Nil (5 page)

Like Ramia.

Please not like Ramia.

Eight months after she vanished, Ramia was still MIA. No body, no clue. And eight months later, her final words still weirded me out.

For the first time, I wondered if Ramia had predicted Kevin’s fate, too.

It doesn’t matter; it means nothing.
It was the same pep talk I gave myself whenever I thought of Ramia, which happened more often than I cared to admit. Pushing Ramia and crosses and every other Nil negative from my head, I ditched the Wall and went to collect my board.

The Shack was deserted. I didn’t go inside; I didn’t need to. All our boards were racked outside, and right now I had tunnel vision. But as I hefted my favorite plank, I sensed I was being watched. Turning in a slow circle, I scoped out my perimeter.

Clear. No movement, no people.

I chalked my jitters up to lack of sleep and went to find Jason.

He was down by the water, chunking rocks into the sea, lips in a line. Jason was the oldest thirteen-year-old I knew. Kevin had looked after Jason like a big brother, and nearly two weeks after Kevin bailed, I still wasn’t used to seeing Jason alone.

“Hey, man,” I said when I was in range. “You ready?” I gestured to my surfboard.

“Yeah.” Jason hauled off and threw his last rock. The black piece flew and fell. He watched it disappear, then without a word, he picked up his board and followed me into the water.

The waves were solid five-footers, but a relentless crosswind made them bumpy. As I made the drop, if I closed my eyes, just for a second it was like shooting down a double black at Whistler. It didn’t scratch my snowboarding itch, not even close, but this was Nil, and I’d take what I could get. Still, I kept my closure to an extended blink. Like Kevin told me on Day One, Nil demanded eyes wide open.

The current moved fast, pulling us south. At this rate, we’d end up down by Black Bay, a long trek back with a board—especially one made of solid wood like ours were—and we still had to fish. I’d just made the call to go in when a faint scream sliced across the water. Then it vanished, disappearing like backspray gusting off a wave.

Board held tight, I searched for the screamer.

Talla was paddling out, mouth closed. One look at her typical game face told me it wasn’t her.

Back on the beach, Rives led a crew in wind sprints, running balls to the wall, working on speed. Nothing unusual there. No one screaming like a girl.

Then I realized if someone had screamed, I wouldn’t have heard it over the surf.

Get out of my head, Nil.

I signaled to Jason and pointed toward shore. He gave me a thumbs-up. As I dragged my board through the froth, I glanced toward Black Bay, the scream lingering in my ears like water I couldn’t clear. Or maybe that was Nil. New teams had launched, Kevin was still MIA, and Nat refused to budge. And then there was me, wired so tight that I was hearing things.

Ten minutes later, nets in hand and minds on edge, Jason and I made tracks for the pools.

Our fish pools are ingenious, no credit to me. They were here when I got here, and they’ll stay when I leave. Black rock pools that fill with the tides. Slam the reed door traps, and spearfishing’s as easy as shooting fish in a barrel, which essentially was the plan.

But something pulled me to the Bay.

“How ’bout this,” I told Jason. “Let’s head to Black Bay first, look for redfruit, then we’ll fish on the way back. Sound good?”

Jason nodded, and in that moment, I knew he wanted to avoid the City as much as I did.

We cut inland, took the path through the cliff, then popped out near the Bay. The first clump of redfruit trees was loaded, but the fruit was still green, so we kept walking. Sand crunched under our feet, like an endless stretch of broken shark’s teeth. Chunkier than the white sand near the City, this sand was as black as night, as black as death. Classic Nil beauty.

“It’s mighty quiet,” Jason commented, his head on a swivel.

I stopped immediately. “Hold up,” I said, raising one hand.

We stood perfectly still. Without our footfalls, the beach was cemetery quiet. Possibly Nil-up-to-something quiet. I swept the air, then the trees, looking for movement.
Eyes wide open.

Up ahead, a bush jerked and snapped back, a motion too sharp to be wind.

“Jason,” I said, pulling my knife, “movement. Ten meters, straight ahead. Come to my other side, okay?”

Jason moved immediately. “Person?” he whispered. “Or animal?”

Person, place, thing, or animal?
my mind asked. A game I played as a kid. Not so fun on Nil. I’d take person over animal any day, and both over a thing. Like I’d figured out early on, it was the things that could kill you. Place was the only category not in question. That answer was always Nil.

“Don’t know,” I said. “Something. Maybe nothing.”

Walking again, I kept my eyes trained on the spot where I’d seen movement.

The same bush swayed. A definite movement, more like a parting. My fingers choked down on my knife.

“Something’s coming,” I told Jason.

The bush shifted sideways, and a figure stepped out. A girl. Tall, lean. Long legs, long muscles. Great shoulders. Full lips. Even though she looked island-thin, she was hands-down the most gorgeous girl I’d ever seen.

And she was wearing Kevin’s clothes.

CHAPTER

9

CHARLEY

DAY 12, LATE MORNING

When I stepped onto the sand, I got my first good look at the boys.

Each one carried a brown net—I felt a sharp pang of net envy right then—and a gourd strung across one shoulder. Both wore shorts made of the same white material as mine; neither wore shirts or shoes. And both were really tan, without any body fat. Considering my own nutritional predicament, I could see why. The shorter one had curly brown hair and freckles. His nose was peeling, badly. He looked fifteen, at most.

I was captivated by the taller boy.

He looked eighteen, maybe nineteen. Blessed with high cheekbones and sandy blond hair that brushed his broad shoulders, he looked like he’d just stepped off the cover of a cheesy romance novel in the grocery store book section. Definitely human, and totally hot.

He stared at me like I was a ghost. His stance next to the younger boy was protective. I thought of the goat-killer, then noticing his slightly raised hand clutching a knife, abruptly I thought,
Maybe he’s wary of me.
For a second, I saw myself through his eyes: gaunt, sunburned, not a speck of makeup, looking like some six-foot wild child from the bush after twelve days of oceanside camping. I was a tropical freak show.

“Hey,” I said, trying to smile. It seemed I’d forgotten how to form one. I made an effort to wave and look less threatening, but ended up feeling like a goofball as neither boy smiled.

The shorter one pointed his spear at me. “Those are Kevin’s clothes.” His dark eyes were accusing.

The taller boy reached out and gently lowered the first boy’s spear. “Did you see him?” he asked. “A guy? Dark hair, about your height?” He rested his hand on the younger boy’s shoulder, and his voice softened. “Or his body?”

They think I stole these clothes! From a dead body!

Horrified, my words spilled out in a rush. “No! I didn’t see anyone! I mean, y’all are the first people I’ve seen! I found these clothes, in a pile, way back there”—I waved my arm wildly toward the red desert, then grabbed my top as it slipped. I’d grown so skinny, there wasn’t much to keep it up—“in the middle of a red rock field.”

Relief washed over the boys’ faces like sunlight. They grinned at each other, and the taller boy clapped the shorter one on the back as the short one threw a fist-pump and shouted, “Yes!” Then, as if they’d just remembered I was there, they turned back to me.

“I’m sorry,” the tall, golden-haired boy said. His features were no longer wary. His eyes were a rich sapphire blue, lighter than I’d first thought. “I’m Thad, and this is Jason.”

The younger boy smiled and waved. “Hi.”

“Hey,” I said, struck by the shift in their expressions. “I’m Charley.”

“Nice to meet you, Charley,” Thad said, flashing a cover-model grin. “Welcome to paradise.”

For a moment I couldn’t think. Then I regrouped, speaking fast. “There’s an animal. With spots. Back there.” I pointed down the beach. “It jumped from the trees and ate my goat.”

“You have a goat?” Thad raised one eyebrow, something I’d always wanted to do but couldn’t.

“Not really.” I felt like an idiot. “It was stalking me.”

“Was.” Thad nodded.

“Right. It’s dead. Because
something
attacked it and ate it for breakfast.”

Thad nodded again, looking oddly unconcerned, which was crazy since
a giant cat-dog just ate my goat
.

I glared at him. My adrenaline rush was fading fast, but I had a spark of fire left, and I leveled it at Thad. “Look, something ate that goat. Sort of like a big dog, but it moved like a cat, and it had
spots
. What
was
it?” I demanded.

“Hungry,” he said, breaking into a grin.

“Well”—I floundered a bit as I stared at his smile—“are there more of those things? Like a pack?”

Thad shrugged. “I doubt it. If I had to guess, I’d say it was the lone hyena we’ve seen lurking around the City. Usually it goes after rabbits or a Nil cat.”

“Rabbits?” I frowned. “I haven’t seen any rabbits. Or cats.”

“Maybe the hyena ate them.” As he grinned, his eyes sparkled. Gracious, was this boy
hot
. And slightly infuriating.

“Charley, do you know how long you’ve been here?”

I didn’t hesitate. “Twelve days.”

He did that eyebrow thing again. “Twelve?”

I nodded. “I’ve counted the days by marking a tree at sunrise, so I’m pretty sure I’m right, unless I was out for a day before I woke up, but I don’t think so. I would have burned, because I was—” I broke off, realizing I was babbling out loud. I never babbled.
Did solitary confinement make people babble? Or just Thad?
I couldn’t think straight.

“Let me guess. You woke up naked, eh?”

I had the terrible thought that
he’d
seen me naked.

He chuckled. “Everyone does, not just you. But hey, now you’ve got Kevin’s clothes, eh?” He pointed to my borrowed Bermudas.

“Right,” I said, embarrassed. Something nagged at me, but my lethargic brain refused to cooperate. Thad spoke before I could find my question.

“Charley, do you remember the date? When you passed out, before you woke up here?”

“August tenth.”

“And the year?”

When I told him, he nodded, as if I’d confirmed what he already knew. I wanted to ask him what he thought the date was, but my head was full of sludge. Like circuits weren’t firing, or pathways weren’t connecting. Distracted, I watched his hair brush his shoulders, his question echoing in my head.
Do you remember the date … before you woke up here?

“Where’s
here
?” I asked, latching on to that word like a life preserver. “Where am I?”

“Black Bay.”

Thad’s answer threw me. Before I could rephrase, he kept going, like some gorgeous island interviewer. “Charley, sorry for getting so personal, but how old are you?”

“Seventeen.” I raised my chin. “How old are
you
?”

He smiled. “Seventeen.”

“Really?” I said, unable to hide my surprise. “You look older.”

Thad laughed. “That’s what a little island living does for you. Speaking of island living, don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like you could use some food. And sleep. Why don’t you come with us to the City? We’ve got plenty of food and beds, and you can meet everyone when you’re ready.”

I stared at him. I didn’t know him, and now I was thinking about going off with him, to a strange city who knows where. After twelve days in isolation, the thought was a huge relief. I couldn’t believe I hesitated, and yet, I did.

“It’s okay, Charley,” Thad said quietly. “We’ve all been where you are.”

“Not all,” Jason spoke up. “Samuel came from the east, and Talla came from the groves—”

“Jason.” Thad looked at the younger boy. “Enough. You know what I mean.”

Grinning, Jason drew his fingers across his lips in a zipping motion. Thad turned back to me. “Charley?”

Looking into Thad’s eyes, I decided to trust him—as if I had any other option. “Okay,” I said, feeling shaky and weirdly overwhelmed. My adrenaline high was gone.

I thought of my dagger, my pitiful half-woven fishnet, and hollow coconuts. It wasn’t much, but it seemed important to take them—to have something of mine. Of
me
, of whatever was left of me, which judging by my hip bones, wasn’t much. “Let me just grab my things.”

Thad looked curious. “Need any help?”

“I’ve got it.” I wanted a minute to gather my thoughts, because my head was scary out-of-sorts.

I turned, moving so quickly my brain sloshed in my head. Behind me, Thad kept talking to the boy whose name I’d already forgotten. The boys’ voices faded. My legs felt heavy; each step took more effort than the last. The coconuts became bricks. Black spots danced in front of my eyes, blurring like spots on a hungry hyena.

I had a moment of absolute clarity when I knew exactly what was about to happen. And just like before, I was powerless to stop it.

CHAPTER

10

THAD

DAY 278, LATE MORNING

As Charley turned, I wondered what she had to grab. She’d only been here twelve days. Longer than most rookies lasted slumming solo, but still, not a lot of time to start a collection.

I looked at Jason. “Stay put. And stay alert, okay?”

Jason nodded. “I’m on it.”

I followed Charley to the edge of the brush. Watching her move, without warning, my mind flashed back to the moment she’d stepped onto the beach. She’d stood on the black sand, chin raised, Kevin’s shorts slung low on her hips and his bandana wrapped around her chest, her dark hair whipping around her shoulders, like a kick-ass character from a graphic novel.