Three (Article 5 #3)(68)

A breath of air came from the direction of the trees, blowing the damp hair away from my face. It brought with it a sense of calm, like when I’d hear my mother singing in the kitchen, or when she’d wait on the porch for me when I walked home from school.

Chase came beside me, standing quietly. We both watched the musicians, who’d slowed their song to a haunting melody. A woman began to sing, her voice lifting above the conversations and clatter of dishes. A song without words.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, rubbing the goose bumps that had streaked down my arms. For some reason the song reminded me again of Truck, killed by Reinhardt. And Sean, and Billy, and finally, my mother. “Is it strange to be having a party when people are out there dying?”

Chase moved the food around on his plate, not yet having taken a bite.

“I don’t know,” he said. “After the War at some of the camps around the city people would play music like this. They had weddings, too. Everyone was invited, even if you didn’t know the person. Sometimes the people that got married didn’t even know each other.”

He glanced below my chin, to the necklace that carried his mother’s ring. My someday promise.

“Why do it then?” I asked.

“You’d be surprised what you’ll do when you think there’s no tomorrow,” said Chase. “Everything feels more intense. Everything you ever wanted to do, you’ve got to do it right now. You might not have another chance.”

I looked out over the dancers, the children, delighted by the festivities. Was that what this was? A last attempt to enjoy life before the end? I closed my eyes, part of me wishing I could join them. I didn’t know the steps, but maybe it didn’t matter. Maybe all that mattered was wanting to.

Two girls led Kaylee into the circle. Her hair was braided back in pigtails, making her look younger than she had when she’d talked to me about her father in Greeneville. The two girls spun in a circle, and then she followed, until they fell into a heap of limbs and laughter.

Chase smiled, the kind of smile that made my heart leap just to see it. I was suddenly warm and light, and I reached out to touch his cheek, my fingers skimming down to his chin. There was nowhere I’d rather be than with him, right now.

“I’ve never been to a dance,” I confessed. “Mom and I used to in the house sometimes. And Beth—we played around when I was little.”

He tilted his head toward the music. “Are you asking me to dance?”

“No,” I said quickly, pinning my hands at my side. “I don’t know how.”

But yes. I wanted to dance just as much as I was afraid of looking foolish.

Before he could say anything more about it I walked to another fire and found us a place on the ground where he could eat. We made small talk with the people around the circle, and I wasn’t surprised to learn that a great many more than I’d anticipated had once served our country.

It was in one of these conversations that I learned of another sniper shooting. The female soldier with the short hair was the one to break the news.

“They haven’t caught the sniper from what I’ve heard,” she said, leaning back against a felled trunk and tossing twigs into the fire. The flames seemed to brighten in contrast with the growing darkness, and the scent of smoke was sharp in my nose and eyes.

“What happened to the one they caught in Greeneville?” I asked, careful not to reveal too much about Cara.

“I don’t know,” she said. “All I know is there was another shooting, same style, three days back. Near the Red Zone border. One of the Carolinas, I think.”

I wondered if someone had taken up Cara’s cause. It could have been anyone. A copycat, or a disgruntled civilian. Or it could have been someone working for Three. Teams had gone in and out of Endurance while we were there—I wondered if they’d had anything to do with it.

It occurred to me that this may have contributed to Reinhardt’s public announcement and Truck’s execution.

“Do you know anything about Mexico?” I asked.

“Big country below the border,” she said. “Used to have great food. Spicy, though.”

“Not exactly what I meant,” I said.

She tilted her head. “I know most of the big shots took the boat there when Reinhardt started hunting folks down.”

“So there is a boat.”

She snorted. “Course there’s a boat. What are you supposed to do, swim from Tampa?”

“I guess not,” I said, trying to picture the state of Florida on the old president’s map—an evacuated zone since its fall in the War.

She grinned at me then. “Keeping your options open, huh?”

I didn’t answer, but she nodded anyway.

“Smart,” she said. “I would too if my name was all over those Statutes.”

Word had spread quickly. I shivered, but the fear was too deep to shake off. It was like before, in Knoxville, when people recognized me as the sniper, but worse because now I was asking them to fight, even risk dying, to bring down the MM.

I realized that Jesse had sat down on a log across the fire, and had drawn the attention of most of the others, Chase included. He was midway through a story when I tuned in, and as he spoke I couldn’t help but become entranced, all questions of what had occurred in the library drifting away.