Chapter 9
CHAPTER
CHARLEY
When I stepped onto the sand, I got my first good look at the boys.
Each one carried a brown net—I felt a sharp pang of net envy right then—and a gourd strung across one shoulder.
Both wore shorts made of the same white material as mine; neither wore shirts or shoes.
And both were really tan, without any body fat.
Considering my own nutritional predicament, I could see why.
The shorter one had curly brown hair and freckles.
His nose was peeling, badly. He looked fifteen, at most.
I was captivated by the taller boy.
He looked eighteen, maybe nineteen. Blessed with high cheekbones and sandy blond hair that brushed his broad shoulders, he looked like he’d just stepped off the cover of a cheesy romance novel in the grocery store book section. Definitely human, and totally hot.
He stared at me like I was a ghost. His stance next to the younger boy was protective.
I thought of the goat-killer, then noticing his slightly raised hand clutching a knife, abruptly I thought, Maybe he’s wary of me.
For a second, I saw myself through his eyes: gaunt, sunburned, not a speck of makeup, looking like some six-foot wild child from the bush after twelve days of oceanside camping. I was a tropical freak show.
“Hey,” I said, trying to smile. It seemed I’d forgotten how to form one. I made an effort to wave and look less threatening, but ended up feeling like a goofball as neither boy smiled.
The shorter one pointed his spear at me. “Those are Kevin’s clothes.” His dark eyes were accusing.
The taller boy reached out and gently lowered the first boy’s spear. “Did you see him?” he asked. “A guy? Dark hair, about your height?” He rested his hand on the younger boy’s shoulder, and his voice softened. “Or his body?”
They think I stole these clothes! From a dead body!
Horrified, my words spilled out in a rush.
“No! I didn’t see anyone! I mean, y’all are the first people I’ve seen!
I found these clothes, in a pile, way back there”—I waved my arm wildly toward the red desert, then grabbed my top as it slipped.
I’d grown so skinny, there wasn’t much to keep it up—“in the middle of a red rock field.”
Relief washed over the boys’ faces like sunlight. They grinned at each other, and the taller boy clapped the shorter one on the back as the short one threw a fist-pump and shouted, “Yes!” Then, as if they’d just remembered I was there, they turned back to me.
“I’m sorry,” the tall, golden-haired boy said. His features were no longer wary. His eyes were a rich sapphire blue, lighter than I’d first thought. “I’m Thad, and this is Jason.”
The younger boy smiled and waved. “Hi.”
“Hey,” I said, struck by the shift in their expressions. “I’m Charley.”
“Nice to meet you, Charley,” Thad said, flashing a cover-model grin. “Welcome to paradise.”
For a moment I couldn’t think. Then I regrouped, speaking fast. “There’s an animal. With spots. Back there.” I pointed down the beach. “It jumped from the trees and ate my goat.”
“You have a goat?” Thad raised one eyebrow, something I’d always wanted to do but couldn’t.
“Not really.” I felt like an idiot. “It was stalking me.”
“Was.” Thad nodded.
“Right. It’s dead. Because something attacked it and ate it for breakfast.”
Thad nodded again, looking oddly unconcerned, which was crazy since a giant cat-dog just ate my goat.
I glared at him. My adrenaline rush was fading fast, but I had a spark of fire left, and I leveled it at Thad. “Look, something ate that goat. Sort of like a big dog, but it moved like a cat, and it had spots. What was it?” I demanded.
“Hungry,” he said, breaking into a grin.
“Well”—I floundered a bit as I stared at his smile—“are there more of those things? Like a pack?”
Thad shrugged. “I doubt it. If I had to guess, I’d say it was the lone hyena we’ve seen lurking around the City. Usually it goes after rabbits or a Nil cat.”
“Rabbits?” I frowned. “I haven’t seen any rabbits. Or cats.”
“Maybe the hyena ate them.” As he grinned, his eyes sparkled. Gracious, was this boy hot. And slightly infuriating.
“Charley, do you know how long you’ve been here?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Twelve days.”
He did that eyebrow thing again. “Twelve?”
I nodded. “I’ve counted the days by marking a tree at sunrise, so I’m pretty sure I’m right, unless I was out for a day before I woke up, but I don’t think so.
I would have burned, because I was—” I broke off, realizing I was babbling out loud.
I never babbled. Did solitary confinement make people babble?
Or just Thad? I couldn’t think straight.
“Let me guess. You woke up naked, eh?”
I had the terrible thought that he’d seen me naked.
He chuckled. “Everyone does, not just you. But hey, now you’ve got Kevin’s clothes, eh?” He pointed to my borrowed Bermudas.
“Right,” I said, embarrassed. Something nagged at me, but my lethargic brain refused to cooperate. Thad spoke before I could find my question.
“Charley, do you remember the date? When you passed out, before you woke up here?”
“August tenth.”
“And the year?”
When I told him, he nodded, as if I’d confirmed what he already knew.
I wanted to ask him what he thought the date was, but my head was full of sludge.
Like circuits weren’t firing, or pathways weren’t connecting.
Distracted, I watched his hair brush his shoulders, his question echoing in my head.
Do you remember the date … before you woke up here?
“Where’s here?” I asked, latching on to that word like a life preserver. “Where am I?”
“Black Bay.”
Thad’s answer threw me. Before I could rephrase, he kept going, like some gorgeous island interviewer. “Charley, sorry for getting so personal, but how old are you?”
“Seventeen.” I raised my chin. “How old are you?”
He smiled. “Seventeen.”
“Really?” I said, unable to hide my surprise. “You look older.”
Thad laughed. “That’s what a little island living does for you. Speaking of island living, don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like you could use some food. And sleep. Why don’t you come with us to the City? We’ve got plenty of food and beds, and you can meet everyone when you’re ready.”
I stared at him. I didn’t know him, and now I was thinking about going off with him, to a strange city who knows where. After twelve days in isolation, the thought was a huge relief. I couldn’t believe I hesitated, and yet, I did.
“It’s okay, Charley,” Thad said quietly. “We’ve all been where you are.”
“Not all,” Jason spoke up. “Samuel came from the east, and Talla came from the groves—”
“Jason.” Thad looked at the younger boy. “Enough. You know what I mean.”
Grinning, Jason drew his fingers across his lips in a zipping motion. Thad turned back to me. “Charley?”
Looking into Thad’s eyes, I decided to trust him—as if I had any other option. “Okay,” I said, feeling shaky and weirdly overwhelmed. My adrenaline high was gone.
I thought of my dagger, my pitiful half-woven fishnet, and hollow coconuts. It wasn’t much, but it seemed important to take them—to have something of mine. Of me, of whatever was left of me, which judging by my hip bones, wasn’t much. “Let me just grab my things.”
Thad looked curious. “Need any help?”
“I’ve got it.” I wanted a minute to gather my thoughts, because my head was scary out-of-sorts.
I turned, moving so quickly my brain sloshed in my head.
Behind me, Thad kept talking to the boy whose name I’d already forgotten.
The boys’ voices faded. My legs felt heavy; each step took more effort than the last. The coconuts became bricks.
Black spots danced in front of my eyes, blurring like spots on a hungry hyena.
I had a moment of absolute clarity when I knew exactly what was about to happen. And just like before, I was powerless to stop it.