It was a cold, rainy morning when we hauled our bags on the back of a rusty old pickup truck. The sky was dark—pitch black due to it being early, and it seemed like it was supposed to be nighttime. That was why I was so confused when Stephanie gently shook me awake and told me to get dressed. I hadn’t slept well, and I didn’t think she did either, because there were dark circles under her eyes. She also was in one of those moods where she didn’t really seem like talking much because she hadn’t gotten her cup of coffee yet.

I had three pairs of pants, shirts, underwear, pajamas and toothbrush that were neatly folded into the battered suitcase that Stephanie had managed to find for me. My blankets and pillow were tied together in a plastic bag. Since I didn’t really own a coat, she had given me her old one—which was blue and very big on me—so much that the sleeves draped down to my knees. Before I left my hut, I stared at it for a long time at the empty dirt floor, which looked foreign to me. Only the table remained in the corner. I picked up my things and stepped out into the pouring rain.

Mary immediately held an umbrella over my head to shield me from the downfall. She frowned and stared at my muddy bare feet, before loudly setting down her own luggage.

”No, no, no. This won’t do.”

“What?” I asked. “What won’t do?”

“You need a proper pair of shoes,” she murmured, suddenly handing me the umbrella. “How could Dad never have even gotten you a pair?” She sighed and began to walk off. “Stay right there.”

The headlights of the truck made the rain more visible. Its engine was rattling the dented hood, and the man who was supposed to be driving us down gave me a polite smile. He was more soaked than I was, dressed in a poncho. I waved at him.

The sloshing sound of water made me look up. Mary knelt down with a small pair of black boots in her left hand, breathing heavily. Strands of blonde hair were plastered to her forehead, and water dripped from her chin. “Give me your left foot.”

“Where did you get those from?”

Her dark blue eyes narrowed as I stepped into one. It felt warm and slippery, and the sensation was unfamiliar to me. “You need to stop asking so many questions. The city isn’t going to be as kind to those grubby little toes of yours as it is down here, so you will be need to wearing these every day. I don’t want to hear any complaining from you.” As she finished securing the laces around my other foot, she gave it a light pat. “There we are.”

I shifted uncomfortably. “They’re too tight.”

”They are not,” she replied, grabbing the umbrella from my hand. “And I don’t want to see you without them. Is that clear?”

“You’re not the boss of me.”

“Oh, yes I am,” Mary fired back. Her cheeks were red. “Since I’m helping with rent, Dad let me know I have full responsibility over you. So what I say, goes. I make the rules.” She folded her arms. “You’re not about to bother Stephanie. She’s an old lady and hasn’t been feeling well lately. So the last thing we need is for you to act a fool while she’s in this state. You and I are going to have a talk later about what I expect from you. Because the behavior you’ve shown down here is completely unacceptable, and I’m not about to put up with it in Flanders. Is that clear?”

I stared at her, unsure what to say, surprised at her tone. My eyes began to burn a little.

“Is that clear?” she demanded.

“Yes,” I murmured.

“Thank you.”

“You’re beginning to sound a lot like him,” I quietly said. And suddenly, I wondered if my father was sending us away because of what I had done. A deep wave of guilt fell over me. I hadn’t meant to. Not really.

”Who?”

“Papa. You’re think you’re a grownup, but you’re not. Not even close. I wish you wouldn’t try to act like one to impress him. You’re still a teenager. And teenagers are allowed to make mistakes. Grown ups aren’t.”

Not waiting for her reaction, I picked up my suitcase and bedding, marching to the truck bed. As I placed them over the surface, I suddenly heard another voice. Stephanie and Mary were walking over to another shadow in the distance. Papa had reached us, and it was one of the rare times that I had seen him not in his uniform. He wore a baggy button down shirt, faded jeans, all soaked from the rain. He hadn’t even bothered to put a coat on, but he had a large straw hat on top of his thick blonde hair.

They embraced. Not wanting to see him, I climbed on top of the truck bed, the cracked surface making the mud rushing around the the tires. Sitting down on the cold floor, I let my legs dangle over the edge, folding my arms. The boots were already squeezing my toes. I took off my glasses and put them deep in my pocket because the rain had soaked my frames. But I could hear slow footsteps, the slopping shoes in the muddy puddles. I kept my gaze focused the shiny black edge of my left boot, shivering.

Papa’s voice made me flinch. “Just want to tell you goodbye. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

I glared at the blurry mess of colors that were supposed to make up his form. He began to reach out and give me a hug, but I scooted away. In my peripheral vision, I could see his face fall as he lowered his arms. To my surprise, he took off the straw hat he was wearing and placed on top of my head. The rim instantly shielded my face from the rain, and he lightly patted my head.

“Take care, little man.”

Ignoring him, I turned my body to the other side, not wanting him to see the water building in my eyes. Papa gave me a long look as Mary and Stephanie both climbed onto the truck bed. He then handed the driver a wad of cash, and as he got in and slammed the door, he stood in the middle of muddy road, shoving his hands into his pockets. As we began to pull off, smoke rose from the exhaust pipe. I finally looked at him once we were about a mile away. He was waving slowly, his arm extended in the air. I leaned my head against the side of the truck’s pickup bed until he became a dot.

I counted as many trees and mountains as I possibly could, but whispered each number. Then I attempted to do the same with each passing car and street sign once we entered the most busy streets. My sister first dozed off. Her golden hair had undone itself from its bun was blowing wildly in the wind. She looked like a lion. Holding back a giggle, I turned to glance at Stephanie, who was attempting to keep her eyes open, but it wasn’t long until she had fallen asleep as well. The rushing wind caused the rim of my straw hat to sway.

After many, many hours, I lifted Mary’s arm and wrapped it around me, before snuggling against her.

* * * * * * *

A jolt in the road woke all of us up.

Stephanie sat up with a grunt, rubbing the back of her head. Mary yawned and stretched, struggling to do the same. Climbing out from the bags that were squishing me, I lazily opened one eye. Once I put on my glasses, I was surprised to see that it had stopped raining, but the sky was still cloudy and gray. The wind blew against my face as we drove close to several crowded buildings ahead, and I could see other vehicles in a long line, their red taillights glowing on and off. Someone honked, and two drivers were in the middle of argument in the midst of more blaring horns. Gripping my hands against the side of the truck bed, I leaned out as far as I could and loudly gasped.

”Careful! Please, be careful!” Stephanie exclaimed, reaching out and yanking me back. “Are you trying to break your neck?”

“Look, look!” A smile formed on my mouth as I pointed up at the sky. “Look! A rainbow!”

Mary fumbled in her coat pocket and pulled out three faded pieces of paper. “Here. Everyone needs to take their identification papers, because they’ll be checking for them at the gate.” She held one to me. “Do not lose it, you hear me? You do that, they won’t let you go anywhere. Put that in your pocket and zip it good.” Annoyed, she began to pull her unruly hair back into its bun.

”It’s so colorful,” I murmured, staring at the looming presence above. “I wish I could wake up to one every day in my room.”

Stephanie smiled. “You know, rainbows usually come out after every storm.”

“Will we see more of them here?”

Mary didn’t say anything. Her face was pale. As our truck rolled closer to a large metal gate, I could see several men standing in front of it. He held a very large weapon with a strange hook on its end. My sister’s hand suddenly wrapped around mine and gave it a tight squeeze. Her eyes did not meet my own—they were focused on the man who had his gaze on her. Then I saw a red symbol on his jacket. His uniform looked a lot like the kind Papa and his men wore.

“Papers,” he barked.

Stephanie gave her a questioning glance as we all handed them over. I didn’t like how his gaze traveled to me, and a pit suddenly formed in my stomach. He took them without another word and showed them to another man in an even more strange suit. Beads of sweat appeared on my sister’s forehead. I wanted to ask her what was wrong, but knew it was best to remain silent. When the man came back, he released a puff of his cigarette and held out a page.

The other guy watched us from the distance, knocking the edge of his rifle against his open palm. His hair was white as snow.

“Barthlow is your last name?”

“Yes, sir,” Mary said.

But it wasn’t. Templin was. I was about to say so, but she jabbed her elbow into my side. I gave her an annoyed look.

”Ow!”

Stephanie began to cough heavily, and the man scanned her up and down, before jerking a meaty thumb at her. “This here is your grandmother?”

“Yes, sir,” my sister lied. “She’s been coming down with the flu lately. There’s all sorts of stuff floating around down south, you know, and she’s been having breathing issues. The air’s better up here. Also, she can rest easy at night without some psychotic shithead running about like a fucking animal. I can’t even go to work without worrying about the water supply. At least you guys are taking care of it up here.”

He looked pleased. “We do what we can.”

”Yes, sir.”

”Where you come from, girl? You look mighty young.”

”Navu,” Mary replied. “Westbound.”

The soldier loudly laughed. “Half of the damn country is traveling here because the government still can’t catch that failed science experiment—the asshole who’s been living them caves for the past six years. What a waste of taxpayer dollars. All of that research for nothing. Some rumors say that he’s not even human, that he’s half mixed with something. Anyway, I hope they shoot him in the head and leave him there. It’s been going on long enough.”

Unsure what they were talking about, I leaned my head against Mary’s shoulder. “I’m hungry,” I said. “Can’t we get something?”

She rubbed my upper arm. “Soon, okay?”

A deep chuckle came from the soldier. ”How old are you, little fellow?”

I smiled. “Five.”

”Better feed him,” he told Stephanie, before placing the papers in her expecting hand. “Go on ahead. You’re good.” He then knocked on the driver’s window and motioned him to keep going through the gate. Mary’s arm stiffened around me. It wasn’t until we entered past one of the toll booths that she finally loosened her grip.

* * * * * *

Our driver dropped us off at the side of the road, nearby a bustling sidewalk where many other cars were parked. Mary reached into her pocket to pay him, but he refused the money and drove off, the truck sputtering and leaving a stream of dark exhaust behind. I sneezed, causing snot to spread all over my coat sleeve. It had been to drizzle again, and Stephanie opened the umbrella. She faced my sister with a frown.

“You shouldn’t have spoken like that.”

A deep red haze settled across Mary’s face, but she immediately grabbed my hand. I couldn’t help but stare at the dazzling lights, thousands of people entering and leaving buildings. Graffiti was visible on the side of cracked brick walls, and cars sped in opposite directions down the road. I stared at the strange markings across the asphalt, and yellow tape marked off from where several construction workers in hard orange hats were drilling a large hole in the ground.

“What’s the address?” Mary whispered.

Stephanie pulled out a large map folded within her coat. “Rufus told me that the apartment complex is located on 6778 Fulder Street.” Her finger traced one out of the multiple dotted lines and glanced at the green rectangular sign. “We’re on Rosemary Avenue now, so that’s only a few blocks away. Not that long of a walk.”

I held out my hand. “Can I carry your bag?”

She gave me a small smile. “Might be too heavy. It’s bigger than you.”

“But you’re not feeling well. What if you get more sick?”

“Come on,” Mary said, picking up my suitcase from the sidewalk and grabbing my arm. “Don’t drag your bedding across the ground. I don’t want that plastic bag to rip.”

Several smells met my nose as we moved past crowds of people, some selling items on the side of the road. Large piles of garbage littered the sidewalk, and the stench that rose from them made my nose burn. A few stray dogs barked as they dug through the sewage tunnels, their tails wagging. I could make out a few men slumped in the alleyway, smoking from small white sticks.

I sneezed again as we finally approached a very, very tall building. My mouth dropped open when I saw how many windows it had, and we stepped through the strangest door I had ever seen—one that was rotating around so that people could go in and come out whenever they wanted to.

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The building had a very sour smell to it, and dead bugs rested on the fluorescent lights. The wallpaper was peeling. A heavyset man sat behind a glass window and was typing on a cracked computer screen. Sweat stains were visible under his sleeves. An empty takeout container rested near a strange, blinking machine. He took a loud sip from the paper cup of coffee and spun around. His nose twitched like a rabbit.

”How may I help you?” he asked in a monotoned voice.

I leaned forward to press my face against the glass, but Stephanie jerked me back. “No, don’t put your mouth on that. It’s dirty,” she said in hushed tone. “Germs.”

Mary folded her umbrella, causing drops of water to land on the linoleum floor. “We’re moving in. I’ve already covered the down payment.” She opened her wallet, pulled out her paper. “Barthlow. 7B, remember?”

The man sighed and stepped out of the tiny offices room. “Follow me, please.”

Clutching my suitcase, I began to hop on each different colored square. Grinning, I attempted to skip two of them at a time. The stairwell was dimly lit, and graffiti marked the walls. Stephanie held her breath at the sight, and we entered a very narrow hallway. I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the amount of doors there were, staring up at them from the rim of my straw hat. There were so many.

Our guide stopped in front of one. His keys jangled loudly in his hands.

Mary knelt beside me and gestured at the golden emblems on the wooden surface. “What does that say? Can you read it?”

I squinted my eyes. “7B?”

“Very good. You memorize that.”

* * * * * * * *

Stephanie attacked a large cobweb in our tiny family room with a broom. “I can’t believe that man. They don’t even have the decency to clean up after themselves. This place is filthy.” Clouds of dust rose in the air. “I’ll be damned. Talking about how that janitor hopes we can reach out if we need anything. How about the entire extermination company? He can start there.”

“Relax,” Mary muttered. She continued to scrub at the kitchen floor, bent on her knees. “It’s better than being out on the street.”

“Can we go look at some of the stores when we’re done?” I asked, wiping up some dead friends I had found on the windowsill. Their crushed legs and wings piled up on the rag. “There must be a thousand around here.”

“No, we’re going to eat supper and have our discussion before we do any sort of thing. It’s dangerous out here. The last thing I need is you running around and getting kidnapped.” Mary glared at me. “And I better not see you outside without shoes. We’re not in the village anymore, Rehan. I swear. Because if you catch something I can’t afford to take you to see a doctor. Not until I find a way to get insurance. And Dad will be pissed.”

I dropped my arms. “Why would Papa send us here, then, if this place is not safe?”

”No place is a hundred percent safe, honey,” Stephanie said. She swiped at another cobweb hanging over the kitchen pantry. “But this is a lot better than what’s going on down south. At least we have running water, okay? You just need to adjust. We all do.”

Grunting, I attempted to raise the window ledge. Mary stood up and helped me push it all the way. Her face was sweaty and hot. Stephanie leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. She wiped her forehead with her hand. Fresh air began to leak in, and we all sighed in relief at its coolness. The sound of bustling cars and honking were fainter.

“I’ll make supper after I head to the supermarket,” she wearily announced. “Let me get out the cookware.” Suddenly, she scratched her head. “I could’ve sworn it’s in one of these bags.”

“No,” Mary replied, grabbing both of her hands. “You take your medicine and rest. You remember what Dad said. I’ve got this. Rehan and I will unpack everything else. And I’ll start folding up our clothes.”

Stephanie gave her a soft smile, then gently patted her cheek. As she went into the other room, I glanced at Mary. She winked at me.

“But I’m starving,” I groaned.

“The longer you complain, the longer it’ll take for us to have dinner.” She bent down and tossed a bag at me. “Get moving.”

I made a face.

* * * * * * * *

The electricity faintly flickered above me as I unrolled my sleeping pallet and placed my pillow on top. Security’s absence made a lump rise in my throat, but I opened another small box and helped unload the plates and silverware into the strange wooden boxes my sister referred to as cabinets. To my surprise, when she pulled up a metal knob, fresh water came pouring out into the giant pan below that seeped into a hole. She called it a sink, and explained to me that we wouldn’t have to go to a well because we had plumbing. I couldn’t imagine having one already in our hut. I reached out with my hands to touch the cold, streaming water.

We placed the tapestry on the stained carpet to resemble mats, but the plain white walls made me frown. I missed the bamboo structure I was so used to seeing. And instead of hearing birds or crickets I heard thumping and people marching up and down the stairs. Someone was laughing hysterically in one of the rooms next to ours.

I changed into my clean pajamas. Untying my too small boots, I kicked them off, before dumping them into the hallway closet, hoping that they would never see the light of day again.

* * * * * * *

Mary carried a flat cardboard box and placed it on our makeshift table, which was an upside down plastic crate. She was in a baggy sweatshirt and plaid pajama pants. Her hair was stringy and wet because she had just finished taking a shower. I frowned as she lifted it up and stared at its contents. It had grease stains and large red spots all over it, and I wasn’t sure what to exactly make of the smell. Clamping a hand over my mouth, I took another peek.

“What’s that?”

“Our dinner,” she replied with a smile. “Pepperoni pizza. I ordered it in using the telephone downstairs. I’m still saving up for a cell phone.” When she pulled a triangular piece apart, the yellow stuff acted like glue once she set it down on my plate. Flinching, I moved back, causing her to laugh. She began to lick the side of her finger, where some of the gooey substance had gotten onto it. Then she poured me a glass of water from a pitcher and handed it over.

”Don’t just sit there, help yourself.”

“It’s alive,” I said. “See?”

”Melted cheese is always full of life.”

”Cheese?”

“If Dad were here, he’d tear this apart. This is the food that I used to have when I was really little. When I lived in Portia.” A grin spread across her face. “You don’t like anything that isn’t soup, huh? C’mon. Give it a try.” She took a large bite of the greasy mess and closed her eyes for a moment. “Still tastes the same when I was a kid.”

Slowly, I reached forward and took a tiny bite. Surprised at its flavor, I found myself downing the entire thing and licking the rest of my fingers. Picking at the crumbs at my plate, I couldn’t keep my eyes from the box.

“Good, huh?”

I eagerly nodded.

Mary winked at me. ”We’ll make sure to have as many home cooked meals as possible. But since it’s our first night here, I think we could use a little treat. Don’t you?”

I nodded. Still chewing, I loudly smacked my lips, which were covered in cheese and tomato sauce. “Can I have another one?”

”Let’s make sure Stephanie has some. She’s still sleeping.” Then her voice dropped to a whisper. “Maybe once she goes to bed, we can go to the supermarket and get ice cream. I have a little bit of an extra cash on me. How does cookies and cream sound?”

”In our pajamas? At night?”

”Sure, why not?” She smiled. “We’ll just wear our coats over them. The store is literally down the street, and I noticed that they’re open until ten. It’s only eight right now. And when we get back here, I can play a game with you. I brought a deck of cards.”

“Slapjack?!”

“You’re on.”

My eyes widened. “Really? I’ve only had ice cream one time before when Papa brought it home for my birthday. And it was vanilla.”

“You get to taste more of it here. They’ve got all sorts of flavors you can try. Strawberry, pistachio, rum raisin, chocolate—the whole deal. And they have soda pop, too.”

“Okay,” I whispered.

We sat silently sat there for a moment.

”Mary?”

”Hmm.”

”What’s a psychotic shithead?”

A loud gasp escaped from her mouth. ”No! No, no, no! Don’t you say that! Where did you—” Suddenly, she buried her face into her hands. “Oh no, no, no.”

I loudly slurped the rest of the water from my glass and held out my empty plate. “May I please have more pizza?”

”No!” Mary sharply said, slamming the lid on the cardboard box. “Absolutely not.”

My face fell. “Oh.”

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have yelled at you.” She fidgeted uncomfortably and looked away. “But don’t say that. Ever.”

“Why not?” I crossed my legs on top of the tapestry. “You did so yourself. And Stephanie got mad at you.”

“I shouldn’t have,” my sister softly said. “I didn’t want to, either. But it was the only way that man would let me through. I can tell that he’s more convinced if people speak like that.” She gently held my hand. “But please don’t ever say that again. It could get you in trouble.”

“Like going to jail?” I asked, adjusting my glasses. Then I clamped a hand over my mouth. “I don’t want to go to jail.”

“Then don’t be saying random stuff that just pops in your head.”

“You’re the one who called someone a psychotic shithead. Only grownups tell each other that. And you’re not one yet.” I reached for the box. “I want pizza.”

“Keep your voice down, will you? Stephanie’s resting.” Mary suddenly grabbed my shoulders. “Okay…okay. Okay. I was completely wrong. But that isn’t so far from the truth. It’s wrong to swear. You shouldn’t do it. It’s disrespectful and insulting to other people.”

“But why?” I bit into another warm slice.

“You’re not listening.” An exasperated sigh came from her. “I just told you why.”

“When they catch the madman, are they going to throw him in jail? Papa told me that there’s a lot of people sick in the head that deserve to be locked up forever. Because they’re evil. Just like Security.”

Her blue eyes widened in surprised, then she looked down. “It’s not that simple. Everything seems that way when you’re younger, but it actually becomes complicated. And you don’t know what to do or say. That…” she exhaled. “Forget what I said. Only that if people ask if our last name is Barthlow, you say yes. You say yes. Understand?”

”But our last name is Temp—”

”Please,” she said. “Dad told us.”

“But….” I sat up and hugged my knees. “Who is the madman that you were talking about? Does he live here? Or at home? Does he come by and attack people?”

Mary rested her back on the floor and folded her arms behind her head. She closed her eyes for a moment. I laid on my stomach, crossing my bare feet and resting my chin on my knuckles.

“If I tell you,” she whispered, “will you promise to not repeat it to anyone else? If you do, a lot of people can get in trouble.” Her dark blue eyes narrowed. “And yes, you can end up going to prison if you don’t keep your mouth shut. That’s all I ask you to do. If you don’t want to do anything else I tell you, fine. Just do this. They’ll place handcuffs around your wrists and keep you locked up.”

“I don’t want to go,” I said, shaking my head.

”They’ll make you wear an orange jumpsuit and eat slop for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You’ll sleep on a cold, vomit covered metal slab. And you’ll never see your family again.”

”No!”

”Then you must remain silent about this and act like no one said anything. I’m only telling you because I think you’re old enough now to start learning some of the truth. Even if Dad doesn’t think so.” Mary paused. “And he must never know that I told you.”

“I swear,” I shakily answered. “To the grave.”

She drew in a deep breath. ”Do you truly understand what Dad does, Rehan?”

For a moment, I paused to think about it. “He fights to keep the soldiers away from us. The kind that we saw at the gate today.”

“Yes. Very good. Those kind of soldiers hurt another group of people. Our father used to be a part of that organization before I was born. They are called the Red Mambas.” Her eyelids slowly opened. “They’re killing and imprisoning the people that Dad is trying to protect. They put them in camps and work them to death. When you kill a large population of people, that’s called genocide. It’s mass murder.”

Genocide. The word made me nauseous. “Like what the madman does?”

”Yes. But hold onto that thought. I’m only telling you what Dad has explained to me when I was about maybe nine or ten years old. Once you reach that age, you’ll began to understand more.”

I bit my lower lip.

“As soon as Dad realized what the Red Mambas were up to, he left. He’s still on their leader’s wanted list. So you can see why it is so important that no one knows our last name.”

”What’s the name of their leader?”

“Huey Baldwin.” She released a stifled sigh. “He is our chancellor. I still get scared and wonder everyday if Dad’s going to be okay. I worry that I come back and he might be in jail. Losing Mom was hard enough. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost him too. Or you.”

I tightly held her hand. “Me too.”

Mary averted her gaze. “The group of people who he’s trying to protect are called Khonies. Their way of life is simple. They don’t use technology like we civilians do. They work off the land, and depend on farming and agricultural practices to survive. In the labor camps, or the security wards as we call them, the soldiers branded and permanently disfigured their faces with the letter K. So if anyone tried to escape, they would be easily identified and brought back.”

Immediately I recalled the dead man I had seen on the beach. “But why do the Red Mambas hurt them? They haven’t done anything to them.”

“Because they’re vile.” She swallowed hard. “They’ve created an ideology condemning their simple lifestyle, and they believe that it goes against the country’s progress.” Suddenly, she scoffed. “If we’ve ever made progress.”

”So the soldiers must all be sick,” I concluded. “Like the madman that they want to kill? He probably can’t get to a doctor if he tried.”

“That’s why Papa sent us up here.”

I stared at her. She rolled over on one side to face me. Her dark blue eyes glowed in the light.

”Why can’t they just catch the madman? It’s only one.”

”Because,” she patiently continued, “he’s not an ordinary man. Something went terribly wrong with him. Dad had encountered him once in his early years and he tried to kill him. He doesn’t talk about it much now. That’s why he’s working hard down at the village now, to keep him away from our society. From Khonie and civilians. And that’s why he keeps telling you not to go to the beach, because that was when the madman was last seen. He recently killed a Khonie, too—a very close part of the community.”

”Papa’s friend?”

”Yes.”

”Does the madman live at the beach?”

“Who knows? We don’t want him anywhere on this island. When we return home, I’m going to assist Dad the best way I can to destroy this abhorrent, disgusting monster.” An indignant expression came on her face. “I hope he kills the madman. Then everything can go back to normal. Like it was when I was little.”

I rested my palms on my lap. “What does he look like?”

Mary picked at the edge of the tapestry. “Well, no one has really seen him. But I’ve heard that from others he’s about seven feet tall. And usually eats the dead bodies of his victims. He rips and tears them apart. Human flesh. And his teeth are rotten, black stumps. His eyes are darker than coal.” She listlessly chewed on a pizza crust. “But there aren’t any photographs, so it’s hard to say for sure.”

My hands were shaking. “What if he tries to kill you? Or me? Or Papa and Stephanie?”

”I won’t let anything happen to us. Especially you. I promise. He’s not coming anywhere near my family. I’d make that clear to him on the spot. I hope he rots down there in those underground caves. And when we find his corpse, we will burn his bones and have a celebration.”

A cold sweat gathered on my face. “To get rid of the evil.” Like Security.

The sound of the door swung open, making us turn around. Stephanie stretched, dressed in a long pink nightgown. “My, my, it smells good here. What do we have?”

Mary smiled and rose to her feet, picking up the box. “Rehan and I were just having some pepperoni pizza. And then we were talking about the rules. Isn’t that right?”

I stared at them for a long time. Thousands of questions slipped into my mind, before I nodded. Her blue eyes pierced my soul.

”Yeah,” I quietly said. “It’s really good.”

”Oh, how wonderful,” Stephanie exclaimed. As they wandered into the kitchen to get more plates, I stared at the large scab on my knee, trying to shake this strange sensation over me. Later, when we went out for ice cream, I could hardly taste it.

* * * * * *

Three days later, my sister helped zip up my school uniform jacket—one that she had scraped together enough money for and made sure to wash twice. My boots squeaked against the kitchen floor. She wore a long, dark dress, and her blonde hair was gathered into a braid that hung down to her waist. Her work clothes smelled like lemons. A slight smile fell on her lips as she smoothed out my collar and knelt down in front of me.

”Don’t be scared.” She cleared her throat and adjusted my glasses. “You’re going to have a wonderful first day of school. Make sure to listen to the teacher when she is talking to you, okay? Be kind to your classmates. And eat all of your lunch. Even your carrot sticks. They’re good for you.”

I nodded. Mary handed me a brown paper bag, and once I took it, I slung my backpack over my shoulder. To my surprise she reached out and gave me a hug. I buried my face in her shoulder.

“You’re going to be alright,” she whispered in my ear. “When I get off my shift, I want to hear about everything you did. Stephanie is going to walk with you, so make sure you hold her hand. And look both ways when crossing the street.”

“Mary?” I whispered back.

”What is it, Rehan?”

”Do you think that the madman gets sad?”

Slowly, my big sister released me. Her blue eyes were a bit damp, and she loudly exhaled. Strands of frizzy blonde hair fell over her face. I searched her face. She looked too tired to have only turned sixteen.

“I imagine so,” she quietly said.