by Kelli Kimble
He reclined onto his back, bent his knees, and put his hands over his eyes. I’m glad we’re in this together, he said.
I smiled. “You are?”
He propped himself up on his elbow. “Yeah. You treat me like a real friend. Nobody else has ever done that.”
I refrained from mentioning that our friendship might have at first been strained, if he hadn’t provided me with some choice tidbits of food from his lunch.
“Oh,” I said. Uncomfortable, I looked out into the woods. In the distance, I caught sight of something moving. “Shh,” I said. “Someone’s down there.”
He looked to where I was pointing, then pulled the ladder onto the platform. “They won’t be able to get up here without it,” he whispered. We crouched low on the platform, watching as three people—two men and a woman—fully emerged from the trees. They were all wearing kimonos, and they were broadcasting their thoughts.
These two had better be the last. Someone is going to notice, the man in the yellow kimono said.
Amelia says one of them was already asking questions today. Says she’s always been a difficult brat. But, yeah, once we’ve got those two, we’ve got enough, answered the woman.
I thought you said you knew where they were hiding, the man wearing a green kimono whined, pulling at the woman’s full sleeve.
The woman sneered, tugging her arm away from his grasp. It’s hidden. Here, close by. Can’t you smell them? I thought all trolls could smell children. She laughed, and the other man laughed along with her. The whiny man glared and turned away. They were looking everywhere but up.
“They’re looking for us,” I whispered.
Elton nodded, his face white.
“What should we do?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Wait for them to give up and go? What else can we do?”
I looked around. Was there something we could use to defend ourselves? Could we drop something heavy on their heads? But, there was nothing to drop. The only things on the platform besides us were our school bags and the ladder.
They came closer, and I pulled away from the edge, afraid they’d sense me looking at them and meet my eyes. Elton did the same. We could hear them tramping around, occasionally making comments to each other about who was too stupid to find it, and where they’d gotten their information from.
The sky began to darken, and still, they were looking around. Twice, they wandered far enough away for us to think it would be safe to climb down and run, but just as we started to lower the ladder, they returned. We ate a meager dinner from Elton’s remaining lunch items and waited.
And waited.
Night insects began to sing, and the stars started to twinkle between the leaves of the tree canopy above us. Finally, we heard them discussing what they were going to do, now that they had to go back at the office without the next two subjects. Their thoughts began to fade, and their footsteps faded into the woods. But, we didn’t dare move. What if it was a trap?
“What about our families?” Elton whispered. “Do you think they took them, like they took Marve’s and Talika’s?”
“They only talked about us,” I said. “Maybe our families are fine.” But, my gut twisted. I knew Elton was probably right; while the three idiots were beating around the bushes for us, someone else was probably packing up our families and dragging them elsewhere.
In the darkness, his hand found my arm. “We can’t go home,” he said. “They’ll be waiting for us there, even if they left our families alone.”
I nodded, though he couldn’t hear me do so. Then, I started to cry.
He must have been able to feel me shaking, because he put his arm around me. “Shh, Nim. We’ll figure something out, you and me.” His voice was thick from his own tears. I leaned against him, unable to stifle the sobs. What was left?
We stayed up there for a few more hours, crying and trying to comfort each other with false promises and hopes. When the three strangers didn’t return again, we decided it wasn’t safe to stay where we were, and we lowered the ladder and climbed down. Elton grasped my hand and led me through the woods. We were tripping, bumping into trees, and generally making a lot of noise; that’s how we knew we were alone. Nobody came to confront us.
We emerged in a place I hadn’t seen before. It was on the far side of the park, and beyond it were the slums. Yeah, there were people in the Great Salt Lake City who were even worse off than I was. Here were the people who were completely unemployable. Most of them were sick or dying. They couldn’t—or wouldn’t—hold a job, and so, with no time to trade for something of worth, they came here. The houses were made from scraps and garbage; the smell was worse than the terrible odor in Marve’s house. Barrels were lit with fire here and there around the shanties, and people clustered around them.
Elton tugged me towards one, and a toothless old man turned to leer at us. What do you damn privileged want? he demanded.
I glanced at Elton. Would these people turn us in if we used our telepath skills? More likely, if they were asked tomorrow, they’d remember meeting two verbals, not two telepaths. I decided to risk it. We’re running from the scientists. They want to do experiments on us. We need help.
I can help you, he said, lurching closer. Let me just help you off with that shirt.
Elton stepped in front of me, and the old man regarded him with surprise, as if he hadn’t seen him before that moment. But, it didn’t matter. A woman pushed the old man aside. Go back to your drugs, you dirty old man.
Watch it, the old man said, brushing off his crusty jacket. A cloud of dirt ruptured in the air from the severity of his motion. He moved around to the other side of the barrel, eyeing us the whole time.
The woman turned back to us. What do you want? she said.
We need help. We’re running from someone who wants to hurt us, I said.
She looked us up and down. Go home to your mothers, she said and started to turn away.
I darted out a hand and touched her arm, just to keep her attention. But, she looked at my hand like I was spreading a disease. They already hurt our mothers. They want us, too.
She raised an eyebrow and shifted her gaze to Elton. He nodded in agreement but said nothing.
You got any food? she asked.
Elton took his bag from his shoulder and fumbled through it. I thought we’d eaten everything he had, so I was surprised when he produced a small baggie of broccoli.
She grabbed it and shoved it into her pocket. Come on, then.
We followed her through a maze of shanties and tents. Most were not occupied.
Why is everyone awake? I asked.
She cast a glance over her shoulder at me—a look that told me she thought I knew nothing of the world. I suppose she was right. People die from the cold at night. We sleep when it’s not so cold. Warmer during the day, she answered.
Everywhere we went, malevolent eyes followed us. I was beginning to think we might have been safer with the people wearing kimonos.
We reached a small shanty made of cardboard, reinforced on the inside with mud. She gestured for us to go inside—even though it was clearly a space that would be cramped for only one person. I ducked down and crawled in as far as I could, then curled myself into a tight seat in the corner.
Elton and the woman followed. She was kind of big, and she blocked the exit. The light was behind her, and I couldn’t see her face. What do you want from me? she asked.
We just want to find our families and go home. For them to leave us alone, I said. Her breath was bad, and it had already permeated the interior of the shanty.
She nodded. Yeah, and who’s “them”, exactly?
I glanced at Elton. He was crunched into the opposite corner, trying not to let his leg touch the woman. Scientists, I said. Then, I shrugged. We don’t really know, exactly. They already kidnapped two kids from our class, and their families. They came looking for us last night. We’re trying to hide from them.
She pulled the baggie from her b
ag and nodded. In the darkness, I could hear her crunching on the broccoli. My stomach growled.
What’s your name, kid? she asked. She was looking at Elton.
Domino, he said, and this is Rain. He gestured at me, then asked her, Who are you?
She crunched on a new piece of broccoli. Names aren’t important. Not here.
Elton nodded. Can you help us? We need to find a place to hide.
Look, kid. You seem like a nice boy. You both seem like nice kids. I’m sure this is all just in your heads. Nobody wants to get you. Just go on home, and you’ll be fine.
We really just would appreciate it if you could point us somewhere we could hide today, during the day, I said. Maybe there’s an empty spot we could hide in?
You can call ‘em what they are, kid. They’re slums, and no, there’s nothing empty in the slums. That’s the whole point of slums. She threw back her head and laughed, as if she’d made a joke. The weird sound telepaths made when they laughed always grated on my ears, but her laugh made me shudder.
If you can’t help us, then we’ll just move along, Elton said.
He made a move to exit the shanty, but she leaned to block his way. You got any more food in there, kid?
No, he said. Please, just let me pass.
She regarded him for a moment, then swung her head to look at me. I can see you don’t got no food.
I shook my head.
I figured as much. You’re barely a step outside this slum, I bet. She laughed again.
It made me angry. I jostled wildly, pushing past her and stepping outside.
Now, just wait a minute. I didn’t mean to upset you, she said. She twisted towards me and tried to grab my leg. In doing so, she left a hole for Elton to exit. He hopped out, took hold of my arm, and started running. I was dragged along for a few steps, until my brain caught up with his actions.
We ran between shanties, jumping over garbage and weaving between people who mostly seemed too shocked to do anything but stare.
Elton didn’t stop until we reached the edge, where there were no more shanties or flaming barrels. He was breathing heavily, and he leaned over to rest his hands on his knees.
“We’ve got to leave the city,” I said. “We’ll never be safe here.”
He turned his head to look at me, his breath still coming in heaves. He shook his head.
“Think about it, Elton,” I said. “How can we hide here? We’re different. Noticeable.”
“No. We’re not leaving,” he said. He stood up, his breath coming easier now. “The things that could happen outside the city . . . we’d never survive.”
“We have to try something,” I said. “Anything.”
“Okay. I have an idea. Promise you’ll think about it?”
“Yes. What is it? I’ll do anything.”
“We’re going to your aunt’s house. She’s going to help us.”
Chapter 3
It was nearly dawn when we crept to Rue’s house. We circled around back. There weren’t any lights on inside. I knew where Aunt Rue kept a hidden key; under the fourth step on the back porch was a small box, held in place with a metal strap and a pair of wingnuts. I unscrewed one of the nuts enough so that the box fell from its hiding place and rattled. Relief flooded me; the key was still inside.
We went to the door, and I put the key in. But, it wouldn’t turn. Inside, her dog started to bark. She’d gotten one after her husband died, because she felt she needed protection. I was never sure what she needed protection from before, but now, I knew maybe it was someone like me. The dog was at the door now, clawing and barking maniacally.
Elton tried to shush it. “Shh, little pup. It’s okay; it’s only us. Just me and Nimisila. You know Nimisila, right?”
But, it wasn’t working.
I moved to the window and tapped on the glass. The curtains were covering the window, but when I tapped, the dog pushed underneath them and got her face up to the glass, her paws on the windowsill. She was still barking frantically. In the distance, I heard Arisa crying. Great. The dog had woken the baby.
Shhh, Spot, I said. I made eye contact and nodded. Spot looked confused for a moment but continued to bark. Shh. It’s okay; we’re just here to see Aunt Rue. Can you get her? Get Rue for me.
The dog stopped barking and sat, studying me for a moment. The curtains billowed around her. She licked her chops. Okay, she said, and she trotted away. Minutes passed, and the dog didn’t return.
Arisa was still crying somewhere deeper in the house. No lights had come on yet, but it was starting to get light outside. I looked around the backyard and immediately spotted Arisa’s playhouse in the corner of the yard. It was small and painted pink, with a purple roof, surrounded on two sides by a fence. It would be the perfect place to hide today.
“Come on,” I said, grabbing Elton by the arm and pulling him towards the house. It was slightly larger than the shanty we’d been in earlier, but still cramped. We managed to get ourselves inside and shut the door. There were two windows, but they had sheer curtains. Hopefully, we’d be able to see out the curtains, but they’d be opaque enough to hide us.
My stomach growled. “I don’t suppose you have anything else in your bag to eat?” I said.
Elton shook his head. “That broccoli was three days old. It’ll probably give that lady some really bad gas.”
“Not that she could smell it over her breath,” I said. We giggled for a moment, but then I heard a door slam somewhere nearby, and people talking. The neighborhood was waking up, and we didn’t want to be seen. We were going to have to stay in our spot until dark tonight. At least, we were both exhausted, so we’d be able to spend a good portion of it sleeping.
“I’m going to try and get some rest,” I said. He nodded.
We curled up together, lying on our sides, with him at my back, spooning against me. The house was too small to stretch out in, so unless we wanted to sleep sitting up, it was our only option.
Elton stuffed his bag under our heads, and we used it as a pillow. “I’m glad I’m in this with you,” he said, as I started drifting off to sleep. He shifted, and his arm draped over me, adding warmth to his words.
“I’m sorry we were never friends before,” I said. “I was missing out.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Me, too.”
◆◆◆
I woke with a start some time later. From the shadows on the curtains, I guessed it to be mid-afternoon, maybe three o’clock. Rue might be home from school soon. I got to my knees and looked out the window. Unlike where I lived, Rue’s neighborhood was quiet and respectable; most of the adults would be at their jobs, and the children would be at school. Rue took Arisa to a sitter’s house, rather than having someone come here, so I knew nobody would be home. But, still, the skin on the back of my neck felt prickly. Someone was nearby.
A bead of sweat worked between my shoulder blades and started to slowly roll down my back. I felt like I wasn’t even breathing, like the world was at a standstill, except for whoever—or whatever—was out there, just beyond what I could see.
Someone walked by on the street. They were walking casually and slowly. They were looking around everywhere—everywhere except for Rue’s house. I recognized him as the man in the green kimono. He wasn’t wearing it now. But, it was definitely him. He kept walking, and his path took him in front of the house, blocking my view.
I turned to wake Elton. I put a hand over his mouth and prodded him. “Wake up, Elton,” I whispered into his ear. “The man in the kimono is outside.”
Elton’s eyes snapped open, wide with fear. I took my hand away and gestured towards the window. As quietly as we could, we moved around so that we could both see out the window.
At the pace the man was walking, he should have emerged on the other side of the house by now. But, he hadn’t.
“I don’t see anybody,” Elton said quietly.
“Shh. He’s there. I just saw him over there, walking that way. He should be coming out over th
ere any second now.”
We watched the street intently, waiting. The sweat on my back was starting to multiply and consistently dripping between my shoulder blades. My shirt was damp at the small of my back, where it was collecting. I wiped away a bead forming on my forehead and glanced at Elton. He looked as nervous as I felt, maybe more so. His face was pasty white, and his breath was more of a pant.
Turning back to look at the street, I saw it. The man hadn’t emerged on the other side of the house because he’d gone inside the house. I could see him through the kitchen window. I gasped and pulled back from the window. “He’s inside,” I whispered.
“Where?”
“The kitchen. I just saw him walk by the kitchen window.”
We watched in silence, waiting for another glimpse of him. A moment later, a shadow passed over the curtain, where the dog had barked at me earlier.
“There,” I said. “I just saw movement.”
Elton dropped away from the window and put his back against the other side of the house. “What’s he doing in there?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. Looking for us? For some sign that we were there, or that she’s helping us?”
He drew up his knees and crossed his arms over them, then buried his face in his arms. “Why is this happening to us?” He snapped his head up. “What could the powerful gain by developing natural telepaths?”
“Where are you going with this? They do what they want because they can. We’re nothing but bugs for them to step on.”
“Right. So, it doesn’t make sense to develop something that would elevate us. It’s not the powerful people who want to experiment on us, Nim. It’s got to be people in our class—people who either don’t have an implant or are close to someone who doesn’t have one.”
“People like our parents?”
“Yeah,” he said. “Rue said the other day that your mom is smart. What if she’s in on it? What if we’re hiding from our own families?”
“But, Rue told us to keep it a secret,” I said. I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. It made sense that telepaths would want to keep us where we were: Out of their way; subservient to them; downtrodden. But, the warnings from my aunt didn’t correspond to that. Nor did the conversation between the people who were chasing us the night before. If it were true, why would entire families disappear, and how could Talika’s horrible family manage to contribute?
