Sneak (Swipe Series)

room, hunched over the long wooden table, sipping tea.
    “A cross-country trip is hard enough, even for the Marked,” Papa said. “Flying’s impossible, electrocars wouldn’t make it more than a hundred miles, and electrobuses don’t run past the city power grids . . . not even sure they have ’em out in Sierra yet. Magnetrains are government-run. Can’t get anywhere near ’em without a Mark, and even then, it’s checkpoints all along the way.” Papa shook his head and said it again. “No. Cross-country trip is hard enough for the Marked. For Markless like you?” He exhaled hard and clucked his tongue. “Impossible.”
    But Mama smiled now, leaning forward, her face dancing with deep shadows in the light from the woodstove. “Or at least . . . it would be . . .” And the boys leaned in too, hanging off the Hayeses’ every word. “If it weren’t for the River.”
    “The . . . river?” Logan asked. “Mama Hayes, there’s no river from here to Beacon.”
    “Not a river, Logan. The River. The Unmarked River. The network of Markless.”
    Papa grinned. “Members of the River, we call ourselves fishers. Our sea is the American Union. We are the fishers of men. We wait in the shadows. We find one another. We help one another. And we’re growing in strength.”
    “No one knows the whole River,” Mama added. “We can’t risk that. But there are paths, all the same. And all along them, there’s always a fisher who can point you in the right direction.”
    “That’s it?” Logan asked. “That’s all fishers can do? Point? ”
    Papa nodded. “’Fraid so. Now, that don’t mean you’re on your own, though.
    “We’ve a system in place. Know the system—know the way.”
    Logan and Peck nodded, uncertain, waiting for him to continue.
    “This here shows the path,” Papa said. “You find this carved in a tree, or on a post, or on a stone . . . you know you’re on the right track.” He drew a symbol onto the wooden surface of the table, in thick lines with a piece of chalk.

    “You just look for that, all along the way, and you’ll never be far from help.
    “Now, this here? This anchor?” He sketched it in three quick lines.

    “It’s a place to rest your bones. You see one of these carved into the countryside, you know there’s a safe place to stay nearby. It might be a cave or it might be a mansion—you won’t know ’til you see it. But if you can find an anchor, you can trust it, absolutely.”
    “Wait a minute. A mansion?” Logan asked. “What kind of Markless owns a mansion?”
    And Papa grinned at him. “My boy, fishers aren’t just among the Markless. This here?” He drew again on the table.

    “This here is a lifesaver. Means a Marked man or woman has opened their lives to our cause.”
    “Lifesavers are crucial,” Mama said. “We couldn’t survive without them. You see one of these in front of a store somewhere, you know you can ask for a loaf of bread, or a drink of water, or a shirt. They’ll give it to ya. You see one in front of a home, you’ll have a place to wash up, maybe a meal in exchange for a day’s labor around the house. And if you see one next to an anchor, you go right ahead and feel safe spending the night, Marked host and all.”
    “Now this,” Papa said, “looks kinda like a boat, don’t it?” He scrawled a quick half circle next to the other symbols.

    “This means you’ve found yourself a captain. See one next to a school? You better believe some teacher in there knows the way. You see one on a sidewalk? You can trust there’s a shop owner offering more than goods. Find one by a house or a farm? Well,” Papa said. “You get the idea.
    “Look hard for these, though. They’re few and far between. But folks with these symbols will do more than show you the way forward. They’ll take you there, far as they can go.”
    “Who else knows the exact routes? Besides the captains?” Peck asked.
    “No one. You look for waves or you look for a boat. You go too long without seeing either . . . you’re lost.”
    Peck sighed. But he nodded for Papa to continue.
    “Now, it ain’t all nice out on the River,” Papa warned. “I suppose you don’t need me to tell you that, but, well . . .” He drew another picture on the table.

    “Keep your eye out for this one. Hooks are danger. You might be offered help, or you might see another symbol in the area, but don’t trust it. Because it’s only bait. And it’ll be the end of you if you