Behind the Stars (7 page)

Everyone was pulling on coveralls and making moves to start the day or head to breakfast. I strained my eyes as I scanned the now-unified room.
What had happened to Cleve?
I hadn’t seen him since the afternoon he was pulled away to load crates.

Had they done something to him? Had he escaped without me? Panic tightened in my stomach at that thought. He was the only person on my side. Had he seen an opportunity and taken it? Did he leave me behind?

I tore the sheet back and stepped into my coveralls, fighting the tightness creeping across my back. I didn’t want to be alone in this. I pulled the heavy canvass over my white cotton tank top and blue boxers refusing to believe he’d ditch me, but what reason did he have to look out for me?

Walking in our line to breakfast, Flora’s arms clasped over her waist. She was so pale, her brown freckles stood out across her white nose and cheeks like cinnamon sprinkles on vanilla ice cream. I had to stay strong for her.

“You okay?” I whispered as we filed into the dining hall.

She looked over at me and nodded. “Just a little weak. The heat and working the rows and all.”

“Need me to do anything?” Dr. Green had taught me a few home remedies in our time together. I just didn’t want to embarrass her or make her feel awkward.

“There’s nothing we can do,” she said with a shrug. “It doesn’t matter now anyway. Our lives are over.”

“Don’t say that.” I caught her before we sat and made her look at me. “They want us to give up. Can’t you tell?”

Flora shook her head. “What else is there to do?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll figure it out.” I rubbed her arm. “I said I’d take care of us. You trust me, right?”

She nodded, and I saw Yolanda Roberts slowly making her way through the line to where we were.

“I’ve never been a field hand in my life.” Yolanda’s voice was low as she sat on my other side. “You seem to be doing all right, Prentiss Puckett.”

I nodded, glancing at her. Yolanda curled her fingers and examined her nails. What were formerly manicured with little diamond studs and other artwork were now chewed to the nub. Her formerly smoothed-straight African-American curls were braided in tight rows.

I decided to put our history of non-friendship behind me.

“What are you planning?” Yolanda asked. “I can tell you’ve got something going on. Why you keep talking to D’Lo?”

“I got nothing yet,” I said. “But I can’t stay here much longer. I’m going to figure a way out.”

We all sucked in our breath as one of the guards strolled past our table. Yolanda took a big bite of eggs. “Pass me some salt, Prentiss.”

I nodded and grabbed the shaker.

The guard continued on, and Yolanda took a bite of her steak. Same breakfast every morning. Steak and eggs. I turned back to Flora who was staring at me like I’d just removed my head and then put it back on.

“Find a way
out
?” she whispered, checking quickly over her shoulder. “And then what? Where would you go? What if they catch you? They’ll kill you, Prentiss! Haven’t you seen those guns?”

“I’ll find Jackson.” My voice was stern, determined. “He’ll know what to do.”

I hoped my words gave her as much hope as they gave me. Just the thought of Jackson taking charge calmed my racing heart, despite my discouraging dream last night.

“You’re crazy,” she breathed a laugh. “Jackson can’t do anything.”

“You don’t know that any more than I do. You’re already ready to give up. Just like that.”

Flora shrugged and looked away. “I won’t survive this.”

“Yes you
will
!” I hissed. “I know you’re tired, but you’re going to make it. We
all
are.”

“It’s this anemia.” She pressed her eyes closed. “It makes my head hurt, and I feel... so weak.”

“Shoot, Flora, that’s easy.” The guards weren’t watching us, and I slipped all of my meat onto her plate. “You sit by me from now on, and I’ll share my meat with you, okay? You just need more protein.”

She looked up at me. “Think that’ll work?”

“Doc Green said chicken livers help anemia.” I smiled, trying to encourage her. “I guess a little extra steak’ll do just as good.”

She put a piece of the extra meat in her mouth. “If I could just get out of the sun.”

“I’ll ask to go back on the rows if they don’t put me there. You know how to milk a cow, right?”

She shook her head No.

“Well, maybe they’ll do another demonstration. Or you could churn butter, although that might wear you out, too.” I bit my lip trying to think. “There’s gotta be chickens somewhere. You could collect the eggs and scatter their feed. I wonder if we can make requests.”

The loud tone sounded for us to go into the yard for our work assignments. I squeezed my friend’s forearm hoping she’d take the encouragement and hang in there. I wasn’t losing any of my people if I could help it.

* * *

I
stepped back when Shubuta went through the line picking the dairy rotation. Flora was four inches taller than me and had very smooth, shoulder-length red hair that never flew out around her head like my stringy blonde locks, but the guard didn’t seem to remember the difference.

“You were in the barn yesterday?” Before Flora could disagree, Shubuta nodded and said, “Good. Return there today.”

Flora’s big brown eyes shot to me, and I smiled and nodded my satisfaction with her assignment. I watched as she, Yolanda, and Yolanda’s braiding friend Roxie went with Cato and Oma into the barn.

As they approached the large, dark entrance, I caught sight of the new guy there as well. He stood with his arm around the top of a cow pen surveying them. Once they were there, he turned and followed them inside.

A basket, hat, and trowel were put in my hands, jerking me back to attention, and we turned and walked out into the blazing hot field to start another day digging spuds.

By lunchtime, my hair was slick with sweat. I’d unzipped my coveralls and tied the long sleeves in a knot around my waist, and my white tank top was again streaked with dirt. I didn’t care. I was worried about my friend, so I quickly ran to the barn to deposit my basket of small red potatoes.

Flora sat on the bench near the churn, a silver pail at her feet. She didn’t look as pale as she had earlier in the day, but her fatigue seemed stronger than ever.

“Easier day?” I asked, lifting her pail of milk and carrying it to the wooden churn. She shrugged and turned to the side, leaning her head against the back of the bench. Her eyes blinked slowly closed.

“Take a nap after lunch,” I said. “And remember what I told you about sitting by me.”

She nodded, and I heard voices speaking low at the back of the barn. I looked up and saw Cato with her brother.

“Why were you there if you didn’t learn about this?” Her lips were drawn tight, and I could tell she was working hard to control the volume of her voice. “That was your whole argument for going away. To be prepared if—”

“It was only in my first year. Practicals didn’t start until second semester!”

She looked up and caught me staring, so I quickly bent down and took Flora’s hand. “Come on, let’s get some lunch.”

* * *

M
y heart leaped as I approached the dining hall. Cleve was behind my brother, walking slowly in the mob that funneled into a line. Dropping Flora’s hand, I moved as casually as possible, pushing my way through the bodies to where Braxton and my brother waited. Cleve didn’t see me at first, but my brother did.

“You’ve been avoiding me.” His voice was flat.

“No I haven’t.” I didn’t meet his eyes as I lied. “I’ve just been tired. Working in the hot sun all morning pulling potatoes. What they got you guys doing?”

He looked at his feet, and I studied his face as silent moments passed. Braxton had dark hair and eyes, and if you didn’t know we had the same mamma, you’d never guess we were related.

Finally he spoke. “Yesterday we went down to the bottom and dug a big pit. A green pickup was there, and we unloaded the back of it. Put a bunch of long, wooden boxes in the hole then covered them up with dirt.”

My breathing grew shallower with every word, and the space seemed to move outward from me like I might faint.

“Long boxes? Like coffins?”

“Maybe.”

I thought of Cleve being pulled away to load them. I studied his stony face still not acknowledging my presence. “Was it... a mass grave?”

“Don’t know.” My brother turned away from me.

Behind us, our fellow prisoners pushed us on. I tried to breathe normally, to ask questions. Cleve’s hazel eyes met mine, but they were hard, like something had changed in him.

My voice cracked as I spoke to my brother. “Do you think they were casualties?”

Braxton shrugged. “Could be casualties. If there were any signs of a war going on.”

“Any signs? What do you call all this? What’s happening to us here?

“Don’t know. But I haven’t heard a single shot fired or a single bomb exploding.” He looked at me, and his eyes widened. “It’s something else. Something that can’t be explained.”

My face pinched. “Like what exactly?”

“How do you think they can hold us without the police or the National Guard coming? They’ve got powers, that’s how.”

I looked down and saw my fists clenched white against my legs, and for a brief moment, I thought about the cows, thought about Cato greeting her brother. I relaxed my hands and rubbed my palms together slowly.

“That’s crazy, Brax. Nobody’s got powers. This was planned. A sneak attack. We’re going to get out of here and learn they’ve been working on this for years. Like those terrorists who bombed New York City. When we were unconscious, that’s when it happened, and now they don’t need to blow stuff up because everybody’s been caught off guard.” I had to stop for breath, but it hiccupped in my throat before I could say my last words. “Or killed.”

My brother shook his head. “It don’t add up. There’s no smoke in the sky. And what about our military? Who could do something like that from so far away?”

“Lots of countries. This is modern times. Who knows what all drones and missiles they’ve got now. They tried to do it from Cuba a long time ago, remember?”

“Nope. There’s something more going on. Something unexplained.”

We took our trays of steak and vegetables and started for the long tables. Cleve was still ahead of my brother, silently walking. “Tell me more about those boxes. What did they look like? What was in them?”

“Don’t know, but they were heavy. That main one, Ovett, said we’d better take a good look. Said they’d deal with rebels the same way.”

“What does that mean?”

He caught my eyes again. “It means you gotta quiet down about trying to escape,” he hissed. “You gotta do whatever they tell you to do.”

“No.” Determination tightened that fist in my chest as we took our seats. “We’re getting out of here, Brax. I’m finding Jackson and—”

He gripped my arm so hard I winced in pain. “You listen to me, Prentiss Puckett. It’s all over. This is World War Three and the Apocalypse and alien invasion all rolled in one. You can’t fight it.”

“Alien invasion?” I jerked my arm back. “You’re as crazy as D’Lo! What did that stupid guard say to you guys?”

“He said enough. And he did more. I’m not burying my little sister.”

My throat hurt and tears burned my eyes as I looked at the food in front of me. He was letting me down just like I knew he would. No surprise there.

Cleve’s eyes were on me, I could feel it as the others took their seats around us. I didn’t eat, and through my peripheral vision, I could see he didn’t either. Everyone wolfed down their steak and vegetables, but all I could think about was pine boxes and rebels.

“Where did you bury those boxes?” I asked my brother softly.

“I told you. Down in the bottom a ways from here.”

I couldn’t say my worst fear, so I went at it sideways. “Would you have known if Daddy was in one of them?”

He shook his head No as he chewed his steak.

“Would you have known if...
anybody
was in them?”

He shook his head again.

I nodded and wiped my eyes with my sleeve. Swallowing the hard knot in my throat, I sniffed the pain away. Jackson wasn’t in one. I wouldn’t even think it. He was out there alive and waiting for me.

“Three bites of everything,” a male voice cut in behind me, making me jump.

I was just getting ready to make a smart comment back when Cleve reached forward and threw his tray of food against the back wall with a loud
SLAM!

We all jerked to attention as metal crashed into concrete, sending steak and veggies scattering across the floor.

“You can’t
DO THIS TO US!
” He shouted as he grabbed a fork and broke his glass of milk.

White liquid splashed on the table, and I jumped out of my chair away from the spill, pressing my back to the wall. Everybody sat in shock waiting for what would happen next.

Several of the guards moved forward, and I saw one touch the side of his neck, just below his ear. He seemed to speak as he made his way toward the drifter. Cleve’s shoulders moved up and down with his fast breathing.

“I’m leaving this place, and
YOU CAN’T STOP ME!
”

It was like he’d gone crazy. His voice was ragged, hoarse.

“I’m a
FREE AMERICAN CITIZEN!
I’m
NOT
going in a
BOX!
”

Walking backward, he’d almost reached the double doors when they opened on their own. The fair-haired leader Ovett appeared behind him, smiling his sinister grin. I couldn’t breathe as I watched it unfold. I clutched the sides of my head unable to stop it, unable to warn him.

Cleve tried to run, but four guards surrounded him. Two held his arms as he struggled, thrashing with all his might. He managed to throw one off, into the side chairs, but a shot of light glinted off a shiny object in Ovett’s hand.

“Rebellion will
not
be tolerated.” Ovett’s voice rolled out in a low growl.

At once I recognized what he held. It was a large syringe—the kind Doc Green used to put down horses. His arm flew quickly into the air then he jammed it down into the base of Cleve’s neck, right at the top of his spine. A shout of pain, a whimper of fear, and I watched him drop instantly.