violation of my orders! Don’t say another word, Jim. I fucking swear I’ll stab you if you do.”
The realization seemed to have sunk in. Jim wisely stayed silent as I drove us to the pickup spot. Malachi texted that he and Henry would be there, but it was still the biggest relief to see them standing at the curb. Henry slid into the backseat while Malachi folded himself into the front passenger seat. He sat back and put his seat belt on as I lurched onto the street, cutting off another car.
“What happened?” he asked.
I shook my head, knowing that I’d start yelling again if I tried to explain.
“We saw one,” Jim said from the back. “In a park. It had killed some old guy.”
I slowed down and drove more carefully, feeling Malachi’s eyes on my face. “But you didn’t follow the protocol,” he said.
My nostrils flared as I squeezed the steering wheel … much like I wanted to be squeezing Jim’s neck. Malachi touched my arm. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” I had a feeling if I mentioned the way that Jim had shoved me, Malachi would gut him.
My Lieutenant pivoted in his seat. “You violated her orders, didn’t you?” he asked in a deadly calm voice.
“I chased it,” Jim said defensively.
“That’s insubordination,” Malachi snarled. “You might have alerted the Mazikin to our presence in the area. And you endangered our Captain.”
I reached for Malachi’s hand, which was clenched in a tight fist. It loosened slightly at my touch.
“She’s fine,” Jim mumbled.
“No thanks to you, it seems,” said Henry. “Jim, your actions affect more than just yourself. We all have to help each other, or else someone’s going to get killed.”
Jim punched the ceiling of the car. “Shut up!”
“This isn’t the first time you’ve disobeyed orders,” Malachi guessed. “I would bet that it is not the first time you’ve endangered another Guard either.”
“Stop!” Jim shouted, a frantic edge in his voice. “You don’t know anything about me!”
We were slowing down for a red light when Jim threw the door open and jumped out. I slammed on the brakes. Jim was a mess as he stumbled onto the sidewalk, his eyes red-rimmed, his chest heaving. He hesitated for a moment, staring back at me, and then turned on his heel and sprinted away.
“He may be able to outrun us,” Henry said quietly. “But there’s no way that kid can outrun all his demons.”
SIX
WE SPENT NEARLY FOUR hours driving around town looking for Jim before we gave up and headed back to the Station. Although I’d hoped for some time alone with Malachi, we were all exhausted and down after losing one of our Guards, and I left to go back to Diane’s with nothing but a squeeze of his hand and a lingering stare that made me wish we were regular kids without the weight of the world on our shoulders.
I fell into bed at two and got up at seven even though it was a Saturday, eager to shed my dreams of being locked in a car with Jim, who was driving the wrong way on I-95, steering our car toward the headlights of an oncoming semi. I showered and sat at the breakfast table, letting my cereal get soggy as I scrolled through not one but three texts from Ian that had come in after I’d sunk into a heavy, exhausted sleep.
2:17 a.m.: Got yr number from Teg. Aden ran off. Seen him? Plz lemme no
2:29 a.m.: Still in area? Cant find Aden. Msg me if u have ideas where to look
3:34 a.m.: Found him. Sry for bothering u
I was glad he’d found Aden, but had to wonder what kind of shape our star pitcher would be in this morning when we all showed up to volunteer at the homeless shelter.
Keys jangled at the front door and Diane walked in, her footsteps heavy. “Hi, baby. You’re up early,” she said in a weary voice.
“Morning. Quiet shift?”
She made a so-so gesture and shed her jacket; then she headed for the kitchen.
“Hey,” I called, shoving my phone in my pocket. “I need to ask you something. I want to go to this
The realization seemed to have sunk in. Jim wisely stayed silent as I drove us to the pickup spot. Malachi texted that he and Henry would be there, but it was still the biggest relief to see them standing at the curb. Henry slid into the backseat while Malachi folded himself into the front passenger seat. He sat back and put his seat belt on as I lurched onto the street, cutting off another car.
“What happened?” he asked.
I shook my head, knowing that I’d start yelling again if I tried to explain.
“We saw one,” Jim said from the back. “In a park. It had killed some old guy.”
I slowed down and drove more carefully, feeling Malachi’s eyes on my face. “But you didn’t follow the protocol,” he said.
My nostrils flared as I squeezed the steering wheel … much like I wanted to be squeezing Jim’s neck. Malachi touched my arm. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” I had a feeling if I mentioned the way that Jim had shoved me, Malachi would gut him.
My Lieutenant pivoted in his seat. “You violated her orders, didn’t you?” he asked in a deadly calm voice.
“I chased it,” Jim said defensively.
“That’s insubordination,” Malachi snarled. “You might have alerted the Mazikin to our presence in the area. And you endangered our Captain.”
I reached for Malachi’s hand, which was clenched in a tight fist. It loosened slightly at my touch.
“She’s fine,” Jim mumbled.
“No thanks to you, it seems,” said Henry. “Jim, your actions affect more than just yourself. We all have to help each other, or else someone’s going to get killed.”
Jim punched the ceiling of the car. “Shut up!”
“This isn’t the first time you’ve disobeyed orders,” Malachi guessed. “I would bet that it is not the first time you’ve endangered another Guard either.”
“Stop!” Jim shouted, a frantic edge in his voice. “You don’t know anything about me!”
We were slowing down for a red light when Jim threw the door open and jumped out. I slammed on the brakes. Jim was a mess as he stumbled onto the sidewalk, his eyes red-rimmed, his chest heaving. He hesitated for a moment, staring back at me, and then turned on his heel and sprinted away.
“He may be able to outrun us,” Henry said quietly. “But there’s no way that kid can outrun all his demons.”
SIX
WE SPENT NEARLY FOUR hours driving around town looking for Jim before we gave up and headed back to the Station. Although I’d hoped for some time alone with Malachi, we were all exhausted and down after losing one of our Guards, and I left to go back to Diane’s with nothing but a squeeze of his hand and a lingering stare that made me wish we were regular kids without the weight of the world on our shoulders.
I fell into bed at two and got up at seven even though it was a Saturday, eager to shed my dreams of being locked in a car with Jim, who was driving the wrong way on I-95, steering our car toward the headlights of an oncoming semi. I showered and sat at the breakfast table, letting my cereal get soggy as I scrolled through not one but three texts from Ian that had come in after I’d sunk into a heavy, exhausted sleep.
2:17 a.m.: Got yr number from Teg. Aden ran off. Seen him? Plz lemme no
2:29 a.m.: Still in area? Cant find Aden. Msg me if u have ideas where to look
3:34 a.m.: Found him. Sry for bothering u
I was glad he’d found Aden, but had to wonder what kind of shape our star pitcher would be in this morning when we all showed up to volunteer at the homeless shelter.
Keys jangled at the front door and Diane walked in, her footsteps heavy. “Hi, baby. You’re up early,” she said in a weary voice.
“Morning. Quiet shift?”
She made a so-so gesture and shed her jacket; then she headed for the kitchen.
“Hey,” I called, shoving my phone in my pocket. “I need to ask you something. I want to go to this
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