Read Online Monument 14: Savage Drift (Monument 14 Series) by Emmy Laybourne - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Emmy Laybourne
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help her to calm down and think rationally, and she was going to turn to Jake at the first disagreement.
Maybe Jake was right. Maybe I was whipped. Maybe I gave in to her all the time. Why else would she shut me down when I tried to talk sense to her?
The man of the hour, of course, was nowhere to be found.
Not in the dining hall. (Thankfully they were still serving breakfast. I wolfed down two bacon and egg sandwiches while Astrid stood waiting irritably, almost tapping her foot with impatience. She wouldn’t eat anything but a banana. Said the smell of eggs made her want to puke.)
He was not on the grounds—that we could see.
And not in the rec hall.
We couldn’t find Alex and Sahalia, either, for that matter.
* * *
Finally, we ran into Mrs. McKinley and Mrs. Dominguez, out with the little kids, way, way down on the eleventh green. They were building a playhouse in a thick stand of trees at the edge of the course that bordered the road.
“Astrid! Dean!” All the kids besides Chloe clamored. “Did you see the letter? Isn’t it cool?”
“Yeah,” I told them. “Very cool.”
“Alex says it’s going to help find your parents!” Caroline chirped. “I can’t wait to meet them!”
“Look at our fort!” Max said.
“We building a wall!” Ulysses said, pointing to a wonky construction of sticks leaning against the trunk of a large maple tree.
“Very cool,” I said.
“What’s wrong, Mommy Junior?” Henry asked Astrid.
Either because she was pregnant, or because they had their “big” mom back, they’d taken to calling Astrid Mommy Junior. Usually it got a smile out of her, but not today.
“Have you guys seen Jake?” Astrid asked the moms.
“Yes,” Mrs. McKinley said. “We saw him at breakfast. He said he was going to go with Niko over to the Air Force base.”
Astrid threw up her hands.
“Is everything okay?” Mrs. McKinley asked.
Astrid looked away from her. I knew the expression—if she started to talk about it, she was going to cry.
My heart melted for her. But only a little.
“I just need to talk to him,” Astrid said.
“And I’m helping Astrid find him.” I couldn’t help myself. “See, I take care of Astrid, and I help her get whatever she wants. That’s my job. I do what I’m told.”
Surprise at my sarcastic tone of voice flickered onto Mrs. McKinley’s face.
“Ignore him,” she said. “He’s being a jealous jerk.”
Astrid turned on her heel and headed up to the Clubhouse.
A shuttle for the Air Force base left once an hour.
I followed her.
“You don’t have to come with me,” she said.
“I know that,” I answered.
“So don’t come.”
“I need to talk to Niko anyway,” I said.
It was sort of the truth.
But mostly I went because … because I was a jealous jerk. I was worried about what Jake might do or say without me around.
* * *
From what Alex had learned, the main reason that the refugee camp had been established at the Quilchena golf course was that it was a large area of open space close to the Vancouver International Airport South, which was acting as a temporary Air Force base for the USA.
Part of the reason that Captain McKinley had gotten us all brought to Quilchena was that he knew he’d be able to see a lot of his family if we were here. This improvised base was the center of the US Armed Forces effort to support the hundreds of thousands of American refugees housed across the west coast of Canada.
Supplies came and went from this base, refugees arrived and departed on a daily basis, and there were Army offices where you could go to file petitions for transfers and the like.
All you had to do to take a shuttle over to the base was give them your social security number. They wanted to know who was where at all times.
Security was tight at the base, and guards patrolled the outskirts of the camp, so I guess they weren’t worried about us escaping.
I wondered what Astrid was going to do, as the
Maybe Jake was right. Maybe I was whipped. Maybe I gave in to her all the time. Why else would she shut me down when I tried to talk sense to her?
The man of the hour, of course, was nowhere to be found.
Not in the dining hall. (Thankfully they were still serving breakfast. I wolfed down two bacon and egg sandwiches while Astrid stood waiting irritably, almost tapping her foot with impatience. She wouldn’t eat anything but a banana. Said the smell of eggs made her want to puke.)
He was not on the grounds—that we could see.
And not in the rec hall.
We couldn’t find Alex and Sahalia, either, for that matter.
* * *
Finally, we ran into Mrs. McKinley and Mrs. Dominguez, out with the little kids, way, way down on the eleventh green. They were building a playhouse in a thick stand of trees at the edge of the course that bordered the road.
“Astrid! Dean!” All the kids besides Chloe clamored. “Did you see the letter? Isn’t it cool?”
“Yeah,” I told them. “Very cool.”
“Alex says it’s going to help find your parents!” Caroline chirped. “I can’t wait to meet them!”
“Look at our fort!” Max said.
“We building a wall!” Ulysses said, pointing to a wonky construction of sticks leaning against the trunk of a large maple tree.
“Very cool,” I said.
“What’s wrong, Mommy Junior?” Henry asked Astrid.
Either because she was pregnant, or because they had their “big” mom back, they’d taken to calling Astrid Mommy Junior. Usually it got a smile out of her, but not today.
“Have you guys seen Jake?” Astrid asked the moms.
“Yes,” Mrs. McKinley said. “We saw him at breakfast. He said he was going to go with Niko over to the Air Force base.”
Astrid threw up her hands.
“Is everything okay?” Mrs. McKinley asked.
Astrid looked away from her. I knew the expression—if she started to talk about it, she was going to cry.
My heart melted for her. But only a little.
“I just need to talk to him,” Astrid said.
“And I’m helping Astrid find him.” I couldn’t help myself. “See, I take care of Astrid, and I help her get whatever she wants. That’s my job. I do what I’m told.”
Surprise at my sarcastic tone of voice flickered onto Mrs. McKinley’s face.
“Ignore him,” she said. “He’s being a jealous jerk.”
Astrid turned on her heel and headed up to the Clubhouse.
A shuttle for the Air Force base left once an hour.
I followed her.
“You don’t have to come with me,” she said.
“I know that,” I answered.
“So don’t come.”
“I need to talk to Niko anyway,” I said.
It was sort of the truth.
But mostly I went because … because I was a jealous jerk. I was worried about what Jake might do or say without me around.
* * *
From what Alex had learned, the main reason that the refugee camp had been established at the Quilchena golf course was that it was a large area of open space close to the Vancouver International Airport South, which was acting as a temporary Air Force base for the USA.
Part of the reason that Captain McKinley had gotten us all brought to Quilchena was that he knew he’d be able to see a lot of his family if we were here. This improvised base was the center of the US Armed Forces effort to support the hundreds of thousands of American refugees housed across the west coast of Canada.
Supplies came and went from this base, refugees arrived and departed on a daily basis, and there were Army offices where you could go to file petitions for transfers and the like.
All you had to do to take a shuttle over to the base was give them your social security number. They wanted to know who was where at all times.
Security was tight at the base, and guards patrolled the outskirts of the camp, so I guess they weren’t worried about us escaping.
I wondered what Astrid was going to do, as the
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