Chapter 3
We decide to head to the annex, see how Wilf and the others are faring. Max looks at the town wide-eyed as we retreat into the forest. So much destruction. We never really lived here, but knowing it was here turns out to be more important than we thought.
“I know it looks bad,” Mom says, “but we rebuilt once. We can do it again.”
“We sure have a way of destroying our towns, though, don’t we?” Max says.
“History of humans, sweetie.”
Mom’s taken all the cure we can find from the clinic, and me and Max are carrying it in bags.
The annex has sports stuff and scientific materials, maybe some of it can be used to shoot the cure at the gods or spray it over them or worst case, just splash them.
It’s not a great idea, but it’s what we’ve got.
Pop is still struggling, trying to hide it, but we can all see his Noise.
You gonna make it to the annex? I ask him.
“Oh, yeah,” he says, with a grunt.
But he’s pale still. The bots have stopped the bleeding, but that might only be on the outside. He could be bleeding all kinds of ways inside without us even knowing it.
Pop? I sign.
“Yeah, Ben?”
Can the Sky help us?
“He’s got no reason to help us anymore, Ben,” Pop says sadly. “I’m sorry, but he doesn’t.”
He likes you, though.
Pop laughs, then winces at the pain this causes. “Like is a strong word. We know each other. We’ve been through terrible things together–”
And he tried to kill you.
“A long time ago,” Pop says. “I’m sorry, I don’t think my connection to him is going to work to save us anymore. Not after everything we’ve done. Not after what happened in the marketplace.”
You know what happened in the marketplace? I sign.
“The Conversation told us,” Max says. “Nothing is a secret here.”
“What was Burly thinking?” Mom says.
“And where is he now to pay for it?” Max asks.
He was thinking he wanted to show the Land we weren’t afraid of them, I sign.
“Are you defending him again?” Max says, irritated, and I wonder how much sleep he’s even had in the past week. Then I think that I’ve had quite a bad day, too, you know?
No, I sign, it was a stupid idea, but it was an idea, at least. If you act like you’re afraid all the time, then people aren’t going to treat you right.
Max blinks. “Are you talking about me?”
I roll my eyes. Believe it or not, Max, I’m not always talking about you.
“You’re the one who’s afraid all the time, brother.”
“Hey,” Mom says. “We don’t have time for this.”
Max doesn’t listen. “You’re afraid of breaking any rules. Afraid of stepping an inch out of line.”
“Stop it now, Max,” Pop says.
I stood up to gods yesterday, I sign angrily. So what exactly am I afraid of?
“You’re afraid that someone somewhere will think you’re anything but completely, boringly normal,” Max says.
I am normal! I sign furiously.
“You don’t have the Noise dreams, and you think that leaves you out.”
“You don’t?” Pop says.
“You don’t?” Mom says. “Why didn’t you tell us?”
Because it DOES leave me out! I sign. It’s not a bad thing to want to belong.
“You can’t belong to everything and everyone, Ben!” Max shouts. “You end up belonging to nobody!”
I’ve made myself the same as everyone else! I worked hard at it!
“You’re not, though! Don’t you see?” His voice cracks a little, like he’s really upset as well as being pissed off. “You’re the boy who gets left behind in the story!”
No, I’m not! You are!
“Me?” he says. “Ben, please. It’s the most obvious thing in the world that it’s you.”
I shake my head, because I know it’s him, even if that’s maybe something I just want to believe after the first god passed me over and the other reached for Tara but not me. It’s him, and I won’t let them take him.
I’m looking after you! I sign. I’m always looking after you.
“I don’t need that much looking after.”
Yes, you do, you’re always saying how everyone thinks you’re a freak!
But he’s shaking his head. “Not just me, brother. They think that about you, too.”
And I don’t know if it’s pent-up tension with him or if it’s all the shit that’s been happening to us or who even knows, but I lunge at Max and knock him to the ground and he honestly looks annoyed that he didn’t do it first. I get a fist to his face, but unfortunately, he also gets a fist to mine.
We roll over in the leaves and muck. He gets on top of me, ready to punch some more, but Mom knocks him off me.
“Now?” she yells. “You choose to fight about this now?”
He started it, I sign.
“No,” Mom says, “you did, but he escalated it.”
I try to get up, but I lose my balance–
It’s Max who grabs me.
I look at him, surprised.
“You’re still my brother, dickhead,” he says.
I pant for a second.
And you’re mine, I sign. I’m sorry. Asshole.
“I’m sorry, too, prickface.”
I grin and sign, Dicknose.
“Buttmouth.”
“Okay,” Mom says, “that’s quite enough. Let’s at least just get to the annex please.”
Then she stops.
Because out there, in the distance somewhere–
We hear a god begin to scream.