Unwind

Pastor Dan told me to run.

What had he meant? Did he mean run from the kidnappers? Maybe, but he seemed to be saying something else entirely. Lev closes his eyes and chases the thought away.

“My parents will look for me,” Lev says, his mouth finally able to put together whole sentences.

The kids don’t answer because they probably know it’s true.

“How much is the ransom?” Lev asks.

“Ransom? There’s no ransom,” says the crazy kid. “I took you to save you, idiot!”

To save him? Lev just stares at him in disbelief. “But . . . but my tithing . . .”

The crazy kid looks at him and shakes his head. “I’ve never seen a kid in such a hurry to be unwound.”

It’s no use trying to explain to this godless pair what tithing is all about.

How giving of one’s self is the ultimate blessing. They’d never understand or care.

Save him? They haven’t saved him, they’ve damned him.

Then Lev realizes something. He realizes that he can use this entire situation to his advantage. “My name’s Lev,” he says, trying to play it as cool as he can.

“Pleased to meet you, Lev,” says the girl. “I’m Risa, and this is Connor.”

Connor throws her a dirty look, making it clear that she gave him their real names. Not a good idea for hostage-takers, but then most criminals are stupid like that.

“Didn’t mean for you to take the tranq bullet,” Connor tells him. “But the cop was a bad shot.”

“Not your fault,” says Lev, even though every bit of it is Connor’s fault. Lev thinks about what happened, and says, “I would never have run from my own tithing.” That much, Lev knows, is true.

“Good thing I was around, then,” says Connor.

“Yeah,” says Risa. “If it wasn’t for Connor running across that highway, I’d probably be unwound by now too.”

There’s a moment of silence, then Lev, biting back his anger and revulsion, says, “Thank you. Thank you for saving me.”

“Don’t mention it,” says Connor.

Good. Let them think he’s grateful. Let them think they’re earning his trust. And once they’re lulled into their own false sense of security, he’ll make sure they both get exactly what they deserve.

7. Connor

Connor should have kept the Juvey-cop’s gun, but he wasn’t thinking. He was so freaked out at having tranq’d a cop with his own weapon, he just dropped it and ran—just as he dropped his backpack on the interstate so he could carry Lev. His wallet with all his money was in that pack. Now he has nothing but pocket lint.

It’s late now—or, more accurately, early—almost dawn. He and Risa had kept moving through the woods all day, as best they could with Connor having to carry an unconscious tithe. Once night fell, he and Risa had taken turns keeping watch while the other slept.

Connor knows that Lev can’t be trusted, that’s why Connor tied him to the tree—but there’s no reason to trust this girl who had come running out of a bus either. It’s only their common goal of staying alive that binds them.

The moon has left the sky now, but there’s a faint glow promising a quick arrival of dawn. By now their faces would be everywhere. Have you seen these teens? Do not approach. Considered extremely dangerous. Call the police immediately. Funny how Connor had wasted so much time in school trying to convince people he was dangerous, but when it came down to it, he was never sure if he was all that dangerous at all. A danger to himself, maybe.

All the while, Lev watches him. At first the boy’s eyes had been lazy and his head lolling to one side, but now those eyes are sharp. Even in the dimness of the dying fire Connor can see them. Chilly blue. Calculating. This kid is an odd bird.

Connor’s not quite sure what’s going on on Planet Lev, and not quite sure he wants to know.

“That bite’s gonna get infected if you don’t take care of it,” Lev says.

Connor looks to the spot on his arm where Lev bit him, still puffy and red.

He had tuned the pain out until Lev reminded him. “I’ll deal with it.”

Lev continues to study him. “Why are you being unwound?”

Connor doesn’t like the question for a whole lot of reasons. “You mean why WAS I being unwound—because, as you can see, I’m not being unwound anymore.”

“They will if they catch you.”

Connor feels like punching that smug look off the kid’s face, but he restrains himself. He didn’t rescue the kid just to beat him up.

“So, what’s it like,” Connor asks, “knowing all your life you’re going to be sacrificed?” He meant it as a jab, but Lev takes the question seriously.

“It’s better than going through life without knowing your purpose.”

Connor’s not sure if that was intentionally meant to make him squirm—as if his life has no purpose. It makes him feel like he’s the one tied to a tree, not Lev.

“I guess it could be worse,” says Connor. “We could have all ended up like Humphrey Dunfee.”

Lev seems surprised by the mention of the name. “You know that story? I thought they only told it in my neighborhood.”

“Nah,” says Connor. “Kids tell it everywhere.”

“It’s made up,” says Risa, having just woken up.

“Maybe,” says Connor. “But there was this one time a friend and I tried to find out about it while surfing one of the school’s computers. We hit this one website that talked about it, and how his parents went all psycho. Then the computer crashed. It turns out we were hit by a virus that wiped out the entire district server. Coincidence? I don’t think so.”

Lev’s taken in, but Risa, fairly disgusted, says, “Well, I’ll never end up like Humphrey Dunfee, because you have to have parents for them to go psycho—and I don’t.” She stands up. Connor looks away from the dying fire to see that dawn has arrived.

“If we’re going to keep from being caught, then we should change direction again,” Risa says. “We should also think about disguising ourselves.”

“Like how?” asks Connor.

“I don’t know. Change our clothes first. Haircuts maybe. They’ll be looking for two boys and a girl. Maybe I can disguise myself as a boy.”

Connor takes a good look at her and smiles. Risa’s pretty. Not in the way Ariana was pretty—in a better way. Ariana’s prettiness was all about makeup and pigment injections and stuff. Risa has a natural kind of beauty. Without thinking, Connor reaches out to touch her hair, and gently says, “I don’t think you could ever pass for a guy—”

Then suddenly, he finds his hand tugged behind him, his whole body spins around, and she painfully wrenches his arm up the small of his back. It hurts so much, he can’t even say “Ouch.” All he can say is, “Eh-eh- eh!”

“Touch me again and your arm gets ripped off,” Risa tells him. “Got that?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Fine. Hands off. Got it.”

Over at the oak tree, Lev laughs, apparently pleased to see Connor in pain.

She lets him go, but his shoulder still throbs. “You didn’t have to do that,” Connor says, trying not to show how much it still hurts. “It’s not like I was going to hurt you or anything.”

“Yeah, well, now you won’t for sure,” says Risa, maybe sounding a bit guilty for being so harsh. “Don’t forget I lived in a state home.”

Connor nods. He knows about StaHo kids. They have to learn to take care of themselves real young, or their lives are not very pleasant. He should have realized she was a touch-me-not.

“Excuse me,” says Lev, “but we can’t go anywhere if I’m tied to a tree.”