by Box Set
A little cry flew from my mouth as I rushed to where he lay, and I dropped onto the mattress beside him. His arms were tied behind his back, but I had nothing to cut the bindings. I gently pulled his shoulder so I could see his face, and as I did, my breath hissed in. An ugly black slit was over his unscarred eye, which was swollen twice its size. His lip was also split, and an ugly purple bruise had already appeared on the side of his chin. I wanted to kill Dexter, but at that moment, Gallatin let out a quiet moan.
“Gallatin?” I whispered, stroking back his long bangs.
His eyes didn’t open, but I saw his lips move just slightly.
“What did you say?” I leaned forward to put my ear to them.
“Must get out,” he mumbled.
“No.” I hugged his shoulders as tears stung my eyes. “I’m not leaving you.”
He grunted and tried to move. My arms relaxed, but he only shuddered and went still again.
I dropped my cheek against him, stroking his soft hair as the sounds of boys cheering echoed in the night. Turning my head, I looked around the empty dorm, remembering a time when it was filled with people I knew. I thought of the very first time I’d opened my eyes in this place. How strange it was then, and how much had changed since that day.
The gleam of lantern-light reflected off the shiny barrel of a rifle, catching my eye. My chest clenched, and I realized how to stop them.
As fast as my pain allowed, I stood and went to the bunk where rifles were stacked. Braxton had thought they were burying bodies, but really they were burying our weapons in long pine boxes that looked like mass graves. I lifted the one lying on top and grasped the grey metal handle sticking out from the side. I pulled it back and slid the bolt open. It was empty. No bullet.
I picked up another one that was shaped differently, but it was still a bolt-action. I pulled the metal chamber open, and it was also empty. They all must be, I thought. Then I looked around the room for a box of ammunition. There was none on the lower bunks, and I wasn’t quite tall enough to see the tops. For a moment, I stood and rested my head against the bed frame of the bunk above the guns. I knew it would be up there, but I wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to climb.
I had to be. Taking a deep breath, I clutched my fingers around the triangular, metal edge and pulled, using my good leg to push me up. Sure enough, five white boxes of Winchester bullets had been tossed on the bare mattress. Even better, the small pistol Ovett had carried lay beside them. My eyes widened just as the screen door screeched. They were back. I shot my hand out and grabbed the gun, dropping to the floor as I did so. An involuntary yelp came from my throat, and I quickly limped backwards, gripping the pistol in my hand and praying it was loaded.
“Who’s there?” Jackson called.
I’d just made it to Gallatin’s side when he came charging through the rows. My hands shook as I slid back the cylinder release and checked for bullets. Three brass ends gleamed in the dim light, and I pushed the round chamber closed again.
“Prentiss,” he said, and I heard the screech of the door opening and closing two more times.
“Everything okay?” I heard Russell call.
“Just hang on,” Jackson said in an easy voice, but I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or to the guys.
“You’re not gonna kill him.” My voice was low, and the sound of it startled me.
“Take it easy, Pip.”
“You’re gonna let us go, Jackson.”
Feet moved fast in our direction, and I pulled the hammer back to cock the gun. It clicked into place and Jackson held out his arm.
“Hang on, guys,” he said. “Just a little situation here.”
My legs trembled, but somehow I managed to keep the gun steady. I lowered myself to sitting at Gallatin’s back.
“It’s her,” Dexter spat. “Traitor-bitch. I’m gonna kick your teeth out!”
“Settle down,” Russell growled at him.
“What you gonna do, Pip? Shoot me?” Jackson smiled in that familiar way.
“Yes,” I said. “If I have to.”
His smile faded a notch, but he didn’t retreat. “You’re tired, Pip. This ordeal’s got us all messed up. Nobody’s thinking straight.”
“I’m thinking straight.”
“Put the gun down.”
“You’re gonna let us go.”
His voice turned placating. “How you gonna leave? You can barely walk, and that guy’s out cold.”
“Dee?” I called. “You there?”
“D’Lo’s at the bonfire,” Jackson said.
“I’m getting a rifle.” Dexter moved quickly toward the gun bunk. Just as fast I pulled the trigger.
BLAM! The loud metallic blast made everyone stop. I gripped the gun tighter, blinking my eyes fast to clear them. My ears rang, but I could hear Dexter spitting curses.
“Is he hit?” I shouted.
“No,” Russell answered.
“Get him out of here, Russell! Now!” I hoped they didn’t know I only had two bullets left.
I heard the shuffle of feet, and it seemed they didn’t. The screech of the door told me they’d left.
“Keep your hands where I can see them,” I ordered, hearing the tremble in my voice. “You taught me to use a gun, and I will. Now get Dee back up here.”
“How’m I gonna do that with you holding a gun on me?”
“Call Russell back.”
“C’mon, Pip. Look at yourself.”
“Call Russell back!”
He sighed.
“Russell!” Jackson called over his shoulder, his hands held in the air like we were in an Old West movie. A door screech. “Get Dee up here.”
The door sounded again, and I put my other hand on the handle of the pistol to hold it steady.
“Those boys aren’t gonna let you take him,” Jackson said.
“Yes they are. Because you’re going to tell them to.”
Just then the door screeched and D’Lo came lumbering in, making his way through the rows.
“Slow down, Dee,” I said, moving the gun back and forth between him and Jackson. My giant friend stopped in place. “Are you going to help me get him out of here or what?”
“Prentiss,” he breathed. “I told you to wait.”
“There’s no time for waiting. Are you going to help me or not?”
His shoulders dropped and he looked over at Jackson. I saw Jackson look back at him waiting to see what he’d say. Waiting for his football-buddy best friend to take his side over me and the alien invader.
My heart sped up as I waited to hear what he’d say. I’d grown to count on D’Lo being on my side, but I had no reason to believe he’d pick me over Jackson. Guys stuck together as a general rule, at least when it came to friendships.
The tip of the gun shook as I watched his dark face twist.
“Prentiss, what are you thinking?” D’Lo said. “You can’t run. Dexter’s coming after you, and those little boys are faster than me.”
“So you’re not going to help me?”
“It’s not like that. You haven’t thought this through.”
Jackson took a step forward, and I jerked the gun around on him. He froze.
“Hang on. Think about what you’re doing, Pip. You’re taking sides with an alien, a monster, over your own kind.”
“You’re the monster! You and all these little savages. Dexter said he’d kick all my teeth out—”
“Dexter’s showing off, trying to look tough. You think I’d let him do that to you?”
“I saw them around the bonfire, dancing and chanting. Following you like you’re some kind of cult leader. You didn’t even ask questions, you just attacked.”
His eyes flashed. “They attacked first.”
He rushed forward, and my eyes closed. I screamed as my finger squeezed the trigger. The sound of gunfire blasted through the room, but my hands hadn’t moved. The noise came from in front of me.
My eyes opened, and I saw Jackson on the f
loor, but I hadn’t shot him. I’d forgotten to cock the pistol.
Chapter 28
After that, everything was confused. Outside the noise of boys screaming filled the night, and through the screened windows of the dormitory, I saw the fast-moving shadow of someone running past. Then another shadow ran after it. Inside the poorly lit sleeping quarters, the scene was equally chaotic.
Jackson writhed on the floor in pain with blood coming from his shoulder, and Cato strode toward me, dressed in a solid white uniform with a long, white cape hanging stiffly down her back. She was both regal and determined, and close behind her were Ovett… and Cleve—working with the aliens!
“He’ll be alright,” Ovett said, dropping to a knee beside Jackson on the floor. “It’s just a shoulder wound, nothing serious. They can attribute it to a hunting accident.”
“You! Giant one,” Ovett pointed at D’Lo. “Take a sheet and apply pressure to the wound.”
I stared open-mouthed at the entire event. “You’re not from Meridian!” I hissed to Cleve as D’Lo stepped forward and kneeled beside Jackson. He took the pistol from my hand.
“My name is Soso,” he said. “My job is to keep tabs on potential threats like you.”
My eyebrows shot up. “I’m not a threat…”
“Once I left you, I went to monitor the renegade camp in the woods, infiltrate them as the drifter Clinton. When the ships departed, I stayed behind to keep you safe if necessary.”
“You stayed behind for me? I don’t understand—”
“Our young leaders are still maturing into their gifts, learning the give and take of information. The general deduced our newest Guard would come back for you somehow.”
“So you were really looking out for Gallatin.”
“I relayed his location back to the ship and have been monitoring the two of you ever since.”
My cheeks flushed pink, but Cato and Ovett distracted me. Ovett waved his hand as if batting a fly, and the leather straps around Gallatin’s wrists fell to the floor in shreds. Instantly, Cato moved Gallatin’s hands around to his chest and sat beside him on the bunk.
“He’s lost too much blood,” she said. “We have to get him out of here. Back to Shubuta before we can proceed.”
“Wait,” I reached forward, but Soso-Cleve blocked me from approaching her.
She stood and took my hand. “Thank you for protecting my brother. We owe you a debt of gratitude that soon you won’t remember, but I always will.”
Ovett and another male alien quickly lifted Gallatin between them and started walking sideways through the beds toward the door.
“Hurry,” Cato spoke into the inside of her wrist. “We need something to help him regain consciousness. Once he wipes the remaining minds, we’ll finish treating him on the ship.”
“Please!” I cried, trying to get around Soso. “I have to go with him!”
The men carrying Gallatin didn’t stop, but Cato turned back to me. Her eyes were kind, but her face was serious.
“I know why my brother came back here,” she said. “It’s very sweet, but it’s impossible. You understand.”
“It’s not! We were talking… We were trying to figure out a way when—”
“Right now it seems very hard, but in a few moments it will all be easy. You won’t remember a thing.”
“NO!” I shrieked, fighting my way past Soso, gripping the bed frames to help me walk faster on my injured hip.
The alien leader turned and quickly went to the door, pushing through the squeaky metal barrier without hesitation. I hobbled after her, but the distance between us grew rapidly wider.
Once through the exit, I looked around at the now-empty yard. The bonfire was still lit, but the boys were gone. Russell was nowhere to be seen, and I assumed the rest had taken off running at the sight of the uniform-clad invaders. The only place I saw lights was in the dining hall, where the circle of lanterns was still going.
I set off in that direction, tears stinging the cut on my cheek as I went. Everything on me hurt, but I couldn’t let them take Gallatin without at least having the chance to speak to him one last time, at least to say goodbye.
Pushing through the screen doors into the dining hall, I saw his body stretched out on the metal counter in the same way Flora’s had been the night they tried to save her. Shubuta had the same serious expression, and I thought of Dr. Green. I needed to find him and our parents—if that was even still necessary.
Leaning on the first long tabletop, I stood and caught my breath. I reached for the second, slowly making my way to the front of the room when I saw the alien doctor take a thin glass cylinder containing a yellowish liquid from her pocket. She held it up toward the lantern-light and studied it with a frown. Then she shook it and removed the cap as my hand reached the last row of tables. From where I stood, I could see it had a bright silver roller-ball on one end, and she rubbed it against the bend in Gallatin’s elbow, back and forth several times.
Soso-Cleve stepped in front of me and caught my shoulders. “That’s as far as you go.”
My eyes traveled up to his, which were now eerie black. “You were wearing contacts,” I said. “How did you get them so fast?”
He smiled. “I’ve always had them. We’ve been here many years, little one.”
Just then, Gallatin coughed and rolled onto his side. “My stomach,” he moaned, and tears flooded my eyes at the sound of his voice. He was going to be okay!
I twisted, but Soso held me fast. “It’ll be much harder for him, you know,” he said, glancing back at the waking boy I was desperately trying to reach. “He’ll remember everything.”
“Please let me go,” I cried, panicking. In that instant, Gallatin’s eyes found me.
“Prentiss!” He tried to sit up, but his face contorted in pain. “What happened?”
“Gallatin!” I twisted around in Soso’s arms.
My struggles had gotten me far enough that I was standing, facing him with my back pressed against the alien soldier’s chest. Soso’s arm was across the front of my shoulders, and like a light switching on in my head, I saw what I had to do. I dropped my chin and bit as hard as I could into his firm alien flesh.
He shrieked, and released me. I almost fell forward, but quickly I caught myself and in two steps, I was at the metal counter where Gallatin was recovering quickly. I noticed the swelling had left his eye and the ugly maroon bruise on his chin faded.
“Little rat!” Soso muttered, but I didn’t care.
Gallatin sat up now, and he smiled as his hands smoothed back my wild hairs. “I said you were an amazing person.”
I leaned forward and kissed his lips, but Cato interrupted us. “Gallatin. We don’t have time—”
“I’m not leaving.” He looked up at her. “You can take the ship and the rest of the crew to Quadrex, but I’m staying here. With Prentiss.”
Cato’s mouth dropped open, and she looked around the room in astonishment. “You cannot do that! Gallatin! This is madness. Don’t you understand?”
“I can, and I will. Now go to the ship. I’ll count to ten and erase the final humans.”
“But…” I started.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll protect your memories.”
“I order you to return to the ship.” Cato’s hands were on her hips and the way her floor-length robe fell behind her reminded me of the shell on a great white beetle.
Gallatin turned now and lowered his legs to the floor, standing before her and clutching me to his side.
“I’m not under your command, Sister.”
“Gallatin. Why are you doing this? I know your feelings are strong, but you must be reasonable. Think of Acona—”
“As a member of the Guard, I’m no longer a threat to my uncle’s sovereignty. If he tries to move on me, he’ll bring down the wrath of the eight remaining Guardsmen.”
“That didn’t stop him from killing your grandfather.”
I looked around them and noticed Ove
tt watching this discussion with curious interest. Suddenly he stepped forward and touched Cato’s arm.
“Your grace,” his voice lowered. “He’s right. Acona would not dare attack your brother so soon. He still denies any involvement in Bude’s death, and that would expose him to the entire Guard.”
“This goes beyond the Guard,” she countered. “Your pledge of celibacy protected you, but when word of this gets out… Any of your offspring are a threat to him.”
She spoke so low and so fast, I didn’t have time to be embarrassed that she was discussing my possible future sex life in front of the entire group. In one pivot, Gallatin faced me. He dropped his cheek to my temple as if to create our own personal space.
“She’s right,” he whispered directly into my ear as my eyes traveled over his shoulder from one serious face to the next. Then his voice became tender. “Will you go with me, Prentiss?”
“I—” Fear choked my voice.
It was all happening so fast, and I was terrified—of space, of his uncle, of what it all meant. I wasn’t even sure what it all meant. Tears blurred my eyes, but my grip on his shirt tightened. One thing I did know for sure, I wasn’t letting him leave me again.
He lifted his head and glanced at my face. Then he smiled. “It’s okay.”
He turned back to Cato. “What you’re saying is right, but I can’t expect Prentiss to accept all of this so fast. We’ll stay back while she adjusts to the idea.”
Cato flashed a look at me, and I shrunk back against Gallatin. “How long,” she said. It wasn’t a question.
He matched her tone. “As long as she needs.” Then he softened. “We’ll catch up with you, sister. I promise.”
“And how will you do that?”
“I’ll be in contact. We’ll figure it out.”
Cato’s clear blue eyes sparkled as she stepped toward her brother. “Very well. We’ll leave you here for now, but I’ll be back to get you before this is over.”
“We’ll discuss it at a calmer time.” Gallatin stood straighter.
“Yes, calmer. Keep your thoughts relaxed as I will mine. We’ll be in communication.”
