Nil (18 page)

Now Thad looked over, one eyebrow raised. “Do you run into lots of wild hogs in Georgia?”

My face felt hot. “Well, I haven’t, but they’ve made the papers. There was this one, named Hogzilla. It was huge, like, a thousand pounds.” Knowing I sounded Southern crazy, I got back on track. “My point is, wild hogs can be dangerous, especially when they’re protecting their babies. And if you want to play what-if, what if the hog had gored you, too? When you came back, covered in blood, I thought—”

I broke off, remembering Thad staggering down the trail, drenched in red. My voice shook. “I’m really glad you’re okay.”

“Me too.” He sounded choked. “Thanks.”

Thad’s eyes dropped to my lips.

Finally
, I thought. I felt guilty for wanting Thad so much, especially right now, but heaven help me, I did. My lips tingled in anticipation. As I leaned closer, I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

Reaching over, he took my hand. With his thumb, Thad rubbed the inside of my wrist, then my palm, making me shiver—until I realized he was rubbing away blood. Dried blood, staining my skin like a macabre tattoo, from the few seconds I’d held Thad’s arm.

My skin burned; he was rubbing too hard.

“It’s okay,” I said, covering his hand with mine. “It’s okay.”

Thad jerked his hand back, and my hands fell together, empty. As I tucked them in my lap, Thad put his hands on his knees and closed his eyes, like he was fighting something—maybe himself. “Charley, I—”

Thad broke off, listening. As Thad stood, I heard the sounds of people. Moments later, Miguel, Johan, and Rives came into view.

“What’s up?” Thad asked.

“Just getting dinner,” Rives said. “Julio wants to get the pig on the coals ASAP.”

Thad nodded, then turned to me. “Charley, thanks for the shorts and towel. And—for what you said. I’ll catch you later, okay?” The distance was back.

Rives spoke up. “Thad, we’ve got this, bro. You don’t have to come.”

“Yes, I do.” Thad’s jaw was hard.

He looked back at me, but he was already gone, withdrawn to a place I couldn’t reach and wasn’t sure I wanted to. Then, without another word, Thad took off, striding down the trail alone. Miguel and Rives exchanged a long glance, then jogged after Thad. Johan lagged a few yards behind.

Ten quick steps later, the group was gone.

Thad’s bloody clothes lay by the bank. Using a stick, I flicked them into the Cove, into the same spot where Thad and I had washed Kevin’s clothes. I swished and rinsed, repulsed by the blood seeping from the cloth, and grateful I’d thought to bring soap. When the cloth finally rinsed clean, I wrung out the shorts and tucked them in my bag along with Thad’s towel. Then I wondered what to do next.

Oddly enough, I didn’t feel like company.

I headed west, winding through thick foliage. Eventually the path shifted north, and as the ground rose, I came to a junction. One route cut hard left, toward the ocean, I guessed; the other veered slightly east.
Inland
, I thought. I thought of the prehistoric roars—roars I hadn’t heard since I’d come to the City—and without hesitation, I hooked left.

I’d just spied the ocean through the trees when a boy popped into sight, his back to me. He lunged toward the beach, like a sprinter bursting from the blocks, and recognition hit me like a rock.

At the same moment I said, “Bart?” a burst of noise cut the quiet; it was a girl, barking commands like a Spanish general.

Bart spun toward me, startled. “Charley! You scared the crap out of me!” Color flooded his pale face as he waved for me to follow. “C’mon, let’s go!”

Three more commands, then a shout. More like a whoop.

Bart broke through the trees. A few steps behind, so did I, and I nearly ran smack into a dark-haired girl.

Heesham stood a few feet away, on a white sand beach I’d never seen. Both wore grins brighter than the sun. Seeing us, the girl threw both hands in the air in triumph. Dangling from her fingers was a twine circle, holding the biggest shark’s tooth I’d ever seen.

“Samuel!” she cried. “He’s gone!”

“Awesome,” I said, watching Bart slap Heesham’s giant palm in a sloppy high-five. “Where was the gate?”

“Near the trees.” Heesham grinned. But even before he pointed to the spot, I knew.

It was precisely where Bart had been hiding.

CHAPTER

23

THAD

DAY 280, LATE MORNING

I tracked the blood, rewinding the morning. Everything I’d said, everything I’d done.

Echoes of Charley rang in my head.
You did all you could
.

Echoes of Rives.
You’ve done enough.

Echoes of Li.
Nil crazy.

Li was right. Nil was freaking nuts.

The blood trail darkened, and then the blood was thick, because I was there. The scene was fresh in my head, like a low-budget horror flick. Only all that was left were scattered entrails—the beast was gone. By the looks of it, something had dragged it away. Something bigger than the hog.

Nil crazy
.

“It’s gone.” My voice was flat. “Something took it.”

“Whoa,” Rives said, walking over to the trail’s edge, where heavy drag marks scraped the rocks and lines of blood told the story. “Something hungry.”

“Not anymore,” I said.

“Amen to that,” Johan said.

Knife out, I jogged to the black rocks, where I’d first heard the squeals. Behind the largest rock was a dark hole, almost a cave.

“Rives,” I called. “Check it out. I think this is where it lived.”

To the left of the burrow, something snorted. Rives and I spun at once, knives out. A small beastie cowered, bloody and whimpering.

“Warthog for sure,” Rives said. Then with one swift slice, he killed it.

I wasn’t really sure why I went back. Maybe to purge the nightmare from my system, maybe to reassure myself the nightmare was real. But now having gone, I felt better—and worse. Strangely numb, to the badness that was Nil.

I needed a breather.

I needed to get off Nil—
right now
—and I knew just how to get the relief I craved.

“Let’s go,” I said. It was all I could do not to run.

Near the Shack, Macy and Maria flanked Heesham. Full of life, Heesham was talking fast.

“—flashed right there. A short sprint, twenty meters, tops. Samuel stepped in and that was it.”

Catching Samuel’s name, I stopped. “Samuel made it?” I asked.

“Sure did.” Heesham grinned. “First day of Search, too. Good karma, man. A good day on Nil.” He hugged Maria, who squeezed him back and laughed.

I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. Stretched to my limit, I ran.

Paddling out, I left Nil behind. For the next hour, I focused on the waves and the rush, and absolutely nothing else.

There was no blood in the water.

CHAPTER

24

CHARLEY

DAY 14, TWILIGHT

The festive air of the previous night was gone.

A small hog roasted on the beachside firepit, and the torches were lit, but the similarity to last night ended there. With three Search teams gone, fewer people were around, and the ones who remained were subdued. Rory was gone, but he wasn’t forgotten.

But he will be
, I thought. Because when I passed the Wall, I noticed he’d never carved his name.

I scanned the beach for Thad. I hadn’t seen him since the Cove. I’d worried about him all afternoon, wondering if he still blamed himself for Rory’s death. Plus, there was something I needed to talk to him about—something that had nothing to do with Rory. Unfortunately, Thad was nowhere in sight.

Seeing Jillian and Talla, I waved, but it was Bart who caught my eye. I gave him a noncommittal wave and turned around. Bart was the last person I wanted to talk to. I was certain I’d caught him just as he was about to make a dash for Samuel’s gate, and even though I didn’t mention it, I sensed Bart knew that
I
knew. He’d followed me around all afternoon like a puppy, obviously trying to make a better impression.

It hadn’t worked.

Talla intercepted me as I left the beach. Her hair was tied in a tight ponytail, making the bruise on her cheek more prominent.

“Charley, aren’t you going to eat?” Talla never wasted time with hellos.

I shrugged. “I’m not hungry.”

“Doesn’t matter,” she said. “You need to eat when food’s around, especially the good stuff.” She cocked her head. “Or are you avoiding someone?”

Direct, as always,
I thought. “Maybe.”

“Well, better confront him now. Don’t let the problem fester. Not here, where time is short.”

Bart was watching us, and for a second, I actually considered taking Talla’s advice. Then I dismissed the thought. I’d spent too long with Bart today as it was, and my gut said confronting him wouldn’t do any good. Sometimes the better course of action was to do nothing, letting worries work themselves out.

Talla made a frustrated sound. “Don’t think, go. Thad’s over there.” She pointed to where Thad stood with Johan in the shadows.

Before I had a chance to tell Talla she’d misunderstood, Thad looked up and our eyes caught. For one long moment, we stared at each other. With a dismissive nod, Thad turned away.

My cheeks burned. I felt eyes on me, but none were Thad’s.

“Thanks, but I’m worn out,” I said. “See you tomorrow.”

Talla followed me. “Charley, stop. Whatever it is, handle it now, before you get hurt.” Her voice hardened. “Or before it hurts someone else.”

I whirled, wondering who she was talking about.
Bart? Or Thad?
It didn’t matter either way; right now I didn’t want to talk to either one. I just wanted to get away—from the boys, from this night. From Talla. From this entire place.

She stared at me expectantly, arms crossed.

“Thanks for the advice,” I said, doing my best to sound civil and failing. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

True to my word, I weighed Talla’s words. Like my nana always says, you get what you pay for, and in the case of Talla, her advice was free. Worthless. I tossed it out and decided to take my own. I’d let things work themselves out.

It was a terrible call.

CHAPTER

25

THAD

DAY 282, MORNING

I dripped with sweat from hauling black rock. “I think we’re good,” I told Rives, nodding at the pile. “Let’s clear the loose rock first, then mix paste.”

For the last few hours, we’d been prepping to repair the base of the last A-frame, the one anchoring the left corner of the City ring. The rear wall had crumbled, and no one could camp there until it was secure. Now that we had the rocks, we just had to build it back. Not an easy task, since we weren’t the ones who’d built it in the first place.

Voices carried across the open air, and Charley’s stood out. Part of a group headed to the groves, she was walking past the firepit. Long legs, tight lines, and chin lifted like it was her against the world. Against Nil’s world.

“Thad.” Rives cleared his throat.

I forced myself to look at Rives. “Yeah?”

“Take off, man.” He nodded toward Charley’s group. “We’ll finish later. I told Julio I’d help him with the pits anyway.”

“If you need to go, go.” I resumed methodically stripping away loose rocks. “I’ve got a ton of crap to do. No time for field trips today.”

Rives was quiet, and he didn’t move.

“So are you helping me or Julio?” My voice was unexpectedly harsh.

“You,” Rives answered, dropping beside me. “Let’s get it done.”

We worked in silence. I focused on the rocks, or tried to.

Rives spoke first. “Listen, Thad, if you want to talk—”

“I don’t.”

“Okay, bro,” Rives said. “But if you don’t want to talk to me, then you at least need to talk to you know who.”

Wrong
, I thought. Charley was the one person I
couldn’t
talk to. And that was the problem.

I felt Rives’s eyes on me, waiting, but it was a grating nasal whine that shattered our silence.

“Thad!”

I looked up to see Bart striding toward us.

“Have you seen Charley?” he asked, his eyes sharp.

“Why?” I couldn’t help snapping.

“Does it matter?” Bart asked with a slick smile. In that moment, I could tell he was enjoying this conversation way too much.

“Not really,” I said, shrugging. “I just like knowing where everyone is jobwise. And come to think of it, aren’t you supposed to be harvesting taro right now?”

“We’re going this afternoon,” he answered quickly.

“Really,” I said. “In full sun.” I didn’t take my eyes off Bart.

He nodded. “We thought it’d go faster if we gathered a crew. That’s why I’m looking for Charley.”

“Well, you’re out of luck. She already took off on her job detail. Like most everyone else.”

Bart’s eyes narrowed as my words hit their mark.

Rives spoke up. “Bart, buddy, now would be a good time for you to remember the little heart-to-heart we had the morning after I busted you sleeping on watch. Like I said, no one’s making you stay in the City. But either you’re in or you’re out. There’s too few of us as it is. We can’t afford to pull dead weight. You hear?”

“Are you threatening to kick me out?” Bart looked incredulous.

“No.” Rives shook his head. “But you keep complaining about Search, that no one picks you. I wonder why.”

Bart stared at Rives.

“Bart,” I said, drawing his eyes, “taro.” I pointed toward the fields. “Find a crew or not. I thought Sy and Raj were helping you anyway. For all you know, they’re already in the fields working, waiting on you.”

Bart’s face looked pinched. “You love being Leader, don’t you, Thad? Being big man on the island, telling everyone what to do. Can’t get enough, can you?”

I sighed. “If you want the job, Bart, ask for it. But considering no one will pick you for Search, I wouldn’t count on getting the vote for Leader. And feel free to nominate someone else anytime.”