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It wasn’t like Mabel to sleep in. She’d seemed unable to shake the uneasy feelings that the Mackelroy incident had caused. Though Eli had known how much it had upset her, he was surprised that four days later she was still moping. Mabel had always been the more cheerful of the two, always ready to greet each day with a smile. To see her so down not only made him worry, but also had kept Eli himself in something of a funk.
He waited downstairs for an hour that morning before making the decision to go up and talk things out. Eli knew, at least as far as Mabel could be used as an example, that it was the sort of thing that girls needed to do sometimes. He fixed a nice breakfast, even breaking out the canned peaches, and did his best to arrange it nicely on a tray. Reaching Mabel’s room with full hands, he knocked with his foot.
“Just a sec,” came Mabel’s voice from inside. A moment later, he heard the beep beep boop of her entering the unlock code before the door slid away.
“You lock that now?” he asked, surprised.
“I always have. I don’t like people just barging in. I value my privacy.”
“Oh.”
Eli realized that he could not remember the last time he’d even entered Mabel’s bedroom. Probably not since they’d first moved in.
“You made that for me?” she said, her eyes widening as she caught sight of the tray. “Wow. I’m impressed, Eli.”
“It’s not a big deal,” he told her with a shrug, though he was pleased.
She moved to her bed and plopped down on the green coverlet, pulling her legs up and slapping her knees to indicate her readiness to receive the unexpected offering. The bed was made, something Eli never bothered to do. Beneath her viewer a short shelf held the few treasures she’d kept from life in the city. A cloth doll wearing bright festival clothes leaned against a simple picture frame which held a photo of Eli, Mabel and their parents. Beside that was a plastic, faded figurine of a horse. It stood, teetering on three legs, the third broken off just above the knee. Mabel had always loved that horse. She’d taken it with her everywhere long after other girls her age had ceased carrying toys around. Eli frowned, remembering with shame the first night they’d come to this house. How he’d raged, storming about and throwing things and complaining how life wasn’t fair. He didn’t remember picking up the horse, but he remembered the sound it had made as it hit the wall. And he remembered the sobering sound of Mabel’s sobbing.
Though his sister had been quick to forgive, Eli had not. He’d worked hard since then to control his outbursts. He felt that, for the most part, he’d done a fair job. The anger was always there, but he managed to keep it bottled up more often than not. He didn’t do it because he worried what people would think or what might happen to him; he did it because he didn’t like to see Mabel in pain. Especially pain that he’d caused.
“Well?” Mabel prompted, pulling him back from his musings. “It’s getting cold!”
“Sorry.”
He handed her the tray and sat at the foot of the bed. Mabel had done her best to make this room her own. Sheer violet curtains adorned the window, and a small powder blue desk in the corner was carefully arranged with all of the art supplies she brought home from her apprenticeship at the Tender Youth childcare center. Located not far from Eli’s place of work, it served as a day care for the children of factory workers on the northern half of the industrial ring. When she’d first started coming home with pockets full of crayons and pastels, Eli had asked if she’d stolen them. She’d explained that she spent most of her day drawing with the children, and because the teachers liked her work so much, they were always giving her supplies to take home. Eli, too, had to admit that she was an impressive artist. She might have been even better if she’d had more than crayons and scrap paper to work with. “I thought you were sleeping in.”
Mabel shook her head and held up a finger as she finished chewing and swallowed. “No.”
He waited for her to elaborate, but instead she popped another wedge of peach into her mouth and began to slice open the roll he’d brought up, the scent of yeast carried toward him by the rising steam as she slathered it in peanut butter.
“So then, if you weren’t sleeping, why are you hiding out in here?” He reached toward one of the peach slices, but she smacked his hand away.
“Working.” She flashed him a coy smile between bites.
Eli raised an eyebrow. “It’s our day off. I thought we would be able to spend some time together. “
“We can. I just wanted to get my ideas organized so I could share them with you first.”
This statement intrigued Eli. He was about to ask what ideas she was talking about when the intercom chimed. Mabel cocked her head. “Someone’s here.” Her face betrayed concern as she placed her half-finished tray down on the bed.
Eli muscles tensed. “Are you expecting someone?” he asked, finding his voice coming out in a low whisper.
She raised her shoulders and shook her head. “No, no one.”
“I’ll go see who it is,” Eli told her, putting a hand on her knee to stop her from getting up. “I’ll be right back.”
The chime came again, more insistent this time. Eli took the stairs two at a time, a tight knot growing in his stomach. They were not accustomed to unannounced visitors. He was trying to stay calm, but his mind kept dredging up flashes of the black-clad Enforcers from the marketplace. Still, he’d done nothing wrong. And he imagined that Enforcers wouldn’t have the decency announce themselves like this. Would they?
He hesitated for a moment at the door before unlocking it. It slid away, revealing a familiar young man just outside, his hand poised as if to ring for a third time. Seeing Eli, the man broke into a grin.
“Eli!” he exclaimed. “I was worried you wouldn’t be home. I checked your schedule and it said you were off today, but I didn’t know if you’d have plans...”
The man didn’t wait for an invitation, brushing past Eli. “So this is the inside of a corporate orphan apartment, eh? It’s not so bad. I’ve heard rumors, but people are always exaggerating these types of things, you know?”
It took a moment for the voice and the face to register in Eli’s shocked mind. “Shane?”
Shane glanced back over his shoulder, the wide smile still on his face growing, if possible, even wider. “Hey! You remembered! I figured, you know, with your head and all...” He shrugged, moving past the kitchen island to peer out the back window, hands deep in his pocket. “Not much of a view, huh? That’s okay. You should see my place. I have to share it with seven other guys, and none of them shower as often as they should.”
Eli struggled to find words appropriate for the situation. Not once since he and Mabel had moved here had he ever seen anyone from the city in the corporate orphan ward. Much less a member of the military. He wondered how many of the other kids had seen Shane approaching, strolling down the street and taking in the sights like a tourist on vacation. “Shane,” he asked tentatively, “not to be rude, but...what are you doing here?”
“Oh!” Shane said, looking as if he were surprised it wasn’t obvious. “I came to check on you, is all. I wanted to see how you were holding up. I stopped by Farway’s lab the next day,” here Shane gave an exaggerated shudder that almost brought a smirk to Eli’s lips, “but you’d already gone. So I asked for the rest of the week’s schedule and saw we both were off today. And I figured, you know, I’d just come here. See what it’s like out here for you Corp Orps. That’s what we call you, by the way. I think it sounds kinda neat. Corp Orp. Heh. Try it, it’s fun to say.”
“You figured...” Eli licked his upper lip, his brow now furrowed. “Shane, nobody just comes here. It’s the last stop on the Maglev, and there’s nothing out here but us. You wasted your money, and your time.”
Shane’s smile wavered and hurt flashed in his puppy dog eyes. “I don’t think it was a waste of time,” he answered in a more subdued tone. “I like visiting new places.”
Feeling torn between anger at Shane’s ignorance about the plight of the corporate orphans and gratitude that someone—anyone—had cared enough to come see how he was feeling, Eli stood in stunned silence, afraid to open his mouth.
“Eli, who is it?” Mabel demanded, descending from upstairs and stopping to lean over the railing and peer curiously at Shane. She gave him a warm smile of welcome. “Oh! Hello!”
Shane went oddly silent for a moment, swallowing hard. He seemed as shocked by Mabel’s appearance as Eli had been shocked by his. “Hello,” he said at last, drawing out the word as if it were difficult to speak.
“I’m Mabel,” Mabel said, coming the rest of the way down. “Are you a friend of Eli’s? Have you eaten breakfast? I can make you something. Make yourself at home!”
She gestured to the sofa, and Shane moved toward it without taking his eyes off her. Eli, meanwhile, glared at his sister, shaking his head as discreetly as he was able. He was in no mood to host guests just now.
“He’s not my—” he began, before Shane found his voice once more.
“We work together,” Shane cut in. “Well, sort of. I mean, we work in close proximity, at least. I knocked him out the other day, and I wanted to come see how he was doing.”
“That was you?” Mabel asked, raising an eyebrow. Her face was stern, but Eli recognized mischief beneath the look. Shane, unfamiliar with Mabel, saw no such playful undertones and blanched.
“I don’t know what he told you, but I swear, it was an accident. I didn’t mean to...it just slipped...” his mouth worked for a few moments before he finished with a pitiful, “really heavy.”
Mabel laughed, waving a hand at him. “I wasn’t worried,” she said. “As you can see, he’s fine. And there’s been more than one occasion where I’d have liked to have knocked him out myself.”
Relief washed over Shane’s face and he leapt up from the sofa, his original exuberance restored. “Great!” Seeming to question his response, he shot a glance at Eli and added, “That you’re feeling better, I mean. Not that your girlfriend wants to knock you out.”
Mabel, who had been sipping water, doubled over, spluttering and looking as though she were having trouble breathing. Alarmed, Shane made to approach her.
Eli frowned. “That’s my sister, Shane, not my girlfriend.”
Seemingly torn between rendering assistance to Mabel and responding to Eli’s pronouncement, Shane looked helplessly back and forth. “Sorry,” he said after Mabel got her laughter under control. “You just look about the same age, and I thought—”
“We are the same age,” Mabel told him. “Twins.”
Shane squinted, appearing skeptical. “You don’t look anything alike.”
“Fraternal twins don’t have to look alike,” Eli explained. He did not have the patience for a science lesson, and he was eager to move the conversation forward.
“Oh,” Shane said with a nod of understanding, as if he’d known this all along. “Well, I was wondering if you had any plans today? For your day off?”
“Yes,” replied Eli.
“No,” said Mabel at the same time. Once again, Shane’s expression was bewildered.
“Oh...kay...” he said. “Well, the thing is, I’m shipping out tomorrow. We’re taking the Belenus project to Antarctica. And a bunch of the guys were organizing a game of baseball and I thought I’d see if you wanted to come along, Eli. Of course, you’re welcome, too, Mabel.”
“We’d love to!” Mabel answered before Eli could respond. He glared at her, trying to convey words with expression alone. She saw him, understood, and gave him another of her mischievous smiles. His meaning had been received, and summarily dismissed.
Shane chattered all the way to the Maglev station, so caught up in his monologue that Eli was able to lag behind a few steps, jerking Mabel by the arm to draw her back alongside him.
“What is going on here?” He kept his voice low, not wanting to draw Shane’s attention. “Since when do we hang out with military recruits?”
Mabel’s face was innocent. “We knew a few military kids in the city,” she whispered back, protesting.
“We aren’t in the city anymore, Mabel. We aren’t equals, no matter how nice Shane might appear. We shouldn’t be doing this. We should remember our place.”
Mabel’s eyes went a little darker. “I’ve never forgotten our place,” she hissed. “I just don’t accept that where we live and who we are should dictate who we’re friends with. It’s wrong. Aren’t you the one always crowing about social injustice?”
Eli couldn’t argue with that, and Mabel shook him off, jogging to catch back up with Shane, who had been so absorbed that he hadn’t even noticed her brief absence.
As they boarded, the conductor dipped his head in acknowledgement of Shane. When he turned to the twins, he wore his typical hungry expression. As he reached out to take their fare, Shane turned around with a look of surprise. “Oh, no,” he said. “They’re with me.” The conductor looked surprised, and perhaps a little disappointed, as the twins followed Shane to the back of the car.
“You don’t have to pay fare?” Mabel asked in awe. Shane grinned.
“Next Level pays them,” he said, tapping twice behind his right ear. “We have chips that ping at checkpoints all over the world, so that we’re easy to find. It also works as a sort of company tab for things like transportation. The conductor will add you to the tab. Don’t worry, this trip is on the military.” His chuckle was airy, carefree. Eli could not help but think about all the corporate orphans whose last trip was also “on the military.”
“You don’t think that’s a little creepy?” Eli asked, knowing he should keep his mouth shut. Mabel shot him a glare, but he ignored her. She was the only reason he was here. This was on her. “That they can track you like that?”
“Well,” Shane said, tilting his head to one side as he pondered this, “it’s not really tracking, I don’t think. It’s not a GPS. It doesn’t give off any sort of signal until it’s in range of a scanner. So they can tell where we’ve been, but not exactly where we are, you know?”
“Isn’t that close enough?” Eli reasoned. “You like having a beacon in your head? And what kind of frequency are we talking from these scanners? What if it gives you brain cancer or something? Or what if they can switch it on and control you like a puppet?”
Shane gave Eli a long, blank stare, then smiled warmly. “I like you, Eli. You’re funny.”
Eli heard Mabel’s sigh of relief as he slumped back against the hard-plastic seat, defeated, once again, by the ineptitude of his opponent. Next Level might employ top level scientists, but the soldiers they churned out weren’t exactly prized for their intellect.
“So,” Mabel took advantage of the silence to change the subject. “Antarctica, huh?”
Shane’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! The whole Belenus team will be in one place for the first time. We’re all pretty excited to see the pieces coming together.”
Mabel frowned. “I didn’t get to see the Belenus presentation on Ross Day,” she said, her eyes flitting sideways toward Eli, who looked away.
“Aw, that’s too bad.” Shane’s expression was crestfallen, but then he perked up. “I can tell you about it, if you’d like.”
“I would like!”
“Well, see, it all started because of the arable land popping up in Antarctica,” Shane began. Eli snorted, and Mabel kicked him. Shane didn’t seem to notice. “Suddenly we have a lot of space, right? But the problem is the sun. They don’t get much of it down there. So the land is pretty useless as it stands.”
The land wasn’t useless when it was covered in ice, moderating the world’s climate. But Eli didn’t want to be kicked again, so he remained silent, letting his bitterness stew.
“Belenus will solve that problem,” Shane said, eyes flashing with obvious pride. “I mean, not right away, but eventually.”
“How?” Mabel asked, her excitement clear in her voice.
“It’s a combination of things,” Shane said, and here he became somewhat vague. “Basically, we’re building a tiny artificial sun using a bunch of new technologies. It’s like a big satellite that utilizes white solar tech and huge reflectors and follows a special orbit. It’ll give the whole region normal days during the dark season, allowing us to live and grow in all these places that used to be uninhabitable! Neat, right?”
The words, no doubt company indoctrination, eerily echoed the end of the speech that Mabel and Eli had caught during the festival. Something about the situation gnawed at him as Shane spoke, and when he realized what it was, curiosity got the best of him.
“What’s Next Level’s involvement in this?” he asked, not bothering to mask his suspicious tone. “Why are you on this project? You’re just a soldier, aren’t you?”
“Eli!” Mabel said reproachfully. “Just a soldier? That came off a little rude, don’t you think?”
“No,” Shane said, his face going serious. “It’s okay. I get it. Us military guys, we aren’t exactly known for our...mental acuity.”
The mere fact that Shane had just used the term “mental acuity” forced Eli to re-examine his accusations. “No, she’s right. I’m sorry.”
Shane waved him off. “Forget about it, Eli.” He looked out the window. Eli watched his blue eyes tracking the blurred landscape as it passed them by. He’d almost forgotten he’d asked a question until Shane provided an answer.
“Next Level developed a few of the pieces, that’s all,” he said, as if speaking to the window. “Some of it’s military tech, converted for the public sector. They want to keep an eye on their investments. White Solar in particular. It was designed for use in the dead zones. A versatile and efficient power source. I’m part of the team assigned to accompany the tech on its way. Make sure it doesn’t get any unwanted attention, that sort of thing. Seems almost pointless now that the word is out, but I’m not one to question my assignment. I go where they tell me, they make sure I get paid. Everyone’s happy.”
There was a long, awkward pause. Feeling guilty, Eli now felt obliged to keep the conversation alive. “What exactly is ’White Solar’?”
Shane let out the faintest snort, as if Eli had said something else he found amusing. “Essentially, it’s just a more efficient solar array than what we’ve already got. Synthetic chlorophyll coupled with a special white membrane that’s more pleasing to the eye. Values International puts a lot of emphasis on aesthetics. I’ve heard people talk about it—they say everything will be White Solar in a few generations. Whole cities coated in the stuff, vehicles powered by their own bodies. It’s pretty interesting stuff. The science, I mean.”
Shane blinked twice, and Eli could have sworn he saw the young man blanch, if only for an instant. Then he returned to his former, chipper self. “I don’t really understand it all,” Shane said, giving Mabel a rueful look. “I’m just the muscle making sure it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands.” He flexed his arm and Mabel gave a giggle that, for some reason, turned Eli’s stomach. And yet at the same time he had a nagging feeling. Like they’d had a quick glimpse of the real Shane, before the wall had gone back up.
“It’s a shame you’re leaving so soon,” Mabel told Shane, sounding saddened. “It would have been nice to have more of a chance to get to know each other.”
Eli watched as Shane gave his sister a long, wistful sort of look. “Yeah,” Shane said after a while. “It would have been nice.”
Finding himself intrigued by their traveling companion, Eli spent the rest of the ride studying Shane, half listening to the various topics the young man was discussing with Mabel. Pegging him as just an ignorant grunt had been easy and came naturally to Eli, but given this rare opportunity to sit with someone like Shane humanized him. Soft blond hair was cropped short, just long enough to whisper in the breeze of people passing down the aisle of the car. Whatever he spoke about seemed, at that moment, to be the most interesting thing he could possibly imagine. His face was animated, his eyes lighting up each time he contributed to the conversation. He used his hands a lot when he talked, making sweeping gestures to underscore his point. Though Eli felt sure that Shane’s uniform the day of the incident had been clean and neat, his street clothes were rumpled. A simple navy shirt and unassuming khakis were not the loud style common to the people of Gables, and at that moment Shane could have been one of them. Just another corporate orphan under the thumb of Val Int. Just a regular person trapped in the system.
The Maglev pulled to a stop and Eli followed Shane and Mabel out into Central Station, which was much less crowded than it had been on Ross Day. Shane led them to the street where he flagged down a transport with ease, though Eli saw the driver give him and his sister an appraising look as they boarded.
Eli hadn’t bothered to ask where they were going but found himself surrounded by flashes of familiarity as they drew farther and farther from the city square. They were heading toward his old neighborhood. He recognized stores and businesses that their own family had frequented so long ago.
No, not that long. Just a few years. How could that be? The place felt different, and yet not. As if he were seeing the same things, but with someone else’s eyes.
There was the butcher shop, where it would have been scandalous to mention the canned, lab-grown meat Mabel had been so thrilled to have brought home only days before. Steep prices in the window advertised the rare delicacies within. Real lamb, beef, and pork had been available for purchase there once or twice a week, and he had often spent hours in line with his father to make sure they got some before it was all gone. It was just across the street from the spa where their mother and Mabel used to wait for them. When he and his dad had picked the girls up, large brown packages of meat heavy beneath his father’s arms, they’d always been greeted with happy smiles from the salon workers and offers of beauty treatments that had made young Eli shudder with revulsion. He looked over at his sister now, at her worn, drab outfit, and wondered what the spa ladies would do if she were to enter their establishment today. He doubted there would be many smiles.
Mabel had quieted, also looking around at the familiar buildings as they passed. She had a sad kind of smile on her face, and he wondered if she, too, were experiencing these same bittersweet memories.
“It’s coming up,” Shane said, pointing ahead of them to where the wide, neat road curved out of sight.
“Wagner Field,” Eli said without thinking, bringing a look of surprise to Shane’s face.
“You know it?”
“We used to play there as children,” Mabel told him.
Shane’s head tilted again as he took this in. “You two lived in Gables?”
“Yeah.” Eli turned his face away to hide his scowl. “Before Val Int forced us out.”
Shane followed his gaze, saying nothing more than, “Huh.”
“You find it surprising that city kids could end up...what did you call us? Corp Orps?” Mabel asked with a chuckle.
“Oh, no,” Shane said, turning back to her with a shake of his head. “It’s just that, well, you don’t act like you’re from the city. You lack a certain...I don’t know. Attitude.”
“Eli’s got an attitude,” Mabel pointed out.
“I do not.”
“See?” She raised her hands in a gesture of helplessness. Shane laughed.
Wagner Field was full of all sorts of kids, milling about as they streamed from one activity to the next. All around the perimeter of the park, vendors hawked their wares. Smells and memories assailed Eli from every direction. Freshly pressed cones and melted chocolate, the scent of corn dogs fresh out of the fryer. The stands did a roaring trade. Those selling water and snacks had the longest lines, snaking far out onto the grass while those selling toys and trinkets were ringed with curious children rather than potential customers.
There were huge misting stations where the youngest kids laughed and ran in circles, squealing beneath the pipeworks as they splashed in puddles, safe from the blistering heat that had plastered Eli’s shirt to his chest during the drive. A huge playground sat beneath a curved half-dome that shaded it, muting its colorful plastic exterior. The baseball diamond had no such protection. The plates gleamed, reflecting the sun’s rays in blinding beams that made Eli grimace. Between the sickening heat and the group of laughing, roughhousing boys that was rapidly growing closer, he was regretting their decision to come here more with every step. He contemplated turning around and making a break for the retreating transport, but it was no good. He couldn’t leave Mabel here alone.
“Hey, Shane! You made it!” one of the boys called. He pointed at Eli as they approached. “You brought Corp Orps with you?”
“You brought a girl with you?” another hollered, and Eli felt his jaw clench as a wave of laughter broke out among the group. “She’s not playing on my team!”
Mabel took the slight in stride, not missing a beat. “Well that’s good,” she said with exaggerated relief. “I came to win.”
There was a whoop from the crowd and all at once Eli found himself surrounded as Shane pointed to his friends in turn, calling out an endless list of names that Eli would not even bother trying to remember. He felt himself starting to shut down, and as the teams were picked and the game began, Eli’s body was acting out of instinct. His limbs felt numb, his actions automatic as he moved from his position on the field to the dugout and back again. Time seemed to slow down as he took in the whole bizarre situation, watching Mabel laughing and trading insults with these military recruits who would usually not give their kind the time of day. And, to his utter bewilderment, at some point Eli found himself smiling at something someone had said. Then laughing at a joke. He couldn’t pinpoint an exact moment when it happened, but the thrill of the game took over and Eli forgot to care about who he was with, or where he was, or what was happening to the world. For the first time in a long time, he was enjoying himself.
He should have known it wouldn’t last.
The game hadn’t even been close. Mabel had been picked by the other team, and was ecstatic about their victory, taunting Eli mercilessly as they all lounged beneath the misting station. They were spread out, enjoying the cool spray of water, and Eli lay on the ground beside his sister, drawing disapproving looks from mothers whose children had been crowded out by the exhausted ballplayers.
“I’ll see you guys later,” Shane was saying. “I’m going to bring these two home.”
“Aw, come on,” said one boy with a whine. “It’s our last day here.”
“Go on without me. I’ll be back.”
But the boy did not want to take no for an answer. “Don’t waste your time, Shane. Just stay, let the trash take itself out.”
Eli had been getting to his feet but froze when the words hit him, his hand halfway extended toward Mabel.
“Miles!” Shane said, his voice shocked. “Apologize, now!”
“Relax, Shane,” said another with breezy indifference. “They’re just Corp Orps.”
Mabel took Eli’s hands and pulled herself up. “It’s fine, Shane. We know our way back.”
“No, it’s not fine.” Eli wished Shane would drop it. He was only going to make things worse. But instead Shane turned back to the others. “What’s gotten into you? I thought we were having a good time together.”
“We were,” Miles said with a shrug, “and now we’re done, and we want to go do something else. So let’s go.”
Eli really should have known the day had been too good to be true. He couldn’t believe he’d allowed himself to be hoodwinked. To think that the others had accepted them without bias. He should have known that they were no more important to these people than the bat or the ball, just some useful equipment to keep the game going, nothing more. Certainly not equals.
He sighed. “Come on, Mabel.” She nodded without argument and they began to walk away.
“See?” Miles called out. “They’re fine.”
“This is not fine!” Shane shouted. “You need to apologize, right now!”
“Well I won’t,” Miles said. “But I mean, the girl isn’t terrible looking. I don’t mind if she stays.”
Looking back, Eli would not remember what happened just then. He only knew that Miles had kept talking, and that he hadn’t liked the insinuation in the recruit’s tone. He’d been beside Mabel one minute and then somehow he was straddling Miles, whose nose was dripping blood as he gasped. Eli raised his fist to punch him again. Then strong arms wrapped around his chest, and Eli felt himself being lifted backward as he struggled against his captor.
“Easy, Eli, take it easy,” Shane’s voice said beside his ear.
Eli’s heart was pounding, his fist still clenched, as he looked up. The shocked faces of the other ballplayers surrounded him, and outside them a ring of stunned onlookers had gathered, whispering to each other with wide, judgmental eyes. Eli looked to his right to find Mabel, her hand covering her mouth, her cheeks pale. He looked back at Miles, who had raised himself up on his elbows to glare at Eli, the mist splattering his face, washing the blood over his mouth and down his chin in translucent red rivulets.
“Let’s go, Eli,” Shane said with quiet urgency. Eli nodded wordlessly and allowed himself to be led away without resisting.
A strange calm enveloped Eli as the next moments unfolded. He felt Shane’s firm grip on his shoulder, guiding him away from the scene of his crime. On his other side, Mabel walked quickly to keep up, making stilted jerking motions that Eli soon realized were silent sobs. He looked at her, taking in her terrified face.
They hadn’t made it very far before Miles’s shock wore off.
“You aren’t going to get away with this, you filthy reject!” Miles’ shout was distorted in a way that made Eli think he may have broken the boy’s nose. “Grab him! Grab them both!”
Shane cursed under his breath. “Run!”
They took off at a sprint.