Free Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell

feral tracks.
“This is the crater,” Craig said. “Legend has it this is where the European settlers threw the bodies after they massacred the Aborigines. The mud is red because of the blood. Cool, isn’t it?”
“Is this where you take all your girls?” I quipped.
Craig nodded. “When we were Bronzewings, Sarita fell down here. I was the one who found her. I tied a rope to that tree, tied the other end around my waist, rappelled down, put her over my shoulder, and pulled us both up. Awesome.”
I looked around. “I thought we were supposed to be nonverbal.”
There, at the edge of something vast and ancient, Craig lurched forward and kissed me. It wasn’t a sweet kiss. His lips felt rubbery. He pulled back and stared at me. “Will you meet me tonight? Midnight?”
“Where?”
“At the merry-go-round.”
“Okay.”
Craig turned. In the sharp sunlight his profile was perfect, he had what Chloe would call Greek god–ness. Then a shadow fell and a sly look entered his eyes, and I had a sudden paranoid flash that he might push me and I would become part of the legend.
I put that thought out of my head and stayed still as he put my blindfold back on and led me back to the group.

18
The Geek Shall Inherit the Earth
The Honeyeaters’ table was getting elbow-roomy. Fleur and Craig were sitting with the counselors. Bird had permission to observe the fairy wrens breeding by the recycling cage. Dylan still hadn’t surfaced. I pictured him flaking out in his cabin, watching the dust motes dance in the sun’s fading rays. Sarita was too excited to eat. She pushed her tray aside and whispered, “What was it like being partnered with Craig?” She looked from me to Fleur, as if trying to gauge when the catfight was going to break out.
“It was okay.”
“But what did you talk about?”
“Nothing. It was nonverbal, remember?”
“He’s perfect.” Sarita sighed.
“He’s okay .” I was outwardly cool, but on the inside my heart was racing.
Everyone else was talking about Dylan.
“It was a surfing accident,” Richard was saying. “He came off the board and slammed into a sandbank.”
“He doesn’t look like a surfer,” Laura said.
“He looks scary,” Lisa said. “What’s with all the black?”
“You’d look pretty scary if you’d lost the use of your legs.” Richard paused. “And the rest.”
The twins went, “Eww.”
“I wonder if he has a colostomy bag,” Ethan mused.
Richard sniffed. “Of course he does, idiot.”
I leaned over the table. “Do you think Dylan would like to hear you all discussing him like he’s some sort of freak?”
“What’s it to you?” Richard asked.
“Unh!” I made a face. “It’s rude, is what. And I’m eating. You people are weird. You’ve all been coming here for years—”
“We haven’t,” Lisa and Laura chirped.
“Okay, but they have.” I pointed to Richard and Ethan. I was trying to work out the group dynamic, if there was one. “I don’t get it. Isn’t Dylan your friend? Aren’t you all friends?” The boys exchanged a glance. I figured they’d made a pact not to speak to me because I was contaminated, but the urge to gossip was too tasty.
Richard said, “Thing is, Dylan used to be a bully.”
“He was a tool,” Ethan confirmed.
“Is this true?” I asked Sarita.
She nodded. “He was very competitive. He and Craig—”
“They thought they were rock stars,” Richard cut in. “You might call it hubris.” He held his fork aloft and smiled for a long time, and when I didn’t smile back he licked his lips nervously and looked away.
“You really believe that, don’t you?” I said. “That God’s got a plan for everyone. No bad deed goes unpunished. The geek shall inherit the earth. You think bad things don’t happen to good people? Wake up, Australia! Read the fucking paper.”
Richard put his hands over his ears. As soon as Ethan saw this, he did the same. They both closed their eyes and started chanting: “My God is a good God, is