Asphalt Tribe

In the end, we learned that the worst of Shadow’s injuries was a sprained wrist and a dislocated shoulder. He still resented Trouble, though, to which Trouble said “screw you”. Except in harsher words.

The weather was getting colder and frost threatened to come soon. Ever since our ancestors had wrecked the planet, New Jersey’s weather has been yo-yoing back and forth in fall and spring.

The chilly weather meant that less people were setting up shop in the market. Less people, less to steal. Winter was hard enough when you’ve had time to stockpile over the summer, but now that was a pipe dream. I had a feeling that some of us might not make it through the winter.

“You done with that jacket yet?”

I shot a tired look toward Aria. She was sitting on the bed, painted her nails while I worked on converting an old quilt into a jacket.

“Does it look like I’m done?” I groaned. “It’s hard enough when I don’t have you yapping at me. And as soon as this thing is finished, you know where it’s going? In my closet. I can’t make winter clothes if I freeze to death.”

“Geez, don’t spaz out. I was just asking.”

Sighing, I returned to my sewing machine and pressed the foot pedal. Nothing.
“God damn it, the thing’s dead. We must have run out of solar or something. Write AA batteries on the request list, will ya? Maybe someone’ll get around to finding some.”

“On it.” Aria bustled out of the room, waving her neon-green nails dry.

I got up and peered out the window. Sear and Trouble were playing basketball. As far as I could tell, Sear was winning, if only because he kept tackling Trouble. It brought a smile to my face. Sunny and Ruby were sitting on the curb, talking. Stacey and Leah, two little kids, were playing tag in the middle of the street.

I wondered who would be the first to go.

In which the queen is overthrown

“Attention! Attention!” Mom shouted at the Tribe as she stood on the coffee table. She broke into a hacking cough and we quieted down. She closed her eyes and folded her hands.

“I have some very sad news,” she whispered. “I am dying.”

Gasps and muttering erupted around the room. Now, I wish I could tell you that it was all a misunderstanding, that all our mother had was a cold and she was simply to uneducated to understand that, but she spoke the truth.

“From what?” someone called.
“From cancer. The physician diagnosed it yesterday as lung cancer. He gave me a month to live if I didn’t seek treatment. Which, as we all know, is impossible.” Maics were only given the most basic of healthcare, nothing so advanced as cancer treatment. “They will not accept me at the hospital due to my poor class status. So I am dying.”

Cries of outrage broke out around the room, criticizing the hospital, criticizing the class system, criticizing Mom. I alone was silent. Who would lead the Tribe now? Without a leader, we would surely dissolve into chaos.

“So,” Mom wheezed, “we will need a new leader. Seeing as I have no blood relatives, I think it right to put one of you in charge. Someone intelligent, brave, and maybe just a little bit insane.” A ghost of a smile flickered on her lips. “Anyone over 15 is eligible. If you want the job, please stand up here.”

It took me a split second to decide. I elbowed my way up to stand next to her. After a moment, I glanced around at the others up there with me. Sunny, Crystal…Sear. I felt a low growl forming in my throat. It hurt my heart to have to fight him, but if I had to, I would win. Wonderful as he was, he was no match for me. I was not about to be beaten by a boy.
“You four stay here. Meeting adjourned.”

The others silently filed out, still struck by the news. Except for Aria. She stuck to me like glue.

“Aria, only the competitors may stay,” Mom told her in a hushed voice.
“I’m staying. I gotta cheer on my sister.” She put an arm around me and I leaned into her. We gave Mom huge cheesy grins.

“No. Now get out.”
“But-“
“Get. Out. Unless you want Bane’s chance at leadership sacrificed.”

I shook Aria’s arm off and shoved her away.
“You heard the woman. Go.”

As Aria shuffled off, Mom addressed the four of us.

“You kids, come back here.” We followed her out to the backyard. She stood before us. For the first time I noticed her age. Lines and scars marred her face, and her gray eyes looked tired more than anything else. She gave us a worried, almost guilty look.

“You four are among the boldest in the Tribe. You have the guts to rule, all of you. But there can only be one.” She coughed. “I have put together a series of challenges that will measure your strength, bravery, and problem-solving skills. Let us begin.”

I searched the yard, but I saw nothing that gave a clue as to the tests.

“Your first objective requires each of you to climb onto a branch. Well, get up there!” she added in response to the blank looks.

I scampered up a tree and perched on a branch as the others did the same.

“Hang upside-down by your knees.”

The world flipped as I lowered myself. Blood began rushing to my head but I ignored it. You have time for pain later.

“What you have to do is lift your body back up to the branch as many times as you can.” She settled into a plastic chair to watch. “Begin.”

This is easy. I did this all the time. Pacing myself, I fell into a rhythm. Up, down, up, down. Like a metronome. Ten, eleven, twelve…

Around thirty I started to get winded. The blood sinking to my head was giving me a pounding headache, and it felt like it was sloshing around every time I moved. I glanced at the others to gauge my competition.

Sunny had long since given up. She was now hanging limply from her branch like a ragdoll. Crystal and Sear were still going strong.

At forty I gave up. With the last of my strength I hauled myself back onto the branch.

Sear was getting tired, too. He paused and dropped from the branch. Sunny and I did the same.

“Crystal wins this one!” cheered Mom, applauding her. Honestly, I wouldn’t have guessed that Crystal would win. She was tall and lanky, but obviously in good shape.

“Your next test will deal with bravery. Tell me, Crystal,” she said, a cruel look creeping onto her face. “What are you most afraid of?”

“Spiders,” Crystal confessed.
“Good. Sear, go find some spiders in the woods. Five will do.”

“After Sear came back, spiders in tow, Mom instructed Crystal to sit down. After the girl obeyed, Mom took the spiders and dumped them all over Crystal.

“Aiiee!” she shrieked. Tears immediately sprang to her eyes. “Get them off me!” She jumped up, flailing wildly. Sear laughed and I wanted to slap him. Couldn’t he see that she was terrified?

Finally Crystal had shaken off all the spiders.

“Not very impressive,” Mom muttered, clucking her tongue. “Sunny, you’re up next. What’re you afraid of?”

“Blood. I am deathly afraid of blood.”

Liar! I knew for a fact that Sunny wasn’t afraid of blood. I’d seen her in battle, I’d seen her watch gory movies without flinching. She was lying to get ahead.

After I had retrieved a knife from the kitchen at Mom’s instruction, she took it and sliced an inch-long cut down Sunny’s palm. Sunny made a show of gritting her teeth as beads of blood formed. But she didn’t scream. After a minute, Mom allowed her to wrap her hand in a bandage.

“Bane, what are you afraid of?”

Two can play at this game.
“Drowning. I’m afraid of swimming because I always think I’ll drown.”

“Very well. Let us go to the lake.”

The lake was in the center of the old brick apartment buildings down the road. As we walked, Sear sidled up next to me.

“You’re lying,” he whispered. “I’ve seen you swim.”

“Yeah, well your little girlfriend lied, too. I’m in it to win it.”

He leaned a bit closer to me and I caught my breath. I could feel his warmth, and I was sure that he could hear my heart pounding.

“If I don’t rat on you for this, will you not tell Mom when I lie?”

With a nervous giggle, I nodded.

“Good. Oh, and another thing,” he added, backing away. “She isn’t my girlfriend.”

Liars all over the place. I’d seen Sunny curl up next to Sear on the couch too many times to accept that fact. I’d seen her kiss him.

By then we had reached the lake. The surface reflected the worn-out apartment buildings like a mirror. I took a deep breath and dove in.

Trying to look graceful, for the sake of my reputation with Sear – he was pretty distracting – I swam a few laps around the pool before climbing out.

“Excellent, Bane,” praised Mom, patting my dripping wet back. “You might just have the makings of a leader.” I grinned. “Now Sear, last one. Your fears?”

“Heights. I hate heights. Terrified, actually.”

“Fine. Go climb up that fire escape there.” Mom pointed at the rusty black contraption attached top one of the buildings.

“What? No way! That thing’ll never hold me! Maybe Bane could climb that, but I couldn’t!” I didn’t doubt that. Sear was tall and muscular. I was short and tiny. I weighed about 110 lbs, while he had to weigh at least 130. Even me climbing up it would be iffy.

“Show no fear, kid,” Mom told him. “If you want to win.”

“Just be light on your feet!” said Sunny. “It’s not hard.”
“Not for you, maybe,” he growled. I raised an eyebrow. Usually Sear and Sunny were best buds. Taking a deep breath, he stepped onto the fire escape. Quickly scaling the ladders, he didn’t stay on its surface long enough for it to fall. When he reached the top, he swung up onto the roof of the building.

“Now what?” he called down. I chuckled. Stupid. Didn’t even think of a plan to get down.

“Climb down the way you climbed up!” called Crystal.

Sear started tiptoeing down the fire escape. It rattled ominously after a few steps. Panic flashed across his face as he leapt from the third flight of stairs into the open air, and he landed hard on his side. We all crowded around him as he moaned.

“What should we do?” Crystal asked Mom.
“Just leave me here,” he whispered, coughing. “I’m hit. Leave me here to die.” He made a show of collapsing.

“Oh, shut up,” I told him. “You are such a drama queen.”

Before I knew what I was doing I was reaching out my hands, helping him up. Sunny put a hand on his shoulder and he yelped.

“Don’t touch me! I’m hurt, and my shoulder hurts, and something bad happened but I’m not sure what.” He took a few limping steps, clutching his side. “Ah, I’ll be fine.”

“You fell from the third story onto hard dirt,” Crystal muttered skeptically. “And you can barely stand. You call that fine?”

“Never underestimate the amount of bullshit lies he can come up with,” I told her.

“So… did I pass the test?”
“No.”

Back at the ranch, with multiple ice packs on Sear, Mom introduced us to our next test. She disappeared into the basement and came up with her e-reader.

“Brainteasers,” she explained. “Whoever answers first gets a point. First question: A house has four walls, each with a window. Every window faces south. How is this possible?”

I raised my hand.
“That’s easy. It’s at the North pole.”

“Good, Bane.” She marked a tally on her notepad. “Next one. Mr. Green lives in a green ranch house. His car is green. His walls are green. His bed is green. His floors are green. Everything he owns is green. What color are the stairs?”

“Green!” cried Sunny.
“There are no stairs,” explained Crystal. “It’s a ranch house.”

Another tally on the notepad.
“Last week,” began Mom, “I made a trip that took two and a half hours due to heavy traffic. When I returned, the traffic was just as bad, but it took only 150 minutes. How is this possible?”

The four of us sat there, thinking.
“Can we work together?” asked Sunny.
“Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose?” I said.
“This isn’t fair,” Sear groaned. “I’m hurt and I’m not thinking straight.”
“And whose fault is that? Don’t climb a building without a plan to get down!”
“Hey! I was under pressure!”

“SHUT UP!” shouted Mom. We shut up. “Now,” she continued quietly, “does anybody have an answer?”

We all shook our heads except for Sear.

“Aren’t an hour and a half and 150 minutes the same amount of time?”

“Yes! Correct! Good job, Sear.”

“So much for not thinking straight,” muttered Crystal.
“I agree,” I said. “He was just trying to stall us so he could have more time to think. Thus his point is invalid.”

“That just shows my superior mental skills. You didn’t think of that,” Sear said. Sunny pouted.

“Question four: A prisoner of war is trapped in a foreign prison. The warden asks him to give any statement. If he tells the truth, he will be shot. If he lies, he will be hanged. He gives his statement, and the warden, puzzled, sets him free. What did he say?”

Thoughts raced rampant through my head, thinking of all the possible statements he could’ve given. Something that confused the warden. It had to be a paradox. We’d been learning about paradoxes when I’d been kicked out of school in sixth grade. I’d been in accelerated science. Suddenly I had it. I raised my hand.

“Yes Bane? Give the exact words.”

“‘I will be hanged’”.

The others stared at me, working it through in their heads.

“Very good. Explain.”

“If that statement is the truth, he will be shot. But he can’t be shot because if the statement is the truth, he has to be hanged. But that would mean that the statement was a lie. It’s a paradox.” I nodded, smirking. Sunny still looked confused.

“Bane wins this. Now, you four can go, and leave me to work out your scores. I’ll call a meeting at noon tomorrow.”

On my way home, I heard someone calling my name.

“Bane! Over here!” I looked down the street. Aria and Trouble were standing under a streetlight, waving at me. Trouble trotted over.

“Yo, Bane! We’re going to the club. Wanna come?”

“Ah, thanks, Trouble, but I’m actually kind of tired.” I lowered my gaze, unable to look him in the eye while knowing he liked me. “Plus I’ve also got a lot to think about. The competition and all that. Maybe next time, hey?” I glanced up at his quizzical expression.

“Oh… okay! But next time you’re coming for sure. Promise?”
“Promise.”

He grinned and took of back to Aria, obviously not nearly as tired as I was.

“Aw,” sneered Sunny. “What a cute couple.”

“We are not a couple. Don’t… don’t even say that.”
“Good, ‘cause it’d be pretty sad if you were with him while you were lusting after my boyfriend.”

“You have a boyfriend? And FYI, I’m not ‘lusting’ after anybody.”
“Yes you are. Sear’s mine. Stay away from him.”

“Really? He told me that you weren’t dating. Seemed pretty irritated with you today, actually.”

“Just remember this. I always win. I’ll win this contest, and I’ll win him, too. Remember that.” She went up to her room, leaving me with Crystal.

“What a bitch,” Crystal said once she’d gone. “’Night, Bane.”

“’Night.”

I sat cross-legged on my bed, scanning lazily through feeds on my e-reader. Eventually I logged in to the chat. I hadn’t talked to my friends from the club on a while. The only person online was Sear. What do I say? I started typing. Hell, why not?

chicchika: heeeyy
best_nightmare: sup bane
chicchika: i gots a problem 
best_nightmare: this is news?
chicchika: shut up
best_nightmare: sry tell me
chicchika: no ur mean >:(
best_nightmare: telll meeeeeeee…
chicchika: -deep breath-
chicchika: im kinda sorta in luv with u
chicchika: hellooooo?
chicchika: u there Sear?
chicchika: did u die?

BEST_NIGHTMARE HAS DISCONNECTED

chicchika: rawr

BEST_NIGHTMARE HAS JOINED THE CHAT

chicchika: what was that
best_nightmare: sry was trying 2 think of what 2 say
best_nightmare: i luv u 2.
chicchika: is that a joke
chicchika: cuz its not funny
best_nightmare: no joke im serious <3
chicchika: wow
chicchika: so what do we do about it???
best_nightmare: meet you in the woods in a few?
chicchika: sure bye

I disconnected from the chat with a huge grin on my face. Choosing to take the window rather than risk the squeaky stairs, I climbed down and ran alongside the old wraparound porch.

“Sear!” I whispered. “Where are you?” I leaned against a tree. He probably wasn’t coming. This was probably just a cruel joke. As I turned to leave, there was a rustling sound in the bushes. A shadowy form emerged from the undergrowth.

Before I could even get a word out Sear ran over and embraced me. He kissed me hard, right on the lips. He was so tall and I was so short that I had to stand on my toes to kiss him back. But I didn’t care. It was as if every nerve in my body was a live wire, jolted by a thousand emotions at once. I felt his hands at the small of my back and I hugged him tighter. This wasn’t like anything I’d ever felt before, this was pure, raw need. Need as in I need him near me. Need as in I need more.

When we finally stopped kissing and broke away from each other, my heart was pounding and I was breathless.

“We should really go back to my room,” I told him. “There could be people out here.”
“Sounds great. Lead the way.”

We risked the stairs this time, and I dove onto my bed, squirming to get upright. I was so giddy. Sear sat down next to me and hugged me. I decided that I liked his hugs. He felt warm and strong and safe.

A thought flickered through my mind.

“Sear, I’ve had a crush on you forever but… we’re not taking this any further tonight are we?”

He paused, then shook his head, realizing what I meant.

“No. That’s not what I want. That can come later. Much later, if you want. Tonight, I just want to hold you, to kiss you, to be with you.”

“Good,” I whispered. “Because that’s what I want, too.” I wriggled out of his arms and locked the door. “There’s no privacy here, but that’ll keep anyone from barging in. Aria won’t be back from the club till maybe two in the morning.” I sat down next to him again and wrapped my arms around his waist, looking up into his dark brown eyes.

“So…” he started. “So… you like me. You like like me?”
“Yes. Very much. And you? You like me?”

He raised a hand and smiled.

“Guilty as charged. Though it’s more like love than like, actually.”
“Since when? Why did you act like you hated me?”

“Same reason you acted like you hated me. To throw you off because I thought you did hate me and it would just be embarrassing if you knew.”

“Well, I guess we were both wrong.” I rested my head on his chest, listening to the calming rhythm of his heart. “You’re a great kisser, you know that?”

He laughed and gazed lovingly down at me.

“Ditto to you.” His smile grew. “I’m just so happy right now, I want to scream! But that could end badly...”
“Why? Who cares? Or is this supposed to be secret?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
“Because I’m telling Aria whether you want me to or not. She’s known that I had a crush on you and she has a right to know. And we have to tell Trouble, because… we just have to.”

“Wouldn’t that be a bit cruel? Because you know he likes you, right? Him and me, we used to compete for your attention. Then I gave up, because you obviously liked him more and would date him long before you’d date me.”

“Damn, I’ve got two guys in love with me? I must be better than I thought I was.”

“Oh, there’s more than two. You’ve never noticed the stares guys give you when you walk down the street? Bane… you’re hot. And smart and nice and brave. You’re… awesome. Yeah, that’s the word: awesome.”

I giggled.
“Ditto to you.”

In which more good things happen

“OMFG seriously?” cried Aria. “He… he really did that? All that really happened?”

“Every little bit of it,” I giggled. I’d recapped the story to her with all the juicy details. “Why would I lie about something like that?”

“I don’t know! Knowing you it was just an unusually vivid dream.”

“Well, it wasn’t. And you can ask him.”

We were washing clothes in the creek in the woods. We’d seen Sear and Trouble playing video games in the main house. Aria took off sprinting out of the woods.

“Nice to know you trust me!” I called, loping after her.

The boys were where we had left them. Aria creeped up behind them and grabbed Sear’s shoulders, shaking him.

“Whoever it is, get off me,” he muttered, not looking up from the game.

“It’s Aria. And I got a question for you.”

Sear dropped the game controller, turned around and gave me a you-seriously-expect-me-to-answer-this look.

“What, dare I ask, is it?”
“Is it true that you made out with Bane in our bedroom last night?”

Trouble, who had been gulping down orange soda, started choking. Aria kicked him and the gagging subsided.

“…Yeah?”

Shrieking with laughter, Aria danced around the room, singing some happy song I’d never heard that she had probably made up on the spot. I inched closer to Sear.

“You didn’t tell him?” I hissed. “When were you planning on telling him?”
“When the time was right?”
“Wrong answer. Now get over there. You owe him an apology.”
“Me? You participated!”
“Yes, but we agreed that you’d tell him. Now get.” I grabbed his arm and tried to shove him towards Trouble, with little success. “Damn, you’re strong. I’ll bring him over here, then. Yo Trouble!” I shouted above Aria’s voice. “We need to talk!”

My friend slunk over, looking utterly miserable, and a wave of pity washed over me.

“Hey, man, I’m really sorry that Sear didn’t tell you about this. We agreed,” –pointed glance at my now-boyfriend- “that he was going to tell you first thing in the morning. Isn’t that right?”

“I hate you,” Trouble growled at Sear.
“Not my fault she likes me best.”

Trouble gave him the finger and stormed off.

“Smooth,” I said. “Now he hates both of us.”
“Ah, he’ll get over it. Half the time when he says he hates someone, he doesn’t mean it.”
“Did you miss when he flipped you off? I think that meant something. God, I gotta go find him.”

I knew Trouble well enough to know where he’d go. He wouldn’t go to his room, because in all probability Shadow was there and then he’d have to explain himself. No, he’d go to the Hobo Hut.

The Hobo Hut
The Hobo hut is a spot in the forest behind the houses. If you go deep enough into the woods, there’s a steep ravine with a shallow creek running through it. Sharp rocks were scattered throughout the creek, and if you fell in the ravine you were pretty much guaranteed to break something on the way down.

On the other side of the ravine was sort of a platform of dirt, a clearing. One time, back before I had joined the Tribe, Aria and Trouble came across a sleeping hobo there, someone not fortunate enough to have a Tribe I guess. Trouble poked him with a stick and he screamed at them, but now the hobo is gone and he left behind an old, rotting mattress.

We always went there when we were upset. It was also our meet-up spot should anything happen to the Tribe. Since you have to climb up and down the ravine to get there, and through loads of undergrowth to get to the ravine, the spot was pretty secluded.

I hopped lightly onto the rock jutting out from the ravine side; pulling myself up by some scraggly tree roots. From there I could see the Hobo Hut. Sure enough, Trouble was sitting on the old mattress with his head in his hands. I hauled myself up the rest of the way and he looked up.

“Don’t even talk to me,” he mumbled without lifting his head. He knew it was me and not Sear. Sear didn’t know about our special clearing in the woods. “I don’t even want to look at you.”

I sat down next to him and put an arm around his shoulders.

“Is there anything I can do to make it better?”
“You could have told me.”
“I’m telling you, Sear agreed to do it. Stupid dumbass didn’t, though. I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault then. His fault.” Trouble lifted his head. His whole face was red, even his ears, and his grey eyes were shiny with tears waiting to spill over. “Oh, who am I kidding, it’s your fault, too. You went along with it. God, why would you…?”

“Look, I’m sorry. But when you feel that way about someone and he tells you he loves you, you gotta take the chance.”

Trouble sighed, a mournful, resigned sound.

“Yeah, well, I’m also angry at myself for not expecting it. I mean, I’ve seen the way you look at him. You like him. And I guess in the back of my mind I always knew it.” He sighed again. “I just didn’t think you’d…” He waved his hands.

“What? Wait, what do you think we did?”
“Um…”

I realized what he meant.

“Oh, God, no! We just kissed. Nothing more. Ew. No.”

“Really? ‘Cause Aria said it was in your bedroom…”
“That means nothing. Seriously, do you really think I’d go that far on a first date? Do you really think that little of me? That’s actually kind of insulting.”

“Oh. Well that’s a relief. That makes it better.” He stood abruptly. “Come on, we should go. Gotta see who’s gonna be the next leader. Let’s hope it’s you.”

I’d totally forgotten about that. As the two of us scrambled down the ravine, laughing and joking, I wondered why it couldn’t always be like that. And how his moods could change so quickly. Must be bipolar. In addition to the ADHD.

We got back to the house just as the clock struck noon and everyone was mobbing in the living room. Little boys were punching and kicking each other. Girls, too, come to think of it. Trouble went to go stand with Aria, where I stood with the other leader candidates. Sear moved next to me.

“Is it okay now?” he whispered.
“Better. He was upset ‘cause he thought we did more than we actually did.”

A look passed across Sear’s face too fast for me to recognize it. Was it regret? Anger? Longing? Who knew what went through that boy’s mind?

Mom climbed onto the glass coffee table again. She clapped her hands for attention.

“Okay, children! I am going to announce my successor! Please listen up!”

The Tribe hushed in a hurry.

“Each of these four Tribe members is valuable, but only one has what it takes to be in charge. The next leader will be… Bane!”

Confused claps from all around. Aria and Trouble cheered louder than the others. Aria looked ready to take off like a rocket, actually. Sear grabbed me by the shoulders and kissed me on the lips. But the others seemed confused. I certainly wasn’t the most liked, that was Crystal. And Sear was stronger. Why me?

“Bane has shown exemplary strength, bravery and intelligence. I trust her fully to lead after I am gone. Furthermore-“

There were screams outside. We all turned toward the door. The kids closest to the window looked out.

“What’s going on out there?” asked Mom.

“There are… there are people with guns,” said one of the girls. “But they aren’t police. They look like Maics, actually. A lot like us.”

“I have to see this.” My mother shoved her way to the window and peered out. I followed her.

A small group of people – four, maybe five – was standing outside, shouting. Each held a handheld stunner. One – she must have been the leader – also held a pistol. Chills ran down my spine. Guns weren’t given to average citizens, let alone Maics. It took a moment to sort through the shouts and make out their words.

“Open up!”
“We mean no harm!”
“Please help us!”

“Bane, come with me,” said Mom, climbing out the window. She strode over to the panicked group, and I copied her jaunty, confident walk. I looked the leader in the eyes. She had navy blue hair, and purplish eyes. Her tight t-shirt and shorts showed off her muscles, and I knew that I couldn’t beat her in a fight. Self-consciously I put a hand on the knife in the pocket on my cargo pants.

“What’s your business here?” hissed Mom. “Why are you here? Who are you?”

“We are poor Maics, just like you,” said the leader, bowing her head. “Our home in Riverside was gassed by the police. We are the last of our pack. Fifteen dead. I swear upon my life, I speak the truth. Will you grant us asylum for the time being?”

I glanced up at Mom. Her steely gaze held.

“Let me see your arm,” she said briskly. “Let’s see if you’re really a Maic.”

The leader held out her arm tentatively. Sure enough, where her arm connected to her body, there was a series of black dots, not much bigger than pen points. The mark of a Maic. The bar code of a clone.

“But that’s impossible!” I cried. “Only first-generation clones have the code. That would make you at least thirty-five. You don’t look much older than me.”

“Did it ever occur to you,” the woman said, “that someone might still be making clones?”

I stepped back, stunned. I could hardly believe that. Who would be mad enough to add to a race known to kill? But she had every aspect of a clone, from the marks on her arm to her strong, fluid, cat-like gait. I took a closer look at them all. They were not holding guns. It seemed more as if the guns were mounted on their forearms. Armed clones.

“No, it did not ever occur to me,” my mother shot back, “but I’m not going to believe it. Not until you show me proof.”

“The mark isn’t enough?” the woman huffed. “You want me to demonstrate my strength? They’ve added to the model since your time, maam. Now we’re much stronger. And we come with guns. You want to provide another explanation of how this got on my arm?” She waved the gun.

“Don’t point that thing at me!” Mom snapped. She turned to me. “What do you think, Bane? Do you think this is legitimate?”

“You’re asking a child?” cried the woman. “Who is she to decide whether we live?”

“She is my successor and she may as well practice making decisions now,” Mom retorted. “Now Bane, what do you think?”

I bit my lip. This woman was showing every sign of a clone. But cloning had been outlawed after the Maic Revolts. Still, it was possible that someone was still making clones, updated ones at that. My parents had been first-generation Maics, or at least, I assumed they were, since my father died before I was born. And that’s what the school discovered when they browsed through my records in fifth grade. But my mother walked like this woman, talked like this woman, had the same ticks and twitches. She was a clone.

“I think she speaks the truth, Mother,” I said in a polite tone. “And aren’t all Maics brethren? We should at least question them. I want to hear more of this story.”

Mom raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything more. She simply gestured for the group to step into the main house.

The blue-haired woman looked just as grateful as Mom looked wary. Her party wore equally relieved expressions as they stepped into our home. Mother ignored the whispers and gasps from the Tribe as she stood up straight and asked them,

“What are your names? What brings you here? Tell us. From the beginning.”

The blue-haired woman glanced to her friends.
“I am Adara,” she said with a bold tone. These girls here are Anouk and Ardis, and the three men are Amias, Atsu, and Anjay.” She pointed to each member in turn. Anjay was the only one brave enough to look me in the eye.

“We come here after great tragedy. Twenty-seven years ago, we were each created in a lab in Philadelphia. We now believe the lab to be in a hospital, from what we remember. Our creator, who never told us his name, turned us loose in New Jersey because he didn’t want to get discovered by the cops. We were only four years old.”

Murmurs of sympathy from the Tribe members with similar stories.

“A group of outlaw Maics, much like your Tribe, took us in,” continued Atsu quietly. We have been living much the way you have, through thieving and law-breaking. The police always looked the other way, if they knew we were Maics at all. Nobody really seemed to care whether or not we lived in our abandoned shack. But now this whole revolution crap started, someone clued the cops in and they gassed the entire building. We six are the only survivors.”

“We even lost one of our own,” added Anouk. “I found Alana’s body as we were running out.”

“That’s terrible,” I breathed, imagining if that happened to the Tribe.

“And you don’t believe you’ll be in danger here?” Mom snapped. She broke into a hacking cough. When she recovered, she was still sneering. “The police know we’re here. They’re just lazy enough that they look the other way. If this thing becomes a full-blown war, they’ll find us. You’re better off roaming on your own. The more of us there are, the easier it is to mass-slaughter us.”

“The more of you there are,” Adara said, “the better chances you have of winning in a fight. And it won’t become a full-blown war. Most likely not. We believe that our town was just cleansing its Maic population. We just need shelter until everyone has forgotten about us.”

Mom took a deep breath, emotions warring on her face.

“Fine. Stay. But you’ll all have to pull your own weight. The moment I see someone slacking off, they’re out. And you will not have the luxury of separate rooms. You will sleep in the attics of your respective houses. Bane, Sear, will you please show them to their rooms.” It was a statement, not a question. She left, loose dress swishing on the floor behind her.

“Girls with me, boys with him,” I told the newcomers curtly, mirroring my mother’s crisp attitude. “Follow us.”

When I caught Sear’s eye, he gave e a quizzical look. I quirked the side of my mouth in an I’m-in-charge-and-I-choose way and he looked at the ground.

“This is your room,” I told Adara, Ardis, and Anouk, making a broad gesture to the attic.

“This will do wonderfully, thank you.” Adara nodded, while Ardis and Anouk gave small bows.

“Do you have any belongings?”

“Anouk and I have packs. Ardis couldn’t grab hers in time. I don’t suppose your Tribe would be willing to donate any clothes? Or at least material to make clothes? She only has what’s on her back.”

“Actually,” I said with pride, “I am the resident seamstress. I’ll make you some basics if you’d like. After a while, though, I start charging, so pick wisely.” I bit my lip. “Look, I know our leader doesn’t think this is a good idea. But I was just named her successor, and it looks like I’ll be making more decisions around here. I believe you. Don’t betray that trust, or you’re dead. Literally.”

“Understood,” they all said in unison.

“Great. I’ll get to work on the clothes now.”

“Actually, Miss…?”
“Bane.”
“Actually, Bane,” said Adara, “I am a rather good seamstress myself. I was the seamstress for our pack. If you give me material, I’ll be more than happy to help or do it myself.”

“I only have one machine.”
“No problem. I had none.” She grinned, her teeth bright as stars. “We can start now?”
“Deal.”

Chapter

“Bane!” Mom called from the other room “Get Adara and her group! I need you!”
“But Mom, I’m b-“
“Now!”

Grudgingly fetching the newcomers, I returned to the living room. Mom had the TV on the news station.

“What’s wrong?” asked Atsu.
“Just watch.”

A bottle-blonde reporter with too much plastic surgery was spouting out a story in troubled tones.

“President Italya has issued a statement on the matter.” The screen cut to our first woman President.

“The Baltimore tragedy has caused a great sadness. What the Maics have done is wrong, and they will be punished. I advise all citizens to avoid the Maics for the time being. Do not talk to them, do not look at them. They are a highly unpredictable and hostile race, and actions will have to be taken against them. I do not believe that this is the end of our ordeal with these creatures, and I advise everyone to look at the CIA website for tips on protecting yourself.”

The image faded back to the reporter.

“There will be a memorial service for the families affected by the attack on Thursday. More on the attack after the break. The latest news, only on CNN.”

“What happened?” asked Anouk.

“A Maic rights group bombed Oriole Park during a baseball game earlier today. It was filled to mass occupancy. They haven’t found any survivors.”

“Why?” I asked softly.

“They think the motive was the ousting of Maics around the country recently. The group just happened to be in Baltimore at the right time to do something about it.”

Adara sucked in a deep breath.
“Then we weren’t the only ones,” she whispered. “There are more.”

“Yes,” mumbled Mom. “And I have a feeling that it will become a war.”

“What are we going to tell the others?” I asked.

“We’ll deal with that when they find out.” Mom coughed. “You kids go to bed, I know I need to. Not feeling my best lately.”

“You want to sleep in our room?” I asked. “It can’t be good for your lungs, sleeping in that musty basement.”

“No, dearie, I’ll be fine once I rest up. Goodbye everyone.” She hobbled downstairs, waving goodbye. I hated that she said “goodbye” instead of “good night”. It implied that she was leaving. Dying.

And she did. That night.

Chapter

Mourning cries and wracking sobs filled the air at the burial ceremony the next day. Children grabbing onto my skirt, people I never talked to hugging me. The entire Tribe was crowded around a small section of the river running through the woods to grieve the loss of a leader, the end of an era.

Of course, I probably felt twice as weighed down as they did, as if I’d been coated with cement and then asked to run a mile. As a daughter, I was pained. As a Tribe member, I was solemn. And as a new leader, I was terrified.

Being leader, I stepped up in front of them, nearly tripping over the ceremonial dress that Mom had handed down to me when I was chosen as her successor. Being five foot even, six inches shorter than the woman the dress was made for, I looked more like a Buddhist monk than a powerful leader in the robe.

“We are here today to mourn the loss of a leader,” I started. Tears threatened to overtake me. “And to lend her the start of a new life. When one passes from this world, they simply move on to the next, helping us out in the process. Our mother will be buried near her favorite cherry blossom tree, to care for and nourish it, just as she cared for us. Just as I will care for you. Do not think of this as a loss, think of it as a new beginning. For Mom, for yourself, and for the Tribe.”

I bowed my head. Two of the oldest boys lifted Mom’s cloth-wrapped body into the burial plot. I crossed the river to them, plucked a single cherry blossom from the tree, and dropped it into the grave. Everyone else lined up to do the same. In the end, Mom would have twenty-seven cherry blossoms to bring her joy in the next life.

We all traipsed back to our rooms without a word. It was an Indian summer in New Jersey, and there was nothing to do but lie in bed thinking about how bad life can suck. I sprawled out on my bed, in my bra and underwear, trying to think cool thoughts. Aria did the same. After a while, she rolled towards me and said in a drowsy tone, “You know, now that you’re leader you could have that nice, cool basement all to yourself. And me. Let’s go.”

I groaned.
“Fine, but we’re bringing Trouble and Sear, too. I’m frickin’ bored and frickin’ hot and frickin’ angry. I vote we take it out on those two.”

“Deal.”

So there we were, in the basement of the main house where the leader was apparently supposed to sleep, me on the bed, everyone else on the packed dirt floor.

“Damn, it’s actually cool down here!” cried Trouble. “And Mom’s been hiding this from us this whole time?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll share it,” I drawled lazily. “God, I don’t ever want to move again. It’s too hot and I’m too scared and too sad.”

“Scared of what?” asked Trouble. He sat up and looked at me with that confused-puppy-dog expression.

“What do you think?” asked Sear. “She’s afraid to lead, of course. I’d be scared, too. It’s a scary thing, knowing that you could run people’s lives into the ground.”

“Not helping,” I growled, rubbing my temple. “Your intentions are good, but your words aren’t. And yes, I’m afraid of leading.”

“Then why did you apply for the job?” questioned my boyfriend.

“Because I thought I’d get a bit more training first? Because I didn’t expect to be left here alone at the start of a war?”

This time they all sat up.

“What?” asked Aria. “What war?”

“Ay. Yeah. Last night Mom called me and the newbies in because there was some program on the news. Apparently Maics across the nation are terrorizing the general public. Blowing shit up and all the crap. And somehow I have a feeling it’s not going to stop for one inexperienced leader.”

“Blowing what up?”
“Google it. I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Aria and Trouble raced out of the room as fast as two panicked, food-deprived teens can. Sear locked the basement door behind them.

“Why are you locking the door?”
“I was hoping that we could have some time together. Just the two of us?”
“For what?”
“Um…”

“Yeah, believe it or not, I’m actually not in the mood to make out right now. Can we just talk? I’m scared. I need to talk to someone.”

“Okay.” He climbed onto the bed beside me and I rested my head on his shoulder. “What’re you afraid of?”

“Just… just think about it. I’m responsible for these people now. I’m responsible for the little kids, and for the idiots, and even for you.” I squeezed his arm.

He snorted.
“You’re not responsible for me. I’m not technically in the Tribe, remember?”
“Yeah, but you stick to us like glue. And I know that whatever battle I lead, you’ll be in it, fighting beside me. And so will everyone else I care about.” I frowned and slumped my shoulders. “You’ll help me out, right? You’ll help me lead if I need you?”

“’Course I will. And I’ll always-“

There was a knock on the door. I rolled off the bed and opened it to find Crash, a teenage boy a little older than me, standing there.

“Yes? What happened? Did Trouble launch someone out of a tree again? Or did Aria bring home a stray hooker?” I figured it was one of the two, seeing as they’d happened multiple times before.

“Neither.”
“There’s a shock.”
“There’re people outside asking for you. Look dangerous, too. I advise you to bring a knife.”

I walked downstairs, motioning him to follow me. Crash blushed when he saw Sear sitting on the bed. Sear just shook his head in a general nothing-was-happening gesture. I opened the brushed metal trunk that held our weapon supply, pulled out a dagger.

“What type of people? Mecros? Cops?”
“It’s hard to say,” mumbled Crash. “See, there’s about twenty of them and they’re armed. They don’t look like gangsters, and they’re not in uniform. Adara and her crew are taking care of the conversation for now, but I don’t think that’ll last much longer.”

“Sounds like a fight,” I said, putting on my game face. “Let’s go.”

Crash was right, there were about twenty average-looking people standing outside in the court. Well, normal sans the weapons. They weren’t dressed like street rats or cops, let’s put it that way. The leader seemed to be a tall, burly man with sandy-colored hair. Adara was talking animatedly with him. I sidled up to them.

“I was called out here? Why? Who are these people?”

“You’re the leader?” asked the tall man in an incredulous voice. It was reasonable, seeing as I was maybe a foot and a half shorter than him and much skinnier.

“Yeah, you the leader of these folks?” I decided not to reveal that I’d been on the job for less than a day. Never reveal your weaknesses.

“I sure am. We’re here all the way from Princeton. We’re Maics, too.” He nodded at the crowd, who raised their arms, showing their marks.

“Must be good eating up in Princeton,” I muttered. “Now why are you here?”

“Well, we’re going around to all the Maic groups we know about in New Jersey. Just saying that we’ve got your back if the police come and we’ll be in the area.”

“Why will you be in the area?” I asked.
“They ousted us in Princeton. So far we’re camping down by the river – found an abandoned trailer in the Pine Barrens – and hoping for the best. Nobody’s been willing to offer us shelter,” he added in a slightly wheedling voice.

“And neither can we. We’ve already got guests.” I jerked my chin towards Adara’s group. “Sorry, but we need all our food for ourselves. As you can tell,” - I swept an arm to the malnourished Tribe children behind me – “things aren’t exactly abundant here. I recommend going to Burlington. They’ve got more restaurants and such to go-“ I stiffened. Sirens rang in the distance like screeching children. And they were coming closer. “Police. Prepare yourselves.”

“Aren’t we going to hide?” asked Anouk.

“No, we’re going to solve this diplomatically and resort to dire actions if necessary.”
“You mean fighting,” said Adara.
“Yeah. They already know that we’re here, so-“ I broke off as the three police cars careened into the court. All forty Maics stood aside as the officers stepped out.

“Drop your weapons!” shouted a cop with a bushy mustache. “Hands up!”

“Why?” I growled. “So you can cart us off the jail? Can’t we at least try to solve this problem like adults?”

“You’re not an adult!”
“Yes, but you are,” I hissed. “And dragging us to jail would be the most childish thing you could do. What’s our crime? Existing?”

“You’re being taken in for suspected conspiracy against humans.” I winced at the implication that I wasn’t human and he noticed. “Yeah, I said it. You ain’t human. Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Drop your weapons.”

A ripple went through the crowd. There were five cops, and forty of us. Then again, they could use flashbombs or teargas. I backed up, snarling. The Tribe did the same, knowing our code, and the others got the message and followed suit. I held my hand up high and flicked open my knife.

The Tribe immediately rushed the cops, who held up their riot-control shields. I darted for the mustachioed man, tackling him full force before his shield was up. Adrenaline had overridden hunger in my body, and he collapsed. I immediately had him in a headlock with a dagger to his throat.

“You gonna call it off?” I hissed. “Or will this get ugly? Your men are losing. Naturally. Call it off.”

“Never!” he shouted, struggling. I had to sit on him to keep him down. I positioned the dagger so that the blade just grazed his skin.

“Call it off!”

“Retreat!” he called into his headset. The other cops would have heard it through theirs, but the Maics didn’t know.

“Retreat!” I bellowed at the top of my lungs. Slowly the crowd dissipated, showing the battered officers in the center. I let the man up and he raced to his car, slamming the door. The cars sped away and a cheer ran through the Maics like a shock through a circuit.

“Alright!” I shouted. “Gather round!” When they had done so, I continued. “They lost this time. They were expecting an easy fight, maybe ten kids. Next time they’ll have reinforcements. Be on your guard for the rest of the day.” I turned to the leader of the other group. “What’s your name?”

“Joseph.”
“Joseph, I grant your party permission to stay with us for a week. In return, you will show us where you find your supplies, share your supplies, and fight alongside us should the police return. You can sleep in the attics. The Tribe will show you. Is that a deal?”

“Deal.” We shook hands and I got the feeling that I was in much deeper than I’d been an hour ago.

All the next week, we stood in hiding, hands sweating and making our weapons slip through our fingers. I’d sat at ready behind the window of my old room, Aria’s room, fierce grip on my battle blades, as if squeezing the life out of them could squeeze the fear and anger out of myself. My stomach had gotten used to eating nothing for a day, and when the visitors brought their food to share – rotting fruit, stale crackers, day-old entrees from restaurant Dumpsters – I could only eat a few bites before nausea set in and I had to wait a few hours. We were waiting for a battle that didn’t come, not that week at least. When the visitors saw that we had little to offer them, they left, leaving us at twenty-five sorry kids and six adults with guns on their arms.

Sunlight was just pouring in through the pane-less window of Aria’s room – I’d crashed in there, still lying in wait – when sirens sliced through my sleep. I shrieked, bolting up, and shook Aria awake.

“Wake everyone up! GO!”

We raced through the rooms, Aria taking the girls’ house, me taking the boys’. In any other situation, I’d have considered their drowsy, confused faces hilarious, but now they were just frustrating. I actually had to roll Shadow onto the floor to wake him up – boy was sleeping like a rock. I finally settled for screaming down the halls.

“Get your asses out of bed!” I screeched. “This is not a drill! Grab your weapons! Little kids in the basement! Everyone else out! Move move move!”

I already had my signature daggers in hand as I sailed out the door, followed by my troops. The girls, the generally more together group, were already crowded on the porch, bodies coiled and prepared to be launched at the officers, who were just now arriving. Ten police cars slid to a smooth stop at the end of the court, blocking any exit through the street. Most of the cars bore different town names on the sides. Reinforcements, I realized. Twenty officers climbed out of the cars, boots raising clouds of dust as they hit the asphalt. Each was armed with a shield and a baton. I looked their mustachioed leader in the eye.

“You want to fight?” he taunted. “’Cause we can fight.”

“Advice: don’t fight,” I growled. “You fight, you lose. You’re on enemy territory now. If you go now and never come back, you won’t get a scratch on your pretty little faces.”

“Cut the chit-chat,” said one of the cops. “Let’s do this.”

“Your choice.” I raised my hand and the Tribe charged, I mean really charged, in a roar of screeches and shouts. I bolted off to the side, toward a female cop with striking red hair. She cracked her baton into my raised arm, but I swooped my other hand underneath to gouge her leg. She raised her shield and I tried to dodge around it. A body slammed into her shield beside me, knocking it into her face and throwing her back. I took a swipe at her baton arm and looked up. Crash was glaring down at her, rubbing his shoulder where he’d tackled the Plexiglass shield. He spit on her once, nodded at me, and walked away.

Around me, however, the shields were getting to my fighters. They had resorted to throwing rocks, clumps of asphalt, anything over the shields, and attacking the officers when the raised the shields to protect themselves. My arm was radiating pain, and I was sweating bullets. Work through the pain. But I couldn’t. It was broken, and I knew it. I wasn’t used to breaking bones, I thought as I slumped on the curb. Maics had strengthened bones, after all, only the healthiest people were cloned. But this woman, this officer – it rang like a dirty word in my mind – had done it.

The battle was over as soon as it had started. The officers were retreating in their hovercars, to the ragged cheers of the Tribe. After they’d disappeared down the road, I assessed the damages. Rose and Screech were unconscious, being carried in by friends. Rose looked knocked out, but Screech had a long tear down her chest, shirt ripped, blood oozing, as if a huge cat had reached down from the heavens and sliced her open. One of the officers must’ve brought a knife.

As I trudged into the house, I thought of the officers, the nameless holders of the shields spattered red with blood. Similar battles must have been unfolding throughout the nation. And we’d lost. We have failed. Grief and guilt overcame me, along with a feeling of inferiority. They must all think I’m a bad leader now. I let them get hurt. It’s my fault.

I sat on the couch while Daisy, the medicine girl now that Mom was gone, set my arm. She wrapped the liquid cast around it, the blue gel drying within minutes into a hard, durable shield. It was good, but I knew that it wasn’t as good as a professional cast from an actual doctor. It was likely that my arm would never be perfect. I thanked her quietly, surveyed my surroundings. Screech was dying, she had woken up and was sobbing her head off. Crystal was whispering to her, and Screech was nodding. Crystal stood and whispered something in Daisy’s ear. The medicine girl wordlessly dug into her medicine bag, pulling out a syringe. They carried Screech out back, and I followed, knowing without having to ask what was happening.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked Screech, who had been lain on one of the lawn chairs so her body was horizontal. Ruby-red blood dripped down onto the patio from her chest wound, making bright stains on the concrete. She nodded.

“I’m dying anyway,” she rasped. “I’ll make it quick. More convenient for everyone.”
“Would you like me to hold your hand?”
“Yes, thank you, Bane.”

Grasping her bony hand, I realized how frail she’d gotten. She’d always been willowy, but was now hardly more than a skeleton. Cold, clammy skin met mine, and I felt like puking. I squeezed her hand and she squeezed back as the syringe poked through her arm.

Screech’s shrieks of pain were all I could hear, ripping through the air like the knife had ripped through her chest. Pure, agonizing screams that I hoped the officer who’d done this could hear down at the station. The poison coursed through her body, and within thirty seconds, it had reached her heart, seizing it. She convulsed once, and then fell silent, hand going limp in mine.

And I just cried.