Several doors flew open as men bolted from their houses armed with rifles. "Kids, get in here!" shouted a man named Colby, pointing to his open door as he ran out.
I looked at Bram, and he nodded. The five of us made a run toward the house. At least twenty men were in the street now with their weapons. Colby's wife, Lamya, ushered us inside. Bram stopped on the porch backed up.
"Bram!" I yelled.
"It's okay. I have to go help."
I called for him again, but he was gone, running in the direction of the other men. Lamya closed the door. Bram was eighteen, the age you must be to participate in defense actions if our colony was raided, but he hadn't had his Confirmation ceremony yet. When my parents chose a wife for Bram and he was confirmed, then he could help the men.
"Children, have a seat. I was just about to put on some tea," Lamya said.
The four of us took seats on her living room sofas. I hoped Mother was safely indoors. I couldn't call to tell her where we were—getting a signal was impossible while the sirens were engaged.
Dorian tapped his knee nervously. "I should go after Bram."
"No, you shouldn't and you're not," I said forcefully.
Dorian shrugged. "They're just Foragers. They can't hurt me."
That wasn't entirely true. They couldn't kill us, but they could cause us injury. Foragers used to be Grims. They were descendants of Dunningham's twin brother, Dunstan. Dunstan had been cast out for falling in love with a Fated and refusing to kill her. They'd even had a child. That crime was punishable by death, but he'd escaped that by being Dunningham's brother.
Foragers didn't have the years of life we were granted. No longer Grims, they don't receive assignments. They only stayed alive by stealing lifestones before we got to them or by raiding the Mill, as they were attempting to do that very moment. Foragers died of old age. They wrinkled and their hair turned white, something that was unheard of in Farrington or the Upper Estates. They couldn't kill us, but we could kill them. Still, they risked their lives attempting to steal our lifestones. What other choice did they have other than to shrivel up and die? They attempted these raids once every few months, but they had only been successful once a few years ago. They had gotten away with almost a thousand lifestones from the Generator Fund. That put our colony on hard times, but we quickly recovered. Death was a lucrative business. It never slowed down.
My ears stung from the persistent ringing of the warning sirens. It would only stop once the Foragers were caught, and it was safe to come outside.
Lamya placed a tray with teacups and a plate of cookies on the coffee table. I was stuffed from my cheeseburger at Brickman's, but I partook to be polite. Colby and Lamya had two children, but since they were nowhere in sight, I assumed they were on assignment.
We munched in silence. Lamya looked at us and smiled politely from time to time. There was not much else to do. It was inappropriate to carry on frivolous conversations during a raid. I looked around her living room. Colby and Lamya's home was almost identical to ours, except the layout was different.
After thirty-two minutes, the sirens stopped. We all breathed sighs of relief. Politely, we placed our teacups on the tray and rose to leave.
Dorian, being the oldest male in the group now, spoke for us. "Lamya, thank you for the refuge. We'll be on our way now."
Lamya stood. "Okay. Be careful and get your sisters home safely."
"Yes, Madam," Josh answered.
I was slightly insulted and I imagined that Keira was too. She and I were more than capable of getting ourselves home safely, but we said nothing. Things were just the way they were. The streets were empty except for the roaming Watchers. There seemed to be more of them now.
"Are you all okay?" Mother asked as we entered the kitchen where she prepared vegetables for dinner.
"We're fine, Mother," I answered.
"Good. Keira and Josh, call your mother and let her know you're here safe. I know she's worried."
Keira pulled her cell from the pocket of her hoodie.
"Where's Bram?" Mother asked, just noticing his absence.
"He went off during the raid. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen."
Mother sighed and threw down the dishtowel. "Of course." Then she reached for her phone most probably to call Father to see if Bram was okay.
Keira and I darted upstairs to my bedroom, where she kicked off her flip-flops and plopped on my bed—her usual spot. "Do you think Bram's okay?"
"Why do you care?" I hated when she talked about my brother. "They can't kill him."
She sat up and glared at me. "Because he's my friend and I know they can't kill him, but they can hurt him. Don't you care if he's all right?"
"Of course I do, but I'm not worried about it. Nothing bad ever happens to Bram."
"I suppose you're right," Keira said, examining her fingernails.
As I was about to bring up what had happened with the boys in the diner, my bedroom door was flung open. Our friend Chase came in, smiling broadly, as he always did. I guessed if I had dimples like his, I'd smile all the time too.
"Hey, don't you knock?" I asked.
"Why? You guys are always doing the same thing—sitting around gossiping. I mean, what am I going to walk in on?" he asked, sitting next to Keira on my bed. "Besides, I heard the good news. I came to congratulate you two."
"Thanks, Chase," Keira said.
"Thanks," I replied.
"Now, what does a guy like me have to do to get a gig like that from Dunningham?"
I shrugged. I didn't know what my brothers and I had done to deserve the assignment. We had several infractions while Chase had none.
"Oh, I know. My father doesn't kiss enough ass," Chase said, answering his own question.
"Hey!" Keira said, slapping his arm. "What are you trying to say?"
Chase laid back, propping himself up with his elbows. "I’m just saying that your fathers are a lot better than mine at being up Dunningham's butt. We'll never move to the Upper Estates."
As much as I hated to admit it, Chase was probably right. His family did what Grims had to do—nothing more, nothing less. They didn't send Dunningham expensive presents he didn't want or need, nor did they make the effort to hang out after one of Dunningham's speeches to tell him how profound it was. My father, on the other hand, was a big fan of networking.
Chase got serious. "You know what this means, right? If you guys move to the Upper Estates, we won't be friends anymore."
Keira shook her head. "That's not true. Kids from the Upper Estates come to Farrington all the time."
"Yeah, but not to hang out with their old friends. They come over here to gloat and wave their luxurious lives in our faces. I mean, how many times has Lei come back to visit?"
Lei had been our good friend until she moved to the Upper Estates a year ago. Lei left, promising she'd come back and see us a few times a week. We hadn't seen her since.
Chase looked so sullen. I couldn't believe he actually thought we'd ditch him like that. We'd been friends since we were babies. "We're not Lei, and we're not going to stop being your friend because we moved. Keira and I will come back here all the time," I promised.
"Yeah, that's what you say now, until those snooty kids get in your heads."
Keira sighed. "Chase, give us some credit. We're not that easily influenced, and if we say we're going to visit, we're going to visit. Now let's talk about something else."
But Chase wouldn't. "Well, even if we stay friends, Naomi and I will never be betrothed."
I looked at the ground, trying to avoid eye contact. Since Chase and I were small, our parents had spoken about us being betrothed to one another. Once I moved to the Upper Estates, I would have to marry a boy from there.
I was never sure how I felt about the possibility of being married to Chase. He seemed happy about it. I knew and trusted Chase, so I figured if I had to be married, it may as well be to him.
Bram threw my bedroom door open. I made a mental note to start locking my door. "Twelve of them, and we caught every single one!"
Chase sat up. He idolized my brother, like most of the boys in Farrington, and had probably relished in the fact of being his future brother-in-law.
"Bram, you know you weren't supposed to go out there," Keira told him.
"I know, but I'm eighteen now and I should start acting like a man. I don't want to wait for my Confirmation." If I had said what Keira had, Bram would have told me to shut up. But he grinned slyly at Keira. "Why, were you worried about me?"
"No, I didn't think twice about it," she said, standing up. She slid her feet into her flip-flops, so I knew she was preparing to leave. She usually fled the scene when Bram flirted. I didn't blame her. There was no point in loving a person you could never be with. She pushed past Bram as she left.
"I'll walk you home," Bram offered.
"I'm good," she said as she headed to the stairs.
Bram, looking dejected, slunk out of the room. As far as I knew, Keira was his only weak spot.
"So that's still going on," Chase said after Bram was gone.
"What?" I asked.
"He still has feelings for her. I thought losing fifty years would have taken care of that. It doesn't make any sense. Your parents aren't going to wait two years for Keira to turn eighteen. The whole thing's a shame really."
"Why?" I asked. "Keira deserves better than my ass of a brother."
Chase took a marble ball from my dresser and passed it from one hand to the other. "I think she's good for him. She calms him down. Keira's the only one he listens to. Besides, think of the poor girl he’ll marry. She'll always live in Keira's shadow. His wife will never really have his heart."
"They'll get over each other eventually. Mother told me you don’t always love your betrothed at first, but you learn to love them."
Chase put the ball back on my dresser. "Well, we'll never know, now will we?"
"Want something to eat?" I had the sudden desire to not be alone with Chase in my bedroom.
"Nah, I should get home. I just wanted to come by and say congrats."
"Thanks." I walked Chase to the door just as Father was coming in.
"Chase, how are you?" Father asked.
"I'm fine, Mr. Nox. Thanks for asking," Chase said as he left.
Father smiled and shut the door behind him. "He's a nice kid. Too bad his father doesn't know how to play the game." He kissed me on my forehead as Mother called us all into the kitchen.
Mother rubbed seasoning onto a chicken breast. "Rosaleen and her family will be joining us for dinner tonight."
"Why?" Bram asked, even though he knew very well why. Our parents had been speaking with Rosaleen's family for several months about marriage.
Mother flipped the chicken over to repeat her actions on the other side. "Bram, I expect you to be on your best behavior."
My older brother slumped against the kitchen island. "But Rosaleen looks like a velociraptor."
"Bram!" Mother said.
Father put his hands on Bram's shoulders. "Son, you have to understand, your behavior has made it hard for us to find you a wife." Father was right about that. Every girl in Farrington had a crush on Bram, but parents feared pairing their daughters with him. To them, he was a reckless boy who would shorten their daughters’ lives, like he had done with Keira.
"In other words, take what you can get," Dorian said.
Father shot him a look, and Dorian muttered an apology.
"Don't you want to be Confirmed?" Father asked. "That will never happen until you are engaged."
"Why does it have to be her? I haven't said more than five words to the girl in my lifetime. I'm pretty sure she detests me," Bram said. "And she has bad skin."
I didn't know Rosaleen, but I felt sorry for her being talked about like unwanted goods at a rummage sale.
Father sat in his seat at the head of the table and took his pipe from his shirt pocket. "Well, I'm sorry, son. We can't wait for Keira. Even if we did, with your track record, Emery wouldn't give her to you."
"Who said anything about Keira?" Bram snapped.
"Don't worry, Bram. You'll learn to love Rosaleen," Mother said softly. She said that so often that I wondered how long it had taken her to love Father. "They will be here promptly at seven, so do what you need to do. Don't be late."
That left Bram a few hours to get groomed and primped for his future fiancée. I planned on spending the time catching up on some reading. Who knew how much time we'd have once we began this assignment?
"Imagine what your children will look like," Dorian teased as the three of us trudged up the stairs to our rooms.
Bram shoved him against the banister.
"Careful!" I shouted.
"Just wait 'til it's your turn and they hook you up with some loser. I'm going to laugh my ass off," Bram warned Dorian. He said something else I couldn't hear just before I shut my bedroom door, leaving my brother's arguing in the hallway.
Rosaleen and her parents arrived promptly at seven, and she looked every bit as velociraptor-like as Bram had described. She was taller than Bram, extremely skinny, and had stringy black hair that seemed much too thin. If my parents thought this girl would get Bram's mind off a beauty like Keira, they were sadly mistaken.
Mother ushered everyone to the dining room table where a lovely table was set. Everyone remarked on how wonderful everything look as we took our places. Raiden, Rosaleen's dad, scooped some salad onto his plate. "So it's quite an honor Dunningham bestowed on your family today."
Father smiled proudly. "It is. We're very grateful."
I knew our upcoming assignment made Bram even more desirable to Rosaleen's parents. If they married before we moved to the Upper Estates, Rosaleen would move and enjoy the sweet life with us.
Dinner didn't go so well. Dorian tried to pretend he wasn't reading the book that sat on his lap. Bram refused to look up from his plate. He and Rosaleen sat side by side and ignored each other.
I felt sorry for the girl, so I tried to make conversation. "I like your bracelet." I did like it. Her bracelet was silver and dainty with a diamond-encrusted skull and crossbones charm on it.
She smiled and on top of her other faults, I realized her teeth were crooked. "Thanks. I got it for my birthday."
"Oh, what was that like?" Eighteenth birthdays were a big deal in Nowhere—even more special than the thirteenth birthday. It was all about rituals. On the thirteenth, you earned the ability to collect lives. On the eighteenth, you could get married, live on your own, and have all the privileges bestowed on the other adult Grims.
"It was the best day of my life. I had a masquerade ball and wore a beautiful gray ball gown. Bram, I invited you, but you didn't come."
"I was on assignment," my brother muttered, still staring at his plate. I knew he didn't like her, but he could at least look at the girl.
I tried to think of something else to say, but I had never been good at small talk. Anyway, she was there for Bram, not me.
After the adults discussed the perks of the Upper Estates and praised Mr. Dunningham to the high heavens, the men retired to Father’s study. Bram tried to follow, but Father quickly reminded him that he had a guest. Rosaleen's mother, Mira, helped Mother clear the dishes. I kicked Dorian underneath the table and pointed at the ceiling, indicating that we should leave our brother alone with his date. Bram glared at us as we left.
Up in my room, I lay on my bed, engrossed in the dark world of Edgar Allan Poe. I had just stuffed my mouth with gummy bears when a commotion coming from downstairs tore me away from a twisted story.
I left my room and stood at the top of the staircase, where Dorian was already planted. Rosaleen and her mother were headed toward the door.
"I don't know who you think you are, boy, but someone needs to put you in your place! You have a lot to learn about being a man," Raiden yelled
at Bram. Then he turned to Father. "Get that boy under control!" He went on and on about how he should have listened to everyone else who told him Bram was nothing but trouble.
Father lifted his hands, about to say something, then thought better of it. Bram must have really done something awful that couldn't be defended. I noticed him sitting on the living room sofa, looking very pleased with himself. Our guests left, slamming the door behind them.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Father demanded. He very seldom got upset with Bram, even though he should have more often. I could hear our mother slamming cupboards shut in the kitchen. She did that when she was upset instead of yelling.
Dorian went halfway down the stairs. "What did he do?"
Father looked at Bram disapprovingly. "He put the girl in a headlock and said he'd only release her if she could name every one of her Jurassic ancestors. Raiden had to pry him off."
Dorian's cheeks puffed as he tried to stifle a giggle. I held in a laugh myself, although I felt sorry for Rosaleen.
Downstairs, Bram looked even more satisfied. "I was just joking, Father. No one has a sense of humor around here."
"Go to your room. I don't want to see you for the rest of the night," Father said through gritted teeth.
"I'm a man now, Father. I don't think it's appropriate for you to be sending me to my room anymore."
"When you act like a man, I'll treat you like a man. Do as I said." Bram still hadn't moved. "Now!" Father bellowed.
I jumped. Father never lost his temper like that.
Slowly, Bram raised himself from the sofa and made his way toward the stairs. Each stair creaked underneath his black boots. He took his time, as if trying to show Father he wasn't afraid of him. Father went into his study and slammed the door.
"I know what you're doing," I said as Bram slunk past me.
"What? What am I doing, smartass?"
"You're trying to buy yourself time until Keira turns eighteen. It's not going to work," I told him.
He looked like he was going to deliver an insult before his face softened. "I don't care what Grim law says. I won't marry someone I don't want to be with."
Bram stalked down the hallway and slammed his bedroom door. My heart was confused. I didn't want him to be with Keira, but I also believed that he shouldn't be forced to marry a girl he couldn't even look at.
Chapter 5