Free Black River Falls by Jeff Hirsch

pullout. You can give me your professional opinion then. All right?”
    I nodded.
    â€œI’ll owe you, man. Ten percent of my millions. For life!”
    We said good night, and then his boots crunched through the trees, slowly fading out until I was alone in the dark. Or until I
thought
I was.
    â€œI swear, Cassidy, you kill me.”
    Greer was standing in a patch of moonlight on the other side of the stream, grinning. I set the sketchpad down and pulled my mask back on.
    â€œBlack River has always prided itself on being a diverse community,
” he said, chuckling as he came through the trees. “I don’t care what everybody says, you’re funny.”
    â€œAnybody else out there?” I asked.
    â€œFew other Marvins looking around near the base of the mountain.”
    â€œThey see you?”
    â€œPlease. I got within five feet and they just stood there picking their noses. So! What did Lieutenant Supernerd have to say?”
    â€œHe can cover for us on the girl,” I said. “Thinks Raney’s probably too busy to worry about her right now anyway.”
    Greer plopped down on the streambed across from me. “So he didn’t seem so bad, right? Raney?”
    I looked over at him.
    â€œWhat?” Greer said. “I’m serious. He said nothing’s going to change.”
    â€œHe said he saw no reason
right now
for anything to change,” I corrected him. “It was a threat, Greer.”
    â€œCome on.”
    â€œHe was making sure we knew he could change his mind anytime he wanted. I mean, seriously, didn’t you think it was a little weird that he didn’t come down on us at
all?
Why not?”
    â€œFine. Maybe it’s weird. But the kids
could
use some fun. Not to mention new clothes.”
    â€œWe don’t know anything about him,” I said. “We start taking favors from him now, then—”
    â€œI know, I know. He’s gonna turn out to be some kind of lizard person who wants to eat our faces off. But how about we deal with that
after
we get everybody some new underwear?”
    Greer kept on chattering away, but his voice faded out just like Gonzalez’s had. The sketchbook had fallen open to a drawing of Black Panther. I went to close it but ended up flipping ahead until I came to the end again, to Cardinal. The way the moonlight washed out the colors, it looked like those early pages, the ones you and I shared as the snow fell on the fire escape outside our window. I could almost feel you beside me as I traced the curve of Cardinal’s wing with my fingertips.
    â€œI’m coming with you,” I said.
    Greer stopped whatever he was saying and turned to me. “What?”
    I looked up. “Tomorrow morning. To find those kids. I’m coming with you.”
    â€œSeriously?”
    â€œThere’s a trail from here to Joseph’s Point that doesn’t go through town. We’ll go first thing in the morning.”
    â€œBut what about Gonzalez? And Raney?”
    â€œAs soon as we get those kids back here, we figure out where they belong and we get them there. Same with the green-haired girl.”
    â€œUh, yeah. Great.”
    â€œWho knows,” I said. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll all have family in town just dying to take them back.”
    Greer laced his fingers behind his head and lay back near the streambed.
    â€œUs getting lucky,” he said. “I wonder what that’ll feel like.”
    Â 
    By the time Greer and I made it back to camp, it was raining again. I stopped at the equipment shed to grab a few things before starting up the trail to look for the green-haired girl.
    I found her not far from my own campsite. She was crouched between two boulders at the edge of the mountain. When I came out of the trees, she spun around, holding up one hand to ward off the glare of the flashlight. My knife was in her other hand. She held it just like she had held