around.
âI donât know,â Carter said. âBut I knew something had to be up.â
âShe didnât have any choice!â Jane said. He could tell how relieved she was. All of them loved Mima, but for Jane, it had seemed especially hard to see her turn on them. âShe had to take Carter, or someone else would have.â
âAnd she had to be convincing,â Carter said. âOtherwise, she couldnât . . .â
He trailed off, not sure what to say.
âShe couldnât what?â Jane asked.
âI donât know,â he said. âBut this isnât over.â
âMaybe weâre supposed to use the knife for digging,â Buzz said.
âDig where?â Vanessa asked.
There was no answer for that one. Carter didnât know the encampment as well as the others, but heâd seen enough to know there was nowhere to go from this level.
âShe probably wasnât planning on all four of us being down here,â Buzz said.
âThatâs my fault,â Vanessa answered. She sounded upset all over again.
âNo,â Carter said. âIf itâs anyoneâs fault, you guysââ
âItâs nobodyâs fault!â Jane interrupted. âOkay? And even if it were, so what? None of that changes anything now. Not anymore.â
âWell, I hope Mima has a
really
good idea,â Vanessa said.
âShe does,â Carter said.
âHow can you be so sure?â Buzz asked.
Carter didnât have to think about his answer. Somehow, everything theyâd been throughâeven the day theyâd just hadâwas so impossible, it made anything seem just a little more possible.
âBecause sheâs amazing,â he said. âSheâs the mostamazing person Iâve ever met. And itâs not because I
like
her, okay?â
âYeah, right,â Vanessa said, giving her Iâm-older-and-I-know-better look. âNot
just
because you like her, anyway.â
âWhatever,â Carter said. âI also trust her. And so should you. Because if you ask me, this nightâs just getting started.â
CHAPTER 13
B uzz woke up to the smell of smoke.
After everything that had happened, he never thought for a second heâd fall asleep in that pit. But the hours had worn on, and the long day had caught up to him. Somewhere along the way, each of them had dropped off.
Now he was sitting up again, wide awake.
âDo you hear that?â Jane asked.
People were shouting. Buzz could hear the crackle of burning wood, too, far louder than any single campfire. When he looked up, a glowing light showed from the direction of the main clearing.
âSomethingâs wrongââ Vanessa started to say, but she was cut off by the crashing sound of a burning limb hitting the ground.
âThat was a branch,â Buzz said. âA big one.â
âItâs the trees,â Jane said. âIt sounds like theyâre on fire.â
Carter was the first onto his feet. âThis is it!â he said. Already, he had Mimaâs knife clasped between his bound hands.
The guards were nowhere Buzz could see. From the sound of all the voices, it made sense they would have gone to help. There was no knowing for sure.
âBuzz, here!â Carter said. âLet me cut you free.â
Buzz held out his hands, and Carter sawed at the vines around his wrists.
âCareful!â Buzz said.
âJust stay still,â he said. It wasnât long before the cordage split and popped open. Buzz shook his fingers and rubbed at his wrists to get the circulation back.
âNow me,â Carter said.
It didnât take long to cut everyone loose. Even ifthey were caught, Buzz thought, there wasnât much the guards could do but retie them. Still, his heart was going like heâd just sprinted a mile. Because if they
didnât
get caught . . .
The possibilities stretched all the