for?’
Brook fixes me with a look that I can’t read. Part of me thinks he’s wondering how one of Dot’s creations could possibly be so presmart. Another part thinks maybe it’s something else completely.
But all he says is, ‘More signs.’ Like that much should be obvious to anyone.
‘There’s going to be more?’
Signs like, say, a crushed wren? Signs that will let everyone know exactly who Dot is testing?
‘Gil thinks so.’
‘Signs of … signs of what, though?’
‘You hooked up with Gil. He told you, I’m sure. You know what the signs are telling us.’
I swallow. I try to act like I’m not sure exactly what he’s talking about.
‘You mean … the stuff about people turning predotly?’
‘Exactly.’ Brook folds his arms and smiles. ‘Gil believes Dot’s trying to tell us who they are. Do you think so too?’
‘Um … if you guys say so.’
Brook doesn’t know about the test.
Correction: he doesn’t know yet . And for one wild moment I think maybe I should tell him. I even get the idea that Brook and Gil could help me make the boy disappear and pass the test. They’re close friends of mine, after all. It’s just possible they’d understand. And maybe … maybe that’s even what Dot wants! She wants to see how much I trust the others and how much they care about me. It could be she’s waiting for me to throw myself onto the ground or against Brook’s chest and just blurt everything out right now. Then Brook would tell Gil and then he would …
An image jumps into my head.
The wren.
Its mangled wing.
Gil’s white hands crushing it.
That flare as its little body hit the flames.
When I stop and think about it, I realise I literally have no idea what Gil would do if he knew about the boy. I decide I’d better stick with my original plan. I have to fix things before anyone finds out. All by myself.
‘So, are you eating that coconut or what?’
Brook looks at the coconut like he doesn’t even know how it got under his arm. ‘It’s for Gil. He likes fresh coconut water in the morning.’
‘He can’t get out of bed and get it himself?’
I’m careful to say it like Wren would. Wren the way I always was, before the boy and the prenormal dreams or whatever they are appeared.
‘Gil’s busy.’
‘What, sleeping?’
‘Watching,’ Brook’s eyes skate up to the sky. There’s a heaviness to it, like it’s full or weighed down or something.
The sun’s climbing. It’s almost over the fringe now but the clouds are low and so the air’s only getting hotter, steamier, thicker.
‘Better go give it to him then.’
‘What?’ Brook’s sort of staring into my eyes, and definitely not in a hooking-up kind of way.
‘Um, the coconut? Didn’t you say Gil was waiting for it?’
Brook’s staring at my eyes, I realise now. Taking in the shrinking circles at the centre, I’m sure. But he doesn’t say so.
He just goes, ‘Tell me if you notice anything predotly. Any signs.’
‘Me? I haven’t seen anything.’ The whole time, I’m looking carefully away.
‘Sure,’ Brook says. He’s smiling, but I’m not sure he believes me.
____________________
There’s this banging sound coming from inside the empty hut. It’s loud enough to hear from the path and so’s the voice saying, ‘Work, you stupid thing.’ Around the back of the hut I can still hear it.
The boy is awake. Dot’s biggest ever test is crashing and banging around and if I don’t go in right now, someone’s going to find him.
I use the window around the back of the hut instead of the door, which obviously is right on the path. You know, where anyone could see me going into the empty hut, now that it’s light. I guess the boy doesn’t hear me hauling myself inside because he stays where he is, down on the floor picking up the scattered pieces of the device. It’s only when my feet hit the floorboards that he gets up. With just one set of shutters open, it’s pretty prelight in the hut. I
Brook fixes me with a look that I can’t read. Part of me thinks he’s wondering how one of Dot’s creations could possibly be so presmart. Another part thinks maybe it’s something else completely.
But all he says is, ‘More signs.’ Like that much should be obvious to anyone.
‘There’s going to be more?’
Signs like, say, a crushed wren? Signs that will let everyone know exactly who Dot is testing?
‘Gil thinks so.’
‘Signs of … signs of what, though?’
‘You hooked up with Gil. He told you, I’m sure. You know what the signs are telling us.’
I swallow. I try to act like I’m not sure exactly what he’s talking about.
‘You mean … the stuff about people turning predotly?’
‘Exactly.’ Brook folds his arms and smiles. ‘Gil believes Dot’s trying to tell us who they are. Do you think so too?’
‘Um … if you guys say so.’
Brook doesn’t know about the test.
Correction: he doesn’t know yet . And for one wild moment I think maybe I should tell him. I even get the idea that Brook and Gil could help me make the boy disappear and pass the test. They’re close friends of mine, after all. It’s just possible they’d understand. And maybe … maybe that’s even what Dot wants! She wants to see how much I trust the others and how much they care about me. It could be she’s waiting for me to throw myself onto the ground or against Brook’s chest and just blurt everything out right now. Then Brook would tell Gil and then he would …
An image jumps into my head.
The wren.
Its mangled wing.
Gil’s white hands crushing it.
That flare as its little body hit the flames.
When I stop and think about it, I realise I literally have no idea what Gil would do if he knew about the boy. I decide I’d better stick with my original plan. I have to fix things before anyone finds out. All by myself.
‘So, are you eating that coconut or what?’
Brook looks at the coconut like he doesn’t even know how it got under his arm. ‘It’s for Gil. He likes fresh coconut water in the morning.’
‘He can’t get out of bed and get it himself?’
I’m careful to say it like Wren would. Wren the way I always was, before the boy and the prenormal dreams or whatever they are appeared.
‘Gil’s busy.’
‘What, sleeping?’
‘Watching,’ Brook’s eyes skate up to the sky. There’s a heaviness to it, like it’s full or weighed down or something.
The sun’s climbing. It’s almost over the fringe now but the clouds are low and so the air’s only getting hotter, steamier, thicker.
‘Better go give it to him then.’
‘What?’ Brook’s sort of staring into my eyes, and definitely not in a hooking-up kind of way.
‘Um, the coconut? Didn’t you say Gil was waiting for it?’
Brook’s staring at my eyes, I realise now. Taking in the shrinking circles at the centre, I’m sure. But he doesn’t say so.
He just goes, ‘Tell me if you notice anything predotly. Any signs.’
‘Me? I haven’t seen anything.’ The whole time, I’m looking carefully away.
‘Sure,’ Brook says. He’s smiling, but I’m not sure he believes me.
____________________
There’s this banging sound coming from inside the empty hut. It’s loud enough to hear from the path and so’s the voice saying, ‘Work, you stupid thing.’ Around the back of the hut I can still hear it.
The boy is awake. Dot’s biggest ever test is crashing and banging around and if I don’t go in right now, someone’s going to find him.
I use the window around the back of the hut instead of the door, which obviously is right on the path. You know, where anyone could see me going into the empty hut, now that it’s light. I guess the boy doesn’t hear me hauling myself inside because he stays where he is, down on the floor picking up the scattered pieces of the device. It’s only when my feet hit the floorboards that he gets up. With just one set of shutters open, it’s pretty prelight in the hut. I
Similar Books
