Duncan’s pack began filling the dance hall, little groups at a time. Everyone took up a spot to sleep the day away, most of them on the floor. Charlie and I had looks and stares from the other pack members. I heard whispers here and there, but nobody talked to us. As I laid down on one-half of the bench and tried to sleep, all energy suddenly drained from me. Charlie sat up for a while longer. I felt his eyes on me, and I wondered what he was thinking. Finally, he lay down too. We fell asleep with our feet touching.
Chapter 28
That evening we woke up early. I knew the sun couldn’t have set yet, but one of the macho-looking bolos, as I had decided to call Duncan’s right-hand men, woke us up. These bolos all had a military look and seemed to move on autopilot. Everyone got up and positioned themselves at arm’s length on the dance floor, facing the stage. Charlie and I looked at each other in wonder. We didn’t get time to ask questions as we were ushered onto the dance floor as well. One of the bolos took center-stage and began performing a series of physical exercises that everybody copied. Charlie and I followed suit.
During a back-stretch, I happened to look up at the ceiling. It was painted black. This was likely another reason why I had thought the inside of the building looked smaller than expected. A disco ball hanging in the center caught my eye. It reminded me that they must be able to play music in this place. I scanned the corners next to the stage. The left corner held the entrance to the bar and the right corner was closed off. There was a door, though. Behind it was most likely where the DJ-den was. So why didn’t they put on some music? I looked up at the ceiling again while repeating the back-stretch and noticed the black lights. An aha-moment made me realize they probably kept the door to the music control locked to prevent somebody accidentally flipping on the switch to those UV-emitting lights.
Now, why didn’t I think of black lights before?
Because the minimal school supply is not equipped with them.
I wondered about this soundless exercise and why everybody was so compliant. Nevertheless, I continued to copy the bolo on the stage, just like all the other sheep.
When it came to push-ups, I was in trouble. I had never been able to do push-ups and had always joked that I probably couldn’t do them even if my life depended on it. My life depended on it right now and, if I had been in doubt before, I was now one-hundred percent sure I couldn’t do push-ups.
There was snickering behind us, and I felt so bad. Not only because I must have looked ridiculous trying, but because I knew I would have a problem in the long run. I was supposed to be getting stronger, but I would never be able to perform these push-ups.
Give me three months of intensive training, and I might.
I wished Julie had informed me more on Duncan’s pack habits. I couldn’t imagine why she was so scared of Duncan. These exercises weren’t so bad. She wasn’t scared enough not to go hunting with him. Or maybe that’s how scared she was. She normally wasn’t afraid to say no to anybody, but she didn’t dare to stand up to Duncan. The thought was chilling, so I focused on doing the exercises as well as I could. I still felt like being the laughingstock for the rest of the hour.
After the gym session finished, everybody went their own way again, getting ready to move out. Charlie and I went back to our booth. I breathed easier now I was inconspicuous again. The relief was short-lived, however, as a bolo came up to us and told us we were summoned by Duncan. I didn’t know what Charlie was thinking, but I felt like a lamb being brought to the slaughter. As we walked side by side, I grabbed Charlie’s hand. He looked at me in surprise. When he saw my worried look, he squeezed my hand and gave me a short smile.
We were led in front of Duncan, who’d set up headquarters in the bar area. He sat at a table, intently studying a map. It took at least a couple of minutes before he looked up, although I had the idea he knew very well we were standing in front of him. He didn’t offer us to sit down, but there were no other chairs at his table, anyway.
Jerk.
This one word kept going through my mind the whole time he had us waiting. I dismissed the thought when we finally got his attention and I remembered that this ‘jerk’ had our lives in his hands. As he looked up, he folded his hands and laid them on the table in front of him.
“You’re Julie’s sister, aren’t you?” he asked me, his voice devoid of any sign of emotion. I had no doubt that it had been the same before he was infected.
“Yes, sir, I’m Kate,” I answered in military style.
God, I’m such a sucker.
Using the old connotation of the word, that is.
“I remember Julie introducing you to me,” he said, “and you must be Charlie.” He turned his head to Charlie.
“I am, Duncan,” Charlie said, and I nearly fainted.
You will get us killed with that attitude.
Duncan kept looking at Charlie for a bit longer and then sat back while he moved his hands to the sides of the table.
“I’ll be honest with you guys. I didn’t ask for you in my pack, and if I had a choice, you wouldn’t be here. However, Julie asked me to take you in. I promised her I would, so you can stay.”
Another silence followed. I thought we had gotten away with it. I was about to thank him and leave.
“There is an issue I have to mention, though,” Duncan said.
Charlie and I exchanged a quick, worried glance. As we waited for Duncan to continue, you could hear a pin drop.
God, this guy loves being in control.
“It was brought to my attention that you can’t do any push-ups, Kate. Why is that?” He kept his eyes on me. It was unnerving.
“I … I don’t know, sir. I have never been able to do them, and I was looking forward to finally being able to, but somehow I’m not getting any stronger.”
Perspiration poured out of my body, and it wasn’t the after-effect of the exercises. I kept looking straight in front of me, for I was sure that if I looked at him, those cold eyes would pry the truth out of me.
“Hmm …” he said, “another one …” and he frowned at the bolo standing next to him, who just nodded.
‘Another one …’ What does he mean with that? Is there another human in the pack? Does he know?
Before I could speculate any further, Duncan gave me the answer.
“You also must have a rare blood disease preventing you from gaining strength. So be it. But I can’t have you causing any unrest among my pack. Ergo, from now on, you take a spot at the back during the exercises. Dismissed.”
He leaned forward to study the map in front of him again. Charlie and I looked at the bolo standing next to Duncan, who indicated with his head for us to clear out.
Chapter 29
We turned on our heels and walked back with a quick step to the booth we had slept in. I couldn’t believe our luck. We had survived another firing squad. I wiped my sweaty hands on my pants and couldn’t help smiling. Once we sat down next to each other, and I was sure nobody was paying us any attention, I whispered to Charlie.
“Did you hear what he said? There’s another one.”
I didn’t know if I should have been happy or more afraid. It would be another person to be more ourselves with, but that extra person was also another chance to slip up and get us caught.
“I know,” Charlie whispered back, “but how do we find out which one?”
As if on cue, a young man sat himself down opposite us. Charlie and I took him in without saying anything. He had a muscular build, wore camouflage clothing, and together with the flattop haircut, his vision screamed ‘military.’ I was sure he was one of Duncan’s bolos and was afraid that he was sent to spy on us. His blue eyes were bright, his face bursting with excitement. He gave us a smile.
“Hi, I’m Harry.”
“Hi, Harry,” Charlie and I replied in sync.
Harry lowered his head toward me.
“I understand that you also … have a rare blood disorder,” he said in a low voice. His expression was full of
hope.
No need to look any further.
“Actually, we both have,” I replied quietly. Charlie hit me in the shin under the table. It took me a great effort not to shout out in pain.
Ouch, Charlie. That classifies as using unnecessary force.
“Mine isn’t a rare blood disorder. It’s a genetic disorder,” Charlie quickly corrected my stuff-up.
“That’s what I thought too. Um, bummer,” Harry said as he was lost for words like most people are when confronted with another person’s medical problems. “But you’re like me, aren’t you?” he said again in my direction with a big smile on his face.
I realized that Harry was a bit of a loose cannon, and I chastised myself for almost exposing Charlie to him. Before I answered his question, I had to know for sure Harry wasn’t infected. I studied his fangs and noticed they were his own, real teeth, not stick-on ones like Charlie’s and mine. Blood drained from my head, and I felt queasy.
Harry saw me stare at his teeth and must have noticed the uncomfortable look on my face. He waved his hands in front of him before quickly putting them flat on the table again.
“Don’t worry, I was born this way, they have always looked like this,” he whispered.
To make sure he was telling the truth, my eyes drifted to his neck where I could clearly see two ‘marks,’ as Julie called them.
“Self-inflicted,” Harry softly beamed as his hand touched the scars. “I am so glad I’m not the only one with a blood disorder,” he said a bit louder with a huge smile on his face.
I sighed with relief as I realized that he was the real deal. When I turned to Charlie, I found that he didn’t appear as relieved as I was. He still eyed Harry with suspicion. Then somebody shouted, ‘Briefing!’ and all heads turned to face Duncan, who had taken to the stage. I was relieved that Harry couldn’t get us into trouble for the next few minutes.
Duncan informed us we were leaving Bullsbrook and would move on to the next village. The gathering yesterday apparently didn’t give enough of a ‘return’ because if the interference of a rival pack. Duncan didn’t mention Caleb’s name, but there were whispers amongst the ranks. I knew the rumors were true, of course.
What exactly is the issue between Duncan and Caleb?
Chapter 30
When we marched to the next town—and we were literally marching—I took my chance to interrogate Harry. There was so much I wanted to know, and Harry seemed eager to please. Charlie had warned me to stay away from Harry as much as possible. He was afraid that Harry would blow our cover. I understood his concern but felt a bit miffed about Charlie not having much faith in me. I, too, knew the dangers of the life we were living at the moment. Whatever I thought about the matter, I needn’t worry. It appeared harder to get rid of Harry than that red wine stain on my favorite white shirt.
Harry walked between Charlie and me with a spring in his step. Charlie’s grunts and sighs about this somehow circumvented Harry without affecting him and found their way to me, but I, too, ignored them.
“So, who’s this Caleb everyone’s talking about?” I asked Harry.
“Caleb’s a bit of a celebrity among us.” His face lit up as he spoke. “We’ve all heard stories about him.”
“Oh, what sort of stories?” I asked. I’d never met a celebrity before and was curious about why Caleb was famous.
You already know one reason, girl.
“There are a lot of stories about Caleb; about how strong he is, about how loyal he is to Sasha, about how he saves the children. Not everybody agrees with that one, especially not Duncan. And then there is the one about how he defied Duncan.” His voice had dropped to a whisper on the last sentence.
“How does that story go?” I pushed. This story seemed to be the most relevant one, and I couldn’t wait to hear it.
“I’d rather not talk about that one if you don’t mind,” Harry said.
Oh, I so want to know now!
“That’s okay, Harry,” I said while internally being eaten alive by curiosity. I wasn’t going to drop the subject, though.
“Where’s Caleb’s pack now, you think?” I said.
We both stopped and looked at Charlie as he all of a sudden made a noise as if he had swallowed a bug.
“Are you okay?” Harry asked Charlie.
“I’ll be just fine. Don’t you worry,” Charlie said as he recovered. Charlie shot me a quick glance before we began walking again. If looks could kill, I think I would have dropped dead on the spot.
What’s all that about, Charlie?
As we continued to walk, I chose to ignore Charlie’s objection, repeated my question, and Harry answered after Charlie cleared his throat but didn’t seem to choke this time.
“Well, that’s the strangest thing, you know. Normally Caleb stays out of Duncan’s way, but Caleb’s pack didn’t move out last night in that cute little town we were in just now.”
“Bullsbrook, you mean? Charlie and I lived there,” I interrupted. I smiled at Charlie, to get in his good books again. I didn’t know what I’d done wrong, but I hated conflict. Charlie, however, chose not to look at me, and my smile went unanswered.
“Oh, did you? Nice place,” Harry said, seemingly unaware of the tension between Charlie and me.
“Yes, it is. I lived in a small house that resembled the witch’s house from the Hansel and Gretel story, not far from the school,” I said.
“Really?”
You’re letting him go off track …
“Yes, but I’m so sorry to have interrupted your story. Please do continue,” I urged Harry.
“That’s okay. So, everybody expected Caleb to move out as soon as he knew Duncan was on his way. However, during the hunt last night we ran into Caleb’s pack, it appeared they hadn’t left. They didn’t interfere with our hunt, but they kept an eye on us, all the same. It was really creepy.”
Harry seemed to be deep in thought after this, and I let him be. I was thinking about what he had said as well. Charlie didn’t take the opportunity during the silent moment to talk to me. I understood he didn’t want me to talk about Caleb, but I couldn’t figure out why. I was left with my own thoughts and questions.
Why hadn’t Caleb’s pack moved on? What were they still doing in Bullsbrook last night? Why was Caleb hanging around Duncan’s pack if they had some sort of feud going on? Why did they have a feud?
Whatever the reason for this strange situation, I wondered if it would be possible to slip out of Duncan’s pack and join Caleb’s pack.
My thoughts were interrupted when a man dropped back and fell into step next to me. A bit annoyed with the spatial intrusion, I gave him a sideways glance to find out who the intruder was. He presented as another perfect specimen of an army bolo; crew cut, wide jaw, muscular build. My attention was drawn to his pronounced chin with a large dimple in the middle.
Ballchinnian.
I suppressed a giggle.
“Hi,” the man said, looking unsure but still trying to smile. “You must be Kate.”
I wondered how he knew my name and what he had heard of my conversation with Harry. I also had no idea what my conversation with him was going to lead to, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to be polite.
“Yes, I am. What’s your name?”
“My name’s Ben,” he said, sticking his chest out a little further. “Hi, Harry,” he said to Harry.
“Hi, Ben,” Harry replied.
Charlie was completely ignored, and although I thought he was acting like a teenage schoolboy, I felt a pang of sorrow for him.
“Ben has helped me from the beginning,” Harry said to me.
I didn’t know if that meant Ben knew Harry was still a human, but I thought better to assume not. Just in case.
“Yes, I took Harry under my wing, so to speak,” Ben said. “I stood up for him when Duncan wanted to throw him out of the pack when it became clear Harry wasn’t getting any stronger. Such a bummer he’s got that rare blood disease. And now you’re another one
with it. How unlikely is that?”
For heaven’s sake. I am surrounded by morons.
I thought I’d better go with the flow.
“Yes, what are the odds of Duncan having two weaklings in his pack?”
Ben put on a grave face.
“Don’t you worry, Kate. I’ll make sure Duncan has nothing to complain about. I’ll get you some good blood tonight, and you will feel a lot stronger soon. I’ll take care of you.”
Somebody, pinch me; I think I am being courted.
If I had any doubts of Ben courting me or not, they were laid to rest when he continued.
“You just stay with me, and I will make sure nothing happens to you. I can provide for you,” he said.
Charlie got a bug in his throat again. It appeared to be a really big one this time. While Harry and Ben fussed over Charlie, I tapped my foot, arms crossed. This time, I knew exactly what was bothering him. Once Harry and Ben were sure Charlie wasn’t going to pass out, I thought I’d better make sure he didn’t choke again.
“You don’t have to worry about me, Ben. Charlie is taking good care of me already,” I said to him.
Ben stuck his neck out to look at Charlie. From the expression on his face, I could tell he wasn’t convinced.
“Oh, is he? Well, I think I can do better. You can call on me anytime, Kate.” He put his hand on my shoulder.
I stared at Ben’s hand, not sure what to do with it. Charlie couldn’t see it, but I didn’t want it there, nevertheless. I guess Ben saw me looking at it as he abruptly took it away. I didn’t want to hurt Ben’s feelings as he, obviously, had nothing but good intentions in mind for me, so I had better make things right again.
“Thank you for the offer, Ben. I will remember it,” I replied politely. I wondered what book on courting Ben had read.
It must have been from the history section in the library.
Chapter 31
After walking for what I figured was about three hours, we could see a little village appearing on the horizon. I had asked Harry why we didn’t drive there, to which he replied that Duncan wanted us to get stronger and increase our stamina through the exercise of marching. We walked for another half hour until we were about five minutes away from the village. We were then ordered to sit down and rest. When I asked Harry why, he told us we had to get our strength up before ‘surprising’ the villagers.
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