“I need the arch support.”
“So, who won the fight?”
“I was doing all right until one of them pulled a knife. I could have done the same, but I got the fuck out of there instead.”
“Fuck,” Cipher said. “Why didn’t you call us?”
“I dropped my two-way in the scuffle.”
“Did you tell the cops?”
“Fuck no. I’m not trying to get my ass in trouble, especially not now.” He smiled, causing his lip to start bleeding again. “I got a location on Promised Land, though, confirmed by two separate sources. It’s about 50 miles north of Birmingham, straight up State Road 65. No reports of murder, cannibalism, or incest, just hard work and good, strong morals.”
“Morality is subjective, but that is good overall.” Cipher said, clapping him on the back. He then stared at me with a curious look.
“What the fuck’s going on here anyway?” Macon asked, eyeing the two of us, both fully dressed and acting as bodyguards for Gizmo, who was now wrapping up his shower.
“Did you know Gizmo hasn’t been showering or leaving your room?”
“He hasn’t been sleeping either,” Macon said. “He stays up all night working on body parts like he’s fucking Dr. Frankenstein.”
“Let’s go get Artemis. We need to make a plan.”
After Cipher returned Gizmo’s hand, and I politely suggested that he swab it out with some rubbing alcohol, I went back with Gizmo to his room and helped him clean up the trash and sort through his dirty clothes while Cipher and Macon went to Artemis’s room to discuss preparations. When their meeting was finished, and everyone was clear on what they must do to get ready for the trip, Cipher collected me and brought me back to our bedroom. He offered to get me some noodles, but I wasn’t feeling well, so I told him I was tired, then buried myself under the covers and tried not to cry.
I was grateful to Cipher for helping me find my brother and to the rest of our crew for caring for me while we made our way here, but my sadness overwhelmed my gratitude. This was the end of our journey together. They’d go on to Promised Land and start a new life there, and I’d be stuck here, waiting for my brother to be released from the lab.
If the fever didn’t get him first.
SEVENTEEN
CIPHER
“We can’t just leavehim here,” I said to Macon during a lull in between customers. We were selling the last of Gizmo’s creations in preparation for our trip to Promised Land in two days. Since Atlanta money was only good within the city limits, whatever we made here would be spent on food and supplies. I was trying to arrange for transport from here to Birmingham for our crew, and I may have had a lead with a Coca-Cola delivery driver through Ansel. Our only loose end now was Kitten.
“I still can’t believe he doesn’t want to come with us,” Macon said.
“His brother is here,” I reminded him.
“The same brother who left his ass in South Carolina.”
“Yeah, it’s fucked up, but that’s his family.”
“I don’t know, man. Seems to me likewe’rehis family,” Macon grumbled.
I couldn’t argue with that. “It’s not like I can force him to come with us,” I said, though I had thought about it. Kitten might be pissed at me for abducting him, but at least he’d be safe. As for me, it was a punch to the nuts whenever I thought about not having him to cuddle in bed, not seeing that gorgeous smile of his light up the room, or even arguing with him over every little thing from what to eat for dinner to how to fold our towels.
“Does he know we want him to come with us?” Macon asked.
“Of course he knows.”
“But did you, like, say it to him explicitly?”
“I mean, I guess not, but isn’t it obvious?”
Macon shook his head. “Cipher, you’re one of the smartest guys I know while also being the biggest idiot. Your feelings aren’t obvious to anyone, not even yourself half the time. The kid probably thinks he’s not wanted.”
“How could he possibly think that?” I’d wanted him since the beginning and more with each passing day. I’d barter, beg, and steal to keep him with me. I might even kidnap him for his own good.
