“That’ll be fine,” the raider says.
“That’s a hot area,” Paxton says. “Lots of greyskins.”
“It will be all right.”
There is a long pause.
“You aren’t going to kill them are you?” Paxton asks.
“You don’t worry your little mayor head about that,” the raider says. “We’ll get what we need and be done with them. I’m sure they didn’t even know what they took.” The raider’s chair scrapes against the floor as he stands, his footsteps are heavy as they make their way to the door.
“Two days,” Paxton says. “Give me two days.”
“Two days,” the raider says. “In the evening.”
Paxton says nothing and the raider walks out of the room, shutting the door behind him.
The light shines on my tired eyes and I’m forced to blink them shut to shield them from the pain.
“Get up,” a familiar voice says to me. It’s Gabe.
“What do you want?” I say in the groggiest voice I can manage.
“It’s time for you to leave,” he says.
“I thought I was supposed to leave two days ago,” I reply, rolling over onto my side with my back to him. “You know, for a moment there I thought I would like imprisonment better than banishment, but I never knew I could get so bored.”
“I think that was the point in waiting,” Gabe says. “Come on. I’m supposed to take you out before the sunrise.”
It takes me a minute, but I finally turn and sit up. He leaves the room long enough for me to put on my shoes and splash water on my face. The cold wind hits me when we get outside. It’s dark and no one but a few guards seems to be awake. “What time is it?” I ask him. He lets me know it’s a quarter until six. I follow him near the gate and I half-expect the guards to open it and tell me good luck, but I’m surprised to see Gabe opening the passenger door of a truck for me. I get in and he walks around to the other side and sits in the driver’s seat. “Are you taking me somewhere?” I ask.
“I’m taking you out of here,” he answers.
Great. “Did you sign up for this job?”
He lets out a sigh and stares down at the steering wheel for a long moment. “I didn’t mean for things to turn out the way they did. I had no idea Paxton was going to claim you murdered Skip.”
“It didn’t come to your mind to say something when he mentioned it?”
“I didn’t know he was going to say that until just before the assembly,” Gabe says, looking up at me. He seems tired as if he hadn’t slept in days. Dark circles have formed under his eyes. He looks pale like he might be coming down with something.
Good, I think.
“So, you didn’t think it was a good idea to say something to the contrary?” I ask.
“What would you have done?”
“I would have been brave about it,” I tell him. “I would have manned up and let other people know that what Paxton said wasn’t how it happened.” I feel more anger toward Gabe than anyone right now…even more so than toward Paxton. I had thought the two of us were becoming friends but that must have gone out the window when he decided not to stand up for me.
“You don’t understand,” Gabe says.
“Enlighten me,” I say.
He puts the truck in gear and we start rolling forward. Soon, we’re driving past dead cars again, trees all around us, Crestwood a distant memory behind us. I can’t help but feel scared. I can feel myself getting into survival mode. It’s not a situation that I’m fond of.
I don’t like to admit when I’m scared. I never have. When I was little, sometimes there would be a big storm coming through and everyone in the school would have to go out into the hallways or under the concrete stairwells away from the windows. I could remember so many of my friends crying like it was the end of the world. Ironic that the end of the world was only a few years away. Now most of them are probably dead and it would have been better if a storm would have just washed them away forever. It makes me sick to think of how many of my classmates might still be out there, their skin rotting to an ash-grey color, with black, soulless eyes, and the lust for flesh.
I want to throw up.
Gabe doesn’t say much as we drive. I want to know what he’s thinking but I’m too proud to ask. I’m not going to show my weakness; I’m going out strong. I’m as good as dead the moment he drops me off, but he will not see fear in my eyes — the reflection of what I feel inside.
I have no weapon. I barely have enough clothes to keep me warm. I have no shelter. I have no food. I’m starting from scratch. The worst of all those? — no weapon. I’m going to have to make do with a sharp stick or a rock, but if I come across three or more, I’ll be walking alongside the greyskins as one of their new members. That is, unless they consume me completely.
The sun rises over the horizon and blinds me until I pull down the visor in front of me. I close my eyes as we travel down the road and I try to listen to someone, anyone, at Crestwood, but the place is already too far gone.
Too far gone. That’s what I am.
We’ve been in the truck for at least an hour before Gabe pulls it over and sets it in park. We sit in silence for almost a full minute. As I look out the windows I see so many different colors. The reds, yellows, and browns mix with some of the more stubborn leaves that still hold onto their green from the summer. I don’t know which is more stubborn, the green leaf that refuses to change color or the brown leaf that refuses to let go of the branch. Eventually, they will all fall to the ground.
“I was going to tell Paxton everything, Remi,” Gabe says. “Even after you told me not to, I marched to his office to let him know that it was my idea.”
“What stopped you?” I ask, my forehead pressed against the cold glass.
“Well, I went to his office, but I overheard him talking to someone. I think it was Shadowface.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Just the way he was talking,” Gabe said. “Paxton just seemed so polite, speaking as though he were stepping around land mines. He was talking about you and how everything went.” He takes a deep breath and rakes his finger through his shaggy hair. “I think this Shadowface person has a hand in a lot more than just goods. I can’t know for sure, but I have a feeling that it was his idea to get rid of you. I didn’t say anything because if I did, I know I won’t get a chance to figure out who this Shadowface character is. If Paxton is dealing with someone that is dangerous, I think it should be exposed. I just need more time to figure everything out. I just hate that it’s at your expense.”
I believe him, though I don’t really want to. I almost feel like it would be easier just to write Gabe off as a coward and try to forget about him, but I can’t. He’s not that person. He truly is the kind of person that loves Crestwood and its people. He truly does believe in what they are doing and he wants to keep it safe. I wish I could tell him about the conversation I overheard with Paxton and the raider, but I can’t. I don’t want to tell anybody, but I know that it will help Gabe if I do.
“I’m sorry it has turned out this way,” he says.
“Paxton said I could come back if I find out any information about his daughter,” I say to Gabe.
He looks at me and nods. “He usually tells people that leave Crestwood about her, hoping for something. No one ever comes back with information.”
“So, I’m just a shot in the dark?” I ask.
Gabe doesn’t answer.
“Well, I’m one that might actually know her,” I say. “At least, I think I have met her before. I don’t know if it’s the same girl.”
“Good luck finding her now,” he says. “Three years is an eternity in this world.” He looks at me, his eyes looking sad. “I hope you find her. I hope you find her and can come back to Crestwood.”