We?
“If you don’t mind the two of us coming along, that is,” she continues. “We’ll try not to slow you down.”
“Of course,” Jamie says. “And you won’t slow us down.”
“You said you couldn’t travel all the way up to your mom with Henri-Two.”
She sounds tired. Resigned. “I said I didn’t want to. But I also never thought this would happen. As much as I want to stay here, I’ve also heard what you’ve been through with those people. I don’t want to be indebted to them, and I don’t want to raise my daughter in a place where a community turns on their own people.”
That makes me think of the kids and what’s going to happen to them.
Why did the Committee do this? Why did they agree to give Jamie up for food? There are any number of ways we all could have survived this, but they chose the only one we can’t take back.
Everything is ruined now.
This place isn’t our home anymore.
And we have to go back on the road.
I finally feel strong enough to stand and Amy does as well. I take Henri-Two from her so she can button up her shirt. Baby Henri is half-asleep, completely oblivious to the difficult decision her own mom has made. Amy holds out her arms and I pass her over. We walk back to our spot and I lock eyes with Taylor, who is talking to the Kid.
What’s going to happen to them?
Jamie goes to Cara and tells her we’re leaving with Amy and Henri-Two. But I can’t stop watching the kids. Worrying about what will happen if we leave them here. Fort Caroline only wants the people who fit in with their rigid systems.
“Cara, what doyouthink is going to happen when Fort Caroline gets here and finds out Jamie isn’t really here?” She lived with them longer than we did. She knows more about how they operate.
Her eyes cloud. “Nothing good.”
“Will they kill them?”
“Probably not. They might convince the ones they want to come back with them. The rest they’ll leave here to starve.”
“The kids?”
Cara follows my gaze. “They’ll probably say they can help takecare of them. Then when they get to Fort Caroline, they’ll put them in the school and train them for their army.”
“Will they come down here with their army?”
“I don’t know. Probably not.”
“What are you thinking?” Jamie asks.
“We have to tell Daphne and Kelly.”
He shakes his head. “We can’t bring all these people with us. Someone will notice when we sneak out of here tonight with a group of kids.”
“We can’t leave them here. We don’t know what’s going to happen when Fort Caroline arrives and finds out they were tricked.”
“We already have a baby, how are we going to take care of seven kids?”
“We’ll figure it out.” I turn away from him and he calls after me. I head over to Taylor first. I promised I’d tell her, and I keep my promises.
Also, she’s old enough that she can make her own decision. But once I get through the backstory about Fort Caroline, it’s a quick conversation. She probably knew she was going to leave with us before I even brought it up.
“We have to bring the others,” she says.
“Good. I need your help convincing Daphne and Kelly, too.”
