“Don’t we need to?” I whispered back, trying to not wake Luke.

  He did a weak little shrug with one shoulder. “Your grandmother is at her house. Your uncle went home last night. No one here but us for a while at least. So you can do what you want.”

  He said it in such a way that I was sure he meant something specific. I just wasn’t awake enough to figure it out.

  It was just us. In this house.

  Which meant we could explore. Completely.

  “I don’t know what happens to this house,” I said. “After we leave...”

  “Are we leaving?” he asked gently.

  I puzzled over his answer. “There’s no one to watch over anymore,” I said. Charlotte had her own house. And my uncle... he had his own wife and house somewhere. They might fight over who claimed the farmhouse between them, but there was no reason for me to stay. The only thing really holding us back was London.

  At some point, I’d have to tell my grandmother why I needed all my information. I didn’t want to keep her in the dark. There had been too much of that.

  Asking would be much easier, and more honest, than sneaking into homes for information.

  “But do you want to let go?” Kota asked me.

  Suddenly Luke snorted. Just a little. He turned over.

  Kota sat up and eased himself out of bed, urging me quietly to follow him.

  I did, tiptoeing in shorts and a long sleeve shirt. Kota had on plaid pants and a T-shirt and the bright color combination made me think he’d borrowed the clothes from Gabriel.

  Out in the hallway, he closed the bedroom door to let Luke sleep. He crept closer to me and whispered. “You have every right to this house, you know? Maybe you shouldn’t let it go.”

  It surprised me he said something. “Why?”

  “You could tell Charlotte, and your uncle, that you want it. There’s a lot of land. And your family is from here. I don’t know, I would just hate if you changed your mind later and they decided to sell it. You can tell me this is what you want if you’re sure, but I... I didn’t know if maybe you should wait a little bit? To be absolutely sure? I don’t think we could get it back if you ever changed your mind later.”

  He made it sound so simple. Like all I had to do was ask and I could just have this farm. And maybe he was right to ask, because it had been a really emotional day yesterday. He just wanted to check with me to be absolutely sure it’s what I really wanted.

  I pursed my lips. I wasn’t sure I wanted it. Not for any monetary value.

  There were no real happy memories here. Not a lot. At least I didn’t think so.

  I’d only been here a short time, and it was all tragic.

  “I don’t want it,” I said simply. “Not the house.”

  He seemed uncertain. “Are you sure?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t mean sell it or anything. But... my uncle. If he wants it. Or maybe Charlotte wants to move back into it? I don’t... I don’t want to take any part of it. Just if there’s anything of my mother’s—”

  “Kota!” a male voice, I wasn’t sure whose, cut through to us.

  Urgency radiated through it, enough to get both of our attention.

  “Get Luke up. Now,” he said, his eyes widening. He rushed away from me, toward the living room.

  I went to the bedroom, and rushed to the bed, grabbed Luke’s arm and shook him.

  He was hard asleep, but he pulled himself awake enough to try to ward me off with a hand. “Stop. What?”

  “Something’s happening,” I said. I wasn’t even sure. I just knew the urgency of the voice meant trouble. Did my uncle come back to kick us out again? “Luke...”

  At my clear urgency, Luke was upright, rubbing out sleep from his eyes. He grabbed my wrist, and we navigated out of the bedroom, with him in the lead, drawing me to the front foyer near the staircase.

  He paused with me, ready to go out the door in the foyer to the porch at the side of the house, but he peered into the living room. He waited for any clues that told us what was going on.

  That side of the house was empty. Scary empty. With the smell of bacon still strong, and it was clear the others had been there, in the living room. The television was on. There were blankets on the sofa, and a mattress pad brought in from the RV on the floor as a bed.

  They’d all slept in the house last night.

  Luke tentatively crept into the living room. I trailed behind him, ready to head to the back door. Had Volto followed us? In my tired state, I was imagining all scenarios. It terrified me things were so quiet now.

  On the porch, with their backs to us, Kota, Nathan, North, Dr. Green and Gabriel, his hands still bandaged, were all in a line, and guarded the house. I couldn’t see Silas, but I heard his voice for a second. Where was he?

  Chica was barking wildly somewhere, but I couldn’t see her. She seemed to be just beyond the porch, and out of sight from where we were standing.

  Beyond them, the white, beat up, old work truck, only there were more than the six men. Nine at least.

  They outnumbered us now.

  “You’ve got no business being here,” Kota shouted to them.

  “Where’s the old man?” one of them called from the truck.

  “None of your business,” Kota asked. He pulled a cell phone out. “I’ve got you on camera. We all do. We’re telling you to leave this property or face trespassing charges.”

  Most of the others, those who had phones on them, pulled out them out and started recording.

  “We’ve got your faces,” Kota said and he held out his phone to the side so they could see it clearly. “And I’m calling the cops if you don’t leave now.”

  This didn’t seem to deter the men at all. Four of the men got out of the truck from the back. “Fucking kids,” one of them said. “Just get out of the way. We’re not here for you.”

  “We know the old man’s dead,” said the first guy, who I assumed was in charge. “Just let us in and no one has to get hurt.”

  And then I realized one of them had a handgun.

  My heart stopped. They weren’t aiming at anyone, at least not yet. Instead, wearily, they looked in a strange direction, toward where Chica was barking wildly.

  Where was the dog?

  I leaned against the window, spotting Silas holding the dog back. He was on the ground, his arms around the dog, the only thing holding the dog back from attacking now.

  The man on the truck was aiming it at the dog, almost at Silas, likely in case he let go.

  They were willing to shoot the dog...

  Were they willing to shoot the guys?

  They’d knocked out my grandfather the last time they were here.

  “If they get past the porch, you should go,” Luke said to me. “So be ready. Go get your shoes.”

  I didn’t want to move. Terror for all of them ripped through me. For a moment, I considered we should let them in. What did they want, the old furniture?

  “Sang... please,” Luke begged me.

  It was only Luke’s insistence, and the thought that if I was fast enough, I could come back quickly and... do what, I wasn’t sure. I wanted to help, but I knew if it came to the police being called, I’d have to go.

  Gabriel might have to explain why he had a group of his friends at the house... but it was better than it being robbed. And my grandmother... would she keep her promise and not mention I’d been here?

  How could I just leave them to fight them off?

  I raced across the living room, quietly but as fast as possible. The first shoes I could think of were sneakers in the bedroom, and I went to put those on, no socks. I grabbed a jacket and went back to the living room.

  Luke wasn’t in the room.

  I hesitated, knowing I’d have to leave if the cops were called but if he went to go help...

  Shouting.

  Lots of it.

  Chica was barking.

  Silas, above everything, was shouting, even though I couldn’t hear what he was saying. His deep voice simply carried over everyone else.

  I went to the front door, peering out carefully, ready to run if it was the police already here somehow...

  But instead, the boys were off the porch. And each one was face to face with someone else.

  It was so hard to take in all at once.

  Nathan faced two of them. He’d knocked the gun out of one of the men’s hands, and he was already down on the ground, holding a hand at his throat, as if he had a hard time breathing.

  The second man tried to grab at Nathan, and Nathan dodged, guarded his own head with his fists up and did a quick hook kick, landing his heal on the man’s head. He followed with a quick punch, a jab into the man’s back. Nathan with his broad shoulders and his thick hands, braced his footing and bent forward, and picked up the man, flinging him down on top of his friend in one swift movement.

  Kota managed to kick the gun away, but someone else was grabbing at him and Kota was trying to ward him off without losing the lead at the gun.

  North and Gabriel were back to back, taking on three at a time. Gabriel protected his hands more, but he flung his elbow and focused on kicking out, aiming at whatever he could reach.

  North was egging on the two facing him, though he seemed to be more protecting Gabriel as well.

  Silas was angrily shouting. The collar had broken and the only thing holding Chica back was Silas clinging to her body so she wouldn’t get hurt, though two of the men were coming toward him.

  Luke protected Silas, until he spotted something and then made a run for it. He raced to the truck itself, climbed the hood, and stood on the roof, and tried to pull the last man in the driver’s seat who had remained. Luke had him by the collar, and he yanked hard, like he’d rip him out the window if he could.

  I realized seconds later that Luke had noticed the man was going to use the truck to run over... someone. Who knew who he was aiming for.

  My heart raced. The two men who had been over Silas were closing in. Gabriel got kicked in the hands, and North was doing his best to avoid being thrown punches, though several landed and he was slowing down.

  Kota was on the ground, wrestling with someone over the gun. Glasses were gone.

  Nathan struggled with the two he had, trying to get to North to help him out.

  How could I help?

  Suddenly, I saw the gun off to the side by the door. My grandfather’s rifle. Didn’t we move it before the funeral?

  I grabbed it. I knew little about guns.

  But I knew which end the bullets came out of.

  And if anything, I could aim... somewhere.

  The gun was heavy, and I lifted it to my hip, putting my finger on the side of the trigger and not on it.

  I brought it outside, careful to aim the end of it more upward. I didn’t want to hit anyone. I just wanted to ward off the robbers.

  Except the whole group of them were still in fight mode. Gabriel got hit with a punch so hard, he staggered, back into North.

  Chica ripped away from Silas’s grasp, and the dog in an instant bit at one of the men.

  Silas barreled in, tackling down the man who was now trying to kick the dog off.

  I had to get their attention. I aimed at the sky, trying to pull the trigger.

  Nothing. It didn’t fire. Either it wasn’t loaded or...

  In a split second, Dr. Green found me. I had no idea where he’d been. He took the gun from me, checked the chamber, aimed it like I had done, and fired off once into the air like I’d tried to do.

  It was like they all stopped, waiting to see who was shot, including themselves.

  Suddenly Kota had the handgun and was aiming it upward, but clearly ready and in control. “This is over!” he shouted. “Get out!”

  Suddenly Luke was in the truck. He reversed it, driving backwards down the hill away from the house, dragging one of their companions who had retreated to the back of the truck with it. The driver was on the ground, covering his nose, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

  As if realizing their only means of escape was leaving, three of the ones who had been more injured in the fight raced down the hill after it, trying to catch it before it hit the road.

  The others hesitated. Maybe perhaps we were still just some teenagers, and they thought they still had a chance.

  Silas pulled the dog off of one of them, who, when realizing most of his buddies started running off.

  And then at the start of the drive, just when Luke reached the main road, another work truck appeared.

  It crashed into it head on.

  There were many shouts now, with our group shouting back at the robbers.

  North instantly slammed two of them on the ground, knocking them in the throat hard, and raced down the driveway.

  Racing after Luke in the truck.

  But Luke crawled out of the window he’d climbed in from. The truck had stopped. He crawled over, into the other one.

  Suddenly the second truck backed up, allowed the robbers who had finally caught up to get into their truck and take off.

  That left anyone who remained, they finally started running, realizing their team members were going to leave without them.

  The second work truck, I realized, was slowly rolling up the driveway, stopping just to pick up North, who got into the truck to ride the rest of the way back.

  My uncle was driving. In my panic, I hadn’t recognized the Sorenson work truck. He’d gotten here just in time.

  Dr. Green was breathing heavily. He smirked, looking at me as he held the rifle in his hands. “Good one, Sang. You broke up the fight.”

  “Why didn’t it fire?” I asked him. “The safety?”

  “Naw, just you needed to push the trigger harder. There’s no safety on this thing.” He winked at me and he shifted the gun to aim in at the ground instead of the sky before checking it over. “Also, apparently he only ever had one bullet in the thing.”

  Shock was still webbing its way through my body. I stood motionless for a moment on the porch, watching as Luke and North got out of the work truck. The second truck disappeared in the distance, having gotten the last of the men into the back in a pile.

  Police sirens sounded in the distance. They got closer.

  I panicked. The neighbors might have called about the gun shot.

  Pulling themselves together, Silas got the dog into the house and into the parlor room to trap her there for now.

  Dr. Green pulled me inside, “Now you do have to go.”

  “Where?”

  Suddenly Nathan materialized, he grabbed my hand, pulled me through the house, and when I dragged a bit because of surprise, I was lifted off the ground.

  Out the side door. Off the porch. Away from the house.

  Down the fence line, and into the woods.

  He carried me off.

  My heart was beating so fast, but it was like my brain and my body were refusing to acknowledge this at all. Shock perhaps was warding off my panic.

  We’d fended off the men who came to rob the house again. And now the police had come.

  Emotion eased into my throat and face, and I blinked back tears.

  Proud tears.

  I’d never been prouder, or happier to have them in my life. Capable. Strong. Brave. Facing off someone with a handgun. For a property they didn’t have any reason to protect.

  Except for me.

  Except for doing the right thing.

  Even more now than ever, I wanted to be more like them. Capable, able to handle an emergency like this.

  I wanted them with me forever.

  He Mattered to Her, Too

  I waited in the woods with Nathan. He brought me to the old moonshine shack in the woods.

  He sat me on a log, and then bent over, on his knees, holding his side like he had a stitch. He said nothing for a long time, just tried to catch his breath.

  “What do we do?” I said eventually when he finally started to slow his breathing a little.

  He licked his lips shortly. “I don’t know.”

  “Who called my uncle?”

  “Dr. Green, I think,” he said. He wiped at his forehead and then at his eyes. “I think we’re okay. They would have been here by now if they saw me carrying you off.”

  “Sorry.”

  He breathed in once, sniffing and then looked up at me.

  He said nothing, but he stood up and pulled me up with him.

  He held me close in a hot embrace against his body. He trembled a little as he did.

  “Are you okay?” I asked him quietly.

  “No,” he said. “I’m worried.”

  I nestled my face into his shoulder. “Me, too.”

  We stood there together, hugging each other. Waiting.

  Eventually, Nathan left me. He wasn’t the one that needed hiding, but from the sounds that came from the main house, it felt like a lot was going on.

  But first, he brought me a phone from the RV.

  I used it, finding myself talking to Mr. Blackbourne, telling him about what happened while Nathan went to go figure out what was going on.

  I told Mr. Blackbourne about the fight. I sniffed several times. Now that the fight was over, I worried, mostly about if anyone was hurt.

  “Don’t lose faith yet,” Mr. Blackbourne said to me.

  “Aren’t you worried?”

  “If it was bad, there would have been word by now.”

  I hadn’t realized that might possibly be the case. If it was over, really over, the police would have been here finding me, or someone would have called Mr. Blackbourne to tell him about any real problems.

  Sometimes silence was good news.

  As if realizing the longer the wait, the more this was true, Mr. Blackbourne had me tell him in detail about the fight, and as I spoke, he explained how it sounded like no one was too seriously hurt.

  “They all stood up in the end,” he said. “That’s a good sign.”

  I gazed over to the moonshine shack. It was maybe five feet by five feet, small with one window, and a rotten door. The outside boards were the same color as the barn, dark and warped through time. It didn’t look like anyone had been here in ages.

  Except for the L on the door.

  I blinked at the letter, done in what appeared to be a faded white chalk.