Three by Kristen Simmons

Author:Kristen Simmons [Simmons, Kristen]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 2014-02-11T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

15

THE day passed, but I only saw a narrow strip of it in the slash of yellow light painting the ceiling of the MM delivery truck. Hay-filled crates were packed against the rollaway door, creating the impression that the compartment was full. The back quarter was left open for Billy and me.

I wasn’t sure if he was mad at me again, or just quiet. Either way, my mind was filled with thoughts of our mission. Worry of the danger we’d be in back in the interior, but also for those who would read the new Statutes and fight against the MM.

I didn’t know if this would make a difference. I wanted it to, but at the same time, I didn’t, because I didn’t know if I was strong enough to carry the responsibility of innocent people risking their lives.

Maybe DeWitt felt this way when he sent people out. Maybe it was something you got used to. I didn’t see how.

Chase and Jesse drove. There were only two seats in the cab, and if we were stopped by a border patrol it was better to have two ex-soldiers up front rather than a fourteen-year-old in a baggy MM uniform and a Sister of Salvation. If I had to guess, they still weren’t speaking.

With each blind bump and turn we were tossed from side to side, until finally, I pushed aside some of the boxes, spread out one of the packing blankets, and laid down on the floor. My thoughts turned to Sean—to the last words we’d shared—and to Rebecca, who’d been left alone to say good-bye to him. The air, already heavy with heat and tension, grew even more oppressive, and as I lay there, I wished I could ask if she thought I was doing the right thing with the Statutes.

It would have been nice to talk to her about what had happened with Chase, too.

I hoisted the borrowed wool skirt around my knees and opened the stuffy collar. Billy held out a few minutes longer, until he finally gave up and lowered beside me. For a long time we said nothing, just watched the light move across the ceiling. Then, without looking over, he said, “Sarah doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

It took a moment to realize he meant the same Sarah we’d found in Knoxville, who was still quite pregnant.

“Oh, no?” I asked.

“She hasn’t said anything about me, has she?”

I hadn’t had the chance to check in with her since we’d arrived at Endurance. “I saw her looking at you at dinner the other night.”

I could feel him beam.

“I was thinking maybe after we get back I’d see if she wanted to hang out.” It wasn’t a question, but it sounded like one.

“You should bring her flowers. Steal some from the garden.”

He snickered. “You’re crazy for putting your name in those Statutes.”

I breathed in slowly. “I know.”

“It’s what we said we’d do after we got to the safe house,” he said. “Tell everyone what happened to them—your mom and Wallace.”

The truck turned, and I bumped his arm as we slid six inches to the right.

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