“Who had watch?”
“Sy.” Thad’s expression was frustrated. “But apparently he didn’t see a thing.”
“Interesting,” I said.
“Yeah.” He snorted. “I still wish we hadn’t lost the cow. The goats are missing, too, but they’ll come back.” He gave me a sideways grin. “But until they do, we’re back to coconut milk.”
“My favorite.” I grimaced.
Thad laughed. But his eyes stayed sharp.
We passed through familiar territory and beyond. By late morning, we’d made it to our destination: a black lava field, a different one than I remembered. This one looked aged. Drier, grayer, and with more fissures and cracks. Red gleamed to the north.
Plunking down our bags, we took a break. Today’s snacks were fresh, and our gourds full. From what Thad said, that wasn’t always the case, especially toward the end of Search. While Thad was stretching, I turned away, quietly working on my secret project.
“What’s that?” Thad asked, pointing to my hand.
“Paper I got from Jillian.” I made one final mark, then tucked it away.
“I see that,” Thad said dryly. “Are you writing me a love letter?”
“A poem, actually. Nothing like a little island pentameter.” Then I hesitated. “Okay, seriously, it’s a map. I’m pretty good with directions, and I’ve started mapping the island. You weren’t the only one who stayed busy when you were getting your head straight.”
“Cool.” He snuck my paper back out. “Looks good,” he said as he studied my sketch. I’d used charcoal sticks from the fire. More sticks were tucked deep in my satchel, carefully wrapped in leaves and twine.
“What are you using for a measure of scale?” he asked.
“My big ole feet. I mark off the distance as I walk.”
“They’re not big, they’re perfect,” Thad said absently. He pointed to a trio of tiny black circles. “What are these? Gates?”
“Yup. I’ve marked locations of both entry and exit gates in this radius.” I traced an arc with my finger. “Entries are solid; exits are open circles. And if it’s not on the map yet, it will be. I’ve got another piece of paper where I’m keeping track of entry and exit sites Ihaven’t mapped. Once I’ve mapped the entire island, then I can transfer over the gate info.”
Thad was still studying the map.
“I’m not so good at making soap,” I said. “So I thought I’d make maps. My contribution to Nil.”
Thad looked up, his eyes flush with blue hope. “It’s not a gift to Nil, it’s to us. To the City.”
He yelled before I could stop him. “Jason! Nat! C’mere! You gotta see this!”
“Stop,” I said, embarrassed. “It’s not much to look at, not yet.”
“You’re wrong,” Thad said quietly. “It’s hope.”
I explained my maps and charts to Jason and Natalie, who grew as excited as Thad.
“Okay, there’s one more thing,” I said. “I keep hearing y’all talk about hot spots. Like the Flower Field, Black Bay, the lava fields, and the meadow by the base of Mount Nil, where Thad landed. All of those are open areas, and I think that’s the connection. I’m not sure if more gates really roll through those spots, but I do think they’re easier to see.”
“And easier to catch,” Jason said, nodding.
“Right. But there may be actual hot spots, places where gates are statistically more likely to flash. Whereexitgates are more likely to flash. And I’m hoping if we can put all the exit gates onto one map, maybe we’ll see—something. Something that’ll increase the odds of getting off Nil for everyone.”
“How far are you going back to get your gate info?” Natalie asked. “Won’t that skew the charts?”
“I don’t know. I’ve thought about that, about whether I should try to start from two weeks ago, or even a month. But I think we should just get all the information we can, from anyone and everyone. The most important being where people caught exit gates, or at leastsaw them, and for that, let’s go back as far as we can remember. See if there’s a pattern.”
Natalie nodded. “We need to go down the Wall and tell you where people we know caught gates.”
