Behind the Stars by Leigh Talbert Moore

would help me run faster and be more agile when I made my escape. It’d also help me fit in more places and have better endurance. I could feel my body getting stronger every day, and I liked it.
    In the shed after lunch, Roxie and Yolanda were waiting for me. D’Lo sat around the corner pretending to nap like he always did in the afternoons after lunch, but I could tell he was awake and listening. Roxie sat on the top of a picnic table that was centered under the tin roof. I sat in front of her on the bench attached to it, and she started parting my hair into sections. Yolanda waited and watched until we were all sure no official eyes were on us.
    “You’re a spitfire, Prentiss Puckett,” she finally said. “I know you’re not going to sit here and take this much longer. I want you to know we’re ready to help you.”
    I flicked my eyes to D’Lo, who studied us both as he sat with his hat low and his chin on his chest.
    “Thanks,” I said. “I need the help, and it’ll be good if we’re all working together.”
    I hadn’t expected her to approach me like this, but I was glad we were making it official. I thought about my next words. These girls were tough and not afraid of a fight. Their people’d lived through hell being black in south Mississippi, and I bet the idea of being kept like slaves was grating on them. If anything, they’d want to make a stand just to show they had what it took to make their ancestors proud.
    “Did Dee tell you about the chips?” I asked.
    Yolanda’s mouth worked into a frown, but she nodded. Roxie jerked my hair tight, and I let out a little yelp.
    “Sorry,” she said. “What chips? Y’all didn’t tell me about that.”
    My eyes went to D’Lo, but he’d looked back at his boots. Yolanda didn’t seem ready to speak, so I took the lead on this little tidbit.
    “There’s a guard working with the guys, and he keeps telling them stuff,” I said. “I think it’s a load of horse crap, but there’s no way to know for sure. It might be true.”
    “Okay?” Roxie said. “So what’s the chips?”
    “When you woke up, did you have a Band-Aid on your arm like you’d gotten a shot or something?”
    She nodded, and I felt a moment of frustration. If only anybody ever said No, I could take a chance that it was a lie. I kept hoping for that to be the case with somebody, but so far everybody’d had the same experience.
    “This jackass guard said they put some microchip or something in our arms while we were out. And if we tried to escape, and they found us gone, they’d flip a switch or push some button. Hell, I don’t know what they’ll do. But Braxton said it would send an electric current through our bodies.”
    I wouldn’t repeat the part about the brains and scrambled eggs. It made me want to throw up, and I figured the electric shock was scary enough.
    “Jesus!” Roxie hissed, pulling my braid tight again. I let out another yelp of pain, and she apologized again.
    Yolanda nodded. “You think it’s true, then.”
    “Dammit, I don’t know,” I confessed. “You know what I think? I think it’s a big lie. I think it’s all lies. But how do I know?”
    We were quiet until D’Lo finally spoke. “These people... aren’t people,” he said. “They’re not like us, I’m telling you. This is some weird-assed shit going on right here.”
    The girls looked at him, but I just exhaled loudly.
    “What does that mean?” Roxie’s eyes were wide again.
    “Means we gotta sit and wait. No trying to escape, and no funny business. Just lay low and see what happens next.” He got up and walked away like he wasn’t going to talk about it anymore. Like he was going to keep dropping crazy bombs and walking away.
    “Braxton’s got some wild ideas in his head, too,” I said. “Their guard’s talking a lot of smack. He’s slick. I’ve seen him. I can also imagine he’s laughing at us behind our backs for being scared, gullible hicks.”
    Yolanda’s eyes cut to