Walking Ghost Phase (7 page)

“
How often does it happen, sir?” Sarah asked.

“
At least once a day. Those last people were smart. We get morons who stay home to inform us that their kid ran.” Vasquez laughed. “You should see the look on mom and dad's faces when the Feds show up and slap the cuffs on them.”

“
Three more to go,” Douglas said.

“
We might get one of those yet.”

Emily raised her hand.
“Sir, can I ask a question?”

While focusing on the clipboard, Vasquez nodded.

“Why are you telling us this? Aren't you worried we might talk once we finish our six months?”

The question seemed to merit Vasquez
's full attention, and he looked up from his writing and grinned, showing off the yellow stains on his teeth. “Not at all, soldier. If you go public, who's going to believe you, especially after you're accused of stealing state secrets or working with Al Qaeda? But we're getting ahead of ourselves. First you have to make it through the training.”

A few minutes later, the transport sputtered to another stop, where the sound of a violin resonated in the background. As the MPs exited to claim their prey, Emily closed her eyes and took in a brief escape from reality.

“These people are loaded,” Sarah said. “Look at this spread.”

Emily pressed her head against Sarah
's and viewed the landscape. A Victorian-era house rested among an elegant façade of shrubbery, flower gardens and rolling hills. Streamers dangled from tree branches, and tables of food and sparkling gifts covered the wrap-around porch. When the two out-of-place soldiers strolled across the lawn, partygoers ended their celebration, their eyes now following the men. Douglas' hand inched toward his sidearm.

After Vasquez singled out the girl, he wasted little time reading the orders. Once finished, he grabbed the girl
's arm and pulled her from friends and family. Adults and children reached for her, stealing hugs and touching her arms. Then a well-dressed and well-groomed young man near the outer edge of the crowd intercepted her. He held her around the waist and pressed his lips against hers. Emily watched with awe but not solely because the sight of a passionate kiss. She expected Vasquez to lay out the young man and drag the girl to the transport by her hair. But he did neither, just stood there and waited.

“
How sweet,” Sarah said, her tone beyond sarcastic.

As the girl approached the transport, Sarah and Emily spun back in position, acting as if they had remained seated all along. The girl climbed up, and her fingernails clicked against the metal frame and wooden floorboards. A ripping sound followed her to the bench.
“Oh, darn,” she said, and stared at the tear in her floral-patterned, summer dress. Before the MPs could climb inside, she leaned out the back. “I love you. Have a good senior year.”

“
Wasn't eighteen the cutoff age for the consent form?” Sarah whispered

“
Yeah, so?” Emily asked.

“
Her boyfriend is either an old senior or she's a cradle robber.”

“
Two more left,” Douglas said, returning to the bench.

“
My money's on only one actually being there,” Vasquez said. He slapped his hand against the tarp railing. “Move out.”

“
I'm Emily,” she said to the new arrival, who claimed the bench near the back. “And this is Sarah.”

“
Raven McDonald,” the girl answered, keeping her drab stare tight on the passing road. Shoulder-length auburn hair, a slim figure and quite a few hours in the sun made her a beautiful girl, but her eyeliner soon began a slow descent down her cheeks. Emily was thankful she chose not to wear any makeup, especially her dollar store brands.

Sarah, displaying her sly grin to everyone, shook her head and looked over Raven.
“I don't think they have massages or manicures where we're going.” She studied Vasquez's hands. “Although this dude seems like he might prove me wrong.”

Douglas laughed, and Emily surprised herself when she did the same.

“Stow it, soldiers,” Vasquez said.

“
Geez,” Sarah said. “I'm just trying to lighten the mood. Besides, there's nothing wrong with good hygiene. I kind of like a man who takes care of himself.” She winked at Vasquez. Then she slapped his knee.

Emily wondered if her jaw might actually reach the ground.

A blur of green zipped past her eyes, and Vasquez clamped down on Sarah's wrist, ripped her off the bench and pushed her to the floorboards. “Do it again and you'll lose your own fingers.” He shoved her clenched fist into her chest. Sarah slid back on the bench and slumped against the tarp, while Raven remained silent, as if she existed in her own private world.

The next stop occurred about twenty minutes later, and Emily and Sarah were taking their customary positions at the peephole when a faint shadow loomed over them.
“Can I see?” Raven asked.

Emily moved her head lower.
“Sure.” The three girls watched the MPs claim their first companion of the opposite sex, a short, stocky guy with stubble of hair on his tanned scalp. His father stood at his side. Their looks and perfect posture mirrored each other. After Vasquez finished the orders, the guy didn't hug his father but saluted him. The father returned the gesture and then saluted the MPs. Vasquez allowed the new guy to walk to the transport unassisted.

“
I knew this place was sexist,” Sarah said.

The new guy climbed in and stopped in front of the three girls.
“Damon Peters, ma'ams.”

Sarah leaned closer to Emily.
“This dude is serious.”

“
Stop it,” Emily said. “I don't want to pick your dead body up off the floor.”

But Sarah grin
ned even more. “This is who I want on my side,” she said to Vasquez. “I bet he'd give you twenty push-ups at the drop of a hat.”

Vasquez scratched his head. Then he removed his cap and dropped it on the floor.
“Uh oh.” He stared at Damon. “You heard her. On your face, soldier.”

Damon hesitated for a moment. He probably expected to get at least three feet from the curb before someone ordered him to do pushups.
“Yes, sir.” He lowered to the floorboards.

“
Count off, soldier.”

Damon lifted his body, his movements fluid and precise, almost poetic. Emily doubted Sarah appreciat
ed his perfect form; her mouth gaped and face turned ashen white. Vasquez leaned forward and jabbed his hand into her chest, grabbing a wad of shirt and then jerking her head close to his. “After today I may never see you again, but you'd be smart to learn your mouth has no place here. It won't make you any friends either.” He slammed Sarah's back against the tarp rails. Metal supports creaked and bent. When he finally released her, no one argued with his sage advice.

The silence continued as the transport traveled the city streets. The engine hum masked the squeal from Emily
's stomach. Noon was fast approaching, and sunlight trickled through worn slits in the tarp ceiling. She dreaded the next stop, where the heat and stench would smother her, but despite her mental objections, the truck slowed to a crawl.

Vasquez showed the clipboard to Douglas.
“I got ten bucks on him being long gone.”

“
No parents or guardians listed?” Douglas asked. “No relatives at all? That's a guaranteed win for you. Pass.”

“
Come on. Grow a pair.” Vasquez studied the clipboard again. “Know what? I'll give you this one. Twenty bucks says he
is
home.”

Douglas threw out his hand.
“You got it.” A tight-gripped shake sealed their wager.

After the MPs climbed out, Emily again shared the peephole with Sarah and Raven. Damon stayed in his
seat, his eyes forward and posture straight.

“
What a dump,” Sarah said.

It was. The home
, if Emily could even call it that, begged some passing building inspector to condemn it. Strips of faded yellow vinyl hung from the sides, digging into the dirt. The right corner of the foundation sank a foot lower than the left, and chunks of grass reached through the missing sections of a chain link fence. Emily couldn't help but compare it to the abandoned house at the end of her walks.

Vasquez banged on the door, and echoes bounced across the street. He put money on the line, so Emily assumed he wanted his presence known.

No one answered.

“
Vasquez's going to be so mad,” Sarah said. “And he's going to take it out on me.”

“
Maybe if you kept your mouth shut,” Raven said.

Sarah shot her a nasty glare and turned back to the peephole.
“Come on, dude, answer.”

Vasquez slammed the bottom of his fist into the door again. This time the door swung open, the occupant in full view. Sarah pumped her fists in the air.
“Yes. Thank you.”

Vasquez, a sick grin on his face, slapped Douglas on the back. Then his expression went south. The guy strolled past the MPs without hearing the orders, his eyes forward throughout the walk to the truck.

“He's brave or stupid,” Emily said.

“
But he's cute,” Raven said.

Sarah backed away from the hole.
“Don't you have a boyfriend?” She nudged Emily. “Unlike the cradle robber here, I kept my options open. You?”

Raven crossed her arms and stood upright.
“He's a bit out of your league.”

“
How can either of you think about guys right now?” Emily asked.

“
Did you even see him?” Sarah asked. “How can you not?”

“
Here they come,” Raven said.

The girls shuffled back to their places while Emily tried to keep her thoughts rational. He was just another victim who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and forced to make a life-altering decision. No more special than anyone else on the transport. No, nothing special at all.

Then he climbed inside the transport. Each step seemed cold, as if he calculated every movement, not once looking anywhere but down. His dark brown hair hung across the palest of blue eyes. After he sat near the transport cab, his stare remained on the floorboards. Now Emily eagerly waited for the MPs to make their announcement.

“
This is Matthew Holcomb,” Douglas said.

“
Matt is fine.”

Vasquez dug his fingers into the clipboard but said nothing.

Emily scooted closer to Sarah and whispered something she hadn't said since the fourth grade, a single word that made her a hypocrite and sealed their friendship at the same time. “Dibs.”

Sarah bit her lip, holding in the chuckle.

The truck soon merged on the highway, leaving behind the rolling hills and trees. Emily watched the town where she had grown up, where she had dreams, where she had a forgotten past, vanish below the horizon.

Wind ripped through the cabin, popping the tarp against the support rails and levitating the sleeping Sarah
's hair off her shoulders. Emily brushed the wandering strands off her face, but the hair reached for her again. She curled her arm, ready to send a gentle elbow into Sarah's rib cage. Then she heard the peaceful snore, saw the calm fluttering of Sarah's eyelids. Emily thought of her own restless nights, waking in a cold sweat, staying up for hours, trying to figure out what was real.

She lowered her arm, leaned forward under the stream of hair and looked around the transport. Across from her,
Vasquez and Douglas were resting against the tarp with their caps pulled down to shade their closed eyes. Asleep or not, Vasquez kept his right fingers dangling above his unlocked gun holster.

Alone near the exit, Raven stared at the road as she rubbed tears from her cheeks. A black patch of eyeliner on her dress, where she wiped her fingers, had swelled to the size of her hand. At the other end of the transport, Damon smiled as he checked out the MPs, seeming to find some admirable quality in the two men. Then Emily looked farther down where Matt sat in the darkest shadow of the tarp. Besides saying his name, he hadn
't made a peep since they left his house. She wondered how long it would have taken someone to notice if he disappeared or if the MPs even remembered he was with them in the first place.