Good thing I didn’t tell him about my Bodo plan. “Why?” I sat up straighter and picked some more food out of the basket. My appetite was waking up.
“Because. We’re never going to be able to kill all of them, and every time we piss some of them off, there’ll be more of them out there wanting to come after us. We don’t need enemies.”
“You’re right about that. We just need to be invisible. But that’s not very realistic, is it?”
Peter sighed. “I guess not.” He got up and went over to the pantry, absently moving things around. “I can dream, though, right?”
“Yeah, you can dream. Maybe it’ll give us something to shoot for.”
“Well, I know you’re happy here and all. And as far as invisibility is concerned, it’s nearly ideal. But my idea of the perfect home is not a place filled with mosquitoes, snakes, and gators.” He emphasized his point by smacking his arm and flicking off the dead, smooshed body of one of the many blood-sucking insects that plagued us night and day.
“I hear ya. If you can think of something better, feel free to share. This is the best I could come up with.”
Peter came back to join me, holding his hands out to help me up. “I’m not really complaining. Just whining a little. I’m allowed to do that.”
“Yep, you are. Where are we going?” I asked, taking his hands and using them to stand up. I didn’t let go until the dizziness subsided.
“To the bathroom and the showers. Ready?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Just hand me another hunk of that disgusting bread.”
Peter bent down and grabbed it, handing it to me and holding out his elbow. “M’ lady?” He was waiting for me to put my hand in the crook of his arm.
“Okaaaay,” I said, doing as expected, smiling at how goofy I knew we looked.
I had to admit, though - it was easier walking a straight line with Peter there to guide me. We made our way slowly to the outhouse path, with me only tripping once. I got my business done, without fainting on the toilet, pants down around my ankles, so I considered it a big success.
Our next stop was the shower where I struggled but eventually was able to wash most of the grime off my body. Peter took my bandages off for me and gave me strict instructions to clean the wound thoroughly.
The stitches were ugly and the skin around them looked nasty. Winky was right - I was going to have a terrible scar. But I could tell that the edges of the injury had already started to connect, and so far, I didn’t have any signs of infection.
I started to wonder what Bodo might think about my new scar, but I stopped myself. I’d cried enough tears for a while … maybe for a lifetime. I was done with sadness and ready to move on to hope. Until I saw evidence of his dead body, I was going to assume he was alive and out there somewhere for me to find.
I came out from behind the curtain almost feeling like a new person. I was clean, my arm was healing, and I had a mission. Plus, I’d killed a monster that had haunted my nightmares for weeks on end, so that was enough to make me ready to at least face the day and find out what Kowi wanted from me.
“Come on, Peter. Let’s go find out what Kowi’s deal is.”
“Okee dokee. Come on, Buster! Let’s go see the boss! Yes, yes, yes!” He was baby-talking now. “The bossy wossy. The chiefy weefy…”
I smiled, watching the two of them act like complete idiots. Life did not totally suck, and I refused to wallow in sorrow anymore until I knew for sure that I had a reason to.
Chapter Two
PETER AND I ENTERED THE clinic and went to Kowi’s bedside. We found him propped up, reading a book. As we got closer, I realized it was George’s journal. I bit back the scolding that was on the tip of my tongue. He had to be bored out of his mind in here, so I could hardly blame him for wanting some good reading material. I still hadn’t read everything in it, probably because every page was worth studying.
“Oh, hey.” Kowi held up the book. “Borrowed the journal. Hope that’s okay.”
“No problem,” I said, trying to keep my eyes off the bandage that was on his abdomen. There was some blood seeping through. “How are you feeling?”
“Better, actually.” He looked down at his wound. “If the damn thing would quit leaking, I’d feel a little more comfortable about saying that, though.”
“That’s normal,” said Celia, coming in to join us. “Hey, Bryn … Peter. What’s up?”
“Just coming by for a visit,” said Peter. “How are you doing?”
Celia lifted up her half-arm which was still bandaged. She seemed to be more comfortable moving it around now, when before she had always kept it glued to her side. “As good as I can be, I guess.” She turned her attention to Kowi. “Here. Take this.” She handed him a pill and a bottle of water. “Drink the whole thing.”
“Yes, boss,” he said, before throwing the pill into his mouth and gulping down the entire bottle. He handed it back to her. “There you go. Ready to poke and prod now?”
She scowled at him. “I’ll do that later, after they leave.” She walked away to tend to another patient.
“What are they poking you for?” asked Peter, probably wondering like me if they were doing some weird-ass medicine man stuff on him.
“Just redoing the bandages, seeing if there’s any pus in there.”
Peter grimaced. “Sorry I asked.”
Kowi smiled. “Hey, I’m not complaining. Being poked is better than the alternative.”
“Not being poked?” I asked.
He laughed. “No. Being too dead to bother poking.” Then his smile disappeared. “Oh, crap. Sorry, Bryn. I didn’t … mean anything by it.”
I grinned madly at him. “No offense.”
Kowi frowned at me and then looked at Peter.
Peter was staring at me like I’d lost my mind.
“Stop looking at me like that. Bodo’s not dead. I’d know it if he were.”
Peter’s eyes got wide but he said nothing.
Kowi cleared his throat but otherwise remained quiet.
An uncomfortable silence fell over us, so I said the first thing that came to mind, trying to change the subject. “So … canners. Some escaped …”
Kowi glanced down at the journal he held in his hand and said, “Yeah.” He looked back up. “I’ve been reading some stuff in here, and I wanted to talk to you and Trip about it.”
“Why me?” I asked.
“Because I trust you to make good decisions for our welfare. You know how to fight better than any of us, and it’s always going to fall to you to make us ready for whatever comes.”
I felt proud and pressured at the same time. It brought my happiness level down several notches.
Peter slung his arm across my shoulders. “Bryn’s totally there for you guys, just like I am. But she needs time to recover. She’s been through a lot.”
“We all have. I’m not saying she needs to do anything until she’s ready. But I’m worried those canners who got away will try and find us.”
“How will they? They don’t even know where we came from,” said Peter.
“We were all wearing moccasins and warpaint. It’s no mystery most of us are Native Americans. We can hardly hide that from anyone. And LaShay told us they have spies all over those neighborhoods, and most of them lived in the area before everything fell apart, so they know about the Miccosukee village. They probably saw us pulling up the minute we came near. It wouldn’t take long to put it all together with the direction we came from.”
“Shit,” I said, the weight of his words sinking in. Our sanctuary has been compromised. “I’m so sorry.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say. It felt like it was all my doing.
“It’s not your fault, so why are you apologizing?” said Kowi, sounding angry.
“Because it feels like my fault, that’s why.”
“So, you brought the canners to the area and forced them to hunt kids?” he said sarcastically.
“No. But your lives were fine. Everything was going well and then we showed up and the shit hit the fan.”
“Coincidence. Just an unlucky coincidence.”
I heard a hiss of breath behind me and turned to find Coli standing there, scowling.
“Oh, Jesus,” I said, frustrated that I was going to have to deal with her. “Are you following me now?”
“Coli, I’m not going to say it again,” warned Kowi. “You either get over your shit or don’t come in here anymore.”
She glared at Kowi and then at me, looking like she was going to say something back; but instead she turned on her heel and left us. We watched her back fade into the trees.
Kowi was shaking his head. “I honestly don’t know what to do with her.” He ran his fingers through his hair, making the tangles look even worse. “One minute she’s smiling and the next she looks like she wants to rip my face off.”
I smiled. “I thought I was the only one she showered with affection like that.”
Kowi laughed. “Hardly. Dealing with her mood swings is like being on an emotional roller coaster.”
“Without a seatbelt,” added Peter.
Kowi smiled but didn’t comment. “So, back to the journal.” He tapped it a few times on his lap. “I’m thinking we need to shore up our defenses. That’s how George put it.”
“In what way? And what defenses, exactly?” asked Peter.
“Well, to be honest, we don’t really have any defenses other than the natural ones like gators and stuff. So we need to put something together and try to anticipate what our enemy … the canners … might try to do.”
My mind was racing with the possibilities, both of attack and defense. “We really could do something, I’m sure. To make it more difficult for them to get too close.”
“That’s what I was thinking. So when do you think we can start working on it?”
I held up my arm. “Well, I’m a little out of commission for building stuff, but I’m okay to discuss and plan.”
“So long as you don’t overdo it,” said Peter. He looked at Kowi. “She passed out on the toilet yesterday.”
I shoved Peter with my good arm. “Shut up, Peter!”
Kowi laughed. “I heard.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh great. Paci’s gonna get punched.”
“No,” said Kowi, shaking his head, “it wasn’t Paci.”
I put my good hand on my hip. “Who was it, then?”
Kowi lifted up an eyebrow but said nothing.
“Oh, right. Yeah. Roller coaster whacko.”
“Hey,” said Kowi, “try not to forget she’s my girlfriend.”
“Fine. Sorry. Whatever. She’s not the nicest girl in the world, though. You can’t blame me for being pissed at her.”
“No, I don’t blame you. But Coli’s a complicated person. She’s just … a little lost right now.”
“I can help her find herself …,” I said, thinking about doing it with a nice upper cut to the jaw.
“I’m sure she’ll do it on her own, eventually. But thanks for the offer,” said Kowi, winking at me.
“So where’s Trip?” I asked, looking around the clinic. I knew he’d been hurt but hadn’t seen him since we got back.
“I don’t know,” said Kowi. “Haven’t seen him.”
“He’s back at his hut,” said Peter. “Do you want him to come by? I’m going to see him later.”
I looked at Peter confused. How come I didn’t know he was taking care of Trip? And what’s that all about, anyway?
