“Why didn’t you let her die?” he asked. He had to swallow hard; a sob was threatening in his voice. This was all the more painful to hear because it was not the sound a child makes, frightened of the unknown, but the fully comprehending agony of an adult. It was so hard not to reach out and put my hand on his cheek. I wanted to hug him to me and beg him not to be sad. I curled my hands into fists and tried to concentrate on his question. Jeb’s eyes flickered to my hands and back to my face.
“I wasn’t in on the decision,” I murmured. “I was still in a hibernation tank in deep space when that happened.”
Jamie blinked again in surprise. My answer was nothing he’d expected, and I could see him struggling with some new emotion. I glanced at Jeb; his eyes were bright with curiosity.
The same curiosity, though more wary, won out with Jamie. “Where were you coming from?” he asked.
In spite of myself, I smiled at his unwilling interest. “Far away. Another planet.”
“What was —” he started to ask, but he was interrupted by another question.
“What the hell?” Jared shouted at us, frozen with fury in the act of rounding the corner at the end of the tunnel. “Damn it, Jeb! We agreed not to —”
Jamie wrenched himself upright. “Jeb didn’t bring me here. But you should have.”
Jeb sighed and got slowly to his feet. As he did so, the gun rolled from his lap onto the floor. It stopped only a few inches from me. I scooted away, uncomfortable.
Jared had a different reaction. He lunged toward me, closing the length of the hallway in a few running strides. I cowered into the wall and covered my face with my arms. Peeking around my elbow, I watched him jerk the gun up from the floor.
“Are you trying to get us killed?” he almost screamed at Jeb, shoving the gun into the old man’s chest.
“Calm down, Jared,” Jeb said in a tired voice. He took the gun in one hand. “She wouldn’t touch this thing if I left it down here alone with her all night. Can’t you see that?” He stabbed the barrel of the gun toward me, and I cringed away. “She’s no Seeker, this one.”
“Shut up, Jeb, just shut up!”
“Leave him alone,” Jamie shouted. “He didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You!” Jared shouted back, turning on the slim, angry figure. “You get out of here now, or so help me!”
Jamie balled his fists and stood his ground.
Jared’s fists came up, too.
I was rooted in place with shock. How could they scream at each other this way? They were family, the bonds between them stronger than any blood tie. Jared wouldn’t hit Jamie—he couldn’t! I wanted to do something, but I didn’t know what to do. Anything that brought me to their attention would only make them angrier.
For once, Melanie was calmer than I was. He can’t hurt Jamie, she thought confidently. It’s not possible.
I looked at them, facing off like enemies, and panicked.
We should never have come here. See how unhappy we’ve made them, I moaned.
“You shouldn’t have tried to keep this a secret from me,” Jamie said between his teeth. “And you shouldn’t have hurt her.” One of his hands unclenched and flew out to point at my face.
Jared spit on the floor. “That’s not Melanie. She’s never coming back, Jamie.”
“That’s her face,” Jamie insisted. “And her neck. Don’t the bruises there bother you?”
Jared dropped his hands. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “You will either leave right now, Jamie, and give me some space, or I will make you leave. I am not bluffing. I can’t deal with any more right now, okay? I’m at my limit. So can we please have this conversation later?” He opened his eyes again; they were full of pain.
Jamie looked at him, and the anger drained slowly from his face. “Sorry,” he muttered after a moment. “I’ll go… but I’m not promising that I won’t come back.”
“I can’t think about that now. Go. Please.”
Jamie shrugged. He threw one more searching look at me, and then he left, his quick, long stride making me ache again for the time I’d missed.
Jared looked at Jeb. “You, too,” he said in a flat voice.
Jeb rolled his eyes. “I don’t think you’ve had a long enough break, to be honest. I’ll keep an eye on —”
“Go.”
Jeb frowned thoughtfully. “Okay. Sure.” He started down the hall.
“Jeb?” Jared called after him.
“Yeah?”
“If I asked you to shoot it right now, would you do it?”
Jeb kept walking slowly, not looking at us, but his words were clear. “I’d have to. I follow my own rules. So don’t ask me unless you really mean it.”
He disappeared into the dark.
Jared watched him go. Before he could turn his glower on me, I ducked into my uncomfortable sanctuary and curled up in the back corner.
CHAPTER 18
Bored
I spent the rest of the day, with one brief exception, in total silence.
That exception occurred when Jeb brought food for both Jared and me several hours later. As he set the tray inside the entrance to my tiny cave, he smiled at me apologetically.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“You’re welcome,” he told me.
I heard Jared grunt, irritated by our small exchange.
That was the only sound Jared made all day. I was sure he was out there, but there was never so much as an audible breath to confirm that conviction.