Earthseed

right about those people, then we can think about that.” A sly look crossed Ho’s face. “Besides, we might be able to work out something with those people—if they’re really there.”
    “You wouldn’t think so if you—”
    He grabbed her shoulders, pulling her to her feet. “You spoke to one woman—or so you say. All you know—supposedly—is what Brendan and Bonnie told you.” He shook her; she twisted away. He slapped her and she slapped him back. He punched her in the belly and she doubled over, falling to the ground.
    “We’re going to go there,” he continued, “and if anything happens to me, you’ll be the first to suffer—I can throw my knife faster than anyone can shoot. And if you mess up, it’ll be hard on your friends here. I can still use them after all.”
    She sat up; her belly hurt. “I need pants and boots.”
    “I can get you some old pants. You’ll have to make do with moccasins—Vittorio here makes them from hides.” He turned to the other boys. “We’d better make plans.”

    Ho had left for his hidden camp, taking one of the boats. Vittorio had tied up Zoheret, reconnecting her to her bound friends with rope. Then he and Owen settled themselves at the other side of the clearing, watching them while Manuel napped.
    Tonio gazed at his bound hands. “We’re in worse trouble now.”
    “No, you’re not,” Zoheret answered. “He’ll find out I’m right, and we’ll go to the corridors and be safe.”
    “Unless something goes wrong. And we’ll have to sit here waiting—we can’t do a thing about it. You don’t know what that’s like.”
    Her anger flared. “I could have stayed in the settlement, you know. I could have given myself up—whatever those people are like, it would have been better than this. I could have just thought of myself. And if I had stayed, Bonnie might still be …” Her voice shook, and she swallowed. “If any of you had put up a fight before, we might have gotten away. But you didn’t. It was easier to give up. So don’t blame me.” Zoheret lowered her voice. “We could still try. All we need to do is get our hands on one weapon—get one of those guys over here. But you don’t want to do that—you’d rather wait and have someone else save you.” She stared at Tonio. “You’re pretty brave when it comes to burning empty cabins or talking, but you don’t come through the rest of the time.”
    “Zoheret.” Dmitri put a hand on hers. “This won’t do us any good now.”
    “Shut up over there,” Owen shouted.
    “Make me!” Zoheret screamed back. “Come on, just try it.” She got to her feet; the rope binding her to Dmitri was stretched tight. Raising her bound hands before her, she made fists.
    “Sit down!”
    “Make me!”
    Owen took a step toward her. Manuel, awake now, rolled to his feet and grabbed Owen’s arm, pulling the other boy toward him. Owen shook him away. “If you don’t sit down,” the blond boy said slowly, “and shut your mouth, nobody’s going to get fed. Is that clear?”
    “You better sit down,” Serena murmured.
    “They killed your dog,” Zoheret said. “Don’t you care?”
    “I can’t do anything for Red now.”
    Zoheret sat down, defeated. Manuel dug in the packs and pulled out food, then picked up a canteen and came toward them. He stopped several paces away and threw them the packages, then the canteen, covering them with his weapon while they ate.
    “Don’t make trouble,” he said. “Nothing’ll happen to you. You’ll be all right.”
    “Oh, I’m sure we will,” Zoheret responded.
    “I said you’d be all right, and your friends won’t get hurt.” Manuel said the words quickly in a low voice, widening his eyes a bit and arching his eyebrows, as if trying to lend the words an added significance. He turned and walked back to his friends.
    Was Manuel saying that he would keep his companions from harming them? Was he even, perhaps, implying that he might set them free? He and Ho were rivals; maybe he was tired of taking Ho’s orders. She longed to trust him, but was afraid to do so.

    Zoheret’s bare legs, dampened by dew, were stiff by daylight. She sat up and rubbed them. Her muscles ached, but she had slept deeply; she was becoming used to sleeping in the open.
    Ho had returned. Vittorio was no longer present; Daniella and a freckled, red-haired boy named Gene were. Owen, however, was still with them.
    Ho crossed the clearing and threw a pair of pants at Zoheret,