Activities were canceled for the afternoon and the campers slipped off to their cabins, their minds still replaying the footage of fire and smoke. Contact with home was strictly forbidden at Valor, but in the wake of this crash a few exceptions were made; parents could call kids or vice versa. Still, those at Valor strictly adhered to the fiction that they were at a summer work program, or in some cases, that they were still in juvenile facilities hundreds of miles away. The cage around Valor’s collective consciousness had been rattled, and Wyatt knew who would be affected by this more than anyone else: Jalen. So before going down to the Cave Complex, he cut across campus toward the Rovers.
He found Cody sitting on the porch stairs, shoulders slumped. In his hands, a rifle that he polished with an oily cloth.
“Dad know you took that off the range?” Wyatt asked as he climbed the steps. “Rovers aren’t supposed to have weapons yet.”
“No,” Cody said. “Isn’t loaded.” He dismantled the weapon in a smooth series of clicks. “Seeing how fast I can take it apart, then put it back together … I can even do it with my eyes closed.”
“Well, you should let Dad know you have that.”
“You gonna tattle?”
Wyatt sighed. “You okay? I mean, about the plane crash and all?”
“I’m fine. It’s scary.” He looked out toward the beach. “I’m just ready to do something.”
“Me too. Where’s Jalen?”
“Inside lying on his bunk.”
“Okay, need to talk to him a minute.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“Probably better if I go alone.” Wyatt motioned his brother to stay seated.
Cody rolled his eyes.
Wyatt found Jalen alone in the cabin lying in a heap, hugging a pillow like a doll. “Hey, dude.” Wyatt tried to be normal, taking a seat on the opposite bunk. “Just checking in. Wanted to make sure you’re good.”
Jalen said nothing, his eyes locked forward, tears gathering in the corners of them.
“So you’re good?” Wyatt asked again, hesitantly.
“Good?” Jalen sat up. “No, man. I’m not good.” Wyatt watched as the tears Jalen had been pushing back rolled out.
“I mean, I was … I was getting better,” Jalen said. “I like it here. I learned how to forage yesterday, Day One of survival training. I ate ramps and blueberries. It’s been ten days since I’ve played a video game—maybe the longest I’ve ever gone in my life—and I don’t even miss it. It’s like this was my escape, no one knew me here. No one knew what I’d done except you and the staff, I guess. But now this nightmare has followed me.”
“Has anyone said anything to you or asked about your connection to Austin?”
“No. And I can only imagine what would happen if Rayo found out. How he’d use that against me.”
“You gotta look past the Rayos of this world. If he doesn’t change, he’ll wash out of this program and out of your life. This is a new start for you. Eventually, no one will know what you were before Valor.”
“I know,” Jalen said, “and I’ll never forget. Today just reminded me of that.”
“Listen, I’ve been there. I’m there now, just in a different way … I don’t even want to talk about it. Just trust me,” Wyatt said. “Sometimes it’s one step forward, two steps back. But you can help. You will help. Valor is going to get a call and you will help bring in Encyte by…” Wyatt thought of saying her but decided against it. “By the proverbial throat.”
“I don’t want to wait for the call! I want to do something to make this right. I have to make this right.” Jalen was yelling now.
“Okay,” Wyatt said, lowering his voice. “I promise you can help with Encyte. I just can’t tell you what I am thinking.” Wyatt’s plan, which was coming together, was to marshal a team and leverage the resources at Valor to find Dolly’s killer. Perhaps he would not need to sound out after all. “Just know, I need your help on a mission, a personal mission I am running—”
The door creaked behind them, and Wyatt looked over to see his brother standing at the threshold. “Cody, I told you! We need a second.”
“What’s going on?” Cody stood there with the door open.
“Give me one second. We’ll be right out.”
Cody didn’t move.
“Please,” Wyatt said, patience fading. “Get out!”
Cody’s face fell and he turned, gun slung over his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, dude,” Wyatt said. “I’ll find you in a minute, okay? Go take that rifle back before Dad finds out.”
“Whatever,” Cody said and shut the door.
Jalen wiped his face. “So what’s the mission?”
“Can’t say just yet. Let me ask you a question. Your mom is from Brazil, right?”
“Yeah…” Jalen said. “Why are you asking about my mom?”
“You know any Portuguese?”
Jalen scoffed, “You’re kidding, right? I had to study it as a kid. Was the only way I could talk to my grandma. She’s dead now, so I haven’t used it in a while, but yeah, I’m fluent. Why?”
“I’ll tell you when the time is right. For now, I might just pull you into some Group-A training exercises. You cool with that?”
Wyatt held out his hand, and Jalen slapped it. “I’m cool to try.”