Read Online Half Lives by Sara Grant - Free Book Online Page B

been picked clean like sun-bleached bones
long after the vultures have stopped circling, but her family has discovered where people hid things way back then. They know how to take other’s leftovers and build something new.
    Greta calls to her brothers and keeps them moving. Without her they would get lost, wandering aimlessly, picking at shiny things like raccoons.
    She runs the last mile to the heart of Vega. She wants to reach Da first. Da’s standing on a glass bridge near the X building. He can see down the streets and keep an eye on
everyone bustling about.
    ‘Hey, you!’ he shouts, and points his fat finger at a red-headed man who is piling wood for a fire in the middle of the street. ‘Dig a trench so the fire
doesn’t spread. We want it to be seen but not burn the place down.’
    The man nods.
    ‘Are we going to have enough torches?’ he yells at a blonde woman wrapping scraps of material around thick branches.
    ‘I’ve sent Aaron and Blue to get some more,’ she yells without looking up at him.
    ‘I want more lights in those buildings. I expect the Coasters and Valley folks to come soon. We need to make sure they can see our lights no matter which direction they come
from.’
    ‘Yeah, yeah,’ the woman says. ‘You told me already.’
    Greta climbs the stairs and surprises Da with a hug. He shrugs her off. She places a kiss on his cheek and gets a rare smile from him. He makes a big show of wiping his cheek.
‘About time you and the lazy creatures returned.’
    They stand and survey what he’s built. At last count, Vega’s population had grown to nearly two hundred. But it is hard to keep track. Some people keep to themselves and
more people sneak in and out every day.
    ‘Will we raise the fires tonight?’ Greta asks. The last time was magical. Vega was cold and lifeless and then everyone lit their torches at the main fire and carried their
lights into the buildings. The Messengers taught everyone the words to a lullaby of light, and the song seemed to glow in the flickering flames. Da doesn’t realize he’s humming it
now.
    ‘Not tonight, Greta, but soon,’ he tells her, and then yells to her brothers, ‘Take your finds to the Collectors and help them organize the supplies.’ Her
brothers are laden with treasure. Bungle has loaded everything he scavenged in a big blanket and is carrying it over his shoulder like a Traveller. The others haven’t been so thoughtful and
have to stop every few feet to pick up what one of the others has dropped. Da and Greta share a laugh at their crazy procession.
    ‘So, my darling daughter,’ Da turns his full attention to Greta, ‘what did you discover on that mountain of yours?’
    Lying to Da isn’t easy – or advisable. ‘I need more time. There are people who live on the mountain, but I need to find out more.’ She makes up her response as
she goes along. She must give him a good reason to let her continue her contact. ‘They may have valuable knowledge about how to survive in this area. But they are as wary of me as we are of
them.’
    ‘Did you meet with the leader?’ Da asks this because it was his instruction.
    ‘I am learning about their culture from a boy who is about my age. The more I learn, the better equipped I will be to introduce you to their leader. As you say, patience leads
to power.’
    ‘A boy,’ he says, and raises one eyebrow. She blushes. He knows. He always knows. ‘I trust you, Greta. You are going to lead us one day.’
    They look out over Vega and she can see Da’s vision. The city is coming to life again. Da said Vega once had millions of people living here. One day this place was alive with
light and life – or so the story goes – and the next day everyone in it was dead. Greta thinks he exaggerates.
    Greta’s ancestors survived because they lived on a farm miles away from anyone. Da says they can be stronger by joining with other survivors. He has the battle scars to prove
that not everyone