Firebrand by Antony John

“You’re not afraid it’ll be too weak? What if it gives out?”
    â€œIt’s at the top of the cage. Unless you have really agile chickens, we’ll be all right.”
    He raised an eyebrow. “And what if I tell you we’re out of wire?”
    I puffed out my cheeks and looked at the cage again. The wires crossing the top seemed particularly close together. “We could just spread out the other wires so they’re equally spaced.”
    â€œAnd do what with the broken wire?”
    â€œSave it for future repairs.”
    Chief clapped me on the back. “Then get on with it.”
    As I began the process of detaching the wires from the ground and sliding them along, Chief took a water canister from his pack and sipped from it. “Why do you think I’m chief of this colony, Thomas?”
    I moved the first wire into place and twisted it tight with the tool Chief had given me. “Because you’re experienced.”
    He laughed. “Experience is code for
old
. Which I am, I suppose. But no—I’m chief because I care. Not about me, but about
everyone
.” He stared up at the fort. “I have no direct family here. The way I see it, every person on this island is my family. And I’ve discovered that the key to being a leader is the ability to listen. Listen hard enough, you might even hear things that people haven’t said.”
    I stopped what I was doing. “What do you mean?”
    â€œLet’s take your group, for example. Your father is the oldest male—natural choice for a leader, but no one refers to him that way, which means he wasn’t chief even before he got injured. Ananias would be the next logical choice, but he’s in shock. My guess is that he was connected to the girl you dropped overboard yesterday. And that’s an interesting situation too. Father and daughter die on the same day, but only one of them got a funeral.”
    â€œHe fell overboard.”
    â€œThat’s what Alice told me, yes. But she also has bruises on her neck like she’s been strangled. Still quite fresh. Two days old at most. She looks like the kind of girl who can handle herself, which means the person who attacked her was a man. And I know for sure it wasn’t someone from your family, which means it was her father. Who mysteriously died.”
    I moved the next wire into place, but my hands were shaking. Chief noticed, and placed his hand on top of mine. “I’ve made you nervous. I’m sorry.” He eased the tool from me and continued what I’d begun. “You look as old as me right now, Thomas . . . carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. My father used to say ‘a burden shared is a burden halved.’ I’m not trying to alarm you. On the contrary, I’m trying to show you that you don’t need to carry the burden alone. Tell me how I can help you all. Please.”
    It was the last word that got to me—the way he said it as if he craved my trust. So I told him about the pirate attack, and how we’d stolen Dare’s ship during the hurricane. How the pirates had claimed our island as their own, and Kyte had died because we were too slow to escape. How I’d heard Chief’s message and knew that it was the answer to everything, even though not everyone had been sure. I told him that Eleanor fell, and her father threw himself overboard.
    I didn’t tell a single lie, but I left out a lot. And all the time I hoped that no one would ever contradict me.
    When I was done, Chief was quiet for a while. “You’re a brave boy,” he said.
    â€œNo, I’m not. Not everyone wanted to come here, but I promised them it would be all right. Now mine is the only family that hasn’t lost a member. I can’t stop thinking it’s my fault.”
    He didn’t tell me I was wrong, and I was grateful for that. He just kept sliding the wires along and