that shard of glass, marking out the borders of my world and hers with its tip.
âI brought you a tent,â I said. âItâs not much, but itâll keep the rain off.â
The girl didnât say anything, so I backed away and started assembling it nearby. She didnât take her eyes off me the entire time. When I had it set up, I pulled the other things Iâd brought her out of a backpack, holding up each one before putting it inside the tent.
âFlashlight. Dry sweatshirt and socks. One can of tuna and some crackers. Bottle of water.â I pointed back the way Iâd come. âMy camp is just a couple minutes down that path. If you need anything elseââ
âI wonât.â
There was nothing left to say, but I couldnât seem to leave. My eyes went to the knife in her hand. The rain splashed against it, sluicing down its sides and dripping off its row of teeth. I wanted it back, but the words wouldnât come. Maybe I wanted her to feel the way I did when I held it, like I was anchored in place. Or maybe I just didnât want her to see how much I needed it.
âTry to get some sleep,â I said. âTomorrow weâll figure out where you belong.â
There was a rumble of thunder. I turned to go. Her voice cut through the rain behind me.
âWhat if I donât belong anywhere?â
I stopped. Turned back. The silver key around her neck glinted in the flashlightâs beam.
âEverybody belongs somewhere.â
9
T HE NEXT MORNING , Greer and I found the boy and the girl cowering inside a shelter theyâd constructed out of brush and a moldy tarp. They were all jutting bones and pale skin, livid with mosquito bites. The boy warned us away with a rusty butter knife, but after an hour or two of Greerâs patient convincing the kid dropped it and they came with us.
When we got to the camp, they were both clearly overwhelmed, the boy most of all. He stood there rigid, his eyes wide. The girl went into big-sister mode. She grabbed his hand and drew him a little bit behind her, shielding his body with hers.
It was hard to blame him for being freaked out. The camp was in its usual state of semi-chaos. The kids were tearing from one end of the place to the other, cleaning cabins and hanging laundry on lines strung between the boysâ cabin and the dining hall. Makela was running the show, like she always did. She stood on a chair at the center of camp, clipboard in hand, barking out instructions. Jenna and Crystal, her loyal minions and enforcers, flanked her.
Greer came up beside me. âIs it possible that Makela was the dictator of a small country in her past life?â
âWhat are they up to? Itâs not like them to clean without being asked.â
âThey are a constant source of mystery,â Greer said. âYo! Astrid!â
Greer whistled, and Astrid, Carrie, and Tomiko headed toward us. Dreamy girls with grubby hands and matted hair, they were the polar opposites of Makela and her friends.
Greer squatted down and drew the Josephâs Point kids close, one hand on each of their knobby shoulders. âMy friends are going to find you some new clothes and something to eat. Okay?â
The boy looked at the girl, unsure until she nodded.
âNow, Iâm going to warn you,â Greer added with great seriousness. âThese three girls are very,
very
weird. They might try to talk to you about your auras or make you fingerpaint your feelings.â
âGreer,â
Carrie complained, clearly loving that he was talking about her, even if it was to make fun.
Astrid lifted the hem of her long, flowery skirt and dropped to her knees in front of the two children. Her white-blond hair practically glowed under a pink handkerchief.
âI bet you two are hungry, right? Well, my friend Tomiko here just happens to be the best baker in the whole entire universe. Want her to make you something?â
The boy
Christine Zolendz, Frankie Sutton, Okaycreations