CLOSING PRAYERS passed in a blur before Gabi could cobble together a strategy for evading what was sure to be the worst attack ever. As she stepped out into the high school courtyard, the wind stung her skin, which was pink and raw from scrubbing herself under scorching-hot water. She had gotten a ration demerit for using so much water in an attempt to rid herself of Bradley’s stench and had to spend an extra hour after closing prayer to tidy up the school temple to work it off. Not that she minded. With Bradley thirsty for her blood, the school temple was the safest place to be.
It was Monday, so Mathew was at his special tutorial, an intensive offered to fellows interested in attracting the attention of Witness team recruiters. He would come home limp from exhaustion but excited for his first expedition to the Tribes. Sam had insisted Mathew skip the Witness exams for an extra two years to focus on translation studies, which he had done, grudgingly. Now, he would finally be testing for the expeditions scheduled to leave as soon as the weather shifted. There was no point in predicting when that would be. One day winter would stop, and the scorching would begin. If Mathew provided Gabi with little protection now, any hope of being sheltered under his brotherly wing would vanish completely when he left for the coast. Might as well get used to it, Gabi resolved as she began the long walk home.
Every shadow cast by the falling sun became a reason to change course, cut behind a house, or double back to avoid likely ambush spots. The wind was biting, and her detours made the walk even longer, but so far there’d been no sign of Fiske. Gabi figured that losing a finger or two to frostbite was nothing compared to being found dead in a snowdrift, but her gallows humor evaporated the moment she saw Noel Sutton leaning against the street sign for Cambium Terrace.
It was too late to run. He had seen her and could easily catch her in a few strides if she tried to flee. Noel was one of the fastest boys in school. An orange-and-brown stocking cap was pulled over his eyebrows, his hair stiff with ice where it poked out from underneath. Like most of the boys at Alder High, Noel liked to pretend he was impervious to the weather and woefully underdressed. His bare hands were shoved into a flannel jacket, and he stamped feet clad only in worn loafers. Gabi, on the other hand, wore seven layers on top and four on bottom, not including her heavy socks and insulated boots. The padding softened the blows of her tormentors and gave her a little added heft so the arctic blasts didn’t spirit her away like a tumbleweed. Quick movement under the shroud of so many clothes was not an option, but escape had always been impossible for her anyway.
Gabi and Noel were in a standoff. She was unwilling to approach—why hasten the pain?—and he, well, what was he doing just staring at her like that? Where were Bradley and Geoff? After a few frozen minutes, Noel approached. Gabi braced herself for the first strike, for the feel of Noel’s hand over her nose and mouth as the world faded around her, but there was no menace in his eyes as he came to a halt a few feet away. The mental torture as she waited for Noel to make his first move was almost worse than Bradley’s brutal assaults.
“You don’t have to be afraid,” Noel said, swiping at his nose with the back of his hand. “I’m not going to hurt you.” Gabi said nothing. Noel had been in the business of hurting her since he stopped passing her knock-knock jokes in the third grade. “I mean it,” Noel said, taking another step toward her. Gabi’s flinch brought him up short.
“Why are you here, then?” Her voice was thin, but maybe if she could keep him talking, someone would pass by and scare him off.
“I wanted to tell you something. I don’t suppose we could go inside? It’s freezing out here.” So that was the game. It made sense that Bradley would want to raise the stakes after the outcome of their tussle in the Training Room. Were they planning to trash her house? No, her father was one of the most influential men in Unitas, and the temple owned everything within those four walls. Destruction of Unitas property wasn’t as bad as stealing or hoarding, but it was bad. Noel cupped his hands over his mouth and breathed into them. His eyes were watering, the fluid freezing on his chapped cheeks. She was cold too. Despite her insulation, she couldn’t feel her feet anymore, and the temperature was plummeting by the minute.
“I understand if you don’t want to,” Noel said. “You can go in if you want. I won’t stop you.” Gabi didn’t wait for another invitation. She gave him a wide berth and fled to her front porch, looking around as she went. There was no sign of Bradley or Geoff, and Noel didn’t budge as he watched her go. After tipping her gloves off, she fumbled with her keys and unlocked the door. Why was Noel still standing there? Why wouldn’t he go away? Gabi slammed the door shut behind her and locked it again, her breath fogging up the windowpane as she looked out. Even from inside the house, she could see Noel shivering.
She could let him in and lock the door. The other entrance and all the windows would be locked already. The house behind her was dark, devoid of the smells
