‘I don’t even know if she did turn me in. I don’t know who to believe anymore. But if she did, I have to think she had her reasons. Maybe she was lied to or pressured into it.’ So many questions about Sarah have been running through my mind. If only I could see her, talk to her.
‘Yeah, yeah. Forget that stuff for a minute. Just tell me what she looks like. I really want to know. And I promise not to say a word.’ I can tell he’s not going to give this up. ‘I swear on the Loric code, if there is such a thing.’
‘Of course there’s such a thing! You and Sandor were just too busy living this cushy life, playing with your toys, to bother with anything as basic as Loric code,’ I retort. We ride in silence for a few minutes. ‘Okay, I’ll tell you this about Sarah. You know when you’re talking to a beautiful girl and she’s focused only on you and everything is going great?’
‘Yeah.’
‘And you think you’re with the hottest girl in the state, maybe in the country, maybe even on Earth. Just by walking in a room, she lights it up. Everyone wants to be her best friend, wants to marry her, or both. Can you picture her?’
Nine’s smile widens. ‘Yeah. Okay. I can picture her.’
‘Well, that’s Sarah. She’s the hot girl who lights up the room. She treats you like you’re the most important person she’s ever met. When she smiles at you, oh man, it’s the best, and nothing else matters. On top of all that, she’s the sweetest, smartest, most creative person I’ve ever met. And she loves animals and once –’
‘Dude. I don’t care if she’s nice to puppies. Just give me her deets, her look, her style.’
I’ve never known anyone so relentless. I sigh. ‘Blond hair, blue eyes. Tall and thin – and you should see her in this one red sweater she has. It’s not even fair how gorgeous she looks in it.’
Nine howls at the ceiling, waking Bernie Kosar up in the back seat. I point at him. ‘Hey! You’re not supposed to say anything, remember? On the Loric code?’
‘Okay, okay, okay,’ Nine says. ‘Thank you for that tidbit. She sounds like a total babe. Now, tell me about Six.’ He rubs his hands together, grinning in anticipation.
‘No way!’
‘Aw, come on, Johnny.’
I laugh. It’s impossible not to want to talk about her. ‘Okay. Six. Let’s see. Well, first of all, she’s the strongest person I’ve ever met.’
He snorts. ‘Give me a break. I’m sure I could kick her ass.’
‘I don’t know, man. Wait until you meet her.’
He fixes his hair in the mirror. ‘Huh, I can’t wait.’
‘And she’s got long black hair, and she always looks like she’s pissed off –’
‘Have you ever noticed, there’s something kind of exciting when a girl is mad at you? ’ Nine muses, tapping his chin as if he were really giving it deep thought.
I suddenly feel guilty. I shouldn’t be talking like this, with Nine of all people. And I definitely shouldn’t be comparing Six and Sarah this way, as if it’s a competition – especially since they hate each other. Sarah hates Six because of everything I said about Six the night she turned me in, and Six hates Sarah because I risked our lives going to see her when Six needed my help. And because she thinks Sarah betrayed us. ‘I don’t feel right talking about Six. I think I’ll just let you meet her, come to your own conclusions.’
Nine shakes his head. ‘You are such a wuss, dude.’
For a while, we ride along in silence. Road signs announce where we are. I check the tablet again, grateful for Nine and Sandor’s love of electronics. If I couldn’t plug it into the car’s computer, I would have no way to see if the three Garde members have reappeared. I see the blips representing me and Nine in eastern Oklahoma; there’s still one in New Mexico, and a fourth is moving quickly north over the Atlantic Ocean. The other three showed up in England, and I still don’t know how they could have gotten there so quickly from India. I decide to give myself permission to check again in five or ten minutes.
I look out the window, examining the signs as they go by. We’re more than halfway to New Mexico when I notice the gas gauge is perilously close to EMPTY. I point to it and Nine pulls in to a truck stop. He asks me to open the glove compartment. Two rolls of hundred-dollar bills roll out and into my lap.
‘Damn,’ I say, catching them.
‘Let me have one of those, will ya?’ Nine asks.
I peel off a bill and hand it to him. He pops the gas tank and climbs out of the car. I put a few of the bills in my pocket and tuck the rest of it back in the glove compartment. Exhausted, I pull the lever to recline the seat, put my head back and close my eyes. Bernie Kosar leans forward and licks my cheek, making me chuckle. I am bone-weary tired, but I fight the sleep that tries to wash over me. I can’t deal with what comes with sleep. I’m sick of taking on Setrákus Ra in my dreams.
I let my mind wander to Sarah and Six; I hope they’re both okay. Then I think of Sam. I still can’t believe I abandoned my best friend. I tell myself I had no choice. The blue force field had incapacitated me to the point where going back in would have been suicide. No matter how true all of this is, it still feels bad.
I’m startled from my thoughts by the loud click of the gas pump finishing its fill. I breathe deeply, eyes still closed, to appreciate every last second of silence before Nine gets back into the car. Except, the silence continues. Nine doesn’t hop in and start to chatter away. I open my eyes and look back at the pump, but no one is there. Where is he? I look around the gas station. Nothing. I’m immediately worried. I get out, Bernie Kosar hopping out behind me, and lock the doors.
First I head inside the station – he’s not there. Next, I go out to the parking lot which is full of semi-trailers. With my advanced hearing, I pick up Nine’s voice, and I can tell he’s good and pissed off. Bernie Kosar and I run towards his voice, weave around several trailers, and find him standing between two young guys with blood on their T-shirts. In front of Nine are three big truckers, all of them shouting in his face.
‘What did you just say to me?’ the trucker in the middle asks Nine. Under his yellow cap, a bushy red beard covers the man’s face.
‘Are you deaf?’ Nine says, over-enunciating as if speaking to an idiot. ‘I said, You have girl arms. I mean, look at your wrists.’ Why does he insist on looking for trouble?
‘Uh, what’s up?’ I interrupt, walking over.
The trucker on the right, a tall guy wearing aviator sunglasses, looks at me. He points his finger in my face and yells, ‘Mind your own business, asshole!’ As I join the group, the trucker on the left spits a long stream of brown juice at my feet.
‘As far as I’ve figured out,’ Nine turns to explain to me, ‘these fat guys are angry at these little guys. The little guys were hitchhiking and caught a ride with one of them, promising money they didn’t have. So now, the fat guys are trying to beat up the little guys with their puny girl arms.’
I turn to the truckers, the fat guys, and try to make nice. ‘Okay, well, none of this has anything to do with us, and we need to get on the road. So, guys, let me apologize for my friend, who clearly doesn’t know when to mind his own business.’
‘Yeah,’ the bearded trucker growls at Nine. ‘Just get the hell out of here, punk, and let us deal with these lowlifes.’
I take my first real look at the hitchhikers. They smell like they’ve been on the road for a while. They couldn’t be more than eighteen, probably younger. As the truckers move towards them menacingly, they glance at each other with real panic in their eyes. Next thing I know, Nine is stepping in front of the little guys and saying, ‘I don’t care who promised what to who. You touch these kids again and I’ll break all your goddamn arms.’