Pines (Wayward Pines, #1)

Beverly waits while Ethan sleeps, envious because, under sedation, he can’t dream. In her dreams, she recalls her life before Wayward Pines. At first, she thought the town was beautiful, but she knows now that the mountains are a prison. Now, she has nightmares about the nights when the phones ring all at once and the screaming begins.

She pulls out a knife and finds the small bulge under the skin of Ethan’s thigh. She didn’t tell him about the tracker and the need for it to be removed. As she prepares to cut it out, she remembers how painful it was to remove her own.

When Ethan wakes in the pitch black, he feels his thigh burning. Recognizing the pain of someone cutting him, he flashes back to his torture. He lashes out before recognizing Beverly’s voice. She tells him the tracker is out and advises him to keep it, so they don’t know it’s been removed. As Ethan wraps his leg, they discuss the time difference. Beverly confirms that she arrived in 1985, one year ago. He tells her that he arrived in 2012, four days ago. Beverly is 34 years old, when in Ethan’s reality, she would be 61 years old.