by Nancy Isaak
“That’s who I’d put on it,” I admitted. “And you know that Cammie is the one who should be building up the bonfires, right? She already knows what to do.”
Kieran sighed, not happy at the thought of his girl going outside of the Point. “Well, if Cammie goes, I want Florenza going with her. Something bad happens, I hate to admit it, but Cammie might hesitate.”
“Where Florenza would jump right in, razor flying,” I grinned. Then, I shoulder-bumped him. “Look at you, Kieran! There was a time you couldn’t stand Florenza.”
He shoulder-bumped me back. “There was a time I thought you were a harmless little mouse. Guess I was wrong on both counts.”
* * * *
At the bottom of the knoll, Kieran and I spent a few moments in front of our tribe’s ‘graveyard’—acknowledging our dead.
“There are so many graves now,” I sighed.
“There are even more in the Crazies’ field,” said Kieran. “When we were lining them up along the rows, I was worried that we wouldn’t have enough space for all the bodies. Just made it, though.”
I shuddered, remembering—Frank’s field, bodies of young boys laid head-to-toe—up and down the long depressions. It was incredibly sad, disheartening.
A disturbing crop of lost humanity—foul, ominous.
* * * *
Lily and Hannah were waiting for us at the junction on Dume Road—jumping up and down in their excitement, eager to share their news.
“The guys are back from the water tower!” they cried out, as soon as they saw us. “They brought us Twinkies!”
Hannah was holding up a box of the treats. It was already opened, the evidence that they’d had some obvious from the icing on their chins.
“Are you guys out here by yourself?” I asked, frowning. Beside me, Kieran was scanning the road, searching for possible threats. “You shouldn’t be out here without guards. It’s not just Crazies, you two. There could be dangerous animals like mountain lions.”
“We got a guard,” said Hannah, pulling out a Twinkie and using it to point to a nearby tree.
I squinted, looking up.
Her dark skin blended in with the shadows, but I finally saw Shawnee—bow ready in her hands—crouched on a thick branch, grinning down at me.
“You really think I’d let the rats go off on their own?” she asked me. Then, threading the bow over her back, Shawnee hooked her hands around the branch and used her body weight to flip herself over and down to the ground. “Did you see anything up on the knoll?”
“Sorry,” I said. “No sign of Jacob’s team.”
Shawnee fell in beside Kieran and me. “Yeah, well,” she sighed. “Guess I didn’t expect anything different. We still going in two days?”
I nodded. “We’ll leave in the morning, just after sunrise.”
“And bring home Jacob and Cherry,” piped up Lily. She was hopping along beside us, licking the icing out of a Twinkie. “And Topher and Connor.”
Hannah raced up beside Lily, grinning. “And Andrei and Ian!”
Both girls dissolved into noisy giggles; they seemed absolutely silly, ridiculous—innocent.
I watched them for a moment, then turned to Shawnee. “Talk to your guys. Make sure they know to keep an eye out for these two. Heck—tell them none of the young ones are to go out of the compound without guards from now on.”
Shawnee nodded.
“And I want these girls back in self-defense classes,” I added. “They need to be able to take care of themselves. And I want them trained on guns.”
“I thought you said they were too young,” Kieran said. “That you didn’t think they were responsible enough.”
My thoughts went back to the young slaves Pauly’s team had brought back from the staging house. They were still at Peyton’s—most likely they would stay there—recovering from horrors and trauma I wished were beyond my imagination.
I hadn’t been able to protect them—I was determined to protect Hannah and Lily.
“Give the girls guns,” I ordered. “Just make sure that they know how to kill with them.”
* * * *
“There wasn’t anything at the water tower,” said Boris. He was the 15-year old that Kieran had put in charge of the Alpha team we had sent up into the Conejo Valley. “We looked everywhere, but we couldn’t find a message. So, we went into Westlake, to that Alice chick’s house.”
“Was Alice there?” I asked.
Kieran and I were seated at a table, outside in the food area. Boris sat opposite us, digging into a plate of deer stew and tortillas. The rest of his team were at a nearby table, laughing and joking with each other as they finished up their own meals.
“Like for maybe five minutes,” said Boris. “Then, she had to leave ‘cause there was going to be a slave market. Alice said that she wanted to get there quick and pick up some of the girls before anyone else had a chance.”
“She was buying slaves?” frowned Kieran.
Boris nodded. “She had a bunch of them at the house. The ones you told us to look for—Reena and those twin girls.”
“Sue and Rachel,” I said.
“That’s right. And some others—maybe six of them all together. Alice told us that she liked to get to the market before that Tray-chick got there. Alice would like, buy the girls and bring them back before anyone else saw them. She said that—because she worked for the Foxes—she was allowed to do that.”
“Any chance that Jacob’s team was being sold—or had been sold?” asked Kieran.
My mouth dropped open; I turned to glare at Kieran, shocked.
He shrugged. “It had to be asked, Kaylee.”
Boris shook his head. “No, bruh…just chicks while we were there.”
“But not Cherry or Jude?” Kieran persisted.
For a moment, Boris stopped chewing as he thought. Then, his mouth started moving again, crumbs flying as he spoke. “We didn’t see them but, you know, they got the girl-slaves wearing like these sheets now. Kind of like those booka things Middle Eastern women wear.”
“Burkas,” I said.
Boris nodded. “That’s the word. Only these were made out of sheets, but with this slit cut out for eyes. It looked so random, bruh—like ghosts with chains around their necks being pulled along behind their owners.”
Kieran and I shared an unhappy frown.
“So, maybe,” continued Boris. “Maybe Cherry and Jude could be there, could be under those bookas. But we didn’t see them. And Alice definitely said that they weren’t there ‘cause we asked her.”
“Does Alice have to wear a burka?” asked Kieran.
“Except for the Foxes, she’s the only one who doesn’t. She’s got what she said was a special, um…”
“Dispensation?” I suggested.
“That’s right,” Boris agreed. “Alice got this special dispensation ‘cause she works with the Foxes, so she doesn’t have to do anything that the White Shirts say. But I can tell you—I think that’s gonna’ change, because the White Shirts sure don’t like Alice showing her face and her body. We heard a couple of them saying that she’s going against the devil’s words and needs to be taught a lesson.”
“So ridiculous,” I murmured.
“And those White Shirts really like teaching lessons,” Boris added. “We saw them whipping kids all over the place. Like one time, I swear they just pulled a guy out of the crowd for no reason—just ‘cause they could.” He stopped talking for as long as it took to shove another spoonful of stew into his mouth. “And a few minutes later, this guy was walking with his slave—girl was covered from head to toe—but it didn’t matter to the White Shirts. They said the girl was showing too much ankle, so they started beating her with these sticks. Then when, like blood started coming through the sheet—the White Shirts, they took the girl away from her owner.” Boris shrugged. “We don’t know what happened to her then.”
“I can’t believe you guys went into the marketplace,” I said, unhappy. “That wa
s really dangerous.”
“I know,” Boris admitted. “But you told us to use our own judgment. And Alice said that Josh was usually at the slave markets. That’s the only reason why we went—to try and meet up.”
Kieran perked up at Josh’s name. “You saw him?”
“He was right where Alice said he’d be. I think Josh goes to the markets ‘cause he’s looking for Jacob’s team—just in case, right.”
I tried not to think of Jacob being caught by Brandon again. If Jacob was captured, no doubt he would be put into the Arena.
And this time—Brandon would most likely kill him.
“Where is Josh staying,” I asked.
“He wouldn’t tell us—in case we got caught. But it’s at one of the Star safehouses, that’s all we know.”
“Maybe he’s staying with Brent or Han,” Kieran suggested.
Boris shook his head. “Nope…Brent and Han have disappeared and it’s like, freaking all the Stars out.”
“What does Josh think happened to them?” I asked.
“He’s got no idea. Nobody does. But Alice and Josh think that maybe Brandon found out Brent and Han weren’t really Crazies and now he’s got them prisoner someplace. Alice thinks that maybe Brandon’s holding on to them for the big Arena they’re planning on Halloween.”
“If Brandon and the Foxes have Brent and Han, then they know about the Stars,” I said.
“Maybe,” said Boris. “Maybe not. Or maybe—if they do have Brent and Han—Brandon and the Foxes just think they’re like traitors or something. Because Brent and Han have been gone for weeks now and nobody’s come looking for the rest of the Stars.”
“Or there’s another possibility,” said Kieran.
We both turned and looked at him.
He shrugged. “They could really have disappeared…like what was happening last year.”
“Oh god,” I groaned. “I was so hoping that was all over with.”
“Well, if they are going into the Arena,” said Boris, “I guess we’ll find out in October.”
“In any case,” added Kieran, “at least we know now why Brent and Han didn’t warn us about the attack. They’d already disappeared.”
“And Alice said she didn’t know that the attack was happening,” said Boris. “When she did find out, she was already in the Foxes’ compound—at work. She said that she waited with Brandon and the Foxes there—until the fighting was over and a White Shirt came back and told them what had happened.”
“Cowards!” hissed Kieran. “Didn’t even fight with their own guys!”
Boris shook his head. “And according to Alice, Brandon and those Fox chicks were like major-league pissed when they heard they’d lost. But what really made them angry—was that you were leading us.” He pointed a rolled-up tortilla at me. “Except Tray…Alice said the evil bitch thought it was hilarious that you were in charge—burst out laughing and everything.”
“Sounds like something Tray would do,” I murmured.
The conversation stopped for a moment as Sophia came over and placed a plate of chocolate chip cookies on the table. Boris immediately grabbed two cookies—one in each of his dirty hands—and proceeded to shove them both into his mouth at the same time.
“You are like a goddess!” he said, beaming up at Sophia, crumbs spitting out from his open mouth.
“Gracias.” Sophia remained where she was, wringing her hands, looking uncomfortable; I suddenly realized what she was waiting for—information.
“Josh is okay,” I told her. “Boris saw him when he was up in the Valley.”
She immediately bowed her head—crossing herself. When Sophia looked up again, her eyes were moist with gratitude. “Josh is coming back soon?”
“Not for a bit,” I said.
“Almost forgot!” Boris leaned over and pulled a small envelope out of the backpack at his feet—handing it to Sophia. “Josh wanted me to give this to you. Said he saw it in the market and thought of you immediately.”
Gently—Sophia slid her finger along the lip of the envelope—almost as if she was afraid of what was inside.
“Cielos!” Sophia gasped, lifting out an exquisite rosary made of gold and pearls.
With a chuckle, Kieran leaned over and whispered in my ear. “For Sophia and Josh, I’ll bet that’s better than an engagement ring.”
“Maybe that is their engagement ring,” I whispered back.
* * * *
When Sophia had returned to her food line—her new rosary looped proudly through her apron strings, Kieran, Boris, and I continued with our conversation.
“The thing that Brandon’s really bitching about right now, though,” Boris told us, “is that Kaylee was the one who killed Mateo. Brandon was always telling the Crazies that, like Mateo was one of the princes of Satan—that there was no way that he could have been killed—except by a witch. So, now he’s telling everyone that Kaylee is like this fallen angel-witch who needs to be caught. He says that Crazies are gonna’ die or disappear again, like until something is done with you.”
Oh great—just what I needed—another reason for the psychos to come after me.
“Do the Crazies believe him?” asked Kieran. “I mean, it’s kind of ridiculous.”
“Bruh, you don’t know what it’s like up there. I mean, yeah, it’s ridiculous…but you also got White Shirts beating the crap out of everyone if they disagree.” He shrugged. “Honestly, I think some of the Crazies, they’re just happy to have someone to blame everything on. Like maybe if Kaylee gets captured, the world will become sane once again.”
“This is so stupid!” I insisted. “I’m just a girl who used to play soccer and had okay grades in school.”
Kieran leaned back, thinking. “The angel wings tattoo. I’ll bet that Brandon and the Foxes are using that to make their point…pretty sneaky.”
Boris nodded. “Word in Crazy-town is that the upside-down angel wings are the sign of the fallen angel. It means that Kaylee is using our tribe to challenge Satan’s dominion here on earth. Brandon says that whichever tribe loses our war—they become either slaves to the other tribe—or its food.”
I laid my head down on the table, frustrated. “Boring…I so miss boring.”
With a chuckle, Kieran patted my back. “On the upside, Kaylee—I’ll bet the bounty on your head just went up. You’re like Kardashian-famous!”
* * * *
“There’s one other thing,” said Boris, quietly—a short time later. He leaned in close, so no one else would overhear. “I think you guys are right. The Stars are up to something.”
“What makes you think that?” I asked.
“It’s not really one thing in particular—it’s a bunch of things.” Boris picked up another cookie—his sixth—and started picking out the chocolate chips, tossing them separately into his mouth. “For instance, there’s the slaves that Alice is buying up. When I asked if she wanted us to bring them back to the Point, she got all—like weird. She told us that would happen eventually but, right now, she needed the slaves there.”
“That is odd,” I said.
“And those other slaves she has— ”
“Reena, Sue, and Rachel?”
Boris nodded, then tossed another chocolate chip into his mouth. “I caught those three yakking away in the kitchen. Moment they saw me, they shut up.”
“That’s not really much,” said Kieran. “They were probably just talking.”
“Yeah, well…I asked them if they were like secretly planning Brandon’s assassination or something. I was only joking, but the chicks…like they all turned bright red and left the room. After that, I never saw them again.”
“You think the Stars are going to take down Brandon and the Foxes?” Kieran asked.
Tossing the last of the cookie into his mouth, Boris shrugged. “Who knows? But those girls are definitely part of something hinky. You wait and see.”
“Give us your opinion,” I ordered. “As someone who’s been up in the Valley,
who’s seen what’s been happening with the Crazies, who’s met with at least some of the Stars—if a plan is being set to take out Brandon and the Foxes, how soon do you think it would happen? What would be your best guess?”
Boris thought about that for a moment. “I’d guess October—Halloween—that’s the big Arena. Brandon and the Foxes will be there, most of the Crazies. If I wanted to assassinate a leader, take over the tribe—that’s when I’d do it.”
October 31st.
A little over three months away.
* * * *
When the trumpet blew, I was still asleep.
With a start, I sat up in my bed—my brain still fogged with sleep—wondering what I was hearing. For one confused moment, my hand shot out to my night table, slapping down on it—searching for my smartphone, so I could turn off my alarm. Even as my legs were swinging out from under the covers, I was hoping that I wouldn’t be late for school.
Then—a knock on the door—and my mind reasserted itself, returning to the present.
“Kaylee!” called a voice I recognized as Erroll’s. “The trumpet’s blowing!”
“Coming!” I yelled back, stumbling over to where I had left my clothes on a chair. As I tugged them on, I tried to concentrate on the weak sounds of the trumpet in the distance—a series of five short blasts and two long ones. Somewhere, I had a list of all the codes but, frankly, I was too sleep-addled to remember its location.
Outside in the hallway, a kind of almost-chaos was in progress; doors were opening, people were coming out—everyone looking worried. Pauly and Florenza, their hair messy and barely wearing any clothes (didn’t want to think about that too much!) were standing with their arms around each other, their faces filled with confusion.
Cammie and Kieran, meanwhile, came out of another room—which really shouldn’t have surprised me. The two of them were practically joined at the hip now. I was relatively certain that—as soon as Jacob’s team returned—they would make their situation more permanent.
