“No one said you had to decide this second. She’s not going anywhere.” Jeb glanced down at me, still grinning. The eye closest to me—the one Jared couldn’t see—closed quickly and opened again. A wink. “Not after all the trouble she took to get here. You’ve got plenty of time to think it through.”
“There’s nothing to think through. Melanie is dead. But I can’t—I can’t—Jeb, I can’t just…” Jared couldn’t seem to finish the sentence.
Tell him.
I’m not ready to die right this second.
“Don’t think about it, then,” Jeb told him. “Maybe you’ll figure something out later. Give it some time.”
“What are we going to do with it? We can’t keep watch on it round the clock.”
Jeb shook his head. “That’s exactly what we’re going to have to do for a while. Things will calm down. Even Kyle can’t preserve a murderous rage for more than a few weeks.”
“A few weeks? We can’t afford to play guard down here for a few weeks. We have other things —”
“I know, I know.” Jeb sighed. “I’ll figure something out.”
“And that’s only half the problem.” Jared looked at me again; a vein in his forehead pulsed. “Where do we keep it? It’s not like we have a cell block.”
Jeb smiled down at me. “You’re not going to give us any trouble, now, are you?”
I stared at him mutely.
“Jeb,” Jared muttered, upset.
“Oh, don’t worry about her. First of all, we’ll keep an eye on her. Secondly, she’d never be able to find her way out of here—she’d wander around lost until she ran into somebody. Which leads us to number three: she’s not that stupid.” He raised one thick white eyebrow at me. “You’re not going to go looking for Kyle or the rest of them, are you? I don’t think any of them are very fond of you.”
I just stared, wary of his easy, chatty tone.
“I wish you wouldn’t talk to it like that,” Jared muttered.
“I was raised in a politer time, kid. I can’t help myself.” Jeb put one hand on Jared’s arm, patting lightly. “Look, you’ve had a full night. Let me take the next watch here. Get some sleep.”
Jared seemed about to object, but then he looked at me again and his expression hardened.
“Whatever you want, Jeb. And… I don’t—I won’t accept responsibility for this thing. Kill it if you think that’s best.”
I flinched.
Jared scowled at my reaction, then turned his back abruptly and walked the same way the others had gone. Jeb watched him go. While he was distracted, I crept back into my hole.
I heard Jeb settle slowly to the ground beside the opening. He sighed and stretched, popping a few joints. After a few minutes, he started whistling quietly. It was a cheery tune.
I curled myself around my bent knees, pressing my back into the farthest recess of the little cell. Tremors started at the small of my back and ran up and down my spine. My hands shook, and my teeth chattered softly together, despite the soggy heat.
“Might as well lie down and get some sleep,” Jeb said, whether to me or to himself, I wasn’t sure. “Tomorrow’s bound to be a tough one.”
The shivers passed after a time—maybe half an hour. When they were gone, I felt exhausted. I decided to take Jeb’s advice. Though the floor felt even more uncomfortable than before, I was unconscious in seconds.
The smell of food woke me. This time I was groggy and disoriented when I opened my eyes. An instinctive sense of panic had my hands trembling again before I was fully conscious.
The same tray sat on the ground beside me, identical offerings on it. I could both see and hear Jeb. He sat in front of the cave in profile, looking straight ahead down the long round corridor and whistling softly.
Driven by my fierce thirst, I sat up and grabbed the open bottle of water.
“Morning,” Jeb said, nodding in my direction.
I froze, my hand on the bottle, until he turned his head and started whistling again.
Only now, not quite so desperately thirsty as before, did I notice the odd, unpleasant aftertaste to the water. It matched the acrid taste of the air, but it was slightly stronger. The tang lingered in my mouth, inescapable.
I ate quickly, this time saving the soup for last. My stomach reacted more happily today, accepting the food with better grace. It barely gurgled.
My body had other needs, though, now that the loudest ones had been sated. I looked around my dark, cramped hole. There weren’t a lot of options visible. But I could barely contain my fear at the thought of speaking up and making a request, even of the bizarre but friendly Jeb.
I rocked back and forth, debating. My hips ached from curving to the bowled shape of the cave.
“Ahem,” Jeb said.
He was looking at me again, his face a deeper color under the white hair than usual.
“You’ve been stuck in here for a while,” he said. “You need to… get out?”
I nodded.
“Don’t mind a walk myself.” His voice was cheerful. He sprang to his feet with surprising agility.