Two tall men from the Valley of the Sun stand in front of some of our people, long dark hair held down by gold sun crowns, and they have guns, actual guns! They’re holding them up to Uncle Sorren and the other Cottage Hill people, like they’re saying don’t get any closer.
Marta’s speaking flat out in the strange language with Gerra and another woman from the Valley of the Sun. This woman is much older but still her hair is black and straight, not all grey and frizzy like the elders of our village.
‘What’s happening?’ Uncle Sorren calls.
‘They think we were hiding Gerra here,’ she says. ‘Coz we hid her boat and someone’s pulled the wires on their machine.’
‘Tell them I can bring her boat, we only hid it for her safety,’ he says.
‘I told them already. I told them we’ve done nothing but rescue and care for her, and she’s told them we’ve been kind,’ Marta says and throws up her hands. ‘But her siblings are dead or missing and someone’s pulled the wires from the machine, and that makes it look like we’s covering up.’
‘Tell them about Jacob’s village,’ I say, and Marta frowns at me hard, and my ma grabs my arm.
‘We do not spread rumours,’ Marta says to me with her lips real straight.
I nod.
‘Go look after the kids,’ Ma whispers and pushes me away.
‘Who here would pull the wires after seeing Neoma’s head?’ Marta asks the Cottage Hill people. ‘Whoever it was will have to own up and explain why, so it will stop looking like we tried to cover something up.’
The adults all look at each other, and nobody answers. I could go away like I was told to. Jus’ walk away like Jag’s already started to. But I don’t and he stops, waiting for me.
The woman with the black hair that should be grey speaks again, and Marta holds up her hands and tries to calm her down. Even Gerra tries to make her stop.
Marta’s face goes real pale. ‘She says we were told not to touch it or we would die. She says it is an offence to touch their equipment and whoever did it must be punished. And if no one comes forward she will punish me for letting it happen.’
All the adults shout at once how it’s not our law, we never wanted that stuff on our hill, and it’s unfair. The men with the guns yell and wave them around, but no one is quietening down.
‘It was me!’ I yell. ‘It was me!’ I scream. ‘I DID IT!’
