by Tracey Ward
“All opposed?” I ask.
Alex, Beck, Britta, and Justin raise their hands.
“Four to five. Priority number one is Jokinen.”
“Hold on,” Justin insists. “What about the people upstairs?”
I close my eyes briefly. “I forgot about them.”
“Their vote counts too.”
“I know, but—’
“Stewart didn’t vote,” Beck points out.
Stewart looks up from a puzzle he’s been working at the table. “What are we voting on?”
“Whether or not to free slaves.”
I sigh. “It’s not as simple as that.”
“Yes,” Stewart answers immediately.
“Yes what?”
“Yes. We should free the slaves. People shouldn’t be slaves. It’s wrong.”
“Five to five,” Alex tells me.
I laugh incredulously. “He doesn’t understand the other side of it. He’s voting that slavery is bad. If that were the issue, we’d all agree, but it’s not.”
“What don’t I understand?” Stewart asks curiously.
“We’re debating whether or not we should free ourselves first,” Britta explains clearly, “or free the slaves first.”
“But we’re already free.”
“Only kind of. Bad people are chasing us and, if they catch us, they’ll put us in prison. We’ll be slaves too.”
“So we want to do away with the guy trapping everyone so we’ll be free and no one else will ever have to be afraid of him again,” I explain.
Stewart thinks it over carefully, his mouth falling into a sharp frown. “We’re freer than the other people?”
“Way freer,” Alex tells him.
Campbell shakes his head. “There’s so much wrong with what you just said.”
“Shut up,” she hisses angrily. “This isn’t about my grammar. It’s about saving lives.”
“We should free people,” Stewart decides. He turns back to his puzzle, instantly finished with us.
“Five-five,” Justin echoes Alex.
“Fine,” I concede with a shrug. “We’ll take the vote to Liam and Gwen when he wakes up.”
“And Naomi.”
For someone who demanded equal rights for every member of the team, Alex looks unsure. Unsettled. Does Naomi’s illness preclude her from voting reasonably? Or is she so far gone she can’t understand the situation clearly? Is she so deep inside her horror that she’ll choose the wrong thing simply because it’s the wrong thing?
I’m with Alex; undecided.
∞
When all votes are taken, Jokinen is our main objective; seven to five. Gwen and Liam sided with me while Naomi stared at me. For a long, silent time. It was a good talk. I really enjoyed it.
Jonnie starts making trips to the base to look for signs of Jokinen twice a day. Three days later and we have nothing new. We’re also running out of supplies, our group draining her resources rapidly. After doing a quick inventory, it’s agreed that we need to make a supply run.
“Where do you go?” Alex asks Jonnie, scanning the list we’ve created standing around the kitchen opening and closing empty cupboards.
“Te Anau. It’s a city on the other side of the Sound. The closest one with a supermarket.”
“Big town?” I ask casually.
She wobbles her hand. “Big for the area.”
“Is it a tourist area? Are there shops?”
Campbell laughs. “Are you looking to buy some souvenirs, Carver?”
“I’m debating whether or not it’s big enough that any of us could blend in if we went with her,” I lie, tucking my hands inside my pockets. Wrapping my fingers around the stones tightly. “I think it’d be better if she didn’t go alone. None of us should be alone right now.”
“It’s big enough that a stranger wouldn’t be noticed,” Jonnie promises. “There are boat tours that come up and down Doubtful Sound all the time. They launch from a smaller town, but Te Anau is the hub. It’s where the hotels are.”
“Good. I’ll go with you. I’d like to see it. Get a feel for where we are and what our escape route is like if something goes wrong with Alex or Liam’s abilities.”
“Like getting stabbed or tranq darted?” Alex clarifies.
“Those two things, yes. And about a hundred others I can think of.”
“Am I dead in any of those scenarios you’re imagining?”
That feels like a trick. I’m not very smart when it comes to women, Alex is my first real relationship, but even a novice like me can read the signs flashing around that question. And they all say essentially the same thing – DANGER.
I clear my throat, carefully laying a piece of cheese on top of some ham. “Anything could happen.”
“Ehhh!” Campbell screeches loudly, like a buzzer on a game show I don’t remember asking to go on. “Wrong answer, man, but solid try.”
I drop my shoulders dejectedly. “What was the right answer?”
“‘In my mind you never die because I wouldn’t be able to keep living without you’,” Campbell answers in a mocking, Shakespearean drawl. He shrugs, dropping the act. “Or some crap like that.”
I glance at Alex, looking for conformation.
She smiles, nodding slightly.
I curse under my breath, pissed that Campbell of all people is somehow better at this than I am.
“You get an A for effort,” Alex promises.
“Will you put it on the fridge for me because you’re so proud?”
She snorts. “No way. That’s like a participation trophy. You don’t get awards in a relationship just for showing up.”
“What if I show up with brownies?”
She smiles at me, her eyes light and sparkling. Beautiful. “If you show up with brownies, you get a friggin’ medal.”
“Now I have to go into town. I need brownies.”
“I’ll go get your brownies,” Campbell offers. “You stay here and work on winning more awards. Maybe you can get a ribbon for whittling a lovely wooden box she can store your balls in.”
“At least I have someone that wants my balls.”
Alex swats at my shoulder. “Nick!”
“What? I meant wants them to keep them in a box, not wants them wants them.”
“Wants them wants them where?” Campbell asks curiously. “Because a ball in the hand is worth two in the—”
“Nope!” Alex yells. “Nick, quit while you’re behind. Campbell, knock it off. All of it. Everything you are and do, just stop. Just for a minute.”
“Well,” Jonnie says awkwardly. “I’m heading out. If anyone is coming with me, you better be ready in ten.”
Campbell raises his hand. “Me. I’m in.”
“Okay.”
Alex looks at her sympathetically. “I’m so sorry.”
“For what?” Jonnie chuckles.
“For what you’re about to go through. Remember, if he goes too far, and he will go too far, you can always slap him. In fact, you should give it a shot right now so it feels more natural later.”
I reach for the list in front of Alex, shaking my head. “He’s not going with her. I am.”
“Says who?” Campbell demands.
“Me. I just said it. You’re supposed to be sleeping right now anyway.”
“So is Jonnie.”
“Yeah, but I need her. I don’t need you.”
“Harsh, dude. That’s really harsh.”
“I’ll make it up to you later.”
“I want flowers. Roses.”
“You’ll get daisies and you’ll like it.” I stand, folding the list and sliding it into my pocket. “Get some sleep. We’ll be back by the time you wake up.”
“Whatever you say,” he mutters sarcastically.
I look at him impatiently. “What is with that lately?”
He shakes his head innocently. “I don’t know what you mean. Sir.”
“That. Right there. That’s what I mean. Every time I ask you
to do something, you get all butthurt.”
He slides down off the counter, his face stone serious. “No. You don’t ask. You tell. You order. Every time. ‘Campbell, go do this. Campbell, go do that. Campbell, shine my boots. Hospital corners on that mattress, soldier’!”
“Now you’re being dramatic for fun,” I mutter dismissively, heading into the living room.
He’s not having it. He follows right on my heels. “You keep barking orders at me like you’re Colonel Carver, but you’re not, man. We’re the same rank.”
“Is that what this is? You feel like I’m acting like I outrank you?”
“No, I don’t feel like you’re doing it. I’m not a preteen girl talking about how your words make me feel. I know you’re giving me orders. You snap them at me like you’re my superior and I’m honestly curious if you think you are.”
“I don’t.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“The fact that you can turn a rock into a killer whale that flies across the sky doesn’t make you think you’re superior to me at all?”
I stop to consider his question. To ask myself if that’s true. Do I think I’m better than Campbell? Do I think I’m better than anybody? I definitely think I’m better at things than other people, but on the whole, I don’t believe I’m superior to anyone.
“No,” I answer honestly. “But I’m starting to think you do.”
“Stop giving me orders,” he demands.
I sigh impatiently. “I don’t give orders.”
“You order everybody around all day. Doing it to them is fine, I don’t care, but you’re not above me, Carver. I don’t care if you can eat the moon and poop diamond dust from it, you’re not my superior. Stop acting like you are.”
I hesitate, wondering if he could be right. I think about the things I’ve asked people to do lately and it hits me that, yeah, I don’t actually ask. I tell. But why would I ask someone to do something that they imperatively have to do? It’d be like asking people, if it’s not too much bother, could they keep on breathing and living. That’d be great.
It’s ridiculous.
“You know it, don’t you?” Campbell asks quietly, watching my face as I work myself out. “You just realized I’m right.”
“I wouldn’t say you’re right,” I reply stubbornly, swallowing hard. “More like you could be correct.”
“Same thing.”
“But it doesn’t sound the same and that’s what’s getting me through this.” I shrug my shoulders, offering him my hand. “I’m sorry, dude. I didn’t realize I was doing it, but if it bothers you, I’ll stop.”
Campbell nods, taking my hand firmly in his. “Good. Thanks.”
“Yeah, no problem. So, will you stay here while I go with Jonnie into town?”
“I will. Thanks for asking.”
“Thanks for making my life difficult at every turn.”
“I’m a giver Carver,” he tells me solemnly, wrapping his arms around me and hugging me hard. Making me squirm for the fun of it. “It’s what I do.”
“Get off me,” I growl.
“Shh,” he whispers against my ear. “In a second. I’m almost finished.”
“Oh my God. I will shoot you. I swear I will.”
“Don’t fight it. Get into it. Feel the vibes. They’re all good, bro.”
“I want a divorce.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
MAX
Nick and Jonnie head into town together as soon as the rain starts to slow. It’s the first time it’s given us a break since we got here. Beck and I help them load the boat into the back of the truck, Beck doing most of the work. I literally do it for show, trying to look helpful without actually having to be.
“Good thing that rain let up,” Beck comments, slamming the tailgate shut.
Jonnie looks up at the sky. It’s breaking, the clouds clearing rapidly, unveiling a crystal clear blue tapestry underneath. “Weather forecast says it’s not supposed to rain again for another few days. We have to make the most of the break while we have it.”
I lean against the truck a few feet away from her. “How long do you think you’ll be gone? When should we start to worry?”
“It’ll take us almost an hour to shop. Forty minutes to get there, forty minutes to get back. The charter boat with everything on it will come late tonight so we won’t have to wait for it. We’ll go back to get everything when it shows up.”
“Two and a half hours then? Give or take?”
“Give or take. Yeah.”
“We’ll watch the clock.” I lean past her to open her door for her. To get close to her, my hand resting on her hip as I invade her space, for both our benefits.
She smells like the land. Like dry hay and wet earth. It’s definitely not a perfume I’ve smelled before, and I’ve smelled a lot of them, but it’s immediately one of my favorites. I grin at her as I step back, noting the misty look to her eyes. Her breath coming slow and deep from between her open lips. From my proximity.
“How long before you’ll start to miss me?” I ask her in a hushed tone, my face perilously close to hers.
She goes rigid under my hand. “Educated guess? Years.”
“Savage,” I wince.
“Oh no,” she laments sarcastically. “Did that hurt your feelings?”
“It did a little.”
And the weird thing is, it did.
“How long until you miss me?” she fires back.
I surprise us both when I kiss her softly on the cheek. “I already do.”
I step back, letting go of her. Feeling a little off balance. Off my game. I honestly don’t know for sure what one I’m playing anymore. “Drive safe,” I tell her earnestly.
Jonnie grins, her eyes unsure. “Yeah. You too.”
“You bet.”
“I mean, be safe,” she corrects on a chuckle. “Stay safe.”
“I got it.”
“Okay.”
“Bye.”
She rolls her eyes at both of us, turning her back on me. “Bye.”
Beck and I wave as we watch them go. As they pull out of the gate and onto the bumpy road to the dock. I glance at my watch, noting the time. Two twenty-eight. They should be back by five.
I slap Beck on the back. “What do you think, Big Man? Surveillance room?”
“Definitely,” he agrees immediately. “I love computer duty.”
“Seriously? You’re into computers?”
“I’ve built a few. Not very many. I like taking them apart better.”
“I did not know that about you. It makes me like you better.”
“Because it makes me nerdier?” he jokes.
I smile. “Everyone could use to be a little nerdier.”
Beck and I play with the surveillance system for about an hour before I get bored. I should be asleep, but I won’t go down until Jonnie and Nick are back. I leave Beck to it in the small surveillance room filled with monitors tracking the situation outside the fence, and I take a walk. I want to check on the house and what’s going on inside since he’s got a clear picture of what’s happening outside. With the computers and cameras, we’re covered better here than we ever have been before and it should be a relief, but for some reason, it’s not. I have a rolling feeling of dread in my stomach, one I can’t shake no matter how many times we cycle through the camera feeds and verify we’re clear. It started when we got back into the house after Nick and Jonnie left, and I regret not fighting Nick harder about going with Jonnie to town. I’m worried about her. About him. I’m worried about the clear skies that are slowly turning cloudier with every shift of the camera angle. Her weather read was wrong; the rain isn’t finished with us yet.
I stroll through the house, checking windows and locks on any point of entry, counting heads to make sure we’re all present and accounted for. Trina is reading a book in the corner of the library. Justin is on a couch on the opposite wall, book in hand. Brody is in the living room napping on the c
ouch by the fire. Stewart is finishing his puzzle with Britta in the dining room, the thousand piece monstrosity finally taking shape. I find Alex in the kitchen doing dishes when I come in to steal a slice of turkey left over from lunch.
Everything is normal. Everyone looks relaxed, but do they really feel that way? Or do they feel like I do? Afraid for no reason.
“What’s the timer on our people?” Alex asks, rinsing the soap off a green ceramic plate.
I glance at my watch. “They’ve been gone an hour.”
“And she said it could take three,” she tells herself, like she’s reminding herself to be calm. To not be afraid.
I guess that answers my question. I’m not the only one feeling anxious for no reason.
“They’re gonna be fine. Jonnie has done this a hundred times.”
“Not with Nick, she hasn’t.”
“The fact that he’s with her now should make you more confident.”
She grimaces, scrubbing at a pan a little too hard. With too much purpose.
“Are you jealous, SB?”
Alex lowers the pan with a loud clatter. She looks over her shoulder at me, laughing awkwardly. “No. Why would I be jealous?”
“Because a pretty girl with cooler powers than you is hanging out with your boyfriend right now.”
“You think she’s pretty?”
“You think she’s not?”
Alex bites her lips together tightly, glaring at me. “She’s kind of pretty.”
“And stronger than you.”
“I don’t know if I’d go that far.”
“Really? I would.”
“You just did.”
“Yeah,” I reply thoughtfully, stuffing another slice of turkey in my mouth. “I guess I did. Did I mention how pretty she is? Oh, I did, didn’t I? But did I say that not only is she pretty, she’s prettier than you, on top of being stronger? And cooler?”
Alex turns off the water, grabbing a towel. She comes around to face me. Taking slow steps toward me. “You think she’s stronger than me, huh?” she taunts quietly. “You think her power is cooler?”
“Yeah. I do.”
“Huh.”
My head starts to feel fuzzy. Thick.
I stand up straight, shaking it to clear it. To clear her out of it. “Knock it off,” I warn her.
