place anyway, waiting for one more encouraging word.
Relief floods him when the girl obliges. “Please,” she says, gesturing with one hand. “We need to stick together.”
At last, someone understands. Reid thinks of Monica. If only he had gotten to her before her mind snapped and fear took her over. He slides into the cave and out of the path of the light, allowing the cool darkness to wrap around him. The scent of the earth is stronger here, and unwashed bodies. But he doesn’t mind, pretty sure he’s just as fragrant.
The girl leaves the light, Milo right beside her. She shines even in the dark, pale blonde hair almost glowing. “I’m Leila.”
Reid lets his legs buckle and slides to the floor, wrapping his arms around his knees.
“This is Drew.” She introduces a second boy. There is a subtle flash, the hint of light on glass as the kid nods once.
“Wish I could say it’s nice to meet you.” Drew’s voice is almost as high as Milo’s, but with an odd accent. Reid’s mind says New England. So this kid is local.
Leila makes the first move, easing forward until she is face-to-face with Reid. She is about his age, her eyes as light as her hair, dark bruises underneath highlighting them. Even her skin is ghostly pale, thick eyelashes transparent. Reid almost laughs when his heart tells him she is beautiful.
Not the kind of thing he needs to be thinking about at a time like this.
“How long?” She sits next to him.
“This is my second sunrise,” he says.
Drew and Milo join them, Leila’s bravery obviously setting them free of their wariness.
“I’m on day three,” Milo says. His white teeth flash against his dark skin when he speaks.
“Me too,” says Drew. Glasses, braces, chubby cheeks. Pushing fourteen if Reid could guess. Drew hitches up his pants as he sits. They bag around his still-thick waist.
“I’m two days in.” Leila smiles at the boys. “They found me right away. I’m pretty lucky.”
Reid agrees. A jagged stab of jealousy takes his breath away for a moment.
“Drew found me,” Milo says. “Not like being together helps all that much.”
Drew is nodding, glasses hiding his eyes, the dark turning them into oval mirrors.
“If I ever get out of here,” he says, “I’m never running another step ever again.”
The other two laugh. Reid can’t bring himself to.
“How long have you been hiding here?” It would be nice to think the cave could be a more permanent refuge, but Leila sighs.
“Since early this morning, just before dawn. They seem to find us no matter where we go.”
Reid fights off the instinctual panic. “Is there another way out of here?”
None of them say a word. It’s answer enough.
“We tried to hide the entrance,” Drew says. “Didn’t do a good enough job, obviously.”
“Do you have any food?” Milo sounds pathetic and Reid instantly recoils from the boy’s need. He knows then, even if he had any left, he would lie and wonders what he is becoming.
“No,” Reid says. Then, reluctantly, he tells them about the cabin and what he found.
They listen to him like he is a prophet, locked onto his words.
“We should go right now!” Drew is on his feet, hands tugging at his falling jeans. “I bet we could sneak in and out and they’d never know.”
Reid reaches out and pulls the boy back down to the ground.
“They know I was there,” he says. “They’ll be watching now.”
“But we’re starving.” Reid despises the whine in Drew’s voice and resists the urge to slap it out of him. He reminds Reid of Lucy and how she used to beg their parents for the things she wanted. It makes him sick to his stomach.
“There are things in the forest we can eat.” He has been so focused on running he forgot that was true. But his father showed him what to look for. The right kinds of mushrooms. Fiddleheads. Bird nests could hold eggs. He just needed enough time to look.
Reid realizes he is still thinking in singular terms, sad he is
Relief floods him when the girl obliges. “Please,” she says, gesturing with one hand. “We need to stick together.”
At last, someone understands. Reid thinks of Monica. If only he had gotten to her before her mind snapped and fear took her over. He slides into the cave and out of the path of the light, allowing the cool darkness to wrap around him. The scent of the earth is stronger here, and unwashed bodies. But he doesn’t mind, pretty sure he’s just as fragrant.
The girl leaves the light, Milo right beside her. She shines even in the dark, pale blonde hair almost glowing. “I’m Leila.”
Reid lets his legs buckle and slides to the floor, wrapping his arms around his knees.
“This is Drew.” She introduces a second boy. There is a subtle flash, the hint of light on glass as the kid nods once.
“Wish I could say it’s nice to meet you.” Drew’s voice is almost as high as Milo’s, but with an odd accent. Reid’s mind says New England. So this kid is local.
Leila makes the first move, easing forward until she is face-to-face with Reid. She is about his age, her eyes as light as her hair, dark bruises underneath highlighting them. Even her skin is ghostly pale, thick eyelashes transparent. Reid almost laughs when his heart tells him she is beautiful.
Not the kind of thing he needs to be thinking about at a time like this.
“How long?” She sits next to him.
“This is my second sunrise,” he says.
Drew and Milo join them, Leila’s bravery obviously setting them free of their wariness.
“I’m on day three,” Milo says. His white teeth flash against his dark skin when he speaks.
“Me too,” says Drew. Glasses, braces, chubby cheeks. Pushing fourteen if Reid could guess. Drew hitches up his pants as he sits. They bag around his still-thick waist.
“I’m two days in.” Leila smiles at the boys. “They found me right away. I’m pretty lucky.”
Reid agrees. A jagged stab of jealousy takes his breath away for a moment.
“Drew found me,” Milo says. “Not like being together helps all that much.”
Drew is nodding, glasses hiding his eyes, the dark turning them into oval mirrors.
“If I ever get out of here,” he says, “I’m never running another step ever again.”
The other two laugh. Reid can’t bring himself to.
“How long have you been hiding here?” It would be nice to think the cave could be a more permanent refuge, but Leila sighs.
“Since early this morning, just before dawn. They seem to find us no matter where we go.”
Reid fights off the instinctual panic. “Is there another way out of here?”
None of them say a word. It’s answer enough.
“We tried to hide the entrance,” Drew says. “Didn’t do a good enough job, obviously.”
“Do you have any food?” Milo sounds pathetic and Reid instantly recoils from the boy’s need. He knows then, even if he had any left, he would lie and wonders what he is becoming.
“No,” Reid says. Then, reluctantly, he tells them about the cabin and what he found.
They listen to him like he is a prophet, locked onto his words.
“We should go right now!” Drew is on his feet, hands tugging at his falling jeans. “I bet we could sneak in and out and they’d never know.”
Reid reaches out and pulls the boy back down to the ground.
“They know I was there,” he says. “They’ll be watching now.”
“But we’re starving.” Reid despises the whine in Drew’s voice and resists the urge to slap it out of him. He reminds Reid of Lucy and how she used to beg their parents for the things she wanted. It makes him sick to his stomach.
“There are things in the forest we can eat.” He has been so focused on running he forgot that was true. But his father showed him what to look for. The right kinds of mushrooms. Fiddleheads. Bird nests could hold eggs. He just needed enough time to look.
Reid realizes he is still thinking in singular terms, sad he is
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