Behind the Stars by Leigh Talbert Moore Read Free Book Online Page B

next table. Flora was facing me, and her eyes had dark purple marks under them. Her face was pale, and she seemed to be staring straight through the floor between us. She was getting worse. Something had to happen soon.
    If Dee was too scared to help, Cleve and I would do it alone. I had to get out of here if only to get help for my friend.
    The third tone sounded. Lunch was over.
    * * *
    O ut in the yard, D’Lo took his usual spot in the shade. I watched him sit down and rest his chin on his chest. The straw hat they’d assigned each of us was pulled down over his face.
    Cleve still hadn’t come back, and I glanced at our guards. As usual they didn’t seem too worried about us. Keeping my sensors up for any change in their behavior, I casually went to my large friend and sat next to him.
    “What’s going on?” I whispered. “Why won’t you talk to me?”
    His gaze roamed the perimeter then returned to his lap. Without a word, he shook his head and put his chin on his chest again. I wasn’t having any of it. I grabbed the sleeve of his coveralls and jerked the fabric hard. “Tell me what happened!”
    His head wagged back and forth then quietly, through motionless lips he answered. “Not safe. Don’t know what they can hear.” The whites showed around his pitch-black irises as he pointed to the sky. “They’re not from here.”
    I shook my head firmly. “NO! You cannot fall for that. They’re screwing with our heads, Dee.”
    His eyes held mine, and I could tell he believed the hoax. I stubbornly stared back and pressed my lips tight together. I was not accepting their lies, but it was clear he was. He’d fallen for it hook, line, and sinker just like in that old movie where they brainwashed the guy into assassinating the President.
    Stress twisted a sharp pain between my shoulder blades. The pressure was becoming too much as I pushed myself off the ground. It was all I could do not to take off running and screaming, kicking and yelling for this to end, for them to let me go. I’d show them what I thought of their psychological warfare.
    I walked as far as the chicken-wire fence and stopped. I took a deep breath and let my shoulders drop. Staring into the dense forest, I tried my own brand of mental messaging, begging for Jackson to feel my presence or to hear me calling him through the sheer force of my will.
    The woods grew even darker as the trees got closer together. Green leaves mixed with black shadows, dark-brown sticks with mud. I stared until my eyes hurt. Then I took another deep breath and headed up the hill to try and find Cleve.
    I’d just reached the grove in the center, when Cato burst from her cabin at the bottom of the hill. I jumped, then froze in place and watched as she walked quickly, almost running toward the dining hall.
    Her movements were a mix of excitement and desperation. She didn’t see me, but by the look on her face, I doubted she would’ve have seen anyone.
    A shuffling noise to my right caught my attention, and a guy who appeared about my age stepped from around the corner, just beyond the hall. He was tall and wore a drab tee that revealed muscular arms. Khaki cargos hung low on his slim hips, and dark bangs were swept long over his left eye and cheek. His lips were tight, and he seemed angry.
    It didn’t matter. The general-woman let out a laugh-cry and broke into a real run when she saw him. She grabbed him first by the shoulders and then pulled him into a hug. She let go and held him at arm’s length, and I watched her scrub her fingers back and forth through the front of his hair. It was the color of coffee, and he seemed embarrassed by her show of affection. I bit my lip, frowning as I watched them.
    “Gallatin. Oh, at last.” Her voice was still that same calm sound, but it trembled a bit as she spoke. Then she laughed again. “Are you well? Did you encounter any difficulties on your journey?”
    I studied him, wondering who this guy was. I didn’t have to