In the back was a barn, as well as a bunkhouse where he and the other dregs slept. Usually they could be found outside with their tutor, Mr. Sicamore, or baling hay, mowing and scooping manure into a wheelbarrow for fertilizer. The chores were meant to help them learn the importance of hard work and responsibility. Only taught them to hate work, if you asked Aden.
Thankfully today was everyones day off. As he strode past the gate, no one was out and about.
Youre right that she could have lived in a different town at the same time as me, though the odds of that are pretty bad. Still, I promise you, I never saw her, really saw her, until today, Aden said, picking up their conversation where theyd left off. If he and Mary Ann had crossed paths before, he would have experienced that sweet silence. That was not something he would have forgotten.
Caleb laughed, though there was a sharp edge to his amusement. You keep your head down and your eyes averted everywhere you go. You could have met your mother and you wouldnt have known it.
True. But Ive been shuffled from one mental institution to another, and even juvie, where no girls were allowed. This is the first time Ive really been out in public, no matter what town Ive been in. Where would I have met her?
Eves breathy sigh drifted through his head. I dont know.
I still think you should stay away from her, Elijah said solemnly.
Why? Had the psychic already divined Mary Anns death and now hoped to save him from the heartache of her loss? Aden fought a rush of dread. When Elijah told him when and how someone was going to die, that someone died, exactly as Elijah had said. No exceptions. Why? he rasped again.
Justbecause.
Why! he insisted, the question harsher than hed intended. He needed a good reason or hed be hunting her down at the first opportunity. Anything for another taste of that silence.
Well, I for one dont like how powerless I feel when youre around her, Julian said.
Elijah? Aden insisted.
I just dont like her, the psychic grumbled. All right? Happy now?
No impending death, then. Thank God.
Aden tripped as one of Dans dogs, Sophia, a black-and-white Border collie, tangled around his ankles, barking for attention. He petted her head and she continued to dance around him. As he stood there, an idea took root in his mind. He didnt speak it, not yet. But he did say, Well, I do like her, and I wantneedto spend more time with her.
Then youre going to have to find a way to set us free, Elijah said. Any more time in that black hole and Ill go insane.
How? Theyd already tried a thousand different ways. Exorcism, spells, prayer. Nothing had worked. And with his own death looming, he was becoming desperate. Not just for the peace it would give him these last yearsmonths? weeks? of his life, but because he didnt want his only friends dying with him. He wanted them to have lives of their own. The lives theyd always craved.
Lets say we did find a way out. Eve paused. Wed then need bodies, living bodies, or I fear well be as insubstantial as ghosts.
True. But bodies arent something we can order online, Julian said.
Aden will find a way, Caleb replied, confident.
Impossible, Aden wanted to say, but didnt. No reason to destroy their hope. When he reached the main house, he muttered, Well finish this conversation later, and meshed his lips together. All the lights were dimmed, no shuffling feet or banging pots echoing. Still. No telling who lurked where.
He knocked on the front door. Waited a while. Knocked again. Waited even longer. No one appeared. His shoulders sagged in disappointment. He really wanted to talk to Dan and put his as yet unspoken idea in motion.
Sighing, he made the trek to the bunkhouse. Sophia barked and finally raced off. Inside, the warm but fresh breeze died, air thickening with dust. Hed shower, change, maybe grab a bite to eat, then head back to the house. If Dan wasnt back by then, hed have to wait until next week to talk to him. He hadnt forgotten that the poison even now swimming through his veins was going to start pummeling him in the next few hours, at which point hed be no good to anyone.
This was just the calm before the storm.
There was a murmur of voices in the background, and Aden tried to tiptoe to his room. But a floorboard creaked, and a second later, a familiar voice was calling, Hey, schizo. Cmere.
He paused, staring at the fat wooden beams stretching across the ceiling and wondering if he should just sneak out. He and Ozzie had never gotten along. Maybe because every word out of the guys mouth was an insult. But still. Any more fights, verbal or otherwise, and hed be kicked out. Hed already been warned.
Yo, schizo. Dont make me come after you.
A round of laughter.
So Ozzies sheep were there, as well.
Leave. I cant deal with another upset today, Julian said.
Walk away and theyll think youre weak. The pronouncement came from Elijah, therefore had a greater chance of being true. Then youll never have a moments peace.
Wrong. Go to the woods and you can have peace right now, Caleb said. Besides, you cant fight them in your condition.
Just get it over with. Eves determination made her voice harsh. Otherwise youll worry about being ambushed all night. And sick as youll be, you dont need that on your mind.
Jaw clenched, he stalked to his room, tossed down his backpack and then crossed the hall into Ozzies room.
You always listen to Eve, Julian whined.
Because hes smart, Eve said.
Because hes a teenager and youre a female, Caleb muttered.
Youve never complained about my being female before.
When Aden appeared in the doorway, a grinning Ozzie looked him up and down. The grin soon became a sneer. What have you been doing? Making out with the vacuum since no ones desperate enough to actually touch you? Or maybe you and one of your invisible friends hooked up. Was it a guy or a girl this time?
The rest of the dregs snickered.
It was a girl, Aden said. Shed just left you, so she was desperate enough.
Burned, the other dregs laughed.
Ozzie stilled. His eyes narrowed.
Ozzie had been here a little over a year, which was months longer than everyone else. From what Aden had gathered, hed gotten busted for drugs and shoplifting on more than one occasion and his parents had finally washed their hands of him.
Im outta here, Aden said.
Stay right there. Ozzie held up a half-smoked joint. His blond hair was spiked, as if hed tangled his hands in it one too many times. Youre gonna take a drag. You need help with your crazy.
More laughter.
No, thanks. He didnt need drug use added to his already-lengthy record.
I wasnt asking you, Ozzie snapped. Smoke. Now.
No. Thanks. Aden studied the bedroom. It was a mirror image of his own. Plain white walls, a bunk bed with matching brown comforters on both the top and the bottom, a dresser and a desk. Nothing extra. No wall hangings or framed photos. To help them forget the past and concentrate on the future, Dan liked to say about the lack of frills. Aden suspected it was because dregs came and went so quickly.
Come on, m-man. Just d-do it. Shannon, black and the biggest of them all, lounged on the pillows theyd strewn across the floor. His green eyes were red-rimmed, one of them swollen. From a recent fight? Probably. Usually, he would stutter, the dregs would make fun of him, and then hed lash out. Why he still chose to hang with them, Aden didnt know. Y-you could forget what a nut j-job you are.
Seth, Terry and Brian nodded in agreement. The three of them could have passed for brothers. Each had dark hair, dark eyes and similar boyish faces. Their individual styles set them apart, though. Seth colored thick red streaks in his hair and had a snake tattooed on the inside of one wrist. Terry wore his hair long and shaggy and dressed in baggy clothes. Brian was all smooth polish.
Saying no again was hard. Especially when it would help dull the pain he knew was coming. But he did it. If he got high, hed forget more than who he was; he would forget about talking to Dan. And he had to talk to Dan. If Dan agreed to Adens plan, Aden would get to see a lot more of Mary Ann.
With that kind of incentive, hed give up anything, everything.
Whatever, man. Ozzies cheeks hollowed as he inhaled, and smoke wafted around his face. I knew you were pathetic.
Do not react. Wheres Ryder? The sixth member of their crew.
Dan found a bag in his roomempty, of course, or hed be outand took him into town for drug testing, Seth said. Theyll be gone for hours. Hence the party.
Parties are like cupcakes, Terry said with a grin.
Uh, what?
No, parties are like peeing in a cup, Brian said and everyone burst into loud guffaws as if the funniest joke ever had just been dropped.
Had he been this stupid the few times hed gotten high? Aden wondered.
A knock suddenly sounded at the front door, followed by a creak of hinges.
Were back, Ryder called nervously. He must have known what they were doing.
Gone for hours, huh? Aden said.
Ozzie cursed and scrambled to hide the joint, tossing it inside a metal container. He slammed the lid over it to contain the smoke.
Seth grabbed a can of air freshener and sprayed in a circle. Terry tossed the pillows back onto the bed. Brian scrambled around, looking for a way out. And Shannon remained in place, resting his head in his upraised hands. Then Ryder was striding inside the room, red hair standing on end, lips peeled back in a scowl.
Dan was right behind him. He stopped in the doorway beside Aden, thumbs hooked in his belt loop, baseball cap low on his head. Disapproval clouded his deeply tanned features as he sniffed the air.
Im trying to save your lives, boys. You know that, dont you?
A few of the dregs gazed down at their feet in shame. Ozzie just smirked. No one spoke.
Finish cleaning up and then I want you to do something useful. In fact, each of you will pick a book from the box I gave you last week and read at least five chapters. Youll tell me what you read tomorrow morning at breakfast.
Groans erupted.
None of that, now. Dan studied each of their faces, one by one. When he reached Aden, he blinked in surprise, as if he hadnt realized Aden was there. Lets take a walk, he said. He didnt wait for Adens reply, but pounded out of the bunkhouse, the door slamming shut behind him.
Tell him where my stash is, Ozzie growled at him, and Ill cut your throat.
Try, Aden said, and pivoted on his heel.
Did you have to antagonize him? Eve asked, clearly frustrated.
Yes. He didnt react well to threats.
Outside, clean air once again enveloped him, and he breathed deeply. The sun had fallen some more, casting a gloomy haze around him. It was the perfect contrast to his suddenly bright mood. For the first time in perhaps forever, Aden was hopeful his life could change for the better.
Dan was a few feet ahead, strolling toward the north pasture, and Aden rushed to catch up with him. Even though Aden was just above six feet, Dan towered over him.
A few times over the past week, when Aden thought no one inside his head was paying attention, hed pretended Dan was his dad. They certainly looked like they could be related. Both of them had pale hair (when Aden didnt dye his to stop the blond jokes), lips almost too full for a boy and square jaws. When hed realized what he was doing, though, hed forced himself to stop. Surprisingly, stopping had made him depressed.
What did his real father look like? Aden didnt have any pictures. Didnt even have memories of him. Only thing he knew about the man was that hed given Aden up. Which meant, he, too, had considered Aden a freak. At least Dan didnt treat him like a mentally unstable child in need of confinement.
Lets get to the heart of the matter, shall we? Dan said when Aden reached him. He tipped his hat for a better view of the land. What have you been up to today?
Aden gulped. Hed expected the question, had even planned his answer. But the only word he could force out of his mouth was, Nothing. He hated lying to Dan, but it couldnt be helped. Who would believe hed been battling corpses?
Nothing, huh? Dan arched a brow in disbelief. Nothing is the reason your face is smeared with gunk and your neck is eaten up with bite marks? Nothing is the reason youve been gone all day? You know you have to keep me informed.
I left a note telling you I was exploring the town. There. Truth. He had explored. Wasnt his fault hed stumbled upon the living dead. I didnt do anything illegal or hurt anyone. Again, truth. There was no law against killing people who were already dead, and you couldnt hurt a corpse. You have my word.
Dan removed a toothpick from his shirt pocket and anchored it between his teeth. Exploring on your day off is fine, encouraged, even, if you gain my permission first. You didnt. I would have sent my cell phone with you, so I would be able to get a hold of you if necessary. But you didnt give me the opportunity. You dropped the note on my kitchen counter and snuck out. I could call your caseworker and have you picked up for this.
His caseworker, Ms. Killerman, was the reason Aden was here. She was hellishly old, probably thirtysomething like Dan, and struck Aden as, well, cold. Shed been assigned to him while hed been wasting away in the last institution. Hed had a tutor, of course, but he hadnt been able to leave the grounds.
Hed complained. When Killerman told him about the D and M and placed a request for his admittance, hed been shocked. And when a spot had finally opened up, hed been overjoyed. To think that he could now lose that spot as hed feared earlier, without Dan even seeing that decimated graveyard
Aden. Are you listening to me? Dan asked. I said I could call your caseworker about this.
I know. He peeked up at Dan, whose features were hidden in shadow. Are you?