A uniformed man stepped forward. Like the rest of the spirits who had appeared, he was dressed in combat attire. Everything about him was pristine, except for his hair, which stuck out at awkward angles. “Let’s hurry up and get rid of it.” He turned to Alex, still on the ground, gasping for air she didn’t need. She wrapped her arms protectively around herself to block the chill, but her teeth chattered uncontrollably.
The army flinched when Alex tried to stand. They were poised for fight, although why they would choose Alex as the target, she didn’t know. The man that seemed to be in charge remained hunched in anticipation.
Professor Van Hanlin suddenly emerged from the trees with his hands in the air. “Stop!” he shouted. “She’s one of ours!”
Some of the guards turned to salute.
“Officer!” one of them greeted him.
“Don’t break ranks,” the messy-haired guard commanded.
“You don’t need to fear her,” Van Hanlin said.
“She was exposed to the scream for nearly an entire minute!”
A minute! It had only been a minute?
“Did you not hear the banshee scream?”
Banshee.
“And yet they both stand here unscathed, civilized still.”
“Both?”
Van Hanlin threw out an arm in the direction of Jonas, who was still crumbled at the outskirts of the clearing.
“Impossible,” the same guard spat. “She was right in front of it!”
The guard in charge gave Van Hanlin a stiff nod. “Who is she?”
“They are children.”
“It’s impossible for an untrained child to withstand the direct shriek of a banshee for so long.”
Van Hanlin raised his palms in bewilderment. “I cannot explain what I didn’t see. You were the ones to swoop in on the scene.”
The guards continued to drift forward, slowly melting into the space between themselves and Alex, confining her.
“You don’t know who she is,” Van Hanlin said. He didn’t try to disguise the awe in his voice. “You saved her, Federive.”
Alex’s mind shifted through its contents featuring a bronze plate on the wall of the Brigitta hallway. Kender Federive, Service General.
Kender Federive’s long ponytail rippled behind her like a superhero’s cape. “What do you mean, who she is?”
A booming voice suddenly erupted from the shadows. “I’m afraid this is my fault.”
A thick man clamored into the clearing. It was the brute whom Alex had seen on her first day driving out the lure birds, the one pictured in the tableau of the city. Why were all these people here? And where was everyone two minutes ago when she needed them?
“Westfall!” Van Hanlin exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
The members of the guard buzzed with interest.
Westfall gazed at Van Hanlin in contempt and leaned toward the girl who had crippled the banshee. “Lieutenant Federive warned me about the sightings of banshees close to town. The Patrol was stationed here.”
“Why weren’t we warned?” Van Hanlin demanded.
“Certain staff members were warned. Why do you think I’m here?”
Van Hanlin threw his hands in the air. “How about warning the professors who had newburies in the woods?”
“You don’t have the best track record.”
He pointed at the guards. “I used to be one of you, for goodness’ sake! I led your patrol!”
The messy-haired leader took a step closer. “A newbury angered the banshee?”
“Knocked it clear on its head.” Jonas ambled over to Alex. With him next to her, Alex finally felt comfortable enough to stand up straight.
Some members of the Patrol crept closer to her cautiously, still trying to get a better look. The closest guard elbowed the guy next to him and pointed at Alex. “Do you see what I see?” he murmured.
“You should educate your newburies on the dangers of the world before you lead them to open pastures,” the leader said.
“She strayed,” Van Hanlin explained.
“You know all about that, don’t you?” Westfall said.
“Don’t start with me about—”
Westfall cut him off. “Straying is the nature of a child, which is why you are supposed to keep such a tight grasp on the newly buried.”
“No, that was the point of our job,” Jonas called, rising to his feet. “To follow the strays.”
Professor Van Hanlin surveyed the group with worry etched on his face. “Where is the human she followed?”
“She ran off that way,” Alex said, pointing beyond the trees.
“Both of you followed her?”
“I followed Alex,” Jonas answered quickly. “She didn’t know.”
Another member of the guard began to march directly across the clearing. “There’s a spirit lurking in the trees across the way. There, a few yards in.”
How would he know that?
“Who?” Westfall asked.
“I aim to find out,” the guard called over his shoulder.
Westfall took another step towards Alex, but unlike the others, he wasn’t trying to get a closer look at her. He stood at an angle to block her from the patrollers.
The guard reappeared, carrying a portly boy by the cuff of his shirt. Alex squinted to make out the form. “Reuben?”
Reuben Seyferr covered his face with his sausage-like fingers and peeked through at his horror movie of an afterlife. “I heard the banshee scream. I was curious.”
“What are you teaching these kids?” one of the patrolman exclaimed. He looked charily at Van Hanlin, who sputtered, “That’s not my department!”
Some of the guards swayed from side to side like pendulums, trying to catch a better glimpse of Alex. More of them pointed, and others began to whisper.
“The children should come with us,” another member of the Patrol said. “We need to make sure they are okay.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Westfall said. “Take care of the banshee. I can escort the children to the medical center if need be.”
“They should be questioned,” the patrolman argued, trying to smile, but the messy-haired guard held up his hand.
“There was no crime. The banshee should not even have been here. They didn’t know. Besides,” the messy-haired guard added with a glance at Westfall, “the Patrol can’t override an order given by an Ardor Service member.”
Westfall gave Van Hanlin a shove. “Come on. Let’s get these children out of here.”
The patrol turned to leave, stealing glances back at the field, some ogling Westfall, some still trying to peek at Alex.
Westfall ushered all three newburies back in the direction of the mansion with a push that had much more force than necessary. “That was not supposed to happen,” he growled under his breath.
Alex could only wonder what he was referring to. What she wondered more was how this whole scene could play out right in front of that little black box, and no one noticed it sitting there, blatantly out of place, spitting its thoughts at them.
No one had even looked at it.