and uncles and older brothers fell further and further into her debt, buying her weed and prescription drugs. Maybe they blamed me for that.
If the Morries knew about Prentiss’s plan to round up the Seers and put them to work, they might even be pleased. Prentiss would pay them-far more than they got from the state or from their occasional construction and factory jobs. With the lab right here in town, it would be almost like an office job, the kind for which they were routinely passed over.
For a moment despair clouded my mind, pressing against my temples, making my breath come in ragged gasps. Not ten miles away, Chub was still trapped, and Kaz was in danger. But I was the only one who could help now. And I would do what needed to be done.
I put the car in gear again and lurched down Morrin Street. I thought of the very few times I’d been brave enough to ride my bike around the edges of Trashtown, before I knew I was Banished, spying on the people who lived there as they went about their lives, longing to join them and not understanding why. Now that I was finally on the inside, it looked even more broken down, more desperate. Junker cars and trucks were parked in the dirt; porches sagged; roofs were missing shingles.
Even in the twilight, I knew Rattler’s truck the minute I passed it. He’d driven the old green Ford around town for years. It seemed as though it was held together by rust. The sound of its grinding gears and worn-out muffler used to be enough to set my heart pounding with fear.
But now I was relieved to see it. I parked behind it and trailed my hand along the side as I hurried past it to the house. The hood was warm; the truck had been driven recently.
The lawn hadn’t been mowed in weeks, and my shoes slapped against the weedy grass. I took the rotting, uneven porch steps with care. The house was no different from its neighbors, weathered wood showing through the peeling paint, an old black iron mailbox hanging at an angle from a single nail, an overturned bucket the only object on the sloped porch. Through a limp gray curtain, a weak light shined, but the upper windows were dark. I smelled mildew and garbage and smoke.
I took a breath and thought of Chub and Prairie and raised my hand to knock. Before my fist could strike the door, it opened and I was staring into the harsh-planed face and spinning milky eye of Rattler Sikes. It was like he had been waiting there for me, still as a snake, ready to strike.
“Hailey-girl,” he said softly. “Come to see your papa.”
Prairie stepped from the shadows. She pushed Rattler out of the way and gathered me into her arms with a soft cry, and I knew her from her scent, from her silky hair, from the tight embrace that seemed as though it would go on forever.
When she finally released me, her voice was choked with tears of relief. “Thank God,” she breathed.
And I almost broke.
“Prairie, I-” There were a thousand things I wanted to say to her, most of them apologies. I was sorry I’d lied to her. Sorry I’d thought I could protect us better than she could. Sorry I’d taken her for granted, sorry I’d let evil find us, sorry I hadn’t been there for her. But there wasn’t time, so I settled for the most important. “I love you.”
Rattler raised his hand, and I flinched, waiting for the blow-but he only turned on a light switch, illuminating a neat parlor with furniture that looked like it was a century old, the arms covered with crocheted doilies, and wood floors swept clean.
“My girls,” he said, as though it amused him.
“We’ve struck a deal,” Prairie said stiffly.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Rattler had a vision, Hailey. All of you, out at Quadrillon. He says trouble’s coming tonight.”
“Big trouble,” Rattler echoed. “Death dealin’ and blood runnin’.”
“You’re going to help us?” I demanded.
“Hell yes I am,” Rattler drawled. “Fact, we were just on our way when you showed up. I got the truck loaded up ready.”
Prairie steered me back onto the porch. “We need to go. We can talk on the way.”
Only then did I see that she had a belt slung around her waist that was clearly too big, a holster holding a handgun clipped to the front. I gasped, and Prairie’s expression turned grim.
“Why-how-”
“It’s Rattler’s,” she said. “He’s got one for you, too, Hailey.”
“What exactly is this deal you made?”
She looked deep into my eyes, her expression sad. “You don’t need to know the particulars, Hailey.”
“Oh, yes I do,” I protested, refusing to step out of her way.
Prairie sighed and put her hand to her throat, and I knew she was touching the ruby pendant that matched mine.
“All right,” she finally said. “Rattler’s going to help us get Chub out. We’ll find Kaz. And the three of you will go back to Chicago. Rattler’s promised he won’t look for you there ever again. You’ll be free, Hailey.”
“But what about you?” I asked, my blood suddenly running cold.
Because I already knew the answer. I knew the deal that Prairie had made.
She’d traded herself to Rattler to buy our freedom.
40
RATTLER DROVE STRAIGHT through town, not bothering to disguise his route. I knew that people got out of the way when they saw Rattler’s truck coming, because any encounter with Rattler was bad news, whether you were Banished or not. No one followed us; it was past the dinner hour now and people were at home for the night.
The truck’s shocks had seen better days and every jolt and bump jarred my spine, but Rattler didn’t seem to mind. I was wedged against the passenger door. Between us, Prairie rode with her hands folded in her lap and her head held high. I knew better than to try to argue with her now, but I couldn’t believe she had agreed to stay with Rattler once this night was done.
She’d done it for me and Chub. And for Anna and Kaz. She’d done it so that Rattler would never come after us, never drag us back to Trashtown to live out our lives in poverty and abuse. I felt sick at heart knowing what she was willing to sacrifice to save us.
I told her almost everything. About how sorry I was that we’d left her behind. About our pulling over to rest and Rattler and Derek’s finding us. About surviving the explosion only to end up in Prentiss’s new headquarters. About seeing Chub, and Dr. Grace, and Bryce and about the terrible thing Prentiss had asked me to do. About nearly falling for the trap and escaping to the utility room, and about Kaz’s plan to destroy the data before we got back.
There were a few things I didn’t tell her about. Like the night Kaz and I had stayed in the motel, and the kiss we’d shared. And the room Rattler had set up for her, with the photo of the two of them when they were children. Those things I saved to tell her later, because that way I could pretend that there would be a later, that she would be leaving with me when everything was over.
Throughout the trip, Rattler drove with a half smile on his face. Every now and then he rested one of his big callused hands on Prairie’s knee. It was as though he was trying to reassure himself that she was really there, as though he didn’t quite trust his spinning eye not to conjure her image from nothing.
If Rattler was afraid, he didn’t show it. And if Prairie was afraid, her fear had little to do with the next few hours-and much to do with what would follow.
We fell silent as we pulled off the road. We approached the circular drive in front of the complex on foot, staying in the shadows cast by the decorative landscape lighting. The foyer was dark, the reception desk empty, but I knew that inside, a frantic search was going on, if it hadn’t already concluded with Kaz’s capture.
I was waiting for the doors to open with shouts and gunfire when a small figure shot out of the bushes and came running toward us at a gallop, then collided with me, nearly knocking me down.
“Hayee!”
