Ice Country by David Estes

Author:David Estes [Estes, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: adventure, country, young adult, postapocalyptic, slang, dystopian, dwellers
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenny

I bite my lip. I’ve told them most everything, but not one of the most important things. They might already know all about it—but then again, they might not. And who am I to be the one to tell them? On the other hand, who am I to keep it from them?

I decide on a more neutral approach, seeing if I can draw what they know out of them.

“My sister was taken,” I say.

Silence and stares.

“I’m sorry, I left it out because—well, I don’t know why. Just because it’s personal, I guess. Her name’s Jolie, she’s twelve years old, and someone took her away, abducted her in the middle of the night. I couldn’t stop them, I couldn’t—” My voice breaks and I look at the ground, at the rock at my feet. Failure written all over me. Plain as day for Skye to see. I couldn’t even protect my own little sister.

“Who took her?” Wilde asks softly.

A second question. Do I have to answer? Should I answer? Can I answer?

“I don’t know for sure,” I say, “but I think…”

I grab the rock, skid it across Siena’s cell, all the way to Circ’s. “How can the Heaters send their children to King Goff?” I ask, with no attempt to keep the venom outta my voice. I feel heat rising everywhere. My fists clench and I feel my old friend, my temper, urging me to hit something, anything. So much for our fun, laughter-filled game. Maybe we should’ve stuck to Buff’s type of questions.

“What?” Circ says.

“What the scorch are you talkin’ ’bout, Icy?” Skye says. There’s no question it’s a capital I in Icy this time.

My eyes meet hers, but there’s no anger in them. Or truth. She has no clue what I’m talking about. I scan the faces of the other prisoners and find the same thing in all of them. Confusion. They’re as clueless as I was not that long ago. They don’t know an icin’ thing about any of it, which is a huge relief, because if they did…well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be something I could forgive. Says the man who delivered the children to the king.

I sigh, close my eyes, feeling the heat leave me.

Eyes closed, I tell them everything I left out the last time.

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