Page 74 of Blue Arrow Island
“That’s not what I said.” I approach Marcus, who’s scowling at me. “He’s twisting my words.”
“It’s okay to agree with him.” Marcus’s tone is cool and detached.
“I don’t.” I shoot a glare at Ray. “You never said anything to me about building a boat or getting a new leader. You wanted to know about Rising Tide and you said you’re tired of shoveling shit and you want to find a way out of here.”
His eyes narrow at me, his expression hard and hateful. “You’re just afraid of him like everyone else. But there’s power in numbers.”
I balk. “Do you have any idea what’s in that jungle? In the Rising Tide camp?”
He shrugs. “Can’t be worse than this place.”
“I saw the body of a man who gottorn apartby a jaguar. People kill each other for fun at Rising Tide. There’s no food. They’re eating algae and bugs. A snake—not a normal snake—killed someone from this camp. If you think this camp is the worst place on the island, you’ll be in for a shock when you leave it.”
“Is that what you want?” Marcus asks Ray, his tone brusque. “We’ll give you supplies if you need them and you can go.”
Ray considers, then shakes his head, his voice cold. “No.”
“Then quit running your fucking mouth,” Niran says, spitting on the ground.
Marcus shakes his head, his expression dark. “He can say whatever he wants.” He focuses on Ray. “But the next time you put your hands on someone in this camp will be the last. Clear?”
“Yeah, whatever.”
Ray walks away, hanging his head in dejection. After the way he threw me under the bus, I don’t feel sorry for him.
I want to assure Marcus that I wasn’t talking shit about his leadership, but when I turn, he’s already walking away, Nova and Niran on his heels. Amira puts an arm around me.
“It’ll blow over,” she says.
I have a feeling it won’t.
23
Sometimes what looks like disease is actually cooperation, and what seems destructive is actually beneficial. There are fungi that appear to attack plant and tree roots, but really, they are helping them absorb nutrients.
- Excerpt from a lecture given by Dr. Lucinda Hollis in her Plant Biology course
I leave my room the next morning and walk out of the tunnel, planning to go to the Hub for breakfast before I start my shift in the garden.
Vance puts his hand between my shoulder blades, steering me in a different direction. I move away from his touch and give him a questioning look.
“We’re going this way.” He doesn’t even look at me as he says it.
“Can I get some water first?”
“Did I say we were getting water first?”
I narrow my eyes, his tone catching me off guard. “Where are we going?”
“The ring.”
“I don’t know what that is.”
He huffs out a sigh. “You’ll find out in about five minutes. Let’s go.”
Trepidation weighs down every step I take. I don’t want to follow him, but what choice do I have? I know this has something to do with what Ray said about me last night.
Everything was going fine. I was keeping my head down and feeling more like myself every day. Not just more like myself than I have since I got to the island, but since before Lochlan.
