looked ready to kill something. When was the last time their captors had given them anything but dope or Rainbow?
There was a carved-stone bench nearby and I sat down on it, my legs shaky. I pretended to be interested in its carved decorations, stuff out of kids’ books, like that kind of rat with the super fluffy tail. I ran my fingers over it, trying to remember the word for this made-up animal. Fox? That sounded right. Like I’d told Calypso about horses, they weren’t real. Unless… I let my hand fall away. I didn’t think this canyon was real. I didn’t think my mom and dad were real. I’d never really liked being wrong, but I guess sometimes it’s not a bad thing.
“Hello! Hello! Welcome!” A woman came up, this one with light tan skin, short, shiny black hair, and black eyes like Fang, only like a thousand degrees friendlier.
I guessed she was some kind of ware seller, trying to get the newcomers to fork over some coin. But I was surprised when Nudge hugged her. They talked quietly for a few minutes. The woman looked over Nudge’s shoulder at me, the lab rats, Fang. She smiled and nodded several times, taking Nudge’s elbow. Then she went to hug Gazzy and Iggy. She seemed to know not to hug Fang, who was pacing nearby, or me, who was giving her the uninterested-in-your-wares look.
“Hello, Phoenix,” she said warmly, and my eyes narrowed. “My name is Ying. I run the care center here. Nudge says some of your friends are addicted to Ope, and are also on Rainbow right now,” she said, shocking me. Her voice was kind, but she was kind of throwing it right out there, you know?
Fang clapped his hands. “We. Have. To. Go. Now,” he said loudly.
“Hang on, Fang,” Iggy said. “We’re making arrangements.”
“Uh-huh,” I said to Ying, pointing subtly to Moke, Rain, and Calypso.
“At the care center we can wean them off the drugs,” Ying said. “We’ve had tremendous success with many nomads who have found us. Would you like us to take care of your friends?”
Oh, god, yes, I thought, then felt so guilty. I should be the one taking care of them.
Someone put their arm around my shoulder and I whirled.
“Hi,” Nudge said. “I just wanted to pop over and remind you that you yourself are still technically a child, so let someone else take care of them for a while, huh?”
Outraged, I opened my mouth, and Nudge shoved a burrito into it. It was hot, smelled fantastic, and tasted like it might even have real cheese.
“Umph,” I said, taking hold of it, biting off a mouthful. I swallowed almost without chewing, feeling the beans and cheese and tortilla starting a party in my stomach. “Oh, god,” I murmured as I wolfed down a second bite.
Ying smiled. “I’d like you to let us take care of your friends.”
I chewed and thought. I didn’t know where I was going, what I’d be doing. It sounded like the Flock was going to go rescue their friend Max, the rebel. The freedom fighter. Possibly my mother. I didn’t know.
This place was paradise, unless it was all a cruel sham. But I knew tricksters and shams, and Ying didn’t feel like one. You can’t fake that sort of kindness. Sadly, I finished the burrito and admitted that actually I probably couldn’t take care of the lab rats the way they needed. I was so used to being the one in charge, the one who took care of—everything. To hear that, to the Flock, I was still (technically) a child was their mistake, one I’d have to correct soon. I’d stopped being a child the day I was left behind on the corner.
“There’s also Clete,” I whispered, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. Some cheese stuck to me and I ate it, licking my hand clean.
“The tall boy, there?” Ying asked, pointing to Clete. Clete also had a burrito and a drink, too. He looked happy.
“Yes. He doesn’t like change,” I said. “Or new people. And Rain”—I pointed—“they took her eyes. Just a few days ago she had eyes.”
“You guys have been through a lot,” Ying said, her hand on my arm. “The wound on your face—it looks fairly new. I could help fix it up a bit.”
“We go through a lot every day. It’s kind of what we’re used to. But usually, we’re doing it together. So I should stay and help.”
“No,” Gazzy said, walking