I couldn’t help but giggle. Mom looked at me with wide-eyed confusion. “What’s so funny about that?”
“A water balloon started this! A stupid, stinkin’ water balloon!”
Mom thought about it for a moment then burst out laughing too. Even Cain couldn’t help himself, and his whole body shook as his sing-song laugh filled the van.
• • •
It was evening again before we got to the next house. Instead of a farm like Jordyn’s parents’ place, this one was in the middle of a neighborhood. I started to question whether hiding in such an exposed area was a good idea when I noticed the state of all the houses.
Moss as thick as human hair covered the roofs, blanketing the neighborhood in green. Turned-over garbage cans and children’s toys sprinkled the lawns, both stained brown with neglect. A couple brown cats wandered aimlessly through the wreckage, like the survivors of a plane crash desperately searching for food and answers to why they had lived when so many others were gone. Someone had nailed boards over most of the doors. Most were blank, but a few had the words “keep out” sprayed across them in scraggly red letters. My guess was whoever shut the houses did it to keep squatters out.
The owners must have left in a hurry.
We pulled around to the backyard of one house that looked like all the others, down to the boarded-up door. I wondered why they kept the house looking empty, but then realized it was a perfect disguise.
Cain slowed the truck to a stop and we all leaped out. A woman and a man who looked about in their late seventies greeted us with a friendly wave but just as quickly shuffled us inside, putting their fingers to their lips to keep us quiet. The woman wore a knitted purple hat that fit snuggly over her head, only letting the ends of her gray curls peek out from under it. When she reached toward me to guide me inside, I noticed bright red nail polish glossed her fingernails. Each thumb had a yellow flower with a rhinestone in the middle. I decided I liked her immediately.
The man, who I guessed was her husband, wore overalls with just an undershirt. Flaps of loose skin fell from his arms that were probably once filled with the muscles of a man who worked too hard for too long. Something sparkled at me from his overall straps. On closer inspection, I realized he had punched a hole in each strap and stuck a cufflink through each hole. They had the words “U.S. Navy” stamped into the metal, and I smiled, thinking that even though the government had gone crazy, he still wore them, probably remembering the days before the violence, the death, and the bill. I guess you don’t have to believe in your government to believe in your country. A suit and tie wouldn’t have made him look any more wonderful than he did to me at that moment.
Once the man safely dead-bolted the door behind us, we all exhaled and introduced ourselves. Hannah and Charlie were new to the safe house chain. Their granddaughter had been taken from her mother a couple years before. And more recently, a little boy sort of fell into their laps, making volunteering to be a safe house the next logical step. “He’s upstairs, should be down in a minute.” Hannah opened an ice chest and presented each of us with a crisp, cold water bottle. I drank mine gratefully, and the water disappeared before the bottle left my lips. “We were just at the market one day, loading some groceries into our truck, when a boy ran around the corner and knocked right into us. He explained that three Taskforce Officers along with local police were chasing after him. White as a ghost he was. Charlie and I looked at each other and knew we couldn’t turn him away. He hopped in our trunk and those Officers ran right on by. Been staying with us ever since. We’re trying to figure out the best way to get him safely back to his family.”
When they mentioned the little boy, Jordyn’s eyes glossed over. Every little boy could be one of her little brothers. She inhaled, perhaps to ask his name, but stopped herself. After all, her brothers were twins. There wouldn’t be just one.
“Xander! Come downstairs and meet our guests!” Hannah called in a voice that sounded like singing. As soon as the name escaped Hannah’s lips, Jordyn’s knees buckled. Xander wasn’t exactly a common name.
Pounding footsteps brought a boy about ten years old down the stairs to stand in front of us. His jet black hair was the same as Jordyn’s, and their eyes were identical too.
“Oh my gosh! Xander? It can’t be! Xander, is that you?” Xander ran and threw his arms around his sister. Both sobbed uncontrollably, and they probably hurt from smiling so hard. They just lay huddled on the floor, hugging each other tightly. It was nice to see someone shaking from happiness instead of fear for a change. “I thought I was never gonna see you again! Where’s Mommy and Dad?”
Jordyn grabbed Xander by the cheeks. “We’ll get you back soon. You’re safe now. As soon as I’m done with this job, we’re going to go to them. No one’s ever going to take you away again, you hear me? Mom and Dad will be so happy! I wish I could call them!” They embraced.
Mom and Bo were both tearing up too, and if I looked really hard, I could see dampness in even Cain’s eyes.
I didn’t want to spoil the moment, but I wondered if anyone else was thinking the same thing I was: Where was the other twin? Where was Matthew? Xander answered before I asked it. “They took Matthew. They were gonna take all of us.”
Jordyn’s face hardened. “Where were they taking you? What happened?”
I looked around at all the faces in the kitchen. Except for Bo’s…he turned away the second Xander opened his mouth. As for the rest, everyone folded their arms or swallowed hard and braced themselves for the story that was about to be told.
Xander began:
We couldn’t sleep that night. Matthew’s bed was across from mine, and I’d been lying there staring at the underside of my blanket. I thought I was the only one, then Matthew peeked out from under his. I could just see his eyes and the tips of his fingers. “Psssst…Xander? You awake? I can’t sleep.”
I smiled. “Of course,” I whispered. “You know I can’t sleep in this place. I’m surprised you ever can. Too much creaking. Everything here creaks. Even the creaks creak.”
“Not like at home, huh?” Matthew frowned. “I wanna go home.”
I leaned up in bed and told him to shush. “Dude, keep your voice down. We can’t get in trouble again, okay?” Poor Matthew. He was already scared, then I had to go and talk to him like that. I felt like a big jerk, so I tried to make him forget it. “Hey, remember when Jordyn used to make us those cool slingshots? Your rocks always went farther than mine.”
Matthew smiled. “Yeah, I thought you always let me win though.”
“Naw, dude! You really had better aim than me. Mine always bounced off trees and stuff.”
“Ha, you said you meant to do that!”
I whispered, “When we see Jordyn again, don’t tell her, okay?” I reached out for Matthew’s hand. “Shake on it?”
He took it.
We must have dozed off finally because the bell woke us up. The only time it rang was to tell us to get up for class or that it was time for dinner. Matthew and I both sat up in bed and looked outside. It was still pitch black dark. “What’s going on?” He shook his head.
A supervisor came into the room and told us to grab our coats. “We’re going outside,” he said.
A kid next to us whispered, “In the middle of the night?”
“Yes.” The supervisor looked at us like being woken up in the middle of the night to go outside in the cold was no big deal. I knew something was up.
When we started down the long hallway, Matthew grabbed my hand. “Don’t let go of me, okay?” He squeezed it.
“I won’t, I swear.”
We rounded the corner of the school, and I realized they were taking us to the parking lot. A bunch of big white vans were waiting there for us.
“Something’s wrong, I can feel it.” The vans got closer. “When I tell you to, do what I do, ‘kay?”
Matthew nodded.
We ended up in front of the two vans at the end of the line. One supervisor gr
abbed Matthew, and one grabbed me. As soon as she pulled on my arm, I kicked her as hard as I could and ran. “Go!” I shouted.
I ran between supervisors, but they couldn’t catch me. I was halfway through the grassy field by the school when I saw Matthew wasn’t next to me. I stopped. He was still with the supervisors, and now one was on either side of him.
“Come on! Run!”
The supervisors that had chased after me were getting closer.
“Go on! Find Mom and Dad! Come back for me!” Matthew shouted, wriggling in the supervisors’ arms.
I didn’t want to, I swear, but I turned around and ran like he said.
The sirens were so loud and the supervisors ran after me, but I hid. After that, I just walked for I don’t know how long. I ate out of dumpsters and slept wherever I could. I had no idea how to get home.
The police almost got me at the grocery store where Hannah and Charlie rescued me. The grocery store had the address posted on the window; that’s how I finally figured out how far I had gotten from the school. If it hadn’t been for Hannah and Charlie, they would have got me for sure. Then who knows?
***
Jordyn gently released herself from her brother’s grasp and threw her arms around our new friends. “Thank you. Thank you so much for saving my brother.” She squeezed them so tight I thought their eyes would pop out.
Hannah smiled. “Of course, dear. He’s a great young man. We are happy to have him.”
Charlie nodded. “He is wonderful. But now I think we all must get to bed. You must be exhausted. There are several rooms upstairs. Some of you will have to share, but they’ve all got fresh sheets. Get some sleep.” We all followed them upstairs. Hannah and Charlie’s room was on the bottom floor, and they waved as they went back down to their bedroom.
No lights were allowed in the house, which made sense because the point was to make sure nobody knew any of us were there. The simple flicker of one candle would possibly kill us all.
I found a room at the end of the hallway and claimed it as my own. Mom started to follow me inside, but I told her, “Mom, it’s okay. Go stay with Bo. I’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure, sweetie?” I wasn’t sure if she was asking for me or for her.
“Mom, go stay with Bo. You guys could use some time.” I winked at her and slipped behind the door to the bedroom. My blood still boiled when I thought about Bo keeping secrets, don’t get me wrong. He should have told my mom everything he knew about where the kids were being sent and the law being changed, all of it. But he had helped save me from being shipped off to who knows where, so I chose to focus on that part of him too. Seriously, if I could see both sides of Cain, I could for sure see both sides of Bo. Besides, he loved my mom. And even with all his half-truths, he treated her better than my dad ever did.
I purposely left the door open just enough to peek through and see if Mom listened to my advice. I smiled when she slowly opened the door of the room across from me, Bo’s room, and stepped inside. I didn’t even realize Cain was still in the hallway until he started laughing at my spying and took the third room with Jordyn and Xander.
Though I did want my mom to have some time with Bo, I also made the suggestion for myself. I hadn’t been alone since what happened with Harlow, other than when I was in the woods with Cain. Being alone in a nice cozy bedroom was a little different. I wanted time to at least try to process what Harlow had done without a bunch of people hovering over me. I just wanted a bed to curl up in and to hide from the image of his face that kept looking at me—privately. I knew if one more person asked me if I was okay, I would just scream. I was almost raped. I may never be okay again. Sure, with time, maybe the fear that had hardened deep inside me would fade a little, but every time I heard the snap of a drawer or felt the breath of someone standing too close, I was sure I would always see his face.
I barely found my way to the bed in the dark bedroom, but once I did, I wished I never had to leave. The crisp, cool sheets lying against my skin was the first time I had a sense of normalcy since we left our home and started our journey. I tried to stay awake to enjoy it for as long as possible, but I fell asleep the second my head hit the pillow. No nightmares came.
A creaking of a floorboard brought them back.
Lying there, I suddenly wished I hadn’t sent my mom away. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that I was still sleeping and the sound I heard wasn’t footsteps on the floor around my bed. The creaking was even, steady. I heard it come closer.
I held my breath and tried to remember my surroundings. There was a desk in the far corner of the room with scissors on it, but they were too far to be of any use to me. By the time I rose and went for it, the intruder would be on top of me. Maybe Harlow wasn’t dead like Cain told me. Maybe he had followed us and was coming after me again.
Then I remembered the nightstand next to the bed. It was positioned on the same side I happened to be facing. There was a lamp sitting on top of it, without a bulb, metal and heavy-looking. I remembered it because I thought Hannah was weird to have a lamp she could never use. That lamp was my best shot.
I sucked in a breath and shot forward, leaving the bed and grabbing the lamp in one swoop. I turned to face my attacker with my feet planted just slightly away from each other, knees bent, perfect attack position.
In the darkness, Cain whispered. “Very good.”
My heart fluttered, but my breath came back to me. “You scared me half to death! I can’t believe you did that!” I continued to lecture him as I turned around to put the lamp back, not quite sure why I was bothering to plug it in. I didn’t realize ‘til after I plugged in the lamp and set it back in its place just right that Cain had already slipped out of the room.
Furious, but somehow empowered, I slept clear through the rest of the night. Maybe there would be a time where I would forget what Harlow’s face looked like. Because I had just proven that even in my sleep, I could pay attention to the world around me and be ready for a fight.
I had just passed lesson two.
CHAPTER TEN
The smell of pancakes and bacon woke me from my slumber the next morning. I hadn’t smelled pancakes since Dad left, but I would recognize the rich sweetness anywhere. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I realized the smell wasn’t coming from the kitchen, but from the backyard.
I emerged from the house to see everyone siting around a fire, like we were camping. I said hello to everyone and sat down next to my mom, who was holding Bo’s hand. Whatever they talked about the night before must have gotten him back on good terms with her. I giggled and found myself on the receiving end of a strict “shush.”
I ignored her and kept giggling.
Hannah handed me a plate of pancakes. The natural sweetness surprised my mouth after so many granola bars and beans. I let it linger on my tongue before I swallowed it down. “How come you guys cook out here and not in the kitchen?” I asked.
Charlie answered between bites. “We don’t want anybody to know we’re still here if we can help it. If we use electricity, the electric company will know we’re here. They’re supposed to think we left with the rest of the neighborhood. Most of our neighbors left when they set up the Taskforce, most having young kids and all. The rest trickled out after that. That’s why we do our bathin’ in the creek out back too. It’s cold but it gets the job done. Portable toilet’s back there too if you have to do your business.”
I laughed at the way he described going to the bathroom. Everybody did the same business so I don’t know why people need a code for it. But older people seemed to have a way of being overly proper, and there wasn’t exactly an overflow of manners floating around anymore, so its charm wasn’t lost on me.
Suddenly, Jordyn stood up, tall and proud, as if she had something very important to share.
I waited as our group fell silent.
“Charlie, Hannah, I wanted to ask you both something. Cain and I talked about it last night, and we were hoping that you both wo
uld come with us to the compound. You’ve been so wonderful to my brother and we would love to have you with us.”
Bo dropped his fork on his plate, making a loud clang that cracked through the air, but didn’t say anything. His lips parted a little though, and I thought the food might topple out of this mouth.
Hannah smiled, and her glowing white teeth sparkled in the morning sunshine. “Thank you, dear, really. But this is our home. We raised our children here. The last memory that we have of our granddaughter is here. We appreciate your offerin’ though.” She looked at Charlie and he nodded, grabbing her hand. He still wore his cufflinks.
Jordyn looked at them both, as if she might argue with them, but the steadiness of their faces and the grip of their hands let all of us know that there would be no changing their minds. “Okay, if you’re sure. Just please be careful.” Jordyn got up and embraced them both. So did Xander.
Xander looked up at his sister. “Do we have to leave right away?”
Jordyn looked at Cain before answering. She knelt down and looked her brother in the eyes. “We have to leave by tomorrow. But we can stay here for today.”
“YAY!” Xander threw his arms around his sister, then Cain. “I’m gonna go get my board game. We can all play it!” He ran inside, feet clopping up the stairs of the porch and back into the kitchen. He almost managed to stumble over his shoelaces as he went but righted himself at the last moment.
Bo went off to take the first bath in the creek, and the rest of us helped Hannah and Charlie clean up. Dirty dishes went into a cooler to be washed later, after we all had our turn in the creek. Nobody wanted to step on a soggy pancake when they were bathing themselves.
Hannah sat in a rocking chair after breakfast, knitting herself what looked like a scarf. I saw that her windows, now shut tight and covered with thick blinds, used to face the neighborhood. I imagined at one point she could watch as children rode their bikes around the cul-de-sac as she knitted. But now, even if she could have opened the blinds, there would be nothing but overgrown plants and asphalt.
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