Page 68 of Cloverleaf Station

Kieron hated it here. He had never liked it, but now he felt like his early animosity was completely justified. He was ready to leave and never come back. He just had to get Pol.

Once the skimmer was tucked away, invisible to cameras and as camouflaged as possible against the road’s backdrop, Kieron climbed down the vines into the space behind Pol’s backyard. He pressed himself up against the wall and listened for the sound of movement or a small child’s voice.

He got two children’s voices instead.

“—with me, Szusza!”

Oh. She’s here. Xilinn and Zak’s daughter was here. Kieron might actually be able to take her with them. A thrill of hope filled his chest, and he almost looked around the wall.

“You can’t go!” a quiet but harsh voice snapped. “I won’t let you!”

The hope fell away, quelled by the fury in that little girl’s voice.

“But Mama—”

“She’s going to a new home! She decided to leave us, Pol, that was her choice. Mama Laina says that—”

“Mama Laina is a liar!” Pol shouted, giving up on all pretext of subtlety.

“Shut up! You don’t know anything!” the girl retorted. “They’ve told us all about this in school, about how these people are trying to shut down the schools and the stores and the government, and how they don’t want us to be able to live like normal people now that we’ve left the Alliance, and the Alliance was no good anyway. We’re going to be better now! We’re going to be fine, but Mama wasn’t happy with that. She wasn’t happy with us. So I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you.”

There was silence for a long moment, and then—“I’m going.”

“You’re not.”

“Am too.”

“No, you’re not. I’m going to—ow!” There was a shriek. “You bit me! Mama! Mama Laina, Pol bit me! He’s running away! Mamaaaa!”

A second later, Pol appeared around the corner of the wall, tears and an expression of fear on his face. Some of the fear dissipated when he saw Kieron. “You came,” he whimpered and threw himself into Kieron’s arms.

There was no time to stay there and hold him. Laina was coming, Szusza complaining at her side. As fast as he could, Kieron lifted Pol up and tucked him against the camouflage of his suit, then pulled both of them back into the thick, verdant vines behind them. A second later, Szusza and Laina came around the corner.

“He went where?” Laina asked in an irritated tone.

“He said a friend was coming to rescue him.”

Oh, Pol. The little boy tucked his head even harder into Kieron’s chest.

“Ridiculous stories. He’s probably just run into the edge of the forest to make us worried.”

“We should get him, then,” Szusza said uncertainly. “Right? It’s dangerous in there.”

“He’ll head home once he realizes we’re not playing his game,” Laina said dismissively. “Come back inside.”

“But … he might … what if he gets hurt?”

“Then he’ll learn that he shouldn’t go running off every time he doesn’t get his way, won’t he? Inside, Szusza, now.”

Kieron watched Laina turn around and stride back into the yard. Szusza stayed a moment longer, staring up at the distant treetops, a pained look on her face.

Now. You could reach out to her now, ask her to come … she might say yes.

“Szusza! Now!”

The girl, the girl with Zak’s round face and dark, curling hair, turned around and followed her other parent back inside.

The moment was lost.