maybe his aren’t doing as well. Or maybe he thinks I’m still deaf.
“Don’t yell,” I say. “I can mostly hear again.”
In a lower voice, he says, “They were aiming for vehicle convoys.” He walks carefully to the side of the road, avoiding all lumps of dirt, and then steps off into the deep grass there. “That’s why they mined the road.”
It makes logical sense and I follow, but we’re both spooked and moving slowly now. Not that we could travel much faster, because the grass is almost up to my waist, not to mention so thick and coarse and razor-edged that if we tried to run through this, our legs would be shredded like cheese on a grater.
We’ve climbed at least a thousand feet since leaving the camp. I hope there are no snakes at this altitude, because most of the time I can’t see anything below my waist.
We are about halfway around the pimpled section of the old roadbed when Jason Jones and Madelyn Hatt burst around the bend. Clearly they decided this valley was a good bet, too. When they spot us wading through the dense grass, their eyes say they believe they are about to move to third place, or if both our teams were right to choose this route, maybe even first.
“Don’t─” yells Sebastian at the same time that I wave my arms and bellow, “Stop! Stop!”
But Jason instantly retorts “Yeah, right,” and he and Maddie jog on down the abandoned road.
We wait for the explosion.
Nothing happens.
Maybe Sebastian set off the only live mine buried there? What are the odds? As they pass beside us, the Mad Hatter glances back at me, gloating over her shoulder. She’d probably stick out her tongue if she weren’t running.
And then she’s flying through the air. A fist-sized rock whizzes over my shoulder like a bullet and I hear the explosion echo in my head. A tsunami of dirt rolls my way like a Sahara sandstorm. The dust is suddenly so thick that it takes more than a minute for my eyes to locate everyone again.
Sebastian is still just ahead of me. He looks whole, even if he’s filthier than he was before. His eyes are glittery with shock. We wobble gingerly down the side of the hill.
Jason Jones is lying in the road. His left thigh ends in a bloody stump. I can see that he is writhing and screaming, but I hear only the ringing in my ears. My legs are so shaky I can barely stand up. Sebastian crawls on his hands and knees out to Jason, carefully avoiding the road pimples. I follow in his tracks. I don’t see a sign of Maddie anywhere. I’m not sure I want to look for her.
As well as the missing leg, Jason has a big gash in his right arm, from which blood is flowing like a spring. I can see the white splintered end of a broken bone through the red meat. I feel sick at the sight of all that torn flesh, but I know it’s crucial to stop the bleeding. Jason’s wearing a bandanna on his head. Sebastian pulls it off and ties it tight around the remains of Jason’s arm. I untie my own kerchief from my forehead and offer it for Jason’s leg. The fabric is saturated with dirt and sweat, but it’s not like we have a sterile environment to work in.
Then, screwing up what little courage I have left, I carefully stand up on my tiptoes to try and find Maddie. I finally spy the toe of a running shoe sticking up through the grass, and I cautiously shuffle in that direction.
The shoe is not connected to the rest of Madelyn Hatt. She lies a few more yards down the hill.
She’s not wearing her other running shoe, either, and I’m not going to look too closely at what’s left of her legs. The Mean Hatter is little more than a rag doll with her stuffing spilling out down the front of her jersey and running tights.
My traitorous brain instantly transports me to Halloween Eve, shivering outside my house in the sleet, staring at my parents on the dark floor. Blood everywhere. Aaron screaming.
Daymares, Marisela calls them.
I suck in a deep breath, clench my fists and dig my fingernails into my
“Don’t yell,” I say. “I can mostly hear again.”
In a lower voice, he says, “They were aiming for vehicle convoys.” He walks carefully to the side of the road, avoiding all lumps of dirt, and then steps off into the deep grass there. “That’s why they mined the road.”
It makes logical sense and I follow, but we’re both spooked and moving slowly now. Not that we could travel much faster, because the grass is almost up to my waist, not to mention so thick and coarse and razor-edged that if we tried to run through this, our legs would be shredded like cheese on a grater.
We’ve climbed at least a thousand feet since leaving the camp. I hope there are no snakes at this altitude, because most of the time I can’t see anything below my waist.
We are about halfway around the pimpled section of the old roadbed when Jason Jones and Madelyn Hatt burst around the bend. Clearly they decided this valley was a good bet, too. When they spot us wading through the dense grass, their eyes say they believe they are about to move to third place, or if both our teams were right to choose this route, maybe even first.
“Don’t─” yells Sebastian at the same time that I wave my arms and bellow, “Stop! Stop!”
But Jason instantly retorts “Yeah, right,” and he and Maddie jog on down the abandoned road.
We wait for the explosion.
Nothing happens.
Maybe Sebastian set off the only live mine buried there? What are the odds? As they pass beside us, the Mad Hatter glances back at me, gloating over her shoulder. She’d probably stick out her tongue if she weren’t running.
And then she’s flying through the air. A fist-sized rock whizzes over my shoulder like a bullet and I hear the explosion echo in my head. A tsunami of dirt rolls my way like a Sahara sandstorm. The dust is suddenly so thick that it takes more than a minute for my eyes to locate everyone again.
Sebastian is still just ahead of me. He looks whole, even if he’s filthier than he was before. His eyes are glittery with shock. We wobble gingerly down the side of the hill.
Jason Jones is lying in the road. His left thigh ends in a bloody stump. I can see that he is writhing and screaming, but I hear only the ringing in my ears. My legs are so shaky I can barely stand up. Sebastian crawls on his hands and knees out to Jason, carefully avoiding the road pimples. I follow in his tracks. I don’t see a sign of Maddie anywhere. I’m not sure I want to look for her.
As well as the missing leg, Jason has a big gash in his right arm, from which blood is flowing like a spring. I can see the white splintered end of a broken bone through the red meat. I feel sick at the sight of all that torn flesh, but I know it’s crucial to stop the bleeding. Jason’s wearing a bandanna on his head. Sebastian pulls it off and ties it tight around the remains of Jason’s arm. I untie my own kerchief from my forehead and offer it for Jason’s leg. The fabric is saturated with dirt and sweat, but it’s not like we have a sterile environment to work in.
Then, screwing up what little courage I have left, I carefully stand up on my tiptoes to try and find Maddie. I finally spy the toe of a running shoe sticking up through the grass, and I cautiously shuffle in that direction.
The shoe is not connected to the rest of Madelyn Hatt. She lies a few more yards down the hill.
She’s not wearing her other running shoe, either, and I’m not going to look too closely at what’s left of her legs. The Mean Hatter is little more than a rag doll with her stuffing spilling out down the front of her jersey and running tights.
My traitorous brain instantly transports me to Halloween Eve, shivering outside my house in the sleet, staring at my parents on the dark floor. Blood everywhere. Aaron screaming.
Daymares, Marisela calls them.
I suck in a deep breath, clench my fists and dig my fingernails into my
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