Wisteria (Wisteria Series) (21 page)

“Garfield, I said speak up,” Coles taunted again. “So everyone can hear you.”

“Yes, sir,” Garfield rasped.

“Steven!” She struggled to break free.

“I can’t hear you,” the Major remarked. “Hindle, let the girl go.”

“Ah!” she cried out.

* * * * *

It took Bach a few minutes to figure out what was going on in Wisteria’s classroom. Initially, he thought it might be a strange human custom or a learning technique. When he was a child, he was often sent on bloody excursions. These lessons by the humans were quite mild compared to his upbringing.

But the fear in Wisteria’s eyes convinced him there was a problem. “You have heard enough.” Bach peeled the man’s hands from Garfield’s neck.

Once free, Garfield wriggled away.

The older man staggered back. He glared at Bach in surprise, and then he looked angry. Another man tried to grab Bach’s shoulder, but he easily tossed him to the ground.

“You’ve just made a big mistake, stranger.” The man lunged at Bach.

Catching the man’s fist in his left hand, Bach clenched down hard as the man tried to pull free. “No, the mistake was touching my friend,” he whispered while squeezing tightly onto his hand.

“You’re a little rat. You can’t tell me what to do!” The soldier pulled again, but he couldn’t break free.

“Just do not touch him ever again.” Bach let go, sending the man staggering back and crashing to the ground.

A couple of the children snickered.

Embarrassed, the soldier scowled at Bach and Garfield. “Wisteria, get off Hindle’s lap. I need to talk to you… now!”

Turning around, Bach saw Wisteria sitting on top of this boy, whose hands were all over her. Reluctantly, she pried herself from her human seat and glided to the door.

Clenching his fists, he watched her leave. They hadn’t seen each other since they had spoken in front of the library. Actually, since he apologized and she stormed off. This wasn’t how he’d envisioned seeing her again.

“Hi,” Hailey mouthed at him as he left the room. In the hallway he saw Wisteria talking to the red faced soldier. The older man was inspecting Wisteria’s head, but she flinched when he tried to touch it.

“Major Coles, I’m fine,” she was saying.

She had called him Major Coles.

“What are you looking at?” Coles snapped at Bach.

“Nothing.”

“Then what are you doing here?” Coles asked. “You’re only with us a short while, so you’re not required to be in school.”

“I am here to learn.” Bach frowned and headed up the stairs to the year twelve class on the top floor.

* * * * *

Later that evening, Bach strode through the street toward his apartment. Having mentally mapped the east side of the island, he needed to sketch it out for Felip. He kicked himself for reacting the way he did to Coles. Drawing attention to himself would only make finding the obsidian coral harder.

That might mean they would have to stay here longer. Living with humans always ended in problems for the Family.

As he went, he spotted a cute girl standing outside his front gate. At first he thought it was Wisteria. She was not and it wasn’t a girl either, but a woman. An older, taller and slimmer version of his Wisteria. “Who—?” he started.

“Who the hell are you?” The woman demanded, saying what he was thinking.

“You are Wisteria’s mother. Mrs. Kuti.”

“I know who I am. I asked who you are.” Leaning against the gate, she had a rifle hanging at her side.

“I am Bach.”

“What are you doing on this island…Bach?” She appeared upset about something.

“Like everyone else, seeking refuge and the protection of the island.”

“I heard what you did to Major Coles in school today. So I know you don’t really need our protection.” The woman examined him carefully from head to toe. “I’m curious how an eighteen year old boy could cause that much damage to a professional soldier. Or how he could live in the penthouse of a country infested with the infected and thieves.”

“We were careful and lucky.”

“Most people surviving out there are killers, man-eaters or biters. Not lucky.”

“Lucky, careful, and well-armed. But I do not have to answer to you. You are not an official or a soldier. You are just a Terran woman.”

“
Terran
huh, interesting word.” She frowned. “I’m a mother too, and I saw you talking with Wisteria the other day. What’s the deal with you and her?”

“Yes, she saved my life once—”

“You know what? I don’t care. You don’t ever talk to her again.”

“What?” Now he knew where Wisteria got her temper. “Why?”

“I don’t have to explain myself to you, either.”

“Do not worry.” He scoffed bitterly.” I have no interest in your daughter. Once Felip is ready to travel, we will be gone.”

“If you’re not gone soon, I’ll make sure everyone is asking questions about you until they find something and throw you off the island. And if that doesn’t work, I’ll get rid of you myself.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“A threat?” The woman bit her lip in a way that made him think of Wisteria. “My friend, I haven’t begun to threaten you. When it is a threat, you won’t have to ask. Just stay the hell away from my daughter.”

“I already told you: Wisteria is of no concern to me.”

“Then we have no problem.” She started to leave. “And do me one favor? Tell your friend Garfield never to try what he did with Coles or any of the other soldiers again. If he does, I will finish what Coles started.”

“Coles is insane.”

“Yes, probably.” The woman chuckled. “But I don’t need Wisteria coming to Garfield’s rescue the next time he decides to take on one of the crazier soldiers.”

“Why do you not tell Garfield yourself?”

“Because if he’s half as irritating as I heard, I’ll shoot him in the first five minutes of meeting him.” Mrs. Kuti strolled down the road, stopping to talk with a neighbor for a moment as if everything was normal. When she finally walked off, she waved at Bach, but he just stood watching her with his arms folded.

After she was gone, he looked up and down the street, unsure of where to go. Not feeling like going to his apartment, he knew where he wanted to go. But seeing Wisteria wasn’t why he was here. With her mother’s particular interest in him, seeing her might make keeping a low profile harder. After heading to the town square and then wandering circles for almost an hour, he ended up standing opposite a dark brown metal gate.

Strangle weeds were growing over the gate and up the side of the house. The scent of the noxious plants was starting to make him dizzy, so he moved across the road.

“Hi.” Hailey waved as she trotted down the road. She was alone instead of being with an entire group of girls. “What are you doing out here? You don’t live on this side of the island.”

“How do you know where I live?”

“Smythe is tiny. Everyone knows where you guys live.”

Mrs. Kuti’s surprise visit confirmed Hailey’s statement.

“If you’re lost, I can show you the way back,” she offered.

“I know my way back.” He walked away, but Hailey strolled beside him. Increasing his pace, she sped up to match him. While he wanted to run away, the notion of fleeing from such a simple Terran was humiliating.

“You know, everyone’s going on about what you did to Coles today. He so deserved it. We all know that, but the army runs this town. Even my father has to do what they want, and he’s works at town hall. He’s the head of the leadership council, but what Coles wants—he always gets.” She looped her arm around his.

Removing her arm, he noticed Wisteria’s mother watching him from the window directly above the brown gate.

Waving at Mrs. Kuti, Hailey’s arm tightened around his. Hopefully, this would show Mrs. Kuti he had no interest in her daughter.

“She’s so weird,” Hailey commented, while looking at Mrs. Kuti. “We heard they used to be part of a cult or something.” Giggling, she started talking about her life on the Isle of Smythe and her life before the outbreak.

Most of what she said was lost on Bach, partially because he didn’t relate to humans, but mainly because he wasn’t listening. Once Mrs. Kuti was out of sight, he pulled away from Hailey.

“So, are you coming?” Hailey asked loudly.

Unaware of what she wanted, he gave the best answer he could. “No, I am not.”

“Okay, it’s not really a party, just a bunch of us hanging out. We’re actually going to have steak. Not the dried rubbish, but fresh meat,” she implored. “You should come.”For fresh meat, he could not resist. “I will be there.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The following evening, Bach and Garfield arrived at Hailey’s house on Lavender Hill. The front of the house which had a huge lawn was now a massive vegetable garden with several cages where chickens were kept.

Garfield banged on the gate because no one was in sight. “Do you think Amanda’s going to be there?” He adjusted his new shirt that he got from the ration center.

“I do not care.” Feeling ashamed to have descended to socializing with humans to get fresh meat he banged on the gate again. The residents of the island had consumed practically all the wild animals. There were a few farm animals, but stealing from humans was just too low for him.

“You know if you soften up, you’ll have a better chance of getting Wisteria on your side,” Garfield remarked.

“Shut up.” Bach scowled and opened the gate. “I am going inside.”

“I’m just saying.”

They made their way up the long driveway to the front door and knocked.

Hailey appeared at the door, wearing a short black strapless dress. “You came,” she greeted Bach with a wide smile that faded when she saw Garfield. “Oh hi, come in.”

“Hi, Hailey,” Garfield greeted. “I love your house.”

She led them through the naturally lit house to the garden, where several of her friends were.

Bach recognized a few of the kids from his class and a few from Hailey’s.

“Come, let me introduce you to everybody.” Taking Bach’s arm, Hailey led him through her gauntlet of friends.

Garfield made his way straight to Amanda and was trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to pry her away from one of her admirers.

“Amanda is really popular with the boys,” Hailey remarked. “I hear Garfield’s working as a rat catcher now?”

“Yes, he is.”

Garfield was livid when town hall informed him he was to either work as a rat catcher or leave Smythe. He believed he was put there in retaliation for his run-in with Coles. Felip had suggested that Garfield apologize, but the Terran boy maintained he would never give the Major the pleasure.

After an hour of talking to
everyone
, Bach was finally left alone with some meat.

Hailey was less concerned with him once someone started to play music and a few of the kids started dancing.

The music was nice; he hadn’t heard any since Red Phoenix destroyed his home, not since he left the Dungeon and Wisteria played and sang. Thinking about her and remembering her lyrical voice in his mind made this music sound dull. Finishing his food, Bach headed back through the house, intending on going home, when he ran into another boy.

“You’re leaving?” the boy asked

“I have had too much fun for today,” Bach replied dryly and continued to head for the door.

“You’re Bach, right? I’m Steven.”

Bach knew he was the boy that was groping Wisteria yesterday. There was nothing else he wanted to know.

“Hailey will be disappointed when she learns you’re gone,” Steven remarked.

“No, it seems to me she is enjoying herself.” He continued toward the exit.

“Word of advice,” Steven called out to him. “You’ve been here a week and you’re trying to date Hailey Davenport. Maybe you should set your sights a little lower. That way you’ll save yourself a lot of drama, because Hailey’s all about drama.”

“People are dying outside these walls.” Bach halted and rubbed his eyes in frustration. “Why would you think the social order of your artificial society is something I will even think about?”

“No, I’m telling you to stay clear of her. I don’t care who you are or if trying to take on soldiers makes you feel special, but this is my town and you can’t come in and do whatever you like.”

“Stay away from me and never talk to me again.” Bach glared at him.

“I’m trying to help you.”

“And I am warning you, never talk to me—ever.” Fuming, he swung the front door open only to see Wisteria’s dark eyes looking up at him. “Wisteria.” He couldn’t help it, he was happy to see her.

“Hi,” she said unemotionally. “How are you?”

“That is a strange mark.” Stretching out his hand, he gently pulled one of her tiny curls. There was a dark bruise on her forehead.

“Hey, you!” Steven came to the door. “I’m surprised to see you here. You were invited to the party?”