Margaret Haddix - Among the Brave

Trey went numb.

Euphoria to horror in one second will do that to a guy, he thought, and was almost relieved that some part of his brain was still available to think.

He’d always thought he was a pessimist — he’d never fully believed in Lee’s rosy dreams of freedom for all third children. But even Trey had never imagined news this bad.

‘Are you sure?” he asked Mrs. Talbot.

She stopped sobbing just long enough to give him a withering look

“Well, maybe. .” Trey was searching for some reason to still hold on to some hope. “Maybe he won’t be any worse than General Terus. I mean, General Terus wanted all third children dead. This guy — what’s he going to do? Kill us twice?”

Mrs. Talbot wiped her eyes and glared at Trey.

‘Aldous Krakenaur is insane. He hates third children beyond all reason,” she said. “He was always complaining that General Terus didn’t devote enough resources to hunting them down. And now — now there’ll be house-to-house searches. Traffic stopped on every street. Identity records scoured for fakes, again and again. No third child will be able to survive.

Mrs. Talbot’s words chilled Trey so thoroughly that he almost missed her whispering, at the end, “Maybe it’s good that Jen is already dead.”

On the TV screen, Aldous Krakenaur was smiling.

…. And together, we will make our country great again,” he said.

Mrs. Talbot threw the remote straight at the screen. The pass shattered and sparks flew. Then the screen was dark and dead, finally matching the rest of the destroyed room.

“Why did you do that?” Trey complained. “Now we won’t know what’s going on.”

“I don’t want to know,” Mrs. Talbot said. “I know too much already.”

She collapsed onto the nearest couch and stared vacantly at the broken TV Trey remained standing, awkwardly. He wasn’t exactly adept at interpersonal relationships under the best of circumstances. What in the world was he supposed to do now?

He closed his eyes briefly, and everything he’d witnessed that day seemed to replay in his memory. Mr. Talbot coming to the door, failing to recognize Trey….

Or did he recognize me after all? Was he really just trying to warn me away — me and the rest of my “team”? The thought made Trey feel a little better, even though the warning hadn’t helped. There hadn’t been time to do anything before Mr. Talbot was whisked away…

A new thought occurred to Trey

“Mrs. Talbot?” he said. “I don’t blame you for being upset and all over Aldous Krakenaur. I mean, I’m glad you don’t want him in control. But isn’t this good for your husband? I mean, he works for the Population Police, and Aldous Krakenaur’s in charge of the Population Police…. Mr. Talbot was taken away before the Government changed. Wouldn’t Aldous Krakenaur set him free 7Maybe this Krakenaur guy’s already heard about what happened to Mr. Talbot and already sent him home. Maybe Mr. Talbot’s on his way here, right now.”

Slowly Mrs. Talbot turned her head to stare up at Trey.

“AJdous always hated George,” she said. “The only thing that kept George in power at the Population Police headquarters was his friendship with General Terus.”

“Mr. Talbot was friends with the president?” Trey’s voice actually squeaked, he was so amazed.

“He pretended to be friends,” Mrs. Talbot said. “But now if General Terus is gone. . Trey probably arrested George this morning so he wouldn’t warn the president what was coming.”

“Well, he can’t warn him now — looks like the coup is over,” Trey said. “So maybe they’ll set Mr. Talbot free because there’s no point in holding him any longer.”

Mrs. Talbot went back to staring at the broken TV.

“You’re just a little boy, aren’t you?” she said in an eerily calm voice, as if nothing really mattered anymore. “All the thirds — so naive. So sheltered. Don’t you know? The only way they’re going to release George is in a coffin.”

Trey gulped.

“No Trey aren’t,” he said, arguing with more conviction than he felt. “You can rescue him. I’ll — I’ll help.”

What was he saying? What if Mrs. Talbot took him up on his offer?

“I don’t know where they’re holding him,” Mrs. Talbot said, still in the same dead voice.

“Then find out,” Trey said. He wanted Mrs. Talbot to stop acting so strange. He wanted her to take control and fix everything. “Don’t you have any friends in the Population Police?” he asked. “Anyone you can trust?”

At first, Trey thought Mrs. Talbot hadn’t heard his question. Then she slowly answered, “I don’t trust a single soul in this country right now. I don’t even trust you. How do I know you weren’t lying to me about the Grants?”

“Because I wasn’t,” Trey said frantically. “Because — why would I want to lie?”

“I don’t know,” Mrs. Talbot said. “I don’t care.” She stood up abruptly, seeming to shake off her stupor. “I’m leaving. Good — bye.”

She brushed past him. Trey felt like he was being abandoned all over again.

It’s just like when Mom left me…. He shut out the thought immediately.

“Wait!” he yelled after Mrs. Talbot “Where are you going?”

“That’s none of your business,” she called back over her shoulder.

“Can I — can I go with you?” It was humiliating even to ask. But no more humiliating than being abandoned in silence.

“No,” Mrs. Talbot said. She paused in front of the door that led to the basement and on out to the garage. “But I will give you some advice. Don’t hang around here for long. When governments fall… Well, Trey won’t leave this place empty. Spoils of war and all that” She looked around, as if noticing the mess for the first time. She reached out to a nearby shelf to touch a delicate crystal vase that had miraculously escaped destruction. Trey decided it must have some sentimental value. Maybe Mr. Talbot had given it to her years ago, and she couldn’t bear to leave it behind.

Then Mrs. Talbot lifted the vase off the shelf and hurled it to the floor. It smashed instantly into dozens of tiny shards.

“There,” Mrs. Talbot said grimly “They’re welcome to it. They’re welcome to it all.”

She walked out the door and was gone.

Trey hid.

It wasn’t something he thought about. One minute he was standing by the door that Mrs. Talbot had just shut in his face, the next he was cowering in a kitchen cupboard. All the pots and pans from the cabinet had been thrown out on the floor; that’s why he’d noticed it. Otherwise he might have hidden in a closet or under a sofa or behind a bookcase….

There wasn’t much room in the cupboard, and he’d begun shivering so hard — no, it was really shaking, shaking with fear — that he kept banging his elbows and knees against the hard wood around him. He could have moved to another hiding space, but that would have required more courage and will than he had after being abandoned and left in danger yet again.

But she was so beautiful… , he thought vaguely, and then was irritated with himself. Why was it any different to be abandoned by a beautiful woman than by an ugly one?

No, he corrected himself. Mom wasn’t ugly. She was just… defeated.

He had never thought of it that way before. Mom had lost Dad too, after all. She’d lost her husband, she’d lost all hope — what was there left for her to live for?

Me, Trey thought fiercely, and it was like he was answering a question about himself, not his mother. It made him stop shaking, momentarily. It made him think that he might be feeling light-headed because of hunger, not just horror.