Chapter 24
Sorrel’s car was the same dark-blue model as Ms. Hardin’s.
“It actually is Ms. Hardin’s car,” Sorrel said, shifting the gear lever into a backward motion, then forward. “Or was. Rielle took it away once we figured out where you were. Sorry it took so long.” She was in a tan dress, brown boots ending just below her knees. The car turned onto a flat road and we sailed under a tunnel of bare branches, emerging onto a long stretch of grassy plain. We were on our way to the CREIA, she said, where things had changed significantly since my escape.
“After you left, the cheather you’d planted grew and bloomed,” she told me. “The plants were as high as my chin—I’m astonished you had the courage to lay out the seeds knowing how large the plants can get. The flowers were enormous and the
