Among the Enemy

Matthias knew what Percy was doing. This was a game that Samuel had taught them. When times were bad, they always recited all the good things they could think of. Matthias was supposed to add to the list, then finish with, And God loves us. But the only good thing that Matthias could think of was, Alia's not dead yet. And that was a blessing with a curse hidden inside it. 'Not dead yet' just meant that the full weight of Matthias's pain and grief was lurking a little ways ahead.

He stood up abruptly.

'We should start walking,' he said. 'We've wasted too much time already.'

'All right,' Percy said. 'Where do you think we should go?'

But Matthias hadn't thought about a destination. He just wanted to move, to get away.

Percy had everything figured out anyway.

'I thought about it while you and Alia were sleeping,' he said. 'I think we should go to Mr. Hendricks. He's got that separate cottage — even if the Population Police raided his school when they raided Niedler, maybe they didn't catch him.'

Mr. Hendricks was the headmaster of a school that Percy, Matthias, and Alia had visited, but not attended, before they went to Niedler. And Mr. Hendricks was friends with Mr. Talbot, the man who'd saved them the first time they'd been captured by the Population Police. He'd been with them at Hendricks School too. Matthias remembered their time with Mr. Hendricks as a joyous vacation. It'd been the first time he'd felt truly happy after Samuel's death.

That was before I became a murderer, he thought.

'Well?' Percy asked, and Matthias had to squint at him, trying to remember what they'd been talking about. 'Should we go to Mr. Hendricks, or do you have a better plan?'

Matthias shrugged. 'That's fine,' he said.

He bent over and picked up Alia, and the strain on his muscles felt good. He deserved the pain in his arms, the ache in his back. He deserved worse.

Behind him, he heard Percy mumble an end to the List of Good Things game: 'We're alive. We're together. And God loves us.'

Matthias started walking as quickly as he could so Percy wouldn't see the tears streaming down his face.

Chapter Five

Later Matthias would remember very little about that l>«day of walking. He and Percy were city boys used to darting through crowds, navigating by the cracks in the pavement, surviving on other people's garbage. But they'd once had to spend several days in a wilderness, and that experience was evidently enough to help them move easily through this woods. Matthias sidestepped the poison ivy without even thinking about it; he ducked under low-hanging branches without breaking his stride.

That, at least, was good, because his mind was elsewhere.

Don't think about the truck, he kept telling himself. Don't think about the other children. You are rescuing Alia. You are taking her to safety.

His arms went numb from carrying her, but he refused to take breaks, he refused to let Percy try to carry her. He wasn't sure exactly how far it would be to Mr. Hendricks's house, but he didn't intend to stop until he got there.

Percy had other ideas. As dusk fell over the woods, Percy asked, 'Are you looking for shelter for the night yet?'

'Shelter?' Matthias repeated stupidly.

'If we can't find a hut or a shed, a cave would do. We've got to find someplace before it's too dark for walking.'

Matthias's brain seemed to have gone as numb as his arms. He'd forgotten about darkness, forgotten they had no candles or lamps or flashlights. But he didn't like Percy's notion of huts or sheds, places where people would be — people who might turn them in to the Population Police.

'We slept outside before. With Nina,' Matthias said. Nina was a friend of theirs who'd been with them during their other outdoors experience, when they'd been escape ing from a Population Police prison. In the beginning, Matthias hadn't known whether or not he could trust Nina. He hadn't known if she was good or bad.

Am I good or bad? Now that I've done something awful too. ..

He flinched, as if he could physically move away from that question. He forced himself to focus on what Percy was saying.

“was summertime before. It was warm enough to sleep outside then. Remember how Nina complained about the heat? It’s November now, and it’s been getting colder all day long. . I don’t know, but it almost feels like it might snow tonight. And Alia’s just wearing that nightgown. .”

Matthias hugged Alia even closer. He should have taken his sweater off and put it on Alia hours ago. Why hadn't he thought of that? Why hadn't Percy suggested it?

'Let's go out closer to the road and see if there are any houses,' Percy finished.

All day long they'd been walking parallel to a paved road. It was their guide for getting to Mr. Hendricks. But they'd wanted to stay far enough away that they wouldn't be spotted from any car windows.

Strangely, now that he thought about it, Matthias couldn't remember hearing a single car or truck go by.

Percy was already tramping off toward the road. Matthias wanted to call him back, to try to come up with a better plan. But Percy disappeared behind a tree before Matthias could put his thoughts together. Matthias struggled to follow the younger boy. In this section of the woods, the road lay downhill, and Matthias was terrified of falling with Alia in his arms.

The ground was wet, and his feet slipped out from under him. He landed hard on his rear.

'Oohh,' Alia moaned.

'I'm sorry. I'm so sorry,' Matthias muttered.

He didn't think she could hear him, but her eyelids fluttered — once, twice… Then, amazingly, they opened all the way.

'You're awake?' Matthias whispered, not quite able to believe it.

'Hurts,' she mumbled.

'I know, I know. I didn't mean to fall down. Percy's off finding us a place for the night. Everything's okay, now that you're awake.' Matthias beamed at her.

Alia squinted up at him. She blinked as if the dim light of dusk was blinding and painful.

'I think… I think I was awake before,' she whispered. 'You… were… carrying me?'

'Yes,' Matthias said. 'We're taking you to help, because of the tree falling on you.'

Alia winced and her eyelids closed again.

'Don't remember… any… tree,' she murmured. 'Don't remember. . Why aren't we at school?'

It scared Matthias that she didn't seem to remember the Population Police taking them away. It scared him the way her head sagged against his arm again.

'Percy?' he called softly, wanting the other boy there for reassurance, for comfort.

'Over here,' Percy answered from far down the hillside. 'I think—'

But Matthias couldn't hear what Percy thought. Because that was when the first gunshot rang out.

Chapter Six

Matthias reacted instinctively, somersaulting himself and Alia down the hill until they came to rest behind a huge log. Protection. Alia screamed with the pain of being moved so roughly, but even Matthias could barely hear her over the sudden barrage of gunfire.