She shakes her head at us. “Oh, come on, guys! This party marks when you can officially drop the act. It’s fine, I get it,” Remi tells us, waving her hand dismissively.
Madix grabs her by the shoulders and leans down until his face is level with hers. “Remington Francine April. What. Are. You. Talking. About?”
Remi’s eyebrows furrow until finally, her face takes on the same baffled expression that Theo, Madix and I are wearing. “Wait…” she looks between us, like she’s just seeing us for the first time. “Are you telling me that this whole time, you didn’t know that this entire town is a Doomsdayers Militia Group?” she asks in shock.
I blink.
Theo opens and closes his mouth.
And Madix...Madix just looks like his brain just malfunctioned. I’m pretty sure he’s not even breathing.
“Wait…” I start, but my brain stalls at the implications that are running through my head. I rub my face with both of my hands and try to work through what this means. “Are you saying that the Handshake Plagueisn’t real?”I ask, completely bewildered. How the fuck is that even possible?
Remi nods, and I can tell she’s tryingreallyhard not to laugh at us, but it’s proving to be difficult. “Oh my God, I can’t believe you guys didn’t know,” she practically squeals with delight. “How is it possible that you didn’t know?”
“Are you telling me that everything that happened in the past two weeks was some kind of sick fucking hoax?” Madix roars, his fists clenched at his sides and his face furious.
Before Remi can answer, we hear the mayor over the mic say, “And the grand prize winners with the most points accumulated this year are: Madix Ortega, Theo Coleman, and Brant Shaw!”
And then the crowd goes wild.
I turn toward the mayor at the sound of my name, my mouth still open in shock. He waves us over, a huge smile spread across his face, and I’m not sure what the fuck to do. A doomsdayer militia group? How the fuck did we miss that pivotal detail about this fucking town? Sheriff April gives us a quizzical look as the three of us are still standing here, totally gobsmacked.
Remi leans forward and shouts to us over the applause of the crowd. “You boys better get up there before the crowd turns on you for being ungrateful! The people of Endstone covet that first place prize. Trust me, you don’t want to piss them off.”
With that statement, I look around at the people in the gymnasium with a totally new perspective. All of these people are bat shit crazy, and the last thing we want is a crazy town to turn on us. Madix and Theo must come to that same conclusion, because they both take a step forward toward the still grinning mayor who has his hand outstretched, waiting for us to come up on the stage.
I fall into step with them, and the three of us swallow down our outrage as we make our way forward. We’ll smile through whatever these insane people have to say, and then we’ll get the fuck out of here. Logically, I realize that’s the smartest thing to do, but the thought of suddenly having to leave what we built here sends a pang through my chest. Will Remi come with us? ...Is she in on all of this too?
I look over my shoulder at her, and she tries to hide her amusement behind the hand covering her mouth. Technically, we brought her here against her will. At least, that’s how this all started. And then it hits me. This is the reasonwhyshe left. I thought when she kept saying she wanted out of Endstone, she just meant because it was a small town. I didn’t realize it was because this place is a fucking insane end-of-times doomsdayers group. And we made her come back.Fuck.
We’re still in shock as we climb the steps to the makeshift stage, and then everything is a whir of noise and flashing lights. Emma from the town newspaper points a camera at us, temporarily blinding us from the flash. “Front page!” she says gleefully.
People pat us on the back, the mayor’s voice starts listing the way we’ve earned Ender points, but I’m so overwhelmed I can’t process it all. Beside me, Madix has the fiercest glower I’ve ever seen, looking more like a cornered bear than anything, while Theo keeps shifting on his leg, like he’s nervous from all the attention.
The mayor keeps going on about how we earned points for our “dedication to the seriousness of the doomsday scenario,” as well as for our, “excellence in survival skills,” and last but not least, our, “commitment to the Endstone community.” Then we get an extra hundred fucking points because we managed to get Remington back home.
Some ladies wearing the biohazard shirts come forward, and before we know it, we’re getting fucking sashed. Yep.Sashed.One minute, we’re just standing there, gaping awkwardly at the insanity around us, and the next, the fake plague victims are putting sashes over our heads and handing us bouquets of flowers.
What. The Fuck.
21
Madix
I’m going to fucking kill someone.
Wait...I almostdidfucking kill someone.
I almost shot those motherfuckers in the woods because I actually thought they were infected with a deadly virus, when really, the poor asshole who was sick probably just had food poisoning. If I had pulled the trigger...
I’m watching the mayor as he talks excitedly, but I’m not really seeing him or anyone else in here. I’m too busy running over everything the guys and I did since we were told about the fucking Handshake Plague. I thought it was real. I had no doubt in my mind, and why would I? They control the local radio station. They shut down the fucking cell towers so we couldn’t get on the internet or make calls, and hell, we don’t even get cable at our place.
The scene at the town square with the possible infected people, the first town meeting, the food rations...all of it was some creepy messed up role play. My eyes cut to Sheriff April, but he’s too busy watching his daughter to notice me. I look down at the flowers being shoved in my arms, and then another round of applause sounds off before the guys turn and walk off the stage. I follow behind them numbly, my mind still whirling.
As soon as we get back to where Remi is standing, I snatch up her hand and pull her out through the side door. Theo and Brant follow behind us. The gym door slams shut behind us, and I toss the fucking bouquet of daisies to the ground and turn to her. I open my mouth to...I don’t fucking know what I’m gonna say, because I’m too pissed, too shocked, and too overloaded with the insanity of this, to think straight. But before I can utter a single thing, Remington plants her hand over my mouth.
“Okay, I can see by the look on your face that you’re ready to go all ragey on me,” she says quickly. “But I didn’t know that you didn’t know! Scouts Honor,” she promises, holding up three fingers. “So, I get that you’re probably confused and pissed, but if you yell at me—me,who had nothing to do with this—then I will kick you in the balls,” she promises, giving me a stern look.
