Chalk grimaced. “Not while I’m eating, please.”
They were sitting apart from the others, something they often did. They were comfortable by themselves, sharing conversations that belonged just to them. No one bothered them when they separated themselves like this, either because they all knew that was the way the two liked it or because they didn’t care anyway or some of both.
Chalk finished his meal and hunched down, pulling his knees up against his chest and hugging them. His pale skin looked even paler, reflecting starlight against the night’s deep blackness. “I wish we were back in the city. Back in our home. I don’t like it out here.”
“You’d like it less back in Seattle just about now,” Fixit declared drily.
“Sure, I know that. But I felt better in the city, in the home we built for ourselves. I felt safer.”
Fixit nodded. He didn’t feel particularly safe out here, either. He didn’t like change. He liked things to stay the way they were, and now nothing was the same.
“At least Hawk’s back with us,” he said.
“Hawk’s not Hawk anymore.”
Fixit stared at him. “Sure he is. What are you talking about?”
“Haven’t you been paying attention? Hawk’s changed. He’s not like us anymore. He’s some sort of fairy creature or something now. He’s the savior of mankind. He fell off a wall and nothing happened to him. He was taken to some gardens in a ball of light and brought back again. He touches dying people and animals and makes them well again. How’s that like the Hawk we knew?”
Fixit scowled. “Sometimes you sound like your brain isn’t working.”
Chalk shrugged. “Look in a mirror if you want to see what’s not working.”
Fixit ignored him. “You’re twisting things around. Hawk is the boy and we are his children; that’s the way it’s always been. So what does it matter if now we know he’s something more than what we thought. Is that so bad? Does it seem bad to you? He’s leading us to a safe place, something we always knew would happen. How many times has Owl told us the story? Now we’re going, along with some other kids and some adults and maybe some Freaks, too. So what? Just so we get there in one piece!”
Chalk threw up his hands. “Jeez, Fix! You should listen to yourself! You sound like someone who thinks that if he wishes hard enough for something, it will happen. Hawk’s going to save us. Hawk’s the boy who will lead his children. It’s just a story, dummo. Even I know that much. A good story, and we want it to happen, but think about it! Logan Tom says it’s all over, the world’s coming to an end, and you think a boy who’s not really a boy, but a fairy creature, is gonna save us? How’s he gonna do that? He couldn’t even save himself when he was thrown off the compound wall. He had to be saved by someone else!”
“That doesn’t change anything,” Fixit insisted stubbornly. “He’s still Hawk, and he’s still leading us.”
“Yeah, I know, I know. He’s leading and we’re following. So what are we arguing about?” Chalk seemed unwilling to pursue the matter further. He brushed at his shaggy white-blond hair with one hand. “I just wish we were back in the city. I just wish none of this was happening.”
Fixit studied him a moment, then nodded. “Me, too.”
“Yeah? Really?”
“Sure. You think I like being out here any better than you do? I miss my equipment, all the good stuff I built to protect us and help keep us alive. I miss my manuals. I couldn’t bring most of them with me. Too much weight and stuff. I had to pick a few and leave the rest.” He paused. “I haven’t even looked at them since we left. Too much happening.”
They were silent then, keeping their thoughts private as they stared off into the dark. Off to one side, Panther was arguing with Bear and Cat. His voice was strident. Fixit watched them for a moment, and then glanced over at Candle, who was sitting next to Cheney. The big dog was asleep, but she was petting his head gently, looking down at him. Then she looked up suddenly and caught Fixit staring at her. The boy blushed for no reason and waved awkwardly. She waved back, but she didn’t look happy.
“What’s happened to Candle, do you think?” he asked Chalk.
“Something’s happened?”
“Well, she doesn’t seem to get those, you know, ‘premonitions’ anymore. Since we left the city, she hasn’t warned us once about being in danger, not even when we really were.” He paused, thinking. “Not since that kid with the burned face took her away.”
Chalk thought about it. “Guess that’s right. What do you think happened to her?”
“I don’t know. I’m just saying.”