Thirty-six

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FIVE MINUTES LATER, WE were walking down the sidewalk, the lights from Lyle House fading behind us. We circled the block and mapped out all routes from the house. We were in a section of Buffalo I didn’t recognize, one filled with old houses on big lots, where you’d expect to find a Mercedes or Cadillac in every drive. But I could see why it didn’t—the billowing smokestacks a few blocks to the east.

After two blocks walking west, the light pollution ahead suggested a business district, which Derek confirmed. Like this neighborhood, it was older and decent enough, but not fancy. No pawn- and porn shops, but no bistros and baristas either. On Simon’s rare outings, he’d told Derek he’d seen lots of older, ordinary businesses with plenty of alleys and dark corners.

“When you get to that business area,” Derek said, “you’ll be home free. If you can’t go that way?” He waved east, toward the factory. “Go there. It’s all industrial. I’m sure you’d find an abandoned warehouse or two, if yon needed to hole up for a while.” He looked around, scanning the neighborhood, nostrils flaring as he drank in the chill night air, probably a welcome relief from his fever. “Will you remember all that?”

“Can you say it again? Slower? Maybe write it out for me? With pictures?”

He scowled. “I’m just checking, okay? It’s important.”

“If you’re worried we can’t handle it, there’s an obvious solution. Come with us.”

“Don’t.”

“I’m just saying…”

“Well, don’t.”

He walked faster, leaving me jogging to keep up. I could tell Simon was right—the subject was closed to discussion—but I couldn’t help myself.

“Simon’s worried about you.”

“Yeah?” He stopped, turned, and spread his arms. “Do I look okay to you?”

“No, you look like a guy who should be in bed, nursing a fever, not prowling—”

“I’m not prowling,” he snapped, harsher than necessary. “I mean, where am I? On the street, right? Blocks from Lyle House. No cop cars are ripping down the road after me. If anything goes wrong, I can get out. Do you really think Talbot and Van Dop could stop me?”

“The question isn’t whether you can escape. It’s whether you will.”

He paused. While I was gratified to know he wasn’t just going to tell me what I wanted to hear, I didn’t like seeing how much thought the answer required. Simon had said he was afraid that if something went wrong, Derek might just let it. He’d already decided he belonged at Lyle House. Would he leave even if he was in danger? Or could he see only the danger he posed … or thought he did?

“Derek?”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Yeah.”

“Yeah what?”

He yanked one hand out and scratched his arm, nails digging in until they left red marks. “If I’m in danger, I’ll get away and find you guys. Okay?”

“Okay.”

***

I woke to see a figure on my bed and sat up, Liz’s name on my lips. But it was Rae, leaning against the wall, knees up, eyes sparkling with amusement.

“Thought you saw a ghost?” she said.

“N-no. Maybe.” I rubbed my eyes and yawned.

“I suppose it’s not a good idea to surprise someone who sees spooks, huh?”

I peered around the bedroom, blinking hard. Early morning light poured in. I glanced at Rae’s bed and pictured Liz there, toes wiggling in the sunlight.

“Did Liz leave anything behind?” I asked.

“What?”

I pulled myself up, shoving the covers back. “When you moved in, did you find anything?”

“Just a shirt of Tori’s. I didn’t bother giving it back yet. Not like Tori’s in any rush to return that green hoodie she borrowed from Liz. I saw her wearing it the other day. Why? Did Liz finally call?”

I stretched. “No. I was just…” Another yawn. “It’s early and half my brain is still in dreamland. Did I miss Mrs. Talbot’s knock?”

“No, we have a few minutes yet. I wanted to talk to you before everyone got up.”

“Sure, what’s—” I jerked upright. “Yesterday! We were supposed to talk. I totally forgot.”

“You’ve been busy.” She plucked at the hem of her baby doll nightdress. “So am I going to get an invite?”

“Invite?”

“On the great escape. That’s what you were going to talk to me about last night, right? What you and Simon and Derek have been scurrying around planning for the past few days.”

I don’t want to imagine the look on my face at that moment. Shock, horror, disbelief—I’m sure it was all there, writ large enough to erase her doubts.

“I d-don’t—”

“—know what I’m talking about?” She twisted a loose thread between her fingers and ripped it off, gaze fixed on it. “So what were you going to tell me? Make up a story to throw me off the trail?”

“N-no. I was going to tell you what happened in the crawl space. With Derek. I contacted that ghost again.”

“Oh.”

Her gaze dropped. As fascinating as my zombie story would normally have been, it wasn’t what she’d been hoping to hear. She let the thread fall to the bed.

“So I’m not invited, am I?”

“Th-there’s no—”

She held up her hands. “I overheard Simon and Derek arguing about escaping once. Now, with all this talk of transferring you or Derek, and you guys suddenly hanging out together…”

“It’s not—”

“Last night, I woke up and you were gone. I went downstairs just as you and Derek were sneaking in and I caught enough to know you weren’t taking a moonlight stroll.”

“Derek isn’t running away.” Which was true, if not exactly what she meant.

She eased back against the wall again, drawing her knees up. “What if I met the club requirement? Would that snag me an invite?”

“What?”

“Your club. The special kids. The ones with superpowers.”

I let out a laugh that sounded more like the yip of a startled poodle. “Superp-powers? I wish. My powers aren’t winning me a slot on the Cartoon Network anytime soon … except as comic relief. Ghost Whisperer Junior. Or Ghost Screamer, more like. Tune in, every week, as Chloe Saunders runs screaming from yet another ghost looking for her help.”

“Okay, superpower might be pushing it. But what if you could shove a kid out of your way with a flick of your fingers? Bet that would come in handy.”

I swung out of bed and walked to the dresser. “Sure, but that’s not what Derek did. He grabbed me. Believe me, I felt physical contact.”

“I’m not talking about Derek. A few days before Brady got shipped out, he and Derek got into it. Or Brady was trying to. Derek wasn’t having any of it, so Brady kept razzing him, trying to get a rise, and when he got in Derek’s face, Simon flicked his fingers and, wham, Brady flew into the wall. I was there. Derek and Simon never touched him. That’s why I wanted to see Simon’s file.”

“Well, as you saw, Simon doesn’t have a file. He’s here because of Derek. Their dad disappeared and Derek was sent here because of his problem, so they put Simon in the same place.”

“How’d their dad disappear?”

I shrugged and pulled out a shirt. “They haven’t said much about it. I don’t want to push.”

A thump. When I looked over my shoulder, Rae had thudded back onto the bed.

“You’re too nice, girl,” she said. “I’d have been all over them for that story.”

I shook my head. “I think I hear Mrs. Talbot—”

“You don’t. It’s Saturday. We can sleep in, and you aren’t getting off that easily. I know Simon’s got some magic power, like you. And I’m pretty sure Derek does. That’s why they’re so tight. That’s why Simon’s dad took Derek in, I bet.”

I looked in the mirror and ran the brush through my hair.

“What makes me so sure of all this?” Rae continued. “Remember when I told you about my diagnosis? How it didn’t fit? I didn’t tell you the whole story. You didn’t read my file, did you?”

I slowly turned, brush still raised.

She went on. “According to the report, I got into a fight with my mom and burned her with a lighter. Only I wasn’t holding a lighter. I just grabbed her arm and gave her first-degree burns.”

“Why didn’t you—?”

“Tell you?” she cut in. “I was waiting until I knew you better. Until you’d believe me. But then you figured out you were seeing ghosts and I knew how it would sound. Like a little kid jealous ‘cause his friend’s going to Disney World—gotta show that he’s special, too. And my power isn’t like yours. I can’t make it happen. It just does, when I get mad.”

“Like with Tori. You did burn her, didn’t you?”

She hugged my pillow to her chest. “I think so. But where’s the proof? She felt like she’d been burned and there was a red mark, but it wasn’t like I set her shirt on fire.” She grinned. “As fun as that might be. So with my mom I lied and said I had been playing with a lighter and, when I went at her, I forgot I was still holding it. No one cared that there wasn’t a lighter. They see what they want to see. Stick a label on it; medicate it; and, if you’re lucky, it’ll just go away. Only what we’ve got doesn’t go away.”

My brain struggled to take it all in. I knew I should say something, but what? Admit? Deny?

Rae rolled off the bed to her feet, twisted her long curls back, and held out her hand. When I didn’t move, she said, “Elastics? Behind you?”

“Right.”

I tossed her one. She wrapped it around her ponytail and headed for the door.

“Wait,” I said.

She shook her head. “You gotta talk to the guys first.”

“I don’t—”

She turned to face me. “Yes, you do. You should. Would you want them blabbing your secrets before checking with you? Talk to them. Then get back to me. Not like I’m going anywhere.”