WAITING

The next few days crawled by. At first, Zoe could barely function. She wandered back to the beach on the afternoon the Scouts left, staring across the lagoon until she fell into an exhausted sleep. She repeated this the next day, and the next, as though by standing watch she could keep Hamim safe.

Josh remembered his own long-ago vigils in the hospital, and he left Zoe alone. With Maddie and Devon’s help, he got the kidlets fed and off to school each morning, then lost himself in his assignments at the Living Oceans.

He hoped they’d been right to send the Scouts. But he, too, had finally accepted the fact that they couldn’t all stay on the Islands forever. Like Zoe and Tish said, more systems would eventually break down, or supplies would run low. On the other hand, if Outside was the horror show he’d seen in his dreams, maybe it was better not to know that for a while.

On the fourth day after the Scouts left, Josh and the kidlets were sitting at the midday meal, grinning at a pompous speech being delivered by the dragon head, when Zoe walked in. She was hollow-eyed and exhausted, but to Josh’s relief, she seemed more herself. Sam let out a whoop and ran over to her. He hugged her around the waist, then backed off, frowned, and punched her arm.

“Where you been?” he demanded. “Josh said you were on a special ’signment for the King, but I think he’s a big, fat, stupid liar.”

“Real nice,” said Josh. “See what happens next time you want to go visit Lop-Ear.”

“Sorry, Samster,” said Zoe, crouching down and pulling her brother in for another hug. “I just needed to do some things.”

“Well, don’t do ’em again!” he said.

“Deal.” She looked up at Josh. “Sorry I freaked out,” she said.

“It’s okay.”

“No. It wasn’t fair to you. And you’re just as worried as I am.”

“I said it’s okay.” He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. Then he started, realizing what he’d done. He felt his face burn.

But Zoe just smiled, then looked back at Sam. “Okay, bud. No work today. No school, either. I’m all yours until dinner. What do you want to do?”

Sam pursed his lips, thinking. Then his face brightened. “Let’s go to the collie place!”

“The what?”

“The collie place! Neptune said they’d be playin’ soccer there today!”

“He means the collie-see-um,” said Maddie patiently, with the air of someone much older and wiser. Josh had noted with amusement that the more obnoxious Sam got, the more mature Maddie tried to act. “They been practicing there. Getting ready for the ’lympics next week.”

“It’s our team today, too,” said Sam, fiercely loyal. “So we gotta go.”

“Perfect,” said Zoe. “Okay. The collie place it is.”

“And Josh’s gotta come, too. And Maddie and Devon and …”

“We’ll all go,” said Josh. “Giz and Shana, too. We’ll have a real family day.”

Sam’s suggestion turned out to be the perfect antidote for the tension of the previous week. They entered the Coliseum and found seats on the north side of the stadium, right in the center and just a few rows beneath the Emperor’s Box. They had lots of company—the stands were full of spectators who’d come to visit with friends, watch the two teams practice, and enjoy a few hours stolen from work.

Just across the arena, below the Dignitaries’ Box, Josh could see Tish and some of the Teachers taking a well-deserved break from school. He stood, waving until she saw them. She waved back, then cupped her hands around her mouth.

“Inspiration’s going to kick Enchanted’s butt,” she yelled, referring to the two teams warming up below them.

“In your dreams,” Josh yelled back. Tish stood, turned, and wiggled her backside at him. The kidlets screamed with laughter.

“Nice role model,” said Zoe, grinning. But then a whistle blew, and they turned their attention back to the field.

The players threw themselves into the game. They were still a little awkward, not quite having adjusted to playing soccer with one of the half-size basketballs that once had been sold as souvenirs. Their uniforms were irregular, too. The Enchanted team wore long orange T-shirts with tufts of fur down their spines, courtesy of the Heart of Africa stores. The Inspiration team wore shiny gray knights’ tunics, tied around the waist.

No one cared—especially not Josh’s family. They yelled like crazy people when their team scored, and booed just as enthusiastically at every wild kick or failed block.

One of the Inspiration forwards leaped at the ball, bulleting it past the goalie. The kid sank to his knees in despair.

“YOU SUCK!” Sam yelled happily.

“Sam!” said Maddie. “That’s not nice. What if it was you playing, and you messed up?”

“Then I’d suck.”

Josh and Zoe burst out laughing. The game continued, and by halftime the score was 2-1, with the Enchanted team miraculously in the lead. Zoe yelled for Tish’s attention, then treated the Teachers to a view of her backside.

“Hey, guys!” someone called. “Having fun?” It was Matt O’Bannion, yelling up to them from the stadium floor where he and Kyle were acting as referees.

“Yeah!” called Josh. “This is great, Matt!”

“Whadja expect? The O’Bannion Boys never fail!”

He froze, his grin faltering. He’s thinking about Ryan, Josh realized. But then Matt recharged his smile, waved, and ran back onto the field, where the second half was about to begin.

“This really is great, isn’t it?”

Zoe tensed, and Josh twisted to look behind him. Milo was heading down to them from the Emperor’s Box, looking as pleased as if he’d organized the games himself. Evan, Toad, and some other members of the Core were sitting in the box as well, yelling down at the players on the field. Toad’s eyes were popping more than usual.

Josh smiled. “Yeah,” he said. “It’s terrific.”

Milo sat just behind them, and leaned forward. “Wait ’til you see the opening ceremonies for the Olympics. Alex has this whole spectacular planned. All the musicians are going to be playing, and they’re even going to have someone run in with a torch. It’s going to be the best thing we’ve ever done.”

Zoe finally spoke, not looking at him.

“You aren’t even worried about them, are you?”

“Who?” said Milo.

“Who. The Scouts. You weren’t even thinking about Ryan being Outside just now. Or any of them. All you care about is your next big event.”

Josh cringed, but Milo didn’t say anything. He just slid over slightly, then moved down a row to sit next to Zoe. She continued to stare straight ahead.

“Yeah, Zoe, I was thinking about Ryan. I haven’t stopped thinking about him and the others.”

“Could have fooled me.”

Milo sighed, looking down at the field.

“I haven’t slept the past three nights. But the way I see it, it’s up to us older kids, the ones everyone depends on, to make people feel safe. To keep them from worrying. Like you guys do with Sam and Maddie and the kidlets.”

Zoe didn’t say anything. Milo continued.

“So right now, I can walk around like a zombie, or I can act like I think everything’s going to work out great. The second way is harder, but it’s probably better for everyone else. Besides … wasn’t the whole Scout thing your idea?”

A flush crept up Zoe’s neck.

“Anyhow,” said Milo. “I’m doing what I think I have to. Sorry if it bothers you.”

He got up and began the climb back to the box.

“Milo.” Zoe’s voice was subdued. But Milo stopped where he was, listening.

“You’re right,” she said. “This time you’re right and I’m wrong.” She paused. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He and Josh exchanged quick looks, and Milo returned to where Evan and Toad were shouting colorful advice to the goalie.

Josh was almost afraid to say anything. But Zoe helped him out.

“Maybe I’ve been wrong about him.”

Josh stared, then clutched at his chest. “Two apologies and a confession in one day. You’re killing me, Zoe.”

“Shut up. Or it’ll never happen again.”

The rest of the afternoon felt as bright as the sun. The teams practiced until dusk, and then, after dinner, Josh and Zoe entertained their kidlets by playing hide-and-go-seek in the dark. Of course, they had to pretend they didn’t see Shana’s fairy wings, which stuck out of every hiding place, and they tended to run a little slower when they spotted Devon, who always carried little Giz on his back. They ended the night with Memory Time, laughing with Zoe over another of her stories about her dad.

They tucked Shana, Giz, and Sam into bed, letting Maddie and Devon stay up a little longer, as usual. But finally, even the older two gave up trying to stay awake—the outing and the games had exhausted them. Zoe and Josh sank into the pillows of their little living room, watching the flickering candles they left burning at bedtime, like night-lights.

“This was a good day,” said Zoe.

“Yeah. It was.”

Outside they could hear a faraway voice, and someone laughing. It gave Josh a pleasant, secure feeling—like the one he used to get when he heard his parents talking in the kitchen after he’d gone to bed.

“Josh?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for being such a good guy.” To Josh’s surprise, she leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder and putting one hand on his thigh. He felt his body stir, knew that this was the moment he could change their relationship from friends to something else. But then he thought of Hamim, the way his face looked whenever he was near Zoe, and he sighed. Awkwardly, he lifted his arm and put it around Zoe, patting her shoulder as a brother would. They sat quietly together, not speaking, and Josh felt himself drifting toward sleep.

The nightmare lay waiting for him.

In his dream, he heard Maddie cry out, and Shana shriek. There was the sound of things crashing to the floor, garbled words that he didn’t understand. He tried to get up, but his arms and legs felt pinned. Peering deeper into his delirium, he saw dark figures lurching around the room, clambering over furniture, grabbing at the kidlets.

And then the true horror hit.

It wasn’t a dream.