Where No One Knows

by Jo Ramsey

  “I don’t understand any of this.” I wasn’t even sure how to ask the question I wanted to ask. “I mean, what you do. Why the group exists.”

  I was still stuck in fiction-land, where groups like this had more of a purpose than just helping. Fighting bad guys, maybe, or working for some agency that solved mysteries. Anything other than making sure people finished high school.

  “That’s a little more than I can answer while I’m navigating traffic.” Royce grinned. “You have a lot of questions, and that’s good. I just can’t tell you all of it on this drive.”

  “Give me the short answer, then.” I was determined to learn something before I walked into wherever he was taking me.

  “We exist because about fifteen years ago, a group of kids living on the streets here met and realized they all had abilities.” He turned a corner and almost hit a pedestrian. He swore. “Sorry, Kellan. Some of the people who walk around here believe they’re bigger than cars. Anyway, some of the kids—I say kids. They were actually all your age or a little older—some of them had been kicked out for ‘practicing witchcraft’ or ‘having the devil in them,’ as their unenlightened parents had put it.”

  “Or because they were gay or something,” I said, thinking of Shad.

  “Yeah, some were kicked out for other reasons.” Royce grimaced. “Anyway. They found each other and realized they could help each other. The agencies that work with homeless kids didn’t comprehend everything. They didn’t even know everything, because the kids wouldn’t tell them about their abilities. They were too afraid. But the kids understood each other. After a while they found others, including some adults who had resources.” He drove up onto a highway.

  I blinked. “Where are you going?”

  “The safe house is a little outside the city,” he said. “No worries. You’ll know if I’m doing something off, won’t you?”

  “Yeah.” Knowing my instincts would clue me in to any problems didn’t make it much easier to trust him. He was who he said he was, and he genuinely intended to help me. I just wasn’t in a very trusting mood. I wished I could call Shad for some reassurance, but I didn’t want to bother him until I was at my destination.

  “I understand why you’re a little reluctant to trust me,” Royce said. “I hope you’ll learn to. We are here to help you, Kellan, even if you can’t figure out why we’d do it without requiring something in return.”

  “I’d prefer to keep my thoughts to myself, if you don’t mind.” I turned away to look out the window. He hadn’t answered my questions, but I didn’t bother to keep asking. Not if it meant having to deal with him reading my mind on top of listening to my questions.

  He didn’t say anything. I might have ticked him off. I didn’t care. People who could read minds should learn not to do it unless invited. I wasn’t intentionally broadcasting. Even if I had been, Royce could have shut me out if he’d wanted to.

  We left the highway after a short time and drove along a four-lane street lined with houses, some of which sat so close together I felt claustrophobic just looking at them. We turned off that street after a mile or two and drove up another that led across a bridge.

  “Welcome to Winthrop,” Royce said. “Also known as Logan Airport’s flight path, since a lot of flights take off right over town. See what I mean?”

  A roaring filled the car, and I clapped my hands over my ears. If that was a plane and it happened a lot, I would not enjoy living here.

  Royce chuckled. “Believe it or not, you do get used to it. And the house has double-paned windows, so the planes won’t be as loud once you’re inside.”

  He kept driving past houses, stores, traffic lights, and finally up a hill. Some of the side streets were so narrow I couldn’t figure out how a single car would fit down them, let alone two, but most weren’t marked one-way.

  At the top of the hill, he turned and finally came to a stop in front of a large brown house.

  “We’re here,” he said. “In the morning you’ll have a chance to see more of town. And the ocean, if that interests you. Winthrop’s surrounded by ocean, and we even have a little bit of a view of it from here in the daylight.”

  “Cool.” I’d only seen the ocean a couple of times, when we’d gone to California. I’d loved the waves and the salt smell.

  We got out of the car and took my stuff from the trunk, and Royce led me into the house. It was as old as a lot of the other buildings in the area, but the inside was modern and clean. From my memories of the comic books I’d read, this house looked exactly like the kind of place a group of heroes would live in.

  Assuming any of these people turned out to be heroes.

  We stopped just inside the door, in a large hallway. A couple of rooms off to the sides were furnished with stuff that didn’t quite match. I didn’t see any people except us, which worried me a little.

  Royce cleared his throat. “Prodigal.”

  A woman hurried out of another room farther down the hall, and two guys a little older than I came down the stairs in front of us.

  The woman reached us first and held out her hand to me. “Kellan? I’m Mireille.”

  “The finder,” I blurted out. I blamed being overtired and the fact that she was so pretty I couldn’t look anywhere else. Long, almost white-blonde hair around a perfectly shaped face. Her eyes were green, but the color shifted a little as I looked at her. Kind of like the ocean.

  She laughed. “Yes, that’s me. Royce must have told you.”

  I shook my head. “Shad did when I asked how you guys found out about me.”

  “Ah.” Her smile faded. “Well, welcome.”

  “Thanks.”

  Royce indicated the two other guys. “Kellan McKee, this is Eben Sanchez and Derek Miller. Guys, meet Kellan, our new addition.”

  “Hey.” Eben, black-haired and built like a runner, nodded at me.

  Derek held out his hand, and I shook it. His brown hair was spiked with streaks of the same shade of blue as Royce’s hair. The way he shook my hand, I had the feeling he could have crushed it if he’d wanted to. “Glad you made it. Must have been an insane trip. A full day on a train?” He shuddered.

  “It wasn’t too bad,” I said.

  “Is Garrett around?” Royce asked.

  “Upstairs with Treese and Lauren,” Derek said. “He sent us down to make sure it was actually Kellan. We had a false alarm when Eben showed up earlier.”

  “I said it was me,” Eben muttered. “Not my fault you guys weren’t paying attention.”

  The number of names overwhelmed me. The house was pretty big, obviously big enough to hold everyone, but there were just too many. I yawned because the only other thing I could think of was to grab my luggage and run.

  These people would help me. I had to remind myself of that. I sensed no threat or anything to worry about here, even if there was a little too much going on.

  “Guys, Kellan’s probably more than a little tired right now.” Royce gave me a smile that helped me feel a little more settled. “Eben, please go get Garrett so he can check Kellan in and find him a place to sleep.”

  “He’ll be with me,” Derek said. “That’s why Garrett sent me down.” He smiled at me. “It’s a pretty good room. Bunk beds. You can have the top bunk if you want.”

  “Whichever.” I didn’t mean to sound rude. I just wasn’t capable of making a decision right then.

  Eben went back upstairs and returned a moment later with a tall skinny guy who appeared about Royce’s age. Other than his red hair, he was the kind of guy you would look right past if you saw him on the street. He smiled at me, and it was like someone had turned on the sun. He was pretty obviously in charge here, and the reason why was even more obvious.

  He didn’t shake my hand, just moved his hand as if he was. “Kellan. Glad you made it all right. You probably have ten tons of questions, but this may not be the best time to fill you in on everything. You could probably use a good night’s sleep.”

  “And a s
hower.” I didn’t usually shower at night, but after so long on the train, I felt too grimy to just climb into bed no matter how tired I was.

  “Absolutely.” He turned to Derek. “Please bring him a towel and something to wear for the night.”

  “I have clothes.” I patted my suitcase. “Clean, mostly. Just some things I’d like to wash if there’s somewhere to do it.”

  “I have laundry duty,” Mireille said. “There’s a basket in each bathroom. If you leave your dirty clothes in one, I’ll make sure you have them back by tomorrow afternoon.”

  “I can do it.” She shouldn’t have to deal with my dirty clothes and crap.

  “It’s my job this week.” She smiled. “Don’t worry, you’ll have a turn if you stay here. I’ll give you as much dirty stuff as you give me.”

  I had to grin. “Okay. Deal.”

  “Derek, on your way up, please put Kellan’s suitcase in your room. You can show him where it is afterward.” Garrett turned to me with a broad smile.

  Derek looked at me with a question in his eyes. I nodded, and he picked up my suitcase and carried it upstairs. “I’ll be back for you when Garrett’s done.”

  “Okay.” I had no idea what Garrett wanted from me, and I wasn’t pleased about having to wait for a shower and bed.

  “Follow me,” Garrett said before I could ask what was going on. “Royce, come with us, please.”

  He said please a lot for the guy who was supposed to be in charge. Not that there was anything wrong with being polite. It just seemed a little weird, in a good way. As if everyone had a choice about whether to do what he asked, and they chose to do it because they liked him, not because he ordered them.

  He brought Royce and me into a small room with a wall of bookcases and a large window I couldn’t see out of because the lamps reflected off it. There were two wooden—or at least wooden-looking—filing cabinets in one corner beside a large wooden desk that held a computer and two printers.

  Two old armchairs sat in front of the desk. Garrett motioned to them. “Have a seat, please.”

  Royce and I both sat down, and Garrett picked up a piece of paper from the desk. “Kellan, I don’t know how much you’ve been told about us so far. Shad told you some things, possibly more than we would have preferred, but he intended to protect you by doing so. He has a few reasons not to trust us.”

  “I know.”

  “Sadie didn’t even mention us, did she?”

  I did a double take and struggled to comprehend. Sadie knew about these people? If so, she’d known who I was. Maybe from the second I’d walked into the diner. No wonder she’d hustled me out of there when she’d sensed danger and had offered to go with me. She hadn’t wanted to be with me. She’d wanted to make sure she did her job for the group.

  Garrett smiled again. “Yes, Sadie’s one of us. She hasn’t lived here in a couple of years, but she keeps an eye out. She was kind of surprised you ended up in her town. She didn’t believe Royce’s prediction that you would. It isn’t exactly the place most people would choose when they’re on the run.”

  “I hoped no one would look for me in such a small town,” I said.

  “She’ll be glad to find out you’re here,” he said. “You can talk to her later. Shad too. They were both concerned about you last time they checked in.”

  “I’ll call them before I go to bed.” I paused. I didn’t know whether the group had rules against cell phones or contacting people outside the house. “I mean, if it’s okay.”

  “Of course it is.” He frowned. “You don’t completely understand what we have here. We aren’t a prison, Kellan. You have freedom as long as you check in with one of the adults if you go out anywhere. You don’t need permission. We just prefer to have some idea where you are, in case there’s a problem.”

  “Okay.” Most parents operated that way, unless they were hyperstrict like Gene. Nothing too severe, just check in and follow directions.

  “Officially we’re a group home that takes in homeless teens and kids from the foster care system,” Garrett said. “You’ll be registered with the agency that supervises us, but it’s only a formality. One of our former members works for the agency and helps smooth things out so no one here has to worry about being removed.”

  “Okay,” I said again, because I didn’t know what else to say.

  He kind of chuckled. I glanced at Royce, who was staring into space. I sensed he didn’t like even being there, but I had no idea why.

  “I’m giving you too much information to process right now,” Garrett said. “I’m sorry. I just want you to understand you shouldn’t worry about being forced to leave, but you are free to leave if you choose. You’re free to call anyone you like. Free to make friends here or around town. We try to be a safe place, not a restrictive one.”

  This time I nodded. If I’d said okay for a third time, I would have felt like an idiot.

  “This is our agreement.” He held out the piece of paper. “I recommend reading it before you sign it. Never sign anything you haven’t read, even if the person asking you to sign it tells you what it says.”

  I glanced at Royce again. This time he looked at me and gave a little nod. “Standard procedure.”

  I read the page Garrett handed me. Basically it said I wouldn’t use my powers against anyone in the house and wouldn’t use them outside the house unless it was an emergency or self-defense. It also said I would follow the house rules, which weren’t listed.

  That irked me. Maybe because I was overtired, or maybe because of Gene and his church, I was sick of being expected to blindly follow rules. “How can I agree to follow rules if I don’t know what they are?”

  “Told you to put them on the agreement,” Royce said. He was still frowning, but there was a slight chuckle in his voice.

  “The biggest rule is don’t use your abilities on other residents and don’t use them outside if you can avoid it.” Garrett glared at Royce then smiled at me. “Also, don’t tell anyone the real purpose of this place. Don’t give out anyone else’s name. If we assign you a new name, don’t tell anyone your real one. We try not to change names, but sometimes it’s necessary. We’ll decide based on how much publicity there’s been about you since the incident in Denver. Respect the other group members. Follow any directions you’re given by one of the adults. If you have a conflict, try to work it out with the other person. Failing that, ask a third party to help. If all else fails, come to me.”

  I wasn’t sure I’d remember all that by morning, but for now it was good enough. “Okay.”

  I kept reading. Some of the other rules he’d mentioned were actually scattered among other information. It also said I agreed to attend school or get my GED and that if I moved on, I wouldn’t tell anyone about the group and would work with them if they asked me to.

  I didn’t see anything that worried me. “Do you have a pen?”

  “Be completely sure you’re ready to sign this before you do it,” Royce said.

  Garrett glared at him again.

  Royce didn’t react. “Once it’s signed, it is binding. It’s part of my job here to make sure everyone understands what they’re getting into and is a hundred percent willing.”

  That explained him arguing with Garrett. I nodded, then reconsidered. “I guess I’m ready. I understand what it says. I can’t stay if I don’t sign it, right?”

  “You can stay for a couple of days.” Garrett said it slowly.

  He hadn’t wanted me to know this part for some reason. Probably so I’d sign the stupid thing.

  “We won’t throw you out in the cold because you won’t sign the agreement, Kellan. But we wouldn’t be able to let you stay past the weekend. Just long enough for you to figure out where to go next.”

  “Can I think about it until tomorrow?” I paused. I didn’t mean to imply that I’d make a definite decision the next day. I hadn’t heard enough to make any decisions yet. “Tomorrow after I’ve had some sleep. I’d like to hear more about this pl
ace and you guys, and then I’ll know whether I should sign this or not.”

  “Absolutely.” Garrett said it like he was holding a lemon in his mouth.

  He’d planned on me signing the thing without questioning it. I studied him for a moment, trying to figure out whether there was something sketchy about him or whether he just preferred to have things easy. I didn’t sense anything off about him. Maybe he was just used to people doing what he told them.

  “I’ll call you in tomorrow morning to go over a little more about the place and the people,” he said. “Meanwhile, Royce will take you to your room so you can see where you’ll be sleeping and get what you need for a shower.”

  Royce stood and turned his back to Garrett. He looked really smug, as if he’d put something over on him. Or possibly on me. “Follow me, Kellan.”

  I didn’t realize until after we’d left the room that Garrett hadn’t said please to Royce this time.

  We went upstairs, and Royce led me to an open door. Derek was inside the room, sitting cross-legged on the bottom bunk with an open binder on his lap. He glanced up when we walked in. “Hey. Everything set?”

  “Not yet.” Royce walked over and leaned against the top bunk. “Algebra homework?”

  Derek shrugged. “Figured I might as well get it finished tonight so I wouldn’t have to worry over the weekend. Kellan, there’s a towel, toothbrush, and a couple other things on the top bunk. I know you said it didn’t matter which bed you had, but I’ve been sleeping down here anyway.”

  I nodded. “Thanks.”

  My suitcase was in the corner by the foot of the bed. I set my backpack beside it. If I stayed, I hoped I’d be able to unpack. I was tired of living out of luggage. For now I didn’t want to take the time to put things away, so I opened my suitcase and took out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt I could wear as pajamas.

  The trans thing might be a problem if I had to share a room with a guy. I wasn’t sure whether Derek would see me as a guy, and I didn’t want to get off to an uncomfortable start with my new roommate. “Um, Derek? You know about me, right? That I’m transgender?”