was bad,â he admits. âReally bad. I didnât check my trapline for a day because my sister was sick and my mother was working late. Things were so crazy at home that I just... forgot. It wonât happen again. And I guess Iâll have to find another place to set my trapline. I didnât really understand about the nature preserve being totally off-limits. Thatâs a new thing. The warden explained it all, so now I get it.â
So, he is going to keep trapping. What is it going to take to make him stop? âBilly,â I say carefully. âIâve been learning some stuff about trapping. Did you know that more than ten million animals are killed every year for their fur? And that lots of the animals caught in traps are like Chico, animals that the trappers donât even want?â
Billy sort of grunts. Does that mean he already knows all this stuff?
I decide to keep talking. I tell him everything that I learned about trapping and all the harm it does to animals, just like Iâd planned to do when I first headed to his house.
He listens. He really does. He nods once in a while, and a couple of times he rolls his eyes as if he thinks Iâm saying something ridiculous. But he doesnât interrupt. Not once.
I bet I have Chico to thank for that. Billy probably feels so guilty about Chico that he figures he owes it to me to hear me out, at least.
Finally, I finish. I canât think of another thing to say. Billy seems to be mulling it all over, staring down at his hands. We just sit there quietly for a moment.
Thatâs when Sage comes out of the clinic. He stops in his tracks when he sees us.
âWhat are you still doing here?â he asks Billy angrily.
âI justââ Billy stands up quickly and tries to answer. âIââ
But Sage is too mad to let him finish. âYou are a sorry excuse for a human being,â he says, shaking his head. âYou ruined one animalâs life, then you almost killed another for no reason.â
âI was going to put the fawn out of its misery!â Billy protests. âStop its suffering!â
âYeah, right,â Sage says. âI think youâre just bloodthirsty. You like killing animals, donât you?â Sage is almost shouting now, and his hands are clenched into fists.
âN-no!â Billy says. âItâs not like that! Iâm not like that, honest!â
âHeâs not,â I tell Sage, trying to calm him down. âBilly and I have been talking. He explainedââ
Sage whirls toward me. âYou stay out of this,â he hisses. âWhat do you know about it?â
âShe knows a lot,â Billy says, defending me. âSheâs been telling me all this stuff about trapping. Stuff I didnât know.â
âYou didnât know,â Sage mimics in a nasty voice. âOh, youâre so innocent, arenât you?â
âNo, Iââ
But Sage doesnât let him finish. Suddenly, he leaps at Billy, fists flying.
âSage!â I shout. âNo!â I canât believe what Iâm seeing. I grab at his shirt, but I canât get hold of him.
Billyâs trying to defend himself, but Sage is out of control. He throws Billy to the ground and begins pounding him.
At first, I panic. âStop it!â I yell. âStop it, Sage!â
How can this maniac be my brother Sage, the one who never got in a fight before?
âSage!â I yell at him. âWhat about being a pacifist? Youâre letting the Steven Bauers of the world win!â But he doesnât seem to hear me. He just keeps throwing punches.
Billy manages to scramble to his feet, trying to dodge the blows. But Sage doesnât let up. He swings wildly at Billy.
âSage!â I yell again.
Itâs obvious that nothing I can say is going to stop my brother. So I jump between him and Billy, grabbing at Sageâs arms to stop him from