Jordan walked up beside Levi and stopped, the bridge board under his arm. “I could jump that.”
He probably could. “But you won’t,” Levi said.
“I won’t. But I could. And my board is bigger.” Jordan hefted it out until it crossed the gap, then he moved it until it was right next to Penny’s board. Jordan’s was twice as wide.
“Levi,” a voice called out from the other roof. “Mason?”
Levi scanned the roof of the school and spotted Penny and Nell standing by a shed that looked like the access to the stairs. Nell squealed and jumped up and down. Levi waved and set his finger against his lips.
“Girls,” Jordan mumbled. “If we make it out of here with everyone, it will be a miracle.”
“Then pray for a miracle,” Mason said.
Indeed. Jemma had promised to have the women praying all night, but Levi tossed up a quick prayer of his own.
“So what am I supposed to do?” Farran asked. He’d been planning to act as the doorman downstairs and Nash as the lookout, but the tiny uniform had changed their plans.
“Cross over with us and perch on the edge of the roof overlooking the courtyard,” Ruston said. “You see trouble, talk to Zane, who’ll talk to me.”
While Ruston was coaching Farran, Levi holstered his SimScanner and crossed the board. Penny ran to him and gave him a tight hug.
“I’m so glad to see you,” she said.
Nell joined their hug, making it a threesome. Until Jordan and Mason crossed the board, then they each got double hugs as well.
“What’s the plan, Pen?” Levi asked.
“Nell and I are the only two girl thirteens. The thirteens and the twelves have their dorm on the fifth floor. The tens and elevens share, then the sevens, eights, and nines share — and both those dorms are on the fourth floor. Then the threes, fours, fives, and sixes are together on the third floor.”
Should Levi have memorized that?
“Is that the same for the boys?” Mason asked.
“Yeah,” Penny said. “Dakav and Etu, and Trevon, Jake, and Sakima are going to sneak out on their own and meet us in the courtyard, but you’ll have to go back for Joey and Brian and the Jack’s Peak boys. There’s six boys in the littles.”
“That’s what we call the three-to-six-year-olds,” Nell said.
“And the girls?” Levi asked. “You were able to warn them all?”
“Yep,” Penny said. “They should be waiting, if they didn’t accidentally fall asleep.”
“Are the dorm rooms locked?” Mason asked.
“Not the rooms, but the buildings are. That’s why I wanted the bigger boys to help, so they could prop open the door to the boys’ building.”
“And what about guards?” Ruston asked.
“There are two, but they only guard the front entrance to the school.”
“They play Wyndo games all night,” Nell said.
Good. Levi would take any distraction he could get. “So, my team needs to get Meghan from the fifth floor — ”
“No, we got Meghan. She’s guarding in the stairwell.”
Penny would make a smart elder one day. Levi clarified, “So, my team needs to stop on four and three?”
“Two stops on four and one on three,” Pen said.
“And I only need to meet the boys in the courtyard, then go back up to three?” Mason asked.
“Right.”
Excellent. “Pen, lead the way,” Levi said.
Penny took them into the stairwell, where they met Meghan. After a quick hug, they followed Penny down two flights of stairs to the fourth floor.
“Ruth and Lucy’s room is on the left-hand side of the hallway,” she said. “And the Hs are on the right: Hailey, Heather, and Haiwee. You guys should wait in the stairwell. Nell will go and get Ruth and Lucy, and Meghan will get the Hs. Once the girls are out in the hall, get them upstairs. Then you guys should spit up. Levi and whoever can come back down with Nell to get the littles, while Jordan and whoever helps the girls cross the board. I’m going to take Mason and his team to the boys.”
“Pen, you’re so organized you could have gotten out weeks ago,” Levi said.
“Maybe. But I didn’t know where to go once I got out. Come on, Mason.”
Mason grabbed Levi’s shoulder. “Good luck, brother.”
“And to you,” Levi said.
Ruston stopped by Levi as he passed. “If you can free more children, we’ll provide for them.”
“I’ll try,” Levi said, though he didn’t see how to manage it when there was no time to try to explain who they were. Children would be terrified of strangers in the night trying to steal them from their beds.
Penny continued down the stairs with Mason, Beshup, and Ruston. Levi took out his SimScanner and followed Nell out into the dark hallway, but Nell waved him back.
“Just wait in the stairs,” she said. “If one of the caretakers comes out and sees girls, she’ll get mad at us. But if she sees a man, she’ll call the guards.”
“Okay,” Levi said, backing into the stairwell. Bossy things, these girls were.
Jordan had his SimScanner in hand too. “At least there’s a window in the door.”
“I hate leaving this up to them,” Levi said, “but I guess they know this place better than we do.”
Levi watched through the window, his heartbeat thudding in his ears. Finally Nell came out. But she had five girls, not two.
“How many was she supposed to bring?” Jordan asked.
“Two,” Levi said, cracking the door open.
Ruth came through first. She met Levi’s gaze and beamed. Again he set his finger over his lips. Girls were a bundle of squeals, weren’t they?
Next came the three strangers, then Lucy and Nell.
“What’s this?” Levi asked.
“This is Chetta, Ren, and Leebelle,” Lucy said. “They want out.”
“I hate it here,” one of the girls said. “The others are mean to me, and I love Lucy.”
Lucy hugged her and the girl hugged her back.
“Our caretaker makes me do more chores than anyone else,” another girl said.
“The boys are always picking on me,” said the third. “I hate boys. But not you, because you’re our heroes, like the Owl.”
“Do you know the Owl?” the second girl asked Levi.
“I do, actually,” Levi said. “He’s my brother.”
Nell squealed and clapped her hands. “I knew it was Omar! He’s obsessed with owls and — ”
Levi clamped a hand over Nell’s mouth. “Enough of this. Yes, you can all come, but only if you stop talking.” He turned to Jordan. “Run them upstairs. Start getting them across to the other roof. I’ll send Nodin up with the next bunch, then Yivan and I will follow with the third group.”
Jordan holstered his SimScanner and saluted him. “You got it, Elder Levi.” Then he started up the stairs with the girls.
Nell ran back out into the corridor. Levi watched through the window. After a few minutes, two of the Hs — the girls from Jack’s Peak — were coming back with Nell. Levi opened the door and the girls ran into the stairwell.
“Where is Hailey?” he asked Nell.
“She and her friend are trying to talk another girl into coming. The girl wants to come, but she’s scared. I’m afraid they’re going to wake the others.”
Levi looked to Nodin, then Yivan. “Stay here. Girls, we need silence.” Then he said to Nell, “Show me.”
Nell pattered down the hallway and into the dorm room. Levi followed and peeked in. It was dark, but he could hear the harsh whispers of girls to his left. His eyes adjusted, and he recognized Hailey. A quick scan of the room showed that the other girls were asleep.
He crept into the room and toward Hailey and her friends.
“Levi!” Hailey whispered. “She’s scared to come.”
Hailey and a second girl were standing beside the bed of a third, who was sitting cross-legged, tears running down her f
ace.
“Hailey, you and your friend stay with Nell and follow me, okay?”
She nodded, eyes wide, and cast one last longing look at the crying girl.
“I’m here to help you, okay?” Levi said to the girl. Then he scooped her up and ran toward the door. The girl squealed, and Levi had to toss her over his shoulder to get the door open. Once he was in the hall, he clamped a hand over her mouth and ran for the stairs. Nodin opened the door, and Levi ran into the stairwell and up a flight of stairs. He didn’t dare take his hand off the girl’s mouth. He couldn’t believe he’d taken her. It was such a stupid risk. Not to mention that he felt like he’d just abducted a little girl against her will. What had become of them all?
Ruston’s bleeding heart, anyway.
Levi ran all the way to the roof. Jordan was carrying Lucy across the plank, so he waited for Jordan to return. He looked down to the girl. “I’m not going to hurt you, okay? The scary part is over. We’re on the roof, and now we’re going to go across and then you’ll be safe with your friends. Can I let go of your mouth? Will you be quiet for me?”
She nodded, eyes wide.
Hailey arrived beside him as he set the girl on her feet and released his hand from her mouth. The girl’s bottom lip started to tremble.
“What’s her name?” Levi asked.
“Kittie,” Hailey said.
“Kittie, watch this big guy walk across that plank.”
The little heads turned to look. Jordan stepped on the plank only twice as he came back.
“Jordan, this is Kittie,” Levi said. “She’s a little scared, so why don’t you take her first. She’s promised to be very quiet. Right, Kittie?”
Kittie only stared at Levi, her eyes as wide as chicken eggs.
Levi grabbed Nell’s arm and started back to the stairs. Nodin and Yivan were standing with the stairwell door opened, watching.
Levi waved them ahead. “Down to the third floor.”
Nell led the way, clomping down the stairs louder than Levi liked. They reached the third floor and Nell ran out into the hallway. Levi stopped at the door to watch through the window, and Yivan plowed into his back. The door banged.
Levi turned and glared at the boy.
Yivan shrank back. “Sorry.”
Levi waited at the window. The first child to appear was Sarajawea, a little girl from Jack’s Peak. She wandered aimlessly down the hall, dragging a pillow behind her.
Then Nell stepped out and waved Levi to come. Levi told Nodin to get Sarajawea into the stairwell, then ran to Nell.
“I think we need the other men to help too,” she said when he reached her. “They’re all sleeping, and I don’t know who’s who. I think I just woke up the wrong girl.”
Levi went back and told Yivan to sit with Sarajawea, then he brought Nodin with him into the girl’s dorm. Beds lined both long walls, but some of them were only bare mattresses on wire frames.
“They’re on this end,” Nell said, leading the way.
Of the five girls left, he was supposed to take two, but Levi could hardly see, and even if he could, he wasn’t sure he’d recognize Kaylee and Rosalie if he saw them.
“We’ll take them all,” he said. “Pick up a girl and carry her to the stairwell. Then come back for the last two. We’ve got to be quick and quiet, though. Can you do it, Nell?”
“I think so.”
“Good. You get this one closest to the door.”
Nell started to pick up a sleeping child, Nodin went for another, and Levi walked to the last bed in the row. He scooped up the little girl and held her close, hoping she’d sleep until he was in the stairwell.
They made it there safely, though Nell looked like she might drop her girl. Yivan and Sarajawea were sitting on the steps looking bored. Nodin passed them, taking his girl up to the roof.
“Yivan, help Nell,” Levi said, wishing his crew had a little more common sense.
Yivan jumped up and grabbed the little girl, but he got Nell’s shirt too and pulled her so hard that she fell onto her knees.
“Let go,” Nell cried.
Yivan put down the little girl, who started crying.
“That’s Rosalie.” Nell crouched down by the crying girl and rubbed her back. “Hey, Rosalie, don’t cry. We’re going to take you to your momma now.”
Levi winced. Rosalie’s mother, Susan, had died in the raid. Apparently Nell didn’t know that. But her words calmed Rosalie for the moment.
The girl Levi was holding shifted and opened her eyes, staring at him. He was pretty sure she wasn’t Kaylee.
“Yivan, take Rosalie upstairs. Sarajawea, can you walk? Go with Yivan and Rosalie?”
Sarajawea stood up, holding her pillow, and stared at Yivan. The boy picked up Rosalie and started up the stairs. Sarajawea followed.
“Okay, that’s three. And, Nell, if you take this one, that will be four.” Levi handed off the girl in his arms. “I’ll go and get the last two, but send someone down to help me, okay?”
“Okay, Levi.” Nell started up the stairs.
Levi opened the door and crept back to the dorm. He bent down and examined the first girl, then the second. They both had dark hair. He had no idea which was Kaylee.
He picked up one and set her on the edge of her bed. Her body slumped back over onto her side and she pulled for her blankets. Levi picked up the second girl and sat her on the edge of the first girl’s bed. This one stayed upright. He propped the first girl up again so that the girls were sitting side by side. He squatted before them, wrapped an arm around each, and stood. They were light, but the one on the left was slipping. He hefted them up and headed for the door.
He should have propped it open.
He pressed himself against the door, bending his knees until the backs on his fingers felt the knob. He strained to turn and pull at the same time, and only managed to make the door rattle. He thought about putting down the girls, opening the door, and picking them back up, but he kept at the knob until it finally bounced open far enough that he was able to jab his foot into the crack. He had to lean back to keep hold of the girls, but he managed to wedge his other knee into the crack and knock open the door enough to dart out.
He ran to the stairwell door, which was also closed, and set the girls on their feet. One of them started to cry. Levi opened the door and waved them through.
“Go to the stairs,” he whispered. Okay, Mr. Strange Man. Sure. He couldn’t blame the girl for being scared out of her mind.
The second girl stared up at him. “Are you Levi?”
Well, now he knew which one was Kaylee. “Yes. I’ve come to help you and your friend. Now go through the — ”
“You there! What are you doing with those girls?”
A woman stood at the opposite end of the hallway.
Levi shoved Kaylee and the crying girl into the stairwell. “Sit there, Kaylee. I’ll be right back.”
Levi shut the door and walked toward the woman. “Sorry, I’m a guard, and I heard a noise up here.” Yeah, that made a lot of sense. When he was close enough to know he couldn’t miss, he drew the SimScanner and fired. The woman screamed, clutched her hand to her chest. Her face distorted into an ugly grimace. She grunted and fell.
Levi holstered his weapon and carried the woman into the girls’ dorm. He laid her on one of the plain mattresses, then ran to the nearest made-up bed and ripped off the sheets. He didn’t have time to do much, but he whipped the top sheet into a long snake and used it to tie the woman’s hands to the wire headboard. He repeated the process with the fitted sheet, tying her feet to the footboard. By then she was coming to, moaning. He found a tiny stuffed cat and shoved its head into her mouth.
It would have to do.
He ran back into the hallway and sprinted to the stairwell. When he opened the door, the crying girl screamed.
“You hurt her! You hurt her!”
Perfect. Levi grabbed the girl and covered her mouth with his hand. “She’s not hurt, just sleeping. Sh
e’ll be fine.”
The girl jerked away and bit his finger. Levi growled and reapplied his hand in a way he hoped would keep her from opening her mouth. “Kaylee, come on. We have to run fast up these stairs.”
“Okay,” Kaylee said.
Levi ran up to the fourth floor, but when he turned back, Kaylee was taking her time, one hand on the rail.
“One step, stop.” She stepped up with her right foot, then brought her left foot to join it. “Two steps, stop.” Then she stepped with her left foot and brought her right to join it. “Three steps, stop.”
Oh, come on, little one. “Faster, Kaylee. Can you go faster?”
“Four steps, stop. Five steps, stop.” She increased her speed, but not her rhythm.
Levi would just have to come back for her. He ran up. Around the bend of the fourth floor, he met Nodin coming from above.
“Here,” Levi said. “She screams and bites, so be careful.” He handed off the girl, and she managed a quick screech before Nodin got a good grip on her mouth.
Levi ran back down until he found Kaylee.
“Seventeen steps, stop. Eighteen — ”
Levi tossed her over his shoulder and headed back up the stairs. Just as he passed the door to level five, it swung open.
“Who is out of bed?” a woman said.
Her eyes met Levi’s. He fumbled for his SimScanner, but he was holding Kaylee on his right shoulder and couldn’t grab it. The woman darted back inside.
“Intruders,” she yelled. “In the girls’ dorms. Come quickly to the fifth floor.”
If she had SimTalk, which she likely did, there was no point in chasing her down and stunning her. So Levi continued on, hoping Mason wasn’t far behind.
CHAPTER
27
Mason followed Penelope down the stairs, Ruston behind him, then Beshup. The SimScanner on his hip felt heavy and foreign, despite not being a killing weapon. He hoped he wouldn’t have to use it. This whole event had him terrified, not that he’d admit it aloud, especially within Levi’s hearing, but all he could think of was that day the enforcers had come to Glenrock and killed so many. Seeing his father and uncle die. Trying to save Papa Eli.
At the bottom of the stairwell, Penelope stopped at the exit door and turned to face them. “When we leave the building, whoever’s last, make sure you don’t kick out the stick that’s keeping the door propped open. Okay?” She looked from face to face, then pushed open the stairwell door and headed into the dark hallway.
Outcasts Page 30
