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Authors: Ron Scheer
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“Chane’s
missing.” Another winded breath. “No one has seen her since last
night.”
Chapter
Seven
Jason’s words sucked the air from my chest. I inhaled pure
terror. The fear of being jolted had nothing on this. My lungs were
so tight, what air I could get came in gasps. Where was Chane? What
happened to her?
The mayor looked sucker-punched. His eyes bulged, his face
paled, and he stumbled over his words. “I—I thought—didn’t—didn’t
she go to your mom’s last night?”
“ She did, but Mom hasn’t seen her since Chane went to bed.
Mom’s on her way with Josh,” Jason said.
They spoke softly. No one in the crowd knew what was
happening, but not for lack of effort. The mass of people inched
its way forward, trying to eavesdrop.
The coarse jolting ropes chafed my skin. I wanted loose. I
needed to find Chane. She had to be in trouble. She wasn’t the kind
of girl to run off and not tell someone where she was going. At
least, I didn’t think she was.
But if she’d left, where would she have gone? Part of a conversation we shared a few weeks ago
came back to me. Frank Miller had assigned me to the kitchen, and after
helping Millie clean up, I rushed over to the school to meet Chane
and walk her home. She smiled when she saw me. That smile had me walking on clouds. What bothered me, as I awaited my
punishment, was one particular part of our talk.
“ Don’t you ever feel like you’re trapped
here?” Chane said. “This is my last year of school. When I’m done,
I want to go somewhere. See new things. Meet new people. All
anybody does is work. I want to go to the city. Surely things are different there. Not just different, but better,
too.”
I said, “Different, sure, but different doesn’t mean better.
They probably have their own problems.”
“ But it would be new. I get so tired of worrying about
Scavengers, and storms, and quotas, and…everything. You’d go with
me, wouldn’t you?”
Gravity reversed. It must have because there was only air under my feet. “Sure, Chane, I’ll
go.”
Had she run off? Was yesterday her breaking point? I shook
my head. I didn’t think Chane would do it. I considered sharing my
suspicions with the mayor and Jason, but that would open up a whole
new can of worms that didn’t need to be
dealt with. Besides, lots of kids I’d gone to school with talked about
leaving. None of them ever had.
Josh rounded the corner with his mother. Even from thirty
yards away, I could tell she was crying. The mayor chewed his
thumbnail as we waited. His face remained pale, but not as white as
when Jason first told him about Chane. Josh guided his mother up
the four stairs. Then the pair of them stood in front of the mayor
and Jason.
The mayor kept his voice soft. “Where’s Chane?” he asked his
former wife.
Tears trickled down her face and a soft sob escaped her lips.
“I don’t know…I don’t know where she is. I…I thought she left early
for school, but when one of her friends stopped by to see if she
was sick, I got worried. I went to the school, but… but nobody’s
seen her.”
The mayor’s voice was more controlled than his former wife’s,
but I heard the strains of fear and doubt in it. “Where could she
have gotten to?”
Josh’s mother shook her head. “I don’t know,” she cried. “What
are we going to do?”
“ We’ll form search parties. She can’t have gone far. Most
likely she’s mad at me for sending her away from the attack
yesterday. She’s probably holed up somewhere rebelling.”
He turned toward the crowd and addressed them for the first
time since Jason’s arrival. “Citizens, my daughter, Chane is
missing. She hasn’t been seen since last night. We’ll need to begin
searching immediately.”
The mayor noticed me in the jolting ropes. “I’m sorry, Dillon.
Your punishment is going to have to wait. Finding Chane is much
more important right now.” There was genuine regret in his
voice.
A flood
missing.” Another winded breath. “No one has seen her since last
night.”
Chapter
Seven
Jason’s words sucked the air from my chest. I inhaled pure
terror. The fear of being jolted had nothing on this. My lungs were
so tight, what air I could get came in gasps. Where was Chane? What
happened to her?
The mayor looked sucker-punched. His eyes bulged, his face
paled, and he stumbled over his words. “I—I thought—didn’t—didn’t
she go to your mom’s last night?”
“ She did, but Mom hasn’t seen her since Chane went to bed.
Mom’s on her way with Josh,” Jason said.
They spoke softly. No one in the crowd knew what was
happening, but not for lack of effort. The mass of people inched
its way forward, trying to eavesdrop.
The coarse jolting ropes chafed my skin. I wanted loose. I
needed to find Chane. She had to be in trouble. She wasn’t the kind
of girl to run off and not tell someone where she was going. At
least, I didn’t think she was.
But if she’d left, where would she have gone? Part of a conversation we shared a few weeks ago
came back to me. Frank Miller had assigned me to the kitchen, and after
helping Millie clean up, I rushed over to the school to meet Chane
and walk her home. She smiled when she saw me. That smile had me walking on clouds. What bothered me, as I awaited my
punishment, was one particular part of our talk.
“ Don’t you ever feel like you’re trapped
here?” Chane said. “This is my last year of school. When I’m done,
I want to go somewhere. See new things. Meet new people. All
anybody does is work. I want to go to the city. Surely things are different there. Not just different, but better,
too.”
I said, “Different, sure, but different doesn’t mean better.
They probably have their own problems.”
“ But it would be new. I get so tired of worrying about
Scavengers, and storms, and quotas, and…everything. You’d go with
me, wouldn’t you?”
Gravity reversed. It must have because there was only air under my feet. “Sure, Chane, I’ll
go.”
Had she run off? Was yesterday her breaking point? I shook
my head. I didn’t think Chane would do it. I considered sharing my
suspicions with the mayor and Jason, but that would open up a whole
new can of worms that didn’t need to be
dealt with. Besides, lots of kids I’d gone to school with talked about
leaving. None of them ever had.
Josh rounded the corner with his mother. Even from thirty
yards away, I could tell she was crying. The mayor chewed his
thumbnail as we waited. His face remained pale, but not as white as
when Jason first told him about Chane. Josh guided his mother up
the four stairs. Then the pair of them stood in front of the mayor
and Jason.
The mayor kept his voice soft. “Where’s Chane?” he asked his
former wife.
Tears trickled down her face and a soft sob escaped her lips.
“I don’t know…I don’t know where she is. I…I thought she left early
for school, but when one of her friends stopped by to see if she
was sick, I got worried. I went to the school, but… but nobody’s
seen her.”
The mayor’s voice was more controlled than his former wife’s,
but I heard the strains of fear and doubt in it. “Where could she
have gotten to?”
Josh’s mother shook her head. “I don’t know,” she cried. “What
are we going to do?”
“ We’ll form search parties. She can’t have gone far. Most
likely she’s mad at me for sending her away from the attack
yesterday. She’s probably holed up somewhere rebelling.”
He turned toward the crowd and addressed them for the first
time since Jason’s arrival. “Citizens, my daughter, Chane is
missing. She hasn’t been seen since last night. We’ll need to begin
searching immediately.”
The mayor noticed me in the jolting ropes. “I’m sorry, Dillon.
Your punishment is going to have to wait. Finding Chane is much
more important right now.” There was genuine regret in his
voice.
A flood
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