When Stars Go Out

by Grey, Ransom;

  “Oh, really? Well, whoever this is, they should find better staff than two sasquatches that don’t wear deodorant. I’m not going anywhere with you creeps.”

  The first boy narrowed his eyes. “Listen, kid, we’re talking about the Council here. Whatever they say goes.”

  “I don’t care who we’re talking about. You’re not taking me anywhere.”

  “I’m warning you, kid. We have orders to bring you by ‘any means necessary.’”

  Reed got his back against the alley wall and braced himself. “Come and take me then,” he shot back.

  It was an invitation. The first boy lunged at him with surprising speed. Reed was quicker. He shot out a strong kick that met the stomach of the oncoming crook and sent him reeling backward, gasping. The second one was on him in an instant but also fell back, deterred by a well-aimed fist that connected firmly with his jaw. Reed kissed his throbbing knuckles. “Frick,” he muttered, “it looks a lot easier in the movies.”

  The first boy tried again. Reed beat him off once more, but not without having a little of his own blood drawn. He scarcely had a second to wipe it from his lip before the other boy was on him. He met with less success than his companion.

  Again, they each tried, but Reed drove them off once more, fighting for all he was worth. After a few more attempts, both assailants withdrew to consider their options. Apparently, this wasn’t going the way they had anticipated.

  Reed wiped a trickle of blood from his chin and gingerly touched his throbbing eye. He couldn’t hold them off forever. They weren’t very bright, but they would catch on soon enough and attack him simultaneously. There would be nothing he could do then except make them pay dearly for their prize. He gritted his teeth as the two separated and moved into position on either side of him.

  Without warning, a broad figure dropped from the building above Reed’s head and crashed onto one of the attackers, throwing him to the ground. In the same instant, another swung off the roof and slammed into the remaining brute feet first. The force caught the boy full in the chest and threw him against the alley wall. Before he could recover, the new arrival landed in front of him and socked him in the jaw with each fist. The first thug picked himself up from the street, but the broad attacker was already raining punches on him mercilessly.

  In the skirmish that followed, Reed remained where he was, astonished. He offered no help in the melee, but it didn’t seem like his help was needed. The two ruffians were getting the worst end of the deal. Reed had never seen such fighting, if it could be called that. His mysterious rescuers laid into the other two so relentlessly that there was barely any resistance. It ceased to be much of a fight and became more of a pounding.

  At last, the first assailant slammed his opponent in the gut with a breathtaking roundhouse kick and, as the thug doubled over, caught his head between his hands and cracked it on his knee. The ruffian collapsed without a sound. At the same time, the slighter figure caught his adversary by the forearm and, with a peculiar twist, flipped him easily over his back. Something clicked in Reed’s mind. That trick seemed familiar somehow.

  The mugger hurtled through the air and landed heavily on his back in the street. In an instant, he was on his feet again but turned to run, vanishing into the gloom.

  The two victors did not follow. Dusting their hands on their jeans, they turned back to where Reed leaned against the wall, struggling to think clearly and doubting his senses. The slighter one looked him up and down. “You all right?”

  The voice was unmistakable. Reed’s knees gave out and he slid down the wall to the ground. He tried to speak but found his mouth was full of blood from his busted lip. He spit it out and gasped, “Elijah?”

  Chapter 35

  Elijah dropped down next to Reed. “Yeah, it’s me and Cody. Are you okay?”

  “Me? Sure, it’s just my lip. But how—where—what are you doing here? How did you get out of jail?”

  “How?” Elijah grinned. “It was a miracle; that’s really all that matters. Why am I here? Long story, but we can’t stay. Cody and I were on our way back from paying Wilson a visit over the roofs when we found you. God seems to have a way of throwing us together, doesn’t He? What were those guys up to?”

  “I don’t know. They lured me here with a phony message and then said the Council wanted me for something.”

  Elijah glanced up at Cody. “Ah, then you can bet that punk’s making tracks for downtown. But why did they want you?”

  “I don’t know. Lucy says they’ve been watching us closer since you escaped.”

  Elijah mulled this over for a second. “That means they somehow know you’re connected with us.” He turned to Reed. “Whether you’re one of us or not, you’re in trouble.”

  “Swell. What do I do?”

  Elijah straightened. “Go back to the Dorms. If you make a big deal out of this and spread the story around, they’ll have to leave you alone for a while. Try to stick with the crowds. We’ve gotta get out of here now, but come to the Shellys’ tomorrow night. We’ll figure out what happens next.”

  “Tell some of the others to come, too, if you can,” added Cody.

  Reed wiped his lip and grinned. “I’ll make sure Katy’s there.”

  With the help of a handy dumpster, Cody and Elijah hoisted themselves back onto the roof. Reed, watching them disappear, had a sudden thought.

  “Elijah!” he hissed.

  A silhouette appeared over the edge of the roof.

  “The Chairman was lying at the trial. It wasn’t me that turned you in. Really!”

  Elijah leaned over the edge. “I know. Don’t worry about it.”

  “But I need to talk to you! There’s so much…”

  “I know, Reed. God will make it all clear in His time. We’ll talk as soon as we can, but I’ll keep praying for you. See ya later.”

  And Reed was left alone in the dusky alley with an unconscious thug.

  That night and the next day, Reed followed Elijah’s advice, spreading the report of what had befallen him all over the Hill. Reed was smart; he saw the wisdom of the plan. The Council now knew their scheme was exposed and, if anything further happened to Reed, they would get the blame. They would have to leave him alone or the entire Hill would call them out as kidnappers. Reed didn’t dare accuse them openly, but he made it clear the muggers had “professed” to be acting under the Council’s authority. It served the same purpose. Besides, he couldn’t give the full story anyway. No one must know how he’d been rescued—almost no one.

  Lucy and Alec were the only ones he told the whole truth. Their concern for what happened was nearly eclipsed by their joy over Elijah’s return. Wilson had been his first contact; none of the others had heard from him since his escape. Both planned to go to the Shellys’ the following night and agreed to spread the word to the rest.

  The next day after work, the three of them slipped out of the city one by one, making their way to the farm. Reed was last in the sequence and arrived after night had fallen. Everyone else was already in the cozy kitchen of the Shellys’ little house when he arrived—Alec and Lucy, Katy, Cody, Wilson, Sarah, Krista, Kara, Nathan, Courtney, even Gabe. Reed hadn’t seen most of them since that fateful night in the woods. They were scattered into the most comfortable places they could find around the dim little kitchen. The shades were drawn, and a single lamp lit the room from the center of the red-checked tablecloth. All the little Shellys were there, remarkably still and quiet. Mrs. Shelly alternated between the table and a corner cabinet where she busied herself.

  Reed’s eyes sought out Elijah. He was there, pushed back from the kitchen table in a chair, the golden lamplight falling steadily on his face. Ethan, nestled in his lap, leaned back in his arms like an enraptured cherub, his little hands locked behind the older boy’s neck. Nearby, Cody sat on the floor next to Katy’s chair. Lucy was near the door, stroking Lizzy’s hair as the little girl leaned against her shoulder. Alec sat on the kitchen counter with Luke. It was a warm
, homey scene Reed never forgot.

  He hadn’t missed much by his delayed arrival. When he entered, the conversation was low and serious, centered around the developments with Reed and Elijah. “It’s all up now,” Wilson was saying. “They know we’re here, and they know how to find us. They caught ’Lijah; they can catch the rest of us, too.”

  Nathan nodded. “Yes, they could catch us, but will they? Surely they can’t come up with enough legal excuses for all of us. How would they get away with it?”

  “You’d be surprised.” Wilson tapped his fingers on the table. “Look what happened to Reed; it’s obvious they don’t need legal excuses anymore. They can get away with anything they want against us, and they will, too. It’s only a matter of time.”

  “Then you think we should go through with it?” asked Katy quietly.

  Apparently, Reed had missed something after all.

  Wilson sighed heavily. “We don’t seem to have any other choice.”

  They were all silent for a moment, Reed not daring to ask what “it” was.

  Lucy looked up. “Mrs. Shelly, you’re an adult and much wiser than us. What do you think?”

  The woman moved over to the table, drying her worn hands on a blue-and-white towel. “Well,” she said slowly, “it doesn’t matter what I say, but what God says. Does He want you to do this?” She looked around at them one by one. Her eyes were a soft and gentle brown; Reed hadn’t noticed that before.

  “It would be a huge step,” she went on. “You’d have to burn all your bridges behind you, but,” and she sighed, “you don’t seem to have any other choice. Elijah’s life is in danger. I’m sure the Council has figured out that he’s still here after last night. They’ll know who that was in the alley; he’s beaten up their henchmen before. He’s a marked man. Cody, too. And Wilson’s right; it’s only a matter of time before the rest of you are. I’d hate to see it happen, but I don’t think the Hill can hold you anymore.”

  “Then we have to leave,” said Sarah softly.

  Leave the Hill? Reed was bewildered. The possibility had never entered his mind. That was so final, so drastic.

  “She’s right,” Cody said at last. “You can’t hide Elijah around here.”

  “Maybe a disguise would work,” suggested Lucy. “Could you, like, grow a beard or something?”

  “’Fraid not.” Elijah rubbed his smooth jaw. “I couldn’t if I tried.”

  “You couldn’t possibly hide his eyes, either,” Wilson pointed out. “No, we’d be a danger to the Shellys and to the whole church if we stayed. I hate thinking about it, but it seems to be safest for everyone if we leave. We just need to figure out how.”

  Regretfully, the others agreed, all except Reed. He was still trying to grasp the situation. “But… but where would you go?”

  They all turned to look at him. “You mean where would we go,” corrected Nathan. “You can’t stay here either.”

  “Me? Leave? But I…”

  “You have to, Reed,” said Lucy gently. “The Council knows you have ties with us. They’ll hunt you down just like they would Elijah or Cody. I’m afraid you’ll have to pay the price like the rest of us.”

  Reed, fighting the idea, glanced around the room and caught Elijah’s gaze. The steady look calmed him somewhat but confirmed Lucy’s words. Reed would have to leave the Hill and everything he’d grown to love about it—the city, his friends, all that had been his life. It was a thought that would take a while to sink in, but it wasn’t quite as numbing as he would have expected.

  Once it was settled they would have to flee, the group began arranging how it was to be done. Calling on the wisdom of Mrs. Shelly, they made a plan.

  They needed to leave as soon as possible and with the greatest secrecy. Today was Friday. Saturday would require only half a day of work, and then the rest of the weekend would be free. If everything went well, their disappearance wouldn’t be reported until Monday when none of them showed up for work.

  “Besides,” put in Alec, “even if a rumor got to the authorities before then, they’d be too busy to give it any thought. There’ve been some issues with the National Treasury this week that have the whole bureaucracy’s attention.”

  Still, they decided that leaving tomorrow morning would be optimal if they could work out a plausible way to get Saturday morning off work. After a few minutes of silent contemplation, Lucy volunteered a strange solution. She would stay behind and go to work as usual. “I’m the HR manager for the Red district, so I’ve got enough connections through the office to get the morning off for everybody in Red and Blue factories,” she explained. “If I stay, I could make the calls, and everybody else could get away sooner.”

  “And leave you behind?” Gabe sat up in his chair. “You have to get out of here, too!”

  “Oh, I would. I’d just leave at lunch and catch up with you guys later. It’s no big deal.”

  Gabe shook his head. “I will not let you stay by yourself.”

  “You’re sweet, Gabe,” she said, smiling, “but I wouldn’t have to be by myself. Reed could stay, too.”

  Everyone looked at her, surprised. Lucy hurried to explain. “You can’t just whisk him away all of a sudden. Everybody in the Dorms knows him, and they would notice if he vanished before breakfast. But if he left with me at lunch, it wouldn’t be so obvious. They might think he’d gone into the city for the day or something.”

  They all pondered the suggestion. Nathan spoke first. “She’s got a point. If Reed disappeared, everybody might think the Council kidnapped him and start a big racket.”

  Wilson nodded. “True. Everybody’s heard about his incident by now. But I’d feel awful leaving Lucy behind in a place we’re literally running away from.”

  “Never mind that,” she assured him. “I volunteered for it, and it’s only one morning. I’m more worried how Reed and I would find you guys later. I’m no guide.”

  Elijah spoke for the first time. “If you want,” he said, “I can wait for you outside the city. I’ve learned my way through the woods. If I know where the others are going, I can get you there.”

  Gabe objected strongly to this suggestion, saying it was ridiculous and put extra risk on Elijah, who needed it least of all people. Lucy and Reed, however, welcomed the offer, and Elijah assured Gabe it would be fine. Reed, deeply grateful, wondered if Elijah wasn’t trying to make an opportunity for the two of them to talk at last. That was like something he would do. In the end, after much discussion, the plan was adopted.

  Gabe was still uneasy. “I don’t like walking off and leaving you guys here by yourselves,” he declared, crossing his arms. “I have a bad feeling about it. I should stay, too, and make sure you’re all okay.”

  This started yet another discussion. Things were getting ridiculous; they might as well all stay at this rate. But Gabe persisted and pointed out that Lucy was only able to cover for those employed in the Red and Blue districts. He, on the other hand, could take care of anyone working in the Green district or with the private company downtown. It was this argument and the faith the others had in his invaluable protection skills that finally swayed them toward his plan. He won his point.

  In the end, they decided that Lucy, Reed, and Gabe would stay in the city and, when their work there was done, they’d meet Elijah in the woods. They would all travel together to rejoin the rest of the group.

  The more Reed thought about the arrangement, the stranger it sounded to him. There was absolutely no reason for Elijah to stay behind. Gabe could guide Reed and Lucy just as well and with less risk. Elijah must have something else in mind. Reed was positive now; Elijah was only staying for his sake.

  Next, they had to decide upon a rendezvous point outside the city. They chose the woodland landmark of the Gorge, mostly because Reed knew how to find it.

  “I’ll wait there until everybody shows up,” Elijah said. “Try to get there as soon as possible. They know where the Gorge is, too, and we’ll need to get out of there as quick
as we can.”

  Ethan had been listening quietly in Elijah’s lap. As the plan unfolded, the little boy began to shift uneasily and dart glances from face to face. At last, he could take it no more. He sat up like a jack-in-the-box. “But I don’t wants you to go ’way, Yijah!” He turned his distressed face up to the older boy’s and searched it earnestly. “You… you tan’t.”

  “Sweetheart, he has to,” said Marielle gently. “He might get hurt if he stays.”

  The little boy blinked, his brown eyes filling with tears. “But… but then I wouldn’t see you anymore.” With a sob, he buried his face in Elijah’s chest.

  Without a word, Elijah gathered the boy up and carried him out of the room. The others looked at each other, not sure whether to smile or cry.

  “Poor Ethan,” Sarah murmured, blinking her own eyes. “I wonder if they will ever see each other again.”

  Now that the plan was complete, there wasn’t much left to discuss. Those who were leaving first thing in the morning made their own plans for meeting up and agreed upon a destination to reach by nightfall. It was not a place Reed had heard of. He was glad Elijah would be there to get them where they needed to go.

  When the last detail was settled, silence settled over the kitchen. The lamp glowed on the table; the crickets sang outside the shuttered windows. A clock struck nine-thirty somewhere in the house.

  They all looked at one another; it could be put off no longer. Reluctantly, they stood up and prepared to leave. It was not like their normal partings; they all knew it meant a final farewell to the Shellys. It went better than Reed expected, however. There were few tears, no fears, nothing dark or melancholy.

  One by one, the teens from the Hill said their goodbyes to the children, had a final hug and a word from Mrs. Shelly at the door, and then vanished into the dark night. Most of them said something to Reed before they left as well. Katy and Sarah both urged him to be careful and to take good care of Lucy. Nathan shook his hand and said he was glad Reed was coming with them. The genuine pleasure in his eyes and his firm grip made Reed suddenly glad, as well.