Read Online Book Three of the Travelers by D.J. MacHale - Free Book Online Page B

bowl of vegetable and meat stew. Kemo let him into the front door. Inside was a small chamber in front of two separate cells. The girl was sitting in the exact same position she’d been in when he left. There was a slot near the floor that was obviously made for pushing food into the cell. Siry slid the bowl through.
    â€œSorry,” Siry said to the girl, “I know it’s nothing special. My mother died when I was young and my father only knows how to make two things. Vegetable and meat stew…and meat and vegetable stew.” He laughed tentatively.
    The girl showed no sign of hearing him, much less of thinking he was funny. She just grabbed the bowl and gobbled up all the stew, scooping it with her hands. He had given her a bamboo spoon, but she ignored it.
    When she was finished, the girl threw the empty bowl at him and growled. The bowl clattered off the bamboo bars, splattering him with the remains of the stew.
    Siry laughed. “Well, you have some bite, anyway,” he said. He pushed a bucket of hot water and soap through the same slot as the food. “I don’t know if you Flightersunderstand the concept of washing,” he said. “But just in case…”
    He made a motion with his hands, running them over his body as if he were bathing. The girl started drinking the water. Then she took a bite out of the soap, spit it on the ground. Siry laughed again.
    The girl glared at him as if he’d tried to trick her.
    â€œNo. Soap,” he said. “Soap!”
    He reached through the bars, grabbed the soap off the floor. The girl made an attempt to stomp his hand, but he was too quick for her. “Nice try,” he said with a grin. Then he rubbed the soap on his hands. “See? Clean. Like this.” There was a large sink and a shower on the far side of the room. He demonstrated how soap worked. “Look. See? Nice and clean.”
    The girl stared uncomprehendingly at him. He tossed the bar of soap into the water. Then he pushed a set of clean clothes through the bars. “They were my mother’s,” he said. “I don’t know if they’ll fit. My father would be upset if he knew I was giving these to you. My mother’s been dead for years. But he’s never thrown out any of her things.” He sat down on the chair opposite her cell. “It’s kind of sad, you know? He still talks about her all the time. I guess he loved her a lot.”
    The girl took a piece of juba nutshell and started picking a piece of meat out of her teeth.
    â€œShe wasn’t really my mother, though. I was adopted. My dad always says he found me floating on the waves. Isn’t that a strange thing to say to your kid? I suppose it was a nice story when I was young. But now? It seems like an insult to my intelligence.”
    The girl finally freed the piece of meat from her teeth, held it out on the juba nutshell, looked at it, then popped it back in her mouth and swallowed.
    â€œI have to say,” Siry said, “your table manners could be better.”
    She spit on the floor.
    Â 
    After he left, Kemo put one large hand on Siry’s arm. “Son, look, you probably don’t remember the last time that Rayne had serious problems with the Flighters. We spent three solid years clearing the jungles and pushing those monsters back from Rayne.”
    â€œOkay…,” Siry said.
    â€œWhat I’m saying is…” Kemo cleared his throat. “That thing in there—it looks as if you cleaned it up, it could be one of us. Don’t be fooled. It can’t be. It’s an animal. It’s sea trash. It’s dangerous.”
    â€œYes, sir,” Siry said.
    Kemo narrowed his eyes. “I’m serious, Siry. That thing in there’ll kill you and rip your throat out. And it won’t blink an eye.”
    â€œYes, sir,” Siry said.
    But as he walked away, he felt sure that Kemo was wrong. The only question in his mind was