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aware of its awful potential for deadly violence. And one other thing bothered
me a lot. Why hadn't the gunmen fired right away? What had stopped them from
shooting all of us? They certainly could have. What was going on? Why weren't
we all dead?
"Okay, everyone," Kit called out, still trying to catch his breath. "Gather
around so I can see you. Is anybody hurt?"
One by one, the children enveloped us. Oz got up from the ground and wiggled
into the embrace. Kit kept talking them in. "It's okay, everyone. It's okay
for now."
"Is anybody hurt? Yeah, they sure are," Matthew finally piped up. "We kicked
some proper ass."
"We were lucky," Kit said.
[210] "And we were good," retorted Oz, and shook a fist over his head. "I'm
proud to go to war with you guys!"
"Yeah, right," Peter piped up. "Bet your butt."
I checked each of the kids for injuries. Oz had taken the worst of it. There
was a darkening bruise on one side of his face.
Miraculously, bruises and scrapes were the only damage we'd sustained.
But Kit was right-we were lucky. Damned lucky! Or maybe it was more than just
luck. Of course, it was more than luck.
The battle we'd just been through had happened and ended quickly. A
five-minute assault, during which any one of us could have been killed! We
hugged in pairs and then we hugged in a big pile. I was still breathless from
all the excitement. Some of the kids started to whimper and shiver. Finally,
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reality was setting in.
I saw Kit walk Max away from the group, and I followed them. Kit stooped down
and took Max by the shoulders.
"This was too close, Maxie. I take responsibility. I should have kept everyone
under lock and key until I could get us to safety. We have to get out of here.
Now. But we have a problem, don't we? We still don't know what's going on."
"They don't want us hurt. Not yet. They prefer capturing us," she said.
"That's obvious, isn't it?"
"What do they want? What?"
Max had scratches on her face and her eyes were as huge as saucers. I saw her
shudder, and then make her decision.
She spoke softly, so faintly that Kit and I had to strain to hear.
[211] "It's in Maryland," she whispered. "It's like another School, like the
shit-awful place we were kept. Only I think it's even worse. They've taken
this biotech madness even further. They've gone to the limit this time. Maybe
past the limit. Yeah, way past."
"How do you know this, Max?" I asked. "What is the limit?"
She shook her head, then stared at the ground. "At the School they made me
file and do other scut work on the computer. At first it was just to keep me
out of their hair. But then they realized I did the job of three of their
drones in less than half the time.
"So I filed their records and important communications. But I also read, and I
remember it all. There's another experimental lab. In Maryland. Not too far
from Washington, D.C., where Kit lives. The doctor who runs it is supposed to
be a genius, but personally, I think he's totally whacked. I know he is. He
visited the School once, but I didn't get to see him. Not a good look, anyway.
They locked us away in our cages. I know that the doctors there were in awe of
this guy, and whatever he was working on. They were also scared shitless of
him. And yes, there are people in the government who know about the outlaw
lab."
Max looked into Kit's eyes, then into mine. She shook her head. "You talk,"
she said, "you die. Looks like I die."
64 MAX'S CONFESSION changed everything.
That evening about the golden hour, she and Ozymandias took the kids for a
short flight with Frannie's permission. They were in tight formation, gorgeous
to watch as they sailed toward the setting sun. She was thinking they were
more like a squadron of jet fighters than a flock that night.
Icarus called out and Max turned to him. His sightless eyes were closed
against the wind. "Where are we going, guys? Tell all! What am I missing on
the way?"
"Great sunset, Ic. Burnt orange against powder blue. Beautiful pine forests
and mountains that seem to go on forever," Max called back. "We're going up
into the woods. Primeval forests. We're not coming back, little buddy. It's
too dangerous for Frannie and Kit."
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[213] "Oh, so we're the only ones who die?" Ic asked, his little voice thick
with irony.
"Yeah. I'm afraid so, Icarus. This is our fight."
He shrugged his small shoulders. "I can live with that."
It was Oz's plan, actually, and the first part was that the flock would have
enough time to find safe shelter before darkness fell in the mountains. Oz had
thought everything through. He was sure of it, and of himself. They would
build temporary shelters high in trees, using branches and wild vines to weave
sleeping baskets. The baskets could be lined with ferns and loose leaves.
Max approved. Basically. Actually, it sounded kind of comfy the way Oz
described it, and everybody had confidence in him, especially since she did.
If they didn't want to be too ambitious at first, they could raid a nearby
farm for food. Root vegetables and gourds, such as pumpkins and squash, were
in season. Carrots, maybe peas, tomatoes, melons, might also be available.
Plus, there would be sunflower seeds, which they all loved anyway. Oz
explained that the delicious seeds were packed in flat disks at the center of
every flower head.
"What if there are no farms?" Wendy asked. "You ever think about that, guys?"
"No problem," said Oz. "There'll be plenty of nuts and seeds and roots. Pig
nuts are pretty good. Burdock roots are sensational. And... turn over any log
and you'll find fat white grubs. A great source of protein!"
Max looked around again. The kids made faces at the mention of grubs, but they
seemed to be keeping their sense of adventure, and humor as they flew into the
mountains.
[214] "Burdock roots and white grubs! Burdock roots and white grubs!" they
chanted.
They were on their own.
Maybe back where they belonged.
It would be like the Lake House.
Well, almost, but not as good.
65 OZ AND MAX had decided they would share the watch. For the first night,
anyway.
They sat huddled together on a rocky ledge that was maybe fifty feet above the
trees where the children slept. There was no way human hunters could sneak up
on them, but Oz was especially nervous about mountain cats, which could be
incredibly fast and vicious, tear you apart in about thirty seconds.
"Was this part of your studies in ornithology?" Max asked. "How to survive in
the wilderness? How to fight mountain lions?"
Oz finally smiled. "Our instincts will kick in and keep us safe. The way it
was for a while at the lake. It's the truth. Don't forget-burdock roots and
white grubs."
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"You're so sure about things, Ozymandias. Be careful of too much pride. You
could eat grubs?"
[216] "I'm sure about some things. Grubs, maybe. I'm sure I want to be with
you. Y'know, even though you're a girl."
"It's not just some kind of dumb infatuation? Are you sure about that?"
Oz laughed. "I went through being infatuated with you when I was much younger,
when we were both at the School. I used to go to sleep every night thinking
about you. True tale. Every night."
Max laughed. "I had no idea."
"Of course you didn't. You were too hung up on yourself. I was petrified
around you. Whenever I had to talk to you, I got the shimmy-shimmy shakes."
"Hold my hand," Max said in a softer voice. "Hug me for a little while, then [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]