Ruin - By N.M. Martinez Page 0,41

hand on my shoulder, and gives me a shove forward. Brandon stays the closest to Jimmy as we make our way around him.

Jimmy turns and watches us go back up the hill. His smile drops and all that's left are those wide, light eyes watching us go. I'm struck again by how unexpectedly handsome he is. It only adds to his danger. How many strays have fallen for that face before realizing their mistake?

Brandon glances at me suddenly with his brows knit together fiercely as if some thought of mine offended him. But he shakes it off and looks ahead of us as we make our way back up the hill.

Jimmy's voice follows us like the wind pushing us forward. "See you tomorrow."

Brandon is quiet as we walk back. It makes me nervous. I'm not sure what to say or what to ask. Was it only his brother's visit that disturbed him or was it something I did or thought? We have so little control over our thoughts. It's only now with Brandon that I realize just how little. Of all the thoughts I think, what could he have heard that would make him angry?

The small bag in my hand, mostly forgotten about, makes my fingers cramp up and I have to switch hands after a few minutes.

"Brandon, is everything okay?"

He looks at me then looks away again. "Yeah. Fine."

I press the fold along the top of the bag. "You're so quiet. I dunno. Something seems wrong."

The way back is a different route. I don't recognize the buildings we walk past. It's possible that he's taking me somewhere, maybe even taking me to Henri's early just to be rid of me. I get the frightening sense that he is holding something back from me. He is the one I have chosen to trust; he is the only one so far that I can trust.

I'm about to ask him more, to beg him to speak to me, when we turn a corner and a surprising sound reaches our ears. The laughter of children bounce off the buildings coming from a nearby park with a playground. It looks odd between these slowly decaying structures to see a playground where children play. Adults stand around watching them, talking to the children, herding them in a way.

When we're closer, Brandon stops still at a safe enough distance that no one has seen us yet. At least the kids haven't. I catch the warning glares of some of the adults that soften when they notice Brandon though they don't wave or even nod at him.

Brandon clear his throat. "This is option A."

I look up at him, but he's not looking at me. "For what?"

He does look at me then with a soft look to his eyes that shocks me. "For you. You can be a caregiver."

I look back at the playground and notice that there are plenty of girls watching the kids. Girls dressed in clothes similar to mine and that nervous stray we saw by the light of the fire.

"You mean, like, watching the kids?" That would have to be a dangerous job that looks deceptively easy. These kids must be the children of members of the tribe, and those are parents I wouldn't want to piss off. "You didn't mention this before."

Brandon leans back on the building. "I didn't want to." He sighs and shoves his hands into his pockets. "Jimmy raised me. Since I was about seven until I started my training. Every day he took me here. To this care center."

He nods towards it and I turn to look again as if expecting there to be something different about it now that I know.

"So all the kids come here?"

"No. There are other centers. There's an underground bunker for all of them so the kids can be safe and parents don't have to worry. There's at least one care taker living at each center, and it's usually a girl. Parents trust human girls and woman the most. Especially when they gotta drop their kids off in the middle of the night."

A caregiver. Is that what my future holds? That's how I'll be useful to them? The thought depresses me. Back home, I had years more to go in school before I had to make a decision on what I would do with my life.

I don't really want to think about it. Brandon still leans against the building as he lets this possible future sink in, but I don't let it. Brandon has