In the light of day, her mistrust felt a bit silly. But as she sat down at the fire with the others, and one of the twins handed her a breakfast plate, she could swear she felt eyes on her, watching her every move. As they swiftly packed up the camp, climbing into the buses within an hour of sunrise, and set off, she couldn’t shake the feeling.
They rode on top of a different bus than the day before, getting to know others in the group of Lakelanders, although Fern and Peach both stayed with them as hosts.
The morning passed without any opportunity to talk to Jeremiah or the others. But she forced herself to smile whenever the Lakelanders spoke to her, acting as if nothing was wrong. The caravan plodded down the winding, empty road at a snail’s pace. But everything else the Lakelanders did, they did in a hurry. Lunch was cooked while they were on the move, so that once the temporary circle was flung into place for the afternoon meal, food was served immediately.
Wolfing her food down once again, Evalene felt like she was permanently hungry. Despite watching for an opportunity, they were surrounded by Lakelanders and were back on the road again within a half hour. Jeremiah seemed to pick up on Evalene’s anxiety, giving her a concerned look as they threw away their plates. Olive teased Sol about racing to the top of the bus, since they had ladders on both sides, and Sol was competitive enough to take off running before she finished talking.
Evalene frowned as they disappeared. For all her talk of not being interested in Sol, Olive sure paid him a lot of attention. How was she going to talk to them when they were so distracted? When Jeremiah took hold of the ladder to climb up after them, Evalene grabbed his arm impulsively and asked, “Do you want to walk for a bit?”
“I’d love to,” he said, letting go of the ladder to take her hand.
Evalene gave him an infatuated smile for the sake of anyone watching. She wasn’t really acting when Jeremiah smiled back at her.
Evalene kept her face smooth, not allowing her worries to show. By unspoken consent, she and Jeremiah aimed for a bit more distance from the line of buses, like they had the day before. When he squeezed her hand gently, she looked up to find his brows raised in concern. She squeezed back, but didn’t say anything. Not yet.
Even when she felt certain they were far enough that the Lakelanders couldn’t overhear, she waited a bit longer. Jeremiah followed her lead and stayed silent as well.
When she did speak, Evalene pitched her voice to a low whisper and struggled to keep a false smile on her face. “I’ve got a bad feeling about these people. Something’s not right.”
Copying her, Jeremiah kept up a façade of calm as he whispered back, “How do you know? Did something happen?”
Evalene described her watcher in the night. “And I heard something in one of the buses… I don’t have any proof, but I have this gut feeling that we’re not as safe with them as we thought…”
Jeremiah shielded his eyes as he spoke, effectively blocking his mouth as well. “It makes sense to post a guard in case Riders ever ventured this far…” He lowered his hand with a sigh. “But it does sound strange that they were focused on our group. It couldn’t hurt to check it out.”
A weight fell off Evalene’s shoulders that he trusted her. But he was right, they couldn’t be sure something was wrong until they found some evidence to back up her feelings. “Thank you,” she whispered back. He squeezed her fingers again in reply.
After a few moments of silence, Jeremiah added, “Without their help, we’d still be stranded, so let’s be 100% sure something is really wrong, before we part ways with them.” Evalene heard the underlying worry. They didn’t have any money or supplies. Leaving would mean they were once again stranded. Separating from these people had to be a last resort.
They devised a plan. Evalene wished they didn’t have to wait until nightfall, but she continued to walk with him, ignoring her sore feet, determined to enjoy every minute with Jeremiah in the meantime. She shyly asked him about his life before Beryl, drawing out the story of his parents, how they’d led the Bloom Rebellion but the government had caught on. The parts he’d told her before—how one day they just never came home—and what came after. “I never thought I’d live long enough to get out of that orphanage,” he said in a quiet voice.
Evalene’s heart squeezed painfully. She leaned into him, wrapping her arm around him in comfort. “I’m sorry about your parents, they sound like they were wonderful.”
“They were,” he said. “You don’t always realize what you have until you lose it.” She nodded in silent agreement. He understood her desire to find her mother more than she’d realized.
He asked about her childhood then, and she described to him the carefree life before her Numbering Day, when everything fell apart. “My father… I think he wants to mend things between us. But neither of us know how,” she slowly formed her thoughts, realizing she’d never really let herself dwell on it before. “It’s like we can’t find our way back to what we had, because there’s nothing left. They forced us to cut our ties so severely. I know he cares… but we don’t even know each other anymore.”
She described living as a servant in her own home, how alone she’d felt after Lola had died, but how she’d found a friend in Kevra. Or at least, she’d thought so, right up until the moment Kevra had betrayed her. “That was the day you and I met,” she finished, glancing up to see if he remembered how he’d found her, tied up and bleeding from her head from where Kevra had knocked her unconscious. The grim look that crossed his face as he nodded told her he remembered it well.
The vehicles rolled on, but they were slow enough that when Evalene grew tired, it was easy enough to grab the handle, swing herself onto the ladder, and climb up. Jeremiah kissed her hand before letting go, which left her blushing as she stepped onto the rooftop. That combined with Jeremiah climbing onto the roof behind her had the Lakelanders Ooh-ing and Ah-ing over them again until her cheeks burned hot.
After a good twenty minutes of this, Fern chuckled at her embarrassment and offered to teach them all a new game. Olive jumped at the chance.
“This one is called “I have never, ever,” Fern began. “You must say three things you either have or have not done. It doesn’t matter. But when you finish, we have to decide which are true and which are false.”
“Oh how fun!” Olive clapped her hands in excitement. “Can I go first?”
There was that wide grin again. “Of course,” Fern bowed her head to Olive, “Lead us off.”
Olive thought for a moment, then sounded out hesitantly, “I have never, ever…” she looked to Fern to make sure she was doing it correctly. At Fern’s nod, she spoke her three in a rush: “yelled at someone, been outside of Eden before now, or been on a date!”
Her eyes flashed to Sol and away again in a heartbeat, but his focus was glued to her face and no one missed the shade of red that bloomed on her cheeks as she finished out of breath. Of course, Sol, Evalene, and Jeremiah all knew she’d been outside of Eden, since she was from Hofyn. When this occurred to Olive, she whirled back to face Fern. “Wait, who guesses the answers? Is it just you or does everyone guess? Can I redo mine?”
And Fern laughed, but shook her head, and her gaze turned sharp as she leaned into the game. “Everyone guesses. No do-overs, and no repeating.” They took their games seriously. “I’ll start.”
The Lakelanders leaned in, growing thoughtful and quiet for the first time all day. “The first one is false, since you’re not in Eden,” Fern enunciated the words with a smirk. Olive opened her mouth to reply, and Fern said, “Ah, ah! No answers until everyone’s guessed.”
Flicking her long brown hair over her shoulder, she flashed another smile with perfect teeth that never failed to remind Evalene of the BioGrades. “I’m sure you’ve yelled at someone, another false.” Evalene glanced between the two of them as Olive barely held herself back from responding. “And I’m also sure someone your age has been on a date: which makes the last one false as well.”
; Olive shook her head before she caught herself and froze.
“You ruined the game!” a Lakelander man said sharply. It was the first time Evalene had seen one of the Lakerlanders without a smile on their face. “Everyone is supposed to have a chance to guess!” Olive shrank back and Sol shifted to sit closer to her, managing to somehow make himself seem protective and slightly threatening without saying a word.
A dark-skinned woman placed a calming hand on the man’s arm as she chimed in, “Let’s start over—I’ll go next.” She didn’t bother to introduce herself to the group. “Why don’t you four just sit out this round and watch.” Back to all smiles, as if her words weren’t offensive, but Evalene didn’t trust the pleasant appearance for a second.
“Get closer to them,” a couple people on nearby bus-roofs called to their drivers, pointing to where the game was going on. As the calm woman pondered her three ‘nevers,’ two buses drew up next to them. Lakelanders jumped on from both sides, leaping over the space from one roof to the next, making Evalene pull in her feet quickly for fear they would land on top of her. “We want to play!” they said, all smiles. Men and women, most of whom Evalene still didn’t know their names, settled into the leftover pillows or stood and leaned against the railing.
“Here are my ‘nevers,’ are you ready?” the dark-skinned Lakelander woman spoke, composed and serene despite everyone cheering their excitement. “I’ve never broken a bone… in someone else’s body.” Evalene blinked. Had she heard that wrong? “Never cooked a day in my life. And never spoken a false word in my life.”
One of the men immediately threw out his guess, “False, True, and False!”
His optimism made his smiling friend elbow him in the side, “It’s clearly a True, True, True! She’s going the old-fashioned route of skipping the lies and throwing us all off track!” They all laughed and spoke over each other, and everyone’s smiles returned as the guesses continued, until it was time for the woman to reveal her truths.
Everyone groaned at the ones they’d gotten wrong and spoke over each other saying how they “just knew” they’d been right about others. As they ramped up to begin another game, this time with a man who’s white-blond hair stood out in stark contrast against his tan skin, Evalene leaned forward to catch Olive’s attention. “You want to walk for a bit?” she murmured. She didn’t care if it was rude, or that her feet hurt, she needed to get away from this feeling of false cheer. Olive nodded immediately. They awkwardly made their way across the rooftop to the ladder and the Lakelanders mostly ignored them.
When they were alone, Olive perked up a little, excited to talk even if the game had put a bit of a damper on her mood.
“I bet you’re having the best day ever, after yesterday!” Olive grinned, able to shake off the discouragement quickly. Evalene hesitated. Should she tell Olive what she’d seen? As much as she wanted to talk about Jeremiah, her fears surrounding the Lakelanders felt more urgent. But her instincts kept her silent. Olive hadn’t been able to keep a secret for more than a minute during the game. What if she accidentally revealed their worries to the Lakelanders? Maybe better not to tell her… at least not yet.
“Evie?” Olive peered over at her, frowning. “What’s wrong? I would’ve thought you’d be over the moon about Jeremiah?”
“Oh, I am,” Evalene gave Olive a belated smile, searching for something to explain her pause. “It’s just… we have a lot to figure out still.”
“Like what?”
“Well,” Evalene shrugged. “What if we find my mom and she wants to stay here? Then I would probably stay too, but Jeremiah might want to go back to Eden.” Even though it wasn’t the true source of her concern, Evalene sighed. It definitely still made the top ten list.
“What about you and Sol?” she changed the subject, teasing Olive gently. “You ever gonna tell him about his confession? Or are you going to make him say it again?”
“What? He won’t, I’m not—” Olive sputtered. “He’s not going to say it again. He was injured and dehydrated. We all were. People say crazy things when they’re sick.”
“And also when they’re in love,” Evalene agreed, smiling.
“But you know I have feelings for Luc…” Olive’s tone wasn’t nearly as convincing as it used to be. “I can’t just change my mind, that wouldn’t be right…”
“Let’s just say,” Evalene chose her words carefully, “that Luc wasn’t in the picture though.” She glanced over at Olive, watching her face. “What would you think of Sol then?”
Olive seemed unaware that she lit up, smiling as she shrugged. “I’ve always liked Sol. He’s kind, thoughtful, a good listener…” Evalene grinned, but wiped it off her face when Olive turned to look at her and continued, “He’s also really smart. Like have you noticed how fast he picks up things with computers? And he’s definitely cute…” She trailed off, blushing.
Evalene nodded solemnly. “He’s all those things.”
“Yeah, he’s a great guy…” Olive agreed, sounding confused. After a pause, she shook her head. “But you’re trying to distract me! What we really should be talking about is that kiss!” Evalene let her change the subject back to Jeremiah, half-listening to the Lakelander’s voices drifting down to them as they continued to play the game for the next couple hours, taking turns.
Now, with her eyes opened to it, the wrongness seemed to stick out to Evalene like a sore thumb. Her gut screamed at her that these people were keeping secrets. But what exactly were they hiding?
23
Evalene
BETWEEN THE TWO OF them, Evalene and Jeremiah decided to wait until after dinner, when everyone was asleep. Though she tried to enjoy the evening, if only for the sake of the ruse, she struggled to pay attention.
At one point, Skye asked her a question, and Evalene didn’t realize until Jeremiah bumped her arm. She feigned a yawn, “I’m so sorry. I think I walked too much today, I’m exhausted.” She yawned a second time for good measure.
“Yes, of course, what a poor host I’ve been,” Skye said, standing. “We’ll chat more tomorrow. You can ride with me in the morning.” She flashed a wide smile as always, graciously bidding them goodnight.
Huddled on their sleeping mat once more, Evalene and Jeremiah closed their eyes, but kept awake per their earlier agreement. It took forever for the camp to settle down.
Evalene lifted her lashes slightly to peek out every so often. Finding Jeremiah’s face only inches from her own had her thinking about entirely different things than their mission. It was very effective in keeping her awake. But each time Jeremiah met her gaze, he gave an imperceptible shake of his head. Not yet.
An hour dragged by. Then two, maybe more. Finally, Evalene figured it was safe. When she peeked at him again, Jeremiah nodded. Heart beating a wild rhythm as her adrenaline kicked in, Evalene sat up and stretched dramatically, rubbing her eyes as if half-asleep.
They’d decided if there was a watcher again tonight—and Evalene felt certain there would be—they wouldn’t suspect a bathroom break. She scooped up the shovel for good measure, stumbling out between the buses into the darkness. A backward glance at Jeremiah showed him holding back a laugh at her performance.
She wasted no time in dropping the shovel by the first bus and hauling herself up the ladder to peer into the darkness inside, knowing Jeremiah would be right behind her in a few minutes with his own prop-shovel, and they couldn’t take too long without risking getting caught. Although if they were, they could always pretend a lover’s tryst… Evalene bit her lip. It wouldn’t be the worst thing.
The bus had tiny windows near the top, but it was too dark to make anything out. Could she get inside? She felt around the exterior on one side of the ladder and then the other. Her fingers brushed a door handle, and she pulled, praying it wouldn’t squeak.
It was silent.
With a sigh of relief, she stepped from the ladder into the doorway. A quick scan of the interior revealed a large, dim room with food storag
e, counters, even an oven. This was their kitchen. She highly doubted they kept any secrets here.
Stepping back onto the ladder, she softly closed the door, and hopped down, moving to the next bus. Jeremiah appeared, waving to her in the moonlight. She waved back, and they both turned away to search in opposite directions. They had six vehicles to search, each. She needed to hurry. Picking up her pace, she jogged over to the next bus.
Repeating the process two more times, Evalene found only a regular vehicle interior with seats and supplies. But when she stepped into the fourth bus, she couldn’t get her bearings. It was so dark in this one that she couldn’t see past the stretch of moonlight in the doorway. The windows must have been tinted or shaded somehow because it was much darker than the last bus. But an inexplicable feeling came across her that she was not alone.
24
The Lone Radical
THE FEELING RETURNED TO the woman’s limbs in painful tingling, like a foot that fell asleep and began to wake up, except the sharp prickles spread throughout her entire body.
She was alone in a dark cell. A Slaver cell.
It was too late.
The truth of her situation began to set in. Half her friends had been shot. More than that, she admitted to herself. If they didn’t die from the initial bullets, they’re certainly dead now. She’d lost a lot of friends in the pursuit of justice. It wasn’t a new feeling. But it didn’t hurt any less.
The remainder of her crew no doubt assumed she was enroute to their rendezvous point. When she didn’t show up right away, they’d guess she was in hiding, waiting for the slavers to stop searching for her. Which was exactly what she would’ve done.
Pearl's Number: The Number Series Page 16