chapter 26 locks mean nothing to ghosts Derek Rose Clarence the twins bullet me seven of us Meg was considering coming but at the last minute decided to stay back you're just as good as I as good with the gun as I am and Clarence and bullet can track I'm getting too old for this kind of thing he settled in with my dad to annotate maps with new information construction sites the burnt out school all right I'll leave you old grandpas too but then I sassed the real Warriors will take care of this they chuckled as they sauntered away I smiled but it was fragile I felt an acute pessimism about the back of my throat that when they were when they were together how could anyone be so lucky as to have two fathers at this horrible time something had to give Last Chance Meg I'll give you a head start if you need it I called over my shoulder nah you go there's no Adventure out there left for me anymore I'm done we rolled out of Camp within the hour we didn't have much light left in the day and needed to find them before dark leaving it to the next day might mean we'd lose track of them or Worse they'd discover us first yeah what was left of the day was gray and windy wind caused problems out here with so much moisture in the air and loose dirt from both tectonic upheavals and the new species of Flora tearing up the topsoil it was like thin mud being thrown constantly in your face I was glad for the bandana as we wore soon enough we passed the place I'd found Rose waiting for me in the trees I turned back now to watch her walking behind me red printed fabric over her nose and mouth a rifle slung on her slender back with a sling crafted for repurposed seat belts she gave me a thumbs up and I returned the gesture I hope we find an elder tree said just ahead someone who can help against the school zekwon finished no one could replace Minerva but we'd be lying if we said finding someone like her wasn't on everyone's mind these days bullet slowed a bit so that she was walking we were walking in tandem she was wearing Three Shades of denim and an old Fedora over cropped hair this is your first welcoming party I nodded even though it wasn't a question we come in full aggression she tapped the top of her hat so that it tipped lower on her brow trying to keep the grid from her good eye but what if there are children in the camp what if they're friendlies and what if they're not she turned to me slightly better to apologize later than to have to bury a friend or worse there's something worse than that yeah not being able to bury them she tilted her head forward and picked up her Pace passing in front of in front once more riri's face flashed in front of my eyes and I took a misstep and stumbled over a root my rifle sliding to my side I caught it in my hands and I readjusted the back black Paisley Swatch over my face you couldn't let wounds take your focus out here soon we were crouched in a line behind a cluster of rock taking stock of the newcomers four tents military style A-frames a small fire with the Metal's great slid over top where they were cooking beans in a tinned pot one camper was washing up an old in an old red mop bucket with a Crackdown mess down the side he wore his hair in a floppy mullet shot through with silver something about his eyes reminded me of Minerva and I wondered if they were related my stomach pinched up two black women sat stirring the beans and talking about a shared memory from back from the city about a play where a main actor had been too drunk to recite his lines with their loose sentence structure and the melodic give and the take allowing an approach to conversation I knew they were Guyanese after the weather got violent and the islands were battered the West Indian population here had swollen they laughed together and I grew nostalgic for my old life there were two other campers standing by one of the tents and it was them if I'm honest that made it easier for us to build aggression before we stormed in they were having what appeared to be a casual conversation with a relaxed ease about their posture neither them was armed and one had a towel wrapped above his head like a turban having just finished bathing but it was their paleness that set us on edge one man had a long blonde hair loose across his shoulders the second in the turban had his shirt off and he was pale except where his sleeves went have ended and the skin was burned pink but no old people what to make of this diverse group we hesitated swinging between optimism and immediate hate I wish to make had to come he'd always knew what to do and even when he didn't he could tell which one of us would have the Pitch Perfect Instinct for the moment to advise it was Derek who made the call getting to his feet pulling his band down a high over the bridge of his nose stuffing his braid into the back of his shirt frig let's just go days fading fast and for once I agreed with him we slid from behind the Rock and cut through the trees like moving water crashing over the camp in ones and twos I grabbed the mullet guy who was starting to put up no fight let's go over to the fire on your knees the women were already on the ground beans boiling over unattended they held hands together while they lay on their stomachs bullets standing over them with a crossbow just relax right there ladies relax and I won't be forced to use this Derek had the long-haired blonde Man by the back of the neck he steered him over to the fire and pushed him down hard in the mud near the mullet who would settle back on his considerable ass by this point geez man watch out okay I'm not arguing with you shut it Derek's eyes were hostile Over the Horizon of the fabric he pushed the muzzle of his gun into the man's spine sending him sprawling on his stomach dude all right I'm just gonna stay here just like this the man raised his hands above his head and folded them there seeking reprieve boy asked him Clarence had the other man with his pink arms held behind his back walking over the group enough now we uh have to assess first he tried to cover up his careless Cree with English we worked hard to disguise ourselves especially our indigeneity around newcomers asked him the man turned his head back towards his captor eyes wide mouth opening to speak again it was unlike Clarence to be violent so what happened next was more about his embarrassment over the slip up than his true nature never mind you he growled and grabbing the man's shoulder and jerking him so violently his towel was knocked off in a shock of dark hair fell over his face he fell to one knee in the scuffle Landing heart ow Jesus he hissed Rose stamped her foot on the damp ground I can't do this she helped him to his feet and brought him over to the fire so he could pick the rocks out of his bloody knee he nodded his head to add her Kaneka School Mitten and Clarence and Derek exchanged the look and Rose helped the women up next sitting everyone in a row one beside the other are you from the schools one of the women asked Are You Bullet answered with the question us oh God no she scoffed we're helping to keep people from the down schools and looked over at the mullet who was sitting up against a tree trunk cleaning his nails with a sharp stick and how exactly are you doing that and the women explained that they had been nurses at the Sudbury hospital and saw the treatments and the volunteer studies firsthand they talked about their first mission taking children my brother and a sister out of the program and secreting them away through a series of friends and allies and in the meantime Clarence had lowered himself to a Crouch and was in a low conversation with the shirtless man who thanked Rose and Cree he couldn't help himself Clarence was a curator of Cree he loved his language the way Minerva had loved us with pride in an enthusiasm of old potential repurposed we stood in silence for a few minutes weapons still pointed at our prisoners we waited for Clarence or bullet to tell us what came next if we were taking them back with us or leaving them here or I didn't really want to think of any other alternative Derek tree zigwan keep an eye on our guests Clarence spoke up he called them guests so I guess that was a good sign and he was using our real names out loud too the not of anxiety between my shoulders slackened Rose French bullet a word please he walked away from the fire pit over behind the tents Clarence peering into each one as we passed looking for missed bodies or weapons we stood in a tight Circle I could tell by her face bullet was annoyed with her gentle-handedness what will serve them for a bedtime snack Clarence waved off her sarcasm the shirtless one one of the two pale men he's Cree are you certain it's not all that difficult for a recruiter to learn one of our languages he could have just started speaking it when he heard you use it first bullet was sharp Clarence side kicking a rock by his foot I know that's on me but I'm certain he's speaking an old Cree I don't even fully know he's way more fluent than me or anyone else I've met and he and walked his lineage back and what about the others there's there's only one native in the bunch beside this besides this Cree in Disguise bullet was still skeptical their allies real allies they put their lives on the line it's not just talk you heard them Clarence insisted there may be weight Rose cut him off is he as fluent as Minerva was I saw right away where she was headed so I stated the obvious but but he's not old I mean not Elder kind of old why does he have to be old she was excited now I could see it flashing in her dark eyes like the clouds of fireflies that made summer nights frantic with light the key doesn't have to be old the language already is we stood there for a minute the wrinkles and bullets forehead smoothed out like a sheet pulled tight Clarence I said I need to ask him something and then we'll know he nodded I walked back to the fire grabbing a red checkered shirt from a low Branch by the last tent Twins were standing over the nurses and the niche their guns pointed towards the ground Derek was watching the two men he kept his rifle trained on the small space between their heads and I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed letting him know that I had this I threw the shirt to the man Clarence I'd spoken to he nodded gratitude and pulled it on buttoning the front over his damp skin how do you dream he looked up and I and it wasn't hard to see his Nation there it was there in his light eyes the way they angled down and avoided roundness just slightly it was in the right corners of his high cheeks and the smooth flatness of his lips it was there in the question he posed back with just the movement of his eyebrows I mean what does it sound like come again I sighed I hoped he wasn't in a mood to stall what language do you dream in he smiled and his lips parted to show rows of bright teeth and I already knew what he was going to say a big man and I watched the word leave his mouth felt it fall over my face Through The Damp cotton damp with breath and mud and it raised the skin on my arms to bumps I dream and Cree I looked back over to the small Council and nodded smiling pack him up Clarence called out we were getting close now passing the log once more I slowed down hoping to walk with rose the remainder of the trip instead I ended up beside the cree he smiled so I tried to make a small talk now that we were able to talk our aggressive bravado away even bullet had softened smiling at the back of the line while the nurses laughed and hit and teased each other so how long have you been in the bush oh years too long were you always with these people I've been with Talia and Helene the nurses since the beginning they're the ones who helped me to get out of the school I was brought in to their hospital for blood work to determine my eligibility and well here we are he put air quotes around eligibility what do you mean eligibility he pushed air air out of his nose and smiled full of bitterness to make sure my blood wasn't too mixed can't catch a break for being a half breed any way you look at it I stayed silent my family didn't really have those problems no one mistook us for anything other than what we were and I wondered if we were lucky or not my family my stolen family how did you stay alive in there my voice betrayed the small sliver of Hope sliding under my skin I heard it's pretty Grim I had somewhere I needed to be he pushed back the hair from his forehead someone I needed to be with and that's when I saw it the dark lines curving from under his middle knuckle rounding The Ridges of vein settling just under the cuff of his plaid sleeve a tattoo of a buffalo on the back of his hand Isaac his eyes grew wide he dropped his hair so it swung back into his face and his feet slowed how do you know my name that bundle I carried in my chest the one that inflated when I heard about our triumphs the one that ate with our losses the same place where the my love for Rose nested and the painful memories were enshrined and mourned from there came the push and I set off running French hey what's the matter tree yelled after me I couldn't answer I had to get to Mig now the moon was hoisted to the center of the sky as I ran a big stage Spotlight among the smaller bulbs of stars it illuminated the green expanse between trees and the rocky outcroppings that marked the start of our camp the grass here was waist high with clusters of sleepy blooms nodding their heavy heads in the blue light and I ran into the clearing I pulled my breath in to yell it burned all the way down my throat into my belly Meg wands and a crows startled by my smoke motion a lighted from a branch to the right calling his displeasure a staccato of anxiety stitching the darker the night a darker blue a short silence was followed by the quick Shuffle of feet and the bouncing strobe of flashlights in hands a small group came into view from the denser Pines by The Rock I bent into hands on knees gasping for air to call Mig to me to us Meg wands the group spoke low amongst themselves and there was movement I raised a hand to block out the glare and saw Meg pushing through the bodies to the front of the group French I laughed out the next ragged breath I didn't know I was crying until I closed my eyes and the water dropped onto my cheeks hitting the backs of my hands he took a step towards me then he stopped and Shawn his flashlight into the trees there was crashing behind me as the others caught up and I turned my head and still bent over to catch my breath expecting Derek or quick bullet but it was him it was Isaac at the head of the party he slowed to a walk now the welcoming party and newcomers falling in behind he slowed all of his movements as if focusing his eyes and reconciling what they saw took motion from his muscles I heard it sounded like an echo turned inside out and then Mig who had been standing still trying to see to understand under the blue smoke of moonlight finally took a step forward meguan's is that you Isaac's words jumped up his throat like heartbeats each book ended with a pause that set then settling in the grass like blood coagulating we couldn't move for it I couldn't breathe and Meg opened his mouth the movement unhinged his legs and he fell to his knees knocking down the grass like so much chaff he he held out his hands out palms turning upward in a slow belly of bone marrow intact after all this time under the crowded Sky against the Broken Ground Isaac and I heard it in his voice as Mig wands began to weep I watched it in the steps that pulled Isaac the man who dreamed in Cree home to his love the love who carried him against the rib in the breath and the hurt of his chest a ceremony in a glass vial and I understood that as long as there are dreamers left there will never be want for a dream and I understood just what we would do for each other which is what we would do for the ebb and the pull of the dream the bigger dream that held us all anything everything