Brooklyn

I don't sleep well. Finally, after hours of restless nightmares about all the different kinds of monsters who want me dead, I slip into dreamless unconsciousness. Too soon–what feels like seconds later–Evie is shaking me awake.

"Wake up," she says brightly, but something about her voice is off. Instantly I'm awake, recalling the previous day. "Come on, we're already late." I slept in my new clothes so the only thing to do is pull on my boots, carefully adjusting the knife so it doesn't chafe against my ankle. My back is to her and she doesn't notice.

We half-stand, half-crouch our way out of the tent. I run my fingers through my hair as we walk.

"What's happened?" I ask, dreading the answer. The early morning sunlight casts brilliant light around us, making everything vibrant and beautiful. A rare sight in Washington state.

"I'm not sure, I woke up just before you. But I heard the bell ringing–I'm surprised it didn't wake you."

I'm surprised, too. I'm not a light sleeper. "The bell?" I wonder. In answer to my question, a church-like chime echoes around us, coming from the big house. It rings three times. I automatically cringe at the noise then chastise myself. No one on the mainland will be able to hear it. "What does it mean?"

She tries to hide her anxiety as she brushes a golden blonde strand of hair out of her face. "It means an emergency meeting."

I think of what that might imply. Have they somehow found out my secret, or that I lied? Did the man confess that I tried to shoot him, and now they have to decide what to do with me? I shove the thought down. He's the murderer, not me. But would they really believe me? I think grimly. He's been here longer. They're sure to trust him more.

Or... My mind drifts to the monster in the woods with the cold, black eyes. But no. Wouldn't they have a better system to warn us if there was a Malefic? Not that any of us would actually stand a chance if there was one on the island, but a gut feeling tells me that Harper and Keith would be better prepared. This has to be something else. And, as egotistical as it sounds, somehow I know it has something to do with me. I think of the man from the dining hall again and cringe.

We enter the house at the same time as a few others I recognize; a short but burly man I saw in the dining hall, Sage, holding the little red-haired girl's hand, and a young boy with dark hair and surly eyes. I haven't seen him before now, but I recognize him as Eli, the only other child on the island. He trails behind the mother and girl, his face downcast, his expression serious. I set that aside to ponder about later, my attention absorbed by the loud voices coming from inside.

Inside the large room with the cleared out walls are more humans than I've seen at once in...forever. So many survivors it should be impossible. Fifteen, sixteen, I count, even though Harper already told us the number. Twenty, twenty one. I pause when I recognize the brothers, not nearly done counting every person in the room. I step around Evie to them, pushing my way through the small crowd of strangers that stare at me. Unintentionally, I find myself looking for the man from last night, worried that I'll find him and worried that I won't. I can't see him through the throng of people, though.

"Avery, Adam," I say, barely loud enough to be heard over the ruckus of people talking. They both turn at the same time. "Have you found out what's going on?"

Avery's face is grave. "Someone's gone missing." I raise an eyebrow, already thinking through the possibilities. I notice Keith whisper something into Harper's ear across the room and her face hardens.

"How? We're on an island. Have they searched everywhere yet?"

"Shh," Avery says as Harper and Keith appear, the noise dying down. I bite back my irritation at his repoving tone. Did he shush me?

"Everyone, listen up," Harper says at a normal volume. The rest of the room silences immediately. "I'm sure you're all wondering what's going on, so I'll just get right to it. Samuel has left us." The room bursts into speech again, agitated flutters. Keith lets out a piercing whistle between his fingers and they shut up. "And I mean that in the literal sense. When Liam woke up early this morning, Samuel was gone. We sent out a search party, but it doesn't matter; one of the boats is gone, along with all of his personal items. We didn't find out until now that he also took several guns and ammo, along with food from the kitchen."

"Why?" Someone mutters loudly. Clearly not about the food and guns, but about his leaving in general.

Harper scowls and Keith deftly interjects. "Why doesn't matter. What matters is that he's gone and he's not coming back."

"He's putting us all in danger,'' a woman's voice that I don't recognize accuses. I have to agree with her. "If one of them finds him and he exposes us, we're all dead."

"Sam wouldn't do that," Liam disagrees, but I can see on his face that even he's questioning his words.

"What do we do?" Someone in the back calls over the noise.

"We should send someone after him then gut his sorry hide for this," The elderly woman, Cara, loudly announces. I'm a little shocked at the hard words, not having expected her to have so much bite.

"No, if we send anyone after him, he'll run," Liam scowls. "That will only put both of us in more danger of being found by one of them."

"And you think it's better if he's tortured until he tells a Chosen about us?" Cara snaps.

"He's long gone by now," A gruff native american man in his fifties grumbles under his breath. The people around him get a little quieter when he speaks, considering his words. But after a moment the voices start back up again in a cacophonous swell.

"Quiet," Harper snaps through gritted teeth. "I didn't call you here because I wanted your input, I called you here to inform you. Keith and I will decide what we do now." There's a few more annoyed murmurs and I briefly wonder if there will be an uprising. But she simply stares them all down with an icy glare. "Meeting's over. Get back to work."

The group does as she says, slowly leaving the building. Some look resigned, others angry, but they all look scared. I study Evie as she drags me out with the others. To my surprise, her face is grim. She meets my questioning gaze.

"This is our home," She explains, and for once her smile is gone. "None of us want to leave or see it in danger."

I duck my head with guilt, a small voice whispering that if I wasn't here, none of this would've happened. But this isn't my fault, I want to scream. He killed my dad. He's the one who shouldn't be here.

"What now?" I ask Evie when we're back at the campground. I watch quizzically as she grabs some big baskets that just seem to be laying around.

"You'll be working with me for the next week or so until you learn all the different jobs." I groan internally and follow her past the campground around the other side of the brick house. As soon as we turn the corner I see it.

"Woah," I say.

"Yeah," She grins a little. Past the big red brick house is a huge garden. A field is a more accurate word, actually.

"How?" I ask as we make our way through the interwoven paths. A few people amble around, completing various tasks. Some water the smaller patches of herbs, some pull weeds.

"Harper and Keith's parents were like these millionaire doomsday preppers," she says excitedly, moving her hands as she talks. "This garden has been here for years, but when Harper and Keith came back to the island six months ago, they found a ton of seeds in the basement with all the supplies. We've planted even more fruits, vegetables, and grains since then. In a few months the wheat will be ready and we'll make more loaves. There's potatoes and corn, too."

"What else?" I ask eagerly, watching as now somewhat familiar faces start on various jobs around the vast garden and wheat field.

"Let's see," She counts off on her fingers, "there's tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, onions, broccoli, radishes, peppers, carrots, sweet potatoes, and ginger. Oh, and beans. Lot's of beans." She makes a face at the last one, but then she smiles. "There's also strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and apples and peaches as well. They're more of a treat."

My stomach growls just thinking of it. As I watch, a bee flies by us to a nearby flower, happily buzzing. Birds chirp in the distance and the morning is clear and bright. Incredible, I think, all my earlier musings of our downfall forgotten at the sight of just how self sustainable the island really is. Maybe humans have a chance, after all.

Of course, this thought brings back the feeling that I'm putting it all in jeopardy. Stop, I tell myself, he's already forgotten you exist.

"We'll be working in the garden today. The radishes are ripe, I think," Evie says, breaking me out of my thoughts. My stomach growls again as I follow her further into the garden, squatting down on a patch of dirt next to what I assume are the radishes.

"Do you guys ever eat breakfast?" I ask, more curious than anything. I'm normally lucky if I get two meals in a day, so who am I to complain?
She laughs, a bright if not slightly forced, sound. It grates on my nerves. "No, we eat brunch instead in the early afternoon. Except on Sundays when we mostly take the day off."

"To conserve supplies?" I wonder.

She nods. "The island is well stocked, but we plan on being here for a while." Her expression darkens. "If we can," She adds belatedly, her voice somber. Guilt hits me again.

"You'll have to show me how to do this," I tell her to distract us both.

"Don't worry, it's easy."

With another bright smile in my direction she shows me how to harvest the radishes and put them in the baskets she brought with us.

By the time dinner comes around, the group as a whole seems to have settled somewhat. Maybe it's hunger, a force that brings everyone together. Evie and I enter the dining hall and head straight for the food, not even bothering to look for Avery and Adam yet, our stomachs growling.

But despite the food and the day's work to take our minds off things, there are still angry murmurs and wary expressions all around.

"Evie," I ask as we fill our bowls with the vegetable soup again."What do you think Harper and Keith will decide to do about the man that disappeared?"

She sighs. "Sam, you mean. I don't think they'll find him, if that's what you mean. Whether they'll look or not, I have no idea. They probably won't tell any of us what they're planning anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"If they tell us they're planning on looking for him, for example, some people will argue and fight about it. But if they tell us after they've already looked for him then there's nothing anyone can say. It's usually how they do things."

I study her. She's not as oblivious as she seems. "So who is really in charge, Harper or Keith?"

I grab a chunk of bread and she snorts as we move out of line and toward a nice spot on the floor. "I think Harper would say that it's her, since she's the oldest and technically owns the island, but it's pretty equal. Keith is just as much of a leader, and Harper's fine with that. They're twins, after all."

I muse over that for a moment. It must be strange, not having a clear leader.

"There you are," Avery says, sitting between us and slinging an arm over my shoulders. I roll my eyes and push it off. I will not be his highschool sweetheart.

"Where's Adam?" I ask, scanning the room. I spot him in line.

"He's getting food," Avery shrugs and turns to give Evie a big charming smile. "What did you two do today?"

Evie blushes and stammers.

"We harvested radishes," I say dryly, punching Avery hard on the shoulder. He knows exactly what he's doing.

"Sounds fun," he answers, not hurt or at all bothered.

"Hey," Adam says, setting his bowl on the ground between Avery and Evie. He's grinning. "They just pulled out some fresh fruit."

Evie's eyes light up and she shoots to her feet. "Better get some before it's all gone," she murmurs as she follows Adam back in line. I turn to Avery.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing?" He asks innocently.

"I'm not sure, hence why I asked," I deadpan.

He rolls his eyes but grins. "I'm trying to make you jealous. I know the old Brooke is in there somewhere."

I sigh. "Avery, if you don't like the girl, then don't flirt with her or lead her on." I scrunch up my face, the words to follow physically paining me. "Evie is a sweet girl."

Avery snorts, seeing through me. But whether or not I find her annoying doesn't matter–Avery will break her heart without even realizing it.

"It's like highschool all over again," I mutter, the old Brooke briefly resurfacing.

It takes me a moment to notice the growing commotion by the doors.