Chapter 18 #2
Thad’s fingers brushed the wood, sweeping away the last shavings from my name.
Seven letters, etched forever, then a space.
I knew that whether I wanted it filled or not, in 352 days, my spot would no longer be blank.
Two names above me, a fresh check followed Sabine.
Other spots were blank, like mine. But it was the crosses that gave me chills.
Scattered across the Wall, they reminded me of the random crosses I saw when I was driving—the ones hammered into the ground marking a roadside death. Simple, and haunting.
The empty space beside Thad’s name was bracketed by two crosses, each beside a name I didn’t recognize.
“Does a cross mean what I think it means?” I asked, staring at the pair of crosses. “That those people didn’t make it?”
“Yup.” Thad said. He turned to me, his eyes pleading. “But let’s not think about that right now. Not tonight. Please?”
“Not tonight,” I whispered, feeling the weight of the lie as it passed my lips. Because I couldn’t promise not to think about those twin crosses near Thad, advancing like they wanted to swallow him, too. Eighty-six days.
I forced myself to focus on the “right now” part: right now Thad was right here.
“Thanks,” I said.
“For what?”
“For carving my name. And for this.” I touched my lei, careful not to crush the flowers.
“You’re welcome, Charley with an e-y.” Thad’s voice was husky. He grinned, and my mouth went dry. “Ready for a Nil Night?”
“Ready,” I managed.
“Lead on,” he said, gesturing for me to go first.
The beach gathering reminded me of an old-fashioned luau.
I’d been to one at the Polynesian resort in Disney World, which was as artificial a luau as you can get.
But this one felt like the real deal. There was a pit in the sand, lined with coals and an honest-to-goodness pig.
There was a bonfire surrounded by black rock.
Fish and crabs steamed over the fire, and yams baked near the crabs.
Julio had concocted more sweet bread; it sat beside bowls of pineapple and mango on a makeshift table.
Girls wore flower leis or blossoms in their hair, or both. Others wore necklaces made of shells, nuts, or things I couldn’t identify. Same for the boys. Some necklaces matched; more often they didn’t.
And there was music. An Asian boy played reed pipes.
Samuel, the dark-haired boy with a massive shark-tooth necklace blacker than his skin rocked a set of drums that look worn and weathered.
A freckled girl with two long braids—Jillian, I recalled—sat beside him, singing and playing a primitive guitar.
Rory, the angry boy who’d fallen out of the gate dropping f-bombs, stood apart from the group. He leaned against a tree, arms crossed, watching. Even in the dark he looked sunburned and wary.
Natalie handed me a coconut cup, then gave one to Thad. “Drinks on me,” she said, smiling.
“Thanks.” I took a sip and found the same fruity water I’d had yesterday. “Yummy.”
A boy came over and draped his arm across Natalie’s shoulders.
As tall as Thad, with skin like my favorite latte and bleached-out dreads, I placed him immediately: he was the athletic boy I’d first seen running on the beach, the same boy who’d led Rory away.
But for the life of me, I couldn’t remember his name.
“Hello, Charley.” He grinned. His eyes were strikingly light. “I haven’t had the pleasure. I’m Rives. Rhymes with ‘leaves,’ but it’s R-i-v-e-s on the Wall, in case you’re looking.” He winked. Rives’s smile was infectious; it put me at ease. So did the fact that Natalie didn’t throw off his arm.
“Nice to meet you, Rives-who-rhymes-with-leaves,” I said, smiling back.
“Even if it is under these circumstances.” Rives’s grin widened.
Natalie leaned into Rives, which made her look even smaller. “Charley, stay away from this boy. He’s trouble with a capital T.”
Rives feigned outrage. “What? Nat, you’re my girl. Where’s the love?” He wrapped his arms around her, giving her a squeeze.
Natalie laughed. “You know I love you, twin. But I’ve got to protect Charley.”
“Nat’s right,” Thad said, “watch out for Rives.” But like Natalie, Thad was smiling.
“Gotcha,” I said. “I’ll add him to my list of Nil dangers.”
Rives hooted. “Flattery will get you everywhere.” He planted a kiss on Natalie’s cheek, then let her go. “Later, twin.” Grinning like the devil, he said, “See ya, Charley. Thad.”
“Later, man,” Thad said.
“For twins, y’all don’t look a thing alike,” I told Natalie as Rives walked away.
“You don’t think so?” Then she burst out laughing. “We share the same birthday. A weird Nil-incidence.” She shrugged, then sipped her water. I wondered how long Rives had been here. Long enough to be chummy with Natalie, I thought. And Thad.
Beside me, Thad whistled, making everyone turn.
“Grab a cup, everybody.” He waited for everyone to get situated.
“First, to Kevin, who made it. Here’s to you, brother.
” Thad raised his cup as shouts of “to Kevin” and random woots cut the night.
“And to Sabine, who gave us heaps to be thankful for while she was here, stuff that’ll still help even though she’s gone.
And even better, she’s not just gone, she caught a gate.
” He raised his cup. “To Sabine.” Sabine’s name drifted through the night as cups filled the air.
“And to Charley, and Rory, welcome. We’re glad you’re here, even though we’re sorry you’re here.” He raised his cup to me and smiled. “Cheers.”
The crowd fell away; it was just us, inches apart, and the warmth I felt had nothing to do with the fire.
Thad took a sip, then as he turned back to the group, his smile vanished. “As some of you’ve heard, the Shack was trashed again last night. Nothing was taken, just messed up. But we can’t afford to lose supplies, so for now, we’ve set up watch on the Shack.”
Reading between the lines, Thad’s words held a warning. If it’s one of us, we’re gonna catch you. For the first time, it occurred to me that perhaps not everyone was thrilled with the City.
Thad kept talking. “Three Search teams will roll out at dawn. Li’s got Cassie as Spotter, Quan and Raj as support.
Samuel chose Maria as Spotter, Heesham as support.
And Nat’s heading out, with Jason as Spotter…
” This last announcement triggered loud hoots and yeahs, drowning out Thad’s words.
Natalie looked almost happy. I hoped Jason was a good Spotter.
“So that’s it. Focus on the good, live in the moment. To now.” Thad raised his cup. Cups filled the air, and the chorus of “to now” was deafening.
“Ready?” he asked, turning back to me.