the seriousness of the situation becoming clearer.
“And you can bet that intelligence has already been shared with the powers that be,” he said. “Fact is, we were played back there.”
“What for?” Ellie said. “That is the question you should be asking.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, growing irritated again.
“You’re asking how they found us so quickly, right? How they found us, how they managed to draw us into all-out battle? And then how those three managed to get away from us, all the while making us believe we should be happy about it?”
“Dude,” I said, “we kicked butt. The end.”
Ellie rolled her eyes at me, waving me off.
“What!” I asked. “And by the way, Ellie, thanks so much for all your help back there. Thanks for taking the easy targets and leaving the strongman to me,” I said. “I really appreciate your faith in my skill as a warrior.”
She glowered at me.
“If I didn’t know better,” I said, “I’d think you had your own agenda.”
“Careful,” Ellie said.
“Maybe it’s you,” I said. “Maybe you led them right to us. Maybe you led them to us and then shoved me to the front of the battle lines so that I would be forced to reveal that I carry the Sword. Or maybe you just wanted to see me killed!”
She just looked at me.
“Hey, relax,” Michael said. “It doesn’t matter. All we can do now is stay off the phones and keep out of sight.”
“Ha,” I said, “That’s pretty lame.” A thought crept into my mind: Is he the one who tipped them off? Is he still working with the Brotherhood, and I’m too blind to see it? Before I said it, I wished I could retract it, unsay it, but I couldn’t stop myself: “Maybe it was you. After all, you used to be one of them.”
I stung him. Bad. Airel, you stupid, stupid girl!
I looked away from him, and my eyes landed on Ellie’s face. I detected the faintest smirk of satisfaction. I was shocked at that, at her, at myself. Who’s the betrayer now? I looked to Kim, but she wouldn’t look at me. She just stared down at the planks in awkward embarrassment. Great. I’m such a fool. I couldn’t look at him; I was too ashamed of myself.
“I don’t like this,” Kim said. “We were careful. We’ve been using cash and stuff. They just came out of nowhere, as if they knew the exact road we were taking and what we were driving. Plus, there was that cop.”
It was uncomfortably quiet.
All our questions remained unanswered. All I had done was add more confusion to the pot and stirred it in real good.
“Maybe it’s you,” Michael’s voice broke in. I looked up, feeling wild and dizzy suddenly. He was looking at Ellie. “I mean, we don’t know you at all. We don’t know if you are who you say you are.” His jaw was set, his eyes narrowed. He would not look at me. “Do we?”
“Listen, you,” she said to him, “I’m not the one who stood by idling with a stick in my hand back there. I was busy cutting demon-possessed flesh to ribbons.”
“I was looking after Kim!” he said.
“So you say! But who called it on, eh? What brought them to us, right to us?”
“HEY,” I said, placing a hand on each of them, “Cut it out, you guys.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Michael shoot me a glare. I clamped my mouth shut and my gut balled up into a knot.
Kim stood up abruptly. “I can’t take this anymore,” she said, whimpering. “You guys are too much for me.” She struggled, wriggling into and through the small space between the crates and the wall of the car. “I’m gonna go find my own spot now.” She was gone before any of us could say a word.
Ellie stood. “Me too. You two lovebirds enjoy.” She was gone too, following in Kim’s wake.
I assumed they would each find their own little patch of boxcar paradise, quite apart from each other, given all the love I felt bouncing off the walls. The problem was, Michael and I were finally alone. And I couldn’t bring myself to look at him.
Kim found a dark little hole in the crates and crawled inside it, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. She could feel something in her head nagging her mind. It felt like an inner ear itch but deeper, something she could