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Authors: Zetta Elliott
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fail.”
Keem kicks a crushed soda can into the gutter. “D’s just a kid—why does he have to be mixed up in your mission?”
Nyla nods reluctantly. “He is kind of young.”
“Hey—I can speak for myself! And I want to help the bird. She has to gather the dead—they’ve been waiting a really long time!”
Nyla and Keem stare at me with their mouths hanging open. I want to explain, but realize I don’t really know much more about the mission.
The bird flutters up to my shoulder and says to them, “Again, I thank you for the service you have rendered my host.” To me she says, “We should leave now.”
Keem steps forward and points at my leg. “He’s hurt, you know. Your ‘nether beings’ nearly tore his leg off!”
The bird flutters its wings and settles on my knee. “Are you in pain?”
“A little, but Nyla’s stepmother fixed me up.” Suddenly I feel a tickling sensation in my knee. I force myself not to laugh as the funny feeling moves down my calf and settles on my wounded ankle. “The pain’s gone!” I whisper with awe. After the bird flies back to the bench rung, I lift up my pant leg and unwind the bandage Sachi carefully wrapped around my ankle. The wound is no longer bleeding—in fact, it no longer looks like a wound! All I see are faint zigzag marks where the stitches used to be. “You did that, didn’t you?”
The bird is less modest this time. “My host must be healthy and whole,” she says proudly. “Ready?”
“Ready. Where are we going?” I ask.
“Back to the park—and we must get there before sundown.”
Keem blocks our path. “I don’t think so, bird—do you even have a name?”
“I do. You may call me Nuru.”
“Well, D’s with us now, Nuru.”
Nyla steps between them and tries to soften Keem’s stance. “What Keem means to say is, we really can’t let you put D in danger again.”
“He won’t be in danger if we reach the park as soon as possible.”
I unzip my jacket, tuck the bird inside, and then turn to Nyla and Keem. “I appreciate what you guys have done for me, but…I think I better do this alone.”
“Do what—get yourself killed?” asks Keem.
Instead of feeling grateful for this brotherly concern, anger flashes inside of me. “What do you care? You can always get another math tutor. A week ago you didn’t even know who I was—and didn’t want to know.”
Nyla touches my arm, and I turn to face her. “What about now, D? What about that scene in the park—can you really blame us for being worried about you?”
“No. But I have to do this. I can’t explain—it’s just something I have to do.” I push past them and walk away with my heart thudding in my chest. Part of me hopes they’ll follow us to the park, but then I remember how cozy Keem and Nyla were getting before. “They’re probably glad to be rid of me,” I mutter under my breath. Still, I can’t stop myself from glancing over my shoulder when I reach the end of the block. Nyla and Keem are sitting on the bench absorbed in their own conversation. When they see me watching them, they get up and head off in the opposite direction. “Fine, forget them,” I mutter.
The sky is growing dark, so I walk quickly, and before long we reach the park. I open my jacket, and Nuru pops out and settles herself on my shoulder.
“We need to get to the lake,” she says. “Try to stay close to the bridge—once the signal’s been sent, we’ll need to slip underground as quickly as possible.”
Determined to avoid the east side of the park where I was attacked, I head across the meadow knowing I can reach the Lullwater Bridge by cutting through the ravine. I already know that Nuru has a way of making me obey her will, but I decide now’s as good a time as any to find out just what it is we’re about to do. “Are we going after the nether beings?”
“No!” she cries, sounding genuinely alarmed. “We must avoid them at all costs. My flare has no doubt sent them deep
Keem kicks a crushed soda can into the gutter. “D’s just a kid—why does he have to be mixed up in your mission?”
Nyla nods reluctantly. “He is kind of young.”
“Hey—I can speak for myself! And I want to help the bird. She has to gather the dead—they’ve been waiting a really long time!”
Nyla and Keem stare at me with their mouths hanging open. I want to explain, but realize I don’t really know much more about the mission.
The bird flutters up to my shoulder and says to them, “Again, I thank you for the service you have rendered my host.” To me she says, “We should leave now.”
Keem steps forward and points at my leg. “He’s hurt, you know. Your ‘nether beings’ nearly tore his leg off!”
The bird flutters its wings and settles on my knee. “Are you in pain?”
“A little, but Nyla’s stepmother fixed me up.” Suddenly I feel a tickling sensation in my knee. I force myself not to laugh as the funny feeling moves down my calf and settles on my wounded ankle. “The pain’s gone!” I whisper with awe. After the bird flies back to the bench rung, I lift up my pant leg and unwind the bandage Sachi carefully wrapped around my ankle. The wound is no longer bleeding—in fact, it no longer looks like a wound! All I see are faint zigzag marks where the stitches used to be. “You did that, didn’t you?”
The bird is less modest this time. “My host must be healthy and whole,” she says proudly. “Ready?”
“Ready. Where are we going?” I ask.
“Back to the park—and we must get there before sundown.”
Keem blocks our path. “I don’t think so, bird—do you even have a name?”
“I do. You may call me Nuru.”
“Well, D’s with us now, Nuru.”
Nyla steps between them and tries to soften Keem’s stance. “What Keem means to say is, we really can’t let you put D in danger again.”
“He won’t be in danger if we reach the park as soon as possible.”
I unzip my jacket, tuck the bird inside, and then turn to Nyla and Keem. “I appreciate what you guys have done for me, but…I think I better do this alone.”
“Do what—get yourself killed?” asks Keem.
Instead of feeling grateful for this brotherly concern, anger flashes inside of me. “What do you care? You can always get another math tutor. A week ago you didn’t even know who I was—and didn’t want to know.”
Nyla touches my arm, and I turn to face her. “What about now, D? What about that scene in the park—can you really blame us for being worried about you?”
“No. But I have to do this. I can’t explain—it’s just something I have to do.” I push past them and walk away with my heart thudding in my chest. Part of me hopes they’ll follow us to the park, but then I remember how cozy Keem and Nyla were getting before. “They’re probably glad to be rid of me,” I mutter under my breath. Still, I can’t stop myself from glancing over my shoulder when I reach the end of the block. Nyla and Keem are sitting on the bench absorbed in their own conversation. When they see me watching them, they get up and head off in the opposite direction. “Fine, forget them,” I mutter.
The sky is growing dark, so I walk quickly, and before long we reach the park. I open my jacket, and Nuru pops out and settles herself on my shoulder.
“We need to get to the lake,” she says. “Try to stay close to the bridge—once the signal’s been sent, we’ll need to slip underground as quickly as possible.”
Determined to avoid the east side of the park where I was attacked, I head across the meadow knowing I can reach the Lullwater Bridge by cutting through the ravine. I already know that Nuru has a way of making me obey her will, but I decide now’s as good a time as any to find out just what it is we’re about to do. “Are we going after the nether beings?”
“No!” she cries, sounding genuinely alarmed. “We must avoid them at all costs. My flare has no doubt sent them deep
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