Jay Budgett - The Indigo Thief

I nodded, and placed the bundle of microscopic explosive in her hand. She assessed its crumpled sides before slapping me again with the flip-flop. “Now let’s get the others.”

Mila stared at me hard when her cell door swung open. Her jaw tightened. “You.”

I stepped back. “Uh—er—hey, Meels?”

She stormed past me. “Don’t call me that.”

Bertha passed her the flip-flop, and she smacked me upside the head.

“Are we even now?” I asked.

“Not even close,” Mila said. She gave me a small smile, and then hugged me.

Dove was staring idly at the wall when we got his cell open. “Dove,” I said, waving my arms in his direction. “Dove Malone! Earth to Dove Malone!”

He shook his head and looked confused. “Whoa, whoa—uh, sorry,” he said. “Sorry about that. I was sorta daydreaming… You know… like when you’re dreaming… but you’re also awake.”

I patted him on the back. He still looked stunned. “Right, then,” I said, grateful he hadn’t slapped me. “It’s good to see you too, Dove.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Wait a minute… You’re the reason we got sent here.” Bertha offered the flip-flop, but he declined. I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Balls,” he said, and then kneed me in the groin.

“I—I guess I should’ve seen that one coming…” I moaned.

Phoenix’s cell was farthest from the others. The Feds had known he was our ringleader, and so they’d punished him accordingly. I ran my hands along the cell’s painted black numbers. Cell 14 .

Sage unlocked the door and pulled it open. Phoenix lay curled in a corner. His body was shaking and his eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. Mila and I ran to his side. Bloodstains wrapped themselves around his forearms, and a fresh scar ran parallel to his collarbone.

They’d been torturing him.

Sage stood quietly in the corner. “He had a visit from Minister Zane last night.”

Bertha shuddered. “ Don’t say that name.”

Sage nodded quickly. The worried look that flashed across her face told me she knew she wasn’t doing a great job of making friends. At least she still had Charlie. We both still had Charlie.

Mila rubbed Phoenix’s back. “Snap out of it,” she said. “Come on, Phoenix. We—we really need you right now.”

Drool rolled from the corner of Phoenix’s cracked lips, and his blank eyes stared at the ceiling. He grabbed my arm and pointed above.

W ritten on the ceiling in red—dried blood, I guessed—was a single word: Kai . My name was circled with a heart.

I recognized the handwriting. It wasn’t Charlie’s.

Phoenix pointed to the wall next to him. Mary Bradbury was scribbled in the same red.

It was Mom’s.

“I keep thinking,” said Phoenix, “about the things they’ve already done to me, and the things they say they’ll do—”

Mila shook her head and sucked in a breath. “Stop, Phoenix—”

“And I think about how long your mother was here. And the things she endured. The pain that strikes you like lightning. Everything gets foggy. Memories. Places. People. Everything. It’s like I’m looking at them through water, and they twist and turn with each ripple of pain. It’s like I don’t belong to life anymore. Like I’m this close to being unable to connect the names and faces ever again.

“Your mom must have felt like this, too—like she was standing in the middle of oblivion. But somehow she still saw your face, remembered your name, and wrote it on the ceiling…”

I buried my face in my hands. My eyes felt damp. I couldn’t let the others see me like this. I had to be strong. I pulled my cheeseburger socks up above my ankles.

Phoenix stood. “It’s a testament to her strength, her courage, and her love for you, Kai. She stood there in the middle of oblivion, and still carried you in her heart.” He paused. “I am so sorry. For everything. For all the shit I’ve done. I don’t want to lie to you anymore. You’ll only get the truth from me, from here on out.” He looked at my feet. “For starters, I hate your cheeseburger socks.”

I laughed. “Maybe you don’t have to give me all the truth.”

He grinned.

“Well,” I said. “I guess it’s time for me to be honest, too. I hate that you think you know everything. And worse yet, I hate that you probably do.”

He shook his head. “Not everything.”

“Bullshit,” Mila muttered. “You know everything.”

Bertha clapped her hands. “All right! That’s enough of this crap. Group hug, and then let’s go kick some ass.”

We hugged. It was cheeseburger cheesy and wonderful. We weren’t Lost Boys—we were a family.

Sage stood in the corner. Bertha motioned for her to join. “C’mon on over here, Paige.”

“It’s Sage , Bertha,” I muttered.

“Quiet, Car Battery!”

Sage joined in on the hug. I thought I saw tears form in her eyes.

At last we separated, and Phoenix cracked his neck—back to business. “I take it we’re in lockdown?” he said.

I nodded. “Bomb threat protocol.”

“Excellent.” He glanced at the gum wrapper Bertha held in her hand. “You’ve got a bomb?”

Bertha mimicked Sparky’s voice. “Affirmative.”

“You and Dove take it to the basement. Can you rig it to detonate after a few minutes?”

She put a hand on her hip. “Do you even know me, Phoenix?”

He grinned. “Right, then.” He pointed to Sage. “She can show you the way.”

Sage shook her head. “I’m staying with Kai Bradbury. We’ve got to find our friend.”

Phoenix nodded, remembering now why I’d come all this way. “Well,” he said, “can you give ’em directions? You know this place better than any of us.”

Sage nodded.

“Meels,” Phoenix continued, “you’re coming with me. We’re finding the chancellor, and teaching him a lesson. Then we’ll figure out how to get out of this place.”

“The chancellor will be in his chambers,” said Sage. “That’s where Kai and I were headed—I’ll show you the way.”

Phoenix nodded. “We’ll meet back on this floor in fifteen.”

“No, meet on the twentieth floor instead,” said Sage. “It has the helicopters and the hangar. Sparky and Kindred are already meeting us there.” It wasn’t often someone corrected Phoenix, but he seemed grateful rather than irritated for the help.

“Listen to her,” he said to Bertha and Dove. “The twentieth floor in fifteen minutes—set the bomb to detonate in twenty, then.”

We passed a few guards on the way to the chancellor’s chambers, and fired a few rounds at them. They didn’t put up much of a fight: Sparky’s system hack had cut them off entirely from all communication, and like worker bees lost from the hive, they were aimless and unsure.

The chambers’ doors creaked as we entered. Inside, the dimly lit room was empty. Charlie wasn’t here.

Phoenix put a hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, kid.”

I turned to Sage. “She was supposed to be here—you said she’d be here.”

Sage wandered around the room, seeming lost for the first time since I’d met her. “I—I thought she would be. I guess—I just—I don’t know.”

Phoenix put an arm around her shoulder. “C’mon. Maybe she’s with the chancellor. We’ll find him and get them both.” He paused. “We don’t have much time until we have to meet the others.”

Sage nodded, still lost. “I guess.” She took a deep breath. “Let’s go, then.”

As the rest of them ran out into the hall, I hung back in the room, entranced by the glowing green globe on the chancellor’s desk. Strangely, it reminded me of the Skelewick district’s hypnotic lights.