Moultrie was no bigger than Sumter, but I was disoriented. Gaps appeared in man-made banks, dark tunnels leading who-knew-where? Jerren knew where he was going, though. He moved from grass to path and sprinted up a series of steps to the lookout tower. From here we had a clear view to Sumter, a mile away. Were we being watched at that very moment? Or were Chief’s men busy dealing with the remaining members of our colony?
Jerren stopped beside a green metal door. He wasn’t waving the guns at us anymore—barely seemed to notice us at all—but Alice and I didn’t take advantage of the situation. This was a quest to find his parents and put the past to rest.
He took a moment before opening the door. Stairs led down to a corridor that felt more like a tunnel. The light was low, the temperature strikingly cooler than outside. To either side were rooms, full of furniture encased behind glass. Parallel bars ran vertically along the entire corridor. From the way he walked slowly, I knew that this part of the fort was new to Jerren, and he was as uncomfortable to be here as we were.
Another dozen or so steps and the light grew dimmer still. Jerren nudged forward and drew alongside the next room. He glanced left and jumped back so suddenly, his back collided against the glass wall behind him.
“What is it?” shouted Alice.
He pointed into the room, eyes wide. “It’s . . . a person. But not a person.”
Sure enough, there was a man sitting beside a desk, pretending to write. But as realistic as he looked, he wasn’t human. “What was this place?” I asked.
Jerren exhaled slowly. “A long time ago it was a fort, like Sumter. But that must have been over a hundred years ago.”
“I don’t like it,” said Alice. She followed Jerren a little farther. “Did you know it was Dare’s ship as soon as we arrived?”
He didn’t answer, but Nyla did: “Yes. There aren’t many ships left. They’re as easy to tell apart as people.”
“So why didn’t someone say something?”
“Because Chief wanted to find out what was going on,” replied Jerren. He flicked his head at me. “He watched you dumping that body overboard, which is suspicious enough. Next thing, the ship drops anchor and you swim ashore instead of Dare. Like you’re the captain. He knew something was up.”
“Who cares? It’s a refugee camp. What difference does it make how we got here?”
Jerren stopped walking and faced her at last. “Exactly how many refugees have you seen on this island?”
“How would I know?”
“Put it this way: How many people look like Nyla and me?” His muscles tensed as he gripped one of the metal bars beside him. “I saw you all staring at us when you got off the ship. Point is, they stopped taking refugees after my parents died. That’s how I knew they’d worked out my parents were trying to escape, because they shut the place down. Any boat that made it as far as Sumter was greeted with a long line of guns.”
“So why do they keep broadcasting that message?” I asked. “The one calling refugees to Sumter?”
“Because the colony’s falling apart. There’s not even enough wire to mend the chicken coop. But Chief can’t go after ships like Dare does. He has to lure them here instead.”
“Does it work?” Alice asked.
Jerren nodded. “If the ship is well-armed, he’ll try to trade instead, then send them away. But if it’s weak . . .” He didn’t bother to complete the thought.
I thought of the sleek ship moored just off Sumter. Was that one of Chief’s spoils?
“Dare isn’t the only pirate. Chief’s a pirate too, and he’s smart enough to get his victims to sail to him. That’s what’s happened to you, right? Chief got lucky: Dare’s ship without the armed guard. See, he can live without you, but a ship that big is very valuable. And now he has it.” He kept walking. “The plan was to lock you up and leave you here, the way they left my mother. Then your parents would rush over to save you, just like my father did. I suppose they’d never get to leave after that. The rats would do the rest.”
“If they want to kill us, why not just shoot us? I’ve seen the guns.”
“Because killing uses ammunition. Chief won’t waste a single bullet on you when he knows the rats will do the job for him. Besides, killing’s a messy business. There are children on Sumter, in case you hadn’t noticed. Chief doesn’t want them having nightmares just because he had to kill you.”
“How thoughtful,” muttered Alice. “And what about Griffin and Dennis? They’re children too.”
Jerren ran his hand along the wall. “They’ll be spared, most likely. The colony needs some new blood. Especially kids young enough not to suspect anything. That’s why they kept Nyla and me around.”
“So why are you crossing them now? You have to know your chances are better with Kell than with us.”
Jerren had reached the end of the corridor. The light from tiny windows near the ceiling was barely enough to see by, but our eyes were becoming accustomed to it. Still, he wouldn’t look through the iron door to his right. “Chief isn’t the only one who wants your ship. I swam over the other night to check it out. Everyone always said that Dare’s ship was one of the best on the ocean. It is too, but I’ll need a crew to escape this place. I’ll need you.”
Alice huffed. “And you think we’ll trust you?”
“I think,” replied Jerren, “that you won’t be able to get back into Sumter without my help.” He gripped the wheel in the center of the door. “And if anyone sees you getting back in, Chief won’t worry about wasting ammunition anymore.”
Nyla had joined her brother now. She held his free hand and tugged it gently, urging him to look through the small circular window in the door. He’d been putting it off, I realized, struck at last by the finality of what he might see through it.
As one, they turned their heads and stared inside. Neither of them said anything after that, but I knew their parents were in there. However much he’d tried to prepare himself for this moment, Jerren was overwhelmed. He fought back tears, but it was no use. Nyla, meanwhile, simply stared straight ahead, her face hardening.
Jerren spun the wheel in the door and pulled it open. He stepped inside the room and knelt on the floor.
I followed Alice to where Nyla stood just outside. I didn’t want to look, but did anyway out of respect for Jerren and Nyla. They shouldn’t be the only ones to know what had happened, how low their colony had sunk to destroy any threat. Then I closed my eyes again to block out the image that I knew I’d never forget: two bodies, shrunken, mummified, arms wrapped around each other.
Jerren fingered the remains of his parents’ tunics. They’d been white once, I was sure of it, but the fronts were rust-colored.
Blood.
Jerren poked a finger through tiny holes positioned over their chests. “Shot,” he murmured. “They were shot.”
“Who would’ve done it?” asked Alice gently.
“Kell.” He wiped his sleeve across his eyes. “He loved them. Did it so they wouldn’t suffer.”
“What?”
“He didn’t want them to starve, or get Plague. He didn’t want to prolong the pain, but . . . he could’ve just let them live.” He broke down in racking sobs—this strong boy, who suddenly seemed no different than the rest of us.
I placed a hand on Nyla’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
Nyla didn’t pull away, but she didn’t speak, either. Her shoulder felt rigid.