbow and yells into my ear Itrsquos Guy
but I couldnrsquot hear him if he spoke telepathically let alone over the
sound of the helicopterrsquos blades whirling A nervous brown muzzle
nudges my arm and I dig my hand into the bearrsquos dense fur AK-7
is a grizzly bear Pandora and has the girth and jaws to prove it But
his previous owner did unspeakable things to him and though
Irsquove tried to show the animal he wonrsquot be hurt again hersquos still skit-
tish Irsquove adopted AK-7 as my own for better or worse but itrsquos
hard to not see his former owner mdash Titus mdash when I stroke his
thick coat or to forget how Titus died trying to kill me At least I
know he isnrsquot coming back and that the rest of the Triggers have
all but disbanded
To the tune of orange landing flags waving the helicopter
touches down and the wind dissipates leaving behind an eerie
silence One of the Brimstone Bleed men jogs over He opens
the door and at the same time Guy drags me backward BraunOlivia and Jaxon follow our movements The Pandoras line up in
front of us and Madox raises his wet nose into the air
ldquoNot too closerdquo Guy orders no one in particular
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1316
10
The pilot steps out of the helicopter graceful as a ballerina
Shersquos wearing an orange knee-length pencil skirt and a stiff white
collared shirt Brown kitten-heel boots adorn her feet and when
she takes a step into the sand and sways the man who opened herdoor offers his arm She takes it with a warm smile and tosses
bulky headphones back into the helicopter
The other man the tall one with enormous ears and a shortage
of hair reaches into the helicopter and slides a box forward He
lifts it up putting every ounce of strain on his back which everyone
knows is wrong The three of them one with the box in his armsstride toward the largest hut on the perimeter of base camp land-
ing flags forgotten The green-and-blue-plaid blanket that hangs
over the entrance is pushed aside and the crew vanishes from sight
The sun is setting on the sixth night of our rest week The four-
teen days we were allotted to make it to base camp have passed
No one ever enters the base camps after the fourteen days expire
Not in the jungle and not in the desert I want to dwell on what
happens to the ones who are still out there But Guy tells me not
to He makes it seem easy to forget and that worries me
ldquoWe should go to our huts and relaxrdquo Guy announces ldquoTheyrsquoll
be moving us tomorrowrdquo
He speaks with such confidence It makes me hate him But
then his face turns in my direction and his strong jawline his
cheekbones his shoulders mdash they tell me to ease up That and he
is the single most resourceful Contender in this race His father
told him about the Brimstone Bleed trained him to take it down
from the inside I regard his mangled left earlobe and the gash
through his right eyebrow souvenirs from that training
ldquoHow about insteadrdquo Jaxon says ldquowe huddle into one hut andtalk all night about why a strange woman appeared at base camp
who may or may not be cougar hotrdquo
ldquoSeriouslyrdquo Braun chuckles ldquoShersquos one of themrdquo
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1416
11
ldquoShersquos one of them now rdquo Jaxon says popping his collar
Olivia rolls her eyes ldquoUnpop your collar jackass No one does
that anymorerdquo
Guy heads toward his hut the one Irsquove shared with him for thelast several days and Olivia Jaxon and Braun follow behind
Jaxon continues to chatter about how he can ldquoturnrdquo the woman in
orange and we all ignore the fact that he is still heartbroken over
Harperrsquos leaving We hear the way he tosses her name out in every
other conversation and the way he studies the desert at night as if
shersquoll suddenly flicker into view like a lightning bugHarper won the second leg of the race With that win she
received a five-year Cure for her sick daughter But her daughter
died before it could be administered and Harper gave the Cure to
Caroline instead Before she left the desert base camp Harper
wrote a note In that note she explained how shersquod return to finish
the race mdash and help me win
Irsquom not sure shersquoll be able to do that and I wish she hadnrsquot
promised something she isnrsquot able to fulfill Because sometimes I
catch myself following Jaxonrsquos gaze praying her blond hair green
eyes and brick-house stamina will reappear
Guy eventually waves Jaxon Braun and Olivia away The three
of them huddle near a lit torch with their remaining Pandoras and
speak quietly as the sun plummets toward the earth the relief of
night cooling our campsite
ldquoInsiderdquo Guy says to me leading the way into our hut The
moment we arrived at base camp Guy staked claim to this par-
ticular hut Itrsquos the one I woke up in after Braun carried me from
the formations The one I woke up in after I helped kill Titus
Other Contenders sleep inside the hut with us but Guy made itknown that the dusk hours were his and mine
When Guy speaks people listen Not because hersquos abrasive but
because everyone is searching for a leader in this race whether
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1516
12
theyrsquoll admit it to themselves or not And Guy supplies a sense of
security when he vocalizes what he wants
I sit on a single cot and Guy sits next to me his arm brushing
my own Goose bumps rush across my skin and Irsquom certain it isnrsquotfrom the sudden chill in the air ldquoWe should tell the others about
our planrdquo I whisper
His eyes flash in my direction and my heart clenches ldquoIt would
put the others in dangerrdquo he responds ldquoI canrsquot risk thatrdquo I sigh
because the last part is really what he means The part about
others being a risk to his plan Guyrsquos strategy is act alone One-man show Itrsquos do or die as long as hersquos the only person affected
Itrsquos why hersquos tried to talk me out of joining him on his crusade
ldquoIrsquom going to sneak over to the main hut tonight see if I can learn
anythingrdquo Guy studies my face and slowly his gaze roams to my
mouth I press my lips together with anticipation Maybe Irsquom try-
ing to keep his attention there I donrsquot know
Guy hasnrsquot kissed me since the day he told me about his plans
for the Brimstone Bleed Irsquod be lying if I said that didnrsquot hurt My
priority is Cody but it was nice feeling as if someone cared deeply
about me inside this race
ldquoYou should stay here tonightrdquo Guy says
ldquoNo way Irsquom going with yourdquo
ldquoTella you have to listen to me if this is going to workrdquo
Maybe itrsquos the distance hersquos put between us the last few days or
how he promised hersquod never leave me again but what hersquos saying
frustrates me ldquoWhyrdquo
ldquoBecause I want to keep you alive and I donrsquot like you taking
unnecessary risksrdquo
ldquoItrsquos not your job to keep me aliverdquoGuy smiles ldquoI make it my jobrdquo
Madox trots toward Guy and releases a playful growl Guy sup-
presses a laugh and stretches his hand toward him But Madox
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1616
13
turns his head refusing anything but my affection or treats
Hersquod certainly take a treat from Guy ldquoLighten up foxrdquo Guy tells
Madox ldquoYou should love merdquo
Now I smile ldquoHe should should herdquoMadox reluctantly offers Guy his right ear for a scratch ldquoWell
yeah your Contender would still be back in that jungle if it werenrsquot
for merdquo
The air is sucked from the room and I f linch from the sting of
his words I know he didnrsquot mean to intentionally hurt me just
now But he did Guy chuckles lightly and tosses me a genuinegrin and I do my best to return the gesture
Irsquove spent six weeks with Guy under insurmountable stress and
yet that one sentence he uttered is as hard to swallow as some of
the biggest obstacles wersquove overcome Is that how he thinks of me
The girl who needs saving The girl who wouldnrsquot be here if it
werenrsquot for him
If Irsquom being honest with myself itrsquos something Irsquove thought a
lot about over the last few days especially since he rescued me
from Titus and the Triggers How would I fare without Guy
around Would I still have a chance at winning at surviving Irsquom
not sure why what he said struck me so hard
Actually yes I am
Itrsquos because itrsquos the truth
ldquoYou okayrdquo he asks
I nod and pull a calm mask with a fake half smile over my face
ldquoIrsquoll stay here when you look around tonightrdquo
ldquoGoodrdquo he says with relief ldquoThatrsquos goodrdquo Guy seems for a
moment as if hersquos going to take my hand But in the end he simply
rises and vanishes through the blanketed door like a ghost takingmy pride with him
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1016
7
and bruised from helping their Contenders survive ldquoIrsquom going to
help you destroy the race so no one has to go through this againrdquo
The Green Beret of a dude nods his head though I can tell hersquos
not convinced And that in the end if Irsquom one of the final five andreceive an invitation to become a Brimstone Bleed employee he
might accuse me of cheating so I canrsquot continue Assuming cheat-
ing is even a thing which it probably isnrsquot
ldquoHey-o Are we packing up Are the Rambos moving outrdquo
This comes from Jaxon my friend Hersquos wearing a blue flag the
kind that helps us navigate to base camps around his foreheadHis blond curls spring up and over the top Seeing me eyeing
the flag he says ldquoSee like Rambordquo Jaxon holds his arms up as if
hersquos got a machine gun and proceeds to put a round of bullets
into Guy
Guy isnrsquot amused
Clinging to Jaxonrsquos leg is Olivia a ten-year-old girl with exactly
nine fingers Shersquoll show everyone who asks those fingers and
anyone else who doesnrsquot A blue-gray trunk wraps around Oliviarsquos
waist
ldquoCut it outrdquo Olivia tells her elephant Though I can tell she
secretly adores her Pandorarsquos nuzzling Jaxon looks at her elephant
EV-0 with longing He lost his Pandora in the desert when one of
our Contender allies turned out to be a Pandora and ate his animal
companion
And the people running this race think we can ldquorest and
recoverrdquo at base camp
Please
ldquoSo are werdquo Jaxon repeats ldquoMoving outrdquo
Guy nods as if hersquos sure but I donrsquot know how he can be Thenagain if Guy said our next leg of the race would be on the moon
Irsquod start looking for the shuttle He stares into the desert as if the
answer is there ldquoTherersquos been talkrdquo
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1116
8
ldquoScandalousrdquo Jaxonrsquos head bobs a huge smile plastered on
his face
Guy sighs and I lock eyes with him Blue eyes Not blue like
the ocean at high tide or the sky on a summer afternoon Morelike the blue of a dead body A kind of blue that makes you hold
your breath and count your blessings and beg for one more I like
when Guy sets his gaze on me That shade of blue could make the
world tremble on bended knees but Irsquod happily drown in it
An enormous hand with polished nails comes down on Jaxonrsquos
shoulder ldquoHersquos going to kill you one of these daysrdquo a surprisinglysoft voice says Surprising because its owner is the size of a planet
Braun orbits into view his pig Pandora grunting at his side
ldquoDo we know where wersquore going nextrdquo
Guyrsquos eyes widen Hersquos looking over Braunrsquos shoulder and I
turn to see what nabbed his attention The two men who work for
the Brimstone Bleed stand outside the perimeter of the base camp
an orange flag in each of their hands They hold the flags by their
sides and drag the toes of their boots in the sand creating a large
circle
I hear it before I see it mdash the unmistakable thwump-thwump-
thwump of a helicopter approaching
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1216
9
CHAPTER THREE
The helicopter is like a crow against a sea of blue As it getscloser it seems more like a smudge of black paint one I could
swipe from the sky with the pad of my thumb And then it seems
only like what it is a beacon of hope Or one of fear
Contenders rush from huts which resemble tepees out into the
open air They raise hands to their brows and watch as this metal
monster hovers over our heads Sand beats against my skin sting-ing It isnrsquot much worse than the sunrsquos ever-present bite What
limited brush there is flattens against the ground and I feel myself
doing the same
Someone grabs on to my elbow and yells into my ear Itrsquos Guy
but I couldnrsquot hear him if he spoke telepathically let alone over the
sound of the helicopterrsquos blades whirling A nervous brown muzzle
nudges my arm and I dig my hand into the bearrsquos dense fur AK-7
is a grizzly bear Pandora and has the girth and jaws to prove it But
his previous owner did unspeakable things to him and though
Irsquove tried to show the animal he wonrsquot be hurt again hersquos still skit-
tish Irsquove adopted AK-7 as my own for better or worse but itrsquos
hard to not see his former owner mdash Titus mdash when I stroke his
thick coat or to forget how Titus died trying to kill me At least I
know he isnrsquot coming back and that the rest of the Triggers have
all but disbanded
To the tune of orange landing flags waving the helicopter
touches down and the wind dissipates leaving behind an eerie
silence One of the Brimstone Bleed men jogs over He opens
the door and at the same time Guy drags me backward BraunOlivia and Jaxon follow our movements The Pandoras line up in
front of us and Madox raises his wet nose into the air
ldquoNot too closerdquo Guy orders no one in particular
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1316
10
The pilot steps out of the helicopter graceful as a ballerina
Shersquos wearing an orange knee-length pencil skirt and a stiff white
collared shirt Brown kitten-heel boots adorn her feet and when
she takes a step into the sand and sways the man who opened herdoor offers his arm She takes it with a warm smile and tosses
bulky headphones back into the helicopter
The other man the tall one with enormous ears and a shortage
of hair reaches into the helicopter and slides a box forward He
lifts it up putting every ounce of strain on his back which everyone
knows is wrong The three of them one with the box in his armsstride toward the largest hut on the perimeter of base camp land-
ing flags forgotten The green-and-blue-plaid blanket that hangs
over the entrance is pushed aside and the crew vanishes from sight
The sun is setting on the sixth night of our rest week The four-
teen days we were allotted to make it to base camp have passed
No one ever enters the base camps after the fourteen days expire
Not in the jungle and not in the desert I want to dwell on what
happens to the ones who are still out there But Guy tells me not
to He makes it seem easy to forget and that worries me
ldquoWe should go to our huts and relaxrdquo Guy announces ldquoTheyrsquoll
be moving us tomorrowrdquo
He speaks with such confidence It makes me hate him But
then his face turns in my direction and his strong jawline his
cheekbones his shoulders mdash they tell me to ease up That and he
is the single most resourceful Contender in this race His father
told him about the Brimstone Bleed trained him to take it down
from the inside I regard his mangled left earlobe and the gash
through his right eyebrow souvenirs from that training
ldquoHow about insteadrdquo Jaxon says ldquowe huddle into one hut andtalk all night about why a strange woman appeared at base camp
who may or may not be cougar hotrdquo
ldquoSeriouslyrdquo Braun chuckles ldquoShersquos one of themrdquo
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1416
11
ldquoShersquos one of them now rdquo Jaxon says popping his collar
Olivia rolls her eyes ldquoUnpop your collar jackass No one does
that anymorerdquo
Guy heads toward his hut the one Irsquove shared with him for thelast several days and Olivia Jaxon and Braun follow behind
Jaxon continues to chatter about how he can ldquoturnrdquo the woman in
orange and we all ignore the fact that he is still heartbroken over
Harperrsquos leaving We hear the way he tosses her name out in every
other conversation and the way he studies the desert at night as if
shersquoll suddenly flicker into view like a lightning bugHarper won the second leg of the race With that win she
received a five-year Cure for her sick daughter But her daughter
died before it could be administered and Harper gave the Cure to
Caroline instead Before she left the desert base camp Harper
wrote a note In that note she explained how shersquod return to finish
the race mdash and help me win
Irsquom not sure shersquoll be able to do that and I wish she hadnrsquot
promised something she isnrsquot able to fulfill Because sometimes I
catch myself following Jaxonrsquos gaze praying her blond hair green
eyes and brick-house stamina will reappear
Guy eventually waves Jaxon Braun and Olivia away The three
of them huddle near a lit torch with their remaining Pandoras and
speak quietly as the sun plummets toward the earth the relief of
night cooling our campsite
ldquoInsiderdquo Guy says to me leading the way into our hut The
moment we arrived at base camp Guy staked claim to this par-
ticular hut Itrsquos the one I woke up in after Braun carried me from
the formations The one I woke up in after I helped kill Titus
Other Contenders sleep inside the hut with us but Guy made itknown that the dusk hours were his and mine
When Guy speaks people listen Not because hersquos abrasive but
because everyone is searching for a leader in this race whether
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1516
12
theyrsquoll admit it to themselves or not And Guy supplies a sense of
security when he vocalizes what he wants
I sit on a single cot and Guy sits next to me his arm brushing
my own Goose bumps rush across my skin and Irsquom certain it isnrsquotfrom the sudden chill in the air ldquoWe should tell the others about
our planrdquo I whisper
His eyes flash in my direction and my heart clenches ldquoIt would
put the others in dangerrdquo he responds ldquoI canrsquot risk thatrdquo I sigh
because the last part is really what he means The part about
others being a risk to his plan Guyrsquos strategy is act alone One-man show Itrsquos do or die as long as hersquos the only person affected
Itrsquos why hersquos tried to talk me out of joining him on his crusade
ldquoIrsquom going to sneak over to the main hut tonight see if I can learn
anythingrdquo Guy studies my face and slowly his gaze roams to my
mouth I press my lips together with anticipation Maybe Irsquom try-
ing to keep his attention there I donrsquot know
Guy hasnrsquot kissed me since the day he told me about his plans
for the Brimstone Bleed Irsquod be lying if I said that didnrsquot hurt My
priority is Cody but it was nice feeling as if someone cared deeply
about me inside this race
ldquoYou should stay here tonightrdquo Guy says
ldquoNo way Irsquom going with yourdquo
ldquoTella you have to listen to me if this is going to workrdquo
Maybe itrsquos the distance hersquos put between us the last few days or
how he promised hersquod never leave me again but what hersquos saying
frustrates me ldquoWhyrdquo
ldquoBecause I want to keep you alive and I donrsquot like you taking
unnecessary risksrdquo
ldquoItrsquos not your job to keep me aliverdquoGuy smiles ldquoI make it my jobrdquo
Madox trots toward Guy and releases a playful growl Guy sup-
presses a laugh and stretches his hand toward him But Madox
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1616
13
turns his head refusing anything but my affection or treats
Hersquod certainly take a treat from Guy ldquoLighten up foxrdquo Guy tells
Madox ldquoYou should love merdquo
Now I smile ldquoHe should should herdquoMadox reluctantly offers Guy his right ear for a scratch ldquoWell
yeah your Contender would still be back in that jungle if it werenrsquot
for merdquo
The air is sucked from the room and I f linch from the sting of
his words I know he didnrsquot mean to intentionally hurt me just
now But he did Guy chuckles lightly and tosses me a genuinegrin and I do my best to return the gesture
Irsquove spent six weeks with Guy under insurmountable stress and
yet that one sentence he uttered is as hard to swallow as some of
the biggest obstacles wersquove overcome Is that how he thinks of me
The girl who needs saving The girl who wouldnrsquot be here if it
werenrsquot for him
If Irsquom being honest with myself itrsquos something Irsquove thought a
lot about over the last few days especially since he rescued me
from Titus and the Triggers How would I fare without Guy
around Would I still have a chance at winning at surviving Irsquom
not sure why what he said struck me so hard
Actually yes I am
Itrsquos because itrsquos the truth
ldquoYou okayrdquo he asks
I nod and pull a calm mask with a fake half smile over my face
ldquoIrsquoll stay here when you look around tonightrdquo
ldquoGoodrdquo he says with relief ldquoThatrsquos goodrdquo Guy seems for a
moment as if hersquos going to take my hand But in the end he simply
rises and vanishes through the blanketed door like a ghost takingmy pride with him
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1116
8
ldquoScandalousrdquo Jaxonrsquos head bobs a huge smile plastered on
his face
Guy sighs and I lock eyes with him Blue eyes Not blue like
the ocean at high tide or the sky on a summer afternoon Morelike the blue of a dead body A kind of blue that makes you hold
your breath and count your blessings and beg for one more I like
when Guy sets his gaze on me That shade of blue could make the
world tremble on bended knees but Irsquod happily drown in it
An enormous hand with polished nails comes down on Jaxonrsquos
shoulder ldquoHersquos going to kill you one of these daysrdquo a surprisinglysoft voice says Surprising because its owner is the size of a planet
Braun orbits into view his pig Pandora grunting at his side
ldquoDo we know where wersquore going nextrdquo
Guyrsquos eyes widen Hersquos looking over Braunrsquos shoulder and I
turn to see what nabbed his attention The two men who work for
the Brimstone Bleed stand outside the perimeter of the base camp
an orange flag in each of their hands They hold the flags by their
sides and drag the toes of their boots in the sand creating a large
circle
I hear it before I see it mdash the unmistakable thwump-thwump-
thwump of a helicopter approaching
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1216
9
CHAPTER THREE
The helicopter is like a crow against a sea of blue As it getscloser it seems more like a smudge of black paint one I could
swipe from the sky with the pad of my thumb And then it seems
only like what it is a beacon of hope Or one of fear
Contenders rush from huts which resemble tepees out into the
open air They raise hands to their brows and watch as this metal
monster hovers over our heads Sand beats against my skin sting-ing It isnrsquot much worse than the sunrsquos ever-present bite What
limited brush there is flattens against the ground and I feel myself
doing the same
Someone grabs on to my elbow and yells into my ear Itrsquos Guy
but I couldnrsquot hear him if he spoke telepathically let alone over the
sound of the helicopterrsquos blades whirling A nervous brown muzzle
nudges my arm and I dig my hand into the bearrsquos dense fur AK-7
is a grizzly bear Pandora and has the girth and jaws to prove it But
his previous owner did unspeakable things to him and though
Irsquove tried to show the animal he wonrsquot be hurt again hersquos still skit-
tish Irsquove adopted AK-7 as my own for better or worse but itrsquos
hard to not see his former owner mdash Titus mdash when I stroke his
thick coat or to forget how Titus died trying to kill me At least I
know he isnrsquot coming back and that the rest of the Triggers have
all but disbanded
To the tune of orange landing flags waving the helicopter
touches down and the wind dissipates leaving behind an eerie
silence One of the Brimstone Bleed men jogs over He opens
the door and at the same time Guy drags me backward BraunOlivia and Jaxon follow our movements The Pandoras line up in
front of us and Madox raises his wet nose into the air
ldquoNot too closerdquo Guy orders no one in particular
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1316
10
The pilot steps out of the helicopter graceful as a ballerina
Shersquos wearing an orange knee-length pencil skirt and a stiff white
collared shirt Brown kitten-heel boots adorn her feet and when
she takes a step into the sand and sways the man who opened herdoor offers his arm She takes it with a warm smile and tosses
bulky headphones back into the helicopter
The other man the tall one with enormous ears and a shortage
of hair reaches into the helicopter and slides a box forward He
lifts it up putting every ounce of strain on his back which everyone
knows is wrong The three of them one with the box in his armsstride toward the largest hut on the perimeter of base camp land-
ing flags forgotten The green-and-blue-plaid blanket that hangs
over the entrance is pushed aside and the crew vanishes from sight
The sun is setting on the sixth night of our rest week The four-
teen days we were allotted to make it to base camp have passed
No one ever enters the base camps after the fourteen days expire
Not in the jungle and not in the desert I want to dwell on what
happens to the ones who are still out there But Guy tells me not
to He makes it seem easy to forget and that worries me
ldquoWe should go to our huts and relaxrdquo Guy announces ldquoTheyrsquoll
be moving us tomorrowrdquo
He speaks with such confidence It makes me hate him But
then his face turns in my direction and his strong jawline his
cheekbones his shoulders mdash they tell me to ease up That and he
is the single most resourceful Contender in this race His father
told him about the Brimstone Bleed trained him to take it down
from the inside I regard his mangled left earlobe and the gash
through his right eyebrow souvenirs from that training
ldquoHow about insteadrdquo Jaxon says ldquowe huddle into one hut andtalk all night about why a strange woman appeared at base camp
who may or may not be cougar hotrdquo
ldquoSeriouslyrdquo Braun chuckles ldquoShersquos one of themrdquo
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1416
11
ldquoShersquos one of them now rdquo Jaxon says popping his collar
Olivia rolls her eyes ldquoUnpop your collar jackass No one does
that anymorerdquo
Guy heads toward his hut the one Irsquove shared with him for thelast several days and Olivia Jaxon and Braun follow behind
Jaxon continues to chatter about how he can ldquoturnrdquo the woman in
orange and we all ignore the fact that he is still heartbroken over
Harperrsquos leaving We hear the way he tosses her name out in every
other conversation and the way he studies the desert at night as if
shersquoll suddenly flicker into view like a lightning bugHarper won the second leg of the race With that win she
received a five-year Cure for her sick daughter But her daughter
died before it could be administered and Harper gave the Cure to
Caroline instead Before she left the desert base camp Harper
wrote a note In that note she explained how shersquod return to finish
the race mdash and help me win
Irsquom not sure shersquoll be able to do that and I wish she hadnrsquot
promised something she isnrsquot able to fulfill Because sometimes I
catch myself following Jaxonrsquos gaze praying her blond hair green
eyes and brick-house stamina will reappear
Guy eventually waves Jaxon Braun and Olivia away The three
of them huddle near a lit torch with their remaining Pandoras and
speak quietly as the sun plummets toward the earth the relief of
night cooling our campsite
ldquoInsiderdquo Guy says to me leading the way into our hut The
moment we arrived at base camp Guy staked claim to this par-
ticular hut Itrsquos the one I woke up in after Braun carried me from
the formations The one I woke up in after I helped kill Titus
Other Contenders sleep inside the hut with us but Guy made itknown that the dusk hours were his and mine
When Guy speaks people listen Not because hersquos abrasive but
because everyone is searching for a leader in this race whether
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1516
12
theyrsquoll admit it to themselves or not And Guy supplies a sense of
security when he vocalizes what he wants
I sit on a single cot and Guy sits next to me his arm brushing
my own Goose bumps rush across my skin and Irsquom certain it isnrsquotfrom the sudden chill in the air ldquoWe should tell the others about
our planrdquo I whisper
His eyes flash in my direction and my heart clenches ldquoIt would
put the others in dangerrdquo he responds ldquoI canrsquot risk thatrdquo I sigh
because the last part is really what he means The part about
others being a risk to his plan Guyrsquos strategy is act alone One-man show Itrsquos do or die as long as hersquos the only person affected
Itrsquos why hersquos tried to talk me out of joining him on his crusade
ldquoIrsquom going to sneak over to the main hut tonight see if I can learn
anythingrdquo Guy studies my face and slowly his gaze roams to my
mouth I press my lips together with anticipation Maybe Irsquom try-
ing to keep his attention there I donrsquot know
Guy hasnrsquot kissed me since the day he told me about his plans
for the Brimstone Bleed Irsquod be lying if I said that didnrsquot hurt My
priority is Cody but it was nice feeling as if someone cared deeply
about me inside this race
ldquoYou should stay here tonightrdquo Guy says
ldquoNo way Irsquom going with yourdquo
ldquoTella you have to listen to me if this is going to workrdquo
Maybe itrsquos the distance hersquos put between us the last few days or
how he promised hersquod never leave me again but what hersquos saying
frustrates me ldquoWhyrdquo
ldquoBecause I want to keep you alive and I donrsquot like you taking
unnecessary risksrdquo
ldquoItrsquos not your job to keep me aliverdquoGuy smiles ldquoI make it my jobrdquo
Madox trots toward Guy and releases a playful growl Guy sup-
presses a laugh and stretches his hand toward him But Madox
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1616
13
turns his head refusing anything but my affection or treats
Hersquod certainly take a treat from Guy ldquoLighten up foxrdquo Guy tells
Madox ldquoYou should love merdquo
Now I smile ldquoHe should should herdquoMadox reluctantly offers Guy his right ear for a scratch ldquoWell
yeah your Contender would still be back in that jungle if it werenrsquot
for merdquo
The air is sucked from the room and I f linch from the sting of
his words I know he didnrsquot mean to intentionally hurt me just
now But he did Guy chuckles lightly and tosses me a genuinegrin and I do my best to return the gesture
Irsquove spent six weeks with Guy under insurmountable stress and
yet that one sentence he uttered is as hard to swallow as some of
the biggest obstacles wersquove overcome Is that how he thinks of me
The girl who needs saving The girl who wouldnrsquot be here if it
werenrsquot for him
If Irsquom being honest with myself itrsquos something Irsquove thought a
lot about over the last few days especially since he rescued me
from Titus and the Triggers How would I fare without Guy
around Would I still have a chance at winning at surviving Irsquom
not sure why what he said struck me so hard
Actually yes I am
Itrsquos because itrsquos the truth
ldquoYou okayrdquo he asks
I nod and pull a calm mask with a fake half smile over my face
ldquoIrsquoll stay here when you look around tonightrdquo
ldquoGoodrdquo he says with relief ldquoThatrsquos goodrdquo Guy seems for a
moment as if hersquos going to take my hand But in the end he simply
rises and vanishes through the blanketed door like a ghost takingmy pride with him
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1216
9
CHAPTER THREE
The helicopter is like a crow against a sea of blue As it getscloser it seems more like a smudge of black paint one I could
swipe from the sky with the pad of my thumb And then it seems
only like what it is a beacon of hope Or one of fear
Contenders rush from huts which resemble tepees out into the
open air They raise hands to their brows and watch as this metal
monster hovers over our heads Sand beats against my skin sting-ing It isnrsquot much worse than the sunrsquos ever-present bite What
limited brush there is flattens against the ground and I feel myself
doing the same
Someone grabs on to my elbow and yells into my ear Itrsquos Guy
but I couldnrsquot hear him if he spoke telepathically let alone over the
sound of the helicopterrsquos blades whirling A nervous brown muzzle
nudges my arm and I dig my hand into the bearrsquos dense fur AK-7
is a grizzly bear Pandora and has the girth and jaws to prove it But
his previous owner did unspeakable things to him and though
Irsquove tried to show the animal he wonrsquot be hurt again hersquos still skit-
tish Irsquove adopted AK-7 as my own for better or worse but itrsquos
hard to not see his former owner mdash Titus mdash when I stroke his
thick coat or to forget how Titus died trying to kill me At least I
know he isnrsquot coming back and that the rest of the Triggers have
all but disbanded
To the tune of orange landing flags waving the helicopter
touches down and the wind dissipates leaving behind an eerie
silence One of the Brimstone Bleed men jogs over He opens
the door and at the same time Guy drags me backward BraunOlivia and Jaxon follow our movements The Pandoras line up in
front of us and Madox raises his wet nose into the air
ldquoNot too closerdquo Guy orders no one in particular
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1316
10
The pilot steps out of the helicopter graceful as a ballerina
Shersquos wearing an orange knee-length pencil skirt and a stiff white
collared shirt Brown kitten-heel boots adorn her feet and when
she takes a step into the sand and sways the man who opened herdoor offers his arm She takes it with a warm smile and tosses
bulky headphones back into the helicopter
The other man the tall one with enormous ears and a shortage
of hair reaches into the helicopter and slides a box forward He
lifts it up putting every ounce of strain on his back which everyone
knows is wrong The three of them one with the box in his armsstride toward the largest hut on the perimeter of base camp land-
ing flags forgotten The green-and-blue-plaid blanket that hangs
over the entrance is pushed aside and the crew vanishes from sight
The sun is setting on the sixth night of our rest week The four-
teen days we were allotted to make it to base camp have passed
No one ever enters the base camps after the fourteen days expire
Not in the jungle and not in the desert I want to dwell on what
happens to the ones who are still out there But Guy tells me not
to He makes it seem easy to forget and that worries me
ldquoWe should go to our huts and relaxrdquo Guy announces ldquoTheyrsquoll
be moving us tomorrowrdquo
He speaks with such confidence It makes me hate him But
then his face turns in my direction and his strong jawline his
cheekbones his shoulders mdash they tell me to ease up That and he
is the single most resourceful Contender in this race His father
told him about the Brimstone Bleed trained him to take it down
from the inside I regard his mangled left earlobe and the gash
through his right eyebrow souvenirs from that training
ldquoHow about insteadrdquo Jaxon says ldquowe huddle into one hut andtalk all night about why a strange woman appeared at base camp
who may or may not be cougar hotrdquo
ldquoSeriouslyrdquo Braun chuckles ldquoShersquos one of themrdquo
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1416
11
ldquoShersquos one of them now rdquo Jaxon says popping his collar
Olivia rolls her eyes ldquoUnpop your collar jackass No one does
that anymorerdquo
Guy heads toward his hut the one Irsquove shared with him for thelast several days and Olivia Jaxon and Braun follow behind
Jaxon continues to chatter about how he can ldquoturnrdquo the woman in
orange and we all ignore the fact that he is still heartbroken over
Harperrsquos leaving We hear the way he tosses her name out in every
other conversation and the way he studies the desert at night as if
shersquoll suddenly flicker into view like a lightning bugHarper won the second leg of the race With that win she
received a five-year Cure for her sick daughter But her daughter
died before it could be administered and Harper gave the Cure to
Caroline instead Before she left the desert base camp Harper
wrote a note In that note she explained how shersquod return to finish
the race mdash and help me win
Irsquom not sure shersquoll be able to do that and I wish she hadnrsquot
promised something she isnrsquot able to fulfill Because sometimes I
catch myself following Jaxonrsquos gaze praying her blond hair green
eyes and brick-house stamina will reappear
Guy eventually waves Jaxon Braun and Olivia away The three
of them huddle near a lit torch with their remaining Pandoras and
speak quietly as the sun plummets toward the earth the relief of
night cooling our campsite
ldquoInsiderdquo Guy says to me leading the way into our hut The
moment we arrived at base camp Guy staked claim to this par-
ticular hut Itrsquos the one I woke up in after Braun carried me from
the formations The one I woke up in after I helped kill Titus
Other Contenders sleep inside the hut with us but Guy made itknown that the dusk hours were his and mine
When Guy speaks people listen Not because hersquos abrasive but
because everyone is searching for a leader in this race whether
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1516
12
theyrsquoll admit it to themselves or not And Guy supplies a sense of
security when he vocalizes what he wants
I sit on a single cot and Guy sits next to me his arm brushing
my own Goose bumps rush across my skin and Irsquom certain it isnrsquotfrom the sudden chill in the air ldquoWe should tell the others about
our planrdquo I whisper
His eyes flash in my direction and my heart clenches ldquoIt would
put the others in dangerrdquo he responds ldquoI canrsquot risk thatrdquo I sigh
because the last part is really what he means The part about
others being a risk to his plan Guyrsquos strategy is act alone One-man show Itrsquos do or die as long as hersquos the only person affected
Itrsquos why hersquos tried to talk me out of joining him on his crusade
ldquoIrsquom going to sneak over to the main hut tonight see if I can learn
anythingrdquo Guy studies my face and slowly his gaze roams to my
mouth I press my lips together with anticipation Maybe Irsquom try-
ing to keep his attention there I donrsquot know
Guy hasnrsquot kissed me since the day he told me about his plans
for the Brimstone Bleed Irsquod be lying if I said that didnrsquot hurt My
priority is Cody but it was nice feeling as if someone cared deeply
about me inside this race
ldquoYou should stay here tonightrdquo Guy says
ldquoNo way Irsquom going with yourdquo
ldquoTella you have to listen to me if this is going to workrdquo
Maybe itrsquos the distance hersquos put between us the last few days or
how he promised hersquod never leave me again but what hersquos saying
frustrates me ldquoWhyrdquo
ldquoBecause I want to keep you alive and I donrsquot like you taking
unnecessary risksrdquo
ldquoItrsquos not your job to keep me aliverdquoGuy smiles ldquoI make it my jobrdquo
Madox trots toward Guy and releases a playful growl Guy sup-
presses a laugh and stretches his hand toward him But Madox
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1616
13
turns his head refusing anything but my affection or treats
Hersquod certainly take a treat from Guy ldquoLighten up foxrdquo Guy tells
Madox ldquoYou should love merdquo
Now I smile ldquoHe should should herdquoMadox reluctantly offers Guy his right ear for a scratch ldquoWell
yeah your Contender would still be back in that jungle if it werenrsquot
for merdquo
The air is sucked from the room and I f linch from the sting of
his words I know he didnrsquot mean to intentionally hurt me just
now But he did Guy chuckles lightly and tosses me a genuinegrin and I do my best to return the gesture
Irsquove spent six weeks with Guy under insurmountable stress and
yet that one sentence he uttered is as hard to swallow as some of
the biggest obstacles wersquove overcome Is that how he thinks of me
The girl who needs saving The girl who wouldnrsquot be here if it
werenrsquot for him
If Irsquom being honest with myself itrsquos something Irsquove thought a
lot about over the last few days especially since he rescued me
from Titus and the Triggers How would I fare without Guy
around Would I still have a chance at winning at surviving Irsquom
not sure why what he said struck me so hard
Actually yes I am
Itrsquos because itrsquos the truth
ldquoYou okayrdquo he asks
I nod and pull a calm mask with a fake half smile over my face
ldquoIrsquoll stay here when you look around tonightrdquo
ldquoGoodrdquo he says with relief ldquoThatrsquos goodrdquo Guy seems for a
moment as if hersquos going to take my hand But in the end he simply
rises and vanishes through the blanketed door like a ghost takingmy pride with him
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1316
10
The pilot steps out of the helicopter graceful as a ballerina
Shersquos wearing an orange knee-length pencil skirt and a stiff white
collared shirt Brown kitten-heel boots adorn her feet and when
she takes a step into the sand and sways the man who opened herdoor offers his arm She takes it with a warm smile and tosses
bulky headphones back into the helicopter
The other man the tall one with enormous ears and a shortage
of hair reaches into the helicopter and slides a box forward He
lifts it up putting every ounce of strain on his back which everyone
knows is wrong The three of them one with the box in his armsstride toward the largest hut on the perimeter of base camp land-
ing flags forgotten The green-and-blue-plaid blanket that hangs
over the entrance is pushed aside and the crew vanishes from sight
The sun is setting on the sixth night of our rest week The four-
teen days we were allotted to make it to base camp have passed
No one ever enters the base camps after the fourteen days expire
Not in the jungle and not in the desert I want to dwell on what
happens to the ones who are still out there But Guy tells me not
to He makes it seem easy to forget and that worries me
ldquoWe should go to our huts and relaxrdquo Guy announces ldquoTheyrsquoll
be moving us tomorrowrdquo
He speaks with such confidence It makes me hate him But
then his face turns in my direction and his strong jawline his
cheekbones his shoulders mdash they tell me to ease up That and he
is the single most resourceful Contender in this race His father
told him about the Brimstone Bleed trained him to take it down
from the inside I regard his mangled left earlobe and the gash
through his right eyebrow souvenirs from that training
ldquoHow about insteadrdquo Jaxon says ldquowe huddle into one hut andtalk all night about why a strange woman appeared at base camp
who may or may not be cougar hotrdquo
ldquoSeriouslyrdquo Braun chuckles ldquoShersquos one of themrdquo
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1416
11
ldquoShersquos one of them now rdquo Jaxon says popping his collar
Olivia rolls her eyes ldquoUnpop your collar jackass No one does
that anymorerdquo
Guy heads toward his hut the one Irsquove shared with him for thelast several days and Olivia Jaxon and Braun follow behind
Jaxon continues to chatter about how he can ldquoturnrdquo the woman in
orange and we all ignore the fact that he is still heartbroken over
Harperrsquos leaving We hear the way he tosses her name out in every
other conversation and the way he studies the desert at night as if
shersquoll suddenly flicker into view like a lightning bugHarper won the second leg of the race With that win she
received a five-year Cure for her sick daughter But her daughter
died before it could be administered and Harper gave the Cure to
Caroline instead Before she left the desert base camp Harper
wrote a note In that note she explained how shersquod return to finish
the race mdash and help me win
Irsquom not sure shersquoll be able to do that and I wish she hadnrsquot
promised something she isnrsquot able to fulfill Because sometimes I
catch myself following Jaxonrsquos gaze praying her blond hair green
eyes and brick-house stamina will reappear
Guy eventually waves Jaxon Braun and Olivia away The three
of them huddle near a lit torch with their remaining Pandoras and
speak quietly as the sun plummets toward the earth the relief of
night cooling our campsite
ldquoInsiderdquo Guy says to me leading the way into our hut The
moment we arrived at base camp Guy staked claim to this par-
ticular hut Itrsquos the one I woke up in after Braun carried me from
the formations The one I woke up in after I helped kill Titus
Other Contenders sleep inside the hut with us but Guy made itknown that the dusk hours were his and mine
When Guy speaks people listen Not because hersquos abrasive but
because everyone is searching for a leader in this race whether
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1516
12
theyrsquoll admit it to themselves or not And Guy supplies a sense of
security when he vocalizes what he wants
I sit on a single cot and Guy sits next to me his arm brushing
my own Goose bumps rush across my skin and Irsquom certain it isnrsquotfrom the sudden chill in the air ldquoWe should tell the others about
our planrdquo I whisper
His eyes flash in my direction and my heart clenches ldquoIt would
put the others in dangerrdquo he responds ldquoI canrsquot risk thatrdquo I sigh
because the last part is really what he means The part about
others being a risk to his plan Guyrsquos strategy is act alone One-man show Itrsquos do or die as long as hersquos the only person affected
Itrsquos why hersquos tried to talk me out of joining him on his crusade
ldquoIrsquom going to sneak over to the main hut tonight see if I can learn
anythingrdquo Guy studies my face and slowly his gaze roams to my
mouth I press my lips together with anticipation Maybe Irsquom try-
ing to keep his attention there I donrsquot know
Guy hasnrsquot kissed me since the day he told me about his plans
for the Brimstone Bleed Irsquod be lying if I said that didnrsquot hurt My
priority is Cody but it was nice feeling as if someone cared deeply
about me inside this race
ldquoYou should stay here tonightrdquo Guy says
ldquoNo way Irsquom going with yourdquo
ldquoTella you have to listen to me if this is going to workrdquo
Maybe itrsquos the distance hersquos put between us the last few days or
how he promised hersquod never leave me again but what hersquos saying
frustrates me ldquoWhyrdquo
ldquoBecause I want to keep you alive and I donrsquot like you taking
unnecessary risksrdquo
ldquoItrsquos not your job to keep me aliverdquoGuy smiles ldquoI make it my jobrdquo
Madox trots toward Guy and releases a playful growl Guy sup-
presses a laugh and stretches his hand toward him But Madox
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1616
13
turns his head refusing anything but my affection or treats
Hersquod certainly take a treat from Guy ldquoLighten up foxrdquo Guy tells
Madox ldquoYou should love merdquo
Now I smile ldquoHe should should herdquoMadox reluctantly offers Guy his right ear for a scratch ldquoWell
yeah your Contender would still be back in that jungle if it werenrsquot
for merdquo
The air is sucked from the room and I f linch from the sting of
his words I know he didnrsquot mean to intentionally hurt me just
now But he did Guy chuckles lightly and tosses me a genuinegrin and I do my best to return the gesture
Irsquove spent six weeks with Guy under insurmountable stress and
yet that one sentence he uttered is as hard to swallow as some of
the biggest obstacles wersquove overcome Is that how he thinks of me
The girl who needs saving The girl who wouldnrsquot be here if it
werenrsquot for him
If Irsquom being honest with myself itrsquos something Irsquove thought a
lot about over the last few days especially since he rescued me
from Titus and the Triggers How would I fare without Guy
around Would I still have a chance at winning at surviving Irsquom
not sure why what he said struck me so hard
Actually yes I am
Itrsquos because itrsquos the truth
ldquoYou okayrdquo he asks
I nod and pull a calm mask with a fake half smile over my face
ldquoIrsquoll stay here when you look around tonightrdquo
ldquoGoodrdquo he says with relief ldquoThatrsquos goodrdquo Guy seems for a
moment as if hersquos going to take my hand But in the end he simply
rises and vanishes through the blanketed door like a ghost takingmy pride with him
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1416
11
ldquoShersquos one of them now rdquo Jaxon says popping his collar
Olivia rolls her eyes ldquoUnpop your collar jackass No one does
that anymorerdquo
Guy heads toward his hut the one Irsquove shared with him for thelast several days and Olivia Jaxon and Braun follow behind
Jaxon continues to chatter about how he can ldquoturnrdquo the woman in
orange and we all ignore the fact that he is still heartbroken over
Harperrsquos leaving We hear the way he tosses her name out in every
other conversation and the way he studies the desert at night as if
shersquoll suddenly flicker into view like a lightning bugHarper won the second leg of the race With that win she
received a five-year Cure for her sick daughter But her daughter
died before it could be administered and Harper gave the Cure to
Caroline instead Before she left the desert base camp Harper
wrote a note In that note she explained how shersquod return to finish
the race mdash and help me win
Irsquom not sure shersquoll be able to do that and I wish she hadnrsquot
promised something she isnrsquot able to fulfill Because sometimes I
catch myself following Jaxonrsquos gaze praying her blond hair green
eyes and brick-house stamina will reappear
Guy eventually waves Jaxon Braun and Olivia away The three
of them huddle near a lit torch with their remaining Pandoras and
speak quietly as the sun plummets toward the earth the relief of
night cooling our campsite
ldquoInsiderdquo Guy says to me leading the way into our hut The
moment we arrived at base camp Guy staked claim to this par-
ticular hut Itrsquos the one I woke up in after Braun carried me from
the formations The one I woke up in after I helped kill Titus
Other Contenders sleep inside the hut with us but Guy made itknown that the dusk hours were his and mine
When Guy speaks people listen Not because hersquos abrasive but
because everyone is searching for a leader in this race whether
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1516
12
theyrsquoll admit it to themselves or not And Guy supplies a sense of
security when he vocalizes what he wants
I sit on a single cot and Guy sits next to me his arm brushing
my own Goose bumps rush across my skin and Irsquom certain it isnrsquotfrom the sudden chill in the air ldquoWe should tell the others about
our planrdquo I whisper
His eyes flash in my direction and my heart clenches ldquoIt would
put the others in dangerrdquo he responds ldquoI canrsquot risk thatrdquo I sigh
because the last part is really what he means The part about
others being a risk to his plan Guyrsquos strategy is act alone One-man show Itrsquos do or die as long as hersquos the only person affected
Itrsquos why hersquos tried to talk me out of joining him on his crusade
ldquoIrsquom going to sneak over to the main hut tonight see if I can learn
anythingrdquo Guy studies my face and slowly his gaze roams to my
mouth I press my lips together with anticipation Maybe Irsquom try-
ing to keep his attention there I donrsquot know
Guy hasnrsquot kissed me since the day he told me about his plans
for the Brimstone Bleed Irsquod be lying if I said that didnrsquot hurt My
priority is Cody but it was nice feeling as if someone cared deeply
about me inside this race
ldquoYou should stay here tonightrdquo Guy says
ldquoNo way Irsquom going with yourdquo
ldquoTella you have to listen to me if this is going to workrdquo
Maybe itrsquos the distance hersquos put between us the last few days or
how he promised hersquod never leave me again but what hersquos saying
frustrates me ldquoWhyrdquo
ldquoBecause I want to keep you alive and I donrsquot like you taking
unnecessary risksrdquo
ldquoItrsquos not your job to keep me aliverdquoGuy smiles ldquoI make it my jobrdquo
Madox trots toward Guy and releases a playful growl Guy sup-
presses a laugh and stretches his hand toward him But Madox
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1616
13
turns his head refusing anything but my affection or treats
Hersquod certainly take a treat from Guy ldquoLighten up foxrdquo Guy tells
Madox ldquoYou should love merdquo
Now I smile ldquoHe should should herdquoMadox reluctantly offers Guy his right ear for a scratch ldquoWell
yeah your Contender would still be back in that jungle if it werenrsquot
for merdquo
The air is sucked from the room and I f linch from the sting of
his words I know he didnrsquot mean to intentionally hurt me just
now But he did Guy chuckles lightly and tosses me a genuinegrin and I do my best to return the gesture
Irsquove spent six weeks with Guy under insurmountable stress and
yet that one sentence he uttered is as hard to swallow as some of
the biggest obstacles wersquove overcome Is that how he thinks of me
The girl who needs saving The girl who wouldnrsquot be here if it
werenrsquot for him
If Irsquom being honest with myself itrsquos something Irsquove thought a
lot about over the last few days especially since he rescued me
from Titus and the Triggers How would I fare without Guy
around Would I still have a chance at winning at surviving Irsquom
not sure why what he said struck me so hard
Actually yes I am
Itrsquos because itrsquos the truth
ldquoYou okayrdquo he asks
I nod and pull a calm mask with a fake half smile over my face
ldquoIrsquoll stay here when you look around tonightrdquo
ldquoGoodrdquo he says with relief ldquoThatrsquos goodrdquo Guy seems for a
moment as if hersquos going to take my hand But in the end he simply
rises and vanishes through the blanketed door like a ghost takingmy pride with him
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1516
12
theyrsquoll admit it to themselves or not And Guy supplies a sense of
security when he vocalizes what he wants
I sit on a single cot and Guy sits next to me his arm brushing
my own Goose bumps rush across my skin and Irsquom certain it isnrsquotfrom the sudden chill in the air ldquoWe should tell the others about
our planrdquo I whisper
His eyes flash in my direction and my heart clenches ldquoIt would
put the others in dangerrdquo he responds ldquoI canrsquot risk thatrdquo I sigh
because the last part is really what he means The part about
others being a risk to his plan Guyrsquos strategy is act alone One-man show Itrsquos do or die as long as hersquos the only person affected
Itrsquos why hersquos tried to talk me out of joining him on his crusade
ldquoIrsquom going to sneak over to the main hut tonight see if I can learn
anythingrdquo Guy studies my face and slowly his gaze roams to my
mouth I press my lips together with anticipation Maybe Irsquom try-
ing to keep his attention there I donrsquot know
Guy hasnrsquot kissed me since the day he told me about his plans
for the Brimstone Bleed Irsquod be lying if I said that didnrsquot hurt My
priority is Cody but it was nice feeling as if someone cared deeply
about me inside this race
ldquoYou should stay here tonightrdquo Guy says
ldquoNo way Irsquom going with yourdquo
ldquoTella you have to listen to me if this is going to workrdquo
Maybe itrsquos the distance hersquos put between us the last few days or
how he promised hersquod never leave me again but what hersquos saying
frustrates me ldquoWhyrdquo
ldquoBecause I want to keep you alive and I donrsquot like you taking
unnecessary risksrdquo
ldquoItrsquos not your job to keep me aliverdquoGuy smiles ldquoI make it my jobrdquo
Madox trots toward Guy and releases a playful growl Guy sup-
presses a laugh and stretches his hand toward him But Madox
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1616
13
turns his head refusing anything but my affection or treats
Hersquod certainly take a treat from Guy ldquoLighten up foxrdquo Guy tells
Madox ldquoYou should love merdquo
Now I smile ldquoHe should should herdquoMadox reluctantly offers Guy his right ear for a scratch ldquoWell
yeah your Contender would still be back in that jungle if it werenrsquot
for merdquo
The air is sucked from the room and I f linch from the sting of
his words I know he didnrsquot mean to intentionally hurt me just
now But he did Guy chuckles lightly and tosses me a genuinegrin and I do my best to return the gesture
Irsquove spent six weeks with Guy under insurmountable stress and
yet that one sentence he uttered is as hard to swallow as some of
the biggest obstacles wersquove overcome Is that how he thinks of me
The girl who needs saving The girl who wouldnrsquot be here if it
werenrsquot for him
If Irsquom being honest with myself itrsquos something Irsquove thought a
lot about over the last few days especially since he rescued me
from Titus and the Triggers How would I fare without Guy
around Would I still have a chance at winning at surviving Irsquom
not sure why what he said struck me so hard
Actually yes I am
Itrsquos because itrsquos the truth
ldquoYou okayrdquo he asks
I nod and pull a calm mask with a fake half smile over my face
ldquoIrsquoll stay here when you look around tonightrdquo
ldquoGoodrdquo he says with relief ldquoThatrsquos goodrdquo Guy seems for a
moment as if hersquos going to take my hand But in the end he simply
rises and vanishes through the blanketed door like a ghost takingmy pride with him
892019 Sneak Peek Salt amp Stone by Victoria Scott EXCERPT
httpslidepdfcomreaderfullsneak-peek-salt-stone-by-victoria-scott-excerpt 1616
13
turns his head refusing anything but my affection or treats
Hersquod certainly take a treat from Guy ldquoLighten up foxrdquo Guy tells
Madox ldquoYou should love merdquo
Now I smile ldquoHe should should herdquoMadox reluctantly offers Guy his right ear for a scratch ldquoWell
yeah your Contender would still be back in that jungle if it werenrsquot
for merdquo
The air is sucked from the room and I f linch from the sting of
his words I know he didnrsquot mean to intentionally hurt me just
now But he did Guy chuckles lightly and tosses me a genuinegrin and I do my best to return the gesture
Irsquove spent six weeks with Guy under insurmountable stress and
yet that one sentence he uttered is as hard to swallow as some of
the biggest obstacles wersquove overcome Is that how he thinks of me
The girl who needs saving The girl who wouldnrsquot be here if it
werenrsquot for him
If Irsquom being honest with myself itrsquos something Irsquove thought a
lot about over the last few days especially since he rescued me
from Titus and the Triggers How would I fare without Guy
around Would I still have a chance at winning at surviving Irsquom
not sure why what he said struck me so hard
Actually yes I am
Itrsquos because itrsquos the truth
ldquoYou okayrdquo he asks
I nod and pull a calm mask with a fake half smile over my face
ldquoIrsquoll stay here when you look around tonightrdquo
ldquoGoodrdquo he says with relief ldquoThatrsquos goodrdquo Guy seems for a
moment as if hersquos going to take my hand But in the end he simply
rises and vanishes through the blanketed door like a ghost takingmy pride with him