365 Days Hunted

by Nancy Isaak

  “Ohmigod!”

  “I know, right,” grinned Porter. “Kid is one of those little effeminate guys, apparently used to spend all his time baking in the kitchen with his mom. Got teased about it at school. Called a fairy and that f-word I don’t use. Now he’s like—our baking god.”

  The first bun disappeared within seconds. I took my time with the second bun, dipping it into the stew—savoring it.

  “You realize you’re moaning,” laughed Porter.

  “But everything is so good,” I said. “Please tell me this stew isn’t something disgusting like dog or cat.”

  “Relax. It’s deer meat.”

  I took another big spoonful, enjoying it way too much. “So sorry, Kaylee,” I groaned. “Please forgive me.”

  Porter looked confused. I grinned at him.

  “My girl is a vegetarian.”

  He immediately burst into laughter.

  * * * *

  There were five of us who visited Denny’s grave that afternoon—myself, Porter, Kieran, Rhys—and Frank.

  Denny had been buried at the edge of the cliff, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, in the Point Dume Nature Preserve. It was a beautiful piece of land nestled between Little Dume on one side and Zuma Beach on the other—semi-wild, on its way now to being very wild.

  Ru’s guys had placed a white cross at the head of Denny’s grave.

  My brothers, Porter, and I moved a few feet away, giving Frank a moment to himself. The big guy knelt down, one hand on the grave, the other making the sign of the cross.

  Then, lowering his head—he began to pray.

  * * * *

  Porter saw me looking at the four other graves, their white crosses almost invisible in the tall grass. “Two from sickness, one from drowning, and the one over there was the dead kid they found with Denny,” he explained.

  “Did they do anything for Joe?” I asked. “Put up a marker, something like that?”

  Porter shook his head. “And two more disappeared while you were gone.”

  “In the cage?”

  “One of the guys was crying,” smirked Rhys. “It was embarrassing.”

  Kieran smacked him over the head. “Dude!” he barked. “The guy was like witnessing his own death.”

  “Sorry,” mumbled Rhys—at least having the good grace to look ashamed.

  * * * *

  It seemed like Frank would be taking a while, so I motioned for the guys to follow me. We wandered down a path, out of Frank’s earshot. “So, guys,” I began. “There’s something I want to ask you.”

  They all stopped—suspicious.

  “What do you want?” asked Kieran, looking wary. “Is it going to hurt?”

  “No, of course not,” I said. “Don’t be stupid.”

  “You don’t be stupid,” he retorted. “What do you want?”

  “It’s about Frank,” I began again. “What do you think about having him move in with us?”

  Kieran coughed and Rhys looked down at the ground. Porter was just staring at me.

  I quickly held up my hands before anyone could object. “But only if Porter doesn’t have a problem with it. Because he’s the one who’s got the most to lose.”

  Rhys and Kieran both began to chuckle. Porter frowned, looking irritated.

  “I’m sure Frank wouldn’t try anything,” I quickly offered, looking directly at Porter. “And we’d all be there to protect you even if he did.”

  If anything, Porter looked even more upset. Rhys and Kieran, meanwhile, laughed even louder.

  “What?!” Now, I was the one becoming irritated. “You want to tell me what you guys think is so hilarious?”

  “Kieran is right,” Porter finally sniffed. “You are stupid!”

  Then, he turned and walked back toward Frank.

  I watched him go, confused. “Anyone want to explain to me what just happened?”

  Whack! Kieran laid one down on the top of my head.

  “Hey!” I snarled, slapping at his hand. “What the heck was that for?!”

  “Just jumpstarting your brain, big brother.”

  “Frank is already living with us, Jacob,” explained a giggling Rhys.

  “Yeah, dumbass,” said Kieran. “Where do you think Porter took him?”

  * * * *

  I caught up with Porter at the far end of the Preserve.

  He was bending down, looking closely at a yellow flower. “This poppy is indigenous to this bluff,” he told me. “These yellow ones don’t really grow anywhere else in California like this. People come from miles around just to see them when they’re in bloom…or at least they used to.”

  “Maybe we should pick some and take them back with us,” I suggested.

  He stood up and wiped off his hands on his jeans. “And maybe we should just leave them where they are—stop interfering where we’re not needed.”

  “That works for me, too.” I said, quickly.

  He started back toward the other guys and I moved in beside him. “Look, Porter…I’m sorry for what I said back there.”

  “I don’t need protecting,” he declared, not breaking his stride. “In case you haven’t realized it, Jacob, the world has changed. 8-year olds are bakers, 12-year olds are killing people, and geeks like me are capable of standing up by ourselves to our bullies.”

  “Yes, absolutely,” I panted…he was moving fast. “But meathead football jerks like myself are a little slower than the rest of you guys. So, you’re going to have to give us a little leeway now and again…okay?”

  He finally stopped walking, giving me a chance to catch my breath.

  “I’m so tired of people thinking I’m weak,” Porter snapped. “I’m tired of being thought of as a target.”

  “You’re not,” I assured him. “Not anymore. You’re a leader now, Porter. You’re strong. The way you took care of Frank when he arrived, putting bad feelings aside—that took real balls, you know. I was impressed…we all were.”

  “I’m such a leader—but you still put Kieran in charge of the guys’ security when you left,” he growled. “And he’s a year younger than me!”

  So—that’s what this was about.

  I looked back to make sure that Kieran and Rhys weren’t close enough to overhear what I was about to say. In fact, they were where we had left them, using sticks to poke in groundhog holes.

  “Porter,” I said, quietly, “that wasn’t about you, bro…that was about Kieran.”

  “Huh?” Porter looked confused.

  “Look—Kieran’s been a complete dick to us these last few months—because of Brandon,” I explained. “Now that Brandon’s gone and Kieran’s eyes have finally been opened—he’s embarrassed, ashamed. Frankly, I thought he might leave us—run away—and I didn’t want that to happen. So, I had to give him a reason to stay, you know—a way back into our tribe.”

  Porter’s face opened up as he got it—his frown lines erasing. “By making him feel needed.”

  I nodded. “Kieran’s our protector now…which makes him important to our tribe. Which makes him one of us again.”

  * * * *

  “The night before everything went belly up—how come you didn’t go to the Foxes’ party?” Frank asked me, curious. “Peyton was pissing mad that you weren’t there.”

  “I went camping with Kieran and Rhys instead,” I explained. “Down at Leo Carrillo. Then, we surfed Zuma in the morning.”

  The five of us were walking back toward Ru’s compound. It was heading toward dusk and we wanted to make sure that we were home before it got completely dark. Even though we were all armed, we were still concerned about mountain lions and—let’s face it—the Crazies.

  “The party was something else,” said Frank. “Went all night long. A lot of alcohol and the food was catered by that deli over in the mall. They had some DJ that they brought up from Hollyweird and most of the 11th and 12th graders came. Well, at least the ones the Foxes invited. It got a little bizarre after midnight, though—because Peyton’s dad star
ted dropping in, making sure that we all had booze and stuff—even though we were underage. I don’t know if he was just trying to be the cool dad or if he was checking up on us.”

  “Probably a little of both,” I muttered. “Dude creeps me out.”

  “You, too, huh?” he said. “I always get that creep-vibe from him, too. Personally, I think he’s doing some very bad things, if you get what I mean.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Rhys, becoming interested.

  I shook my head at Frank. The last thing I wanted to have at that moment was a conversation about inappropriate father/daughter contact with my younger brother.

  Frank nodded, understanding. He reached out and put Rhys in a chokehold. “It means,” he joked, giving Rhys a noogie, “that the dude was putting his nose into other people’s business just like someone else I know.”

  Rhys giggled madly as he struggled to free himself. He was no match for Frank, however—even in the big guy’s weakened state. Frank held on tight, tickling Rhys so hard that he gave my brother hiccups.

  Watching them made me smile.

  Frank wasn’t back completely—but it was a start.

  * * * *

  Coming down the trail toward the house, Frank moved so that he was walking beside Porter. Their voices were low and I’m embarrassed to say that I slowed down, straining so that I could overhear.

  “That night in Pavilions...on Halloween,” began Frank. “Sorry about that, dude.”

  “It’s in the past,” said Porter, shrugging it off.

  “Your girl has an awesome right hook,” offered Frank.

  “She’s not my girl.”

  “You’re not dating Jude?” Frank seemed surprised.

  “She’s two years older than me,” Porter explained. “To her, I’m probably just the dweeb who tutors her.”

  “Damn,” said Frank. “I thought you two were hooking up. Interesting—”

  “Interesting what?” asked Porter, interrupting him.

  “Well, it’s just. Jude—when she took down Brandon—it was the first time I kind of saw her, you know what I mean—like a girl.”

  When Porter spoke again, his words were tight and clipped—full of tension. “You want to date Jude?” he asked Frank, carefully.

  There was a moment’s silence.

  “No girls anymore, Porter,” Frank finally said. “So, it doesn’t matter what I want when it comes to Jude, does it?”

  “No, it doesn’t,” was Porter’s quick response.

  * * * *

  Later on that night, I found Rhys in Ru’s compound. He and Xavier had set up a cardboard fort in the cage, using it to conduct a deadly battle against invisible Crazies.

  “Bro,” I said, calling him over. “The cage is probably not the best place for that. A little disrespectful, don’t you think?”

  He looked over at Xavier, who was pulling himself from one bar to the next, looking impatient. “Nobody’s complained,” Rhys said, sullenly.

  I grabbed him by the arm, forcing him to look directly at me.

  “Ow, Jacob!”

  “I’m complaining,” I said.

  Rhys pulled his arm free. “You’re not my dad! You can’t tell me what to do.”

  “Actually he can.”

  We both turned to find Josh standing there. He was holding a rifle in one hand and a dead rabbit in the other. “He’s your tribe’s leader,” Josh growled at Rhys. “Which means that you do whatever the hell he says…got it?”

  Embarrassed, my brother nodded, looking down at the ground.

  “Good,” said Josh. “Then, listen to your leader and get that crap out of the cage!” With a nod to me, Josh turned and stalked off.

  Rhys watched him go, frowning. “What a grouch.”

  “Seventeen days,” I said, quietly.

  “Seventeen days what?”

  “Until Ru goes into that cage and disappears.”

  * * * *

  I hadn’t intended on making Rhys cry.

  It was just that sometimes I forgot that he was still a kid. We had all been through so much together. I tended to think of us simply as guys now—men. But, sitting on the end of Rhys’ bed while he laid there, sobbing into his pillow, reminded me that—while we might be acting like and making the decisions of men—we were all still boys.

  “I’m sorry, bud,” I said, patting his ankle. “I thought you knew.”

  Rhys shook his head into the pillow.

  “If it makes you feel any better, we’ll all be there for Ru. He’ll go knowing how much we care.”

  “It doesn’t make me feel better!” he cried.

  Kieran came to the door, looking inside at us. I motioned for him to come over and help.

  ‘Not a chance,’ he mouthed. Then, he turned and disappeared down the hallway.

  Frustrated, I turned back to Rhys. “Bud, you’ve seen guys disappear before. You knew this was going to happen to Ru. He’s seventeen.”

  Rhys turned to face me. His tears had left muddy tracks down his cheeks.

  Obviously, he still needed a bath.

  “And you’re going to be seventeen in October!” he sobbed. “And then Porter is going to turn seventeen. Then, Kieran…then Ian…”

  “I get the idea,” I said, interrupting him. “But there’s nothing we can do about that. This is the world we live in now. And, in a way—it’s pretty amazing. We actually know how much time we have left. So, we can live life to the fullest, you know—because every moment is so precious.”

  He frowned at me. “That’s stupid. You sound like a girl.”

  But—at least—he had stopped crying. He sat up and leaned back against his headboard. “Jacob…I don’t want to disappear.”

  “I know, Rhys. I don’t want to disappear either.”

  “And I don’t want Ru to go inside that cage.”

  “Ditto.”

  * * * *

  But, of course, Ru did go into the cage—seventeen days later.

  * * * *

  We were all there, every guy from both of our tribes, standing around the empty cage—waiting. It would be dark soon—closing in on 8:30 p.m.—the exact moment of Ru’s birth. A couple of the guys had old wind-up watches and they were being besieged with questions from those around them.

  What time is it now?

  Is it 8:30, yet?

  What if your watch is wrong?

  Did you even remember to wind it up?

  My guys and I were standing near the front of the cage, directly opposite the open door. Nate was moving about inside, lighting hurricane lanterns and placing them in each corner.

  I felt a whisper of movement next to my ear.

  It was Josh, leaning in close to speak to me. “Ru needs you.”

  * * * *

  I’d never seen this Ru before, without a weapon and looking—normal.

  He was dressed in a clean pair of black cargo pants and a light blue t-shirt that—as my mom would have said—really made his eyes ‘pop’. For once, his hair was down, long blond waves that hung around his face.

  Even with the black tattoo across his nose, I could see the beginnings of the man he would have become if he had only been given the chance—handsome, confident—good.

  * * * *

  We shook hands.

  “So—having a fun evening?” he grinned.

  “Don’t be a dick,” I said, joking back.

  His armed guards—present as always—were hovering about thirty feet away. A couple of them had their heads down, wiping their eyes as if they were crying.

  “How’s it going with the guys outside?” he asked, becoming serious.

  “Not good,” I answered honestly. “This is killing them.”

  We began walking slowly in the direction of the cage.

  “They’re good guys,” said Ru. “And I have mad love for each one of them—but they’re not the brightest bulbs, you know. They’ll fall apart without a good leader. So, promise me that you’ll be there for them, because they’re go
ing to need you.”

  “I promise.”

  “It’s just that I’m worried because I know that you’ve already got your own tribe,” he said. “Your own brothers. I need to know that my guys won’t be—”

  I put my hand out and stopped him. “Chill, dude,” I said, softly. “They’re all my brothers—just like you.”

  For the first time, I saw Ru’s confidence falter. Tears appeared in his eyes. “Dang it,” he said, wiping at them.

  Honestly, at that moment—I had tears in my own eyes.

  Meanwhile, Josh separated himself from the rest of the guards and came over. “Ru, it’s time.”

  * * * *

  I returned to my place—between Rhys and Kieran. Looking around, I saw that some of the younger guys on Ru’s tribe were crying openly now. Others were muttering among themselves, sad and confused.

  To the right of me, meanwhile, Pauly was stomping angrily in a circle, pushing at anyone who came near. I noticed that he had a new tattoo on his back. It was the word ‘true’—only it was written like ‘tRUe’.

  Other guys were simply standing there—silent.

  I turned to look at Rhys, who was on my right. He was holding it together at the moment, but there were definitely tears in his eyes. “You gonna be okay, bud?”

  He nodded, his lower lip quivering.

  Beside Rhys, Ethan and Wester had tears coming down their faces. Porter and Connor were on either side of them, hands on the younger guys’ shoulders—comforting them. Ian and Andrei, meanwhile, were sitting on the ground in front of them. They weren’t saying a word, their heads lowered, their fingers tracing designs in the softened ground.