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Mabel had stuck to her stubborn resolve, and it had been three days since Eli had eaten anything of substance. Now that his vial of magic pills was finally empty, he’d hoped to arrive downstairs to find breakfast being prepared. Instead, she was sitting cross-legged on the overstuffed armchair with a piece of buttered toast in one hand and a triumphant smirk on her face. When he discovered that hers was the last of the bread he slunk, defeated, to the kitchen to search for something else to eat.
A cheery tone indicating that a message had been received ended his rummaging, and he and Mabel looked up at the viewer as one. “Maybe it’s from mom and dad,” he suggested hopefully. Eli was trying to sound casual as he made his way over to block her view of the notification, but Mabel was faster. She sprung up from her seat and beat him there, pressing her whole hand against the screen to unlock it.
The viewer went white before crisp black words appeared. Eli scanned them, groaning inwardly.
“Disturbing the common peace?” Mabel exclaimed, throwing her hands up.
Eli was not surprised that the formal reprimand had shown up. He was only surprised at how long it had taken to arrive. He’d begun to hope that his ill-advised Ross Day outburst had gone unreported.
“I told you!” Mabel said, whirling on him. “I told you we were going to get into trouble!”
“Relax,” Eli said, though his own stomach was tight and his appetite had vanished. “We aren’t in trouble. Just me. See?” He pointed to the top of the notice, where the name Eli Harper stood out in bold font under the heading, “Disciplinary Warning #2.”
“I can’t believe you did this to us again ,” Mabel continued in frustration, stalking back to her chair and slumping down there.
“Hey,” he protested, “last time wasn’t my fault, and you know it!”
“Eli, you can’t keep going like this!”
He sighed. Her accusations were unfair. “And we can’t keep arguing about it. What’s done is done. I’ll do better.” His words were met with silence and he felt his own frustration welling up in his chest. “What do you want me to say, Mabel? I can’t take it back.”
She shot him a concerned look. “Val Int doesn’t look kindly on kids who don’t follow the rules, Eli. They don’t care what rule you break, it’s all the same to them. We’ve seen it before. There isn’t a “you’re” in trouble or an “I’m” in trouble...this affects our whole family.”
Eli felt torn. Half of him wanted to console Mabel, apologize, and assure her that everything would be all right. The other half wanted to rail against Val Int, feeling self-righteous and justified and certain he’d done nothing wrong. He glanced at the viewer again, checking the clock in the corner. “I’ve got to get going,” he said. “We’ll talk later.”
Mabel made an unsatisfied, resentful sound and went back to her toast, not offering him a farewell as he left.
The Maglev was more crowded today. He was joined in his compartment by several other corporate orphans, all on their way to their various apprenticeships. Eli had been assigned to Next Level, a branch of Val Int’s vast military complex. He was thankful that he had not been drafted into the actual ranks of the military, the only thing that made him grateful for his scrawny, unathletic build. The corporate version of a standing army was rarely the chosen assignment for someone of Eli’s status regardless, as they were essentially mercenaries, but he might have been chosen if they’d stayed in the city. That was a prestigious, sought-after job that paid well, and wasn’t intended for the rabble.
Eli worked instead in the research and development center, training under the head of stealth technology. He might have even found it somewhat interesting, if not for two minor details. The first being that he knew the only reason Val Int had a military was to subdue and intimidate those rare pockets of civilization that still opposed the new order.
The second was simply that his supposed mentor, Leonard Farway, did not treat his apprentices as students, but rather more like glorified errand boys. Which, Eli supposed, made sense. He was not, after all, training to be an actual scientist. He was only required to know enough of the lingo to assist in setting up, breaking down, and participating in different experiments.
“Ah, Elroy, good of you to finally show up,” Leonard declared sardonically as Eli entered the dank basement space that passed for the stealth department’s main laboratory. His words caused Eli to look back down at the sign in sheet to confirm his arrival time. “I’m fifteen minutes early,” he replied with quiet defensiveness.
“Yes, well, it may behoove you to show a little initiative now and again. Many of my apprentices in the past have made the effort to show up as much as an hour early for their shifts. Perhaps I would be more inclined to share the secrets of my craft if you were more inclined to show some respect.”
Eli bit his lip on a sarcastic reply. He highly doubted that Farway’s prior apprentices had gone to the trouble to show up early and work late, especially considering that they weren’t being paid to do so. In fact, Eli would not be surprised if these delusional expectations were the reason Farway never seemed to keep apprentices very long. His mentor had complained on several occasions how difficult it was to find, and keep, good help.
“Come, come, Elroy, we have a busy day ahead of us. How do you expect me to get anything done in this environment?”
“It’s Eli,” Eli stated automatically, knowing it was no use as he looked around the corner office space with a sigh. Farway had about as much interest in remembering his actual name as he had in keeping up with some semblance of organization—that is to say, none at all. The long desk had plenty of space to keep things in order. Most of the stealth department work was done on the computer. Yet Farway insisted on scribbling notes, which he then proceeded to spread across the desk like some bizarre art project. Pencil shavings and leaking pens were scattered amongst crumpled papers along the width of the workspace. A tall stack of papers teetered precariously on the edge, and pulling it away revealed a half-eaten pastry stuck to the underside of the topmost page. Eli’s stomach rumbled, and he might have found the treat tempting if he weren’t so repulsed by Farway and everything that involved him. He resigned himself to clearing the space, convinced that his mentor had simply emptied the contents of the wastebasket onto the desk before he arrived, just to spite him.
“When you’ve finished with that, Elroy, be a sport and hop on over to the cafeteria. They’re serving some of that fancy new Nutrifish that was unveiled on Ross Day. I’m excited to try it.”
Eli stifled a groan, rolling his eyes at the back of Farway’s rumpled lab coat. This was the type of “training” he received most days...how to fetch snacks for the great and powerful one.
The cafeteria was located on the opposite side of the campus. Eli was accustomed to the two-mile walk, but given the sensitive nature of Next Level’s work, it required him to pass through a half-dozen security checkpoints. On occasion, he could catch a ride on a transport vehicle, but they were small, and generally filled with those more vital to Next Level than himself. Eli’s uniform, a pale grey shirt and khakis that had given up on life several months ago, served as a beacon that underscored his unimportance. Trying to flag a transport down was rarely worth the effort.
Still, Farway’s lab smelled like mildew and sapped the soul like a dry sponge dipped in water. He supposed there were worse ways to spend the next few hours than trekking back and forth across the campus. He finished cleaning off the desk and hurried toward the door before Farway had the chance to make another mess.
The atmosphere at Next Level made Eli feel as though suspicious eyes were watching him. Mabel called it paranoia, but Eli preferred to think of it as situational awareness.
Long, low buildings stretched out ahead of him and on either side, the bright light of another sunny day accentuating the rough stucco walls with tiny shadows that pooled in the dimpled surface. Unadorned concrete pathways, narrow and barren, wove between the windowless facilities, reminding Eli of a rat maze. And here he was, the rat.
When the small alley he was in gave way to a yard where several activities were taking place at once, he felt himself breathing a little easier. Although aesthetically the yards were no more appealing than the claustrophobic alleys, the dull landscape here gave him a calming sense of openness. He ducked his head, focusing on the toes of his boots as he walked, not wanting to attract any attention to himself.
“Watch it!”
There was a blinding light from somewhere on his left, and a blast of heat hit Eli like a physical blow, knocking him backward. Caught off guard, he felt his head make contact with the pavement, causing a wave of nausea to roll over him. Eli threw up his hands to protect his eyes but the light faded as quickly as it had come, leaving his vision swimming in its wake. He blinked several times as the blurry figure of a man jogged up to him, reaching out with one hand to help him to his feet.
“Sorry about that,” the man offered as Eli rubbed at his eyes in an attempt to clear his sight. “You all right?”
“I think so,” Eli muttered. “What was that?”
“A prototype.” The man hooked a thumb over his shoulder. “White solar. Heard of it?”
“No,” answered Eli with a grimace.
The man chuckled. “Yeah, figures. It’s only in the beginning stages. Part of the Belenus project. Man, I can’t believe they unveiled that, can you? It’s nowhere near ready. Anyway, we were just setting up the panels and one slipped and caught the sun. Didn’t mean to blast you like that. You know, you really ought to be more aware of your surroundings. Anyway, though—”
“Listen,” Eli cut in brusquely, squinting at the man. Though the details were still fuzzy, he was able to make out the uniform well enough. The tan jacket and fitted black shirt...military trainee. Not someone Eli should be treating with disrespect, lest he call down the wrath of the man’s companions. “I was just on my way...running an errand,” he finished, the words sounding lame as they escaped his lips.
“You sure you’re okay? You look a bit off.”
You just blasted me off my feet, what do you expect? But Eli didn’t say that. “Yeah,” he said instead “I should be all right”. When he turned to continue on his way the world started to spin and he staggered, and the man reached out to steady him.
“I said, I’m fine.”
“I think you ought to get checked out. Here, let me go with you to the infirmary. Least I can do, I mean I am the one who dropped my end and knocked you on your backside.”
Eli tried to decide which prospect was less appealing; being prodded in the infirmary or returning to Leonard Farway’s lab empty-handed. He did feel a little dizzy, and he wasn’t sure if his feet could carry him much further on his intrepid journey. “All right,” he conceded after a moment, making up his mind.
“My name’s Shane,” the man said as he helped Eli into the passenger seat of his transport vehicle.
“Eli,” he replied, rubbing the back of his head. There was no blood, but he could feel a decent-sized bump beginning to form.
It seemed that Shane enjoyed listening to himself talk, because Eli offered very little in the way of conversation on the way to the infirmary.
“Listen, I really am sorry about that,” Shane said, glancing over at his passenger. “Where are you assigned? I’ll drop you off and get one of the guys to go let your team know what happened.”
“Stealth tech. Under Leonard Farway.”
Shane nodded, his lips pursed and his brow furrowed. “I’ve heard of Doctor Farway. They say he’s a real basket case. Stays down in that dungeon he calls a lab all day, muttering to himself. That true?” He scrunched up his face into a grimace. “Never mind, I’m sure you wouldn’t tell me if it were. Not the kind of thing you want people hearing you say about your boss. Hmm. Do a lot of interesting work down there?” When Eli hesitated, Shane held up a hand. “Of course, that’s a stupid question, too. Probably not supposed to talk about it, am I right? Most of us aren’t. That’s the trouble with Next Level work. Can’t ever go home and chat about your day!”
Even if I could, I wouldn’t want to, Eli thought as Shane continued, as cheerful as ever. “But! I can talk about Belenus now that it’s been made public knowledge.”
He looked over at Eli, perhaps looking for some sign that his riding companion was intrigued. But Eli’s head hurt, and his expression, he hoped, conveyed as much.
“Well, here we are,” Shane said, pulling up to the Infirmary building. “You want me to help you inside?”
“No,” Eli stepped gingerly down from the transport. “I think I can manage.”
“I’ll let Farway know where you’re at. See you around!”
With that, Shane drove off, leaving Eli lingering outside the infirmary door, thinking about the odd encounter. It slid open and, with a sigh, he stepped inside.
The nurse on duty was trailed by a young corporate orphan dressed in the same grey and khaki uniform that Eli wore. She looked familiar, her hair parted into two neat blond plaits that trailed over her shoulders and almost reached the pile of sheets she was cradling in her arms. She was following the sour-faced nurse around the tiny exam room with a nervous expression like a jittery shadow, avoiding making eye contact with Eli. Several times the woman spun on her heel unexpectedly, causing the poor young girl to scurry back a few steps in order to avoid a full-on collision.
The nurse, dressed in pale green scrubs, had a neat white apron tied in a perfect bow that cut into the ample girth of her waist, perhaps contributing to her irritable mood. She acted as if the girl wasn’t even there, and likely would have treated Eli the same had he not been the actual patient. In fact, as he waited for the harried woman to speak with him, he reflected on his interaction with Shane, the military recruit. He was trying to figure out if the young man friendliness had been genuine, or if he’d hit his head harder than he’d thought. It wasn’t that Eli was mistreated by everyone he met...just most people. He wouldn’t have expected such friendly concern from a military man, even if his injury was Shane’s fault. Usually, those types didn’t give corporate orphans the time of day. His eyes roamed across the poster-covered wall, skimming the propaganda with mild curiosity and coming to rest on the same poster he’d seen on Ross Day, looking for volunteers. Just seeing it again made him scowl.
“Don’t you look at me like that,” the nurse chided, turning to catch him mid-scowl and misinterpreting the target of his disgust. “You’ll be fine, and there’s no need to bother the doctor for this obvious ploy to get sent home early. Perhaps a minor concussion, at most.” She shook her head, not bothering to hide her disdain. “You’re all the same. You’ll do anything to get out of doing any real work, won’t you?”
Eli wanted to argue that it hadn’t been his fault, and that coming here wasn’t even his idea, but instead he just exchanged glances with the girl, whose eyebrows were raised in surprise.
“I’ll get you a discharge notice, wait here. You’re to return home and rest, but you’ll be expected back for your next scheduled shift. Don’t bother attempting to squeeze an extra free day out of this, either. I’ve already entered my assessment into your record.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The nurse whirled around again and marched out of the room. The girl remained behind, standing awkwardly, perhaps unsure of what to do. Eli studied her for a minute. He didn’t make a habit of befriending others in his ward, but thanks to Mabel’s insistence, he’d been introduced to most of them at one time or another. The name came to him after a moment.
“You’re one of the Mackelroy kids, right?” he asked, keeping his tone gentle. The girl looked frightened for a moment, like a rabbit cornered by a fox. “Lilith, was it?”
After a brief hesitation, she nodded.
Eli offered her a friendly smile. “Are you new here?”
“Yes,” she said, her voice low. “It’s my very first day.”
“Don’t worry,” he told her. “It gets easier. You’ll figure it out as you go. My best advice? Just try to stay out of the way.”
Lilith smiled, her gaze dropping. “I am trying,” she told him in a shy whisper. “But there are so many rooms, and they’re all so small, and Nurse Hemly is, well...” She suddenly looked appalled at the implication of her own words, but Eli snickered.
The nurse returned, shoving a slip of paper into Eli’s hand with all the bedside manner of a charging bull. “Here.” He took it and offered Lilith an encouraging nod as he passed her, shooed out of the room by the short-tempered nurse.
The light hurt his eyes as he made the trek home from the Maglev station. By the time Eli reached the apartment, his head had begun to throb in earnest.
He was looking forward to a long nap and, if he was lucky, Mabel would have gone to the market and replenished the refrigerator. It was only now that Eli realized he hadn’t eaten anything that day, and it was late afternoon. Then again, he thought as his stomach churned, perhaps I’m not that hungry just now.
Mabel’s expression as he entered was one of trepidation. “Don’t freak out,” he admonished, grimacing as the sound of his own voice made the pressure in his head increase. “I’m not in trouble, just hurt”
His sister relaxed and stood up, moving toward him and studying him with concern. “What happened?”
“It’s no big deal. Maybe a concussion,” he told her. “I’m just going to go sleep it off.”
“Sounds like it could be a big deal to me.” Mabel entered her mother hen mode, as she had a tendency to do. “Did you see a doctor? You look pale. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah.” Eli’s head throbbed, and he was in no mood to talk about the day’s events. “I’m just going to lay down a bit.”
“It’s that Farway again, isn’t it?” she called up the stairs after him. “What did he make you do this time? Did you fall off the ladder again? He shouldn’t be making you set up all that heavy stuff on your own!”
“It’s fine, Mabel. It wasn’t Farway. I’ll tell you about it later, okay?”
“Okay.”
He could feel her eyes on his back as his bedroom door slid shut behind him. Eli drew the shades and lay down on the bed without bothering to change. It didn’t take long before he fell asleep.
* * *
ELI AWOKE TO THE SOUND of something metal crashing to the floor downstairs. The sudden noise made his heart race, but the loud cursing of his sister was enough to assure him that all was well.
He lay in bed a few minutes longer, assessing the status of his head. He wasn’t sure how long he’d slept for, but it did feel much better. The throbbing had been reduced to nearly a whisper, and when he pushed himself into a sitting position, he was not overtaken by dizziness. Perhaps Nurse Hemly had been correct, after all. Perhaps there really wasn’t anything wrong with him. Oh, well. He would enjoy the excuse to get out of work all the same; wouldn’t want to make a liar out of the fine nurse, now would he? It would be best if he proved himself just as much of a lazy sod as she labelled him to be.
“Oh, hey!” Mabel chirped as he entered the kitchen. The counter was covered with a variety of canned goods, several of which were rolling back and forth, and several more of which were on the floor. “Sorry, did I wake you?”
“No.” Yes. Eli stooped to pick up the errant cans and, turning one over in his hands, examining the label. “Mmm. Grade A Lab Grown Beef. My favorite.”
Mabel snatched the can out of his grip and scowled at him. “It’s cheaper,” she pointed out defensively.
“It’s fake. It was never once part of a cow, you know.”
“Well, I don’t care. Food is food, Eli. It’s better than no meat at all, isn’t it?”
He could have argued but felt that it was best to let this one go. Lab grown meat was not his hill to die on. Instead he just shrugged in defeat.
“I was able to save enough to go get some fresh vegetables,” Mabel said, sensing her victory and pleased by it. “I was just going to put these away before heading out...are you up for it? Want to come with me?”
Eli really did feel fine. And he hadn’t been to the market in some time, since their stipend almost always arrived while he was working. Usually, Mabel would have it all spent before he even finished his shift.
“Sure,” he decided. “That sounds nice.” He helped her to stash the meager collection of cans away in the pantry before they set off, making a mental note of the disparity between the number of meals until their next stipend and the number of cans on the shelf.
The corporate orphan ward had only two options for doing their shopping. Mabel had purchased the canned goods at the import store outside the Maglev station. It functioned as a sort of dumping ground for all the products those in the city felt weren’t suitable for their own consumption. Dented cans, expired boxes of grains and cereals and second-hand clothing were tightly packed on long rows of otherwise unadorned shelves. Sifting through them to find anything interesting had been a source of curious entertainment for Eli when they’d first come here, but it had grown old fast. Now he left this task to Mabel, who still felt a sense of pride in finding the best deals. She always tried to get his favorites and would display them with pride at the front of the pantry when she did. Canned fruit was rare and often expensive, but Mabel almost always came home with some little treat or another. It was her way of showing him that she cared, and it didn’t go unnoticed.
The second option was the open-air market. This was Eli’s favorite place in the whole ward. Run by corporate orphans too young to have assignments, buying things here was always interesting. Picking out vegetables and homemade wares and paying a five-or-six-year-old who wore a serious expression as he or she carefully counted out change was a curious sensation indeed. The booths themselves were interesting as well, constructed of a strange collection of overturned storage containers, crooked rough hewn tables, and often colorful awnings crafted from blankets, sheets, or even clothing. As they entered the marketplace today, Eli saw one booth whose multicolored covering sported a large denim pocket.
The wares here varied from week to week. Although corporate orphans were not paid for their apprenticeships, many of them received perks that Eli was not privy to at Next Level. Agricultural apprentices often came home with more produce than they could consume before it went bad. Eli was fairly sure that this was how the market had started, with a simple stand selling leftover unattractive vegetables. The idea of a supplemental income appealed to just about everyone. Now children sold handmade dolls and crafts, or other surplus items brought home by their older siblings. The Tessler kids had a booth that always had a variety of clothing, because the oldest of their siblings apprenticed in a textile factory and was allowed to take home whatever he liked that did not meet their stringent guidelines. The people of Gables were voracious consumers with particular tastes. Patterns and designs often went out of style before the factories ran out of stock. No one wanted to be seen wearing something that was no longer fashionable, after all.
Eli looked down at his gray shirt and frowned, wondering if they had enough for a new uniform shirt. He quickly decided against asking. Why should he bother with his appearance? While others might look at Eli and see a sign of his station in life, when he looked in the mirror he saw a symbol of how the world treated him. In a way he kind of hoped that his shoddy, unkempt uniform displeased people like Farway. Though doubtful, he could always imagine that it might spark some emotional response in someone “important” someday. Might trigger them to assess what was wrong with the world.
Anyway, he could hope.
Today there were only eight booths set up in the market. Given that the ward housed over two hundred corporate orphans, this came as somewhat of a surprise to Eli, who was used to seeing at least double that number.
“Why so few today?” he asked Mabel.
“It’s been like this the last few months,” Mabel informed him. “I think a lot of companies are cracking down on apprentices taking home products.”
Eli frowned. “They never cared before.”
“Well, they do now.” Mabel gave a defeated shrug. “And it’s sad. A lot of kids had come to depend on the extra income.”
Mabel made a beeline for the nearest of two agricultural booths. Small tubs of lettuce sat unhappy in the intense heat, their leaves wilting even in the shade. Eli watched as his sister picked out a few tomatoes, some of the sad-looking lettuce, and a couple of long, squash-like vegetables that he could not identify. It might have been a new hybrid, or just the results of another bad harvest. It was increasingly common to see crop failures when genetically modified seeds were unintentionally cross-pollinated with less desirable varieties. When the girl had finished bagging up her selections and gave Mabel the price, she paid without comment, handing the bag to Eli to carry.
“You didn’t even try to haggle,” Eli grumbled half-heartedly. “You know she charged you more than she’d have taken.”
“You want me to haggle with an eight-year-old?” Mabel asked, looking aghast.
“It’s not that,” Eli said, feeling frustrated. “I know she’s just trying to get by. But so are we, Mabel. We have to be wise with our money. At least she’s got a vegetable stand. I doubt that her household is living off scraps.”
“You don’t know that!” Mabel’s tone revealed her disappointment. “You don’t know their situation, though maybe you would if you took the time to make a few friends. You can’t just make assumptions, Eli. How about a little compassion?”
Eli opened his mouth to argue, but a scream somewhere behind him caused all other thoughts to drain away. He dropped the bag, spinning around and searching for the source of the disturbance.
It wasn’t hard to find. Another scream followed as Eli’s eyes settled on a young girl racing toward the marketplace. Her striking resemblance to the nurse’s assistant made him certain it was one of the Mackelroy siblings. Mabel seemed instinctively drawn toward the desperate youth, but Eli grabbed her arm. “Wait,” he began.
Mabel shot him a look of mixed fear and disgust.
“Sarah!” came a familiar voice, echoing down the street. Eli’s gaze moved from the running girl, who had stumbled to one knee, to the scene playing out farther down the road. Denny Mackelroy was being held back by a man much larger than himself. Dressed in black with a helmet that covered his face, Eli recognized the man at once as an Enforcer.
Mabel took advantage of her brother’s distraction to shake herself free, “Sarah, don’t fight them, come back!”
She raced to the sobbing little girl and dropped to her knees, throwing her arms around her. “It’s going to be all right,” Mabel said firmly. “They aren’t going to hurt you.”
Eli knew that his sister’s words were empty, meant to comfort a frightened child. No one knew what happened when the Enforcers took you away.
Only that you never came back.
Usually, corporate orphans who had gone afoul of Val Int’s will disappeared without a fuss. Sometimes in the still of night, sometimes led silently away from their homes in broad daylight, perhaps as an example to remind the others how important it was to stay in line. Eli had never witnessed a scene like this. But there were five Mackelroy children, and perhaps the Enforcers had not come prepared to deal with so many. It was the only explanation Eli could think of at the moment.
“Eli!” Mabel’s eyes were pleading as she stared up at him over the top of the little girl’s head. “Do something.”
“What do you want me to do?” he replied helplessly, raising his empty hands. “You want me to start a fight with an Enforcer while you take the girl and run for it? What about the rest of her family?”
“How can you be so cold?” she asked, practically snarling. “Always talking about changing the world, but you won’t even stand up for a scared kid. Some hero.”
The words stung, because Eli knew they held truth. But it wasn’t that he didn’t want to do something. It was just that there wasn’t anything he could do. “Don’t forget what happened last time I got involved with Denny Mackelroy,” he whispered to her warningly as he took a deep breath and began walking toward the Enforcer. His insides were cold, and the space between himself and Denny seemed so much farther than it had just moments before. His mind struggled to come up with something intelligent to say, but he seemed unable to get out more than a quiet, “Excuse me.”
“Eli,” Denny said, giving him a pleading look. “I screwed up, Eli.” He made a motion as if to move, but the Enforcer held his arm in a vice-like grip. Eli looked the terrified boy over. Nearly a year before, Eli had been furious to receive his first disciplinary warning. He’d gotten it because Denny, who had four younger siblings to care for, had used him as a cover to steal from the import store and had been caught. Eli had railed about it for days, trying to prove to Mabel why that was exactly the reason they shouldn’t get involved with the other Corporate Orphans. That out here it was everyone for themselves. He’d despised Denny for dragging him, unaware, into his scheme. For marring his perfect record and putting him on Val Int’s radar.
But looking at Denny now, he felt the anger he’d been holding on to for so long melt away. Whatever Denny had done, had been forced to do by his circumstances, it didn’t matter. What mattered is that none of them deserved to live like this. They were people. Denny had only been trying to take care of his family. It wasn’t his fault that he had no other options.
“It’s okay, Denny. You’re going to be okay. All of you.”
The words rang hollow, much less believable to Eli’s ears than Mabel’s had sounded. Yet they seemed to comfort Denny, who stopped fidgeting and gave a stiff little nod.
“Eli!” Mabel shouted from behind him. He turned slowly, already knowing what to expect. A second Enforcer had come from the opposite direction, and Eli watched as he scooped up Sarah Mackelroy without a word and began walking toward his waiting companion. Sarah pressed her face against her captor’s armored chest and sobbed, no longer fighting. Even so young, she understood. There was no reason to fight—there was nowhere to hide. Best if she just cooperated.
“Eli,” Mabel repeated weakly as he returned to her side to watch the Mackelroys being led out of sight.
“There was nothing we could have done,” Eli told her.
Mabel said no more. He felt her trembling hand slip into his own and squeezed.