“Nat’s right,” Thad said, “watch out for Rives.” But like Natalie, Thad was smiling.
“Gotcha,” I said. “I’ll add him to my list of Nil dangers.”
Rives hooted. “Flattery will get you everywhere.” He planted a kiss on Natalie’s cheek, then let her go. “Later, twin.” Grinning like the devil, he said, “See ya, Charley. Thad.”
“Later, man,” Thad said.
“For twins, y’all don’t look a thing alike,” I told Natalie as Rives walked away.
“You don’t think so?” Then she burst out laughing. “We share the same birthday. A weird Nil-incidence.” She shrugged, then sipped her water. I wondered how long Rives had been here.Long enough to be chummy with Natalie, I thought. And Thad.
Beside me, Thad whistled, making everyone turn.
“Grab a cup, everybody.” He waited for everyone to get situated. “First, to Kevin, who made it. Here’s to you, brother.” Thad raised his cup as shouts of “to Kevin” and random woots cut the night. “And to Sabine, who gave us heaps to be thankful for while she was here, stuff that’ll still help even though she’s gone. And even better, she’s not just gone, she caught a gate.” He raised his cup. “To Sabine.” Sabine’s name drifted through the night as cups filled the air.
“And to Charley, and Rory, welcome. We’re glad you’re here, even though we’re sorry you’re here.” He raised his cup to me and smiled. “Cheers.”
The crowd fell away; it was just us, inches apart, and the warmth I felt had nothing to do with the fire.
Thad took a sip, then as he turned back to the group, his smile vanished. “As some of you’ve heard, the Shack was trashed again last night. Nothing was taken, just messed up. But we can’t afford to lose supplies, so for now, we’ve set up watch on the Shack.”
Reading between the lines, Thad’s words held a warning.If it’sone of us, we’re gonna catch you. For the first time, it occurred to me that perhaps not everyone was thrilled with the City.
Thad kept talking. “Three Search teams will roll out at dawn. Li’s got Cassie as Spotter, Quan and Raj as support. Samuel chose Maria as Spotter, Heesham as support. And Nat’s heading out, with Jason as Spotter…” This last announcement triggered loud hoots andyeahs, drowning out Thad’s words. Natalie looked almost happy. I hoped Jason was a good Spotter.
“So that’s it. Focus on the good, live in the moment. To now.” Thad raised his cup. Cups filled the air, and the chorus of “to now” was deafening.
“Ready?” he asked, turning back to me.
CHAPTER
19
THAD
DAY 279, DUSK
Charley looked better than ever.
With rest and a few decent meals, her coloring had improved, and when she smiled, her golden eyes sucked me in, like a potent Nil swell. Even better, there was never a lull as we talked, and we clicked in too many ways to count. Charley made me feel real again, and she made mefeel.
It was a sick Nil joke.
Of course I’d meet the perfect girl here. Here where I had no future, where I only had a now. Here where hoping too much hurt like hell, so I’d tried not to hope at all.
“Thad?” Charley asked.
“Yeah?” I shook off my mental slush.
She was looking at the beach. Groups were scattered like shells. Laughing, talking, eating, being together. Just another cookout at the beach—and yet it wasn’t. I wondered if Charley saw that, too. Had she figured out that Nil Nights were our way to blow off steam, to release some pressure before we imploded for good? Because even with a daily dose of sports, the reality was exhausting. Each day wasa sprint. We chased food and hunted gates, staying one step ahead of hunger and every fresh Nil threat. Running toward freedom and away from Nil, gunning to survive this day, because the next one might bring the gate with your name on it.
Or not.
Charley’s thoughts did not track mine.
“The thing with the Shack,” she said, turning toward me. “So it’s an inside job?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Did I say it was an inside job?”
