Not yet, anyway.
Kell removed a container from his bag. “Here,” he said, “scoop this into your hand and smear it across every piece of exposed skin.” He looked Alice up and down. “That’ll take longer for some than for others.”
Nyla went first. She used the goo sparingly. It had a pungent odor I couldn’t place.
“What is this?” Rose asked.
“Chief’s concoction. Some vegetables, herbs, fish oil. He says it repels fleas. I think he’s a liar, but I’d rather stink than get the Plague because one of the suckers bit me, you know?”
While I applied the stuff to my hands and lower legs, Kell went over the rules: A single shout at the first sight of rats. Another shout a moment later. Then run straight to the beach and into the water.
“Don’t panic,” he reminded us. “Rats aren’t fast runners. But don’t hesitate, either. The last group that saw rats said they’re more aggressive than they used to be. Their food sources are running out, and the day’ll come when they go straight for us. If today’s that day, get back here. Fast.” He watched us carefully, making sure we were listening. “All right. Jerren and Alice will pair. Thomas, you go with Nyla.”
“Actually, I’ll go with Rose,” I said, joining her.
“No, you won’t. You’ll do what I say because I’m in charge of this gathering. Is that clear?” He didn’t say it cruelly, but there was no mistaking his tone. This was another test, just like coming to Moultrie. Fail the test, and we might be looking for a new home soon.
Fort Moultrie was set back from the water, and the flat land fronting it had been thoroughly planted. Kell pointed to a series of wooden posts that divided the area into parcels, each one with a different sun-shade balance that allowed for multiple crops, vegetables, and fruits. It looked familiar from the map he’d shown us.
The plan was for each pair to gather food from one parcel. When everyone was ready, we’d enter the fort itself, where the chilly underground armories acted as storerooms for cured meats. I didn’t need to ask which part of the gathering would be most dangerous. There was a reason we’d be entering the fort together.
No one moved when Kell finished explaining the situation. Being close to the boats felt safe, as hard to leave as a blanket on a cold night. I imagined tiny movements across the land even though I hadn’t seen anything.
Alice was first to go. She probably did it to wipe the smug expression from Jerren’s face. I followed her, and Nyla came with me. When I looked back, Rose was moving too, fear hidden behind a stoic expression.
“Kell didn’t want you coming today,” I remarked to Nyla.
She narrowed her eyes. “Kell thinks girls should stay inside the fort. Doesn’t take years of practice to wash a shirt, though, and I’m not going to be stuck inside Sumter every day of my life. This is my chance to show what I can do. So keep your eyes open. I’ll never get another chance if you catch the Plague.”
“I’ll do my best,” I promised. “Griffin wouldn’t accept anything less.”
I thought she’d like hearing his name. Instead Nyla frowned and pressed ahead to our parcel.
Back across the harbor entrance, Sumter appeared tiny. Hard to believe so many people had lived there for so long, like wasps in a nest, always busy but always together.
“You keep lookout,” said Nyla, kneeling beside a row of kale. Some of the leaves had been eaten. “Rabbits,” she explained, without turning around. “They’ll eat anything, but Chief likes us to pick the leaves anyway. He uses them in hot infusions and ointments.”
I listened without answering, split between watching for rats and keeping an eye on Rose and Kell. They were about fifty yards away. I didn’t like the way he stood so close to her as she pulled roots from the ground.
“Here.” Nyla handed me her bag, already full, and took mine. She wasted no time, tearing leaves recklessly, eyes flashing from left to right. She didn’t trust me as her lookout.
When she’d filled my bag too, we placed them beside a nearby water barrel and switched roles. While she watched the land around us, I filled the two metal buckets that had been left out and watered the roots of the plants, exactly as I’d seen the Guardians do back at our original colony. It didn’t take long, and I figured we’d be the first to finish.
We were last. We walked briskly to where the others stood waiting for us. Together again, we followed a path around the perimeter of the fort. Where earlier we’d cast shadows, now the sky was clouding over. It cooled the air and allowed me to stop squinting.
Finally we reached an arch in the western wall. Through it, a tunnel stretched ahead of us. It was maybe ten yards long, but felt more like fifty. Doorways to the side remained in shadow—a haven for anything that wanted to remain unseen.
Suddenly Rose grabbed my hand and pulled me back. “There!” she screamed. “At the end.”
I stared through the darkness, trying to find the rat. “Where?”
“It . . . it’s gone now.” Her hand shook wildly.
Kell circled around us. “Gone, huh? Are you sure you saw something?”
Rose hesitated. “I think so.”
Jerren placed a hand on Kell’s arm. “Come on,” he said calmly. “Whatever it was, we should keep moving.”
Kell glared at Rose, and turned his attention to the rest of us. “The powder magazine is through the tunnel. We’ll take a left at the end, follow the path around, and go through the gate. The entrance to the building will be right in front of us. Everyone got it?”
He didn’t wait for us to nod or say yes. Whether or not Rose had really seen a rat, this needed to be a quick mission. In and out. The good news was that our destination was close to the entrance.
Our footsteps echoed against the brick walls as we crept through the tunnel. At the end was a bright yellow building—no doors or windows as far as I could tell. Kell walked around it and through a gateway. Here was another yellow building, but this one had an arched doorway and windows at the end. It wasn’t very light inside, but peering through the metal bars in the door, I could just make out crates stacked against the walls.
Kell yanked the door open. “Over here,” he said, pointing to the back. “Leave your bags by the door. Open each crate slowly—we don’t know for sure what we’ll find inside.”
He and Jerren went in and we followed right behind. They pulled the lid from the first crate and removed two small boxes before retreating to the door.
Alice made eye contact with Rose and me. “Ready?” she asked, fingers placed against the seam below the lid.
We pulled the lid off so slowly, the crate creaked. Alice leaned over and swept her hand around inside, a puzzled expression across her face. “It’s empty,” she said.
There was a strange sound from behind us. Alice’s eyes grew wide.
We spun around together, darting for the door, but it closed before we got there. After that, there was nothing but a resounding clunk as a lock secured it.
With us inside.
CHAPTER 27
Alice threw herself against the bars. “Are you crazy, Jerren?”
He stood back to admire his handiwork. “Crazy? No, but you are.”
She thrust a hand through the bars, snatching at his tunic, but she couldn’t reach him. “Why are you doing this?”
“Is that a serious question?” Jerren shook his head. “You turn up out of nowhere. There’s only a handful of colonies left, but no one’s ever seen you before. Oh, and somehow you managed to steal Dare’s ship.”
I looked for a way out, but there wasn’t one. The whole thing was a setup. They’d even made us leave our bags outside because they didn’t want to waste the food when they left us behind.