Several anchorites were gathered around the circular stone altar at the front of the church. The altar was strewn with pink, red, and white roses, and the women were chanting in low voices. Josh wondered what the anchorites were saying. Supposedly they spoke a language only they understood.
He looked around for Charlie and spotted her kneeling before a low wall covered in white candles. As Josh watched, she lit one of the candles, held it in her hand as she said something, then placed it on the wall beside the others. Then she stood up and turned around. When she saw Josh, she smiled and walked toward him.
“It’s for my mother,” she said. “The candle. I light one for her every week.”
“Oh,” said Josh. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to respond.
“She was Gaian,” Charlie explained. “I mean, she is Gaian.” She smiled sadly.
“What does the candle do?”
Charlie laughed. “I don’t know. Sends out light and happiness or something.”
Josh nodded. Now that he was face-to-face with Charlie, he almost forgot why he was there. She was so pretty, with her wet hair shining in the candlelight. You’re here for Firecracker, he reminded himself. And she knows something about him.
“So what about Firecracker?” he said.
“Not here,” said Charlie, looking around. “Come with me.”
She walked along the side of the sanctuary. Josh hesitated a moment. Charlie looked back and nodded for him to follow.
They passed the chanting anchorites and entered a low-ceilinged hallway built out of the same stone as the rest of the church. The hallway curved around the back of the sanctuary. Every twenty feet or so was a heavy wooden door with a small window about five feet up. Josh noticed that some of the windows were covered by solid metal plates. Charlie stopped before one of the doors with an open window, looked inside, and pushed the door open. She entered while Josh stood in the doorway, looking at the room beyond. It was small, no more than eight feet long by five feet wide, and it was completely bare.
“What is this?” he asked Charlie.
“A prayer room,” Charlie said. “Come in.”
Josh stepped into the room, and Charlie shut the door. She slid a heavy iron deadbolt into place and then slid the metal covering on the door’s window closed.
“People come in here to pray or meditate,” Charlie explained. “The anchorites sleep in these rooms at night. Well, some of them do, anyway.”
“It’s like being in a tomb,” said Josh. He ran his hands over the stone walls. They were cold and damp. He couldn’t see how anyone could sleep in such a place.
“You asked me if I told Scrawl about Firecracker,” Charlie began. Josh looked at her. She wasn’t looking away from him now. “I did,” she said.
Josh shook his head. “Why would you—”
“He followed me,” said Charlie.
Josh stood there, not sure he’d heard her correctly. “Followed you?” he said. “When?”
“A few days ago,” Charlie said. “I was walking home, and he just appeared out of nowhere. He said he’d seen you talking to me on the train.”
Stella said she saw us on the train, Josh thought.
“He wanted to know who I was,” Charlie continued. “He wanted to know what you and I were doing together.” She was talking more quickly now. “He accused me of… of… being some kind of bad influence on you.”
“What did you tell him?” Josh asked.
Charlie shook her head. “He was yelling,” she said. “I didn’t know what to say.” She looked at Josh. “So I ran.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know,” Charlie said.
Josh sighed. “But you told Scrawl.”
“Yes. I just wanted him to know that someone might be trying to track us,” said Charlie. “We’re supposed to tell him when—”
“What did he do?” Josh said, interrupting her. “What did Scrawl do?”
“I think he just wanted to scare him,” said Charlie.
“Scare him?” Josh said. “What, into not following you? Into forgetting that he saw us together? That doesn’t make any sense, Charlie.”
She turned away from him, saying nothing. Josh stared at her back, waiting for an answer. When she finally turned around, she was crying. “You don’t understand,” she said, wiping her nose with her hand. “But it’s not your fault. I should have told you.”
“Told me what?” Josh asked.
Charlie bit her lip. “It’s not just the game that Clatter doesn’t want anyone to know about,” she said. “There’s something else.”
“What something else?” said Josh.
Charlie crouched down and put her head in her hands. “You’re going to hate me,” she said quietly.
Josh crouched beside her. “I won’t hate you,” he told her. “But you have to tell me.”
Charlie looked at him through tear-stained eyes. “It’s the Z,” she said, her voice hoarse. “He doesn’t want anyone to know about the Z.”
It took Josh a moment to put the pieces together. “You get the Z from Clatter,” he said. “That’s it, isn’t it?”
“We all do,” said Charlie. “Everyone who plays. He makes it and gives it to us.”
“And he doesn’t want anyone to find out that he makes it,” Josh said.
“Right,” Charlie said. “He gives it to us and also sells it to his customers who bet on the game. He’s going to start selling it on the streets, too, and he’ll make a lot of money. But if anyone finds out, he’ll probably go to jail, and the game will be shut down.”
Josh stood up. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.
Charlie stood up and pushed her hair back. “Before I tell you, you have to know something.”
Josh didn’t respond. “Everything I feel about you is real,” she said. “Everything about us is real. I’ve never lied about that.” She laughed. “Believe me, it would be easier for both of us if I were lying. But I really like you, Josh.” She paused for a long moment. “You believe me, don’t you?”
Josh looked at her worried eyes and her shaking hands. He did believe her. “I do,” he said.
“Like I said, Clatter gives Z to everyone on the team,” she said. “The only one who doesn’t take it is Scrawl. He says it makes him feel sick. Anyway, Clatter doesn’t make us pay for it, but…”
“But?” Josh encouraged her.
“But after a while he calls in a favor,” Charlie said.
Josh didn’t understand. “What kind of favor?”
“He makes us find a new person for the team,” said Charlie. “If we don’t, he cuts us off. And believe me, it isn’t pretty when that happens. Bess refused to do it, and you saw what happened to her.”
“Bess?” said Josh. “What are you talking about? He saved Bess.”
Charlie shook her head. “No, he didn’t,” she said. “He killed her because she wouldn’t recruit for him. He sent her into the tunnels knowing she wouldn’t let the rest of us die. He didn’t get to her in time, Josh. He never even tried. He let her drown.”
“No,” Josh said. “You’re lying. He wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t let one of us die.”
“He’s done it before,” Charlie said. “You don’t know what he’s really like, Josh. You have no idea.”
Josh felt the air leave his lungs. Was Charlie telling the truth? Was Bess really dead? And was Clatter responsible? He couldn’t believe it.
Then something else she’d said clicked into place. “You’re telling me you recruited me as payment to Clatter for the Z?” he asked.
Charlie nodded slowly. “Yes,” she said. “That’s what I’m telling you.”