Gerard dropped his voice and pointed to the top of the object. Alina leaned forward, straining her ears.
“…light it here. About one minute later—” Gerard stretched out his arms. “BOOM! I have three of these explosives—with catapults. Sampson sent them in with the loonies!”
“But won’t they throw them back over the wall?”
Gerard shook his head. “No! These babies will be on fire!”
“But they’re so small! How big is the explosion?” another man pressed.
“Trust me, if we launch all three at once, the town will be flattened. If one explodes near the wall, their puny army will be wiped out. Now all we need—” Gerard motioned for the men to move in. Alina pressed her back against the tree, bouncing her fist against her mouth. How do I stop this?
Gerard pointed to three different areas of the wall. He curled his fingers into claws, thrust his hands away from his chest and released another boom. The men guffawed and bounced on their toes, rubbing their hands together. “What are we waiting for, then? They know we’re here.”
Mae finished her food and slunk back toward the trees with her head down.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Gerard hollered after her. “Come back here! You’re our personal slave tonight. Jed, I told you to tie her to that tree!”
Jed flashed Gerard a dark look as he walked toward Mae. He snatched her arm and dragged her to the tree, then shoved her to the ground. He grimaced as he tied her ankles together and her hands behind the trunk, as if he hated touching her.
“Let’s head to the gate,” Gerard called. “I’ll tell them it’s Jade and Rex, or else.” He lifted the small ball. The men cheered, some of them punching the air.
Gerard stuck his fingers in his mouth and gave a loud, shrill whistle. The Sad Cases converged into a dense mass and hastened toward Gerard, shoving each other to be the first to heed their master’s command.
“Listen up, loonies!” Gerard jeered, and some of the men snickered. “Me and my men are heading to the gate for some important business. Stay here until we return.” He pointed a thick finger at Mae, who cowered against the tree.
“Keep an eye on that tramp—that deserter,” he spat. “If she tries to escape again, kill her. Break every bone in her body and rip her to pieces.” Gerard turned back to his men and grinned. “And they will, too.”
The men roared with laughter as they lifted their packs and followed Gerard through the trees, moving like a dark cloud toward Millflower’s front gate.
The Sad Cases turned their crazed eyes on Mae. Several approached her, sneering and pounding their fists against their palms. The woman who took her to Gerard planted her skinny legs directly in front of her. “You betrayed Master Gerard,” she hissed. “I’m going to kill you and tell him you tried to escape.”
“We’ll do it together!” another one protested. “You can’t have all the glory!”
Alina stepped out from behind the tree. “OVER. MY. DEAD. BODY!”
Every Sad Case snapped their eyes to Alina. She barreled toward them with flared nostrils, unleashing a muted but ferocious battle cry.
Dozens of Sad Cases pounced on her, punching, kicking, and scratching her skin with all the feeble energy they could muster. Others hoisted heavy rocks and hurled them at her, but they fell short. If the scene wasn’t so pitiable, Alina might’ve laughed. These humans possessed nothing but obedient adrenaline: explosive, volatile, and fleeting.
Alina plowed through them and dropped to the ground next to Mae, her fingers working frantically to loosen the knots. The Sad Cases pelted her with small rocks that bounced off her like rubber balls. A few grabbed her arms to keep her from untying the knots, and another attempted to strangle her around the neck. Alina sprung to her feet and whipped around, flattening a row of them with one swipe of her arm. “BACK OFF!” she screamed.
The startled creatures retreated, and the nasty woman clenched her fists. “I’m telling Gerard!” She tripped over the bony knees of someone on the ground, then popped up and scuttled toward the gate.
“Be my guest,” Alina muttered as she wrenched the rope away from Mae’s ankles. “I’ll see him at the gate soon, anyway.” She lifted Mae onto her back, stepped over the Sad Cases on the ground, and broke into a run. They gaped after her with a dazed look in their eyes.
She backtracked through the prairie and within minutes reached Millflower’s back wall. “Mae, I need you to hold tightly around my neck; I can’t carry you. I’m going to climb the wall.”
“Okay.”
Mae held on as Alina dug her fingernails into the mortar, but her fingers could not grasp the wall, and her feet slid on the rough stone. The town wisely made the wall unclimbable. Should I face Gerard at the front gate? What about Mae?
No—I’ll jump. With enough momentum, I can make it.
She backed up into the grass. At full speed with Mae clinging to her, she soared through the air and hit the top of the wall with a thud. Mae went rigid for a moment, gasping for air.
“Sorry, Mae,” Alina said as she swung her legs over the wall and dropped into the parapet, then jumped down into the sunflowers of the back field.
“Don’t be,” Mae said. “That was—brilliant.”
Alina ran through the field, and as she reached the first street, she froze. The town was deserted and quiet.
She ran to the nearest house and hammered on the door. When no one answered, she rattled the doorknob, then kicked a window and slid through the broken glass, taking care not to cut Mae. She stood up in the front room.
A whistle rang out and she spread out her arms, dropping Mae to the ground behind her. The dart bounced off her shoulder and dropped to the floor with a plink.
“Who’s there?” she called. “It’s Alina!” She realized, too late, it might be unwise to reveal herself.
“Alina?”
