by Chris Kreie
“What it is?” asked Darsha.
“We need to get out of here,” said Austin. “All of us.”
“What do you mean?”
“This place,” said Austin. “It’s not safe. You maybe don’t see it because you’re a Yellow Jacket.”
“I’m not a Yellow Jacket,” insisted Darsha.
“You know what I mean,” said Austin. “Listen, people are starving. We’re getting worked to the point of exhaustion. We’re packed like sardines into our cabins. And it’s going to get worse as the supplies keep dwindling. It’s only a matter of time.”
Darsha looked at her feet. “I knew things weren’t ideal here . . . but I didn’t know they were that bad.”
“And I haven’t even mentioned the thing we should be most worried about,” said Austin.
“The Visitors,” said Darsha.
“That’s right,” said Austin. “What happens if the Visitors land and attack us again? At that point I wonder if the Yellow Jackets will give us any food at all.”
“You really think it would be better somewhere else?” asked Darsha. “Where would you go?”
“We met a man and his daughter,” said Austin. “He told us about a camp near here. He told Michael and me we could come stay with them. It sounded great, Darsha. They even have a real doctor there.”
Darsha nodded. “You should go.”
“No,” said Austin shaking his head. “We should go. You and me. My mom. Michael’s family. Your family.”
She looked away. “I don’t know.”
“I don’t trust the Yellow Jackets,” said Austin. “Or Mr. Forrester. I don’t think anyone’s safe here. Not even your family.”
Darsha kicked at the dirt. “I’ll think about,” she finally said. “But getting my mom and dad to leave will be tough.”
“You can do it.”
“You’ll want to leave soon, I’m guessing?”
Austin nodded. He’d made up his mind. “The minute my mom is back on her feet, we’re leaving.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “Please tell me you’ll at least think about coming with us.”
“I’ll think about it,” said Darsha. “I promise.”
Chapter 16
The next two days crept by. Austin and Michael were once again placed on crop detail, this time collecting half-rotten apples from a picked-over orchard a few miles outside of camp. They did the work and kept to themselves, not speaking about their escape. They didn’t want to raise any suspicion from the guards watching over them.
In their cabin, Michael and Austin had agreed they would escape together. Michael’s parents had agreed to the plan as soon as Michael told them. They thought about telling more people about their plan to leave, but in the end they decided it was too risky. They didn’t know who they could trust or who might turn them in. Breaking out of camp was too important to be ruined by a snitch. They’d decided that once they’d reached the other camp and confirmed that conditions there were better, they could come back for the others.
Austin’s mom continued to improve. She was talking, eating, and even going for short walks around camp. Her fever had completely disappeared.
Austin and Michael sat together at dinner. There was no sign of the apples they’d picked the last couple of days.
“Has Darsha talked to her parents yet?” asked Michael.
“I don’t think so,” said Austin. “She’s scared of how they’ll react.”
“She’d better tell them soon,” said Michael. “Your mom’s almost ready to leave, right?”
“Yeah. I think as long as she doesn’t have some kind of relapse, we could probably get out of here by tomorrow night.”
Michael leaned his head on the table. “What a relief. Just one more day in this messed-up place.”
That night Austin tossed and turned, his mind filled with everything that might possibly go wrong with their plan. He couldn’t have been happier when his fitful night’s sleep was finally over. At breakfast he was greeted with a surprise. His mom was seated in the dining hall when he arrived.
“You look great!” he said, sitting down with her.
She smiled. “I feel pretty good.”
Austin began wolfing down his food. “Mom, I need to tell you something,” he said between bites. “We need to get out of here. Tonight if you’re able.”
“You want to leave?”
“This place is a disaster,” he said. “It’s not safe.”
“I’m listening,” she said.
“Mr. Forrester rules this place with an iron fist,” said Austin. “He and the others in charge make us work like dogs and keep all the good food for themselves. We’re left fighting over scraps and barely surviving. And you know as well as I do that the so-called clinic here is a joke. Michael and I had to sneak out of camp just to get you the medicine you needed.”
His mom leaned back in her seat, thinking things over. “It was a strange experience. I’d assumed I was just imagining most of it,” she said. “But you’re right. They could barely take care of me.”
“That’s why we need to leave,” said Austin. “What if you get sick again? Or I do? Forrester and the Yellow Jackets don’t have what it takes to keep us safe. I’m convinced of that.”
“Austin, you and I are a team,” she said. “If you say we’re in danger, I believe you.”
“So you’re with me?” asked Austin.
“Of course,” said his mother.
“Are you feeling healthy enough to go tonight?” whispered Austin. “After dinner?”
“I’m feeling good,” she said. “If you and Michael think we should leave tonight, let’s go for it.”
“Get moving over there!” shouted one of the Yellow Jackets, glaring at the two of them.
They stood up and grabbed their dishes. “Then tonight it is,” said Austin. “I’ll give you more details at dinner.”
After breakfast, Austin and Michael and the group of teenagers were marched even farther out of camp, this time to scavenge through a walnut orchard. When the guards weren’t looking Austin and Michael used rocks to crack open the hard shells and eat the nuts by the handful. They also stuffed their pockets full for their upcoming journey.
Dinner was already being served by the time they arrived back at camp. The two of them met Austin’s mom in the dining hall. “We’ll collect our things after we eat,” said Austin. “Then wait for darkness to make our break.”
“I have half a dozen water bottles I took from the clinic when I was there,” said his mom.
“Good going,” said Michael. “And my folks have a stash of beef jerky we’ve been eating slowly since we got here.”
“The walk should take us just a couple days,” said Austin. “So with water, jerky, and the walnuts we stole today, we should be okay.”
“Have you talked to Darsha?” asked Michael. “Is her family coming with us?”
“I don’t know,” said Austin. “I haven’t seen her today.”
“She’s still going to help us break out, even if they’re not coming, right?”
Austin nodded. “We can totally count on her.”
Just then Darsha appeared from behind the kitchen counter and rushed over to them.
“I’m so sorry,” she said quickly. “I didn’t mean for it to happen, I swear.”
“What?” Michael asked.
Suddenly Mr. Forrester burst into the dining hall. He was followed by two giant Yellow Jackets. “I’m looking for Michael Simpson and Austin O’Donnell!” he shouted.
Michael whirled on Darsha. “What did you do?”
Her eyes were pleading. “I told my parents about your plan, and my dad immediately went to Forrester. He told him all about it.”
“There they are!” barked one of the Yellow Jackets, pointing at their table.
“I knew we couldn’t trust her,” said Michael. “I knew it.” He banged his fist on the table.
Darsha looked into Austin’s eyes. “Austin, I’m so sorry.”
&n
bsp; All he could do was shake his head. Their plan was ruined.
Chapter 17
The two Yellow Jacket guards stormed over to their table. They grabbed Austin and Michael by the arms and pulled them to their feet, dragging them over to Mr. Forrester.
Austin could hear his mom and Michael’s parents protesting. His whole body shook with fear, anger, and confusion.
“What was the first thing you were told when you joined our shelter?” Forrester asked.
Neither boy said anything.
“There are rules,” he continued. “And as long as you abide by those rules, you and your families are welcome here.” The entire dining hall had grown quiet.
Austin tried wriggling his arm free from the tight grip of the guard. “You’re hurting me.” The guard’s hand did not relax.
“I gave you food. I gave you shelter. The Yellow Jackets offered their protection.” Forrester began to pace in front of them. “All I asked for in return was that you pay back your debts before you leave.”
He turned to the crowd and pointed a finger at Austin and Michael. “These boys decided that they didn’t need to repay their debts like the rest of you are working so hard to do. We are all putting in a fair share of work for the greater good. They don’t value our generosity. They don’t value the kindness and the goodwill we have shown them since they arrived. They’ve taken advantage of our hospitality and then try to flee once they feel they no longer need us.”
“We were just trying to help my mom,” Austin said. “You guys weren’t—”
“Quiet!” one of the guards barked. Austin’s mom frowned and tried to step forward, but another group of Yellow Jackets had approached their parents and had moved to stand around them.
Forrester continued. “Now I know you boys might think you weren’t doing anything wrong, but when it all comes down to it, you broke our rules. You must repay your debts. I’m afraid we’re going to have to make an example out of you, just in case anyone else is feeling like skipping out on their debts early.”
Several people in the crowd began to murmur amongst themselves. One woman put her hand to her mouth in concern.
“In addition to your daily shifts, you boys will work extra four-hour shifts every night for the next month. The Yellow Jackets will be monitoring your families to make sure you don’t attempt an escape again.”
“My mom was sick!” Austin pleaded, wrestling against the Yellow Jacket holding him. “She needed medicine, and you didn’t have any here. We had to leave to find it!”
“Get them out of here!” barked Forrester.
“Hang on!” A man stood at his table. “Let the kid talk. I want to hear what he has to say.”
A woman near the back stood as well. “So do I!”
“These boys violated our rules,” said Forrester.
“Let’s hear them out,” said the woman. Many in the crown nodded. Several shouted out their agreement.
Forrester wiped at his forehead with the back of his hand. “But . . .”
Soon the whole room was chanting, “Let them talk! Let them talk!” Forrester seemed powerless to stop it.
“Kid,” said the woman in back, “say what you have to say. I want to hear more about your mother.”
Austin pulled his arm free of the guard. He glanced at Michael, who nodded. He then looked back at the crowd. “Like I said, my mom got sick on our way here—she was exhausted. The clinic didn’t have the medicine she needed, and their staff aren’t even doctors or nurses. I wanted to find some medicine to help her, but when we tried to leave, the guards told us no one is allowed to go anywhere until they’ve ‘paid off their debts.’”
“Yeah,” Michael cut in, “which is ridiculous because as long as we stay here we’ll never be able to pay off our debts. Every day we’re here, we’re using more resources.”
People in the crowd began to murmur among themselves.
Austin continued. “We sneaked out of here, yes, but it was to find help for my mom. We had to. We weren’t trying to bail. And we came right back.” He cleared his throat and took another step away from the guards. He knew Forrester wasn’t going to like what he had to say next. “While we were out there, though, we heard about another camp. They have an actual doctor there. It sounds like people are pretty happy.”
Forrester’s face turned an angry red. Austin could tell he wanted to say something but was also trying to keep calm in front of everyone.
Austin kept talking. “We appreciate everything that’s been given to us here. We really do. But we also feel like we’ve done our share to earn those things. There’s another place that can offer that to us. I think we’ll have better chances there.”
“Sounds reasonable enough to me,” said one woman.
“This place is getting crowded,” another man added. “If these families want to leave, I say we let them leave. That’s just more space and food for the rest of us.” Many people around him nodded.
“Have you people not been listening to anything I’ve been saying?” Forrester said quickly. “It’s not safe out there. Who knows what will happen to you if you leave this shelter.”
“You’re not worried about us,” Austin snapped. “You just don’t want your workers to leave. And it’s not nearly as bad on the outside as you’ve told us. You’ve been making stuff up so that we’ll want to stay.”
“Let them go,” another person repeated.
“But we have rules!” Forrester yelled frantically. “Important rules. And I am the leader around here. I’ll decide if we let them go!”
“I think I speak for many of us,” a man said, “when I say we’re getting pretty sick of all your stupid rules.”
Austin could hardly believe what was happening. He’d assumed the people in this shelter were a bunch of sheep, blindly following orders. Had they been just as frustrated as he’d been all along?
“I’m the one who created this place,” Forrester protested. “Without me, you’d all have nowhere else to go!”
“Actually, it sounds like we do have other options out there,” Austin’s mom said.
“Yeah,” another person added. “If you want any of us to stick around, we need to talk about some of these rules.”
All eyes were on Forrester. He looked around the room, but none of the Yellow Jackets would hold his gaze. Some of them had even taken off their yellow vests. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “All right, all right. Let’s all just calm down now,” he said. “I’m sure we can come to some kind of arrangement here.”
“How about a council?” a familiar voice said. Austin searched through the crowd until he found Darsha standing in the back. Her parents looked at her in surprise. “We don’t know how long we’ll be here, but it seems to me like one person calling all the shots might not be the best idea. There can be a leadership team. And no more Yellow Jackets—everyone puts in their fair share of work.”
“Now there’s an idea,” said a man.
“It’s something,” another agreed. “At least until we get word about what is going on.”
Austin grinned and looked at Forrester. “What do you think about that?”
Forrester scanned the crowd. He had no other choice but to agree. “Yes,” said Forrester. “We’ll have a camp council. Very good idea.”
The dining hall burst into applause.
But Austin wasn’t quite finished yet. “What about us?” he asked, raising his voice to carry over the crowd. “Will you let us leave now?”
“I don’t care what you do now, kid,” Forrester said, glaring at him. “If you all want to try your luck out there, that’s fine by me.”
Chapter 18
Austin stepped outside his cabin with his backpack slung over his shoulder. The sun was shining down, warming the breeze. It would get colder soon. But Austin had a feeling that everything would be okay.
“You heading out soon?” He turned to see Darsha walking over to him.
“Yeah,” he said. He noticed she did
n’t have a bag or jacket with her. “You’re not coming?”
Darsha shook her head. “Not yet at least. My parents like the idea of forming a leadership council here. They want to stick around and help organize things. And so do I.”
Austin couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed, but he understood. “That’s cool that you want to help.”
“Well, I was maybe a little inspired by a friend of mine,” she said with a teasing smile.
“You’re always welcome to come find us if things don’t work out here.”
“Of course,” Darsha said. “I’ll come visit anyway. It’ll probably take us a few weeks to get reorganized, but after that I’d like to come see this new place. It’ll be good to know we have a partner in this thing.”
Austin nodded. It had been a little over a week since the Visitors had attacked, and so far they hadn’t heard anything else. Forrester had eventually admitted that he’d been exaggerating what had been going on beyond their shelter. But everyone was still on edge, waiting for something to happen next.
His mom stepped outside. She looked healthier than he’d seen her in days. She grinned at Darsha, then turned to Austin. “Ready?”
Darsha walked with them to the front gate, where about a dozen others were waiting. People had taken a few hours to pack their belongings, and they’d been allowed to take some food and water with them for the trip.
Michael came to stand next to him, his own backpack on his back. His parents talked with Austin’s mom.
Darsha gave Austin a hug. When she turned to Michael, he laughed. “I’m kind of surprised you actually want a hug from me,” he joked.
She rolled her eyes teasingly and pulled him into a hug. “You were only kind of a jerk.”
“We’ll see you around?” Michael asked her.
“Not even the Visitors can keep me away.”
Austin was surprised to see Forrester walking over to the group. He braced himself for some kind of last-minute protest to keep them here. But Forrester actually looked sheepish when he reached them. “Best of luck to you all,” he said quietly. “You’re always welcome back.”