Chapter Sixteen

Maddox

Maddox was out of bed the instant the sun came up. He’d heard Theo leave the room earlier this morning when he should have been sleeping, but he was too distracted with thoughts of Juno to sleep or wonder too hard where Theo was going.

He hadn’t seen Juno yesterday, which was making him antsy to leave. They’d both agreed to take a day off so no one got suspicious, but it had been one of the hardest days of his life.

He nearly toppled over at the end of his bed, trying to get his shoes on, and then peered outside to check the sky. Clouds gathered over the water, but there was enough sunshine they could scavenge for parts for her rat traps.

His mom and Theo might not be interested in working with the other community, but they were wrong. They didn’t know Juno and how smart she really was, or how she could show them new ways to bring in food.

Once things calmed down, he told himself, things might change. He could talk to his mom and Theo and explain how it made sense to work together.

In the meantime, he just had to be careful. And he had to see Juno.

Once his shoes were on, Maddox ran downstairs to the kitchen. He used the bucket of water by the sink to splash his face, waking him up even more. Then he snagged a juicy tomato off the counter.

He bit into it, turned, and froze.

His mom and Theo both stood there as tomato juice dripped down his chin.

“Where are you going so early?” Theo asked with a grin.

Theo wouldn’t be grinning like that if he knew where Maddox was really going, so he let his shoulders relax and swallowed his bite before answering.

“I have to check the rat traps by the bridge, and I thought I’d do more scavenging. We need more oil for the lanterns, especially in the dining room.”

Which was the absolute truth. He planned on doing scavenging, just not alone.

Theo continued to smile. “No need for oil. We got more flashlights.”

“How?”

“From scavenging.” Theo rolled his eyes. “Found a few other things that might be helpful, too.”

Before he could ask what, his mom gestured to the door.

“I’d like to talk to you before you go,” Alice said. “Come on outside.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but they were already turning for the door. Crap. He was supposed to meet Juno. He didn’t want her to think he was bailing out. He’d done it once before, and he’d seen how badly it had hurt her feelings.

“The earlier I get started, the more I can find,” Maddox said to Theo’s back.

“This is important,” Theo said.

So was meeting Juno. He gritted his teeth against saying the words and instead walked through the front door into the early morning sunshine. The air was still cool enough; he breathed in deep and tried to remember this moment for when it was unbearably hot later today.

“Let’s walk down to the beach,” Alice said.

Maddox stopped on the stairs, heart lurching. The beach. Why? They never went to the beach. Unless they knew something was going on. A thousand thoughts went through his mind before he forced himself to clear it. This could be bad. Really, really bad. But he had to deal with it, anyway, no matter what.

“The beach is off-limits,” Maddox said, not moving.

“Not anymore.” Alice angled her head to the shore, her expression softening. “Come on. We’ll talk.”

Maddox kept his mouth shut as he followed his mom and wished Theo wasn’t coming along. When they reached the sand, Alice hesitated, her gaze spanning the beach. Maddox saw memories in her eyes, all the things she’d been keeping to herself over the years.

Part of him felt guilty for not being around as much lately. But the other part, the part that was tired of the realities of his life, felt free.

Theo squeezed Alice’s arm, and she nodded, stepping onto the sand. Maddox watched her as she moved steadily across the beach, her shoulders tense. She didn’t stop until she reached the water.

Maddox’s jaw flexed. It was awkward standing out here—somewhere that used to be forbidden. He kept glancing around to see if any other members of the community were watching them.

“You were right,” Alice said.

Maddox glanced up to see who she was talking to. Her eyes met his. “About what?”

“The beach and the fish.” Alice glanced at Theo. “We’ve been talking about what you said. Putting up nets, using the water to help bring in more food. More variety, too.”

Maddox narrowed his eyes at his brother. That didn’t sound like Theo. His brother had always been perfectly fine staying away from the water. In fact, he thought Theo was the one making such a big deal about keeping it off-limits and holding a grudge against the other community.

Especially after all that had happened the last several weeks.

But Theo remembered Dad better than him, and he had to remind himself that wounds took longer to heal for certain people.

“I never said anything about putting up nets,” Maddox told his mom, the thought occurring to him suddenly.

Alice nodded. “Theo said that’s probably what the others have.”

“How do you know?” Maddox asked, his stomach twisting.

Theo pointed farther down the beach. Maddox could see the dock, and farther back, the exact spots where the nets and pots had been fixed and returned to the water. But he wasn’t supposed to know that. Or know that they’d been destroyed in the first place—probably by someone in his community.

Maddox watched Theo’s face but couldn’t read anything there. Nothing suspicious, nothing off or unusual.

Maybe…

He scratched his chin, another thought occurring to him. Maybe it wasn’t someone from his community at all. Someone had taken his supplies, and then their nets had been destroyed. All this time, he’d been thinking both sides—or maybe even just his—were fighting equally.

Maybe it was someone on Juno’s side that was trying to escalate the situation.

“I thought this was what you wanted,” Theo said.

Maddox dug his heel into the sand, checking the impulse to yell at his brother. It was what he wanted. But the timing seemed off. Then he remembered it would be just another reason for him to spend more time with Juno. He could learn from her, get tips on fishing. They could help each other.

“It’s another way to bring in food,” Maddox said.

Alice nodded. “It’s smart. And something we should have done a long time ago, especially when times got tougher.”

Maddox relaxed slightly as she spoke. They weren’t suspicious of him and they were taking steps to bring the community food in a way that Maddox had wanted only a few days ago.

This was a good thing.

But why had his mother changed her mind all of a sudden? He glanced at Theo. Maybe it had something to do with his brother’s influence.

“Who are you going to get to work the nets?” Maddox asked.

Alice smiled. “We thought you might like to, since it was your idea. And you’d be closer to home.”

Maddox bit the inside of his cheek. If he was handling the nets, they’d expect him to be close by. They’d expect him to take over this responsibility instead of scavenging.

Which meant he wouldn’t have time to see Juno.

But didn’t he owe his community that much? He owed his dad, at the very least, to help take care of his mom. She already had enough to deal with from the people across the border and what they’d done to her husband. He should be trying to take care of her instead of running off to Juno.

“This is perfect,” Theo said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Give you a break from all that scavenging—we can send someone else out.”

“It’s…” Words lodged in Maddox’s throat. What was he supposed to say? He didn’t want the job? “It’ll take time to get the nets right.”

Alice nodded. “Of course.”

“We’ll help,” Theo said, watching him with curiosity. “I think we should be able to figure it out pretty quickly.”

“We’ll have to scavenge for supplies to make the nets—markers for where we set them, probably,” Maddox said, though with less enthusiasm in his voice.

That was right, though, he reminded himself. He’d have to find material for the nets, which meant heading out of the border to look. He could still have time with Juno and do his duty, couldn’t he?

“Absolutely,” Alice said.

“I’m sure we’ve got something to use from our own supplies,” Theo said, crossing his arms.

Maddox almost choked. “No—I mean, I’ve looked already. There’s not much. I’ll have to look around.”

He waited, afraid Theo really did know the truth. If not about Juno, then about the missing supplies. At least one of the secrets he was keeping.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to find what you need,” Alice said, touching his arm.

Maddox pulled in a breath, leaning in closer to her and forgetting for a moment about all those secrets. He wished he could go back in time and take away everything that had hurt her. Wished he could bring his father back and fix the world they lived in. If only…

Alice smiled at him before she walked back across the beach.

“I didn’t know you still went out to scavenge,” Maddox said.

Theo shrugged. “Me and James wandered over to the bridge a few days ago to see if we could find more flashlights.”

Maddox’s shoulders tensed. He was at the bridge with Juno a few days ago. But if Theo had seen something, he would have stepped forward, wouldn’t he?

His stomach still felt uneasy, and then it lurched when Theo reached to his waistband.

“We found this, too,” Theo said.

He pulled out a gun, small and shiny. Something like what the Enforcers—the guards stationed at the border between the Light Side and Darkside—might have.

“Where did you get that?” Maddox asked.

“I told you. We found it.”

Found it? More like stole it. He’d never seen a gun lying around in all his years of scavenging. He’d never seen flashlights, either. They were a rare commodity.

“What are you going to use that for?” Maddox asked.

“Protection, of course.”

“Against who?”

Theo laughed and returned the gun to his waistband. “Against the others.” His gaze traveled to the border. “Just in case.”

Maddox swallowed. How was he supposed to tell his brother he thought there was more going on than what it seemed?

Theo still saw things in black and white. The other side killed his father. Period.

Which meant they deserved whatever they got in return.

But it wasn’t that simple. And not everyone over there was the enemy.

Theo clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s just a precaution. Come on, let’s get back.”

Maddox trudged slowly on the beach behind him, all the while, his eyes locked on the bulge of the gun at Theo’s waist.

If things kept going in this direction, there might never be peace.

And he might never be safe with Juno.