The Forsaken

to clear the air. “Obviously, he’s cute. I won’t deny that. But I listened to what you said.”
    “Good, because if you fall for him, not only will I kick your ass, but he’ll end up breaking your heart. Girls come second to hunting for him. I can promise you that.”
    “Look, I’ve got bigger things to worry about, like getting killed. I’ve got your back if you’ve got mine.”
    “Have you told Veidman you’re going?”
    “Not yet.”
    “It’ll make his day. Then he can say, ‘See, even the new girl is ready to fight and die for our village, eh?’” Her impression of his Canadian accent is pretty impressive, and I smile.
    A thought suddenly occurs to me. “Can you teach me what you know? I mean, about defending yourself and stuff, and how to aim a bow?”
    “In nine days?” Gadya scoffs, openly laughing. Then she realizes I’m serious. “I can’t promise miracles, but I guess I can try.” She stands and stretches her lower back. “You really think you’re up for this?”
    “No. That’s why I need you to teach me.”
    She bites her lip, lost in thought. “Okay, then. We’ll start training tomorrow morning. But don’t expect me to go easy on you just ’cause we’re friends.”
    “Deal.”
    My eyes drift over the crowd. I notice Liam, still entrenched with the hunters. I wish I could get more information from him about the wheel and Operation Tiger Strike. Maybe I could put it together with what David and the dying prisoner said, and figure the whole thing out.
    “So tell me more about the gray zone,” I say to Gadya as we head over to grab some stew.
    “Better yet, I’ll draw you a map.”
    “Really?”
    “Well, not a map of the zone. No one’s mapped the whole thing yet. It’s huge. But a map of where our journey’s gonna take us.”
    We reach some wooden tables and sit down. Torches provide us with flickering light. I look for Rika, but I don’t see her. There’s a long line of kids snaking around the edge of the clearing, lining up with bowls.
    Gadya takes a chewed-up pencil and a piece of tattered paper from her pocket. She draws a rough circle to indicate the island.
    “Here we are now, see?” she asks, starting to fill in parts of the circle. “This is our village by the river, and this is our whole sector.” I watch as she sketches out the rough dimensions of the thin sliver of the blue sector. “And here are all the sectors the Monk controls.” She starts sketching other sectors of the wheel and labeling them.
    “Our sector’s that small?” I ask.
    “Pretty much.” Then she draws an oddly shaped area about ten times larger, bordering the north shore of the island. “And this is the gray zone.”
    As I scrutinize her primitive map, I realize something terrible. “Wait, the gray zone’s there?” I place my finger on it. “Way up top?”
    She nods.
    “But that means we have to cross part of the Monk’s territory!” Indeed, due to the size, location, and fluctuating boundaries of each sector, a portion of the orange sector sits between us and the southern boundary of the gray zone. I hadn’t realized the spokes of the wheel were so inexact.
    “It’s impossible to get to the gray zone without sneaking through the Monk’s territory. I thought you knew that. I thought everyone did.”
    “I’ve only been on the wheel a few days. I had no clue!” I want to put my head in my hands and sob. This mission is going to become a death march. “I didn’t know we’d have to cross enemy territory—and to get to what? More enemy territory?”
    “That’s life on the wheel for you.” She looks me square in the face. “Having second thoughts?”
    “Definitely! But I’m still going.”
    “Then, back to the map.” Gadya continues drawing. “The gray zone is where we think the aircrafts, landing strips, and docks are. Right on the shore in some kind of industrialized city.”
    “How do you know all this stuff?”
    “From interrogating prisoners. Veidman’s serum. And from Liam and the other hunters, before the tunnel collapsed.” She scratches her nose with the tip of her pencil. “Hey, look. Chow line’s finally moving.” She gets up. I do the same.
    Soon we have our stew, and we’re sitting back down at one of the tables. I’m still trying to recover from the revelation that if I go on the expedition, I’ll be heading straight into the Monk’s territory.
    I finally see Rika nearby, sweaty from cooking, and Gadya and I both call out to