Chapter 19: Bullies

The first person Reid encounters when he hits the path is bullyboy. His rage instantly refocuses as he side steps the

puddle of blood his friend left behind and finds a nice, ripe target.

Reid doesn't get a chance to take that anger out on his target. Instead, the kid grins at Reid like it's funny and gives

him a punch in the arm. Reid is so startled by the change in attitude his fury melts away, leaving only grief behind.

"Joel," the bully jerks a thumb in his own direction. "You guys did good just then. Maybe we can help each other."

Reid can hear Drew whispering behind him. Leila answers back, but their words are lost. He still sees the boy's staring

eyes, Trey's dead face. And in front of him, Joel. It's hard not to blame. But Reid's been down that road and knows it

won't do any of them any good. Even if it feels like the only thing to do.

"Reid." He doesn't move or gesture but as he speaks the other's names he feels them come forward to be recognized. "Drew,

Leila. And Milo." He catches Leila's short nod out of the corner of his eye, Drew's scowl. Milo slips a little and looks

stricken. Reid can't think about it but knows he's slid in the cooling blood.

"We need to move on." The dark haired guy won't meet Reid's eyes anymore. He instead speaks directly to Joel.

"Yeah, right. Let's move out." Joel shoots Reid another smile, a shark's version of humor. Reid's dislike grows by the

moment. He almost ducks out and retreats the other way, knowing his friends will follow him. But, his curiosity wins

instead and he goes after the bully.

The pack falls in without a word, stumbling and dragging themselves along, stealing peeks at Reid and the others. He

ignores them, focusing on the bulky leader.

"This is Marcus." Joel punches Marcus in the arm. Must be his favorite thing to do. Reid catches Marcus watching him and

refuses to look away first. He doesn't have long to wait before the other shifts his gaze.

"He's my second," Joel says like he's some kind of general. "Got to keep these kids in line, you know?"

Reid is more interested in staying alive, but doesn't say anything.

"Where are we going?" Drew is beside Reid and Joel doesn't look happy about it.

"What you want to know for?" Joel barely looks at Drew.

"You said this was your territory," Drew says. "And since you seem to have a purpose, I'm guessing you're taking us

somewhere."

Joel barks out a laugh, nudging Marcus. A few of the other kids laugh too, but they look like they are only doing it

because it's expected of them. The crushed spirit in their eyes is horrible, almost as bad as the blankness of death.

"You hear him? Nice little way of speaking you got there, pudge."

Reid's stomach clenches. Even when he was popular he couldn't stand it when kids were bullied. His father had to pick him

up from school a number of times for fighting, but never punished him because he knew what Reid did. He was always on the

right side.

Drew never missed a step. "Thank you. Now, are you going to tell us where we're going?"

Reid's respect for his friend takes a leap. Especially when he is sure the boy knows Joel is the kind of bully who will

take it out on Drew physically and not think twice about it.

"You'll see, pudge." Joel meets Reid's eyes, a dark and nasty smile on his face.

"Drew." Reid's correction is soft, smooth like melted butter. Joel's eyes widen. But he gets the point. And lets it go.

"There's something you'll want to see."

Joel and Marcus pull out ahead and Reid lets them. Drew waits until they are out of earshot.

"Thanks." His fingers are busy with his glasses. "It's okay, though. You don't have to do that. Not like it's never

happened to me before."

Reid doesn't say anything for a moment, trying to come to terms with that. He had a hard time himself this year at

school, something he wasn't used to. But being a foster kid carries a kind of stigma he wasn't able to shake no matter

how good he was at sports.

"You're my second," Reid says at last. "And no one treats you like that."

Drew's smile is the first good thing Reid's seen in a while.

Leila's hand catches his, squeezes, lets go. Reid almost turns to her, but Joel is shouting for him up ahead. Reid winces

from the volume, wondering why, after Joel's comment about noise, he isn't careful with his own.

He joins Joel and Marcus with Drew right beside him at the edge of a cliff. He hears Drew's sharp intake of breath and

almost tells the boy to go back with Leila. But one look and Reid feels a surge of pride to go along with that warm

feeling he's allowing himself. Drew faces down his fear of heights with barely a tremor in his hands and doesn't look

away.

That covered, it still takes Reid a bit to figure out what they are looking at.

"Lots of interesting stuff here," Joel says like it's a supermarket he plans to rip off. "If you're not squeamish." He

laughs again, but this time he laughs alone.

Reid's brain makes the connection at the same moment Drew whispers, "Oh my God."

It's a deep, narrow valley and looks manmade, the sides sloped, the dirt fragile from depressions left behind by rain,

cuts running from the top down to the bottom of the pit. Inside it are bones, piles of them. Hundreds of kids. Beneath

those, charred earth where more have been burned to ash. Hundreds more. Reid feels his bile rise, touch the back of his

throat.

"They leave us everything," Joel says as he starts to slide down the side. "Clothes, shoes, you name it." He looks up at

Reid, that darkness still visible, hurtful because the malice is so happy. "Coming?"

Reid joins him, Drew on his heels, breathing heavily as he struggles with his fear. Reid tries once to help, but Marcus

is watching and Drew waves him off. He's right. They can't show weakness, not now. Not with these kids.

Once on the bottom, it's not so bad. He can pretend the bones are sticks, they are so clean and white. The scent of char

and old smoke disguises any remaining hint of decay. Reid shies from wondering how the skeletons have been stripped like

that while his practical side goes digging for things he can use.

His sneakers, for instance. They weren't new to begin with and all the running over rough terrain has worn them almost

completely through. He spots a pair nearby, checks the size. Perfect. The jeans and T-shirt neatly piled next to them

would fit him too, but Reid isn't willing to go that far even as he wonders why they aren't covered in blood.

It's like the hunters left them gifts but make them walk among their dead to receive them. The longer Reid is in the pit

the more his horror grows and he finally scrambles out with his friends on his heels while Joel and the others follow

more slowly.

Marcus is the first to point out the backpack. "What did you find?"

Reid's first instinct is a sharp jab of anxiety. He doesn't want to say. There are too many of them and he fully intends

to abandon this group the first chance he gets. He and his friends need all the food they have for their own survival.

But Milo speaks up before he has a chance to mutter an answer.

"We found a camp. Power bars and stuff." Reid wants to throttle him. Milo instantly knows he's made a mistake because he

turns with a look so full of remorse Reid forgives him.

Joel is beside Reid in a flash, the others hovering around. "Food? You going to share that?"

Like he has a choice, now. Reid hands out bars. When the last kid clutches his to his thin chest, the backpack is almost

empty. Joel tries to take it but Reid slings it back over his shoulders and glares. The bully backs off, grinning and

chewing. Reid almost comments when Joel takes a bar from one of the smaller kids, pushing the skinny girl aside, and eats

it, too. Reid holds his peace, however. He can't save them. Has no desire to. His only concern is protecting what remains

of the food. And his friends.

"So, I'm working on a plan." Joel speaks around a mouthful. No one looks up. But Reid can feel their tension and wonders

about it. Marcus steps forward but Joel shoves him off. "No one agrees with me." There is food in his teeth and again

Reid gets the impression he's been eating on a regular basis while the rest of them look starved.

"I'm listening." Can't hurt.

"We set a trap, see? For one of the hunters. Send a runner out, use him as bait. Lead the bastard into a spot we can

surround." He hocks up a wad of phlegm and spits it out, barely missing Milo's sneaker. "Found the perfect place just

this morning, in fact."

"And then?" Drew's being cocky, but Joel doesn't give him a hard time. Just smiles that horrible smile.

"Then the rest of us kill the 'sumbitch," he says. "Take the fight to them."

"With what?" Drew rolls his eyes at Reid. "Sticks and stones?"

Joel finally looks pissed, but it's okay with Reid. He prefers the bully's anger to his dark humor.

"Yeah, sticks and stones! We sharpen them, right? Lay in wait and BAM!" A couple of the kids jump. "Dead hunter."

"I see several flaws in your so called plan," Drew says while Reid thinks it over. "One, what if the hunter catches the

kid before we can spring the trap? Two, don't you think they are smart enough to smell something like this and not fall

for it?"

"Worth a try, I say," Joel shoots back. "Who asked you, pudge?" His eyes flicker to Reid and he grins. "Sorry, Drew."

"Besides," Drew goes on, speaking to Reid as if Joel doesn't exist. The fact is not lost on the pack leader and his anger

returns, smoldering. "We'll just piss the hunters off. They'll come after us even worse then."

Something about Joel's idea has sparked a light in Reid and he shakes his head. "It might work."

Joel sits back and laughs, punching Marcus in the arm. Reid reminds himself not to stand too close to the bully. His

right shoulder is still giving him trouble. "There, you see? Reid agrees." He looks around at all the kids. No one meets

his eyes, but a handful murmur how great that is.

Not for the first time, Reid wonders about Joel and what he's done to these kids.

He shoves that aside for now. The idea of striking back, of getting even a small measure of revenge, is worth

collaborating with the bully.

"How many are there?" Leila's voice is so soft and unexpected everyone looks at her. She's one of the few females in the

group. Girls must be easier to catch, Reid figures. But not her. He wouldn't count her out before himself.

"How many what, sweetheart?" Joel's attention is very unwelcome. Reid makes it plain the bully should back off by simply

taking her hand.

"Hunters." There's an edge to her voice, now. "How many hunters, smart ass."

Joel looks like he wants to make another comment, one Reid is sure will start a fight. Instead he shrugs. "No one knows."

"Have you tried this brilliant plan of yours before?" Drew is so skeptical even Marcus pays attention, though his face

stays stony and blank.

"Nope," Joel says. "Just came up with it, like I said. 'Cause of the perfect spot and all." He belches and scratches his

stomach through his filthy shirt. Reid wonders why he doesn't help himself to a fresh one. "Need a fast runner to make it

happen." Joel's eyes are fixed on Reid's. "Someone they won't catch too easy."

"Are you volunteering?" Leila's hand tightens. Reid can feel the warning in that squeeze.

"Nope, not me," Joel says. "Can't run that fast. But I can swing a rock like a 'sumbitch."

'Sumbitch is Joel's favorite swear, obviously. Reid feels Marcus staring at him and turns to face him. Marcus looks away,

but not before something in his eyes triggers Reid's anxiety. Not everything about this situation is as it appears. And

yet, the plan has a chance if he is willing to risk it.

"I'll do it," Reid says.

***